Frankly speaking, the wild truly does hone a Pokémon's abilities.
Lucas remembered in the original anime that, before evolving, Pidgeotto didn't have much battle prowess—most of the time, it simply appeared as a utility bird to help with directions.
But after final evolution, Pidgeot spent about half a year leading its flock in the wild. Not only did its aura become even more majestic and imposing, even visually you could see it was likely a veteran of countless battles.
Even if it couldn't match up to Charizard, who'd received special training from Moltres, Pidgeot now counted among Ash's upper-tier fighters.
By observing Pidgeot's physique and attitude, Lucas made this assessment.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help his curiosity, so he asked Ash,
"So, is Pidgeot staying at Professor Oak's lab now, ready to travel with you at any time? Or is it just back here for a bit before returning to its own flock?"
Ash, stroking Pidgeot's feathers, answered without hesitation,
"Usually it stays in the research lab's woods, but sometimes it flies back to check on its own group—just making sure that a few Pidgeys it trained can stand up to the Fearows."
Ash might be a bit simple-minded, and he understood things in simple terms, but this answer had come directly from Professor Oak, so he remembered it firmly and repeated it to Lucas now.
After bidding farewell to Pidgeot, Ash continued showing Lucas around the research facility's backyard.
Here, not only did Ash's own Pokémon reside, but also many Pokémon deposited by other trainers who started their journey from Pallet Town.
Among them, a few Pokémon had particularly notable auras. Lucas guessed these weren't Professor Oak's own, but probably those temporarily stored by Green or Red.
Lucas also asked Ash where he'd housed Larvitar and its mother, Tyranitar.
Ash replied,
"To study Tyranitar, Professor Oak just leased a mountain not far from the backyard, making it their territory."
Lucas's eyelids twitched as he heard this—casually leasing a whole mountain… Should he be surprised? Well, Professor Oak really was just that impressive.
Once the two reached a small slope ringed with sturdy stones, Lucas finally spotted one of his main objectives for coming to Pallet Town: Charcadet.
On this small hilltop, not only was Charcadet present, but Charizard and Typhlosion were there as well. They all seemed to be honing their Fire-type moves, breathing flames at the sturdy stones—each about two meters tall.
Seeing Ash and Pikachu arrive, the three Pokémon paused in their training. After giving Pikachu an energetic greeting, they turned to Lucas and Ash.
"Raargh…"
But when Charizard saw Lucas, its pupils shrank instantly. The usually fearless Charizard's expression immediately went a bit shifty.
What's Lucas doing here?!
Wait, did Arcanine and Moltres also come?
Is he about to embark on yet another round of being beaten up?
Charcadet's reaction, compared to Charizard's pessimism, was much better.
It trotted right over, gazing at Lucas with an expectant look.
"Char... Char?"
"Did Ceruledge come?"
Lucas more or less understood Charcadet's meaning and couldn't help but chuckle.
Looks like Charcadet still really relies on Ceruledge.
But seeing how visibly more cheerful Charcadet appeared, Lucas was genuinely happy—it meant Charcadet had finally moved past the shadows of its past.
Typhlosion also got up, face full of anticipation.
Time for another round of special training? (Drools...)
Training its control with "Master Ceruledge" might be exhausting, but Typhlosion got to eat grilled skewers every day. By now, it was almost getting chubby.
With both Pokémon looking so eager, Lucas naturally decided to grant their wishes, pulling out a Pokéball to call out Ceruledge.
"Hiss... Loooo..."
Even as emotionally reserved as Ceruledge was, seeing the two Pokémon run up, tiny flames flickered in its eyes with faint joy. You could tell it was actually pleased.
Noticing Ceruledge, Charizard heaved a huge sigh of relief. At least it wasn't that dog who always beat it up, or that Moltres who gave it nonstop pressure.
Letting the Pokémon socialize, Lucas turned to Ash and brought up the main point.
He retrieved from his backpack a suit of golden-red armor—two sizes bigger than the bag itself, though old, it had clearly been well-taken care of multiple times. With a smile, he said,
"As promised, this is your reward for winning the Silver Conference."
