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Becoming the Charizard Valley King comes with three distinct advantages.
The first is the privilege of utilizing the valley's resources; beyond just the Inferno Valley, the King gains access to every other resource available within the domain—effectively consolidating the entirety of Charizard Valley's assets under a single command.
The second advantage is the authority to issue orders to every Charizard throughout the valley.
While it is true that Ash's Charizard defeated the entire population of the valley single-handedly, the collective might of such a force represents a power far beyond the ordinary—one that would be considered formidable even on a global scale.
Moreover, the strength of these Charizards has yet to reach its zenith; in the future, they are destined to grow even stronger and increase in numbers.
Furthermore, the former Charizard Valley King now also falls under his command.
In essence, this means Ash has—in a single stroke—acquired control over an incredibly formidable faction.
This, in fact, is one of the primary reasons why Charizard Valley established such stringent rules—to serve as a formidable barrier preventing any outsider from easily usurping the title of Charizard Valley King.
If becoming the King of Charizard Valley were an effortless feat, people from all over the world would likely flock here to challenge for the title—after all, whether one succeeds or fails, there is only one way to find out: by trying.
However, the current rules governing Charizard Valley are so daunting that they completely extinguish any desire to even attempt the challenge.
It is precisely because of this that Charizard Valley has been spared a great deal of trouble.
Were Charizard Valley to fall under the control of a villainous organization, it would be an absolute catastrophe.
Even if the Valley's collective power pales in comparison to that of the Pokémon League, it is by no means to be underestimated; after all, a force boasting power levels equivalent to a Champion at their absolute peak looks formidable from every angle.
Thus, the sole purpose of those draconian conditions is to prevent the title of King of Charizard Valley from ever changing hands.
Should a succession ever become necessary—for instance, if the current King were to fall—a new Charizard King would be immediately selected from within the Valley itself, leaving virtually no opportunity for outsiders to seize the throne.
After all, they couldn't possibly just sit around indefinitely, waiting for the Charizard King to meet with an accident or to eventually pass away from old age and abdicate, could they?
Yet now, those seemingly impossible conditions have actually been met—and by a single individual, no less.
Fortunately, that individual is neither an agent of some villainous organization nor a person of dubious character; rather, he is a man of pure and upright nature.
Given this, it matters little if he is granted the authority to command every single Charizard within the Valley.
In any case, he has no intention of using the Charizard Valley's inhabitants for any nefarious purposes.
The two benefits mentioned above would already be sufficient to justify the grueling nature of the trials.
However, becoming the King of Charizard Valley comes with a third benefit: the acquisition of a special artifact—an heirloom that has been passed down through the generations within the Valley!
"Compared to the first two benefits, this third one is actually a bit of a letdown. You see, the Valley's heirloom artifact... is completely useless," Liza remarked with a hint of exasperated amusement as he led the group deeper into the heart of Charizard Valley.
"Useless??"
Charizard Valley has existed as a place of heritage for an untold amount of time; even setting aside the truly ancient legends, it certainly boasts a history spanning well over a century.
An heirloom passed down for over a hundred years turns out to be a useless trinket?
That sounds utterly implausible! Yet there was no reason for Liza to lie to them; after all, she was about to hand this item over to Ash very soon.
She wasn't the type of person who would deliberately deceive Ash just to prevent an item from falling into outside hands.
So, was it truly as Liza claimed—that this item, a legacy spanning over a century, was nothing more than a useless trinket?
As the group chatted amongst themselves, they arrived at the innermost section of Charicific Valley.
Here stood a structure resembling a shrine. During their previous visit, this place had been glossed over; it was merely mentioned as a site where the many Charizard of the valley gathered to pay their respects.
At the time, the group had been puzzled: did Charizard actually have objects of worship?
If they were to have a faith, surely it would be a faith in sheer power and strength—what business did they have worshipping at a shrine?
As it turned out, however, this shrine served a purpose far beyond mere worship; it also functioned as a repository for storing items.
Upon standing before the shrine, Ash sensed that the mysterious light within his mind—which he had deliberately kept suppressed—was beginning to stir restlessly.
The light in his mind had actually begun to pulse even before they arrived at Charicific Valley.
The sensation was identical to the guidance he had experienced on two previous occasions; each pulse of the guiding light signaled that he was drawing closer to the very object it was meant to lead him toward.
It seems the Orb of the Sky Dragon is kept right here.
Obtaining this item this time around is going to be far more difficult than the previous two instances!
Ash mused silently to himself.
Indeed, the pulsating light within his mind was none other than the S-rank ability he had drawn: the Orb of the Sky Dragon: Guidance.
A considerable amount of time had passed since he had acquired this particular boon—so much so that he had nearly forgotten about it entirely.
Yet, to his surprise, he had stumbled upon it right here within Charicific Valley!
