Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

"I can’t believe I actually got to see Victini—it’s a miracle!"

"Vic~"

But Victini was nervous and scared by her enthusiasm. In the end, it started crying. Yes, Victini cried—scared to tears by Kalita’s excitement. Big teardrops poured out, startling Kalita, who hurriedly put Victini down.

Once released, Victini turned invisible and disappeared from Rio’s sight again. Rio took out the rest of Kalita’s macarons.

"Victini, Miss Kalita didn’t mean any harm. I apologize on her behalf. Here—all these macarons are for you." Rio held up a macaron to the air.

After a few seconds, Victini reappeared and started nibbling the macaron. Clearly, it loved the taste. It also grew fond of Rio—Rio noticed Victini’s friendship level rise from 0 to 4.

"Vic~"

After finishing all the macarons, Victini called out to him.

"It says to follow it and play." Gengar translated promptly.

"Of course!" Rio smiled. He wasn’t about to miss a chance to bond with a legendary Pokémon.

So, a few minutes later, Victini led Rio to play at the edge of town—away from the crowds where it wouldn’t be spotted. Rio had originally planned to claim his prize from the Harvest Festival, but after meeting Victini, he abandoned that idea entirely. Compared to Victini, the prize was nothing.

However, during their play, Rio discovered something: Victini couldn’t leave Sword of the Earth. It was like an invisible net held it trapped. Whenever it approached the boundary, it was bounced back. Frustrated, Victini used its signature move—Flame Burst. Scorching flames covered its body and shot at the barrier, but it remained unharmed. Then, annoyed, Victini vanished—and wouldn’t appear again, even for macarons.

"The little one must have left." Gengar said.

Rio looked at the giant sword in the town. He remembered now—Victini couldn’t leave the town. Like Mew was bound to the World’s Beginning Tree, Victini was bound to the giant sword’s vicinity. But while Mew had a larger range, Victini was confined to Sword of the Earth. He couldn’t recall the exact reason—it had slipped his mind.

"Why is that?" Kalita, who had followed them, was equally confused. She only knew Victini lived in the town, not that it couldn’t leave.

"Rio, I’ll ask my mom—she’s knowledgeable and might know."

Ten minutes later, Kalita led Rio to a souvenir shop in town. She told her mother about meeting Victini and how it couldn’t leave the town due to an invisible barrier. Kalita’s mother listened thoughtfully, then Rio asked a puzzling question:

"Ma’am, where’s the most comfortable place in this town?"

"The most comfortable place?" Kalita’s mother looked at him, confused.

"Yes. Generally, when people experience something unpleasant, they go somewhere that brings them peace. I think Victini would do the same—and since it can’t leave Sword of the Earth, its options are limited." Rio smiled.

Kalita’s mother was surprised. She felt this young man understood human nature quite well. She did the same—when things went wrong, she’d go somewhere peaceful to calm down.

A few minutes later, Kalita’s mother led them toward the giant sword.

"Victini probably hates the barrier." She said along the way. "This town is surrounded by an invisible barrier. I’ve heard that Victini can’t leave the Sword of the Earth’s range, but I’d never seen it myself. Now, hearing your story, it seems true."

"What are you doing here?" A man in a headband suddenly appeared ahead of them.

"Brother!" Kalita ran up to him excitedly.

The man patted her head, then looked at their mother and smiled: "Long time no see, Mom."

Their mother frowned: "Doredo, you haven’t contacted us in over half a year."

Doredo scratched his head. Kalita asked: "When did you get back, brother?"

"I’m busy restoring the castle." Doredo pointed at the giant sword embedded in the cliff.

"I asked him to." Behind Doredo stood the mayor, Momondo.

Kalita’s mother said angrily: "Momondo, as mayor, you shouldn’t be ordering my son around."

"Sorry, sorry—but Doredo’s the only one I could ask." Momondo apologized.

"Brother, Victini really exists!" Kalita excitedly shared her sighting.

But Doredo only smiled and looked into the distance: "I know."

He then noticed the man behind his mother and sister. "And this is?"

Ten minutes later, Rio followed them to a vast orchard. It was filled with birdsong and floral scents—refreshing and soothing.

"This is indeed a place that brings peace." Rio nodded approvingly.

"Of course! This is my orchard." Mayor Momondo quickly accepted the compliment.

Rio smiled, patted his shoulder, and added: "Very nice. I think Victini would love relaxing here."

Then, Rio called out to the air:

"Victini, I know you’re here. I’m sorry—I didn’t know you couldn’t leave the barrier. I came to apologize and brought lots of delicious macarons. If you forgive me, please come out and see me."

