Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 284: Hoenn-Kanto Exchange (Part 5) – Two-in-One

Steven was impressed by Rio’s remarkable judgment—being able to accurately determine the winner before a battle even began was no easy feat.

"It’s nothing—just a sharp eye for talent," Rio said with a smile. He wasn’t about to tell Steven that his predictions came from the system’s Pokémon stat panels. The ones he favored were always those with higher move proficiency. High levels alone didn’t mean much—high proficiency showed that the trainer had genuinely invested time and effort into their Pokémon. Only when both sides had comparable proficiency would he lean toward the higher-level one. And when level and proficiency were nearly identical, he’d just go with whichever Pokémon looked more appealing to him. Simple as that. The one wrong prediction he’d made had come when both stats were practically tied.

"Your region’s fans seem especially unhappy—I think you’re getting roasted online," Steven said, glancing at the jeering crowd, feeling some sympathy for Rio.

In the rotation battle format, Hoenn had sent down three trainers so far, while Kanto had lost seven—the gap was embarrassingly wide. Steven had taken a quick look at Kanto’s social media, and the fans were absolutely tearing Rio and the Kanto League apart, demanding to know how they’d selected such useless trainers. Some of the comments were brutal.

To be honest, Steven had initially hoped to use this exchange to showcase Hoenn’s strength and boost tourism to the region—just as Rio had crushed Sinnoh’s pride months ago and boosted Kanto’s global reputation. But he hadn’t expected Kanto’s trainers to be this underwhelming. It almost felt like they were deliberately sacrificing their own reputation to help Hoenn. He was almost embarrassed to keep winning. And when he checked Hoenn’s social media, the praise was overwhelming—his trainers were being hailed as heroes.

Some fans even wanted him and Rio to battle to see which Champion was stronger. Unfortunately, that wasn’t part of the exchange agenda.

"Let them curse—I’ve got thick skin," Rio said calmly, as if the shame wasn’t his to bear. In fact, the more the fans raged, the easier it would be for him to clean house in the League. So curse away—he didn’t care.

"Alright—next match, I’m favoring your Hoenn trainer again."

The next Hoenn trainer was Sapphire—the female protagonist of the Hoenn special manga. Her battle skills were even stronger than Ruby’s. When she stepped onto the field, the Kanto trainers were facing a nightmare. One by one, they fell. It wasn’t until James sent out his Growlithe that Kanto finally salvaged some dignity—Sapphire’s Tropius, which had swept three trainers, was finally defeated. But it was only a brief reprieve. When Sapphire sent out her Gallade, Growlithe fell, and James’s remaining two Pokémon quickly followed.

From there, the exchange became Sapphire’s stage. The remaining three Kanto trainers were no match for her—only by tag-teaming did they manage to take down her Gallade. Then she sent out her strongest Pokémon, Blaziken, and crushed the last Kanto trainer in dominating fashion.

The crowd was furious, shouting "REFUND! WE WANT REFUNDS!" Some even fainted from anger and had to be carried out.

"Mr. Rio—angry fans are blockading the League headquarters, demanding an explanation. They can’t believe our region’s trainers were this bad," Rio’s secretary, Serīna, rushed over to inform him.

Rio remained calm, as if he’d expected this. He turned to Steven, about to excuse himself, but Steven spoke first: "Go—it’s part of our duty as Champions. Don’t let it weigh on you too much. A win or loss here doesn’t define your region. With your leadership, I’m sure Kanto will catch up to Hoenn’s standards eventually."

Rio laughed at that—Steven really thinks Kanto is that bad, huh? He didn’t bother explaining, instead rising with a knowing smile under Steven’s sympathetic gaze.

"Call a meeting—all League executives, now," Rio said calmly to Serīna as he left.

Half an hour later, in the Kanto League conference hall, executives from both Johto and Kanto were gathered—including the four Elite Four members. Lance and the others sat with their eyes down, staying out of it. Some executives were drenched in sweat, looking like they were about to face judgment.

"Today’s exchange—thanks to some of you and your ’excellent’ selections—I spent the whole day being cursed out by the public, and they’re demanding answers. What should I tell them?" Rio asked from the head of the table. "Is it that the trainers in our two regions are truly that weak? Or is there something else going on?"

Silence. No one dared speak. Rio began calling names like a judge at the end of the world.

