After successfully capturing the overly confident Heracross, Ash and his friends decided it was time for some special training.
Before long, they arrived at a vast mountain valley.
"Perfect! We'll do our special training right here!"
Ash was quite satisfied with the area—it was wide open and spacious, perfect for several Pokémon to stretch their limbs and go all out.
But just as they were about to step into the valley, the ground beneath them began to shake violently.
"Wh-What's going on? An earthquake?" Misty instinctively grabbed Ash's arm.
"It doesn't feel like an earthquake… More like a Ground-type Pokémon move. Let's check it out!" Ash swept the area with his Aura, but didn't detect anything unusual.
Soon enough, they found a Donphan by the side of the mountain path.
"This Donphan probably has a trainer," Ash concluded after a glance.
Sure enough, right as he said that, a beautiful young woman appeared beside the Donphan.
"My lovely lady, if I may, could you grace us with your name?" Brock's sudden appearance beside the woman was so fast, even Ash's Aura couldn't track him.
It was as if he had teleported—he was already there holding her hand, his voice dripping with affection.
Clearly, the lady felt a little awkward, but still responded politely, "Uh, my name is Yuki. This Donphan is my Pokémon."
"I'm Brock, and I must say, that necklace looks absolutely stunning on you," Brock said, drawing attention to the agate necklace around Yuki's neck.
"Is that a gemstone?" Misty, being a girl, naturally had a weakness for things like gemstones.
Brock nodded and explained, "Yes! Back in the day, princesses and noble ladies loved wearing agate as jewelry!"
"Miss Yuki, this must be Donphan Valley, right?"
Ash stepped forward. "I heard there's a valley in this area known for producing agate. The nearby village has been training Donphan and crafting agate products for generations."
Yuki smiled. "You've done your homework."
"I was hoping we could do some Pokémon training in this valley, if that's okay?" Ash asked politely. After all, this was her home turf—it was only right to ask permission.
This massive valley really was an ideal training ground. Plus, with agate being a gemstone, it wasn't edible—so no worries about Snorlax eating the local specialties.
"Sure, go ahead!" Yuki agreed readily. Ash had been so polite, after all. "Just be careful—most of the Donphan around here already have trainers."
"Oh, and if you do find any agate, feel free to bring it to the village. I'll help you craft it—for free!"
Though she didn't expect them to actually find any, she offered anyway. Her impression of Ash was quite positive.
"Thank you very much!"
After bidding farewell to Yuki, Ash and the others ventured deep into the valley.
"Come on out!" Ash shouted.
"Charizard, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Heracross!"
Snorlax was still sound asleep—it had just eaten the high-grade system feed Ash had given it that morning and was now deep in slumber.
"Sunbathing's good for it anyway." Ash didn't plan to wake Snorlax—he'd wait until it got hungry.
"Wow, Ash, you're actually serious about training? Looks like you're finally growing up," Misty teased as she found a shady spot to sit. After traveling non-stop for days, she was genuinely exhausted.
Brock also got to work preparing food—special training burned a lot of energy, after all.
"Pikachu, this might be a tough one," Ash said as he began planning to help Pikachu master Iron Tail. That would require a lot of tail-focused strength training.
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded with fiery determination.
Seeing Pikachu all fired up, Ash smiled and tied a rock to the end of its lightning-bolt-shaped tail.
"Pika?"
Duang! The stone's weight slammed Pikachu's tail right into the ground.
"Let's give it our best, Pikachu! Bulbasaur, help him out!"
Ash chuckled and shook his head. Pikachu really had gotten a little out of shape.
In his past life, when Ash had Pikachu learn Iron Tail, they were already done with Johto and were traveling in Hoenn.
But Ash believed in Pikachu—it would definitely master Iron Tail!
"Next up… Charizard."
As Pikachu trained with Bulbasaur's vine support, Ash turned his attention to Charizard.
"Rooaaar!"
Without warning, Charizard unleashed a Flamethrower straight at Ash—one of its little "greetings."
But in the blink of an eye, a blue light flashed, and the flames were blocked.
Ash grinned. "Looks like you're fired up. That's just what I wanted to see."
Compared to Pikachu, Charizard's training was going to be much tougher.
"Rooaar!"
"Then put this on!" Ash smirked devilishly as he tossed over a strange sandglass-shaped tool.
In an instant, Charizard's entire body was bound by heavy restraints, rendering it nearly immobile.
"This is a Forced Training Harness. You're my ace, so I hope you're ready!" Ash looked at the tangled-up Charizard with a mischievous glint in his eye.
This was a system-exclusive training item. Its restrictive force was immense, but so were the gains—perfect for Charizard, who had forced itself into evolution without enough foundational strength.
Charizard stretched out its arms—it felt incredibly heavy—but still nodded. It was ready.
"Good. I've been waiting for this moment."
Ash's playful grin faded. His fist began to glow with blue Aura energy—and he drove it straight into Charizard's round belly!
The Aura-powered punch packed a serious wallop, like a blow laced with Armament Haki—it didn't just amplify the strength, it hurt!
Charizard staggered backward, crashing hard against the cliff wall.
"Ash!"
Misty and Brock were both stunned.
But Ash's face was cold as ice. "Charizard, we're nowhere near strong enough. We cannot afford to get cocky. Do you understand?"
"Rooooaaaar!!"
Charizard roared and tried to rise. It didn't use Flamethrower or take flight—no. It raised a fist and threw a punch right back at Ash!
But the harness sapped its speed. The punch was slow, weak.
Ash ducked low, slipping past it with ease—and his left fist, once again cloaked in shimmering blue Aura, struck hard under Charizard's arm.
Charizard stumbled back again.
But this time, it spun in place—its massive tail blazing with fire—and whipped it toward Ash with full force!
"Bring it on, partner!"
Ash didn't dodge.
He met the flaming tail with his right fist, glowing brilliantly with Aura, and punched straight into it!
Charizard: 155/255
Charizard: 160/255
Charizard: 165/255