Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Seeing her Drapion defeated by a single Shadow Ball from the sudden Gengar, the seductive woman was stunned.

"What are you all standing there for?! Attack it!" She shouted at her subordinates.

They snapped out of it and quickly commanded their Pokémon. But before they could act, Gengar’s psychic force enveloped their Pokémon, lifting them midair, twisting them, and slamming them to the ground—all knocked out in one blow.

The seductive woman and her subordinates panicked. They never expected this Gengar to be so powerful—their Pokémon had been defeated in a single hit.

"Boss, what do we do?!" One subordinate looked at her in terror.

Facing the Gengar, she was at a loss herself. "Listen—this Z1 belongs to Team Flare! If you leave now, we’ll pretend nothing happened. But if you insist on making enemies of Team Flare, you’re finished!" She mustered her courage.

Gengar looked at them like they were fools.

"Gengar~" — Idiots.

With a flick of its short arm, the entire Team Flare squad was thrown against a boulder, knocked unconscious.

"Rrrrr~" — Gengar! What are you doing here?!

The rescued Zygarde core cell Z1 happily hopped over to Gengar. Gengar looked down at the worm-sized Z1, grinned, and pointed to the sky. Z1 looked up—and saw a black Charizard descending from above.

Rio jumped off Charizard’s back. Before Z1 could speak, Rio taunted: "Little Z1? You’re pretty pathetic, aren’t you? If I hadn’t been foresighted enough to follow you and see if you could escape Team Flare on your own, you’d be caught again!"

That shut Z1 up—it had been about to question why Rio was there. Instead, it let out a frantic "Rrrrr" cry.

"It’s thanking you." Gengar translated.

"No need—I’m just that good of a person." Rio waved it off, accepting the praise without hesitation. He noticed Z1 gazing at him expectantly.

"What’s up, Z1?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"Rrrrr~" Z1 called out.

"It wants to know if you’ll escort it to a destination." Gengar translated. Z1 nodded eagerly, waiting for Rio’s agreement. But after a moment, its little worm-like face froze.

"No." Rio said flatly.

"Rrrrr~" Z1 panicked—it couldn’t believe someone would refuse its request knowing its identity. It was a core cell of Zygarde, holding half the power of the complete form. Building a good relationship with it would bring countless benefits—possibly even becoming the trainer of a legendary Pokémon!

"It’s asking why." Gengar translated, already knowing Rio was playing hard to get.

"Because I have important business—I need to find Gengar’s Mega Stone. I can’t put that aside just for your sake." Rio said seriously.

Z1 looked at Gengar. Gengar stood there with its arms crossed, looking smug. It knew Rio was acting, but the words still felt good. Nothing was more important than finding Old Ghost’s Mega Stone.

"Rrrrr~"

"It says: what about after you find Gengar’s Mega Stone?"

"If I have nothing else to do after finding it, I can escort you to your destination." Rio said.

"Rrrrr~"

"It says fine—it’ll stay with you and wait until you’re done, then you can take it where it wants to go."

"Deal." Rio smiled. Z1’s friendship rose by another two points.

"Come on—let’s get out of here." Rio opened his arms. Z1 hopped into them. He mounted Charizard and pulled out Gengar’s Luxury Ball.

"Good work, Old Ghost. Now let’s go find your Mega Stone."

A flash of light—Rio recalled Gengar. Charizard flapped its wings and carried him away. Half an hour later, the Team Flare operatives woke up, dazed, trying to recall what had happened.

"That damned Gengar..."

Five hours later, Rio arrived at Geosenge Town—the second smallest town in Kalos, surrounded by ruins. Even before landing, he could see three massive stone pillars in the distance, standing at the town’s center.

If I remember correctly, that’s the ultimate weapon. Rio thought. In the original story, Lysandre had captured Xerneas and Yveltal there to drain their power and fuel the ultimate weapon—only to be beaten like a child by the complete Zygarde.

After landing, Rio’s first priority was food. He tucked Z1 into his bag and headed straight for a restaurant. He was starving—he’d flown from near Lumiose City without a break.

As he approached the restaurant, he noticed a group of Team Flare operatives in red suits leaving. He remembered that Team Flare had a secret base in Geosenge Town—but that didn’t matter now. Food came first.

Rio found a private room and ordered—not just for himself, but also for Charizard, Gengar, and Mewtwo. As for Z1, he didn’t order anything—it was a Zygarde core cell that absorbed energy from sunlight. As long as there was sunlight, it could fill itself.