The orchard was quiet. But after a while, as they approached a tree, a Purrloin leaned against it, apparently waiting, and called out to them.

"Purr~"

Then a Drilbur emerged from the ground and called out.

"Dril~"

"They’re telling you to follow them." Gengar translated.

Rio nodded, glanced back at the group, and followed the Purrloin and Drilbur deeper into the orchard. They saw a group of Petilil hiding behind watermelons, who seemed to have received orders to guide them too. Above them, Cottonee joined the escort.

Eventually, the Pokémon led Rio and the others to a secluded pond.

"Purr~"

"Dril~"

The Purrloin and Drilbur called out toward the pond. A moment later—

"Vic~"

Victini appeared—but quickly turned shy and vanished again after two seconds.

"Victini, I’m sorry—please let me see you again." Rio called out.

Victini didn’t reappear, but the wind chimes by the pond moved without any breeze. Rio raised an eyebrow. He felt he needed to put on a show.

"Victini, where are you? I brought lots of treats~" As he spoke, he took a step toward the pond, pretending to accidentally fall in.

Just as he was about to fall, an invisible force pulled him back, accompanied by Victini’s worried cry. Rio turned—Victini was tugging at his collar, afraid he’d fall in. But Rio still fell into the pond, and they ended up splashing water at each other. Victini enjoyed it, and its friendship rose by two points.

"Victini seems to really like playing with Xiao Jiang." Kalita watched enviously.

Behind her, Doredo muttered grimly: "I want to borrow Victini’s power."

Before long, Mayor Momondo invited Rio to his home and told the story of their family.

"Kalita’s mother and I are descendants of the People of the Earth." He said, searching through his cabinet for a book.

"The People of the Earth?" Rio raised an eyebrow. He didn’t remember the story well from the original. "The clan mentioned in the castle’s legends?"

"Correct." Kalita’s mother nodded. "What we’re about to tell you is the story of the People of the Earth and Victini."

"Please, look." Momondo found a dusty old book, dusted it off, and opened it. The first page showed a colorful illustration—a bearded king sitting on his throne, touching hands with Victini.

"Victini was the king’s partner Pokémon back then." Momondo explained, then turned the page.

The second page showed a vast forest.

"This place was called the Land of the Earth—where we are now. The Land of the Earth used the power of the Dragon Vein." Kalita’s mother said.

"Dragon Vein?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"It’s an immense, invisible power that flows through the earth." Momondo said. "Used properly, it can create harmony between nature, Pokémon, and humans."

Momondo turned another page—this one showed the king on his throne, with two young men standing below.

"The king had twin princes, both wise and brave—outstanding princes. They were called the Hero of Ideals and the Hero of Truth." Momondo explained.

Rio’s eyes flickered—the story was becoming familiar. Momondo turned another page. The illustration showed the two princes standing apart, each with a Pokémon behind them—one black, one white. Two massive dragons.

"What Pokémon are those?" Kalita gasped.

"Zekrom and Reshiram." Kalita’s mother explained.

"They only grant their wisdom and power to those they deem worthy." Kalita’s brother, Doredo, interjected. "But because of that, the princes clashed over the future of the kingdom."

"War followed—Zekrom and Reshiram battled in the Land of the Earth." Momondo continued.

"The fighting was fierce, and both sides suffered. The dragons exhausted their lives, turning to stone and falling into deep slumber." Kalita’s mother added. "The princes realized their mistake too late—the Dragon Vein’s power was already in chaos."

"Seeing the land destroyed, the king decided to use Victini’s power and asked for its consent."

"Victini agreed."

"To gather Victini’s power, the king used Guardian Pillars to create a barrier around the castle, lifted the Sword of the Earth Castle into the sky, and brought it to this mountain—where we now stand."

"But after all that, the king’s strength was spent. The Guardian Pillars and barrier remained."

"Eventually, the Dragon Vein calmed. The princes deeply regretted their actions and hid the dragons’ stone forms in an unknown place."

"The People of the Earth lost their bond with the land, and Victini—now invisible—remained."

"That’s why Victini has stayed here for a thousand years, unable to leave."

Rio listened, deep in thought. Doredo then stepped onto the balcony and pointed into the distance.

"There—that great scar is where the Land of the Earth once stood."

"I want to revive the Land of the Earth."

Hearing this, Rio’s lips curled upward. He was starting to remember most of it now. Doredo could command either Zekrom or Reshiram—he wasn’t sure which yet.

Just then, Victini arrived with several peaches from the mayor’s orchard, along with the Pokémon that had guided Rio earlier.

"Thank you." Rio took the peaches and patted Victini’s little head.