Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Hearing Kyogre’s request, Rio raised an eyebrow.

Groudon’s condition for being captured was: give it a chance to gang up on Kyogre.

Now Kyogre’s condition for being captured was: give it a chance to gang up on Groudon.

They truly were age-old rivals. Both desperately wanted the other to be beaten to a pulp.

However...

"Unfortunately, I can’t grant your request." Rio said apologetically.

"Why not? I’m already your Pokémon! And helping me gang up on Groudon would also help you capture it!" Kyogre tried to persuade Rio. It couldn’t give up on such an opportunity.

However...

"I can’t grant it because just a few hours ago—earlier tonight—I already captured Groudon." Rio admitted honestly.

Kyogre was petrified. The words hit it like a lightning strike. It had been the last one captured—that meant it couldn’t get its revenge?

"To add to that, you should thank Rio. Because when he captured Groudon, your dear ’little brother’ Groudon had the same idea as you—it asked to join the fight against you. But Rio refused, citing its inability to fly and the risk it would pose to nearby cities. Otherwise, you’d have had Groudon to deal with too." Dialga chimed in with a laugh.

Kyogre looked disgusted. If that was the case, then it had taken all this beating for nothing.

"So, do you still want to be captured by me?" Rio smiled, seeing its expression.

Kyogre looked at Rio and asked cautiously: "What would you do if I said no?"

"If you say no? That’s great! We’ll just keep beating you up!" Palkia answered before Rio could speak.

"Exactly." Rio shrugged in agreement.

Kyogre silently cursed Dialga, Palkia, and the others in its mind.

"Throw the ball." It finally said, resigned.

Rio pressed the Luxury Ball’s switch. A flash of light—Kyogre was drawn in. The ball shook three times in his hand, and the capture was successful.

Rio smiled. Excellent—the three regional legendary Pokémon of Hoenn were now in his possession. He had already gained control over the legends of Kanto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn. It was almost too much power.

A flash of light—he released Kyogre again.

"No way. I can’t just take this beating for nothing. I can’t be that humiliated. Who are you going to gang up on next? Count me in! I need to vent too—and unlike that idiot Groudon, I can fly." Kyogre said, still feeling bitter.

The moment it said that, Dialga and the others exchanged glances. The words sounded awfully familiar.

"Who’s next?" Rio was stumped by Kyogre’s question. If he was going to gang up on someone else, he hadn’t decided yet.

Should he go to Kalos and gang up on Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde? Or head to Unova and take on the Tao Trio—Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem? Or maybe Alola’s Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma?

Thinking it over, Unova’s Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem would be the easiest to find. Kalos’s Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde were harder—especially Zygarde, which required tracking down its core cells. And Alola’s Necrozma, Solgaleo, and Lunala were in Ultra Space, making them even more difficult to locate.

"Alright. If I decide to gang up on someone, I’ll call you. But you’d better be able to get there in time—I don’t want you showing up after we’ve already finished." Rio said. He figured he might as well. With Zoroark covering for him at home, he could keep roaming for a while longer.

And the target would be Unova.

"Great! Great! You promised—don’t lie to me! I’ll come flying the moment I get the call!" Kyogre said excitedly, offering a crystal-clear water droplet.

"Got it." Rio smiled, accepting the droplet.

"Alright, everyone can disperse now. I’ll call you when I reach Unova and find the Tao Trio." Rio said to Dialga and the others.

"Deal! Don’t you dare lie to us!" Dialga said excitedly. It absolutely loved ganging up on others.

"That’s right—don’t lie to us! My fists are ready!" Palkia echoed.

Giratina said nothing, but its gaze was equally serious.

"Don’t worry—I never lie." Rio smiled and made an OK gesture.

As he finished, notifications rang in his mind—friendship increases from Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Rayquaza. Rio’s smile widened. These guys were all violent maniacs—they got excited whenever they got to beat up other legendaries.

"Alright, scatter." Rio waved.

Dialga and Palkia tore open space and left. Giratina dove into the sea and vanished. Rayquaza disappeared into the clouds. Kyogre sank back into the ocean.

Once they were all gone, Rio was left with only Mewtwo and Flygon.

Rio looked down at Flygon beneath him. "Do you remember what I said earlier?"

"Fly~" Flygon nodded. It remembered Rio had told him he would point him in the right direction.

"Go to the Kanto region. Go to Indigo Plateau. Go to Mt. Silver and challenge the Pokémon there. I don’t need you to become the strongest there—I only need you to become one of the top ten. If you can make the top ten, you can follow me." Rio pointed vaguely across the sea.

Flygon pondered this. After a moment, its gaze grew serious, and it called out to Rio.

"Fly~"

Rio didn’t understand. He turned to Mewtwo, who wore an odd expression.

"It says that top ten is too easy. It will become the strongest on Mt. Silver."

