Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 22: Munchlax’s Travelogue

"Right now, Team Rocket has the treasure map. We can only do our best to seal off all exits in and out of Pewter City, including the skies, to prevent them from escaping."

"I hope the map can be recovered—otherwise, the Kanto region will face a major disaster," Nurse Joy added, then left with Chansey.

After Nurse Joy left, Officer Jenny turned to Brock.

"Let’s go, Brock. We need to get to our posts as well."

At that moment, Rio stepped forward.

"Officer Jenny, could I come with you? I’d like to do my small part too."

Officer Jenny sized up Rio and the Charmeleon at his feet. Before she could respond, Brock cut in:

"No need. Gym Leader Brock of Pewter City and Officer Jenny can handle this on our own. Team Rocket is no easy opponent—if you get involved, you could get hurt and make our job harder. I hope you understand," Brock said firmly.

Rio raised an eyebrow. He suspected Brock wasn’t worried about Team Rocket hurting him—he was worried about Rio intruding on his alone time with Officer Jenny.

Officer Jenny echoed Brock’s sentiment: "No need, sir. Team Rocket is a very dangerous organization. Leave this kind of work to us professionals."

With that, Officer Jenny left with Brock.

Rio watched them go, deep in thought. Then he heard Charmeleon call out behind him. He turned—Charmeleon was pointing at the spot where Munchlax had been.

"Huh? Where’s Munchlax?"

...

"Ka~" — I’ll eat all of these, then take the owner to Rio to settle the bill.

Inside the cargo compartment of a truck, Munchlax looked around with glee and excitement at the mountain of Berries. It grabbed one and tossed it into its mouth.

"Ka~" — Delicious. I love this.

Munchlax launched into full-on feasting mode: one Berry after another, and when that wasn’t satisfying enough, it grabbed entire crates and poured them straight into its mouth.

It wasn’t until all but six crates were gone that it suddenly froze, eyes wide. It opened its mouth and pulled out a piece of cloth with drawings on it.

"Ka~" — What’s this thing?

Munchlax stared at it in confusion for three seconds, then stuffed it into its fur.

"Ka~" — Who cares? I’ll keep it as an item and give it to Rio later to pay for my food.

Its eyes curving happily, Munchlax went back to eating. Soon, the last six crates were gone too.

Full and content, Munchlax lay down in the compartment, waiting for the owner to discover the empty crates and take it to Rio to settle the bill.

Before long, snores echoed from the compartment.

Time passed.

Voices came from outside the compartment.

"Hahaha, Senior Lia, thanks to my quick thinking—hiding the map among the Berries—we slipped right past those Arcanine checkpoints and got the map out safely."

"Excellent. I’ll make sure Boss Giovanni knows of your contribution."

The voices stopped. The two Team Rocket members in uniform stared at the empty compartment, with only a Munchlax lying inside. They were dumbfounded.

One muttered in a daze: "Don’t tell me the Berries here—and the map with them—were all eaten by this Munchlax."

"No wonder the officer at the checkpoint reminded us to check the cargo. I was too focused on getting away to pay attention."

"Senior Lia, what do we do now?"

The other took a deep breath, then snarled: "What else?! We get that map out of its stomach—even if we have to cut it open!"

The shout woke Munchlax. Opening its eyes, it saw two people in black uniforms glaring furiously at it.

"Ka~" — Don’t be mad—I can take you to someone who’ll pay.

But then one of them took out a Poké Ball and released a Golem. The other released an Electrode. Both Pokémon stared at Munchlax menacingly.

"Ka~" Munchlax called out nervously again, trying to tell them it could find someone to pay.

But what came was—

"Golem, Rock Throw!"

"Electrode, Swift!"

Faced with this, Munchlax panicked and used Metronome.

As stones and star-shaped beams flew toward it, Munchlax’s body blurred—faster than a streak of light—and it darted right between Golem and Electrode.

It had used Extreme Speed.

The Team Rocket Officer’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe that even cornered in the truck, this Munchlax had managed to roll Extreme Speed with Metronome and escape.

"After it! Don’t let it get away!" he gritted his teeth, then gave chase with his Pokémon, commanding them to attack.

"Golem, Stomp!"

"Groar—" Golem stomped the ground hard. The earth shook violently.

The first casualty was its ally, Electrode—hurt by the tremor—and then Munchlax, which had just exited its Extreme Speed state. Not only was it injured, but it also stumbled and fell.

"Run! Keep running!" The Team Rocket Officer caught up with Golem.

Munchlax stared at him in fear and used Metronome again.

This time, after the move, it flopped on the ground like a Magikarp.

It had rolled Splash.

The Officer, who had been furious just moments ago, burst out laughing at the sight. Chuckling, he gave the final command:

"Golem, Rock Blast! Cripple it, then take it away."

"Groar—" Sharp rocks materialized behind Golem.

Munchlax scrambled to its feet to flee—but the sharp, heavy rocks blocked its escape routes first. The rest shot toward it.

Just then, a blazing purple flame burst from deep within the forest. The flame not only knocked the sharp rocks aside but also struck Golem directly.

Golem let out a pained howl. One hit had nearly incapacitated it.

"Who?! Who’s there?!" The Team Rocket Officer stared into the forest in terror. He couldn’t believe that Golem, which had high resistance to Fire-type moves, had been critically wounded by a single Fire-type attack.

But there was nothing in the forest—just a wave of black smoke sweeping in.

The Officer quickly released a Butterfree and ordered it to use Gust to blow the smoke away.

But when the smoke cleared, Munchlax was gone.

...

"Ka~" — Who are you?

Deep in the forest, Munchlax stared in confusion at the Pokémon carrying it. This Pokémon was massive, brown-furred, with a golden crown of three horns atop its head. It was darting through the forest at incredible speed.

"Yan-yan-yi~" — Little chubby one, I am Entei.