"It's called the Auspicious Armor. As the name implies, it's imbued with the feeling of congratulation, and is the item needed for Charcadet to evolve."
The moment Lucas spoke, Ash's excited voice rang out—
"Wow! So Charcadet can evolve?!"
Ash's eyes sparkled as he spent a whole minute admiring the Auspicious Armor.
In his head: this armor is just SO COOL.
Next, his gaze flicked back to Ceruledge.
A shadowy swordsman with blazing blue flames on both blades!
Charcadet could finally evolve into Ceruledge!
Lucas's Ceruledge had left Ash with a deep impression—its seamless blend of power and agility was something Ash had always admired. If his Charcadet could become a Ceruledge too, they'd absolutely make a perfect team!
Charcadet too, upon hearing the news, looked at Ceruledge with starry-eyed longing—
Could it really become a Ceruledge too?
That would be amazing!
But Charcadet hadn't noticed Ceruledge's look—a kind of expression that wanted to say something but held back.
Unable to ignore the expectant look in Ash's eyes, Lucas had to gently shatter his fantasy.
"If you use the Auspicious Armor, Charcadet won't become Ceruledge. It'll actually evolve into a Pokémon called Armarouge."
"Its typing won't be Fire/Ghost, but Fire/Psychic."
Lucas then pulled out a photo he'd prepared earlier and handed it to Ash.
In the picture, Armarouge was captured in splendid, heroic form.
At the corner of the photo, a cute girl with a bob cut was also half visible.
Yes—
This photo was taken by Mela, a student of the art club at Naranja Academy, whom Lucas had asked for help thanks to his job at the school.
Mela was just coincidentally in the shot, but Lucas felt this particular photo best captured Armarouge's spirit, so he didn't fuss about it.
Staring at the photo for quite a while, what surprised Lucas was that Ash didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to Charcadet for its feelings.
"Charcadet, what do you think?"
He placed the photo before Charcadet, patiently awaiting its reply.
Charcadet was in a real quandary.
On one hand, it longed to become a cool, powerful swordsman like Ceruledge—to sever all ties with its painful past.
On the other hand, Charcadet remembered how, when it was weak, it would throw tantrums at Ash, who always cared about it. Did it really deserve to be as strong as Ceruledge?
Its past left deep wounds and sapped its confidence, but with Ash and all his Pokémon caring for it, Charcadet's mental scars had slowly healed.
It thought it shouldn't be so willful—instead, it should accept the Auspicious Armor and repay Ash with action.
Charcadet didn't feel forced. While it yearned to become Ceruledge, it didn't reject the idea of Armarouge either. Whatever evolutionary path it took, its will would remain unchanged.
After quietly pondering, Charcadet made up its mind.
It would become Armarouge—a knight to protect Ash!
With silent encouragement from Ceruledge, Charcadet poured out its intention.
And promptly received support from Charizard, Typhlosion, along with Ash and Lucas.
But making a decision wasn't enough—whether Charcadet could evolve into Armarouge was up to itself.
Having the Auspicious Armor didn't guarantee a successful evolution.
Maybe in the games, you just give Charcadet a "Malicious Armor" or "Auspicious Armor," and it'll evolve into Ceruledge or Armarouge instantly, regardless of whether it's Level 1 or Level 100.
But in this reality, some things can't be put into words; there are factors beyond raw stats that influence evolution's success.
For instance, Ceruledge itself, when it was still a Charcadet, couldn't evolve for a long time and was even abandoned by its previous trainer for supposedly lacking the aptitude to become Ceruledge.
Lucas could only give one bit of advice:
Let Charcadet try touching the Auspicious Armor. If the conditions were right, evolution would come naturally; if nothing happened, there was no need to be discouraged—just keep growing, and success would come one day.
This was Lucas's own experience talking.
Charcadet's attempt to evolve wasn't to be rushed.
