Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 112: Self-Destruct

After watching Raikou single-handedly cripple the hunters’ Pokémon with a single Charge Beam, Rio knew he couldn’t hold back too much anymore. He needed to show some real strength—otherwise, everyone would go down, and he’d be left to face a fully healthy Raikou alone. That wouldn’t do. Damn it—at least do something useful before you collapse!

Just then, the hunters’ Pokémon attacked Raikou. Raikou pushed aside its shock, broke off its beam clash with Charizard, and used Extreme Speed to weave and dodge across the battlefield, demonstrating what could only be called legendary-tier footwork. Along the way, it passed a Granbull that had charged in to use Crunch—and delivered a Thunderbolt straight down from the sky, striking it from crown to sole. The Granbull collapsed instantly.

Watching this, Rio couldn’t help but think of a streamer from his past life: "Backstab... Ghost Blade... can’t see me... weave, weave... gotcha... ah, that hurts." This really hurts right now—over a dozen Pokémon can’t land a hit, and we’ve already lost one.

Should I play dirty? Rio raised an eyebrow. He turned to Hunter A. "A."

Hunter A looked at him, and Rio gestured toward the hundreds of Electric-type Pokémon trapped in their cages. As the chief schemer of the hunter organization, Hunter A immediately understood.

"Everyone—attack the cages! But be careful not to destroy them!"

"Golem, Stone Edge!"

The other hunters were momentarily confused, then broke into knowing smiles. They were all well-versed in dirty tactics. They ordered their Pokémon to redirect their attacks toward the caged Electric-types.

Raikou, still weaving through the battlefield, saw this and rushed over.

"ROAR!!!" It let out a furious roar, its dark purple thundercloud cape flashing once more. The next moment, multiple Thunderbolts descended from the sky, intercepting the attacks aimed at the cages. At the same time, Raikou engaged Charizard’s Sacred Fire with its own Charge Beam, using its body to shield the caged Pokémon—taking the full force of Golem’s Stone Edge and a Houndoom’s Flamethrower.

Pain made its body tremble, but it stood its ground fearlessly.

Raikou, I’m sorry—you’re just too strong. I have no choice but to do this, Rio thought grimly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hunter J’s fists clenched tightly. About to lose it, are we? Rio smirked. Just then, he sensed movement from above—and a faint shout: "Damn those hunter bastards—they’re despicable!"

He looked up and spotted a few heads peeking over the valley rim. They vanished after two or three seconds.

So Saurion’s hiding up on the mountain, huh. Rio’s smirk widened. Trying to play the mantis stalking the cicada? Let’s see who’s really the mantis—and who’s the oriole behind.

Up on Raikou Mountain, Saurion quickly pulled his head back down. "Damn—did that guy spot us?!" he said nervously.

The others said nothing, but exchanged telling glances. After all, it was Saurion who had shouted.

After a moment, when Charizard didn’t come flying up, they cautiously peeked back over with their binoculars. The battle below had taken another turn.

Raikou, having been attacked, was once again unleashing its fury. It used Discharge—like a thunder god descending—blinding electric light erupting from its cape. The entire valley was illuminated. All nearby Pokémon were hit by the electric wave, including the hundreds of Electric-types in cages—though they were mostly protected by their cages.

As for the hunters’ Pokémon—out of over a dozen, only three were left standing: Hunter A’s Golem, Hunter J’s Espeon, and Rio’s Charizard. The fallen ones were recalled and replaced with fresh Pokémon—but just as they were released, Rio, his hair frizzed from the electrical discharge, shouted from the sky:

"A—do it now! Send Golem in with Self-Destruct!"

The other hunters shot looks of pure fury at Rio in the air. Couldn’t you have said that two or three seconds earlier?! I just sent out my replacement!

"Golem—charge in and use Self-Destruct!" Hunter A, on the other hand, followed Rio’s command without hesitation. He sprinted away while ordering Golem to attack.

Why did he follow so readily? Because he, too, had noticed Raikou’s fatigue after using Discharge—and the fact that it was still afflicted with Sacred Fire’s burn. This was the perfect moment.

"Gol~" Golem charged at Raikou, its body glowing with white light.

Seeing that light, the other hunters, despite their inner curses, followed Hunter A’s lead and scrambled away—they didn’t want to get caught in the blast. Even Raikou looked alarmed at the suicidal charge.

A moment later, a blinding white light erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire mountain shook violently. Rocks tumbled down the slopes. Dust and smoke filled the air.

"You know, they weren’t wrong when they said art is an explosion. This view is actually quite beautiful—especially with the thunderstorm backdrop," Rio muttered from above, having already had Charizard prepare for escape before giving the Self-Destruct command. It was unscrupulous, sure—but he didn’t care. Those below weren’t his real partners anyway.

Today, we’re playing dirty. If you want to catch Raikou, you can’t afford to be honorable. A fair 1v1 against Raikou? Who knows how many years that would take.

"Raikou should be badly hurt by now. Even if it can still fight, it’s about to face my full assault." Rio pulled out three Poké Balls, a grin spreading across his face.

Soon, the dust settled below.

The first thing Rio saw was the shattered remains of the cages, and the Electric-type Pokémon lying in a near-death state from the explosion. He silently apologized a few times in his heart—then he spotted Raikou.

It hadn’t fallen.

Battered and wounded, surrounded by a shimmering Reflect barrier, it stood tall.

"ROAR!!!" Raikou spotted Rio and let out a thunderous roar.

But Rio didn’t flinch. He locked eyes with Raikou from above.

"Damn it—how is it still standing?!" Hunter A ran up, covered in dust, looking at Raikou’s unyielding stance with a hint of despair.

"How are we supposed to beat this? Only H is left..."

"It’s over—Self-Destruct didn’t even take it down. With just H left, there’s no way we’re catching Raikou."

"Time to run—if we wait until H falls, we’ll be too late."

The other hunters were equally pessimistic. Hearing their defeatist talk, Rio raised his hand.

"Don’t panic!"

"Now—this is where I shine."

"Come out, you three!"