Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 109: Raikou Appears

Rio and Gengar installed all the lightning rods at the spots Hunter A had marked around the valley. Just as he was about to head back to the camp, J finally showed up.

"Sorry, H—my stomach was really killing me," Hunter J said apologetically. "I was hoping to help you install the rods, but you ended up doing it all yourself."

If you’d really been gone that long, you’d have wasted away by now... Rio glanced at her legs, which showed no sign of weakness despite her claiming to have been squatting in the wild for an hour. He waved it off: "No worries—they’re all set. Let’s head back to camp."

They walked back together. On the way, Hunter J noticed the shiny Haunter had evolved into Gengar and remarked in surprise: "It evolved?"

"Yep—not long after you left. The magnetic field in the valley triggered it," Rio said with a shrug.

Hunter J studied Gengar for a moment, muttered something like "So that’s what a shiny Gengar looks like," then turned back to Rio and lowered her voice:

"H—since your Haunter evolved into Gengar, you’re even stronger now. How about we make our move tonight? Take out or restrain the others first, then figure out how to catch Raikou."

Rio glanced back at her. "Not yet—what if Raikou’s too strong? We can let them test the waters first."

"What’s wrong—not confident in your own strength?" Hunter J smiled.

Trying to provoke me? Rio sneered behind his mask. "It’s not about confidence—it’s about being steady. But if you want to think it’s lack of confidence, be my guest."

Seeing that H wasn’t taking the bait, Hunter J sighed inwardly, then immediately put on a warm expression: "Of course not—I love a man who’s steady and reliable."

Tch—women... Rio rolled his eyes.

Before long, they returned to camp. All the Electric-type Pokémon from the trucks had been unloaded and gathered in one area. A Blastoise and a Kingdra were spraying them with Water Gun attacks. The Electric-types tried to flee, but the specially made cages prevented their moves from escaping. All they could do was attack back and screech in the cages, venting their fear and panic.

"Yes, yes—that’s it! Keep screaming!" Hunter A was outside, shouting excitedly like a madman. "Call Raikou here—only it can save you!"

Above, the thunderstorm grew more intense as the hundreds of Electric-types unleashed their electric moves. Thunder boomed continuously. Lightning struck constantly—but thanks to the lightning rods, none of it reached them.

Rio watched the scene expressionlessly. Though he felt sympathy for the Electric-types, he could only stand by and observe.

Behind him, he heard the faint sound of teeth grinding. He glanced back slightly—Hunter J was clenching her fists, clearly seething with anger. When she noticed Rio looking, she immediately smiled and asked: "What’s wrong?"

Her fists relaxed in an instant.

What a quick change... Rio couldn’t help but marvel internally.

Time passed, and night fell.

The hunters set up tents in a hidden part of the valley. Two were assigned to guard the hundreds of Electric-types, while the rest stayed at the camp, waiting for the alarm that Raikou had appeared.

"Froakie, good work! Just 32 more Water Pulse practices and you’ll see real improvement."

"Froakie~"

With nothing else to do, Rio found an open area nearby and released Froakie to guide its move training. To keep it motivated, he drew a crude caricature of Hunter C on a board, hung it on a tree, and had Froakie attack it. Hunter C saw it but didn’t dare say a word—he could only curse silently. The other hunters saw it too and watched with amusement—after all, it wasn’t their faces on the board.

"H—how do you know your Froakie will improve after just 32 more Water Pulse practices?" Hunter J came up beside him.

Rio glanced at her but didn’t answer. Instead, he scanned the surroundings. Hunter J had disappeared from camp for about half an hour—he suspected the Saurion guy had arrived and she’d gone to meet him. But looking around now, he didn’t see anything unusual.

"H—I’m asking you a question. What are you looking at?" J asked, puzzled by his lack of response.

Rio smiled: "Looking at a beautiful woman, of course."

"A beautiful woman?" J looked around—there was no other woman here.

Then H’s next words made her blush slightly: "I’m looking for where Miss J went half an hour ago—the woman in front of me right now is clearly prettier."

With that, Rio took her hand and kissed it.

"Smooth talker." J hadn’t expected H to pull that move.

"Just being honest."

On the other side, the hunters who had been watching Froakie pummel Hunter C’s portrait made faces like old men squinting at their phones.

"Tch—H is so disgustingly shameless."

"Damn—I’m taking notes. I’ll use that line when I’m trying to pick up girls."

If they weren’t afraid of losing a fight, they’d have pulled out knives to avenge this "wife-stealing" act.

I can’t see Saurion, but he can probably see me—I wonder what his reaction is right now, Rio thought, his eyes scanning the valley again from behind his mask.

Atop Raikou Mountain, Saurion—still sporting bruises on his face—watched through binoculars as his goddess’s hand was kissed by some bastard in a Charizard mask. He exploded with rage.

"AAAHHH—I’M GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD!"

"THAT SON OF A BITCH—I HAVEN’T EVEN HELD Aria’s HAND, AND HE ACTUALLY KISSED IT!"

"DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM TO HELL!!!"

There were four other people with Saurion at the summit. Seeing him pull out a Poké Ball, they panicked and grabbed him.

"Mr. Saurion—calm down!"

"Don’t stop me—I’m going to fight him!"

"Mr. Saurion—everything is for the mission to take down these Pokémon hunters. Hold it together! If we blow the cover, all of Miss Thornwick’s efforts will be wasted!"

"But I can’t hold it in! Do you have any idea how infuriating this is?! I’ve never even touched Aria’s hand, and that bastard kissed it—he KISSED it!!!"

"We understand, Mr. Saurion—but you have to hold back! Otherwise, it’s all for nothing, and Miss Thornwick will be furious with you."

At the mention of Aria being angry, Saurion calmed down considerably. He could only glare hatefully down at the valley below, fixing his binoculars on the man in the Charizard mask.

A few days ago, a guy in a Charmander mask had made his life miserable. Today, a guy in a Charizard mask was making it even worse. He remembered them both—with burning hatred.

From now on, he vowed to beat up every trainer he saw with a Charmander, Charmeleon, or Charizard.

Just you wait, bastard—once Raikou appears and you backstab those Pokémon hunters, I’ll be ready to descend from above, Saurion snarled internally. Behold my divine might—nothing can stop me.

"ROAR!!!"

Suddenly, a deafening roar like a thunderclap echoed across the entire valley.

Saurion’s expression changed instantly. He and the others dropped flat and scanned the area, searching for the source of the sound.

Down in the valley, Rio and the hunters also heard the roar. Their faces shifted—then broke into wild grins. The same thought flashed through everyone’s minds:

Raikou—it’s finally here!