However—finding it aside—Ash still felt the urge to make a wry observation: this thing didn't seem to have served any practical purpose whatsoever!
Even without this item, he would have still made his way to Charicific Valley and undertaken its trials.
And if he were to fail—regardless of whether he had this "guidance" or not—there would be absolutely no way for him to claim the prize of Charicific Valley.
The object of inheritance—specifically, the Orb of the Sky Dragon.
Had he won the battle, he would have obtained the Green Orb regardless of whether he received any guidance.
While he might not have known what the object was at first, a simple inquiry within the group chat—consulting the "veterans" and experts there—would have naturally resolved the mystery.
In short... this thing really is utterly useless!
It seemed his S-rank ability had gone completely to waste this time around!
As Ash's mind raced with these thoughts, Liza had already opened the small shrine, retrieving a square box—roughly twenty centimeters in length—from within.
Liza opened the box; lying quietly inside was a jade-green orb. However, despite its color, the orb appeared dull and lusterless—resembling nothing more than a gemstone of poor quality.
"This is the heirloom of Charizard Valley. No one knows what purpose it serves, nor does anyone know when it first arrived here. The only information I possess is that it is indeed the Valley's object of inheritance. If you don't mind accepting such a humble gift, please take it."
Ash accepted the box from Liza. The very next second, the previously dull and lusterless Green Orb suddenly erupted in a blinding blaze of light!
A beam of emerald-green light shot straight toward the heavens, startling Liza, Brock, and the others.
Even Ash—the one holding the orb—was left completely dumbfounded.
What on earth?
Why did this thing suddenly start glowing the moment it touched my hands?
Could it be that the Orb activated on its own, summoning the Sky Dragon?
Oh, please don't let that be the case!
I'm certainly not strong enough to take on Rayquaza right now!
As the emerald-green light pierced the sky, high above in the Atomsphere, a colossal black dragon slowly opened its eyes. Within those golden orbs, a flicker of inexplicable significance seemed to pass.
The Green Orb had resurfaced.
Yet this time, the individual who had acquired it had—astonishingly—been instantly recognized by the Orb itself.
This left the dragon powerless to act; he could not simply swoop down and reclaim the Green Orb, even if he wished to do so immediately.
The Green Orb—the cherished heirloom of the Rayquaza clan—had long been lost to the outside world.
Without the Green Orb, Rayquaza could not fully harness the power of his Godhood; moreover, his inherent strength was drastically diminished, and achieving Mega Evolution became an arduous struggle.
The Sky Dragon with the Green Orb and the Sky Dragon without it were beings of two entirely different tiers.
Even without the Green Orb, he could still manifest the power of a standard Legendary Pokémon—though, within that tier, he ranked merely as slightly above average.
With the Green Orb, however, the story was entirely different; his power would skyrocket instantly to the very pinnacle of the Legendary tier.
The most tangible proof of this lay in combat: without the Green Orb, he would struggle to hold his own in a one-on-one duel against the Twin Gods of Time and Space; yet, armed with the Green Orb, he would fearlessly face them even if they attacked in tandem.
Consequently, aside from his duty to safeguard the ozone layer, he had spent his days ceaselessly searching for the Green Orb—yet to no avail.
In theory, a profound link existed between the Green Orb and the Rayquaza clan, allowing them to sense its presence even across vast distances.
However, the Green Orb had been lost during a battle—a battle in which, despite expending every ounce of his strength, he had failed to defeat his adversary.
Left with no other choice, he had sacrificed the Green Orb, unleashing a surge of power bordering on that of the Creator God itself to finally vanquish his foe; yet, this very act had resulted in the Orb's loss.
Furthermore, the Green Orb had been completely drained of its energy.
Although its power would slowly regenerate over the passage of time, without a deliberate act of activation by a capable individual, even the Rayquaza clan themselves would be unable to sense its presence.
Now, at long last, he had finally detected the faint aura of the Green Orb.
However, its location lay at a vast distance from where he currently stood, and its aura was already beginning to fade.
This was merely the residual energy that had surged forth the moment the Green Orb was activated.
As that initial burst of power subsided, the Orb would cease to radiate such a potent aura. While it would remain slightly easier to locate than when it lay dormant, finding it would still be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Nevertheless, it was better than nothing.
The contemplative look in Rayquaza's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of unwavering resolve, as he soared swiftly toward the Johto region.
Regardless of whether the Green Orb could ultimately be recovered, heading there immediately certainly couldn't hurt.
The Green Orb had only just been activated; given the limitations of human locomotion—unless the individual in possession of it had immediately utilized some form of transport to flee the area—they surely couldn't have traveled very far yet.
If he were to make haste and head there right now, there was a chance he might still catch a glimpse of the Green Orb.
