Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

After flying for four hours, Rio arrived in Rustboro City. Looking down at the towering buildings below, he praised the view.

"Charizard—the Devon Corporation is that tallest building over there," he said, checking his phone map and patting Charizard.

"Roaar~" Charizard headed toward the skyscraper. To avoid causing a commotion, Rio had swapped mounts an hour earlier, replacing Articuno with Charizard.

Moments later, Charizard landed near the Devon Corporation building. Its sleek black appearance drew sidelong glances from many passersby.

"Good work, Charizard." Rio patted its head and recalled it into its Luxury Ball.

"I hope I can find out what exactly happened between the Devon Corporation and Rayquaza," he muttered, gazing at the building before walking inside.

"Hello—I’m Rio from Lavender Town in the Kanto region. An elderly gentleman named Mr. Fuji contacted your company on my behalf about a week ago," Rio said, approaching the front desk with a smile.

"Lavender Town..." The receptionist—a short-haired young woman—typed into her computer with a blank expression, like a disgruntled office worker. It seems people lose their spark in any world, Rio thought.

Seven or eight seconds later, her expression shifted, and she looked at Rio with newfound interest.

"I’ve found your appointment, sir. President Devon has left instructions that he personally wanted to receive you. Please have a seat over there—I’ll contact President Devon’s office right away."

She smiled warmly and pointed to a nearby sofa. Seems people’s attitudes depend on your background in any world too, Rio thought with a shrug as he walked to the sofa.

He’d barely sat down when a Jynx brought him a glass of juice.

"Thanks."

He’d only taken a few sips when the receptionist came over again.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Rio—I just heard from the secretary’s office that President Devon left for Slateport City half an hour ago and won’t be back for three or four days. However, before he left, he specifically instructed that if you arrived during that time, we should arrange accommodation for you, and the Fossil Research Department would immediately begin reviving the Pokémon from your meteorite. Please wait a moment—Mr. Iron from the Fossil Research Department will come to find you shortly."

"Alright, thank you," Rio said, resigned. Since the president wasn’t there, he’d have to make do. Over the next few days, he could try to gather information from the staff about any shady dealings the Devon Corporation might have been involved in.

A few minutes later, a young man in his thirties rushed out of the elevator in a panic. Rio was about to stand, assuming he was Mr. Iron from Fossil Research, when the man shouted into his phone:

"Quick—all security teams, head to Route 104! President Devon has been ambushed there!"

Rio raised an eyebrow. Looks like I’ve walked right into an incident.

Without hesitation, he stepped in front of the man. "Which direction is Route 104? How far is it?"

"Who are you?" the man asked, confused.

"Don’t ask—just know that I’m a Good Samaritan here to help rescue President Devon," Rio urged. "Tell me quickly—time is of the essence."

Others might be the arsonist Li Feiyu1 and the life-saving Han Tianzun2—I’m the opportunistic Yukio Goh and the chivalrous Protector of Justice3.

"Head south—that’s Route 104," the man said hesitantly, pointing to his right. "South is that way."

"Leave it to me."

Rio tossed out a Poké Ball. With a flash of light, Charizard appeared in all its glory.

"Charizard—fly out and head to the right."

"Roaar~"

Rio leaped onto its back, and Charizard carried him out of the lobby, drawing astonished stares from everyone inside.

"Who—who was that?!" the man asked, turning back after Rio left.

"Mr. Kuroda, that was Mr. Rio from Lavender Town in Kanto—the one President Devon said he’d receive personally," the receptionist said, stepping forward.

"The one President Devon was supposed to meet?" The man, apparently named Kuroda, looked surprised.

By then, the Devon Corporation security team had assembled. The leader, a burly man with a Medicham, asked, "Mr. Kuroda, someone’s already gone to help—should we still go?"

"Of course we’re going! What if he fails? What if he fails and gets himself killed too?" Kuroda snapped. "The company doesn’t pay you to sit around!"

On Route 104, south of Rustboro City and just outside Petalburg City, a battle was underway.

A Sharpedo, a Lombre, and a Carvanha were attacking a bandana-wearing girl’s Aron and Torchic. Nearby stood a white-haired, elegantly dressed man in a suit, watching the battle with concern. A weakened Castform perched on his shoulder. Behind them, two reporters with cameras were documenting the scene.

The battle was reaching a critical moment. Sharpedo and Carvanha were locked in combat with Aron and Torchic, when the remaining Lombre suddenly broke away and charged at the elegant old man, punching him and snatching a metal object before fleeing.

"Grandpa!" the bandana-wearing girl shouted.

"Don’t let them get away with that!" the white-haired man said painfully.

"Hold on—I’ll chase that Pokémon!" The girl gritted her teeth, hoisted the old man onto her back like a weightlifter, and sprinted after the fleeing Lombre.

Before long, they reached the forested Petalburg Woods. The Lombre suddenly vanished.

"What now? The Lombre jumped into the forest and disappeared!" the female reporter following the girl said anxiously.

But the girl made a shushing gesture. "I hear someone whispering. They’re saying they’ll trap us deep in the woods. But unfortunately—my dad is a researcher who studies Pokémon in deep forests and the ocean. I grew up in nature. The deeper the forest, the happier I am."

As she listened, her expression grew excited. She pointed to a patch of woods on her right. "Torchic—there!"

