Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

As soon as Rio stepped out of the airport, a clear voice called out to him. He turned to see Cynthia waving enthusiastically at the arrival gate, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Isn’t this a bit much for a pickup? Though I know you’ve secretly had a crush on me... Being presented with flowers in public by the future strongest female trainer—and a beautiful one at that—Rio tried to look modest, but a satisfied smile crept onto his face.

That smile lasted only two seconds before freezing. He noticed there were other people behind Cynthia—all armed with cameras and microphones aimed at him.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

A barrage of flashes captured Rio’s startled expression.

Damn it—you said you’d come alone... As a seasoned actor, Rio quickly swapped his surprise for a polite, practiced smile.

And it didn’t end there. A group of children suddenly started beating drums and cymbals: "Welcome, welcome, warmest welcome..."

In seconds, the entire airport was staring at him.

"Mr. Rio—this is the time to accept the flowers," one of his four attendants—two from Kanto and two from Johto—whispered. They had been assigned to accompany him, handle logistics, and remind him of proper conduct to avoid diplomatic incidents.

"Thank you so much, Miss Cynthia," Rio said, accepting the flowers with a slightly sarcastic tone.

After handing over the flowers, Cynthia gave Rio a hug and whispered in his ear with a huff: "It’s not my fault—you’re the one who jumped from ordinary citizen to League Champion."

"So this is my fault?" Rio rolled his eyes.

"Of course it is. If you were still an ordinary citizen, I’d pick you up at the airport—but in public? With flowers? Not a chance. But now that you’re the dual-region League Champion, my grandmother said the welcome had to be top-tier, or people would say Sinnoh has no manners." Cynthia pulled back from the hug, and they both posed for the cameras with practiced smiles.

Soon, a Sinnoh TV host approached with a microphone, asking about their relationship and why they seemed so familiar. They both said they were good friends who had met at the Pokémon House.

The host then asked if they often battled and if Cynthia often received guidance from the League Champion. Rio was about to answer, but Cynthia cut in: "Not at all—he’s never guided me. Our strength... how should I put it?" She paused dramatically, then declared: "We’re evenly matched—he only ever barely beats me."

Rio: (￢_￢)

Yeah, sure—"barely beats you." The first time we met, Munchlax one-shot you twice. "Barely beats you." You’ve been avoiding Munchlax ever since—"barely beats you."

The host turned to Rio for confirmation. "That’s right—just as she says," Rio said, switching from deadpan to a genial smile under Cynthia’s murderous glare.

"You’re that strong, Miss Cynthia? Equal to a League Champion? I hear you’re competing in this year’s Lily of the Valley Conference—then the other contestants don’t stand a chance!" The host, convinced, showered Cynthia with praise.

"Of course—this year’s Lily of the Valley Champion is mine," Cynthia declared confidently.

Two seconds later, her expression stiffened. The host asked: "In that case, Miss Cynthia, would you be willing to have a quick exhibition match with the visiting League Champion, Mr. Rio, so we can all see you both in action?"

Is this host trying to start something? Cynthia was at a loss—she couldn’t tell if she’d be embarrassing herself or Rio.

Fortunately, one of Rio’s attendants stepped in to defuse the situation, explaining that Rio would only accept official matches against Sinnoh’s Elite Four during this trip—because that was what had been arranged, and it would prevent endless challenges from others.

After the interview, Rio was escorted into a luxury VIP vehicle under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Today’s schedule: visit Celestic Town to meet Cynthia’s grandmother. Tomorrow: head to Lily of the Valley Island, the venue for the Sinnoh Conference.

On the way, Rio received an urgent message from his own League: Team Rocket had stormed the prison and broken out Giovanni and several high-ranking executives.

Though he’d expected this, Rio feigned shock. "Don’t blame yourselves too much," he reassured his League officials over the phone. "So what if they escaped? We caught them once—we can catch them again. And with me around, they won’t dare cause too much trouble. Focus on treating the injured. I’ll be back as soon as the Sinnoh Conference is over."

After a few minutes, he hung up. Then he noticed Cynthia looking at him strangely. "What—is there something on my face? Or have I gotten even more handsome?" he joked.

"You have gotten more handsome—but the biggest change is how much more mature you seem. Is that the influence of being League Champion?" Cynthia didn’t deny it. "Seeing how much you’ve grown makes me even more excited to become the Sinnoh Champion."

"You’ll get there—future strongest female trainer in the world," Rio said with a smile.

