Chapter 363: Capturing the Three Gods (Two-in-One)
The Luxury Ball shook three times in Rio’s palm, and the capture was successful.
"Excellent—Unova’s Ideal Dragon, Zekrom, is now mine." Rio smiled. The next step was to capture Reshiram, then stabilize the chaotic Dragon Vein with everyone’s help.
A flash of light—Rio released Zekrom. But as soon as it appeared, Zekrom’s voice echoed in his mind: "I have one condition. I didn’t take that beating for nothing—I want to beat up other legendary Pokémon too."
So much for my earlier praise. Rio sighed. "Alright, alright—if I find Kyurem, I’ll call you to join the beatdown."
Hearing "Kyurem," Reshiram also perked up. "Wait—if you’re beating up Kyurem, count me in too! I want a piece of that!"
As one of the Tao Trio, Reshiram knew it would struggle against Kyurem one-on-one. But in a group beatdown? Kyurem wouldn’t stand a chance. Reshiram definitely wanted to participate.
"Fine, fine—you’re in too." Rio sighed and pulled out a Luxury Ball, capturing Reshiram as well. Once Reshiram was inside, Rio began to fall—but Dialga caught him.
"Good instincts." Rio nodded approvingly. He had done that on purpose, to see who would be more loyal and attentive. Clearly, Dialga understood social graces better. So for the upcoming Kyurem battle, among the Sinnoh Three, he decided to summon only Dialga. The others had participated in enough beatdowns already. If they kept joining every fight, it wouldn’t be fair to the other legendaries—Mewtwo and Charizard were still in their balls, and he couldn’t keep favoring the Sinnoh Three over everyone else. It was time to rotate who got to join the gang beatings.
A moment later, Rio released Reshiram. Pointing at the chaotic Dragon Vein below, he said: "Everyone, with the stone sword pulled out, you must sense the unstable energy down there. I need you to use your power to stabilize the Dragon Vein. Can you do it?"
Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Gengar, Reshiram, and Zekrom exchanged glances, then nodded.
Rio nodded in satisfaction. In the original story, this Dragon Vein chaos was resolved by Victini. But now, besides Reshiram and Zekrom, there were also the Sinnoh Three and Gengar—six regional guardian-level Pokémon. If they couldn’t stabilize it, he would release Mewtwo as well. He refused to believe that with so many legendaries at his disposal, he still needed Victini to solve the problem.
And indeed, with Reshiram, Zekrom, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Gengar working together, the violently surging Dragon Vein was quickly calmed. Within just ten minutes, everything was stable—the dried-up lands received the Dragon Vein’s nourishment. Victini was also freed from its bonds and flew toward Rio.
But the moment it appeared, Dialga spotted it and got excited: "Brothers! Look! There’s another one we can beat up!"
It flew toward Victini, startling the newly freed Pokémon—and startling Rio as well.
"Stop! No beating up Victini!" Rio shouted. He was done with Dialga—was there anything it wouldn’t try to gang up on? Victini was clearly adorable and harmless, with no ill intentions. How could Dialga even think about beating it up? Shameless.
Dialga grumbled but turned back, disappointed to have lost a target. Victini sighed in relief and flew into Rio’s arms. Rio had released Charizard and was now riding on its back.
"Victini, I told you—I’ll make sure you’re no longer bound by the Sword of the Earth. You can go anywhere you want, freely." Rio patted its head. "Charizard, to the sea."
Charizard roared and flew toward the ocean. Moments later, they arrived. Victini gleefully swam and played in the sea. After it had its fill, Rio spoke:
"Victini, would you like to become my Pokémon?"
Victini looked at him, then at the Land of the Earth, seeming hesitant.
"Don’t worry—becoming my Pokémon won’t restrict your freedom. You can go wherever you want, come back to the Land of the Earth whenever you like. Everything is up to you. I want to capture you so no other human can take advantage of you in the future." Rio offered a half-truth, half-lie.
Hearing this, Victini’s eyes lit up. "Vic~" It nodded in agreement.
Rio smiled and pulled out a Luxury Ball, capturing Victini. In a single day, he had obtained Unova’s Mythical Pokémon Victini, along with Reshiram and Zekrom—two of the Tao Trio.
Just then, a massive fish burst from the calm sea—Kyogre. It had finally arrived after its long swim. It was excited—incredibly excited—because it had made it to the battlefield in time to participate in a legendary gang beating.
"Kyogre~" — Brothers! I’m here to help! Witness my divine might—unbreakable!
But after two seconds, it froze. There was no battle. Just the Sinnoh Three and Gengar laughing, and Reshiram and Zekrom looking annoyed.
"You’re late, Kyogre—these two already surrendered." Dialga explained with glee. Though its own fun was cut short, seeing Kyogre arrive too late made Dialga feel better. At least it had gotten some action. Kyogre had gotten none—and that was hilarious.
