As soon as they entered the heart of Charicific Valley, Su Wen noticed the towering Charizard-shaped throne in the distance. He couldn’t tell if it had been built by the Zhu family or if it dated back to ancient times.

  The Charizard leader wasn’t lounging on the throne at the moment. Instead, it was zily watching its precious child being courted by humans from below.

  Zhang Yun and his daughter, Zhang Qian, had arrived at Charicific Valley the day before but had rested for a day before attempting to tame the Charmander.

  Like Su Chuan, Zhang Yun naturally wanted his daughter to tame this "golden catch" of a Charmander first.

  "Old Zhang, you’re quick," Su Chuan said, patting Zhang Yun’s shoulder.

  Zhang Yun smiled, "Same to you. Where’s Su Wen?"

  Su Chuan pointed to the side, "Right there."

  Su Wen had already slipped away to observe the Charmander up close.

  With a thought, Su Wen’s Aura spread outward, instantly revealing the attributes of each Charmander.

  "Gulp."

  Hundreds of Charmander were a feast for the eyes. There was even a shiny one—its usual orange repced by a striking golden hue.

  However, Su Wen’s focus was on the two Charmander with hidden abilities. If he couldn’t tame the leader’s child, these two would be his top choices.

  "Su Wen, what are you wandering around for? Come here," Su Chuan grabbed Su Wen and pulled him over.

  "Hello, Uncle Zhang," Su Wen greeted awkwardly.

  Zhang Yun was already familiar with Su Wen. Every time he visited to challenge Su Chuan, he’d bring Su Wen small gifts—a very thoughtful gesture.

  "Su Wen, you’re applying for the Pokémon Trainer program, right? Haha, you might surpass your dad in a few years," Zhang Yun teased.

  Su Wen chuckled awkwardly. Uncle Zhang really didn’t spare his dad’s feelings. Then, Su Wen turned his attention to the Charmander in front of him, which looked particurly vibrant. His Aura extended outward to analyze it.

  At the Novice level, there wasn’t much to say. A newly hatched Charmander was at the lowest tier among the seven levels: Novice, Beginner, Elite, Professional, Master, Gym Leader, and Elite Four.

  Ability... Unfortunately, it was just the standard Bze ability, which increased the power of Fire-type moves when the Pokémon’s health dropped to about one-third.

  Overall, this ability was indeed a step below Charmander’s hidden ability, Sor Power.

  As for moves, were there any inherited moves? Scratch, Growl, Ember... Sure enough, there were more than three moves. There was also Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, and... Outrage?

  Three inherited Dragon-type moves!

  Holy cow!

  Su Wen’s casual attitude vanished instantly. Although the ability was mediocre, three powerful inherited Dragon-type moves more than made up for it.

  In this world, Pokémon weren’t limited to four moves like in the games. The only constraints were whether the Pokémon could learn the move and the source of the move.

  Outrage wasn’t unavaible as a TM, but as a Dragon-type move with 120 power, its rarity was almost on par with a pseudo-legendary.

  Not to mention, it came with Dragon Dance and Dragon Rush. This was practically hitting the jackpot.

  Inheriting moves wasn’t easy—it pced high demands on the parents.

  Out of the hundreds of Charmander in Charicific Valley, only a few had inherited moves, and even fewer had powerful ones. One with three Dragon-type inherited moves was practically protagonist material.

  Instinctively, Su Wen’s Aura extended to the Charizard leader to see if these moves came from the father or mother.

  However, the next moment, the Charizard leader’s eyelids twitched, and Su Wen’s Aura was forcefully pushed back. If the Charizard leader hadn’t held back, Su Wen would’ve been knocked out.

  Even so, Su Wen felt dizzy and had to shake his head to clear it.

  If Su Wen had a status panel, it would probably look like this:

  Pokémon: Charizard

  Ability: ????

  Moves: ????

  Yikes, he’d been careless. This was indeed an Elite Four-level Charizard.

