Charizard is a very special Pokémon because it has two Mega Evolved forms.
One is the Y form (Fire + Flying), which does not change its typing after Mega Evolution. It possesses the ability that can change the weather—Drought.
The other is the X form (Fire + Dragon), where its typing changes after Mega Evolution. It possesses an ability that excels in using contact moves—Tough Claws (the power of contact moves increases by 30%).
Alain's Charizard was exactly the second type, Mega Charizard X.
Another Pokémon that receives the same treatment is the Legendary Pokémon, which is also an artificial Pokémon—Mewtwo.
Mewtwo has a single Psychic type.
Its Mega Evolved Y form is also a single Psychic type, possessing an extremely strong Special Attack capability.
Its Mega Evolved X form, however, becomes a Psychic and Fighting type, possessing an extremely strong Physical Attack capability.
While Ange was pondering, Aria's Mega Absol and Alain's Mega Charizard X had already engaged in a fierce battle.
"Absol, Sucker Punch!"
As Aria's voice fell, Absol leaped, transforming into a streak of black light as it slammed toward Charizard.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.
However, Absol's speed was incredibly fast. Before Charizard could react, it had already slammed into Charizard's abdomen.
"Char~" Charizard roared, being knocked backward. It flapped its wings, quickly stabilizing its form in the air.
"Absol, Psycho Cut!" At this moment, Aria commanded Absol to continue its attack.
"Absol~"
Absol flicked the bent horn on its head, which had grown even larger, and an incredibly sharp purple blade shot toward Charizard.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw." Alain commanded calmly.
"Char~" Charizard vibrated its wings forcefully and swung both claws, instantly crushing Absol's Psycho Cut. In the blink of an eye, it arrived beside Absol and struck it with a claw.
"Absol~" Absol let out a miserable cry and was sent flying.
"Absol!" Aria shouted in worry.
However, Charizard attacked again at this moment.
"Absol, Double Team!" Aria commanded hurriedly.
As her voice fell, Absol immediately adjusted its posture, its form flickering as it split into more than a dozen copies.
Alain said, "Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Charizard opened its mouth and spat out a surging torrent of flames that swept across the area. Absol's shadows were destroyed one by one, and finally, its real body was hit.
Absol wailed and fell, quickly reverting from its Mega Evolved form.
It had lost!
Absol is a fragile Pokémon, and that remains true even after Mega Evolution, so it could not withstand many attacks from Charizard, whose strength was already higher than its own.
"Absol!" Seeing this, Aria ran over to Absol to check on its condition.
Seeing that Absol was not in major trouble, Aria breathed a sigh of relief. While treating Absol's injuries, she looked up at Alain and said, "I can't feel any enjoyment of Pokémon battling in your matches. Have you always been like this? Only blindly pursuing strength?"
Alain replied, "I want to keep battling with Charizard until I stand at the peak."
"How boring." Aria shook her head upon hearing this.
Just then, Alain looked at Ange and asked, "The person over there, would you like to have a battle with me too?"
Ange looked dazed when he heard this, pointing at himself, "You... mean me?"
Alain nodded and said, "That's right, is there a problem?"
"But I'm not a Trainer!" Ange replied helplessly.
At this moment, Aria suddenly winked at Ange with mischievous intent, "Ange, just have a battle with him, and let him see your strength."
Ange: Huh?
Hearing Aria's words, Alain bowed to Ange, "Please, I insist on battling with you."
Ange: Is it really necessary to go that far?
After he sighed deeply, he said, "Since you've requested it, fine then..."
"Munch~ Munch~" At this moment, Munchlax clutched its fists, looking eager to try.
Ange patted its head and said, "Let Darkrai go this time; you can't beat him."
"Munch~" Munchlax expressed its dissatisfaction.
Ange looked helpless, "Alright, I'll let you go next time if there's an opportunity, okay?"
Who would have thought his disciple would be so combative? It was clearly not like this before.
Could it be that it was infected by Bruno and his Fighting-type Pokémon?
