Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 111: Sacred Fire – Raikou’s Shock

Watching Raikou standing triumphantly over Heracross, Rio couldn’t help but marvel. His desire to have it burned even hotter. A legendary Pokémon this powerful—one that technology can’t easily suppress—truly lives up to its name.

Just then, Hunter A’s voice rang out: "Golem, Stone Edge!"

"Gol~" Spurred by its trainer’s emotions, Golem mustered its courage despite its fear and attacked Raikou. With a roar, a dense array of sharp stones materialized around it, then shot toward Raikou like bullets.

Raikou gave them a contemptuous glance. A translucent wall of light—faintly shimmering under the stormy sky—materialized before it.

[Reflect]

The stones passed through the barrier and clattered harmlessly to the ground. A move designed to weaken physical attacks, in Raikou’s hands, had completely nullified them.

"Th-this..." Hunter A’s face stiffened again. He hadn’t expected this level of power. Then he noticed the other hunters were still frozen, and he exploded with rage: "What are you all standing around for?! Scared already?! Attack! Don’t you want financial freedom? Don’t you want to live like the rich?!"

The hunters snapped out of it and commanded their Pokémon to attack. Rio also released his current ace—Charizard.

"Roaar~" The moment it appeared, its own earth-shaking roar echoed across the valley, radiating the presence of a truly powerful Pokémon. This pressure affected not only the nearby Pokémon but also made Raikou pause and stare for a full two seconds. The hunters were startled too—they hadn’t expected H to have not only a powerful Primeape but also a shiny Charizard.

No wonder he wears a Charizard mask—is this his actual ace? Hunter J wondered in surprise, releasing her own Pokémon—a Level 51 Flareon.

"Charizard, Flamethrower," Rio commanded, deciding to play it safe for now—test the waters and wear Raikou down.

"Roaar~" A wave of scorching flames erupted from Charizard’s mouth. Though he was playing it safe, Charizard’s Level 65 made it the strongest Pokémon on the hunters’ side. Its Flamethrower far outmatched the others’ attacks.

When Raikou’s Charge Beam swept through and was about to overwhelm the hunters’ combined long-range attacks, Charizard’s Flamethrower joined the fray. The momentum immediately shifted, pushing back against Raikou.

"Great work, H! That’s what I call teamwork!" Hunter A cheered.

But his celebration lasted only two seconds. Raikou’s dark purple thundercloud cape flickered—and the power of its Charge Beam surged dramatically. The beam swept through like a mine-sweeper, striking each of the hunters’ Pokémon one by one. Only Charizard reacted quickly enough, flapping its wings to evade the blast.

"This is insane..." Hunter E looked at his battered Granbull and began to feel genuine fear. The other hunters felt it too—Raikou’s overwhelming power was on full display. Fighting twelve opponents at once, it had not only held its ground but had turned the tables.

Oh? Looks like Raikou’s safety isn’t something I need to worry about, Hunter J thought with excitement. She was the only one besides Rio who wasn’t afraid—but their excitement came from different places: Rio was thrilled by Raikou’s strength and wanted to catch it; she was thrilled that Raikou would likely beat the hunters to a pulp.

Well, there was one other person excited too.

"Whoa—incredible, Raikou! As expected of one of the legendary three beasts!" Atop Raikou Mountain, Saurion watched through his binoculars, barely containing his excitement.

"Too bad it didn’t take out that Charizard too—that would’ve been perfect. But it doesn’t matter—that Charizard’s day will come soon enough. Heh, you hunter bastards had it coming. Just wait—after Raikou’s done with you, I’ll swoop in with my team and throw every last one of you in jail alongside Aria."

"Especially that Charizard-masked bastard—I’m going to—wait, why is that flame purple?!"

His taunt trailed off as his eyes went wide. Through his binoculars, he saw Rio now riding on Charizard’s back. At his command, purple flames erupted from Charizard’s mouth, clashing with Raikou’s Charge Beam. This time, Charizard alone held its ground against Raikou’s attack—and the Charge Beam couldn’t overpower it.

"Mr. Saurion—I think that command was ’Sacred Fire.’"

"You illiterate fool—Sacred Fire is Ho-Oh’s flame! The divine flame! How could some ordinary Charizard use that? You must have misheard!"

"Try aiming your binoculars at Raikou’s face—look at its expression."

Raikou, while still firing its Charge Beam, wore a look of utter shock:

(⊙_⊙)

"..."

Down below, the hunters were equally stunned. They weren’t illiterate—they knew exactly what Sacred Fire was. So when H shouted that command, they thought they’d misheard. But then the purple flame streaked past, clashing with Raikou’s Charge Beam, and they saw Raikou’s incredulous expression up close.

"What are you all standing around for?! Help! Am I the only one alive here?!" Rio’s shout broke through their stupor.

Snapping out of it, the hunters quickly commanded their Pokémon to join the fight.

"Golem, Stone Edge!"

"Lickitung, Ice Beam!"

"Raichu, Swift!"