With a thought from Roy.
A light blue system panel, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes.
[Mission: Educate the Abandoner Damian (Completed)]
[Damian has been arrested by the police and will face severe legal punishment. The abandoned Charmander has found a better home.]
[Mission Reward: Charmander Cleansing Potion ×1 (Distributed to System Inventory)]
Roy opened his system inventory.
In the grid slots, an extra bottle of potion shimmered with a faint red light, its surface flowing with a warm luster.
[Charmander Cleansing Potion: Washes away trauma of the mind and body, eliminating all past negative influences, returning the Charmander to its most perfect and pure initial state.]
Good stuff.
Roy directly chose "Use."
In the next second, that bottle of potion appeared in his hand.
It felt warm to the touch.
Roy tossed out the poké ball he had just used to capture the Pokémon.
A flash of white light.
Charmander landed steadily, looking up at Roy, the flame on its tail swaying cheerfully.
"Come, drink this."
Roy crouched down, uncorked the bottle, and held the potion to Charmander's mouth.
Charmander's nose twitched.
It smelled a scent that instinctively made it feel comfortable—warm and pure, like the morning sun.
Trusting Roy completely and without the slightest hesitation, it lowered its head and gulped down the entire bottle of potion.
The moment the potion hit its stomach,
A soft red halo suddenly lit up around Charmander's body!
It squinted its eyes comfortably, a faint purring sound coming from its throat.
Those cold memories buried deep in its heart—the chill of the rainy night, the loneliness on the rock, the fear and low self-esteem brought by insults and beatings—melted away rapidly like ice and snow under the sun.
In their place was a sense of warmth and ease from the inside out.
It was as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
With a "whoosh," the flame on its tail shot up a notch!
The color became deeper, the golden edge more pronounced, and the heat wave caused the surrounding air to distort slightly.
Charmander opened its eyes.
The way it looked at Roy had completely changed.
Before, it was trust and dependence.
But now... it was unreserved, pure loyalty and attachment.
It was as if Roy was its entire world.
"Alright, how do you feel?" Roy reached out and patted Charmander's head.
"Char~!" Charmander nuzzled his palm affectionately, its tail wagging even more happily.
Roy nodded with satisfaction and thought again.
He brought up Charmander's current status panel.
[Pokémon: Charmander]
[Type: Fire]
[Level: lv8 (Novice Level)]
[Potential: Champion Level]
[Ability: Blaze — When HP is low, the power of Fire-type moves increases, with a maximum boost of 50%!]
[Skills: Scratch, Tackle, Smokescreen, Ember]
[Held Item: Premium Charcoal (Fire-type move power increased by 40%)]
[Special Buff: Cleansing Potion Effect (Permanent) — Eliminates all past trauma and negative influences; physical and mental state is permanently perfect; learning ability and growth speed slightly increased.]
Champion Level potential!
Blaze ability!
This status panel was simply explosive!
Roy felt a surge of satisfaction.
It was worth staying up all night to travel and specifically timing his arrival to capture it.
In the original script, the three that could be captured on this path—Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander—were indeed all top-tier.
Two SRs and one SSR.
The luck of this script was practically maxed out.
Almost as soon as Roy finished reading the panel,
The system notification sounded again.
[Ding!]
[Hidden Achievement Mission: Kanto starters (All Captured) Completed!]
[Distributing Mission Rewards...]
[Pokémon: Charmander, Level Up: lv8 → lv11!]
A flash of white light passed over Charmander.
Its presence noticeably strengthened.
The flame on its tail burned even more vigorously.
[Starters Exclusive Legendary Trial Space (One-time Use) has been distributed to the system space. Please check.]
Starters Exclusive Legendary Trial Space.
Roy's eyes lit up.
It sounded extraordinary just from the name.
He immediately found the newly appeared special icon shimmering with rainbow light on the system interface.
He clicked it.
Detailed instructions appeared before him.
[Starters Exclusive Legendary Trial Space: A mysterious trial ground specifically designed for those who possess Starter Pokémon. Only one Starter Pokémon can be chosen to enter. After the trial ends, the space will transform into an exclusive rest space for that Pokémon based on its final evolution form (does not occupy a regular carry slot) and will have special recovery effects.]
[Please select the Pokémon to participate in the Legendary Trial: (Bulbasaur/Squirtle/Charmander)]
One out of three.
Roy rubbed his chin, thinking quickly.
Squirtle's potential was Elite Level, while Bulbasaur and Charmander were both Champion Level.
In terms of upper limits, the latter two were higher.
However, Bulbasaur still had old injuries that needed treatment. Although it was carrying an Everstone and was in decent shape, it wasn't in perfect condition.
