Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 16: Create a Gym?

On the way to Lavender Town’s park, Rio looked at the black lockbox in his hand, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

But anticipation aside, there were two issues he needed to consider right now.

The first was making money. From now on, he’d have to cover Charmeleon’s expenses himself, as well as pay for room and board at the Pokémon House. And eventually, he’d have a Snorlax in his team too. If his wallet wasn’t well-stocked, forget about becoming the League Champion.

"If I remember correctly, there are three fastest ways for a Pokémon trainer to make money," Rio muttered, putting away the lockbox as he recalled his options.

"First: through Pokémon auction houses—selling rare wild Pokémon or rare items."

"Second: participating in Pokémon tournaments, bounty battles against other trainers, or challenging Gyms. After winning a Gym battle, you get not only a badge but also a hefty prize—otherwise, there wouldn’t be much motivation for trainers to challenge Gyms."

"Third: offering training services—becoming a sparring partner for others’ Pokémon or providing training guidance for a high fee."

"For now, the third option—training guidance—suits me best and is the fastest way to earn money. But I can’t just focus on Lavender Town; these people are almost tapped out, and I’ll still need their help in the future."

At that thought, Rio pulled out his phone to see if he could offer this service online.

Before long, he found what he was looking for. He could register online as a Pokémon Guide, but he needed a qualification certificate. That certificate was his Gym badges—the more badges, the stronger he appeared, and the more clients would pay. Therefore, registration required at least one badge.

"Looks like I’ll need to find time to challenge a Gym first," Rio mused.

Then he turned to his second issue: building a local force in Lavender Town that would come to his aid at a moment’s notice. He felt Team Rocket would likely return—if this lockbox really was related to Mewtwo, next time they’d probably send more people. After all, Boss Giovanni was Mewtwo’s number one fanboy. Mr. Fuji had given him the lockbox precisely because of that fear. Rio would need allies to fight Team Rocket, or at least to protect the Pokémon House when he wasn’t around.

"Wait—if I create a Gym, that might solve all my problems," Rio suddenly thought of a solution.

A Gym not only represented the strongest trainer in an area but also carried the responsibility of training and developing local trainers. Most trainers would heed his commands. He might not be Lavender Town’s strongest trainer yet, but he believed he would be soon. Plus, with his system, he had the ability to guide Pokémon and elevate the overall strength of local trainers.

The only issue was that he couldn’t issue League-recognized badges. But so what? It wasn’t illegal. As long as he developed well in the future, he could eventually obtain League-approved badges.

"Nice—this idea has real potential. I’ll test the waters with those trainers later and see if they’d support me."

With that plan in mind, Rio’s eyes gleamed with renewed drive.

...

Before long, Rio arrived at the park with Charmeleon.

The trainers there had been either training or doing special training, but when they saw Rio, they swarmed over, asking why he’d called them to Route 8 earlier. They’d waited there for over an hour, only to get a message that the crisis was over and to wait for him at the park. Some suspected he’d been messing with them—especially since the temperature had suddenly spiked, leaving them drenched in sweat.

"The reason is that Team Rocket had kidnapped Miss Rina. I went to rescue her and called you to back me up. But luckily, I managed to defeat them on my own," Rio explained honestly.

"Team Rocket? That evil organization always in the news?" This revelation immediately stirred up the trainers.

"Rio, don’t lie to us. I’ve seen the news—Team Rocket is incredibly powerful. There’s no way you beat them alone."

Rio raised an eyebrow, surprised by their strong reaction. It seemed Team Rocket loomed large in their minds.

He continued: "What if I told you there were only three of them this time?"

As soon as he said that, someone quickly retorted: "Even three—you couldn’t beat them. They’re Team Rocket members."

Rio turned—it was Paul, the Poliwag trainer he’d first met at the park. Paul clapped Rio on the shoulder and laughed: "Bro, you’re starting to sound like a big talker now."

His words resonated with the others. Though they might not be able to beat Rio themselves, they still didn’t believe he could take on three opponents—especially Team Rocket members.

Charmeleon grew anxious at this. It couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t believe the truth.

"It’s okay. No need to explain. Let them believe what they want—they’ll eventually eat their words," Rio knelt down to soothe Charmeleon.

Hearing that, Charmeleon calmed down.

Just then, Rina arrived at the park.

"Rina, I heard you were kidnapped by Team Rocket?" Paul greeted her.

Rina was taken aback by the question, then spotted Rio in the crowd and confirmed: "That’s right—I was kidnapped. Rio and Charmeleon rescued me."

As soon as she finished, the crowd fell quiet, staring at Rio and her in astonishment.

Charmeleon let out a proud cry, as if praising Rina for her perfect timing.

"Rina, don’t mess with us—are you saying Rio single-handedly beat Team Rocket?" Paul asked incredulously.

Rina nodded earnestly: "Yes. One of them was even a mid-level Team Rocket Officer, but Rio’s Charmeleon still beat him. If you’d been there, you’d have been blown away by that battle too!"

"First, Charmander defeated Houndour and evolved. Then, using quick thinking, it took down Arbok. Finally, one Dragon Breath knocked out Golbat. I swear—that was the most thrilling battle I’ve ever seen in my life."

"Rua~" — Keep talking, I like this.

Charmeleon let out a pleased cry. But its joy didn’t last long—someone in the crowd raised a skeptical voice:

"Rina, are you and Rio in cahoots to fool us?"

Others joined in:

"Yeah, that sounds way too far-fetched. First Houndour, then Arbok, then Golbat—and just with one Charmeleon? Team Rocket? The same Team Rocket that’s always in the news? How could they be beaten so easily? Sounds more like a bunch of scrubs to me."

"Exactly. I heard Team Rocket even caused a crisis in Pewter City last month—thankfully the League showed up in time."

The flood of doubt made Rina anxious—she was about to argue back, but Rio held her back.

According to the Barnum effect in psychology, people only believe what they want to believe. These trainers had already decided Team Rocket was overwhelmingly powerful. No amount of explaining would change their minds—unless Team Rocket themselves kneeled before him.

But just then, Rio’s spirits lifted.

Because Officer Jenny had just arrived at the park on her motorcycle—and the crew-cut grunt was sitting right behind her.