Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Eevee then noticed Charizard and the others looking at it in surprise, growling low. Little Eevee blushed and lowered its head nervously.

"Alright—don’t change someone else’s answer. That’s disrespectful to them as individuals," Rio said.

Though Gengar hadn’t translated, Rio could tell that Charizard and the others were trying to pressure Eevee into conforming with their answers. Hearing Rio’s words, they withdrew their gazes.

"Articuno—your turn."

"Of course it doesn’t feel anything—why would it be upset? It’s just the truth. Their whole species loves to eat. And honestly, Munchlax seems perfectly fine when called ’little chubby,’" Articuno said confidently.

"Aerodactyl—you?"

Aerodactyl didn’t roar back—it just shook its head. Rio understood—it meant "no feeling" as well.

Finally, Rio looked at the three Regis. He was about to ask them, but then realized it would be pointless—asking them would be like playing a harp to a cow. He’d get nothing out of it.

"So, Munchlax—when you hear the nickname ’little chubby,’ how does it actually make you feel? I want your honest answer."

Rio walked over to Munchlax and brought it to the front of the group. Facing the gazes of its brothers, Munchlax looked a little nervous, clearly afraid of offending them. Rio added lightly: "Tell the truth—and I’ll treat you to a big feast today."

The moment it heard "big feast," Munchlax let out a cry.

"Ka~"

The other Pokémon’s expressions shifted. Little Eevee, however, smiled.

"What—Munchlax, you’re saying you’re unhappy when I call you that? But you always look so happy!" Gengar exclaimed.

"Roaar~"

"Annih~"

"ROAR!!!"

Charizard, Annihilape, and the others also growled at Munchlax. Annihilape’s reaction was the most intense—it raised its fist as if to say, You’d better give me a good explanation, or I’ll punch you. Beside it, the Red Gyarados wore an expression that said, If you’re going to hit someone, hit me instead.

"What’s this—are you all planning a rebellion right in front of me?" Rio said sternly, addressing the group. "Let me tell you—only the weak only want to hear good things. The strong allow others to disagree with them. Are you weak, or are you strong?"

Charizard and the others fell silent. Rio turned back to Munchlax.

"Munchlax—since you feel uncomfortable when called ’little chubby,’ why don’t you show it? It’s okay—say what’s in your heart. Everyone will understand."

Munchlax looked at the other Pokémon. "Ka~"

The group’s expressions shifted again. After a moment of bewilderment, Gengar translated:

"Munchlax says it’s not that it’s extremely unhappy—it knows it loves to eat, and that’s just the way it is. So it doesn’t act upset when called ’little chubby.’ But sometimes, when it’s alone and thinks about it, even though it knows everyone’s joking, it still feels a little hurt—like they’re making fun of it."

Rio smiled and said: "So you see—’the speaker may not mean it, but the listener takes it to heart.’ You think Munchlax doesn’t mind the nickname, but that’s just your assumption."

"Now think about this—has Munchlax ever given any of you a nickname?"

The Pokémon fell into thought. They realized Munchlax had never nicknamed any of them. Apart from eating and sleeping, it would share food with them when they were down. The only time they’d ever seen Munchlax show strong emotion was when it saw its former trainer who had abandoned it.

Rio watched them reflect and continued: "So it’s not that it doesn’t care about the nickname, and it’s not that you’re all treating it so wonderfully—it’s that it has a big heart and is generous enough to let that label stick. If it were a more hot-tempered Pokémon, it might have started a fight with you."

After Rio finished speaking, the other Pokémon looked at Munchlax with new eyes. Annihilape’s expression was especially odd—it felt like Rio was subtly calling it out. Munchlax also looked surprised, as if it had never realized it was that good. Its eyes curved into happy crescents.

Sure enough—following Rio was the best decision of its life. He could see its good qualities even when it couldn’t.

Ah, keep talking—I want to learn more about myself!

[Munchlax’s friendship increased.]

[Friendship: 130 (from -21 to 130)]

Hearing the notification in his mind, Rio couldn’t help but laugh. Whether human or Pokémon, everyone loves hearing nice things.

"So, returning to our original point: you may think your words don’t hurt others, that you’re just stating facts. But that’s only your perspective. If someone treated you the same way, would you be happy?"

The Pokémon lowered their heads, realizing Rio was right.

"Roaar~"

"ROAR!!!"

"Kid—you’re right. This legendary bird has learned its lesson."

One by one, they admitted their mistake. Rio nodded slightly. Pokémon are so easy to teach—once they know they’re wrong, they correct themselves. They’re all good children.

Except for the Red Gyarados, which looked utterly dejected—it was sad that it had guessed wrong and lost ten minutes of beating time.

Sigh—I can’t win with this one. Rio sighed and pulled out the Master Ball, his expression shifting from exasperation to a smile.

He felt that Mewtwo, inside the ball, had heard everything he’d just said. It should have a new impression of him now. After releasing it, it probably wouldn’t greet him with an Aura Sphere or Psystrike, right?

With a flash of light, Mewtwo was released.

As Rio had hoped, Mewtwo didn’t attack.

But it Teleported away.

The moment it appeared, it vanished and reappeared a hundred meters away. Then a single sentence echoed in Rio’s mind:

"Kid—you speak well. But... I don’t trust you."