However... even if he did locate the Green Orb, unless its current possessor surrendered it willingly, there was no way to forcibly reclaim it—after all, it was that very individual who had awakened the Orb's power.
As the leader of the Rayquaza clan, he was naturally bound to uphold the clan's ancient laws: the one who discovers the Green Orb earns the right to issue him a single command and the privilege to challenge him in battle.
Only after these two conditions had been fulfilled would he be entitled to reclaim the Green Orb.
He could only wonder what sort of person the human who had obtained the Green Orb might be; yet, to have earned the recognition of the Green Orb itself, they surely could be no ordinary individual...
...
The towering pillar of light slowly subsided, leaving the onlookers staring in utter bewilderment at the Orb in Ash's hands—an artifact now radiating a divine, ethereal glow. For a moment, no one could quite process what was happening.
Why had the Charicific Valley's sacred heirloom suddenly transformed in such a manner the moment it fell into Ash's hands?
Among them, Liza wore the most exaggerated expression of all—her face looked as if she had just seen a ghost.
For centuries, this artifact had remained utterly inert within the Charicific Valley; yet, the moment Ash touched it, it erupted with such earth-shattering magnitude. Was this some kind of joke?
Ash himself—the very person at the center of this commotion—was equally dumbfounded.
He hadn't done anything whatsoever to the Green Orb; it had simply flared up of its own accord.
This thing had lain dormant in the Charicific Valley for ages; why, then, had it suddenly come alive the moment it reached his hands...?
Wait a second—where was the guiding force he had felt inside his mind?
Why had it vanished?
Ash suddenly realized that the subtle, persistent impulse that had been guiding him just moments ago had now vanished without a trace.
In its place, a single speck of light now flickered within his mind's eye.
Had that guiding force dissipated the instant he discovered the Green Orb, it would have seemed perfectly normal.
Yet, the force had persisted even after he found the Orb; it was only the moment he actually took the Green Orb into his hands that the guiding force had finally vanished completely. And what exactly was that speck of light floating in his mind?
Lost in thought, Ash mentally tapped the speck of light in his mind. It shattered, and a stream of information flooded into his brain.
In an instant, everything became clear to Ash.
It turned out that the activation of the Green Orb was directly linked to the "guidance" he had previously drawn.
The Green Orb had originally been in a sealed state; without special means to unlock it, even if one managed to acquire the Orb, there would be absolutely no way to harness its power.
At best, it would serve merely as a pretty gemstone to be worn as an accessory.
Ash didn't know what the original method for activating the Green Orb was, but thanks to the S-rank "opportunity" he had drawn, the Orb had been activated for him directly—sparing him a massive amount of trouble.
Now that made sense!
If the guiding force in his mind had only served to help him locate the Green Orb, that would have been utterly useless; he could have found the Green Orb just fine simply by completing the standard Challenge!
The main issue was that the guidance range was absolutely abysmal; the guiding force in his mind hadn't even kicked in until he had already arrived at Charicific Valley!
The effective guidance range likely didn't exceed three thousand meters.
While that might sound like a lot, in reality, trying to locate the Green Orb somewhere in this vast world using a mere three-thousand-meter radius of guidance was no different than trying to find a needle in a haystack.
To use an analogy: without the guidance, it was like searching for a single needle in the ocean; with the guidance, it was like searching for three thousand needles in the ocean... which was practically the same as having no guidance at all!
Such a meager level of guidance simply wasn't in the same league as the "super-standard" guidance he had experienced previously.
That was precisely why Ash had been so puzzled—the ability he had drawn this time around hadn't felt worthy of an S-rank rating at all.
But now, he finally had his answer: the "guidance" aspect was merely the most basic function of the ability. Its true purpose was to activate the Green Orb!
With the Green Orb now activated, he was free to utilize its powers at will. Summoning the Sky Dragon and challenging the Sky Dragon—these two effects were merely a fraction of the Green Orb's full capabilities.
In addition to those two effects, the Green Orb also possessed the kind of inherent amplification power unique to Legendary Pokémon artifacts—much like the Rainbow Wing or the Life Branch.4
Specifically, it would accelerate the rate at which Dragon-type and Flying-type Pokémon leveled up, as well as enhance the efficiency of their energy condensation.
If a Pokémon possessing both the Flying and Dragon types were to hold a Green Orb, the rate at which its power would grow would be truly beyond imagination!
As of now, Ash's team does not yet include a Pokémon with this specific dual typing—but that is about to change very soon.
Whether it be the Dragonair on the verge of evolution, or the ancient Dragonite with whom he has already forged a bond, both could utilize the Green Orb to amplify their power.
As for the matter of challenging the "Sky Dragon"... truth be told, a Legendary Pokémon of that caliber is simply not something they are currently equipped to take on—not even with Mewtwo undergoing Mega Evolution. Therefore, that particular objective can safely be put on hold for the time being.