Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Rio looked at Munchlax hovering in midair. "Cresselia’s Lunar Dance," he muttered to himself.

The moon’s radiance had not only healed Charizard and Raikou—it had also healed Munchlax itself. Only the mythical Pokémon Cresselia’s signature move fit that description.

Just then, Lugia, seeing that its attack had failed to cripple Munchlax and the others—and had even healed them—prepared another Aeroblast. Energy gathered in its mouth as waterspouts rose from the sea, closing in on Munchlax and the others.

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

"Charizard—Sacred Fire!"

"Red Gyarados—Hyper Beam!"

"Annihilape—Shadow Ball!"

"Greninja—Water Shuriken!"

"Raikou—Light Screen!"

Rio rattled off commands like a machine gun, terrified of leaving anything out before the attack hit.

"Ka~"

"Roaar~"

"ROAR!!!"

"Annih~"

"Gren~"

"ROAR!!!"

Munchlax raised its paws and began waving them. Charizard unleashed Sacred Fire. The Red Gyarados, now joined by Annihilape and Greninja, charged a Hyper Beam. Annihilape formed a Shadow Ball between its hands. Greninja readied a Water Shuriken. Finally, Raikou’s psychic power materialized six thick, transparent Light Screens in front of itself and the others.

"PHI-AAAH!!!"

Lugia’s Aeroblast erupted—a blinding beam of energy hurtling toward Charizard and the others. It first clashed with Sacred Fire and Hyper Beam, which held the beam at bay for one second before it overwhelmed them. Then it met Annihilape’s Shadow Ball and Greninja’s Water Shuriken—the beam split into smaller streams, swallowed the Shadow Ball, and vaporized the Water Shuriken.

The Aeroblast pressed on to the third line of defense—Raikou’s Light Screens. At Rio’s command, the six screens merged into one. The Aeroblast struck—CRACK!—the first screen shattered instantly. Then the second, third, and fourth followed in rapid succession. The fifth held for a second. The sixth, the last, also held for a second before breaking.

Finally, the Aeroblast reached its last obstacle: Munchlax’s Metronome.

Munchlax had already completed the move and entered its divine state. It raised a single finger. Crystalline pink diamonds materialized in midair, converging into a massive, one-zhang-wide diamond.

The dazzling sight made both Giovanni and Rio pause. "That’s Diancie’s Diamond Storm, isn’t it..." Rio murmured.

The diamond shield stood before Charizard and the others. When Aeroblast struck, the diamond dispersed the attack—even the shockwaves—until both the Aeroblast and the Diamond Storm dissipated simultaneously.

"Roaar~" — Amazing, Munchlax! Looks like I still need to work harder.

"ROAR!!!" — Great job, little fatty! From now on, if you ever want to hit something, I’m your target.

"Annih~" — If you ever feel tense, call me—I’ll loosen you up.

"Gren~" — I want to learn from you, Munchlax!

"ROAR!!!" — Little fatty, you actually blocked Lord Lugia’s Aeroblast!

Charizard and the others cheered Munchlax on. Munchlax, having exited its divine state, patted its belly proudly. "Ka~" — It was a team effort.

Meanwhile, Lugia was furious that its attack had been stopped by this combined effort. It was about to unleash Sky Attack—

"Zapdos—Zap Cannon!"

"Beedrill—Giga Impact!"

Lugia turned—Zapdos and Beedrill, which it had sent into the sea earlier, had resurfaced. Zapdos had already charged its Zap Cannon, but Beedrill was nowhere to be seen.

Zap Cannon shot toward Lugia. Lugia spread its wings and used Air Cutter, sending multiple razor-sharp wind blades to intercept the crackling sphere. The Zap Cannon exploded midair, creating a cloud of white smoke that drifted toward Lugia. It flapped its wings, dispersing the smoke—

But to its surprise, at that very moment, a sudden sense of danger surged through its mind. It looked up—Beedrill, moving like a bolt of lightning, its arm-stinger aimed straight at Lugia’s head, wreathed in a shockwave of impact force.

Lugia was alarmed. There was no time to use a move—it could only twist 360 degrees and raise its wings to shield its head. At the last instant, it managed to cover its skull just as Beedrill’s Giga Impact struck. Lugia’s Multiscale ability activated, revealing silver scales beneath its feathers. Beedrill’s stinger bored in—first sparks flew, then blood scattered.

"Incredible..." Rio was in awe. He was about to order his Pokémon to attack—

"Charizard—Sacred Fire!"

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

"Red Gyarados—Hyper Beam!"

"Annihilape—"

He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Giovanni pulling out a Master Ball and commanding Crobat to move closer.

Damn it—how could I forget about that! Rio quickly pulled out his own Master Ball. "Gengar—use Psychic to stop Giovanni’s Master Ball from aiming at Lugia!"

But before Gengar could act, Giovanni had already thrown his Master Ball at Lugia.

Rio’s heart leaped into his throat. Watching Giovanni catch Lugia right in front of me would be worse than death—I’d rather have never come here and just let him catch Moltres!

But then, just as the Master Ball was about to open, it suddenly froze midair, as if held by a powerful psychic force. It hung there for one second—then shot backward, vanishing into the vast ocean.

"Great work, old ghost!" Rio growled with barely contained excitement, ready to throw his own Master Ball.

"That wasn’t my Psychic," Gengar’s voice echoed in his mind.

Rio’s hand, mid-throw, froze. If it wasn’t Gengar, then who?

He instinctively focused on Lugia—and saw that even as it shielded itself from Beedrill, its head was turned toward him. Its gaze was ice-cold.

Oh no—this is bad. The thought barely formed before a wave of overwhelming pressure washed over him, disorienting him until his mind went blank.

When he came to, he was underwater—seawater flooding his nose and mouth. He fought desperately to swim to the surface, but the surrounding waterspouts made it nearly impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break through.

Help!!! Rio screamed in his mind as consciousness began to slip away.