Chapter Twelve: The Little Fire Dragon Rejected by the Clan

Zhao Fang frowned. He suddenly remembered that when the Charizard had first arrived, it had indeed been extremely enraged. But now that he thought about it, its fury seemed to have been directed at the Charmander. Even its Flamethrower had been aimed at the Charmander, and it was only after Zhao Fang’s Gyarados intervened that the Charizard changed its target to him.

So from the very beginning, this Charmander had been the Charizard’s target. But what could have happened to make a Charizard attack one of its own kind?

When Zhao Fang had watched television in the Pokémon world, he had seen that most evolved Pokémon would instinctively protect their unevolved companions and were usually very close to them. Yet this Charizard looked as though it would not stop until the Charmander was dead.

Zhao Fang could see the Charizard’s teeth buried in the Charmander’s body. This was no longer an ordinary battle. The Charizard was fighting to kill, biting down with the intention of tearing the Charmander’s life away.

The Charmander let out a terrible cry, but it refused to give up. It continued attacking the Charizard with its limited repertoire of moves. The Charizard did not loosen its jaws in the slightest. Instead, it bit down harder and harder. Like a trapped beast, the Charmander thrashed and attacked desperately, but none of it had any effect.

“Gyarados! These beasts have gone too far! Use Splash, then follow up with Iron Head!”

Zhao Fang was furious. The Charizard was actually trying to bite the Charmander to death right in front of him, and anger colored every word he spoke.

Gyarados understood his command and sensed the emotions surging through him. That fury rising from the depths of Zhao Fang’s heart drove Gyarados into an almost unnatural frenzy. Its scales slowly began to turn red, and its eyes took on the same crimson hue.

Then Gyarados lashed its tail against the ground and shot forward at astonishing speed, passing between the two Charizard that had been watching the spectacle. With a vicious Iron Head, it slammed into the Charizard’s skull. The Charizard shrieked and released its jaws.

The two Charizard were startled. They turned toward Gyarados at the same time and roared furiously. The one that had been struck flew back to its companion and regarded Gyarados warily.

Zhao Fang threw out another Poké Ball. Amaura appeared, fury burning in her eyes as well. Even inside a Poké Ball, a Pokémon could sense the feelings of a trainer with whom it had formed a bond.

Two against three—Zhao Fang was at a disadvantage. And he knew that once Gyarados and Amaura were pinned down, the remaining Charizard would rush over and finish off the Charmander.

Zhao Fang glanced back. The Charmander lay on the ground, barely alive. The rise and fall of its chest had slowed considerably, and the flame on its tail had dimmed almost to nothing.

Zhao Fang’s heart tightened. In such a condition, the Charmander’s life hung by a thread. Its vitality was closely tied to the flame on its tail. If that flame went out, the Charmander could die at any moment.

Without hesitation, Zhao Fang took advantage of the moment while Gyarados and Amaura stood in front of him. He pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it at the Charmander.

The Poké Ball emitted a beam of light and drew the Charmander inside. This seemed to enrage the three Charizard. They unleashed Flamethrower together, aiming at the Poké Ball, but Gyarados and Amaura joined forces to block the attacks.

Zhao Fang stared nervously at the Poké Ball. In its current condition, the Charmander should have been unable to resist, and he was certain he could capture it.

To his astonishment, however, the Poké Ball rocked twice before bursting free. It split into two pieces and fell to the ground. The flame on the Charmander’s tail had been reduced to a faint, flickering thread.

Zhao Fang froze.

Had the Charmander used the last of its life force to break free from the Poké Ball?

“Roar!”

Another tremendous roar came from the sky. Zhao Fang jolted. If yet another Charizard appeared, he truly would have no way to stop it.

But it seemed Murphy’s law was at work. When Zhao Fang looked up, he saw a Charizard hurtling down from the sky at tremendous speed. His heart sank.

Then he realized that this Charizard was roaring in fury as it charged toward the three Charizard ahead. It lashed out viciously, raking one of them across the face with its claws.

“Argh!”

A weak cry sounded. Zhao Fang turned around and saw the Charmander struggling desperately to rise.

It seemed that the Charizard who had come to its aid was the Charmander’s elder—perhaps one of its parents.

Zhao Fang walked over and picked up the Charmander. It tried to struggle free, but it was far too weak. The flame on its tail was nearly extinguished, and when it sank its teeth into Zhao Fang’s hand, it could not even break the skin.

Gyarados and Amaura rushed forward as well, helping the newly arrived Charizard attack the other three. In an instant, the entire battlefield descended into chaos.

“Those are your parents, aren’t they?”

Zhao Fang stroked the Charmander’s head, but the little Pokémon was clearly unwilling. It kept trying to evade him and even attempted to push his hand away.

There was blood on Zhao Fang’s hand, but it was not his. It belonged to the Charmander.

“If you don’t come with me, you’ll die. What will your parents do then? Fight those three Charizard to the death?”

Zhao Fang did not think the Charizard could defeat three opponents alone. Without his help, the outcome would be obvious: the Charizard would be forced to watch its child be bitten to death, then fight the three attackers in a rage, only to suffer a crushing defeat.

“Roar!”

The Charizard let out an enraged cry. It had been bitten, and its body was covered in wounds.

Zhao Fang narrowed his eyes. Through the volcanic ash, he could see several more Charizard flying in from the distant sky. He did not know whether they were friends or enemies, but if they were enemies, he might not be able to escape at all.

“Will you come with me? I’ll make you stronger. Then you can come back and avenge them.”

Zhao Fang looked at the Charmander in his arms and asked softly.

He could tell what kind of temperament the Charmander had. If it refused, then even if he threw another Poké Ball, the Charmander would exhaust the last of its life force to break free.

The Charmander suddenly stopped struggling, as though it had begun to consider his words.

But while it hesitated, three Charizard had already flown over from the distance, each of them blazing with fury. One of them seemed unable to wait any longer. It used Quick Attack and slammed viciously into the Charizard already locked in combat.

The Charizard cried out in agony, only to have another of its kind bite down on its neck.

“Argh!”

The Charmander let out a sorrowful cry. The Charizard with its neck caught between the other’s jaws answered with a weak, pained call.

Zhao Fang clenched his teeth. Those two Charizard would reach them in moments. If the Charmander did not leave now, it would never get away.