Chapter 370: Heading to the Water City
The next morning, after Zoroark had sobered up, Rio asked about what had happened at the League during his absence. He learned that the commotion caused by capturing the Sinnoh Three in Sinnoh, Groudon and Kyogre in Hoenn, and the Tao Trio in Unova had led each regional League to contact the Kanto League. If Zoroark hadn’t used its illusion to appear as Rio in video calls and prove that Charizard, Mewtwo, and Gengar were right there, Rio would have been in serious trouble.
"Of course—I told you, I’m the Phantom God. There’s no one in this world who can see through my illusions." Zoroark said proudly.
Rio smiled and glanced at Greninja. "Greninja, what do you think? Remember what I said before? The standard for judging its performance is up to you."
Greninja let out a "Koga~"
"Greninja says Zoroark did an excellent job impersonating you—it had your secretary Serīna completely bewitched." Gengar translated.
"Had Serīna completely bewitched..." Rio raised an eyebrow, recalling how Zoroark had kept saying "Woman, do this" and "Woman, do that" to Serīna before he left.
"Ugh..." Rio sighed deeply but decided not to press the issue. After all, Zoroark had successfully shielded him from a lot of trouble, allowing him to roam freely. It wouldn’t be fair to criticize it too harshly.
"Forget it—starting today, I’m officially back in the office. I’ll work for a few days and see if any problems have cropped up in my absence." Rio finally decided.
But before going to work, Rio had Charizard take him to Mt. Silver. He remembered encountering a Flygon in Hoenn that had wanted to travel with him. So after speaking with Zoroark and Greninja, Rio rode Charizard for fifteen minutes to Mt. Silver—a mountain teeming with high-level Pokémon.
Here, Pokémon in the fifties and sixties were everywhere, and seventies could occasionally be spotted. Only trainers who had earned all sixteen badges from Johto and Kanto were qualified to enter—otherwise, it was a death sentence.
When Rio arrived, he saw several hard-training trainers with their Pokémon. These were all former conference champions. They were shocked to see Rio—his strength, in their eyes, was beyond what Mt. Silver could offer.
Rio nodded to them and searched the mountain with Charizard. He eventually found Flygon, which was battling a level 60 Ninetales. Though two levels behind, Flygon was putting up a good fight. But Flygon noticed Rio’s arrival, got distracted, made a mistake, and was hit by the Ninetales’s Fire Blast, losing the battle.
The Ninetales let out a triumphant cry and turned to leave—only to see a Charizard with the Pressure ability looming in the air, its tail flickering with golden flames. The massive level gap made the Ninetales freeze like a mouse facing a cat. It cowered in submission.
"Roooar~" Charizard roared, and the Ninetales fled, terrified of being caught and beaten. It recognized Charizard—the undisputed ruler of Mt. Silver. Ever since Rio became Champion, Charizard had frequently led groups of Pokémon into the mountain to battle. It had beaten every Pokémon there, including this Ninetales, which had been among the first to receive a thrashing. It hadn’t seen Charizard in a while and assumed it had stopped coming because Mt. Silver no longer challenged it. Now, after half a month, its presence was even more intimidating—the Ninetales didn’t dare meet its gaze.
After the Ninetales fled, Rio chuckled at its panicked retreat, then jumped off Charizard, walked over to Flygon, and fed it an Energy Root. Flygon opened its eyes.
"How’s the training on Mt. Silver going, little Flygon?" Rio smiled.
Flygon looked at him, ashamed, and said nothing.
"What’s wrong? Having second thoughts about becoming my Pokémon?" Rio continued. "If you want to back out, it’s not too late—you don’t have to keep fighting these mountain Pokémon."
Hearing this, Flygon immediately lifted its head.
"Fly~" It called out with determined eyes.
"It says it doesn’t regret it. It said it would become the strongest on Mt. Silver, and it will. That Ninetales—it’ll beat it within a week." Gengar translated.
Rio raised an eyebrow. "Good—ambitious. I like that determined look."
"Since you said that, I’ll come check on you again in a while. I hope you achieve your goal and beat that Ninetales."
"Fly~" Flygon nodded.
Rio patted its head and pulled out more Energy Roots. "Take these—they’ll speed up your recovery. Don’t push yourself too hard."
"I won’t keep you—I need to get back to the League and do my Champion duties."
With that, Rio climbed back onto Charizard and left Mt. Silver under Flygon’s watchful gaze.
"Fly~" Flygon looked at the small bag of Energy Roots, then around at the many stronger Pokémon. It needed to find a good hiding spot.
