Charizard looked at his Trainer—
who was staring at the screen with nostalgia glowing in his eyes—
and guilt flooded his heart.
His pride, his arrogance—
None of it meant anything before Ash.
Ash had not only saved his life,
but had rebuilt him from the ground up.
His life came from Ash.
His early strength came from Ash.
His victories came from Ash's guidance.
So then—
What right did he ever have to look down on his Trainer?
"ROAR!"
Charizard called out to Ash.
Ash turned in surprise, not understanding why Charizard was acting so strangely.
All the Champions turned to look as well.
Before, they didn't know Charizard's past—
But now that they did,
they couldn't understand how he ever stopped obeying Ash.
What kind of force,
what kind of arrogance,
could make Charizard forget the one who saved him?
To put it bluntly—
no matter how strong he became,
Charizard had no right to disobey Ash.
Rejecting commands would make sense if Ash had already caught him as a fully-grown Charizard.
But Charmander had been with Ash from the very beginning.
Ash had raised him with his own hands.
Ash even saved his life.
And this was how he repaid him?
"ROOAR…"
For the first time since evolving,
the always-defiant Charizard lowered his head in front of Ash.
The proud dragon—
bowing for the first time.
He was apologizing.
Ash blinked in shock, then smiled gently and patted Charizard's head.
"What are you doing, Charizard? Don't look like that!"
"I know you didn't follow my commands because you thought you could fight better on your own."
"I get it!
But someday—I'll become a Trainer worthy of fighting beside you!"
"You… didn't do anything wrong!"
This was Ash—
A boy who never blamed his Pokémon
and always looked inward for faults in himself.
"ROAAR!"
Charizard lifted his head again.
Tears welled in his eyes, but he shook them off—
and roared toward Ash with renewed resolve.
"…Really?
I'm glad.
I've been waiting for the day we can fight side by side."
Charizard's roar declared one thing:
From now on—he would fight together with Ash.
"Congratulations, Ash!
With Charizard obeying you, the Indigo Conference is as good as yours!"
Brock grinned.
Everyone had seen Charizard's power—
Without him, Ash wouldn't have beaten Blaine at the Cinnabar Gym.
Now with Charizard as an ally,
Ash's strength in the Indigo Conference had skyrocketed.
"Haha! See, Ash?
I told you your Charizard would obey you someday!
I just didn't expect 'someday' to arrive this fast!"
Leon nodded warmly, happy to see Charizard correct his course.
Meanwhile, the giant screen continued playing—
Charmander's subsequent feats played one by one.
He helped Ash defeat strong opponents again and again.
After annihilating an entire army of Exeggutors,
Charmander evolved into Charmeleon.
But once he evolved, he stopped following Ash's commands.
Watching this, present-day Charizard scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
It was like watching his own black history unfold.
Thinking back, his behavior was unbelievably stupid.
For a Trainer who saved him AND raised him—
Why did he act like such an idiot?
Later, the group reached the Great Valley.
When an Aerodactyl carried Ash off by
Charmeleon forced himself to evolve into Charizard just to save him.
However, his behavior grew worse afterwards.
He ignored orders in every battle—
and infamously, during the Indigo League Round of Sixteen,
He simply gave up.
Handing his opponent the win.
The audience exploded with outrage.
Ash had saved his life.
Ash had raised him.
Ash had trusted him.
And this was his repayment?
Standing in the living room, Charizard's face twisted with shame.
Without the Heavenly Tally…
That horrifying future was exactly what he was destined to do.
He would have crushed Ash's hope.
He would have trampled Ash's dream of victory.
He would have been the reason Ash lost.
Ash trusted him enough to send him into battle—
And Charizard would have thrown that trust away,
destroying Ash's victory with his own hands.
"Indigo Conference… I must help Ash win it."
Charizard made up his mind—
right then and there.
The footage was already showing future events.
In reality, the Indigo Conference had only just begun.
The video showed Ash's Round of Sixteen opponent—
a brief flash of a trainer's face.
Ash silently memorized the appearance.
That trainer… also had a Pikachu.
…
Outside the Indigo Stadium,
a young trainer named Ritchie stared at the screen.
Was that… him?
…
The video continued.
Charizard stubbornly refused commands even after that.
Not until Ash met a trainer in the Orange Islands—Ritchie,
whose Politoed crushed both Pikachu and Charizard effortlessly.
Charizard had been frozen solid by Ice Beam—
severely injured.
…
"Serves you right!
You couldn't beat a Poliwag as a kid,
and you can't beat a Politoed as an adult!
I was RIGHT to abandon you!"
Damian sneered at the image of the frozen Charizard.
The weaker Charizard appeared,
the more "correct" Damian believed he was.
He didn't notice that his phone was nearly exploding with calls from the authorities…
…
Ash never blamed Charizard.
Even though Charizard ignored commands,
Ash still tended to him—
warming him up with his own hands,
trying to heal the frostbite.
Even when Ash's own hands froze,
He didn't stop.
Until Ash collapsed from exhaustion—
He never stopped caring for Charizard.
Charizard—pretending to sleep—
peeked at Ash,
silent and shaken.
The flame on his tail flickered toward Ash,
warming him as he slept.
This moment…
was the true turning point
In Ash and Charizard's story.
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