Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Sitting facing the door, Rio and Mewtwo were naturally noticed by the two men who entered. Rio held his teacup, calmly observing their gazes. He noticed that their eyes first landed on Mewtwo, then shifted to him—and a hint of surprise appeared on their faces. They were then led inside by the waiter, but glanced back at their table once more.

"Two looks—they looked at me twice," Mewtwo’s telepathic voice echoed in Rio’s mind.

Rio was too tired to roll his eyes at this shameless narcissism. "Yes, yes—their gazes were fixed on you the whole time. But I suggest you keep observing," he said calmly, taking another sip of tea.

Soon, the two men who had just entered walked over to their table. Mewtwo noticed first and alerted Rio.

"You see—they’re definitely coming to ask about me," Mewtwo said with certainty.

Rio was annoyed by the assumption, but since they were actually walking over, it did seem like the only possibility—maybe they’d ask what this Pokémon was called, where it was from, why they’d never seen it before.

But when the two reached them, they said: "Are you the new League Champion, Rio?"

"Uh..." Rio paused, suddenly remembering he had a Champion title. "Yes, that’s me," he said with a smile.

The two exchanged glances, then the one on the left shouted excitedly: "It really is you! I thought you looked familiar when we walked in!"

Their shouting drew attention from the people around them. The other man added: "Mr. Rio—could we take a photo with you? I never thought I’d get to meet our region’s League Champion in person!"

Hearing "League Champion," everyone in the café snapped to attention. They’d thought the trainer across from the strange, hairless Pokémon looked familiar, but couldn’t place him. Some had recognized him but weren’t sure—assuming that if he really were the Champion, the crowd would’ve swarmed him already. They’d just figured it was someone who looked like him.

Now, with the exclamation, they were jolted awake. They jumped up from their seats and crowded around.

"Mr. Rio—I want a photo too!"

"Ahhh—Champion, you’re my idol! No, I’m your idol—wait, you’re my idol! Please give me an autograph!"

"Champion, when you won the Indigo Conference, I knew you’d become our League Champion! Please sign and take a photo with me!"

"Mr. Rio—is your Charizard here? I’d love a photo with it—I’m a huge fan!"

The crowd surged forward, pushing Mewtwo aside. Mewtwo stood there, utterly bewildered. One thought echoed in its mind: They weren’t looking at me at all from the start, were they? They were looking at this kid?

On the other side, Rio faced the enthusiastic crowd with a smile, telling them to line up—everyone would get a signature and a photo. As he signed and posed, he glanced at the dumbfounded Mewtwo and deliberately raised an eyebrow.

See? I told you. While Mewtwo was rare and unfamiliar to most people, that alone wouldn’t make them stare repeatedly. After all, this world was full of Pokémon people had never seen before. But now, with the mystery solved, everything made sense.

Sorry, sorry—it turns out I was the attention magnet all along. The variable in this experiment wasn’t Munchlax—it was me.

Half an hour later, Rio finally finished signing photos and autographs for everyone in the café. He tried to pay the bill, but the owner refused, insisting it was on the house. No matter how much Rio insisted, the owner wouldn’t take his money, so Rio could only sigh and accept the overwhelming charm of being Champion.

Throughout it all, almost no one paid attention to Mewtwo—except for one child who, while getting a photo, pointed at Mewtwo and asked what it was. Rio openly explained that it was called Mewtwo—an artificial Pokémon. The crowd was shocked, but only briefly. As the League Champion, it was only natural for him to have an unusual Pokémon—probably one assigned by the League.

"Mewtwo—let’s go," Rio said with a smile.

Mewtwo looked at Rio with a completely different expression. Its worldview was crumbling. It had always believed that everyone was staring at it, discriminating against it. But now, the result was this: even when sitting right next to Mewtwo, everyone’s attention had been on this human from the very start.

"I want to run the experiment again," Mewtwo said.

"Fine—I agree," Rio shrugged.

Through this experiment, he’d also realized something: he needed to be more mindful of his behavior in public. As the League Champion, every move he made should reflect dignity and grace. Things like spitting or relieving himself in the wild—those were definitely out. If he really couldn’t hold it... well, he’d check first to make sure no one was watching.

He might not be a movie star, but he was bigger than one—the biggest star in two regions. As long as he stayed Champion, he’d always be in the spotlight.

What Rio didn’t know was that the very next day, that café would hang up a new sign: "Champion’s Café." And the photo of the owner with Rio would be displayed in the most prominent spot, along with the claim that even the Champion had come to dine there.

After leaving the café, Rio followed Mewtwo’s request and found another dessert shop with outdoor seating. They sat down and observed whether passersby would pay special attention to Mewtwo.

The result: passersby were indeed drawn to Mewtwo’s appearance. Some were curious about its name—but when told it was an artificial Pokémon, their reaction was the same as in the café: shock, but not a trace of prejudice or discrimination. Most people’s attention then shifted to Rio.

That is, until someone tentatively asked if Rio was the new League Champion. After that, Mewtwo’s appeal to the passersby dropped to zero. No one paid it any attention—all eyes were on Rio.

Mewtwo’s reaction to all this? One thought: I want to drink. I want to drink until I’m completely wasted.