Chapter 369: Returning to Kanto
After learning about the Sinnoh incident, Alder was completely baffled. He hadn’t expected Sinnoh’s villainous organization to be so powerful—not only controlling Sinnoh’s three gods but also Unova’s Zekrom and Reshiram. If he hadn’t wisely contacted the Kanto League, he would have wrongly blamed their Champion.
"Quick—find out what’s happening at the Giant Chasm right now."
After ending the call with the Sinnoh League, Alder sent someone to check on the Giant Chasm. Soon, they heard from the residents of Lacunosa Town: Kyurem had absorbed Reshiram and become White Kyurem, fighting fiercely against the other legendaries—but it was still losing badly.
"This is bad. Are all three of Unova’s legendaries going to end up like Sinnoh’s three gods—controlled by their villainous organization?" Alder narrowed his eyes, a sense of dread washing over him.
"No—villainous organizations never do good. They’re probably trying to destroy the world. They’ve already captured legendaries from Sinnoh, Hoenn, and now Unova—they might go after other regions next. We need to stop them."
"I need to warn the other regional Leagues."
Meanwhile, above the Giant Chasm, Kyurem, having absorbed Reshiram, was in the worst state imaginable. Mega Charizard Y’s Sacred Fire overpowered its Ice Burn. Mewtwo X’s Fighting-type moves pummeled it mercilessly. And behind them, Gengar, Dialga, Zekrom, and Kyogre kept landing follow-up attacks. Kyurem had no chance to fight back.
"So tragic—truly tragic." The Swordsmen watched the brutal scene in disbelief. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they never would have believed that legendary Pokémon could be so shameless—ganging up on one opponent. And the strongest among them was a Charizard, which even outmatched White Kyurem in a direct clash of flames.
"Tragic? It’s not that bad—all legendaries go through this." Rio smiled, holding Victini, as he spoke to the stunned Swordsmen.
They looked at him and understood how he had gained the loyalty of Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyogre, and Dialga.
"Stop—I surrender!" Kyurem cried out, unable to withstand the assault any longer.
The satisfied legendaries turned to look at Rio. "Take me over." Rio said to Cobalion, the leader of the Swordsmen. Without hesitation, Cobalion knelt, letting Rio climb on, and carried him to Kyurem.
"Knowing when to give in is a sign of wisdom—well done, Kyurem." Rio praised it immediately.
Kyurem, battered and bruised, glared at Rio with clear displeasure. "Tell me—how did you get them to obey you so completely?" It couldn’t understand why these legendaries would listen to a human.
"Simple—I told them that if they followed me, they’d get to gang up on other legendary Pokémon. Like this situation right now." Rio shrugged with a smile. "If they still refused, they’d just keep getting beaten until they gave in."
Kyurem stared at him, too furious to speak for a long moment. Finally, Rio broke the silence: "Alright—release Reshiram. I’m going to throw a ball at you." He pulled out a new Luxury Ball.
Kyurem didn’t refuse. Its body glowed, the flames faded, and a red sphere emerged from its head. The sphere expanded, and Reshiram appeared.
"Reshiram~" — Serves you right for getting beaten.
Reshiram said angrily. Kyurem rolled its eyes, too tired to argue, and focused on Rio. Rio threw the Luxury Ball—a flash of light, and Kyurem was drawn in. It shook three times in his palm—successful capture.
"Excellent—Unova’s three legendary Pokémon are now mine." Rio smiled, looking at Kyurem’s Luxury Ball. He released Kyurem a moment later. Before he could speak to the Swordsmen, Kyurem’s voice echoed in his mind:
"No way—I didn’t take that beating for nothing. You have to let me join the next gang beating. I need to vent this anger."
Rio looked at Kyurem’s decorative wings. "Kyurem—it’s not that I don’t want to take you. But have you considered how long it would take you to reach the battlefield?" Rio burst Kyurem’s bubble.
Like Groudon, Kyurem couldn’t fly—unless Reshiram or Zekrom came to it to be absorbed. But would they be that stupid?
Kyurem was speechless. It glanced at its useless wings. "Kyurem—don’t feel bad. There’s a big idiot in Hoenn just like you. Hahaha!" Kyogre chimed in.
Kyurem was furious but couldn’t find the words to retort. Finally, it turned to Rio: "Then take me with you. I’m joining the next gang beating, no matter what."
"Fine—if you insist, I don’t have a problem with that." Rio agreed.
Unlike Groudon, Kyurem’s presence didn’t cause drought and destruction—so it was manageable.
After settling Kyurem, Rio turned to the Swordsmen. "Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo—would you like to become my Pokémon as well?" Rio smiled. "Don’t worry—I won’t restrict your freedom. I’ll capture you and release you. Whatever you were doing before, you can keep doing."
Keldeo and the Swordsmen exchanged glances, then looked at the legendaries above and Kyurem beside them.
"We agree. Throw the ball." Cobalion answered. With Kyurem captured, they had no reason to refuse.