After eating his fill, Rio began asking around about Mega Stones. With a bit of money and time, he learned how trainers in Geosenge Town obtained them. Outsiders would wander the surrounding ruins, hoping to find the Mega Stone they wanted. Most failed—or rather, found one but couldn’t retrieve it, because each Mega Stone was guarded by a powerful Pokémon. To claim it, you had to defeat the guardian first. Even if you did, the Mega Stone might not be compatible with your Pokémon. That left two choices: sell it to Team Flare or a research lab, or trade it for one you needed. Most people chose the first option; few had the time and energy to train a Pokémon suited to the stone.

After hearing this, Rio asked if any ruins were guarded by Ghost-type Pokémon. He reasoned that a Ghost-type guardian would increase the odds of finding Gengar’s Mega Stone. The man he paid gave him one lead—a ruin guarded by a Gengar. Rio was thrilled. A Gengar guarding a ruin likely meant it was guarding its own Mega Stone. His luck was incredible.

But Rio didn’t rush over immediately. He checked into a hotel, rested for the night, and set out the next morning after breakfast, wearing a mask and hat. Many other trainers were leaving their hotels at the same time, heading toward the ruins. Everyone was there for Mega Stones.

As they walked, the group scattered toward different ruins. Only two men and one woman were heading in the same direction as Rio—toward the ruin on the map he’d bought the night before.

"Hey there, buddy—you here for a Mega Stone too?" A tall young man from the group suddenly put his hand on Rio’s shoulder. Rio said nothing, just stared silently through his sunglasses. After a few seconds, the man awkwardly withdrew his hand.

"What’s his problem? Here, everyone travels in groups. A loner like him—even if he gets a Mega Stone, he won’t keep it." The tall man muttered to his companions.

Half an hour later, the four of them arrived at the same ruin. "Listen—first come, first served. We spotted this ruin first, so we have priority to challenge the guardian and claim the Mega Stone." The tall man announced.

Rio stared at him calmly and said nothing. "Are you mute?" The tall man exchanged glances with his friends.

"If you don’t speak, I’ll take that as agreement." He said, leading his group inside. Rio watched them go and smirked. He didn’t care about "first come, first served." He’d let them test the waters. If they lost, fine. If they won—well, he’d simply become the new guardian of that Mega Stone and beat them all.

Ten minutes later, the four of them reached a chamber. Cackling laughter echoed through the cave. Two Gengar emerged from the ground under the light of their flashlights, grinning at them with cunning malice. Rio noted their levels—55 and 52—and both had near-Elite Four talent. Respectable.

"Come out, Gothitelle!" The woman in the group threw her Poké Ball first, releasing a level 46 Psychic-type Gothitelle.

"Face me, Gengar!" She declared.

"Gengar~" "Gengar~" The two Gengar exchanged glances, arguing over who would go first. The level 52 Gengar floated to face Gothitelle.

"Gengar~" It didn’t attack—it taunted her, beckoning her with a claw.

"Gothitelle, Psyshock!" The trainer frowned and ordered.

"Goth~" Gothitelle’s eyes flashed silver, releasing a psychic wave that solidified into a physical shockwave aimed at Gengar.

"Gengar~" The Gengar grinned and countered with Dark Pulse. A spiral of malevolent energy shot out, blocking the Psyshock and pushing Gothitelle back several meters.

The trainer’s eyes widened as she gave a second command: "Gothitelle, Fake Tears!"

"Goth~" Gothitelle burst into tears, sobbing pitifully. The Gengar opposite it softened, reluctant to press its attack.

"Gengar~" The level 55 Gengar called out, urging its partner to snap out of it.

"Gothitelle, Psychic!" The trainer seized the opening.

"Goth~" Gothitelle’s eyes flashed silver, unleashing a powerful psychic force that slammed into the still-distracted Gengar—who writhed in pain midair. Realizing it had been tricked by the "deceptive witch," the Gengar grew furious.

"Gengar~" It retaliated with Night Shade—a terrifying illusion from its eyes that struck Gothitelle with psychic damage, breaking its focus. Freed, the Gengar quickly formed a Shadow Ball and struck Gothitelle, sending it crashing into the wall, knocked out.

"Gengar~" The victorious Gengar cackled and bumped bellies with its partner.

"You did well, Gothitelle!" Though disappointed, the trainer recalled her Pokémon.

"Let me try!" The tall young man stepped up and threw his Poké Ball. "Come out, Goodra! Show them what you’ve got!"

A flash of light—Goodra, a pseudo-legendary of Kalos, appeared. Rio noted its level was 51.

"Gengar~" The Gengar switched out again, with the level 55 taking the stage.

"Goodra, Tearful Look!" The tall man opened with a move to lower the opponent’s Attack.

"Good~" Goodra began crying, just like Gothitelle had.

Did this idiot forget Gengar is Ghost-type? Or forget that Tearful Look is a Normal-type move? Rio raised an eyebrow, amused by the tall man’s poor decision.