Lucas had Dragonite notify Professor Oak and Tracey. Unexpectedly, Delia, who came to bring some afternoon tea, tagged along too.
With a crowd of people and Pokémon watching, Charcadet closed its eyes and carefully reached out to touch the ancient-looking Auspicious Armor.
No spark of evolution appeared.
Despite being prepared for this, Ash couldn't entirely hide his disappointment.
But he didn't let it become pressure on Charcadet—instead, he moved forward to comfort his partner, ready to reassure it that they could always try again after more training.
Sensing Ash's intentions, Lucas stayed silent—Ceruledge had already blocked Ash's way.
"..."
Gazing at the great sword held out before him, Ash looked to Ceruledge in confusion.
Ceruledge only shook its head—making no comment.
For a Pokémon who'd already evolved, now was too early to be declaring any conclusion.
Staring at Charcadet's back, Ceruledge's mind flashed back to its past.
It had evolved right after Lucas cleared the fifth gym—the Cascarrafa Gym.
Yet, in the fight at Cascarrafa Gym, it had lost without defeating even a single opponent.
It was Luxray, recently evolved from Luxio, who had carried the day—stunningly beating all three Pokémon from Gym Leader Kofu.
Coincidentally, Lucas passed through Porto Marinada and found a suit of Malicious Armor. Not wanting to drag the team down, Charcadet forced itself past its trauma and began trying to evolve with the Malicious Armor.
In the beginning, the result was the same as always.
No matter how it tried, no matter how long it touched the Malicious Armor, no light shone—nothing happened.
The first failure made it anxious, but Lucas gave it nothing but warmth and encouragement.
By the tenth failure, it wasn't upset; after another hug from Lucas, it merely renewed its resolve.
On the fifteenth try, it finally heard that probing voice—a voice from within.
"Do you have the resolve to become his sword?"
Charcadet unequivocally answered "Yes."
It longed to be Lucas's sharpest blade—the trainer who'd given it a home and warmth.
And then, like a miracle, it evolved—becoming the Ceruledge it was now.
Now, as it watched Charcadet—
Ceruledge's expression softened subtly.
Man, this one's way more determined than back when I evolved.
Right then—
Charcadet, while touching the Auspicious Armor, heard a questioning voice deep within:
"Do you have the resolve to become his knight?"
Charcadet hesitated briefly, but then answered with certainty in its heart:
I want to become Ash's knight.
The moment that vow was set, Charcadet could feel a bond—some connection to the Auspicious Armor.
It had a strong premonition of success.
As soon as it placed its other hand on the armor—
A thick, milky-white light blossomed from both its body and the ancient armor, forming a cocoon of light around them.
Inside the glow, gold and crimson brilliance intensified. When the light finally faded, Charcadet's new form was revealed to all.
Graceful posture, clad in sun-bright golden armor, helmet plume ablaze with fire—this was a knight with steadfast eyes.
The Fire Warrior Pokémon: Armarouge.
Ash's eyes sparkled as he jumped and cheered with excitement.
But Lucas, Professor Oak, and Tracey moved in perfect sync:
One whipped out a camera for non-stop snapshots; one, already holding data-logging equipment, documented every reading with fevered excitement.
Professor Oak murmured,
"Woah, woah, so this is the rare sight of Charcadet evolving—few ever see this!"
Tracey, inspired, found his pen moving as if guided by a muse, quickly sketching Armarouge's new form.
Compared to the boys, Delia's interests lay elsewhere:
With rounds cheeks cradled in her hands, she sighed dreamily,
"He really does look like a storybook knight…"
"Heehee, so Charcadet could evolve into something so handsome!"
Charizard and Typhlosion were equally amazed.
That evolution was just too cool!
Dragonite, for its part, grew a bit wistful.
It could still remember, back when it first evolved from Dragonair, witnessing Ceruledge's own evolution. Likely, its feelings then were just like what Charizard and Typhlosion were experiencing now.
Whether Ceruledge or Armarouge, their style hit all the right notes with human aesthetics.
…
…
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