Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 274: A Dumbfounded Lance

Witnessing Lance and Celebi vanish, Rio’s expression darkened. This was bad. If Lance had gone back to a time before he’d grown strong and killed him, the future would be rewritten. Everything he’d worked for would be erased.

Athena, one of Team Rocket’s Four Generals, had the same thought. Seeing Rio’s grim face, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha—Rio, you’re finished! You’ll disappear any moment now. Change the past, and the future changes too. You’ll no longer be the League Champion, you won’t have these powerful Pokémon, and Mewtwo won’t obey you. But Team Rocket—our miserable future caused by you will vanish instantly."

"Are you regretting crossing us now? Too late—you’ve no chance to make things right."

Just then, Celebi’s shrine began to glow. The voice of the forest echoed once more. Rio, Athena, and Pryce all snapped their heads toward it. Moments later, under the watchful eyes of the three and their Pokémon, Lance and Celebi reappeared.

"Did you do it? Did you kill Rio?" Athena rushed over, demanding an answer.

Lance laughed triumphantly. "Hahaha—of course! Do you even have to ask? I’m Lance, one of Team Rocket’s Four Generals! Traveling through time to kill a child who hasn’t even grown up yet—that was nothing! The kid tried to fool me, saying he wasn’t Rio—but I’d recognize that face even if he turned to ash. So I had Arbok strangle him to death."

"Wait—no, that doesn’t make sense. If the past has been changed, why do you still remember his name? Shouldn’t he have disappeared from your memory by now, and—"

Lance’s laughter and words died in his throat. Because Rio was standing there, completely unharmed. Mewtwo, Annihilape, Greninja, Gengar, and Raikou were all still by his side.

"Didn’t I strangle you to death?! Why are you still standing here?!" Lance’s triumph turned to terror. In his understanding, changing the past should have changed the future. A Rio who had died long ago should no longer exist in Ilex Forest—and neither should these Pokémon.

Lance’s words sent shockwaves through Athena and Pryce. Both looked at Rio with growing unease. If what Lance said was true—if he really had strangled Rio to death in the past—then Rio should not be standing before them now. That would violate the laws of time itself.

"Damn it—Lance, did you actually kill him?!" Athena pressed.

"Yes—I killed him! I checked his pulse! He was absolutely dead! There’s no way he’s still alive!" Lance was starting to break down, unable to accept that his journey through time had changed nothing. Had it all been for nothing?

Nearby, Pryce was also on the verge of collapse. His goal in capturing Celebi had been to save his two Lapras, who had died in an accident years ago. But if changing the past didn’t affect the future, then what was the point of all this?

On the other side, Rio listened to Lance’s words and suddenly understood. He remembered the pain he’d felt when he first arrived in this world—the bruises all over his body. So that had been Lance’s doing. And the reason he’d come to this world at all was also Lance’s doing—by killing the original owner of this body.

For a moment, Rio felt a strange mix of emotions. Should he actually thank Lance? If Lance hadn’t traveled back in time, he might never have come to this world. It seemed everything was predestined.

"No—changing the past must change the future! I must have done something wrong—maybe I didn’t actually kill him. I need to go back and kill him again. Then the future will change!"

"Celebi—take me back! I need to kill him again!"

"Bii~"

But Celebi was already exhausted. It couldn’t travel through time again so soon.

A few minutes later, Rio held the dark Poké Ball containing Celebi in his hands. Lance, Athena, and the rest of the Team Rocket members were all crouched on the ground. Pryce, the Mahogany Town Gym Leader, was in the same position. Against Rio’s forces—Mewtwo, Raikou, Annihilape, and Greninja—they stood no chance.

"Once wasn’t enough—you wanted to kill me again? Lance, you really hate me, don’t you? You won’t rest until I’m dead." Rio toyed with the dark Poké Ball, mocking Lance’s frustration.

"Too bad—fate has other plans. I was destined to be the League Champion, destined to crush Team Rocket under my heel. That’s something you can never change."

"Tell me—why aren’t you dead? Why didn’t I change your future?" Lance demanded. He had to know. He remembered clearly—Rio had been completely dead. Why hadn’t the future changed?

"You really want to know?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

Lance nodded frantically. He would carry this question to his grave if he had to. He needed to understand.

"Simple—you killed the wrong person." Rio whispered in his ear. He wasn’t about to reveal that he was a transmigrator. But then again, maybe Lance hadn’t completely killed the wrong person—the body was right, but the soul was wrong.

Lance’s pupils trembled. "I killed the wrong person..." he muttered over and over. That boy hadn’t been lying—he really wasn’t Rio.

Rio grinned at his reaction, then turned his gaze to Gengar. Sigh—it’s time to send it back a hundred years.