“Flamethrower!”

Blazing flames erupted from Charizard’s mouth, a searing pillar of fire instantly striking toward Zapdos. Upon seeing this, Zapdos immediately flapped its wings to dodge, glancing in surprise at the melted iron plate, astonished by Charizard’s immense power.

‘Being too careless will lead to a painful defeat!’ Charizard sneered, its body covered in a purple-gold draconic aura, as it flapped its massive wings and charged towards Zapdos.

Dragon Rush!

Zapdos’s entire body was engulfed by Charizard’s draconic might, forcing it to fall to the ground from above. Zapdos struggled to release high-voltage currents, attempting to regain control of its movements. To prevent its own scales from shriveling, Charizard proactively distanced itself from Zapdos, avoiding the minor damage from the current.

“Charizard has gotten stronger again…” the Millennium Gengar murmured.

‘This is my home turf; a mere Charizard shouldn’t be so arrogant!’

Zapdos controlled the surrounding currents, forming a thundercloud-filled sky above. Countless bolts of lightning were released from the thunderclouds—this was the talent that earned Zapdos the title of Thunder God.

Charizard turned and let out a cry to Red, indicating that it didn’t need Red’s instructions and could defeat Zapdos on its own. It then turned back to Zapdos and unleashed Flamethrower once more.

Zapdos retaliated with Thunderbolt. The flames and current collided, causing an explosion, and the resulting black smoke was quickly dispersed by Charizard’s and Zapdos’s wings.

Realizing that long-range moves couldn’t inflict substantial damage on Charizard, Zapdos decided to change its strategy and actively approached Charizard. Zapdos’s sharp beak spun menacingly, already aimed at Charizard’s vital point as it used Drill Peck. Charizard also noticed Zapdos’s intention, its claws covered in emerald energy, as it unleashed Dragon Claw.

BANG—

Unlike the withered and atrophied forelimbs of ordinary Charizard, a Charizard with an awakened Dragon bloodline had exceptionally muscular forelimbs, just like during its Charmeleon stage. Zapdos’s pupils widened instantly, shocked that Charizard had blocked its attack with just its right claw.

‘That silly bird is in danger~’ the Millennium Gengar quipped from the sidelines.

While confronting Zapdos, Charizard’s free left claw unhesitatingly struck Zapdos’s body, knocking it back and almost causing Zapdos to lose its Flying-type ability and fall to the ground.

‘Even a Legendary Pokémon is nothing more than this!’

Charizard roared, its intimidating draconic might causing Cassidy and Butch to tremble uncontrollably.

The proud Zapdos was also enraged by Charizard’s ‘boastful’ words. Its body covered in a blue aura, it launched Brave Bird at Charizard.

‘Bring it on!’

Charizard also used Dragon Rush again, showing no intention of dodging, directly colliding with Zapdos. The blue aura and purple-gold Dragon Breath continuously devoured each other. Finally, Charizard seized the opportunity to use Dragon Tail, knocking Zapdos to the ground, the spike at the end of its tail narrowly missing Zapdos’s skin.

Swish, swish, swish…

Charizard’s Dragon scales gradually withered, and the effect of its Multiscale ability had disappeared. However, compared to Zapdos’s exhaustion, Charizard was still full of energy. Because Charizard’s Flying-type had been replaced by Dragon-type, Electric-type attacks could not deal double damage to Charizard; instead, they only dealt half the power. Coupled with the Multiscale ability, which could reduce Charizard’s damage by half, a simple calculation showed that Zapdos’s previous attacks were merely tickling Charizard.

“Zapdos, let me show you Charizard’s true power!”

With that, Red pressed the Key Stone in his hand. Red and Charizard simultaneously emitted dazzling light. The light of evolution formed a bond connecting Red’s and Charizard’s hearts.

“Break through the shackles, return to the primal! Answer my call, Charizard Mega Evolve!”

Charizard, enveloped in the light of evolution, underwent noticeable changes. The first things to appear in Zapdos’s sight were crimson pupils and an ethereal blue flame. Immediately after, the full form of Mega Charizard X appeared before everyone’s eyes.

“Gulp!” x2

Cassidy and Butch looked at Charizard’s transformation in horror, unable to understand why Charizard could evolve again.

“Don’t overthink it. Mega Evolution is not knowledge that mere nobodies like you can grasp,” the Millennium Gengar said leisurely, though at first, its expression upon encountering Mega Evolution was not much different from the duo’s.

Confusion—Shock—Annoyance.

This was the evolution of Zapdos’s inner emotions. Zapdos now clearly understood that its strength could not threaten Charizard, and only then did it realize that it had been the clown all along.

(But… but I!)

‘I also have the dignity of a Legendary Pokémon!’

Zapdos shrieked, forcefully absorbing the surrounding magnetic force. Electromagnetism formed a sphere of intersecting energy in front of Zapdos. This was Zapdos’s last trump card—Zap Cannon. Zap Cannon has a one hundred percent chance of paralyzing the target.

Realizing that Zapdos wanted a decisive battle, Charizard indulged Zapdos’s little desire, and the flames at the end of its tail burned fiercely.

“Boss, I don’t understand one thing. Charizard could clearly ignore Zapdos and just defeat it directly. Why bother with the extra trouble?” the Millennium Gengar expressed its confusion. If it were the Millennium Gengar, it would just defeat it directly, no matter how much trouble it caused.

“This kid Charizard is not only battle-loving but also respects the opponent’s conviction. You’ll understand later.” Red said leisurely.

“Hehehe… then I’m really looking forward to my Mega Evolution,” the Millennium Gengar said excitedly.

Blast Burn vs. Zap Cannon

Charizard gathered most of its flames, forming a pillar of fire that could melt anything. Upon seeing this, Zapdos also released the Zap Cannon in front of it. The pillar of fire and the Zap Cannon continuously devoured each other’s energy, and Zapdos nervously watched the impending outcome.

To Zapdos’s despair, its most proud move still ended in failure, and the remaining flames from the pillar of fire struck Zapdos. The dejected Zapdos was powerless to dodge, closing its eyes and awaiting the flames.

A moment later, not feeling the scorching heat, Zapdos opened its eyes in confusion, only to find Charizard’s figure already in front, reabsorbing the incoming flames into its body, preventing Zapdos from being harmed again.

‘You… you really are a busybody!’

As soon as the words fell, Zapdos lay weakly on the ground, its gaze involuntarily glancing at Charizard, filled with admiration and longing for Charizard’s strength.

“Do you want to be as strong as Charizard? I’m very interested in your talent.”

Red walked up to Zapdos and extended his right hand. “Become my partner, and I will train you to become stronger, and together we will defeat Moltres and Articuno!”

Upon hearing this, Zapdos couldn’t help but excitedly look up at Red. As Zapdos, it constantly wanted to defeat the other two Pokémon also known as the Three Legendary Birds. However, Zapdos did not immediately believe Red’s words, scrutinizing Red with its gaze.

“Don’t believe me? Moltres and Articuno are frequently sighted in the Seafoam Islands!”

Red took out his Pokédex and showed Zapdos images of Moltres and Articuno. After seeing the images of the two Pokémon, Zapdos’s eyes revealed a fighting spirit, wanting to defeat Moltres and Articuno and become the strongest among the Three Legendary Birds.

[Chapter Complete]

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep