At this moment, Red also arrived at the Pokémon House.
"Thanks to you, everything has returned to normal!" Mr. Fuji said gratefully, looking at the Cubone nestled in Rena's arms, acting spoiled. "And Cubone has finally opened its heart to humans!"
"You flatter me!" Red replied modestly.
"If possible, I hope you can take this child, Cubone, on a journey with you!" Mr. Fuji requested.
"Although this child relied on me at first, I can feel that Cubone now depends on you even more!"
"Is that so? If possible, I'd also be willing to take Cubone on a journey, to witness the beauty of this world—if this child is willing to follow me!" Red said. Although he truly wanted to nurture this resilient Cubone, knowing its past experiences, Red did not want to forcefully take it away. He wanted Cubone to make its own choice.
"Though I don't know whether it will be useful to you, there's something I'd like to give you!"
Red followed Mr. Fuji into his bedroom. Mr. Fuji carefully took down the Poké Flute from the bookshelf, along with an exquisite gift box.
"This is the Poké Flute. If you play it, it can wake up sleeping Pokémon and restore their energy!" Mr. Fuji explained.
"And this box?"
Red opened the gift box, and the item inside made him freeze for a moment. Inside lay a Mega Stone and a Key Stone. If he wasn't mistaken, the Mega Stone placed there was exactly the one Charizard needed—Mega Stone X.
"This is truly a generous gift, Mr. Fuji!" Red said gratefully. These two items were enough to greatly enhance Charizard's combat power.
"It seems you understand the function of these two items. I obtained them by chance. Sensing they were extraordinary, I hid them away, planning to gift them to a kind Trainer one day!" Mr. Fuji explained.
Understanding that Mr. Fuji did not wish to revisit the past, Red did not ask further about the origins of the Mega Stone and Key Stone. After all, he had already received a tremendous favor—why dwell on it?!
Eager to quickly master the power of Mega Evolution, and to release the excitement in his heart, Red specifically asked Mr. Fuji about a suitable training location near Lavender Town, preferably somewhere spacious.
"If it's the kind of area you want, the hills behind Lavender Town should meet your requirements. It's sparsely populated there, so you won't have to worry about accidentally hurting anyone. It's a good training spot!" Mr. Fuji suggested.
Most residents of Lavender Town were not professional Pokémon Trainers. They mainly caught Pokémon for companionship, so there was no dedicated training facility.
"Come out, Charizard!"
After leaving the Pokémon House, Red threw out Charizard's Poké Ball and released it. The massive Dragon-Scaled Charizard shook the ground the moment it landed. Its powerful limbs and enormous wings startled the surrounding residents. Fortunately, knowing Red's character, they soon began praising him for his excellent Pokémon training.
"Goodbye, everyone!"
Red leapt onto Charizard's back, preparing to fly toward the hills behind the town to master Mega Evolution.
"Cuba! Cuba!"
Cubone, who had been in Rena's arms, hurriedly ran out, tears streaming down its face as it tightly hugged Charizard's leg, crying and refusing to let Red leave.
'Where did this little brat come from?' Charizard wondered in confusion. If it weren't clear that Cubone had come looking for Red, Charizard might have kicked it away already.
"Cubone, are you willing to travel with me?" Red asked, extending his right hand.
"Cuba!" Cubone immediately nodded vigorously. It had already decided to follow Red and pursue its dream. It didn't want to part with him like this.
"Then come aboard, Cubone!" Red said with a smile, holding Cubone in his arms as he rode Charizard away from Lavender Town.
After a brief flight, Red and Charizard arrived at the hills behind the town. The area was surrounded by naturally formed rocky cliffs, with a vast open space in the center—an excellent training ground.
"Everyone, come out!"
Red threw all his Poké Balls. Giant Onix, the crimson Gyarados, the azure Scyther, Thousand-Year Gengar, and the shiny Dratini were released. Cubone had not yet been officially captured, so the team limit had not been reached.
"First, let me introduce these two newcomers to you veterans!" Red said with a smile.
(So this is the newcomer who absorbed the bloodline power of the ancient Dragonite?) x2
Giant Onix and the crimson Gyarados glanced at each other simultaneously, sensing the fighting spirit in each other's eyes. However, both understood that the Dratini before them was still just a child, still at the playful stage, and nowhere near capable of battling them.
"The second matter is that Charizard will act as the opponent for all of you!" Red said calmly.
This statement surprised several Pokémon, especially the three that belonged to the original six starters. While they knew Charizard was powerful, facing six Pokémon at once would be far too exhausting!
'Charizard, did you make the master angry recently?' Scyther asked tentatively.
'How could that be? I'm about to master a brand-new power. I'm too excited for that!' Charizard replied with a grin, its lips curling upward as it eagerly anticipated Mega Evolution with Red.
During the flight earlier, Red had already mentioned Mega Evolution, which had excited Charizard so much that it nearly lost control of its wings midair.
(So it's gotten even stronger again…) x2
Giant Onix and the crimson Gyarados revealed envious expressions. When Charizard first joined Red's team, it had only been a little Charmander. Who would have thought it would now grow strong enough to defeat them?
"It seems Charizard's confidence comes from that!" Thousand-Year Gengar pointed at the Mega Stone on Charizard's left arm, sensing the immense energy radiating from it.
"Break through the shackles and return to your origin! Answer my call—Charizard, Mega Evolve!"
Red pressed the Key Stone on the back of his left hand. A bond of power connected him with Charizard before him. Charizard's body erupted in dazzling light, sensing the transformation as a form it was meant to possess surfaced in its mind.
As the brilliant light faded, the first things that appeared in the Pokémon's sight were ghostly blue flames and crimson eyes. Then Charizard's new form was revealed before Red and the six Pokémon.
Charizard's primary body color had turned charcoal gray. Its dragon scales looked indestructible. From its lower jaw to the tip of its tail, its body glowed sky blue. Blue claw-shaped protrusions extended from the front and back of its shoulders.
Small fin-like spikes emerged from the back of its neck. The inner side of its wings turned deep blue, with the lower edges splitting into multiple curved, pointed segments. The protrusions on the wings became sharp, claw-like shapes.
The tips of the horns atop its head turned blue and razor-sharp, with two additional small black horns sprouting. The spikes at the end of its tail resembled deadly serrated blades.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing your Pokémon's first Mega Evolution. The temporary usage rights of the third Ability have been activated!]
The mechanical voice echoed in Red's mind. He was briefly stunned upon hearing the system's words, then seemed to guess something and scanned Charizard's current data.
"Pokémon: Dragon-Scaled Charizard (Mega Evolution X Form)
Type: Fire + Dragon
First Ability: Blaze
Second Ability: Multiscale
Third Ability: Tough Claws (Increases the power of contact moves by 30%.)
Moves: Flamethrower, Dragon Breath, Outrage, Fire Fang, Dragon Claw, Flare Blitz, Dragon Rush, Fire Blast, Burn Up…
Nature: Extremely battle-loving. Even when facing powerful opponents, it shows no fear. Hobby: Sunbathing!
Background: …Awakened a powerful and ancient dragon bloodline!"