"Munch~" Munchlax nodded reluctantly.
Immediately, Ange walked to the opposite side of Alain and took out a Poké Ball, releasing Darkrai.
The moment he saw Darkrai, Alain widened his eyes in disbelief.
"A Mythical... Mythical Pokémon... Darkrai!"
He did not expect the person in front of him to be a Legendary Trainer.
"Then let the battle begin!" Ange said.
Hearing this, Alain cast aside the shock in his heart, his gaze becoming firm again, and he shouted, "Charizard!"
"Char~" Charizard roared and flew into the air.
At the same time, Darkrai also slowly ascended into the air until it was level with Charizard. Charizard could not help but feel a sense of pressure.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain took the lead in commanding Charizard to launch an attack on Darkrai.
"Char~" Charizard flapped its wings, swinging its claws to approach Darkrai rapidly.
Ange: "Darkrai, Dark Pulse."
"Dark~"
Darkrai gathered a ball of dark energy in its hands and fired it the moment Charizard approached.
Charizard swung its Dragon Claw, attempting to disperse the Dark Pulse, but failed to do so and was sent flying by the impact instead.
"Char~" After a whimper, Charizard crashed into and snapped a large tree not far away.
"Charizard!" Alain was in disbelief. He knew Darkrai was strong, but he had not expected it to be this strong.
In just one exchange, his Charizard had suffered a major loss.
Charizard shook its head and flapped its wings, preparing to fly up, when suddenly a ring of light rippled out from Darkrai's body.
The moment it was swept by the light ring, Charizard felt an overwhelming sleepiness wash over it, and its head lolled to the side as it plummeted to the ground.
It had been hit by Darkrai's Hypnosis and fallen into a sleep state.
Come to think of it, the accuracy of the move Hypnosis is not very high, but it immediately became different in Darkrai's hands.
After Charizard fell into the sleep state, the expression on its face began to contort. Darkrai's ability, Bad Dreams, began to take effect.
"Charizard! Charizard!"
Alain called out to Charizard anxiously, but unfortunately, Charizard was trapped in nightmares and unable to free itself; it could not respond to Alain at all.
Seeing this, Ange said to Darkrai, "Darkrai, Dream Eater!"
Darkrai wore a constipated expression upon hearing this. Why did it have to eat dreams over and over again even after leaving the Azoth Royal Capital!
However, it dared not defy Ange's order and obediently used the move Dream Eater. Charizard's expression appeared even more painful.
Also because of this, Charizard seemed to show signs of waking up.
Just as it was about to open its eyes, Ange said again, "Darkrai, Dark Void."
Alain felt the surrounding environment dim for a moment, and Charizard, which was about to wake up, once again sank into the endless darkness.
Ange commanded again, "Darkrai, Dream Eater."
Darkrai launched Dream Eater once more, and Charizard finally lost the ability to battle and reverted from its Mega Evolved form.
Looking at Charizard lying motionless on the ground, Alain fell into a long silence.
He had lost, and he had never lost so thoroughly before.
After a long while, he took out his Poké Ball, recalled Charizard, and asked Ange, "May I know your name?"
Ange nodded and replied, "Ange."
"Ange..." Alain murmured Ange's name. After falling silent for a while, his expression became firm again, and he said to Ange, "I will challenge you again. I will definitely be stronger then."
Ange hesitated for a moment and said, "Well... good luck then?"
Alain nodded and said, "Then... goodbye."
After saying that, he turned and left without hesitation.
After Alain left, Ange heard Aria suddenly shout, "I've decided!"
Ange asked in confusion, "What have you decided?"
Aria replied, "I've decided to participate in this League Tournament."
"Why did you suddenly think of participating in the League Tournament?" Ange was puzzled.
Aria said, "I originally thought my strength was decent, but it seems I'm still lacking too much!"
Ange said, "Then good luck to you too?"
Afterward, the two returned to Geosenge Town and said their goodbyes.
Since Aria decided to participate in the League Tournament, she had to hurry to challenge the Gyms.
