Xerxes

**Xerxes** is the main protagonist of *The Ultimate Dragon*.

Fire (Charmander and Charmelon)

Drought (Mega Y)

### Hidden Ability

Drought (Current form)Solar Power (All other forms except for Mega X and Y forms)

## Powers

### Signature Abilities

Flight, strength, moves, intelligence, speed, agility, fighting skills

## **Physical Appearance**

### **Initially**

As a Charmander, Charmelon, and regular Charizard, he was black with a cream-colored underside and foot soles. He had yellow eyes and an orange flame on the end of his tail.

After Mega evolving for the first time, he became a black and blue Mega Charizard X with longer arms. The flames coming from his mouth were also blue, as was the flame on his tail. His horns and the spikes on his shoulders were pure black.

### **Currently**

After Mega Evolving the second time, he is now a fusion of the Mega Charizard X and Y forms. His neck, body, and limbs are more muscular, streamlined, and physically fit, his skin and eyes retain their coloration, and he is now twice his original size. There are now three long horns protruding from the back of his head, each sharp-tipped and curving slightly upward. He now breathes yellow flames out of the sides of his mouth, and his underside is now yellow as well. An orange diamond marking is now present on his stomach, and two blue ones appear on the back of each wing. The spikes on his shoulders are now longer and sharper, with those in front being orange and the ones in back being blue. His wings are now larger with orange membranes, and the third joints are adorned with a straight, upward-pointing spike. The lower edges of the wings start out as rounded points, but then end up ragged. His legs are now longer and more well developed, as are the claws on each foot. He also has orange soles on each foot, and the flame on his tail now burns yellow. His arms are now longer and thicker, with four fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand. There are small wings on his wrists, and each finger is tipped with a sharp white claw. There are two fin-like spikes on the back of his lower neck, a larger one on the base of his tail, and three smaller ones near the tip. His brow and front fangs are now larger and there is a small, horn-like ridge on his nose.

## **History**

### **Early Life**

Xerxes hatched as a Charmander in the care of an elderly woman who hoarded all kinds of Pokémon. However, the woman died two weeks later from old age. After her death, Xerxes and the other Pokémon living in her house buried her in the backyard, marking her grave with a white rose. They then split into two groups: those who stayed at the house to mourn their caretaker's passing, and those who left to make a new life for themselves. Xerxes was among those who stayed. He later evolved into Charmeleon.

Sometime later, a group of construction workers came across the woman's house to repair it to find all the Pokémon living in it. Each worker took one or two Pokémon with them, deciding to care for them. The oldest worker, a middle-aged man named Linus, took home Xerxes, who lived with him and kept him company for five years. During this timespan, Xerxes formed a strong bond with Linus and eventually evolved into Charizard.

A week into his sixth year of being with Linus, Xerxes Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard X during a battle with a Tyranitar that had gone on a rampage in the city. Although he managed to defeat the Tyranitar, Xerxes accidentally knocked over several buildings that Linus and the other construction workers had built, and they began falling. Xerxes attempted to stop it, but failed, and the buildings fell to earth and killed several of Linus' coworkers as well as many civilians. Enraged at the deaths and frightened of Xerxes' new form from which he mysteriously couldn't devolve, Linus' boss told him to either give up his Charizard or lose his job; as he was barely scraping by, Linus ended up having to release Xerxes. The next day, Linus drove Xerxes to a forest far from the city and left him there, telling him that he belonged in the wild. Although Xerxes was sorrowful to have to part ways with his trainer, he understood Linus' situation and agreed to follow his final request. Thereafter, he was left to fend for himself, knowing he'd be better off in the wilderness. He never saw Linus again.

Three years later, Xerxes was captured by Pokémon hunters who had heard reports of a Mega Charizard roaming around in the forest. They brought him to a Pokémon battle facility in the Unova region where he was forced to fight other Pokémon to the death. Due to his new power from Mega Evolution, Xerxes emerged victorious in every battle he fought. Intrigued and curious, the hunters who'd captured him decided to transport him to a Pokémon research facility in the heart of the Unova region to be examined. There, the scientists concluded that the Charizardite X that Linus had used to Mega Evolve Xerxes had such high amounts of Mega Evolution energy that once he'd Mega Evolved, there was no way for him to devolve back into a normal Charizard; this explained his new appearance, powers, and abilities, and wanting him for greater purposes, the researchers bought Xerxes from the hunters, paying them handsomely. Since then, Xerxes, along with the many other Pokémon residing in the facility, was kept in a large electrical cage below the laboratories to keep him from escaping. He was given good meals to keep him strong, but was never let out of the cage except for battles. Overtime, Xerxes became used to being cooped up, but nevertheless wanted to regain his freedom.