"Rio—if you capture me, can I join a gang beating too?" Keldeo asked excitedly. It had thoroughly enjoyed watching the battle and would be honored to participate in such a legendary brawl.
"Come back when you’re stronger." Rio shut that down immediately. With Keldeo’s current strength, it would risk getting caught in the crossfire. Plus, it couldn’t fly—and in this group, not being able to fly was a serious disadvantage. Groudon, I’m not targeting you.
"Keldeo!" Cobalion and the others scolded Keldeo for its overambitious request.
"Alright..." Keldeo stepped back, and Rio tossed Luxury Balls at each of them, one by one. A minute later, he released them all again.
"Alright, everyone—the sun is about to rise. You can go now. When there’s another battle, I’ll call you." Rio said to the gathered legendaries.
The legendaries exchanged glances. Dialga was the first to leave, saying "Call me next time," before tearing open a dimensional rift and departing. Kyogre followed, also insisting Rio summon it for the next gang beating. Zekrom and Reshiram soared into the sky. As for Kyurem, Rio kept it in its Luxury Ball, planning to let it participate in a future fight to raise its friendship.
"There’s nothing left to do in Unova, really—unless I go after the three cloud spirits, or find Team Rocket." Rio muttered.
But he didn’t know where the cloud spirits were, and Team Rocket’s location was equally unknown—this wasn’t Kanto, where he had informants tracking their movements.
"Time to head back to Kanto. I’ve been away long enough—I should see how Zoroark has been managing in my absence."
With that thought, Rio looked at Victini on his shoulder. "Victini—I’m leaving Unova now."
They had agreed earlier that Victini would stay with him until Kyurem was captured. Now that was done, it was time to part ways.
"Vic~" Victini looked at him reluctantly. They had become good friends.
"If you want, you can come with me to the Kanto League." Rio took the opportunity to ask.
But Victini shook its head. Rio: "..." Well, it was sad to part, but not heartbroken.
"If you ever miss me, you can ask Zekrom or Reshiram to bring you over—they’re fast. Tell them it’s my command." Rio added.
"Vic~" Victini nodded enthusiastically at that idea. If it could visit Rio by asking Zekrom or Reshiram for a ride, it was all for it.
"Alright—I’ll take you back to the Land of the Earth now." Rio smiled, patting its head. Then he turned to the Swordsmen. "Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo—go back to your territories. Keldeo—if one day you can defeat all three Swordsmen in a one-on-three battle, I’ll let you join a gang beating."
As soon as he said that, a friendship notification rang in his mind.
[Keldeo’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 39 (0 → 39) ]
Rio smiled, recalled Mewtwo and Gengar, and rode Charizard back toward the Land of the Earth. About two hours later, as the sun rose, he dropped Victini off. He had breakfast, took a nap, and then set off for Kanto on Charizard.
He arrived back in Kanto late at night. Zoroark, still disguised as him, was having a party with the Pokémon in his villa.
"Come on, everyone—keep the party going! Let’s have some fun while Rio’s away!" Zoroark shouted, holding a bottle of wine.
Nearby, Annihilape was drunkenly beating up Red Gyarados. Munchlax was stuffing its face, occasionally asking Zoroark to have the chefs prepare more food. Aerodactyl had passed out cold, lying like a dead dragon. Greninja was feeding Eevee, taking a bite itself and then offering one to Eevee. None of them noticed Rio and Charizard’s arrival.
"Looks like you’ve been living it up." Rio watched Zoroark acting like the king of the castle and laughed in exasperation. It was fearless—risking its disguise and causing him potential trouble.
Rio walked up behind Zoroark and cleared his throat. Zoroark ignored him and tried to toast with Greninja. Greninja, who had been sharing food with Eevee, turned impatiently—and froze when it saw two Rios. It shook its head, thinking it was seeing things. Then it saw the second Rio wave at it. Greninja blinked hard, convinced it wasn’t drunk.
"You’re pathetic, Greninja—you’ve been dodging drinks all night, and now you’re pretending to be drunk? I’m done with you." Zoroark complained at Greninja’s strange behavior.
Rio cleared his throat again. Zoroark finally heard it. "What’s with the coughing? Do you have a problem? I’m the one in charge here—I could make you—" Zoroark turned angrily, only to freeze when it saw the real Rio.
"Uh... you’re back, Rio."
"Yes, I’m back." Rio smiled. "Any later and I might not recognize Kanto anymore. By the way—finish your sentence. You could make me do what?"
Zoroark said nothing.
"You must have misheard. I didn’t say anything. I was just saying that under Rio’s wise leadership, Kanto has been thriving. These past days I’ve been sitting on the Champion’s throne, I’ve truly come to appreciate how hard it is to be the League Champion."
"So I want to say—you’ve worked hard, Rio."
"Oh, you want to say I’ve worked hard?" Rio raised an eyebrow. Two seconds later, he smacked Zoroark on the head.
"Stop drinking. Tomorrow morning, once you’ve sobered up, I want a full report on what’s happened while I was away."