Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 1: A Shiny Charmander That Has Lost Its Will to Fight

Kanto Region.

Lavender Town.

Pokémon House.

"Rua~"

In a corner, a bright yellow Charmander suddenly launched an attack on a human.

Opposite it stood a clean-cut young boy.

The boy was startled by the flames, but he dodged quickly, evading the blaze.

A few seconds later, the Charmander withdrew its fire.

"Rua~"

It cried out at the boy again, as if to say, If you keep bothering me, I’ll burn you to death.

With that, it flopped to the ground and curled up.

The boy sighed at the sight.

"How am I supposed to break through this wariness?" he muttered.

His name was Rio, a sophomore psychology major and a seasoned Pokémon player.

Yesterday, while playing PokéMMO, he’d just gotten tired and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was in the world of Pokémon, having transmigrated into the body of a nameless extra whose parents had recently died.

At first, he thought he was dreaming. It wasn’t until after several sharp slaps to his own face—and the subsequent appearance of a system—that he confirmed this was really happening to him.

His system functions were very simple, just two.

The first was real-time training feedback for his Pokémon.

For example, it would tell him how long it would normally take for a Pokémon to reach the next level. After a battle, it would show him exactly how much time had been shaved off. Or, when learning a new move, he could instantly see how long it would take to master it, along with the move’s proficiency.

The second was a reward-unlock system tied to friendship. Each time a Pokémon’s friendship increased by a certain threshold, it would unlock a reward.

As is known, a Pokémon’s friendship ranges from 0 to 255.

The system divided this into five tiers:

Increase friendship by 60 points → unlock first-tier reward.

Increase friendship by 120 points → unlock second-tier reward.

Increase friendship by 180 points → unlock third-tier reward.

Increase friendship by 255 points → unlock fourth-tier reward.

Increase friendship by more than 255 points → unlock fifth-tier reward.

At first, he didn’t understand how the fifth tier could work, since the maximum is 255—how could you gain more than that?

That was until he passed by the Pokémon House with a growling stomach and saw several Pokémon with negative friendship values. Then he understood.

Because the Pokémon here had either been abandoned by their trainers or were left with no one to inherit them after their trainers died.

He walked into the Pokémon House and expressed to the staff his wish to become a volunteer.

The process went smoothly, and the Pokémon House not only provided him with food and shelter from then on, but also gave him the chance to become a trainer.

The rule here was simple: if you could get a Pokémon to willingly go on a journey with you, you could take it for free.

And the shiny Charmander currently resisting him was his top choice.

Not just because it was a shiny, but because its situation was truly heartbreaking.

In Rio’s field of vision, floating above the shiny Charmander’s head was Pokémon information only he could see.

[Pokémon: Charmander (Shiny)]

[Level: 14 (Currently experiencing negative emotions; leveling speed is significantly reduced. Time until next level: 158 days)]

[Talent: Elite]

[Friendship: -25]

[Ability: Blaze]

[Gender: Male]

[Moves: Scratch (25%), Growl (18%), Ember (19%), Smokescreen (15%), Dragon Breath (Learnable, Not Yet Mastered)]

[Description: This is a Charmander that has lost its will to fight. During an underground arena battle, due to its trainer’s poor commands, after its defeat, the trainer gambled it away to settle a massive debt, making it a part of the underground arena. That abandonment made it resistant to trainers and fearful of battle, leading to repeated losses in the arena and frequent punishments. It wasn’t until Officer Jenny of Saffron City led her officers to raid and dismantle the underground arena that Charmander’s nightmare ended, and she sent it to the Pokémon House.]

Compared to the other Pokémon in the house, Charmander had the highest negative friendship value with humans, followed by a Munchlax at -20.

"Everyone, it’s time for the Pokémon’s meal."

Just then, a voice came from behind Rio.

He turned to see Mr. Fuji, the founder of the Pokémon House, and his granddaughter, Rina, pushing a food cart toward them.

Rio walked over. Besides him, there were about a dozen other volunteers in the room caring for Pokémon.

"So, Rio, getting along well with Charmander?"

While Rio was serving Charmander’s meal, Mr. Fuji took the initiative to ask.

"Thanks for your concern, Grandpa Fuji. We’re getting along alright."

Rio replied with a respectful tone.

Despite looking like an ordinary old man, Mr. Fuji had an incredibly impressive résumé.

Aside from being the founder of the Pokémon House, he was also the founder of the Cinnabar Research Lab.

Yes—the very lab that created Mewtwo.

"Really? Don’t push yourself too hard. If you’re struggling, you must tell us. That child is much harder to care for than the other Pokémon."

Mr. Fuji sounded skeptical.

Charmander was the most difficult to handle here. Many volunteers before had asked to switch to a different Pokémon after caring for it for just a short while.

Only this young man, Rio, had arrived yesterday and immediately asked to take care of Charmander. Mr. Fuji had wanted to discourage him, but the volunteer previously in charge of Charmander had excitedly waved and agreed before he could say a word.

"Don’t worry, Grandpa Fuji. I’m not pushing myself. Trust me—I can take good care of it."

Rio said with a smile.

Seeing his confident expression, Mr. Fuji didn’t press further.

Many volunteers who had cared for Charmander before had started out just as confident as Rio. It was only after taking enough hits that they realized their own limits—and eventually had to ask the old man himself to step in and handle Charmander.

Rio finished portioning out Charmander’s lunch.

Before he left, Mr. Fuji remembered something and called out to him.

"Oh, by the way, the Pokémon have half an hour for mealtime. After that, it’s Munchlax’s turn to eat. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Grandpa Fuji. Someone told me," Rio said.

The Munchlax Mr. Fuji mentioned was currently locked in another room. It was the only Pokémon in the entire house that had to be isolated before mealtime.

The reason? Well, everyone knew why.

If they didn’t lock it up first, no other Pokémon would get a proper meal.

After all, the title of "Big Eater Pokémon" wasn’t just for show.

Before long, Rio set Charmander’s food bowl in front of it.

Charmander paid him no attention. Even with a delicious meal before it, it remained indifferent.

It just curled up, motionless. Even when Rio reminded it that food was ready, it didn’t bother responding, radiating nothing but listlessness.

Nearby, Charmander’s previous caretaker came over to Rio and offered some well-meaning advice:

"Don’t bother with it. This Charmander is stubborn as hell. The more you urge it to eat, the less it will. No one who’s ever looked after it has managed to get it to eat properly—not even Grandpa Fuji. It’ll only take a few bites when it’s absolutely starving."

"So later, before Munchlax comes out, you’ll have to take it outside or hide its food bowl, or Munchlax will definitely go after it."

Rio frowned at that.

It was still a child, yet it lived like an old man on death’s door—no energy, not even any desire to eat.

"No, this is clearly an illness. A psychological one. I need to resolve that trauma, or I’ll never earn its trust," Rio thought to himself.

After chatting with the other volunteer for a bit more, he turned around and fetched a notebook and a pen.

He planned to use pen and paper to help him systematically analyze Charmander’s psyche, step by step.