Half an hour later, Rio was back in his Champion’s office.
"Good morning, Mr. Rio." Serīna stood up from her desk the moment he arrived.
"Have you had breakfast? I brought you some."
She was unusually enthusiastic.
"I already ate." Rio cleared his throat, trying to decline—but when he saw her expectant expression fall, he added: "But I’m still hungry."
Zoroark, you are a menace... Rio cursed inwardly as he accepted her breakfast. When he noticed she was about to watch him eat, he quickly changed the subject.
"Serīna, what’s on the agenda today?"
Hearing him call her "Serīna" instead of "Woman," her expression faltered—but she still answered: "Two things. First, the Unova League has proposed a joint regional effort against the villainous organization that’s been using your appearance and Pokémon to capture legendaries in Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Unova. They want to share information when any lead is found. Unova’s Champion Alder wants to know if Kanto will join."
"Join—of course we’ll join. We must take serious action against those who are using my name to disrupt the world." Rio agreed without hesitation. After all, in the story, the villainous organization was using his face—it would be suspicious if he didn’t join.
"What’s the second thing?"
"The second thing is that the Water City of Altomare will be holding a festival soon and has invited you to attend." Serīna said.
"Altomare?" Rio raised an eyebrow—the name sounded very familiar.
"Yes, Altomare. Will you go, Mr. Rio?" Serīna asked.
"I’ll think about it." Rio opened the breakfast Serīna had brought. "Serīna, you can go now—I’ll finish your breakfast."
Though reluctant, Serīna left. Once she was gone, Rio looked up Altomare in the League’s database. Soon, he found the information.
The records told a story: long ago, on an island called Altomare, there lived an old man and an old woman. One day, they found a pair of injured siblings on the shore. With their care, the siblings healed. But then an evil monster attacked the island, causing great destruction. Just as the island was about to be consumed, the siblings transformed into the legendary Eon Pokémon—Latios and Latias. They summoned many of their kind from the sky, who brought a gem called the Soul Dew, which drove away the darkness. The siblings gave the gem to the old couple, and peace was restored. Ever since, Latios and Latias have often visited the island where the Soul Dew rests, and no evil monsters have ever dared to attack again.
After reading the story, Rio smiled. He had made his decision about the second matter: he would go. He had to see the legendary Latios and Latias.
A week later, Rio arrived at Altomare. The island was hosting a water race. Rio, as a guest, gave a speech to the contestants. After he finished, the race began, with trainers competing on their Water-type Pokémon.
"I wonder if Latios and Latias are nearby." Rio sat in the guest seats after announcing the start, glancing around and muttering to himself.
He knew Latios and Latias could transform into humans and become invisible, making them hard to find. But he wasn’t discouraged. If he was meant to encounter them, he would. With his luck, he believed these two Eon Pokémon would reveal themselves to him.
Half an hour later, the race ended, and a young man named Rossi claimed victory.
"Serīna, you don’t need to follow me—I want to explore this Water City on my own." Rio said. Without waiting for her refusal, he disappeared into the crowd, leaving Serīna stomping her foot in frustration.
"Latios, Latias—where are you?" Rio wandered the city with a mask and sunglasses, scanning the crowds. He suspected anyone who seemed quiet and reserved—since Latios and Latias could transform into humans but couldn’t use telepathy, only mental sharing. So anyone who seemed like a quiet introvert became a suspect. But there were too many such people, so he abandoned the method.
Then, as he crossed a bridge, a silver-gray-haired woman and a blonde twin-tailed woman sped past on a motorboat, catching his attention. He recognized them: Sanna and Lian. They were the top duo on the Pokémon thief rankings, having stolen rare treasures across many regions. Their presence in Altomare could only mean one thing—they were here to steal something valuable.
Rio slipped into a corner and released Gengar, sending it to tail the duo. He then sat on a park bench, waiting for Gengar’s feed. While waiting, a girl appeared before him, curiously staring at what he was watching. He didn’t notice until Gengar’s footage seemed to loop back to his area—which felt off. He looked up and met the girl’s gaze. She was cute, with big eyes. They stared at each other. Then she made a funny face and ran off.
Rio watched her retreating figure and wondered: "Could that be Latias or Latios?"
He stood to follow—just as the two thieves sped past on another boat. In Altomare, canals ran throughout the city. By the time Rio caught up to the girl, the thieves had already cornered her, releasing a level 71 Ariados and a level 72 Espeon.
Seeing this, Rio was certain the girl was either Latias or Latios. Acting on his principle of helping those in need, he stepped forward and stopped the two thieves.