Ash's Charizard had learned its techniques through its own effort, so it had not originally been considered part of Ash's true main force. However, Ash had used a Memory Disc on Charizard once before, meaning two of his three Memory Disc opportunities still remained.
"Roar!!!"
After hearing Ash's words, Charizard happily lowered its head and rubbed against Ash's face, even licking him a few times before pointing toward the sky, signaling for him to look upward.
Charizard's actions caused everyone to raise their heads.
Another Charizard was flying toward them.
Unlike Ash's Charizard, this one was noticeably smaller, and one of the horns on its head had a protective brace attached to it.
"Charizard, you flew too fast!"
As the Charizard landed, a girl's voice suddenly rang out. Riding on its back was none other than Liza, whom Ash and Sabrina had met before.
"Liza, so it's you. You haven't come to see me in a long time."
Joe greeted her familiarly upon seeing her arrival.
In the Johto region, Joe could practically be considered Liza's only real friend.
Back then, Liza had not wanted to trouble Joe, so she had personally guided Ash and Sabrina to the Charicific Valley. Fortunately, after the Charizard clan relocated to the Dream Forest on Fantasy Island, their lives had genuinely improved.
Under the leadership of Ash's Charizard, the Charizard clan had become far stronger than before. A new generation of Charmander had already begun to appear, while the older Charizard were finally beginning to enjoy a peaceful life.
With abundant food, a beautiful environment, and Liza's care, life there was far more comfortable than in Charicific Valley, to the point where none of them wanted to leave.
Ash's Charizard had now become the unquestioned king of the Charizard clan.
Of course, old Charizard could not personally manage the entire clan every single day. Most clan affairs had now been handed over to the scarred Charizard.
Under old Charizard's guidance, the scarred Charizard's strength had increased rapidly. Even Nathan and Gary had suffered major losses against it after visiting the Dream Forest.
"It's been a long time, Joe. I've already joined Ash's Fantasy Island. I've been taking care of the Charizard clan this whole time. Now that things have stabilized, I came here specifically to inform you."
"Ash, Sabrina, I didn't expect you two to arrive at the Blackthorn Gym already."
After hearing Joe's greeting, Liza smiled and explained the situation before greeting Ash and Sabrina as well.
Thanks to Ash, the Charizard clan now lived peacefully and comfortably, something that finally allowed Liza to relax.
Especially because of Fantasy Island's rules. Battles were allowed, but Pokémon could not be forcibly captured unless they willingly chose to follow a Trainer themselves.
That rule alone made Liza extremely grateful toward Ash.
"So you and Joe are friends?"
After greeting Liza, Ash asked curiously. He was also somewhat surprised that his Charizard had come here together with her. After all, aside from Ash himself, nobody else could command Charizard.
"Yeah. Joe is my only friend in Johto. Thanks to her help, I was able to continue taking care of Charicific Valley."
Liza explained how she and Joe had first met.
"Roar!"
At that moment, Ash's Charizard suddenly pushed Ash forward with its head, guiding him toward Liza's Charizard.
Liza's Charizard was named Charla. Although her strength had only reached the peak of the Elite Four level, her status within the Charizard clan was extremely high.
Because Charla was the mate of Ash's Charizard.
In other words, old Charizard had already found a partner.
And Charla was currently pregnant.
This time, since they happened to encounter Ash, old Charizard naturally would not miss such a perfect opportunity to let its master examine Charla's condition.
"You guys really move fast... Looks like life on Fantasy Island is treating you well. At least your strength hasn't declined."
After understanding the situation, Ash shook his head helplessly.
He did not even have children yet, but his Pokémon were already ahead of him.
"Roar!"
Bang!
Hearing Ash's teasing words, Charizard proudly pounded its muscular chest, insisting that its strength had not dropped in the slightest.
After all, they battled constantly on Fantasy Island. Almost every day, they sparred against companions from the same generation.
Ash reached out and gently touched Charla's swollen belly before channeling vitality into her body to examine the situation.
Soon, he sensed two separate life signatures within her stomach.
Judging from the feedback of his vitality perception, the qualifications of the two unborn Charmander were absolutely top-tier.
Considering that his old Charizard was already at the peak of the Champion level, possessed extremely high innate potential, and had also inherited self-created techniques through the Memory Disc system, the Charmander eggs inside Charla's stomach would almost certainly grow into incredibly powerful Pokémon in the future.
Ash had long since established a clear classification system for his Pokémon.
The first category was his true main force, Pokémon that had inherited his self-created techniques directly through Memory Discs.
The second category was the first-string team, Pokémon that Ash personally carried with him and trained, but who learned those self-created techniques naturally rather than through direct Memory Disc inheritance.
Ash understood very clearly that the first-string team could never truly surpass his main force.
After all, Pokémon that inherited techniques directly through Memory Discs completely mastered those abilities from the start. Compared to Pokémon who learned them later through training, the advantage was enormous.
The two unborn Charmander had an extremely high probability of inheriting their father's self-created techniques in the future.
At the very least, they would likely inherit five custom techniques, with three of them being powerful ultimate-level moves.
Of course, their eventual growth would still depend on their future training and any unexpected opportunities they encountered.
"Very good. There are two life signatures inside Charla's body, and both possess excellent potential. No wonder you personally escorted her here."
After examining Charla's condition, Ash looked toward Charizard and spoke with satisfaction.
Liza herself had originally been unwilling to let Charla travel this time, but Charla simply refused to listen.
Left with no other choice, Ash's Charizard naturally accompanied her the entire way as her personal escort.