Kyogre was furious. It glared at Reshiram and Zekrom. "Why did you surrender?! You could have held out longer! What a waste! I held out a long time!"
Reshiram and Zekrom exchanged glances, then glared back at Kyogre.
"Not every Pokémon enjoys getting beaten up like you do," Zekrom shot back. "Surrendering when you’re outmatched is what any smart Pokémon would do. You held out longer—that just means you got beaten longer. That’s your own fault."
Zekrom’s retort was so logical that Kyogre was speechless. Finally, it turned to Rio: "Rio, you promised me I’d get to participate in a gang beating!"
Rio shrugged helplessly. "Kyogre, it’s not that I didn’t want you to participate—you were just too slow, and the battle ended too quickly."
"How about this—don’t leave Unova’s waters for a couple of days. I’ll summon you when I find Kyurem. You can join the beatdown then. Kyurem is the leader of the Tao Trio—equivalent to Rayquaza."
Hearing there was still a chance, Kyogre’s frustration mostly faded. "Fine—I’ll stay in Unova’s waters. But I must be in on the Kyurem beatdown!"
"Deal. Now you all can leave—it’s time to wake up the hypnotized people." Rio waved them off.
Kyogre dove into the sea—after all, the ocean was its home. Giratina slipped through the surface back to the Distortion World. Dialga and Palkia opened dimensional rifts and returned to their own worlds.
"Reshiram, Zekrom—you’re free to go as well. I won’t restrict your freedom. Just give me a way to summon you when I need you."
Reshiram and Zekrom exchanged glances, then offered two stones—one white, one black. With that, they soared into the sky and vanished.
"Gengar, wake everyone up." Rio instructed.
Gengar floated into the air and let out a cackling laugh. Soon, everyone in Sword of the Earth Castle and the town began to stir. They were amazed to see the Land of the Earth restored. Doredo was thrilled—his goal had been achieved. He just couldn’t understand why Zekrom wasn’t responding to his calls.
"Victini, it’s time for us to part ways for now. If you miss me, come find me in Kanto—I’m the Kanto League Champion." Rio patted Victini’s head.
"Vic~" But Victini shook its head, as if unwilling to part so soon.
"It says it wants to come with you to find Kyurem—it doesn’t want to separate just yet." Gengar translated.
"Alright then—you can come with me to find Kyurem." Rio was happy to agree. Spending more time with Victini would only deepen their bond, and he genuinely enjoyed having the adorable Pokémon around.
"Vic~"
"It says to give it some time—it wants to say goodbye to its friends in the Land of the Earth."
"Go ahead, Victini. I’ll wait here." Rio thought of the Pokémon that had guided him earlier.
Victini flew off toward the Land of the Earth. About half an hour later, it returned to Rio’s side, and together they rode Charizard away from the town.
Rio checked his phone for the location of Kyurem’s Giant Chasm. But on the way, because Victini wanted to play in the forest, Rio spotted something interesting—a Pokémon that looked like a horse, with a horn and fluffy red mane.
"Keldeo?" Rio recognized it immediately—it was Keldeo, a Mythical Pokémon like Victini.
"I wonder if it’s already become a Swordsman or not." Rio muttered, then patted Charizard’s shoulder. Charizard understood and descended near Keldeo, allowing Rio to read its level information.
[Pokémon: Keldeo]
[Level: 80 (9881 days until next level)
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 0]
[Ability 1: Justified]
[Gender: —]
[Moves: Leer (120%), Helping Hand (120%), Water Gun (120%), Work Up (140%), Bubble Beam (120%), Quick Guard (120%), Double Kick (120%), Retaliate (120%), Aqua Tail (120%), Take Down (120%), Swords Dance (120%), Sacred Sword (140%), Hydro Pump (120%), Close Combat (120%), Air Slash (120%), Baton Pass (120%), Soak (120%), Smart Strike (120%), Stone Edge (120%)...]
[Description: A legendary Mythical Pokémon that continuously hones itself through battle, dreaming of becoming a Swordsman to protect the weak. ]
Seeing this, Rio understood—this Keldeo hadn’t fully matured yet. It was still a half-finished product. The final step to becoming a Swordsman was to face Kyurem and unlock its signature move—Secret Sword.
Meanwhile, Keldeo was peering into the bushes, paying no attention to Charizard overhead.
"Keld~" — There!
Suddenly, it kicked backward with its hind legs, using Water Gun to blast a stream of water at a hidden bush. A green, antelope-like Pokémon with curled horns leaped out and into Rio’s view.
"Virizion!" Rio smiled. Unlike Keldeo, Virizion was a legendary Pokémon. Though it lacked a signature move, it was one level higher than Keldeo.
Today was his lucky day—encountering both Keldeo and Virizion. And right now, they were fighting. But it looked more like Virizion was training Keldeo—Virizion kept dodging, while Keldeo kept attacking.
"Let’s follow them." Rio patted Charizard’s shoulder and called out to Victini in another direction. Moments later, Victini returned to his arms.