As for Ange, he took Munchlax and Magearna and boarded the light rail train returning to Azoth.
By evening, they returned to the Azoth Royal Capital and went home through the Munchlax Home.
Emerging from the spatial passage, Ange walked onto the balcony.
The Nebel Plateau was as quiet and peaceful as always.
By the wall, the Scovillain that had been basking in the sun all day was leading the Capsakid back.
Two Dolliv were also holding hands as they jumped down from the wall, chatting and laughing while preparing to go home.
On the grass in the distance.
Croconaw was skillfully herding a group of pigs toward the pigsty.
Deerling and Bunnelby were similarly herding the chicken flock; although there were many chickens, they handled it with ease.
Pachirisu and Buneary were standing on the heads of the sheep leader and the cattle leader respectively, calmly leading the sheep and cattle herds back.
Ange took out his Poké Balls, released Solrock, Lunatone, and Doublade, and said to them, "This is our home!"
"Sol~"
"Luna~"
Solrock and Lunatone flew off the balcony one after the other. Looking at the vast grassland, the clear sky, and the soft sunset, they let out bursts of exclamation.
Having lived in the Glittering Cave all their lives, they had never seen such a magnificent sight.
Doublade hovered beside Ange, also marveling at the scenery in front of them.
"Chir~"
"Yam~"
"Zee~"
At this moment, the Swablu, Fletchinder, and Spritzee flying through the air happened to see Ange, and they excitedly landed on the railing of the balcony.
"Yam~ Yam~" Ange, you're back!
Fletchinder said as it hopped around.
"That's right, I just got back," Ange said with a smile.
"Chir~ Chir~" Ange, I missed you so much!
Swablu flapped its wings and landed on Ange's shoulder.
Ange laughed, "I don't think I've been away from home for many days!"
"Chir~ Chir~" I think about you every day, every single day, and even in my dreams.
Swablu kept acting spoiled, rubbing its soft feathers against Ange's cheek.
"Alright, alright, I know," Ange said with a smile.
"Zee~ Zee~" We missed Munchlax too.
Spritzee landed on Munchlax's head and said while hopping around.
"Munch~ Munch~" I know, you all just missed the food I cook.
Munchlax hugged Spritzee and pulled it down from its head, ruthlessly exposing it.
During the days Munchlax was not home, everyone had to survive on Pokémon Food; the days were truly too hard to bear.
"Zee~ Zee~~"
The lie was exposed, and Spritzee flew into a rage from shame, pecking at Munchlax fiercely with its not-so-sharp beak.
"Hahaha~~" Ange could not help but laugh out loud at this.
At this time, several other Pokémon noticed the new faces like Solrock, so Ange introduced them to each other.
Diancie was resting downstairs, holding two Spinarak and Munna, when it suddenly heard the lively conversation from above. It rose from the recliner and then saw Ange.
It shouted in pleasant surprise, "Ange!!"
"Diancie!" Ange waved at it with a smile.
Seeing this, Diancie hurried toward the house, and Ange also turned around, intending to go downstairs.
However, before that, he said to Spritzee and the others:
"Spritzee, Fletchinder, Swablu, could I trouble you to take Solrock and Lunatone around to look? And introduce them to everyone."
"Zee~~" Leave it to me.
Spritzee promised.
Immediately, the three Pokémon flew away with Solrock and Lunatone.
Ange looked at Doublade, which was sticking to his side, and asked, "Doublade, aren't you going?"
"Yo~ Yo~" I'll protect Ange.
Doublade said earnestly.
Ange did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had not expected the lively-looking Doublade to have such a serious side.
"Doublade, this is home, I won't be in any danger. There's no need for protection, feel free to go play."
"Munch~ Munch~~" Munchlax chimed in to agree with Ange, indicating that it was also by its master's side.
"Yo~ Yo~" I'll protect Ange.
However, Doublade still shook its head firmly.
"Alright then, you can follow me." Seeing its firm attitude, Ange had no choice but to let it be.
