Chapter 236: The League Arrives
The frozen sea shattered like glass, splitting apart in all directions. Then, Greninja—having completed Geomancy—demonstrated its incredible speed, felling over a hundred trees on the island in an instant. Zapdos was awestruck by the display.
"See? This is the divine power they gained by sincerely trusting me and following my lead," Rio said. "If you want, you can have it too."
Zapdos looked at Rio, its expression showing hesitation. Rio saw it needed a push. Without a word, he took the Zapdos Poké Ball he’d taken from Lt. Surge, dropped it on the ground, and crushed it under his foot.
Zapdos’s eyes widened in shock—it hadn’t expected Rio to destroy the ball that bound it. That meant it could leave anytime it wanted.
"The choice is yours," Rio said calmly, his face full of confidence. "If you don’t want to stay, I’ll let you go."
Zapdos studied Rio, unable to read this human. Then Rio added: "But keep this in mind—if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life watching Articuno rival Ho-Oh and Lugia, and being forced to call it ’Lord’ out of fear, then you’d better follow me and trust me."
That struck a nerve. Zapdos’s hesitation vanished. "I’ll follow you," it said decisively. It would rather die than call that dumb bird Articuno "Lord." Its own failure was bad enough, but watching a colleague succeed would drive it insane.
"That’s the right choice," Rio smiled. "I promise you’ll have the same power as Articuno—as long as you truly become my partner." He took out a new Poké Ball and tossed it at Zapdos. With a flash of light, Zapdos was drawn in. It didn’t resist. The ball wobbled three times and clicked shut.
"Got it." Rio’s lips curled upward. He recalled Greninja and Annihilape, then waited for the League to arrive.
An hour later, helicopters appeared on the horizon. The Kanto League executives stared in disbelief at the island, littered with unconscious Team Rocket members. They had known Rio had single-handedly captured Team Rocket, but seeing it with their own eyes was still shocking. Staring at Giovanni lying on the ground, they were speechless for a long time. They had never imagined meeting Giovanni again like this—nor had they ever dreamed that Team Rocket’s leader would be taken down by Rio.
"Rio—how are they all unconscious?" an executive asked.
"I had Gengar put them to sleep," Rio explained.
"How did you do it? You were alone," another asked.
"Just like this," Rio shrugged. "And I wasn’t completely alone—I ran into that guy who attacked the League last time. We took down the Rockets together."
"You mean Gus?! He was here too?!" The executives gasped. The memory of the League attack was still fresh in their minds.
"Where is he now?" They looked around nervously, clearly still shaken by the three Regis.
"He and I drove him off," Rio said.
"What—Mewtwo? That artificial Pokémon was here too?!" The executives stared at Rio in alarm. As Kanto League higher-ups, they knew about Mewtwo—the Pokémon Giovanni had been desperate to catch.
"Where is it?" one pressed.
"Right here." Rio held up the Master Ball.
"What?! You caught Mewtwo?!" The executives felt their heads spinning. Rio, their League Champion, kept surpassing their expectations—not only defeating Giovanni but also capturing Mewtwo.
"Could you tell us how it happened?" someone asked eagerly.
"It’s simple—I obtained an item that can track Mewtwo, followed it here, and engaged Mewtwo in battle," Rio explained honestly, though he omitted certain details. "During the fight, Mewtwo and I discovered Team Rocket. When they realized they were exposed, they attacked both of us. The three of us were locked in a chaotic battle..."
"What about Gus? You said he was here too?" someone interrupted.
"Patience—I’m getting to that."
"While we were fighting, Gus showed up with the three Regis and attacked us all. We were about to team up and take him out first—but Gus suggested we take down Team Rocket together. To show sincerity, he even had Registeel use Explosion. Giovanni didn’t believe it—but sure enough, Registeel actually exploded. Team Rocket was devastated, and we joined forces to finish them off."
Hearing this, the executives turned to look at the massive crater nearby. They’d been wondering how it got there—now they understood it was from Registeel’s Explosion.
"Once Team Rocket’s main Pokémon fell, I released Gengar to put all the Rocket members to sleep," Rio continued. "Then it was just me, Mewtwo, and Gus in a three-way battle. In the end, I won—not only capturing Mewtwo but also driving Gus away."
Watching Rio recount his victory over Mewtwo and Gus so calmly, the executives exchanged glances. Their minds were reeling. Their intuition told them that under Rio’s leadership, both Kanto and Johto were about to reach unprecedented heights.
"Champion—could we study Mewtwo? I’m confident we can control it," one executive in a lab coat suddenly spoke up, his eyes gleaming with desire.
Rio, who had been casually spinning the Master Ball, paused. He looked up and fixed his gaze on the man. "Say that again?"
The other executives immediately understood Rio’s stance. The man who had spoken, now drenched in sweat under Rio’s stare, nervously shook his head. "Sorry, Champion—I spoke out of turn."
Rio let out a cold laugh and turned away, unwilling to waste words. If he handed over Mewtwo, he was certain those people would get themselves killed. Mewtwo—I’ll have to tame it myself.