"Torch~" Torchic spat a burst of flame toward the right, burning away a thicket and revealing three figures—two men and one woman, all wearing blue headbands emblazoned with a distinct emblem.

"We are a mysterious force. Creating space in rocks and forests is our specialty," the man in the middle declared arrogantly. "But girl—you’ve surprised us with your performance just now—"

"Save your nonsense! Why did you have your Pokémon steal from that old man?" the girl cut him off.

"Don’t want to hear it? Then consider yourself a prisoner now," the sole woman among the three said with a smile.

As she spoke, a voice cried out in alarm from behind the girl. She turned—the Lombre that had vanished earlier had reappeared behind her, yanking the two reporters to the ground.

"Stop it—Torchic, Aron!"

"Torch~" "Aron~"

Torchic and Aron charged at the Lombre, but it caught them both with ease, holding them at bay.

"Oh, your Pokémon seem to have been hurt earlier," the woman said in a sickly sweet tone. "By our Sharpedo, I think. But don’t worry—things are about to get much harder for you."

She pulled out a Water Stone. "To be safe, your Pokémon will fight Lombre’s final evolved form."

She tossed the Water Stone toward Lombre. The moment it touched, evolution light blazed in the forest—Lombre evolved into Ludicolo before everyone’s eyes.

"Ludicolo~" With its new form, it easily pinned Torchic and Aron to the ground, overpowering them completely.

"Thank you for carrying President Devon all the way here," the middle man said with a smile. "We couldn’t have made a move on Route 104—it would’ve been too risky just to steal the Sea Mauville component. But now, we can take him with us."

"As for the rest of you—you can be silenced permanently. Ludicolo—crush them."

"Ludicolo~" Ludicolo increased its pressure.

"No—they’re going to kill us!" the girl broke out in cold sweat. "Dad, what do I do? How do I get out of this? What would you do in my place?"

A taunting voice came from above: "When death is near, you pray for a miracle—a divine intervention. And here I am."

Everyone looked up—a black Charizard was diving toward them, a pale-faced young man on its back, his fist crackling with electricity. Under their stunned gazes, the punch landed square on Ludicolo’s face.

BOOM! The ground shook. Dust flew.

The bandana girl watched in awe as Ludicolo collapsed in the haze of dust.

"Ludicolo!" the sweet-voiced woman screamed.

"Stop the mourning—it’s just knocked out, not dead," Rio said, jumping off Charizard’s back. He glanced at the girl and the white-haired old man she was carrying. That distinguished look and bearing—must be Steven’s father.

To be safe, he asked: "President Devon?"

The white-haired man, still in pain, spoke slowly: "Who are you?"

Seeing his reaction, Rio knew he’d found the right person. He was about to say he was the one Mr. Fuji had recommended when a cold voice came from behind:

"Who are you? I’d advise you not to meddle in affairs that don’t concern you—Team Aqua isn’t someone to be trifled with."

So it’s Team Aqua. I wonder how far along they are in reviving Kyogre... Rio smirked and turned around: "Sorry—I specialize in dealing with people who are ’hard to handle.’ The harder they are, the more excited I get."

The three Aqua members exchanged uneasy glances, then at Ludicolo, which had been one-shot by Charizard. Deep wariness showed on their faces.

The sweet-voiced woman recalled Ludicolo. "You got lucky today. We have other business to attend to—we won’t waste our breath with you," the middle man said coldly, signaling a retreat.

"Don’t let them go—they stole something from the old man!" the girl shouted.

"Charizard."

"Roaar~" Charizard spread its wings and blocked their escape route.

"Sorry—you don’t want to chat, but I do," Rio said with a smile. "Return what you stole. And while you’re at it, hand over all your valuables too. Every time I do a good deed, I have to redistribute wealth from the rich—or it’s not worth it."

The Aqua leader shot Rio a venomous glare, then released a Carvanha and Sharpedo.

"Carvanha—Crunch!"

"Sharpedo—Aqua Jet!"

"Car~" "Shar~"

The two Water-types charged at Charizard. "Charizard—handle it yourself," Rio said casually. Those were just a Level 34 Sharpedo at best—he didn’t even need to give a command.

Charizard let out a roar and mimicked Ludicolo’s earlier move—raising its hands and slamming both Carvanha and Sharpedo into the ground with a single, well-timed press. Then it exhaled a small wisp of purple flame. Two seconds later, both were incapacitated.

Victory was that simple. The three Aqua members stood frozen, staring at Charizard in terror.

"Scared? If so, hands on your heads and crouch down," Rio taunted.

The Aqua leader turned his stiff neck. "Who... who are you really?"

"I never change my name—I’m Yukio Goh from Vermilion City, Kanto." Rio shrugged. "Now you know my name. Crouch down and hand over what you owe, or you’ll be crouching in a jail cell."

Moments later, Rio took possession of a metal object and three million League coins—and let the trio go.

"Thank you, Mr. Goh," President Devon said gratefully after retrieving his item.

"Don’t mention it, President Devon—my real name is Rio. Mr. Fuji sent me," Rio said with a smile.

"So it’s you!" President Devon’s eyes lit up at the mention of Mr. Fuji.

"Then why did you call yourself Yukio Goh just now?" the bandana girl asked in confusion.

"Don’t sweat the small details—I made it up on the spot," Rio waved it off.

That was for taking advantage of chaos—that’s when you use the name Yukio Goh. Now that I’m being chivalrous, it’s the Good Samaritan "Timely Rain"1.