"Mr. Owen—you’re from the Johto League leadership. The five trainers recommended by Johto all passed through your approval."

One man at the table broke into a cold sweat. "I... uh... I think—" He stammered, unable to form a sentence.

"You think what?" Rio smiled. "You think I’m easy to fool? You think the public is cursing me and not you, so you can sleep soundly after sending any five people to this exchange?"

The man shook his head frantically. "No, no—Mr. Rio, please listen! It was Mr. Rian who recommended those five trainers to me. He said they were young talents from the Hedong family, Xiabei family, Lanyi Trading, Bofeng family, and Daoqiu family—that they would bring honor to our Kanto League."

All eyes turned to the young man beside him. Before he could speak, Rio asked: "And did they bring honor?"

Owen fell silent. "How much did you take?" Rio pressed.

"I didn’t take a cent—I swear!" Owen shook his head desperately. "Neither did I," Rian chimed in. "We followed all the rules in selecting them."

"Really?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"Really—I swear on my life, I didn’t take a single coin!"

"I swear too—may lightning strike me if I’m lying!"

They both spoke with conviction. Rio laughed—genuinely laughed.

"Good. If you’re so confident, let’s test it." With a flash of light, he released Gengar.

"Gengar~" The moment Gengar appeared, the room’s temperature dropped, adding an eerie chill to the already tense atmosphere. Only Agatha, the Ghost-type Elite Four, looked intrigued, eyeing Gengar like a prized find.

"Now—if you’re innocent, I’ll apologize. If not... well, you know," Rio said, waving Gengar forward.

Owen and Rian broke into a sweat and tried to run—but Gengar’s Mean Look held them in place. They were forced to meet its gaze. Two seconds later, they fell into a hypnotic trance. Under Rio’s questioning, they confessed to a series of corrupt acts—and named others as well.

Those named begged for mercy, saying they’d been living in fear, hadn’t spent a dime, and had been trying to figure out how to confess.

Rio ignored them and turned to the Kanto executives. "Anyone have something to say? Stand up and confess on your own, or do I need to call your name and have Gengar question you?"

Several Kanto executives stood up shakily. Gengar’s methods had convinced them not to make excuses. They nervously asked for a second chance—to select a new team and restore Kanto’s honor.

"A rematch?" Rio raised an eyebrow. So this is what it feels like to be on the other side—losing and wanting a do-over, just like Sinnoh a few months ago.

"But do we have time to select a proper team? And even if we do, would they agree? I’m certainly not going to ask Hoenn for a rematch," Rio said.

The Kanto executives exchanged glances, then said: "We’ll negotiate with Hoenn. We’ll make them agree."

Rio shrugged—suit yourselves. "If they do agree, I have a recommendation: Blue."

He thought of Blue. If anyone could restore Kanto’s honor, it was him. Sure, in the original story, he’d only been Champion for five minutes before Red dethroned him—but that didn’t change the fact that he had Champion-level strength. He just couldn’t beat Red (or Rio, for that matter). In Kanto, no one else—not even Lance—could claim second place.

Meanwhile, at the Hoenn delegation’s hotel, the team was celebrating. The young trainers were thrilled with their performance, and some couldn’t help but mock Kanto—and Rio along with it. They said that if Rio faced Steven, Steven would clearly win, concluding that Hoenn > Kanto > Sinnoh.

Steven, though inwardly pleased, told them not to be arrogant. He said a single win didn’t mean much, and he wasn’t sure he’d beat Rio either.

"Mr. Steven, you’re too humble—given today’s performance, Rio is no match for you," one Hoenn executive said. "We should have proposed a match between you two from the start—show the world Hoenn is the strongest."

"Don’t say that. Their performance today wasn’t great, but that doesn’t mean Rio is weaker than me. I might not even win if we fought," Steven said with a sigh. "Still... not fighting him is a bit disappointing."

Just then, a Hoenn aide rushed in and told Steven that Kanto was requesting a rematch—and asked if Hoenn would agree. Steven raised an eyebrow, surprised—this was exactly what Sinnoh had done back then. Were they not afraid of losing again and embarrassing themselves further?

"Mr. Steven—this is a golden opportunity. If they want a rematch with young trainers, we can add a match between you and the Kanto Champion to the agenda. It would fulfill your wish," one Hoenn executive said, quick to seize the moment.

Steven’s eyes lit up. That was exactly what he’d wanted to hear.