Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 288: Hoenn–Kanto Exchange Meeting (Part 9) – Two-in-One

The answer was simple: battle!

Battle with speed as swift as the wind and as fast as lightning.

"Greninja, Quick Attack!" Rio called out through their mental link.

"Koga~"

On the battlefield, Greninja pushed off a boulder and shot toward the airborne Skarmory like a bolt of lightning, Water Shuriken in hand. Although Steven had witnessed this speed before, it still startled him.

"Skarmory, use Agility—fly upward and dodge!" he called out urgently.

"Skar~"

Skarmory’s body glowed with silver light. It spread its wings and shot upward—but against Greninja, it was still a step too slow.

Greninja, moving at lightning speed, thrust its Water Shuriken forward. Though it missed Skarmory’s core abdomen, it struck Skarmory’s ankle, drawing a sharp, piercing cry of pain from the Steel-type Pokémon.

But Steven saw an opportunity. Greninja was now airborne after its attack—and its descent made it a target.

"Skarmory, Drill Peck!" Steven seized the moment and shouted.

"Skar~"

Skarmory, ignoring the pain, spun in midair, its sharp beak aimed at Greninja’s abdomen. It dove down before Greninja could land.

However, just as Skarmory was about to strike, the unexpected happened once again. Greninja vanished from midair—just as it had when it defeated Armaldo.

"How is this possible?!" Steven’s eyes widened.

Then, on one side of the battlefield, he saw Greninja emerge from the shadow of a small pebble.

"Damn it—I forgot about that!"

Steven immediately understood what had happened. It was Shadow Sneak again—but this time, Greninja hadn’t relied on Skarmory’s shadow. Instead, it had used the scattered debris left over from the earlier clash between Armaldo and Aerodactyl. Those fragments were scattered all across the battlefield, allowing Greninja to weave through their shadows and appear anywhere at will.

If he wanted to change the course of the battle, he needed to change the battlefield itself. Steven narrowed his eyes, formulating a new strategy.

"Skarmory, Drill Run!" Two seconds later, he gave a new command.

"Skar~"

Skarmory spun and dove toward Greninja once more. For an assassin-like Pokémon like Greninja, the best response to a direct physical assault was to evade. So when Skarmory was about to make contact, Greninja vanished again—reappearing about five meters away.

But the moment it vanished, Steven issued another command.

"Skarmory, Hurricane—clear all the debris off this battlefield!"

"Skar~"

Skarmory twisted its body, beat its wings hard, and summoned a fierce storm that swept across the arena, lifting and scattering all the fragments.

So that’s his plan... Rio smiled as he watched. Well then, how about this?

Rio quickly relayed a command through their mental link. Greninja, taking advantage of Skarmory’s focus on Hurricane, threw a Water Shuriken. The blade cut through the storm, flying straight toward Skarmory.

Just before it struck, Steven had Skarmory cancel Hurricane and dodge upward. But at that moment, Greninja burst out of the Water Shuriken’s shadow, following up with a Night Slash—a two-stage attack that struck Skarmory’s vital spot.

Skarmory shrieked. Though not knocked out in one hit, it was severely wounded.

Steven’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Rio to use Shadow Sneak so creatively—using the shadow of a Water Shuriken to close in, then striking with Night Slash the moment Skarmory dodged. Who could react to that?

And to make matters worse, after slashing Skarmory, Greninja used Spikes. Countless tiny Water Shurikens scattered like petals into the ground, covering the entire arena in an even denser pattern than the previous debris—and embedded more firmly too. All of Skarmory’s hard work was undone in an instant.

It was all so seamless, and Steven had no time to react. Because Rio and Greninja shared a mental link, Rio’s thoughts could be transmitted instantaneously. Steven, meanwhile, had to shout commands—a clear disadvantage.

"You did well, Skarmory."

Unable to think of a counter, Steven decided to recall Skarmory for now.

As soon as he did, the Kanto spectators erupted in jeers. In their eyes, this meant Hoenn’s Champion Steven was backing down—cowardly retreating from Kanto’s Champion.

"Come out, Claydol."

Though the jeers made Steven’s face flush slightly, he still sent out his third Pokémon. A flash of light revealed a level 77 Claydol.

"Claydol, Rapid Spin!"

The moment it appeared, Steven gave his command.

"Clay~"

Claydol spun rapidly, generating a whirlwind that swept away the Spikes Greninja had just laid down.

So you’re just going to keep clearing the field, huh... Rio raised an eyebrow as he watched his Spikes get removed again—all just to prevent Greninja from using Shadow Sneak to move freely.

Fine then. Don’t blame me. Let me show you what Greninja’s true speed really is.

The next moment, Greninja—sharing Rio’s intent—planted its feet, formed hand seals, and golden light surged from the ground into its body.

"What move is this now?" Steven’s heart tightened.

He noticed that Rio’s Pokémon always seemed to pull out moves he’d never seen before. First, Aerodactyl had used Phantom Force—a Ghost-type move. Now Greninja was using some skill he’d never encountered.

"Claydol, Ancient Power!"

Once Claydol had cleared the Spikes with Rapid Spin, Steven quickly commanded. He wasn’t going to just stand by and let his opponent power up.

"Clay~"

The ground trembled. Countless fragments of stone coalesced under the power of Ancient Power, forming a massive boulder that hurtled toward Greninja as it channeled Geomancy.

Just before impact—whoosh—Greninja vanished, leaving only a blurry afterimage that dissolved under the attack.

Steven and the audience blinked in shock. Before anyone could process what had happened, a cry of pain came from across the battlefield. Everyone turned to see Claydol flying backward.

