Chapter 157: Trusting Luck
Entei’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind again. "Did you misunderstand something? I’m its trainer—why would I abandon it?"
Rio felt wronged and utterly confused. Entei’s first words had been asking if he’d abandoned Munchlax, then if he’d deceived it. Like a parent demanding justice for their child. Come on—does my face really look that untrustworthy? And since when did Munchlax have anything to do with Entei?
"Ka~" Munchlax’s weak cry broke the silence. Entei looked at it.
"Yan-yan-yi~" Rio turned to the ancient Poké Ball in his hand.
"The little chubby says you didn’t abandon it or lie to it—you’ve taken good care of it."
"Entei asks why it burned the feather. Was it because of Moltres?"
Rio’s eyebrows lifted. Munchlax had one of Entei’s feathers? He hadn’t known that.
"Ka~" "The little chubby says it thought you were dead, so it wanted Entei to get revenge for you."
Rio felt a warm glow in his chest. He didn’t know how Munchlax had gotten Entei’s feather, but those words made all his efforts worth it.
"Yan-yan-yi~" "Entei asks who it should get revenge on. That Moltres?"
"Ka~" "The little chubby says it wants revenge on a big white bird. Is it talking about Lugia?"
Munchlax, you’re amazing—asking Entei to take on Lugia. Are you trying to get it killed? Rio was both impressed and amused.
He glanced at Entei, whose previously noble expression had frozen.
"Ka~" "The little chubby asks if Entei can do it."
Looking at Munchlax’s innocent, earnest face, Entei’s mouth opened and closed, as if searching for words.
Rio stepped in: "Munchlax—that’s probably not going to happen now. The big white bird has most likely left the battlefield. Even if Entei wanted to help you get revenge, there’s no way to find it now."
Entei turned to look at Rio. Though it said nothing, Rio caught a look of gratitude in its eyes.
"Ka~" "The little chubby says that’s a shame—it really wanted to give that big white bird a beating."
"Ka~" "The little chubby asks if Entei would come help if they ever run into the big white bird again."
Rio’s eyes lit up. If they ever encountered Lugia again, it would be when he was ready to take it on. This was a great question. He looked at Entei, who was frozen again, unsure whether to agree.
Rio leaned in and whispered: "Don’t worry—we’re not going to go looking for Lugia. Today was a fluke. It’s very unlikely we’ll run into it again."
Entei visibly relaxed. Why didn’t you say so earlier? You had me on edge.
Entei turned back to Munchlax. "Yan-yan-yi~" "Entei tells the little chubby not to worry—if it ever runs into Lugia again, just call, and Entei will come to help settle the score."
As Gengar translated, a strand of orange-red fur floated from Entei’s neck, along with a Sitrus Berry. Munchlax took the fur, swallowed the berry, and its wounds began to heal. Within moments, it stood up on Charizard’s back and leaped onto Entei’s, chattering and playing with it.
Rio watched with envy. He hadn’t even ridden Raikou yet, and Munchlax was already this close with Entei.
"Speaking of which—where’s Raikou? I told it to run, but where did it go?" Rio wondered.
Ten minutes later, Entei left. Now that Rio understood how Munchlax had met it, he watched Entei’s retreating figure with a strong desire to catch it—but held back. Entei had come to help Munchlax; trying to catch it would be too ungrateful. One meeting leads to another—better to build a relationship first. Maybe one day, I’ll win it over with sheer charisma.
"Alright—time to head back." Rio patted Charizard.
He tried to check his phone for their location, but it was damaged. He’d have to get it repaired. "Damn—I should have asked Entei where we are. Even the nearest Pokémon Center would’ve been helpful," Rio sighed.
Not every Pokémon was as lucky as Munchlax—it had Entei looking out for it, feeding it berries from afar. Annihilape and the Red Gyarados were still lying critically injured in their Luxury Balls.
"Ka~" Munchlax, sitting in front of him, suddenly pointed and cried out.
"What is it, Munchlax?" Rio asked. Gengar translated: "The little chubby says it saw something good—it wants Charizard to land so it can pick it up."
Charizard descended. Rio saw a medicine box. Munchlax trotted over, picked it up, and handed it to Rio. He opened it—inside were exactly six Revival Herbs, one for each of his injured Pokémon.
"Incredible, Munchlax—your luck is something else!" Rio’s grin nearly split his face. He couldn’t have asked for better timing. "Don’t worry—once we get back to civilization, I’m taking you out for a feast!" He gave Munchlax a thumbs-up.
"Ka~" Munchlax nodded eagerly, its eyes curving into happy slits.
Rio released Annihilape and the others, feeding each a Revival Herb. Soon, they all recovered, their wounds healing at a visible rate.
"Annih~"
"ROAR!!!"
"Gren~"
"Gengar~"
"Roaar~"
"Ka~"
Each one cried out to Rio. He nodded with satisfaction. Today was dangerous, and I didn’t gain anything—I even lost my bag. But everyone made it out safe. That’s what matters.
A moment later, Rio climbed onto Charizard with Munchlax and took off again. "Munchlax—Charizard will follow your directions from now on. Just tell it where to go. I trust your luck."
"Ka~"
Today, they’d escaped disaster thanks to Munchlax’s luck. Rio believed that same luck would guide them back to Kanto.
Five hours later...
"Where in the world did your luck bring us?!" Rio stared at the two identical islands before him, dumbfounded. They looked exactly like the "Twin Islands" that Team Rocket’s notes had marked as Articuno’s habitat.