Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 101: The 1.6 Billion Mission Bounty

Hunter A’s voice came from beside him. Rio tore off the eye patch and looked up—in front of him stood an unfamiliar villa. He glanced around; all he could see were mountains and trees.

So we’ve come to a place far from Violet City, Rio thought.

The eye patch had been given to him by Hunter A when he got into the car, to prevent him from learning the location. They had also taken his two phones, powered them off, and said they’d return them after the mission. Rio hadn’t refused either request.

After all, capturing Raikou was illegal, so it was normal for them to be cautious. Under normal circumstances, a 1v1 battle to catch Raikou would be legal—but in reality, legendary Pokémon were far too powerful for almost anyone to handle alone. That’s why they relied on technology and numbers. And on top of that, they’d captured a large number of Electric-type Pokémon from the restricted area for this operation. If they were caught, they’d either spend the rest of their lives in prison or get a one-way ticket to reincarnation.

"Counting you and me, nine of the twelve members have arrived," Hunter A said, interrupting Rio’s thoughts.

"Oh, okay." Rio nodded. That meant three were still missing—and the Pokémon Ranger was likely one of them. She’d probably gotten her hands on one of the hunters’ phones, just like he had. But right now, she was probably racking her brain trying to figure out where to get enough Electric-type Pokémon to satisfy Hunter A.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt struck down from the sky in front of the villa.

"Whoa—" The sudden blast made Rio jump.

"Don’t worry—I’m guessing they’re having a Pokémon battle," Hunter A said, noticing Rio stop. "There’s not much to do here besides battle."

Could’ve mentioned that earlier... Rio relaxed. "Got it."

Soon, they entered the villa. Rio saw two masked individuals engaged in a Pokémon battle—one commanding a Level 56 Quasi-Elite Four Raichu, the other a Level 54 Quasi-Elite Four Lickitung. Lickitung was already down.

Five other masked spectators sat nearby.

"Everyone—Hunter H is here," Hunter A announced to the group.

Seven pairs of eyes turned to size up Rio.

"This is Hunter B."

"And this is Hunter C."

Hunter A introduced them one by one. Rio nodded in greeting.

"H—how about a bounty battle? Fifty thousand per match. Loser pays after the mission," said the Granbull-masked Hunter E.

After the mission? By then, I’ll have caught Raikou and made my escape. You’ll be furious and definitely not paying me. Rio shook his head: "Pass. I’m tired from the journey."

But his refusal drew mockery from the other hunters.

"H—are you scared or something?"

"Can’t handle a fifty-thousand bounty match?"

"The bounty for this mission is 1.6 billion! If we succeed, each of us gets over a hundred million. And you won’t even risk fifty thousand?"

Rio’s pupils contracted beneath the mask. 1.6 billion? He’d known from the group chat that the bounty would make every hunter financially set for life—but he hadn’t known the exact amount. Now that he did, he was genuinely surprised. If Raikou was worth 1.6 billion, then it was almost certainly the legendary Raikou with divine status.

Coming here was definitely the right call. Rio’s heart began to race with excitement.

"Tch—coward."

"Fifty thousand is too much for him."

The other hunters, taking Rio’s silence as refusal, scoffed and turned away, no longer inviting him. Even Hunter A seemed to think less of Rio’s timidity. He assigned Rio a room and left.

Alone in his room, Rio stood by the window, watching the battles below, his mind wandering. Then he remembered the Froakie he’d bought two days ago. He took out two Poké Balls—one of which was the ancient one.

He released Haunter first, then the Froakie.

As expected, this Froakie was also a rebellious one. The moment it appeared, it launched a Water Pulse straight at his face without a word.

"Haunter." Rio called out in exasperation.

Damn it—I’m cursed. Charmander was the same. Munchlax too. Primeape, Red Gyarados—and don’t get me started on Haunter, who not only attacked me but dragged an entire island down with him. And now this Froakie is following in all their footsteps—launching a Water Pulse at my face the moment it sees me. Can’t I get just one Pokémon that doesn’t attack me on sight? Can’t we just sit down and have a civilized chat? No? Does this handsome face of mine really look that untrustworthy?

Haunter understood and used Psychic to disperse the Water Pulse before it hit Rio.

"Froakie~" Seeing its attack neutralized, Froakie paused for half a second—then used Quick Attack, charging at Rio. It seemed determined that either Rio died, or it did.

You’re something else... Rio’s expression was deadpan.

Ultimately, Froakie was stopped mid-charge by Haunter’s Psychic, held suspended in the air. It kept shouting at Rio:

"Froakie~ Froakie~ Froakie~"

Though Rio couldn’t understand it, he bet it was cursing him out. Just look at Haunter—its mouth was puffing up; if Froakie swore any more, Haunter might burst out laughing.

Sigh—life is so hard.

"Froakie—do you want revenge? Revenge against the Pokémon hunters who killed your kin?" Rio said without preamble, cutting straight to what Froakie wanted most.

Froakie paused, stunned that this human knew its story.

Rio continued: "If you trust me, I can help you get your revenge."

"Froakie~" Froakie cried out. Rio looked at Haunter, who translated via telepathy: "It says, why should it trust you?"

Rio raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and said: "I’m currently with a group of Pokémon hunters—not that I’m one of them. I’m disguised as one. If you want, in a few days, I can help you take them down."

"If you don’t believe me, look out the window. See if their clothes look familiar."

Rio signaled Haunter, who released Froakie from Psychic. Froakie gave Rio a long look, then hopped twice to the windowsill and looked down. After a few seconds, Rio said calmly: "Froakie—they look just like the ones in your memories, don’t they? Trust me—I’ll make sure they get what they deserve."

Froakie glanced back at Rio—and then it jumped.

"Hey! You trying to kill yourself?!" Rio’s eyes went wide in shock.