  "Roar~~" The Charizard leader scratched its ear, sat up, and subtly gnced at Su Wen before gently pushing Zhang Qian, who was trying to bond with the Charmander, back.

  "Failed," Zhang Yun said with a hint of regret. This Charmander was stubborn, and Zhang Qian hadn’t been able to capture its interest.

  Zhang Qian didn’t seem too disappointed. Compared to Charizard, she preferred elegant Pokémon like Gardevoir.

  "My turn?" Su Wen blinked.

  With Zhu Tianxing and the Charizard leader’s permission, Su Wen pulled out some carefully prepared Pokéblocks from his bag.

  The Charmander wasn’t shy. It gnced at Su Wen, then gobbled up four or five Pokéblocks in one bite.

  After chewing and savoring the taste, the Charmander smiled contentedly but showed no sign of being swayed by the treat.

  Even as Su Wen tried to communicate with the Charmander using his Aura, it didn’t express any desire to follow him.

  Sighing softly, Su Wen stood up and shrugged, admitting defeat. "Looks like this little guy doesn’t want to come with me."

  It was expected. The Zhu family undoubtedly had top-tier breeders. While Su Wen had exceptional cooking skills, they weren’t enough to blindly charm the Charmander.

  As for his Aura communication abilities, Su Wen felt like he’d hit a wall. Although the Charmander could connect with his Aura, it only gave him a slightly curious gnce in response to his goodwill.

  Perhaps a Pokémon like Riolu, which also used Aura, would be a better fit for him.

  Su Wen patted his forehead and returned to Su Chuan’s side.

  "It’s fine. Let’s go check out the other Charmander," Su Chuan reassured him.

  Just as they were about to leave, the Charizard leader suddenly stopped Zhu Tianxing. "Roar roar."

  The Zhu family had lived with Charizard for generations and could communicate with the leader effortlessly.

  As the Charizard leader "roared" a series of instructions, Zhu Tianxing’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.

  "I understand," Zhu Tianxing nodded to the Charizard leader, then turned to Su Chuan and Zhang Yun.

  "The leader wants to have a 1v1 battle with both of you. Whoever earns his approval can take the Charmander."

  ????

  Su Wen and the others were stunned. What was this? A dad-off?

  Su Chuan reacted the fastest. "Alright."

  In a one-on-one battle, Su Chuan wasn’t afraid of anyone. An Elite Four-level Charizard? Sorry, but Sking would teach it a lesson.

  Zhang Yun, however, was a bit frustrated. In a one-on-one, he definitely didn’t have the advantage Su Chuan did. But he couldn’t exactly say he’d prefer a group battle instead.

  Looking at the valley full of burly Charizard, Zhang Yun feared he’d be carried out on a stretcher if he suggested that.

  "Alright," Zhang Yun agreed, though reluctantly. He wasn’t about to give up this opportunity.

  With both men agreeing, the Charizard leader fpped its wings, soared into the air, and let out a long roar. Instantly, all the Charizard, Charmeleon, and Charmander in the valley cleared out, creating a rge open space.

  "Are they battling here?" Su Wen was surprised. Gym Leader-level battles were incredibly destructive and usually required a sturdy arena.

  Zhu Tianxing expined with a smile, "Don’t worry. The ground here has been saturated with Fire energy for a long time, making it extremely stable. Even Elite Four-level battles would struggle to damage it. I’ll act as the referee for these two battles. Who’s going first?"

  "Let’s flip for it," Su Chuan crouched down, picked up a few pebbles, and looked at Zhang Yun.

  The first to battle would be at a disadvantage. Neither Su Chuan nor Zhang Yun had a clear idea of the Charizard leader’s strength, and the first to test the waters might suffer badly.

  "Odd number."

  As Su Chuan opened his hand, two pebbles y quietly in his palm.

  Zhang Yun’s mouth twitched, and he cursed his bad luck internally. But he quickly composed himself and took his position on the other side of the makeshift arena.

