Chapter 55: Charizard Fell in Love

Chapter 55: Charizard Fell in Love

After receiving Cosmog, Ron's mind immediately filled with wild ideas. After all, in the games, both Solgaleo and Lunala could bring people through Ultra Wormholes to other dimensions.

Ron was certain that inside the Ultra Wormholes—be it the Ultra Beasts or otherwise—there might actually be legendaries hidden in other dimensions. The odds were low, sure, but wasn't it worth a try?

The two legendary Pokémon Ron had always dreamed of capturing were Cosmog and Celebi—one could traverse space, and the other, time. Celebi's time-travel ability could let Ron go back to ancient eras, and in those times, the only legendaries Ron could think of were the trio from the Hoenn Region.

Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza—these three had slumbered since ancient times. But no one could really say what happened back then. Rayquaza was said to live in the ozone layer, but space was vast. Who was to say there weren't more Rayquaza-like creatures drifting in the cosmos?

Ron returned to Konikoni City and went to say goodbye to Olivia. Olivia was curious about Tapu Lele entrusting a Pokémon to Ron's care. She examined Cosmog from top to bottom but didn't find anything special.

Instead, she ended up waking Cosmog, who began crying loudly, torturing the two of them to death.

Luckily, Ron had come prepared and took out his secret weapon—Konpeitō candy. After feeding it to Cosmog, it immediately stopped crying and happily munched away.

Judging by this, it really did seem like the same Cosmog that Ash had been entrusted with by Tapu Koko in the anime. But Ron couldn't figure out why Tapu Lele chose him. Even if the plot was pulling him along, shouldn't it have chosen someone else?

Unable to make sense of it, Ron stopped thinking about it. Now that Cosmog was in his hands, there was no giving it back. Only someone like Ash would release one of his strongest Pokémon. Ron was certain—if anyone else got a legendary, no one would let it go.

After bidding Olivia farewell, Ron had Charizard fly him to Wela Volcano. He was planning to challenge the Totem Pokémon there to get the Fire Z-Crystal, strengthening Charizard's firepower.

Cosmog sat happily on Charizard's back, chirping gleefully. Ron had initially thought of capturing it in a Poké Ball, but the system bluntly said:

"Ding. Reminder to host: Unless a legendary willingly stays in a Poké Ball, a regular Poké Ball can't restrain them. They'll burst out in seconds. If the host wants to catch a legendary, it's recommended to use the system's Master Ball."

According to the system, legendaries had already mastered primal energy and couldn't be contained by ordinary Poké Balls. Even a regular Master Ball could only barely hold them. Only the system-provided Master Balls could truly withstand a legendary's power and seal them properly. Using normal Poké Balls was like half-catching them—if they wanted to leave, you couldn't stop them.

Ron's Mewtwo followed him of its own will. Otherwise, did people really think a regular Ultra Ball could catch Mewtwo? So, Ron completely gave up the idea of putting Cosmog in a Poké Ball.

Upon reaching Wela Volcano, Ron began climbing from the foot of the mountain. Kiawe had inherited his Fire Z-Crystal from his grandfather, so he didn't know where exactly the Totem Pokémon was located.

So, Ron picked a remote, less-traveled path, hoping to run into the Totem Pokémon by chance. Cosmog curiously flitted around, inspecting here and there. Then suddenly—poof—it teleported away while Ron wasn't paying attention.

"Damn it! Charizard, hurry and find Cosmog!" Ron instantly panicked. That teleportation ability made Cosmog incredibly hard to locate.

Just as he sent Charizard to fly, he heard Cosmog's wails from above. Ron looked up and saw a cave entrance high on a cliff wall. He motioned to Charizard, and it flew them up to the cave.

Inside, Ron found Cosmog surrounded by three Salandit. Ron facepalmed. Seriously? A divine beast baby scared stiff by a bunch of level-20 lizards? Talk about disappointing.

Charizard scared the Salandit off with a Flamethrower. Ron walked over, picked Cosmog up, fed it some Konpeitō, and said, "Don't run off like that again. I really worry when I can't find you."

Cosmog nodded and tugged Ron's sleeve. The cloud-like limb on its head pointed to a corner. Only then did Ron realize—it was one of those wooden sculptures from the game that stored Z-Crystals, and atop it gleamed a fiery red Fire Z-Crystal.

Ron happily patted Cosmog on the head. So this little guy had read his mind and brought him here directly. But… there wasn't any sign of the Totem Pokémon, was there?

Ron waited for a moment. Less than two minutes later, a massive Salazzle appeared at the entrance of the cave. Ron said, "I'm taking the Fire Z-Crystal. Let's battle."

Salazzle nodded and dashed forward, its body radiating a bright glow, just like in the games. Ron decided to test the strength of this Totem Pokémon.

"Charizard, Flamethrower."

Charizard unleashed a blaze at Salazzle. Salazzle remained unfazed, gave Charizard a sultry wink, and countered with its own Flamethrower, blocking Charizard's attack and charming it in the process.

Ron furrowed his brow. The bond energy surged within him, slightly reducing the effect of the attraction. "Dragon Claw!"

Charizard roared, forming giant claws of Dragon-type energy and slashing at Salazzle. Salazzle put on a pitiful expression, causing Charizard to hesitate. The attack was weakened, but it still dealt significant damage.

Ron shook his head. "Even heroes fall for a pretty face." Not just Charizard—his Nidoking had gotten close with Lillie's Nidoqueen after a match, and now the two were showing off their love at the ranch. By the time Ron returned, they might even be expecting the next generation.

Charizard and the others were still young and easily tempted. Salazzle lashed her tail and flung poisonous sludge at Charizard.

"Protect, then finish it with Outrage!" Ron commanded.

Charizard blocked the poison, then cloaked itself in powerful Dragon energy and rammed into Salazzle, knocking it out.

Ron looked behind Salazzle to the group of Salandit. They no longer tried to stop him. Ron walked up to the statue and took the Fire Z-Crystal.

Just as he was about to celebrate with Charizard, he saw Charizard cuddling up to the now-conscious Salazzle. Looks like that battle left a mark—on both of them.

Both Pokémon belonged to the Monster Egg Group, so having an egg wasn't an issue. But this flirty love atmosphere? Ron felt like his own Pokémon had just force-fed him a bowl of dog food.