Still, no one could see Greninja. Only a golden streak of light, darting across the arena—each time appearing at the point where Claydol was about to land, kicking it back to the other side before it could touch the ground.

"Claydol, Rapid Spin!" Steven shouted.

But every time Claydol tried to spin, it was interrupted. The golden streak moved so fast it was almost like Teleport—appearing midair right before Claydol could complete its spin, striking it with a Water Shuriken and breaking its momentum.

Forty seconds after being sent out, Claydol fell—defeated.

Only after Claydol was down did the audience finally see Greninja clearly again. It was now enveloped in flowing water, within which golden light pulsed—dazzling and magnificent.

"So fast... way too fast." Steven stared at Greninja, struggling to accept what he’d just witnessed. He had thought Greninja’s speed was already incredible at the start. But after that golden light surged into its body, Greninja’s speed had gone completely off the charts—Steven had never in his life seen a Pokémon move that fast.

"This is incredible... is this the true power of Kanto’s Champion?"

On the spectator stands, the Hoenn spectators began to harbor doubts. Could their Champion, Steven, really win against such a formidable opponent?

The young trainers who had already competed were watching the big screen in stunned silence. If the battle between Aerodactyl and Armaldo had been evenly matched, and Skarmory versus Greninja had been a contest between strong and stronger, then Claydol versus Greninja’s true power was pure domination—Claydol had been nothing but a punching bag.

"So this is Mr. Rio’s true power? I’ll defeat him—I will definitely defeat him."

The only one whose fighting spirit was burning brighter than ever was Blue. Watching Greninja’s overwhelming strength only made him more determined to defeat Rio and claim the Championship throne.

"You did well, Claydol."

Steven took a deep breath, recalled Claydol, and sent out his fourth Pokémon.

"Cradily, I’m counting on you for the battle ahead."

A flash of light—another ancient fossil-revived Pokémon appeared, a level 76 Cradily.

"Cradily, use Ingrain, then follow up with Acid!" Steven seized the initiative again.

"Crad~"

Cradily’s short roots plunged into the ground, and it opened its mouth, spraying a highly corrosive liquid toward Greninja.

But such an attack was useless against Greninja’s lightning speed—it missed completely. And Greninja struck back. However, thanks to Ingrain’s rooting effect, Cradily wasn’t sent flying into the air for a combo like Claydol had been.

"Cradily, keep using Acid—don’t stop!"

Steven’s tactic was simple: even as Cradily was pummeled, it would only use one move—Acid. After half a minute, by the time Cradily lost consciousness, the entire battlefield was covered in pools of highly corrosive Acid.

Rio squinted, looking across at Steven, who—though defeated—showed no sign of discouragement. Rio understood exactly what Steven’s tactic had been. He had flooded the field with Acid to restrict Greninja’s mobility, forcing Rio to either recall Greninja and send out a fresh Pokémon, or continue fighting but be unable to replicate that dazzling performance.

He had to admit—the tactic had succeeded. Greninja had accidentally stepped in a bit of Acid earlier, and honestly, it felt like someone had set its foot on fire—excruciatingly painful.

So Rio decided to send out a new Pokémon.

"You’ve done well, Greninja. The whole world now knows your strength." Rio smiled and recalled Greninja.

Then he sent out his third Pokémon.

"Come out, Charizard."

A flash of light—Rio sent out Charizard, now at level 73.

"Charizard, huh... Finally, I get to see the Pokémon that the Kanto League says is Champion Rio’s strongest." Steven let out a breath of relief, feeling like he was finally getting a glimpse of Rio’s true ace.

"Come out, Archeops!"

A flash of light—Steven sent out his fifth Pokémon. Another ancient Pokémon, level 75.

"Archeops, Dragon Breath!"

"Arch~"

Archeops gathered its formidable energy under Steven’s urgent command.

Rio, by contrast, was calm and relaxed.

"Charizard, Sacred Fire."

"Roooar~"

Scorching purple flames gathered in Charizard’s mouth. Two seconds later, the two Flying-type Pokémon clashed midair with their respective moves.

And the result? The result was obvious. The divine skill Sacred Fire was far superior. A single blast of flame sent Archeops crashing from the sky to the ground. Though it wasn’t a one-hit knockout, anyone could see it was on the verge of being severely wounded—one more hit would finish it.

Steven was dumbfounded. Wait—I heard Charizard could evolve further? And it’s already this strong without evolving? If it can evolve further, how powerful would it be?

So this is the power of the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh’s flames?

More than ten seconds later, after Charizard’s second Sacred Fire, Archeops fell.

Steven wasn’t the only one stunned—the Hoenn spectators were equally shell-shocked. They had all but abandoned hope of winning this Champion battle.

Strong—so overwhelmingly strong. This is Kanto’s Champion. No wonder he turned the Sinnoh League’s Lily of the Valley Conference into his personal show.

In the spectator stands, Kanto’s Elite Four were watching Steven’s expression on the big screen, and only one word could describe how they felt: satisfying! Finally, someone else could experience the crushing despair they had felt when Rio first challenged them. And that someone was Hoenn’s Champion!

Back on the battlefield, Steven now had only two Pokémon left—Skarmory, which he had recalled earlier, and his true ace, Metagross.

A flash of light—Steven decided to send Skarmory back out first. The result was predictable. Skarmory lasted less than ten seconds before a single Sacred Fire took it down.

"Metagross... I’m counting on you to defend Hoenn’s honor."

Bitterly, Steven sent out his ace—his Shiny Metagross.