Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 12: Charmeleon

"Kishi, make sure all three of them stay here. I’m going to make this brat pay dearly," Temu said, pointing angrily at Rio.

"You got it, Temu. I’ve got my eye on that shiny Charmander of his."

"Houndour, let’s go!"

The crew-cut man from earlier responded excitedly.

"Hound—" Houndour let out a low growl and advanced toward Rio under Kishi’s command.

"Rua~" Charmander immediately stepped in front of Rio, standing fearlessly against Houndour.

"Houndour, charge in—use Bite!" Kishi gave the first order.

Houndour received the command and lunged swiftly at Charmander, its jaws wide open. Its sharp fangs gleamed brightly in the sunlight, surrounded by swirling dark energy.

"Charmander, dodge to the right and use Growl!"

Rio countered with his own command immediately.

Charmander obeyed, leaping to the right and dodging Houndour’s pounce. At the same time, it let out a somewhat adorable cry.

Under the effect of that cry, the dark energy around Houndour’s mouth weakened significantly, and even its fangs appeared less menacing.

Rio’s lips curled upward at the sight. Good thing he’d maxed out Growl’s proficiency too.

Kishi’s eyes widened in shock: "How is Growl having that much of an effect?!"

But there was no time to dwell on it—he quickly issued his second command: "Houndour, use Ember!"

"Hound—"

On the other side, Rio initially considered having Charmander use Ember as well to give them a little surprise. But then he remembered Houndour’s Flash Fire ability, which would absorb the flames and boost its own power, so he quickly changed his mind.

"Charmander, dodge it, close in, and use Scratch!"

"Rua~"

Charmander charged toward Houndour, weaving past the smaller Ember attack with agile movements. The next second, its claws raked across Houndour’s neck.

Kishi had ordered a dodge, but it was a beat too slow—Houndour took the hit.

"Hound—" Houndour let out a pained cry.

"Houndour, while it’s close, use Incinerate!" Kishi gave a new command.

Houndour opened its mouth wide, and scorching flames quickly gathered within.

"Charmander, back off and use Dragon Breath!" Rio’s command came simultaneously. With Houndour’s Flash Fire ability, he couldn’t risk Charmander exchanging close-range fire with it.

Charmander stepped back a few paces and gathered hot black energy in its mouth.

Two seconds later, a blazing pillar of fire and a scorching jet of pitch-black energy collided midair—red against black, locked in a stalemate.

Kishi stared intently. He had never expected that shiny Charmander to be able to fight his Houndour to this extent.

But then, something even more unexpected happened. After only a moment, the black energy column overwhelmed Incinerate with overwhelming force, engulfing it completely and slamming into Houndour.

"Hound—" Houndour let out a pained screech as it was sent flying, crashing into a tree trunk two meters behind it.

"Houndour!" Kishi cried out in alarm.

The scene also shocked the watching Team Rocket officer Temu and the other grunt, Kurohana.

"That Charmander is incredibly strong!" Kurohana exclaimed in surprise.

Temu, the bald officer, furrowed his brow and scratched his shiny head. "No—that Charmander is off. Its Dragon Breath feels comparable to the Dragon Breath of Officer Natsume’s Charmeleon. But that’s a Charmeleon about to evolve into Charizard. Is this one holding an Everstone?"

On the other side, Rina and Mr. Fuji were equally astonished.

"Grandpa, what happened while I was kidnapped? Charmander’s strength has transformed this much?" Rina covered her mouth in amazement.

"Er... honestly, I don’t know how to answer that. All I can tell you is that this morning, Charmander took down Munchlax in just two moves," Mr. Fuji said, his gaze fixed on Rio.

The battle continued. Rio remained calm and composed as he issued his final command:

"Charmander, charge in and finish it with Scratch!"

"Rua~" Charmander surged forward with unstoppable momentum toward Houndour, which was struggling to get back up.

"Houndour, get up! Use Bite!" Kishi shouted frantically on the other side.

But Houndour was not only badly injured—Dragon Breath had also left it paralyzed, making every movement agonizingly slow.

Four or five seconds later, Charmander closed in and landed two consecutive Scratches. Houndour’s remaining battle capacity was completely wiped out.

"Don’t get too cocky, kid! Aside from me, there are still two more Pokémon here. That Charmander of yours is mine!" Kishi, having lost, glared at Rio and spat out his threat.

But Rio ignored him completely. His attention was fixed on Charmander—because he noticed that after defeating Houndour, Charmander’s level had jumped straight from 15 to 18.

At the same time, a faint glow of evolution began to emanate from Charmander’s body.

"Wait! This Charmander isn’t holding an Everstone!" Temu, who had assumed Charmander was an old, stone-holding Charmander, suddenly became uneasy at the sight.

Then his eyes locked onto the Charmander enveloped in the evolution light, and greed flickered across his face. If he captured this and presented it to Boss Giovanni, the boss would be very pleased.

A moment later, the evolution light faded.

From a shiny Charmander, it had successfully evolved into a shiny Charmeleon.

"Rua~" Charmeleon turned to Rio, proudly showing off its evolved form.

Rio gave a big thumbs-up and said his most frequent words of praise:

"As expected of the super genius I knew you were."

"Rua~" Charmeleon beamed with joy—this was its favorite compliment.

"Kid, battle me. Let me see what surprises this freshly evolved Charmeleon can still give me."

At this point, Temu decided to enter the fight. Earlier, he hadn’t thought a mere Charmander was worth commanding his Golbat over. But now, his mind had changed.

Rio frowned slightly at him and at the Level 30 Golbat hovering above his head.

Then, after a brief pause, a small smile crept across his lips.

"Charmeleon, use Ember—target Arbok."