"Raaah!"
Charmander let out an angry roar.
I will never listen to you again!
It grabbed Ash's pant leg, looking up at him with unwavering eyes.
The flames that burned just now had not only incinerated the Poké Balls and Damian—
They had also burned away the weak version of itself from the past.
This was Charmander's farewell to who it used to be.
"You'll regret this!" Damian shouted, his hair scorched black with soot.
But under Ash's sharp glare, he immediately fled in embarrassment.
The kind who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Once faced with someone stronger, he didn't dare utter another word.
Only after Damian disappeared did Ash crouch down in front of Charmander.
He gently patted its head and took out a Poké Ball.
"Charmander, would you like to become my partner? Just like Pikachu?"
His eyes were sincere—without a trace of ulterior motive.
Charmander silently pressed its claw against the center button.
A red light enveloped it.
Click.
Charmander was caught.
Ash stood up and raised the Poké Ball high.
"I caught a Charmander!"
This—
Was the first step toward legend.
A bond had been forged.
No one could have imagined how far that small flame would one day soar.
Some hardships are not meant to drown you.
Some beings are destined to break the cocoon and be reborn.
Reactions
[Diantha: As expected of Ash… always so gentle. It almost hurts to watch. Ash, let me comfort you properly someday.]
[Steven: So Charizard had such a past. Perhaps from that moment, it developed its obsession with strength. That desire pushed it to chase power endlessly.]
[Leon: Behind every hardship lies the possibility of a better tomorrow. As for the one who abandoned Charmander… I won't comment further. But Charmander certainly had the heart of a warrior.]
[Lance: Too kind, Leon. Trash like that doesn't deserve courtesy. Abandoning Pokémon with such a ridiculous excuse? If I met him, I'd show him what a real Trainer looks like.]
[Misty: Charmander was lucky… At least it met Ash and didn't die that night.]
[Brock: But what about his other Pokémon? Not all abandoned Pokémon are lucky enough to meet someone like Ash.]
Silence filled the chat.
Not every flame would find shelter.
[Mewtwo: Hmph. And this is why humans are unworthy of salvation.]
[Ash: No! I can't control what that person does—but I'll never stand by! Whenever humans or Pokémon are suffering, I'll help them!]
That wasn't just a declaration.
It was the path he would walk.
To be a Pokémon Master wasn't merely about strength.
It required limitless love.
And Ash possessed that.
The Road of Growth
After catching Charmander, Ash continued his journey.
They fought side by side.
Charmander helped Ash catch Primeape.
It defeated Erika of the Celadon Gym.
It defeated Koga of the Fuchsia Gym.
Its tail flame served as a lantern at night—
As warmth in snow-covered mountains.
Their bond deepened.
But growth is never smooth.
Evolution — And Distortion
During an incident where Exeggutor invaded a city, Charmander drove them away with repeated Flamethrowers.
In the aftermath—
It evolved.
Into Charmeleon.
Evolution should have been a joy.
But sudden power changed it.
Charmeleon, still scarred by abandonment, became even more obsessed with strength.
Ash, still an inexperienced Trainer, couldn't fully match its rapid growth.
Charmeleon began ignoring commands.
Acting on its own.
Yet Ash never blamed it.
He comforted it instead.
That kindness caused a flicker of doubt in Charmeleon's heart.
Perhaps strength wasn't everything.
The Fossil Incident
Then came Aerodactyl.
When Ash was captured and mocked midair, Charmeleon's fury ignited.
Fear.
Anger.
The craving for power.
It evolved once more.
Wings spread wide—
Charizard was born.
It soared into the sky, rescued Ash, and punished Aerodactyl.
The audience expected harmony.
They were wrong.
Lost in Power
As a Charizard, it grew even more defiant.
Ash's "Trainer level" was too low to command such strength.
At the Cinnabar Gym, Charizard outright loafed around.
It nearly cost Ash the match against Blaine.
Though it eventually stood and defeated Magmar—with the iconic moment of forcing Fire Blast into the sky, shrinking it from a massive "Big Fire" to nothing—
And finished with Seismic Toss.
Ash earned the Volcano Badge.
But Charizard's attitude worsened.
The Indigo Plateau
Top 16.
Ash vs. Richie.
Ash sent out Charizard as his ace.
At first, it displayed overwhelming power.
But once it decided Richie wasn't worth its effort—
It lay down.
Refused to battle.
The referee ruled it unable to fight.
Ash's Indigo League run ended.
Not because he lacked strength.
But because his own Pokémon refused to try.
The audience was furious.
How could it?
On the biggest stage of Ash's young life?
With full effort, Charizard might not have won it all—
But it would never have fallen in the Top 16.
Ash's disappointed expression silenced many.
From adorable Charmander—
To this.
The reversal was brutal.
Reflection
[Professor Kukui: The timing of its evolution was too short. The sudden surge of power destabilized its emotional balance.]
[Lillie: That's so unfair to Ash…]
[Alder: Life is always full of uncertainty.]
[Red: My Charizard's heading to Charicific Valley after this. It needs discipline.]
Even so—
Ash forgave it.
They had been through too much together.
Charizard lacked experience.
Its methods were immature.
It wanted Ash to grow stronger—
But chose the wrong way.
Damian's shadow still lingered.
Childhood scars can haunt a lifetime.
The Turning Point
On an icy island, Charizard was struck by Poliwrath's Ice Beam.
It fell.
Frozen.
Ash had no Pokémon Center nearby.
He used his own body warmth to help thaw Charizard through the night.
"Charizard… I really want us to fight together. To win together."
All night, Ash stayed by its side.
In its haze, Charizard remembered—
The rain.
The leaf.
The jacket.
The voice calling its name.
"I… was wrong."
As the sun rose over the sea, something inside it shifted.
When they faced Poliwrath again—
Ash and Charizard fought with unprecedented synergy.
Seismic Toss.
Victory.
From that moment—
The rift faded.
True Partnership
Their coordination improved daily.
In the Orange League, Charizard battled Drake's Dragonite.
Though it ultimately fell—
It severely wounded Dragonite, paving the way for Pikachu's victory.
Ash won his first championship.
Became an Honorary Trainer.
Charizard quietly fulfilled the promise Ash once made.
Youth may rebel.
But a sincere heart never dies.
To recognize one's mistakes—
And strive to correct them—
That is true growth.
And Charizard achieved it.
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