Rio’s expression also turned strange. Not that he looked down on Flygon—but its ambition might be a bit too high for its own good. Because on Mt. Silver right now, aside from Charizard and Greninja, who no longer went there, there was also Annihilape, Red Gyarados, Munchlax, Aerodactyl, Eevee, and Metagross. Six of the top ten spots were already taken. Flygon would have to compete for the sixth spot or lower. If it aimed higher, it would be entering hell mode. He honestly didn’t think Flygon, without being captured and trained by him, could beat those six cheaters on its own—especially Annihilape. One punch from that thing would probably knock Flygon’s guts out.

"I’m glad you have such ambition, but maybe just aim for the top ten. The first spot isn’t necessary—really, it isn’t." He didn’t want to crush Flygon’s confidence, so he didn’t spell it out.

"Fly~"

But Flygon looked at him with unwavering determination.

"It says it’s fine. It won’t be worthy of meeting you again unless it becomes number one on Mt. Silver." Mewtwo translated with a strange expression.

Rio was speechless. He didn’t try to persuade it further. Let Flygon go and discover the reality for itself. He believed that once it reached Mt. Silver, it would realize what insurmountable mountains those six monsters were.

Not long after, Flygon said goodbye to Rio and flew toward Kanto.

Rio switched to Charizard’s back. "Let’s go. To Unova."

He patted Charizard’s back and pointed toward Unova. Charizard roared and flew off.

"By the way, Giovanni and Team Rocket are in Unova, aren’t they?" Rio suddenly remembered during the flight.

Two days later.

Rio crossed the sea and arrived in the prosperous Unova region—home of PokéStar Studios.

"If I remember correctly, Kyurem is in the Giant Chasm, northeast of Lacunosa Town." Rio muttered, looking at the map on his phone.

As for the other two of the Tao Trio—Reshiram and Zekrom—he wasn’t sure which was which. There seemed to be two versions. One was in N’s Castle, but he didn’t know if his world had N. The other was in a town called Sword of the Earth. Apparently, there was a stone there that could summon them.

Also, in Sword of the Earth, besides Reshiram and Zekrom, there was the adorable Victini.

"Maybe I should check out Sword of the Earth first." Rio checked the map and found that Sword of the Earth was closer to his current location than the Giant Chasm.

After making the decision, Rio found a restaurant, had a full meal, and then continued flying on Charizard.

About two hours later, he flew from Driftveil City to the town called Sword of the Earth.

The town was large—almost the size of a city. It was named after a massive sword embedded in the cliff on the town’s eastern edge, the first thing anyone saw upon arriving.

"Hello, are you a trainer here for the Harvest Festival?" A woman approached him as he admired the giant sword.

"The Harvest Festival?" Rio raised an eyebrow. The name sounded familiar, yet foreign.

Seeing his reaction, the woman smiled and explained: "It’s our town’s harvest festival—we display all the fruits from the harvest and hold a Pokémon battle tournament. The winner receives all the townspeople’s fruit. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?"

Rio raised an eyebrow. Honestly, he wasn’t interested. And even if he were, he couldn’t participate—he only had three Pokémon with him: Charizard, Gengar, and Mewtwo. Any one of them would be a nightmare for the other contestants. If they won, they’d probably already be Unova’s Champion—which was clearly impossible. So there was no point in bullying the kids.

But just as Rio was about to refuse, the woman seemed to assume he’d agreed and called out to the registration person: "We have one more participant! This gentleman is joining too!"

She then turned to Rio, extended her hand, and smiled: "Registration fee is five hundred."

Rio: "..."

Fine, fine—you’re forcing me to bully kids. Alright, I’m in. I’m hungry anyway, so I’ll fill my stomach with your prizes today.

Rio handed over the money and received a badge from the woman. The badge was engraved with the image of Victini.

"This is Victini—a legendary Pokémon said to live in our town. It has the power to grant strength to others. Long ago, it used this power to protect Sword of the Earth." The woman explained, pointing toward the giant sword at the town’s eastern edge.

"Though no one has ever actually seen it." She added.

Rio smiled and nodded. Victini—like Mew—could turn invisible. Even if it stood next to an ordinary person, they wouldn’t notice.

Half an hour later, Rio followed the woman to the town center. The so-called Harvest Festival was about to begin.

A middle-aged man with a full beard and a hat walked onto the stage and called out to the crowd:

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all you little Pokémon—welcome to the Sword of the Earth Harvest Festival! I’m Mayor Momondo. This year, our orchards have produced a bountiful harvest, and every family has donated some of their fruit to the winner of this tournament. So—are you excited for the tournament?"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Under the roar of the crowd, the mayor continued: "Then I declare the long-awaited Harvest Festival Commemorative Tournament OPEN!"

With that, small gears flew out, fitting into machines that played beautiful music. Under the melody, the mayor announced: "The rules are simple: one-on-one battles, no substitutions, until the final match. The trainer who still holds the Victini badge at the end is the champion."

"Now—let the battles begin!"

At the command, the contestants released their Pokémon. Some had Pansage, some had Pikachu, and many had Unova-native Pokémon.

As for Rio, he released Gengar. Charizard was too famous—it would expose his identity.

After releasing Gengar, Rio looked toward the woman who had signed him up.