Chapter 149: The Kanto Expo, Charizard Arrives

The next morning, after having breakfast, everyone decided to continue their journey.

"N, where are you heading next?"

"I've decided to go near Driftveil City."

"Oh, we're heading to Driftveil City too. Why don't we travel together?"

N fell silent for a moment, glanced at Cheng Cheng, and finally agreed.

From then on, the group journeyed together toward Driftveil City.

On their way to Driftveil City, they arrived in Humilau City. Here, they discovered a very interesting place.

"Wow, it's Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur! These are all Pokémon from the Kanto region."

The city they had arrived in was currently hosting a Kanto Expo. Since Ash's hometown was in the Kanto region, everyone decided to stop by and take a look.

"Ah, it smells so much like my hometown."

Seeing all the unique Kanto-region items on the streets, Ash felt the comforting scent of home.

"Are these things from the Kanto region? They look so amazing!"

This was Iris's first time seeing anything from the Kanto region.

"That's right, and there's a lot of delicious food, too."

"Cheng Cheng."

Muko tugged at Cheng Cheng's sleeve, her eyes sparkling.

"I know, I know."

Cheng Cheng knew his wallet was about to take another heavy blow today.

"These are all things from the Kanto region? I've never been to Kanto before. There must be so many things to buy."

Muko grew extremely excited, while Cheng Cheng could only feel a bit helpless. Still, getting to taste Kanto cuisine again wouldn't be bad.

As the group continued walking along the street, they suddenly noticed a crowd of children gathered in front of a large screen. The person displayed on the screen was none other than Professor Oak, who was explaining the Kanto starter Pokémon to everyone.

"Well everyone, that concludes our introduction to the three Kanto Pokémon. Hurry out and catch some Pokémon!"

After Professor Oak delivered his classic catchphrase, the video ended.

At that moment, someone walked out from behind the curtain at the back of the stage.

"Hello everyone! Did you all like the three Kanto Pokémon you just saw?"

"Yes!"

The audience beneath the stage was filled with excitement, as many of them were seeing Kanto Pokémon for the very first time.

One had to admit that, thanks to Professor Oak's influence, the Kanto region was arguably the most famous of all.

"Then, for our next presentation, we've invited one of the Kanto starter Pokémon, Charmander, to come out and meet everyone!"

"Yay!"

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

"Charmander! I haven't seen one in so long."

"Now, let's welcome Charmander!"

The curtains parted, and a Charmander hopped out onto the stage.

"Aw, it's so cute!"

Everyone was instantly captivated by the adorable little creature.

Indeed, Charmander's slightly goofy and innocent demeanor was utterly charming. Cheng Cheng liked it a lot too, though it wasn't a Psychic-type Pokémon.

"Alright, does everyone want to see Charmander's fire-type move?"

"Yes!"

The enthusiasm of the crowd flared up once more.

"Charmander, please use your signature move, Ember!"

"Char!"

Charmander unleashed a stream of sparks, which blossomed and burned across the night sky like a brilliant display of fireworks.

Next, Charmander began to spin around, turning the embers into a swirling vortex that looked even more magnificent.

As Charmander spun and spun, it suddenly bumped into a nearby support pole. Right after, a wooden board came loose and crashed down right on top of it.

"Charmander!"

Fortunately, Charmander was rescued from beneath the debris in no time.

"Everyone, I need to take Charmander for medical treatment right now, so today's show will end here."

With that, the host scooped up Charmander and hurried toward the Pokémon Center. Ash immediately followed them.

Seeing Ash rush after them, the rest of the group had no choice but to follow along as well.

"Why is Ash so worried about Charmander?"

"That's because Ash used to have a Charmander of his own, which later evolved into Charizard."

"Cheng Cheng, do you know the story between Ash and Charizard?"

"I don't know all the details. You should ask Ash about it later."

They arrived at the Pokémon Center, where Charmander was already receiving treatment. Before long, the treatment was finished, and the host emerged holding Charmander in his arms.

"Oh, you're the people from the show earlier, right? I'm so sorry, but since Charmander is injured, we won't be able to continue the performance."

"It's fine. How is Charmander doing now?"

"Thank you for asking. It's completely fine now and will make a full recovery after a little rest."

"That's wonderful."

"Thank you for your support, we'll be heading off now."

The man carried Charmander away from the Pokémon Center, while Cheng Cheng and his companions found some seats and ordered some food.

"Ash, did you really used to have a Charmander?"

"Yeah."

"Then can you tell us the story of you and Charmander?"

"Of course!"

And so, Ash began to recount the story of his Charmander.

From the day he met and caught it, to traveling together through various places. Then, after Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, its personality changed drastically, becoming somewhat disobedient. And when it evolved into Charizard, it became even more rebellious.