  "Go, Starmie!"

  One of Zhang Yun’s three aces, Starmie, was at the peak Gym Leader level. Its choice wasn’t surprising—Water-type had an advantage over Fire-type.

  Seeing that Zhang Yun and the Charizard leader were ready, Su Wen and the others backed away to a safe distance. Su Chuan shielded Zhang Qian behind him, and Zhu Tianxing nodded slightly. "Battle begin!"

  "Use Light Screen!" Zhang Yun was fully focused. Even if he couldn’t win, he didn’t want to lose too badly.

  Light Screen reduced the damage of special attacks. Knowing he was at a disadvantage, Zhang Yun didn’t dare to attack recklessly and opted for a defensive strategy.

  However, as soon as Starmie finished setting up the Light Screen, the Charizard leader dove down like a fighter jet, closing the distance in an instant.

  The faint Light Screen didn’t slow the Charizard leader in the slightest. In a fsh, Starmie and the Charizard leader were practically face-to-face.

  "Old Zhang was too careless..." Zhu Tianxing couldn’t help but facepalm.

  Theoretically, Zhang Yun’s move wasn’t wrong, but no one expected the Charizard leader, known for its special attacks, to be a physical powerhouse.

  In the next moment, the Charizard leader’s cws glowed with a green light. Su Wen immediately recognized it—Dragon Cw.

  "Rapid Spin!"

  Boom!

  Starmie was sent flying by the Dragon Cw, but thanks to its timely Rapid Spin, which deflected some of the attack’s force, the damage wasn’t unbearable.

  Su Wen, meanwhile, was amazed. Rapid Spin could be used like that? This move was probably something Zhang Yun had prepared for Su Chuan.

  Zhang Yun, however, had no time to think about that. The pressure from the Charizard leader was unprecedented, and he was fully immersed in the battle.

  "Use Scald to push it back, then set up Rain Dance!"

  Starmie’s core quickly gathered Water energy, and a burst of scalding hot water shot toward the Charizard leader.

  Although the Charizard leader enjoyed hot springs, it clearly disliked this Water-energy-infused Scald. But to everyone’s surprise, it charged straight through the attack.

  Just as Su Wen thought the Scald would hit, a faint light flickered in front of the Charizard leader. The scalding water was blocked as if by an impenetrable wall.

  "That Protect was used to perfection," Su Chuan murmured in awe.

  While the Charizard leader remained calm, Zhang Yun was starting to panic. His Starmie hadn’t been trained much in physical defense. If it got caught in close combat, it would be toast.

  "Protect!"

  Reluctantly, Zhang Yun had Starmie py defensively, but the Charizard leader showed no mercy. Its Dragon Cw relentlessly struck the fragile green barrier.

  One second, two seconds, three seconds...

  The Protect barrier shattered, and the Charizard leader’s Dragon Cw mercilessly nded on Starmie.

  This time, Starmie didn’t get a chance to create distance. It was relentlessly pursued by the Charizard leader.

  Whether it tried to use Water Gun’s recoil to push itself back or attempted to confuse the Charizard leader with Confuse Ray, nothing worked to turn the tide.

  "Starmie is unable to battle. Charizard wins."

  Seeing Starmie lying on the ground, its core flickering weakly, Zhu Tianxing raised his hand to decre the Charizard leader’s victory.

  "Brutal..."

  "So brutal..."

  "Absolutely brutal..."

  The three spectators, Su Wen, Su Chuan, and Zhu Tianxing, mercilessly shared their thoughts.

  This Starmie was one of Su Chuan’s old rivals, and its strength was far from what it had shown today. It was clear that Zhang Yun had just been unlucky.

  Zhang Qian, meanwhile, looked worriedly at Starmie. Although the Charizard leader had held back, the injuries on Starmie were still significant.

  As Zhang Yun reluctantly recalled Starmie and walked back, Su Chuan stretched his limbs. "Son, watch your dad win you a Charmander."