Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 28: Munchlax’s First-Tier Reward

Rio’s feelings at that moment were complicated.

Why complicated?

Because although this Cynthia was still far from the Sinnoh Champion he knew, the Gabite before him was already close to evolving into the pseudo-legendary Garchomp—not something just anyone could defeat.

Its stats read as follows:

[Pokémon: Gabite]

[Level: 40]

[Talent: Elite Four]

[Ability: Sand Veil]

[Gender: Female]

[Moves: Sand-Attack (70%), Dragon Rage (69%), Sandstorm (69%), Sand Tomb (70%), Earthquake (68%), Slash (70%), Dragon Claw (69%), Dig (68%)]

Looking at those stats, Rio’s vision practically went dark.

How the hell am I supposed to fight that?

His Charmeleon was only Level 24—a full sixteen levels lower than Gabite, one level more than the gap against Golbat last time. Its talent was also a tier below. And Cynthia had trained Gabite’s moves to be incredibly well-rounded. It was a total domination on paper.

Yet he couldn’t refuse the challenge—his Gym had just been established, and all his members were watching him.

Finally, Rio replied: "I accept your challenge. But my Charmeleon has been training since this morning and is quite exhausted. Cynthia, could we postpone the match until later?"

When in doubt, stall.

"Of course!" Cynthia smiled, pleased that he’d accepted. A little delay didn’t matter, as long as he didn’t run away.

"Grandpa, it’s time for lunch!" Rina’s voice came from beyond the fence.

"Let’s go, let’s go—we can discuss the battle after we eat," Mr. Fuji said, immediately leading Cynthia toward the Pokémon House. The crowd dispersed.

Rio looked down at Charmeleon and Munchlax at his feet.

"Now what?" he muttered to himself.

The first Gym battle was crucial—all his members were expecting him to win. Losing would be humiliating.

After a moment of thought, Rio turned his gaze to Munchlax.

Last time, Charmeleon’s first-tier reward had helped him get out of the Team Rocket crisis. Maybe this time, Munchlax’s first-tier reward could save him from Cynthia’s crushing potential.

"Charmeleon, Munchlax—how about a big feast for lunch?" Rio crouched down, patting both their heads.

"Ka~" At the mention of a big feast, Munchlax nodded rapidly. It didn’t know why Rio had suddenly upgraded the reward, but a feast was definitely better than just an extra treat.

"Rua~" Charmeleon nodded in agreement as well.

"Alright, let’s go find the best food in town and eat until we’re stuffed," Rio said, leading the two little ones to a restaurant.

An hour later, after Munchlax had cleaned out the entire restaurant, Rio smiled: "Munchlax, are you full and happy?"

"Ka~" — Full and happy, full and happy! Munchlax sat on the floor, patting its belly contentedly.

[Munchlax’s friendship increased.]

[Friendship: 9 (from -21 to 9)]

Rio’s eyes lit up.

He immediately took an unused Poké Ball from his belt. Unlike Charmeleon, Munchlax hadn’t arrived at the Pokémon House with a Poké Ball.

"Munchlax, will you be my Pokémon?" he asked seriously. "I can’t promise you a feast every day, but I can promise you one big feast every week."

Hearing this, Munchlax was startled at first. Then, looking at Rio’s earnest expression, it thought for a moment, stood up with a grin, and pressed the button itself.

With a flash of light, Munchlax was drawn into the ball.

In Rio’s mind, the system notification sounded:

[Successfully captured Pokémon Munchlax.]

[Munchlax’s starting friendship was -21. Current friendship is 39. Increase of 60 points qualifies for First-Tier Reward Unlock.]

[Reward Unlocked: Munchlax’s talent upgraded to Quasi-Elite Four. Obtained item: Lucky Stone.]

[Lucky Stone: A stone blessed by the creator Pokémon Arceus. A Pokémon holding this item will experience a great increase in luck.]

Reading the description of the Lucky Stone, Rio’s eyes lit up. This feast was definitely worth it!

He paid the restaurant owner, then left with Charmeleon. Finding a quiet spot, he released Munchlax.

After its talent upgrade, Munchlax looked slightly larger than before, but otherwise seemed unchanged. Rio didn’t mind—he was far more curious about the Lucky Stone.

"Munchlax, do you feel like you have anything new?" Rio asked expectantly.

Munchlax scratched its rear, then pulled a stone radiating a holy glow from its fur.

Rio’s heart pounded at the sight. Anything tied to Arceus had to be incredibly powerful.

"Munchlax, from now on, keep this safe and never take it out again," Rio said seriously.

"Ka~" — Got it, Rio. Munchlax tucked the stone deep into its fur, right next to Entei’s strand of hair.

Rio nodded, then rubbed his hands together and gave a command: "Munchlax, use Metronome!"

His immediate thought upon seeing the Lucky Stone’s luck-boosting effect was to pair it with Metronome.

Munchlax raised its paws at Rio and began waving them.

Rio jumped back in surprise, pulling Charmeleon out of the way—it had no idea how serious this could be.

Two seconds later, Munchlax’s Metronome ended.

Then it transformed, as if it had become another Pokémon entirely. Its eyes glowed with a divine light. Its mouth opened wide, and an intensely cold, powerful blast of icy wind suddenly erupted from it.

Wherever the icy wind passed, everything froze at visible speed—ten meters, a hundred meters, a kilometer, two kilometers...

In fact, everything within Rio’s line of sight was frozen solid: buildings, trees, and even Pokémon.

Rio couldn’t help but exclaim: "Holy crap—did Metronome just roll Kyurem’s Glaciate?!"

But then he saw more and more things getting frozen, snapped out of his awe, and panicked: "Quick, quick—Munchlax, stop! Stop releasing the move!"

Munchlax heard the command, and its divine state immediately faded. Its eyes cleared, and the freezing wind ceased.

But it looked completely drained.

"Ka~" It collapsed limply to the ground.

Rio quickly pulled out some Snorlax Energy Cubes and fed them to Munchlax. After a moment, Munchlax’s weakened state began to recover.

"Looks like rolling a legendary move drains a massive amount of Munchlax’s stamina," Rio mused.

Then he looked at the frozen landscape around him and asked hesitantly: "Munchlax... can you undo this?"

The blank look on Munchlax’s face told him everything.

Oh no. I think we’re in big trouble.