Later on, when they visited the Charizard Valley, they discovered many powerful Charizards residing there. Wanting it to become even stronger, Ash chose to leave Charizard behind so it could train.

"That sounds amazing! I'd love to see that Charizard too."

After hearing Ash's story about Charizard, Muko became extremely interested.

"I really want to see Charizard. Ash, can we meet it?"

"Charizard is currently training in the Charizard Valley. It's been a while since I last saw it, too."

"Ash, why don't you have it transferred over here?" Cheng Cheng suggested, as he also wanted to lay eyes on this legendary Charizard.

"Alright then. I'll ask Professor Oak to contact the Charizard Valley and have them teleport Charizard over."

Ash connected with Professor Oak via video call and asked him to arrange the transfer.

"Charizard is ready on our end, and I'll send it over right away. Which Pokémon are you going to send back in exchange?"

"I've decided to send Unfezant."

"That's fantastic. I'm sure the Pokémon here will gladly welcome the new member."

Ash placed Unfezant's Poké Ball onto the transfer machine, and moments later, Charizard was successfully teleported over.

"Hurry up, Ash, we want to see Charizard!"

"Got it, no problem. Let's head outside."

The group walked out to an open field and released Charizard from its ball.

"Come on out, my Charizard!"

"Roar!"

As soon as Charizard appeared, it let out a mighty roar that carried immense oppressive force, radiating overwhelming power. Cheng Cheng checked Charizard's data in his mind and confirmed it was extraordinarily strong—even a Mega-evolved Gardevoir might not necessarily defeat it. As expected of Ash's premier original Pokémon.

At that moment, Cheng Cheng glanced at Pikachu and felt that Pikachu really held back way too much in its battles.

"Wow, is this Charizard? It's so cool!"

Iris beamed with joy upon seeing Charizard.

"Everyone, come on out!"

Ash released all of his Pokémon so they could introduce themselves to Charizard.

"You guys come out too."

Iris released her Dragonite as well.

The moment Iris's Dragonite materialized, the two powerful Pokémon locked eyes and instantly glared at each other.

"Uh oh, this is bad. Is this another clash of titans?"

Charizard and Dragonite edged closer to one another, looking ready to throw down at any second.

"Charizard, stop that. Dragonite, you be quiet too."

"Alright, Ash, Iris, since both Pokémon have met and clearly want to test each other, just let them battle. There's no way you two can hold them back anyway," Cheng Cheng advised from the sidelines.

"Fine then! Iris, let's have a battle!"

"No problem, I've been wanting to see just how strong Charizard really is."

"Charizard, get ready for battle!"

"Roar!"

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

"Dragonite, use Flamethrower to counter!"

The two streams of fire collided head-on, instantly causing the ambient temperature in the area to skyrocket.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!"

"Charizard, use Slash!"

Charizard met the oncoming Dragon Rush head-on with a powerful Slash. The two attacks collided violently before both Pokémon quickly bounced back apart.

"Charizard, use Iron Tail!"—*Correction based on standard context: Dragon Tail*—let's use Dragon Tail.

Charizard's tail glowed and struck Dragonite directly, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Dragonite has taken heavy damage, but it still wants to keep fighting Charizard."

"That's enough."

At that moment, N stepped forward to halt the battle.

"Dragonite, Charizard, I'm sure you've both gauged each other's strength and earned each other's respect. Let's end the battle here for today."

Charizard and Dragonite exchanged one final glance before visibly relaxing.

"Man, your Charizard is so strong! As expected of a Dragon-type Pokémon."

"Iris, what are you talking about? Charizard isn't a Dragon-type Pokémon at all."

"How can that be? It knows Dragon Claw and Dragon Tail, how could it possibly not be a Dragon type?"

"Of course it isn't. If you don't believe me, look."

Ash handed his Pokémon Pokédex to Iris, who checked it and discovered to her shock that Charizard was indeed not a Dragon-type, but a Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon.

"How could this happen? It clearly looks like it should be a Dragon!"

Seeing this, Cheng Cheng smiled to himself. He, too, had always felt that Charizard should rightfully have been a Dragon type. But there was nothing that could be done about it; after all, Charizard simply lacked the Dragon typing naturally. Still, it could learn Dragon-type moves.

Cheng Cheng's thoughts drifted to Charizard's two Mega Evolution forms: Mega Charizard X, the Fire and Dragon type, and Mega Charizard Y, the Fire and Flying type. Both forms were immensely powerful. He wondered if Ash's Charizard would ever be able to Mega Evolve in the future.

With Charizard added to their ranks, the party's strength had grown significantly, bringing the White Ruins ever closer within their reach.