"Of course I will—I’ve been aiming to be Champion since I was a kid," Cynthia said proudly. Then she paused. "Wait—why ’female’? Are you looking down on me?"

"Because the strongest trainer in the world is me. With me around, you’ll only ever be the strongest female trainer," Rio teased.

"Get out of here." Cynthia shot him a glare. "One day, you’ll lose to me—and I’m telling you, that day isn’t far off. My Garchomp got a huge power boost and learned Mega Evolution while I was trapped in that ruin. If you underestimate me, you’re in for a surprise."

"Then first, become the Lily of the Valley Champion—people without titles aren’t qualified to challenge me," Rio said, glancing at his attendants. "Isn’t that what you told me?"

The four attendants, who had been enjoying the banter and wondering if Cynthia might become their League Champion’s wife, suddenly froze when the conversation turned to them. They’d told Rio not to accept random challenges—but Cynthia clearly wasn’t random. She was future Champion-wife material.

Cynthia’s gaze fell on them. Under her stare, they broke into cold sweats. Please don’t drag us into your flirting...

"This rule applies to ordinary people, Miss Cynthia. You’re special—you can challenge him whenever you want, even in the middle of the night," said the slightly chubby attendant. The other three gave him a thumbs-up behind their backs.

Cynthia beamed with satisfaction. Others can’t challenge him—but I can. Even in the middle of the night—I like the sound of that.

Two seconds later, her eyes widened. Wait—that sounds wrong.

The car fell into awkward silence. Rio watched Cynthia’s face turn red, her ears burning. That attendant’s getting a raise—what was his name? Ah... Ace. Yes, Ace.

He suddenly understood why leaders love people who know how to speak—they say what you can’t say and do what you can’t do.

"Cynthia, you said Garchomp got a huge power boost in the ruin—how did that happen?" Rio broke the silence, eager to change the subject.

Cynthia was relieved to be asked, but she glanced at Rio’s attendants. "Driver, pull over—I need to use the bathroom," Ace said quickly, clutching his stomach. The others followed suit: "Me too—must be something I ate on the plane." "Driver, please stop—I can’t hold it."

Cynthia glanced at Rio’s stomach. He coughed: "I’m fine."

Soon, the car stopped. Ace and the others dragged the driver out with them, despite his protests. "His face looks a bit pale—he probably needs to go too," one of them said.

"Your attendants are quite sharp," Cynthia said with a laugh.

"Of course—look at who they’re serving," Rio said shamelessly.

Cynthia rolled her eyes and finally revealed what she’d been about to say: "I think the power boost came from encountering a legendary Pokémon in the ruin."

"A legendary Pokémon?" Rio’s eyebrows shot up, his mind racing through Sinnoh’s legendary roster.

"Yes—I was trapped in a ruin with an underground river. I didn’t know what to do when a glowing orb appeared from the river. Garchomp was drawn to it and touched it—then it exploded, and a blinding light overwhelmed me. I felt dizzy and saw a Pokémon I’d never seen before—it had a round, yellowish head, floating toward me. It touched my forehead, and when I came to, I was already outside the ruin."

Round, yellowish head, floating... Could it be... Rio’s mind settled on a particular Pokémon. "One of the lake guardians—Uxie?"

"Yes! That’s it! My grandmother said the same thing—that I was likely saved by Uxie, one of the three lake guardians." Cynthia’s eyes lit up. "And it gave Garchomp power—I could feel it was much stronger than before."

Rio nodded. Uxie was the being of knowledge—it probably unlocked some latent potential in Garchomp to set Cynthia on the path to becoming the world’s strongest female trainer.

"Wait—" Cynthia suddenly looked suspicious. "How do you know about Uxie? Even more than I do? That’s a Sinnoh legendary!"

Damn—I said too much, Rio realized. "Grandpa Fuji told me," he quickly said. "Who else? He and your grandmother are old friends—and he’s an expert in ancient script. Your grandmother must have asked him for help deciphering old tablets."

"That does make sense," Cynthia nodded. "Anyway, when I went back with my grandmother, we never encountered Uxie again."

They chatted a little longer, then called the five men back from the cold and continued on their way. After four or five hours, they arrived at Cynthia’s hometown—Celestic Town, the smallest and most ancient town in Sinnoh, said to have existed since the region’s very birth.

"Strange—Grandma said she’d be waiting outside," Cynthia said, puzzled to see no one there. She also noticed the streets were unusually empty.

She led Rio to the Celestic Town Research Lab—but when they entered, both she and Rio froze. On the big screen was a live broadcast: Groudon and Kyogre were locked in battle.