On the other hand, Charmander had just finished the Cleansing Potion. It was in excellent physical and mental health, its peak state.
Furthermore... Roy thought about his future plans.
After challenging the Viridian Gym and obtaining the Earth Badge, there was a high chance of getting that Charizardite X.
Once it successfully Mega Evolved, Mega Charizard X would be Fire/Dragon-type, and its strength would take a qualitative leap.
Taking everything into account, Charmander was undoubtedly the choice with the most investment value at the moment.
"I choose you."
With a thought, Roy chose Charmander.
[Selected: Charmander.]
[Opening Legendary Trial Space...]
A ripple suddenly spread through the void in front of Roy.
An illusory panel, composed entirely of dancing flames, floated before him.
In the center of the panel was a slot, its shape perfectly matching a poké ball.
[Please place the poké ball of the Pokémon participating in the trial (Charmander) here.]
Roy picked up the poké ball.
"Charmander, I'm going to send you to a special place for special training. Make sure to seize the opportunity."
"Char!" Charmander nodded vigorously, its eyes determined.
A red light shot out, recalling Charmander into the ball.
Roy pressed the poké ball into the slot on the flame panel.
Hum!
The poké ball instantly turned illusory and disappeared.
The scene on the flame panel changed accordingly.
Three distinct scenario options appeared, each emitting heart-pounding energy fluctuations.
[Lava Lands: Endless volcanic mountains and rivers of flowing magma. Tempering fire abilities here can greatly enhance the source power of Fire-type moves. Upon completion, Fire-type move power is permanently increased, with a maximum boost of 50%.]
[Gale Lands: Never-ending hurricane canyons and thunderous skies. Undergoing flight and speed training here can significantly enhance flight speed and aerial maneuverability. Upon completion, flight speed is permanently increased, with a maximum boost of 50%.]
[Dragon Breath Lands: A peaceful valley where ancient dragon veins converge. Cultivating one's character here through special meditation can yield pure experience. A maximum of 1 hour of meditation per day is allowed. Level increases gained through this method can reach up to lv60 (without participating in actual combat).]
[Note: All trial content must be completed by the Pokémon independently; the Trainer cannot intervene. There is no time limit for the trials; completion depends on the Pokémon's actual progress. Once all trial boosts reach their maximum, this space will permanently transform into the 'Charizard Exclusive Rest Space.' Entering it will allow Charizard to enjoy double recovery speed for stamina and energy, with a certain chance to learn Dragon-type related skills.]
After reading the introduction, Roy couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Truly worthy of being called a "Legendary Trial"!
These effects were simply heaven-defying!
Fire power increased by up to 50%!
Flight speed increased by up to 50%!
One had to know that a precious item like Premium Charcoal only gave a 40% boost.
If Charmander—no, the future Charizard—completely passed these two trials,
It would mean that with its own Premium Charcoal (40% boost) + Blaze ability trigger (50% boost) + Lava Lands trial completion (50% boost)... the maximum power boost for Fire-type moves could reach a terrifying 140%!
And that wasn't even counting the base power increase from leveling up.
When the time came, one Flamethrower from Charizard... the image was already forming in Roy's mind—at a future League Tournament, it really might be a case of a one-shot KO. What else would there be to say?
Then there was speed.
Charizard's base speed stat wasn't low to begin with; it was top-tier among non-legendary Pokémon.
If that was increased by another 50%... the prospect was beautiful.
Who would be able to tell the difference between Charizard and Dragonite in the future?
However... Roy looked at the [Gale Lands] option. The demonstration video showed howling winds and flashing lightning, with figures struggling to fly through the hurricane.
"Charmander can't even fly yet... and I'm supposed to throw it into a place like that for 'flight ability' training?"
Roy's mouth twitched.
He could almost see Charmander being blown around, rolling on the ground with a look of utter confusion.
"Forget it. I don't want to ruin the trust and bond we just built by giving it psychological trauma."
"I'm the one raising it this time; I can't have any of that rebellion or refusal to follow orders from the original script."
To be safe,
Roy first chose the most gentle-looking one, the [Dragon Breath Lands].
He made the selection with a thought.
On the flame panel, the image of the [Dragon Breath Lands] enlarged, sucking in the illusory image of Charmander's poké ball.
Vaguely, in a peaceful valley, Charmander's figure appeared on a flat rock. It looked around curiously, then, as if receiving some kind of guidance, it obediently lay down and closed its eyes.
Wisps of pale golden energy converged from all over the valley, slowly merging into its body.
Its experience points began to grow steadily.
"Get some experience first and raise your level before we do anything else."
Roy nodded with satisfaction.
Just as he exited the system interface,
A new notification sound reached his ears.