## ***The Ultimate Dragon***

### **Chapter 1: The Race**

Xerxes is sitting in his cage, watching two workers snap at each other. He reflects on his past, filled with fighting and unpleasantness, having forgotten the good things in life. He briefly thinks about how his old trainer Linus took care of him before having to give him up for the sake of employment. He hears footsteps approaching and turns to see another lab worker coming towards his cage with a chain and iron collar. Xerxes thinks he's going to be forced to battle again as the worker opens the door to his cage and enters, placing the collar around his neck. The Charizard obeys the worker's command to come and leaves the cage. He is walked out of the room, up the stairs, and onto the ground floor, where a man in a suit and tie and two Blastoise flanking him are waiting. The worker asks the man if Xerxes is the Charizard he wants for the race, to which the man confirms yes. The worker nods and hands Xerxes' chain over to him, and the man walks outside the building, prompting Xerxes to follow. He glances back at the worker's retreating back before the two Blastoise come behind him. They approach a large carrier plane with a massive cage in the cargo hold. Xerxes wonders where the man is taking him as he is escorted into the cage by the Blastoise and locked in. He watches them leaving before the door to the aircraft slowly closes, leaving him in complete darkness. He then feels the plane taking off and falls asleep.

A while later, Xerxes is woken by the sound of the plane landing and sits up. The door to the cargo hold opens and the man appears with his Blastoise henchmen. The man opens his cage and leads him out of the plane onto a harbor next to a large race track. Xerxes looks around him as he's escorted to the track's main gate and listens as the man signs him up for the race. Knowing this is too good of an escape opportunity to miss, Xerxes grins and begins formulating a plan. The man removes the chain from his neck and orders him to go with the green-shirted woman who's approaching them. The woman takes Xerxes through the gate and onto the track where several other flying Pokémon are already waiting. Xerxes is placed between a Dragonite and a Flygon. He notices the Dragonite glance at him and narrow its eyes in a glare. Xerxes then watches as people and Pokémon gather in the stands to wait for the race to start. He then examines the other racers: Corviknight, Braviary, Garchomp, Altaria, Pidgeot, Aerodactyl, Glyscor, Noivern, and a Mega Charizard Y, whom he realizes is a female. Xerxes sees kids on some of the racers' backs and realizes they're trainers.

He then notices a Zeraora in the crowd watching him with interest; however, it vanishes before he can get a good look. Xerxes and the other racers wait for new competitors to arrive; after a while, however, none show up, and the entrance gates close after the stand are completely filled. Xerxes listens as a man announces the names of the contestants, then flinches as a horn blares, which prompts all the racers to fly off.

*More coming soon.*

## **Known Moves**

### **Fire-type:**

Flamethrower: The target is scorched with an intense blast of fire. This may also burn the target.

### **Dragon-type:**

Dragon Tail: The target is knocked away, and a different Pokémon is dragged out. In the wild, this ends a battle against a single Pokémon.

Dragon Claw: The user slashes the target with huge sharp claws.

### **Normal-type:**

Belly Drum: The user maximizes its Attack stat in exchange for HP equal to half its max HP.

## **Skills and Abilities**

**Shapeshifting:** He can switch between any of his forms.

**Fire breath:** As with all Fire-types, he is capable of breathing fire so hot that it can turn anything to slag.

**Superstrength:** He can lift objects up to ten times heavier than himself. His moves are powerful enough to smash through the hardest materials.

## **Weaknesses**

* As a Fire and Dragon-type, Xerxes is weak against Ground, Rock, and Dragon-type attacks. Water and Fairy-type attacks can also deal a significant amount of damage.
* Due to both his Dragon typing and the immense Mega Evolution power inside his body, he sometimes has difficulty controlling his power, emotions, and temper. This can lead to accidents. Additionally, he cannot devolve.
* He can be quite clumsy due to his massive size.

*More coming soon.*