Ange went downstairs all the way and met Diancie walking up. He stepped forward and gave Diancie a big hug.
"Diancie, I'm home."
"Welcome home," Diancie said while patting Ange's back.
Immediately, the human and the Pokémon went downstairs together, Ange talking to Diancie about his experiences from this trip as they walked.
Downstairs, Ange released Magearna and Tyrunt as well.
Gengar and Inteleon saw their master return and rushed over one after the other to hug Ange.
"Paw~ Paw~"
Seeing Ange surrounded by Diancie, Inteleon, Gengar, Magearna, and the others, Pawmo could not squeeze in at all, and it jumped up and down in the back in a panic.
As it jumped, it hopped right in front of Tyrunt, and the two Pokémon stared at each other.
"Paw~" Who are you?
Pawmo asked.
"Chaka~~" Tyrunt did not answer Pawmo but opened its mouth and bit Pawmo's head.
Pawmo: ...
At this moment, Volcanion returned from outside. When it saw Magearna in the house, its eyes burst with unprecedented brilliance.
"Magearna!" It shouted subconsciously.
"Duki~~"
When Magearna saw Volcanion, a look of pleasant surprise also appeared on its face, and it immediately walked toward Volcanion with quick steps.
However, it had not walked two steps before it clattered and fell to the ground.
Volcanion hurriedly stepped forward and helped it up, "Really now, why can't you be a little more careful?"
Although its words were a complaint, the tone was full of doting and tolerance.
"Duki~" Magearna raised its smiling face and smiled sweetly at Volcanion.
Immediately, the two Pokémon went to one side, and Magearna chattered away, telling Volcanion about the novel experiences of its trip out this time.
Volcanion listened with a face full of smiles, nodding as it listened.
After Ange and the other Pokémon finished "pouring their hearts out" to each other, Pawmo finally squeezed in front of Ange. It held its head and pointed at Tyrunt, complaining to Ange.
"Paw~ Paw~~" Ange, it bit my head.
Ange rubbed Pawmo's head with a smile and said, "That is Tyrunt's way of expressing friendship to you."
Pawmo: ??? Are you sure you aren't pulling my leg?
"By the way, where are Passimian and Komala? In the winery?" Ange looked around and, seeing that Komala and Passimian were not there, asked Diancie.
"Need you even ask? They are almost living in the winery!" Diancie said helplessly.
Seeing that Metagross was also not there, Ange asked again: "Is Metagross still in the laboratory?"
Diancie nodded, "It feels like with you, the head of the house, away, everyone has started to let themselves go."
"It is indeed a bit indulgent," Ange said.
After chatting with the Pokémon for a while, Ange said to Pawmo, "Pawmo, go notify everyone that they can come for dinner tonight; I'll be cooking personally."
"Paw~ Paw~" Pawmo cheered and sprinted out immediately.
Then Ange said to Diancie, "Diancie, could I trouble you to arrange rooms for Solrock, Lunatone, and Tyrunt?"
Diancie nodded, "Alright, leave it to me."
Saying that, it led Tyrunt toward the employee dormitory.
In front of Diancie, Tyrunt was incredibly well-behaved.
Tyrunt: It cannot provoke this one!
Then Ange said, "Munchlax, Inteleon, let's go into the kitchen!"
"Munch~"
"Inte~"
The disciples cheered and walked toward the kitchen with their master.
Doublade followed Ange closely without leaving his side.
Gengar also wanted to cook with its master, but it still had to go to work in the Royal Capital and could only give up helplessly.
At this time, Ange, who had walked to the kitchen door, turned around and said to Gengar: "Gengar, when you come back tonight, I have a gift for you."
"Gar~~~" Gengar's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and it went to the Royal Capital with Poliwrath and the others in high spirits.
Learning that Ange was back, the Pokémon were incredibly happy, and in a short while, they all gathered in the square at the entrance.
Not long after, they smelled a rich aroma permeating the air.
Ah~~ So fragrant! Too delicious!