Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 116: Five Questions

The hunters behind him were equally stunned.

"H—what do you mean by this? Are you betraying the hunter organization?" Hunter B demanded angrily.

Betraying the hunter organization? I’m planning to destroy it. Rio laughed. He was about to come clean when—

"Sorry, but you’re not going back to the hunter organization. H and I already discussed this—he gets 70%, I get 30%."

Hunter J stepped forward. Her appearance sent a jolt through the other hunters.

"You two are..." Hunter A’s hand trembled as he pointed at them.

"That’s right—we planned it all out last night." Hunter J looked at Rio with honeyed eyes. "Isn’t that right, H?"

This woman can really act, Rio thought, laughing inwardly.

"Shameless pair!" one hunter spat.

"Bullshit—we’re in love! And you lot were useless from the start—what right do you have to such a big cut?" Hunter J shot back, reaching for the Raikou Poké Ball in Rio’s hand.

Just as her fingers were about to touch it, Rio pulled it away again.

"What’s wrong, H? We had an agreement, didn’t we?" Hunter J asked, confused.

Rio scoffed. He was done playing along.

"Stop pretending. I’ve known you were a Pokémon Ranger all along. If I let you take Raikou, I’d never get it back."

The words "Pokémon Ranger" hit the hunters like a thunderbolt. They stared at Hunter J in disbelief, then glanced at Saurion and his group. Hunter J looked equally shocked—she hadn’t expected her identity to be exposed.

She was about to ask how he knew, but Rio had already leaped onto Charizard’s back.

"Forget it—in the spirit of our ’one-night stand,’ I can’t give you Raikou, but I can give you these hunters to complete your mission. Gengar—Hypnosis!"

"Gengar~" Gengar floated over the hunters, and one by one, they collapsed.

"I’LL KILL YOU!" Saurion, who had been watching from a distance, went pale with rage. He released a Typhlosion and was about to charge.

"Saurion—don’t listen to him! Nothing happened between us!" Hunter J—Aria Thornwick—grabbed his arm.

"Aria, how can you say that?! I remember that night clearly—I even remember the mole on your neck!" Rio called out, recalling his other Pokémon into their balls.

"WHAT?!" Saurion’s rage exploded. The bastard not only knew his goddess’s name but also knew about the mole on her neck!

"AAAHHH—I’LL KILL HIM! I’LL DEFINITELY KILL HIM! I HAVEN’T EVEN TOUCHED YOUR HAND, AND HE KNOWS ABOUT THE MOLE ON YOUR NECK!"

"Typhlosion—Flamethrower!!!"

A blast of fire shot from Typhlosion’s mouth—but Charizard had already flown off, carrying Rio away. Looking back at Saurion’s purple-faced fury, Rio burst out laughing.

Sure, that last remark was low. But he didn’t care. He held grudges—big ones. You messed with me. Count yourself lucky I didn’t kill you.

After laughing for a few minutes, Rio finally composed himself and pulled out Raikou’s Poké Ball. His heart pounded with excitement. With Raikou, he was ready to collect all eight Kanto Gym Badges, compete in the Indigo League, win the championship, and finally learn from Mr. Fuji what that mysterious item Team Rocket had been after really was.

"Wait—I still haven’t gotten my phone back."

Suddenly remembering that Hunter A had taken his phone earlier, Rio turned back. "Charizard—turn around!"

"Roaar~"

Minutes later, Rio returned to Raikou Mountain. By now, Aria Thornwick had taken off her mask and was working with her team to clean up the battlefield and administer medicine to the Electric-type Pokémon injured by Golem’s Self-Destruct.

Saurion, however, was nowhere to be seen—except he was. A quick scan revealed him lying on the ground, apparently passed out from sheer rage.

"Gengar—ask that guy where he put the hunters’ phones," Rio said, releasing Gengar from the ancient Poké Ball and having it use Hypnosis on Hunter A.

His reappearance naturally caught Aria’s attention. She walked over, her face cold, her chest heaving with barely contained fury. She didn’t ask about his fabricated rumors or how he knew her name and identity. Instead, she said coldly: "I’ve been thinking—you’re not a hunter either. You infiltrated this mission just like me. Who are you? Have the guts to tell me your name?"

Hearing the same question he’d heard before, Rio shrugged dramatically. "I go by many names, but I never change them. Yukio Goh is my name—but I prefer Goh. I’m from Vermilion City, Kanto. Feel free to come find me anytime."

"Gengar~" Gengar returned to his side.

"I’ve found out where your phone is," Gengar’s telepathic voice echoed in Rio’s mind.

"Thanks, Gengar." Rio recalled it, then noticed Aria murmuring the name "Yukio Goh" under her breath.

"Later," Rio waved and took off again.

Something told him that in a few days, the League’s people in Vermilion City would be searching for someone named Yukio Goh once more.

Two hours later, Rio returned to the villa where Hunter A had originally brought him. He retrieved his phone from Hunter A’s room.

"Raikou—let’s have a proper talk." Instead of leaving immediately, he went to the villa’s courtyard and released Raikou. Before doing so, he preemptively released all his other Pokémon—except Froakie—as a precaution.

With a flash of light, Raikou appeared.

Fortunately—for once—he experienced what it felt like to meet a Pokémon without being attacked on sight. Legendary Pokémon, it seemed, had standards.

But he did experience a look of utter contempt—one that said, I may have been caught by you, but I don’t respect you one bit.

That look irritated Rio. But he held his temper and said calmly:

"Do you want to become the leader of the three legendary beasts? Do you want to know why a Charizard can use Sacred Fire? Do you want to know why a Primeape has such terrifying power? Do you want to know why a Red Gyarados can fly? Do you want to know why a Munchlax can roll a move beyond your imagination?"

Five questions—and Raikou’s expression shifted. It turned and looked at Charizard, Primeape, Munchlax, and the Red Gyarados.