Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 29: Metronome That Rolls Divine Moves Again

He noticed that the frozen landscape was still thawing at a visible rate.

"It seems Munchlax’s Glaciate isn’t as powerful as Kyurem’s own—the real Kyurem’s version would probably be much harder to melt," Rio muttered.

Then again, it made sense. He had observed Metronome before—the power of the move it rolled was determined by Metronome’s own proficiency. For example, if Metronome’s proficiency was 25%, then a rolled Flamethrower would also have 25% proficiency. So to match Kyurem’s own power, Munchlax’s Metronome proficiency would need to be on par.

Even so, this level of power was already terrifying. It made Rio marvel: a divine move was truly a divine move—even with low proficiency, its destructive force was staggering.

"If Munchlax battles Cynthia’s Gabite, I wonder if the Lucky Stone will let it roll a divine move again," Rio murmured.

He still didn’t know whether the Lucky Stone would make such rolls a common occurrence or a rare fluke. If it was common, then it would be absolutely broken.

On the way back to the Pokémon House, Rio felt a bit like a thief.

Many trainers and officials were already using Fire-type Pokémon to melt the ice.

When he returned to the Pokémon House, Goldenrod City’s television station was already airing news about the sudden ice disaster. Experts were analyzing whether it was a natural phenomenon or caused by an Ice-type Pokémon. If it was a Pokémon, it had to be incredibly powerful—it had frozen half of Lavender Town and Route 8.

The news warned trainers in Lavender Town and Goldenrod City to be cautious in the coming days and not to venture into the wild carelessly.

"Rio, Cynthia—what do you two think? Was this a natural disaster, or was it caused by a Pokémon?" Mr. Fuji asked abruptly after watching the news.

Cynthia spoke first: "I think it looks like a Pokémon’s Ice-type move. If it were a natural disaster, staying in Lavender Town would have given us some warning signs beforehand. But I can’t figure out which Pokémon’s Ice-type move could cause such a phenomenon."

"What about you, Rio?" Mr. Fuji turned to him.

"Uh... I share Miss Cynthia’s opinion," Rio said with a slight awkwardness.

Mr. Fuji didn’t notice anything off about Rio. He nodded to himself.

"I agree with both of you. So for now, you two should be careful—don’t wander around. A Pokémon capable of unleashing that kind of power is not something an ordinary trainer can handle."

"I understand, Grandpa Fuji," Cynthia said.

"I understand too, Grandpa Fuji," Rio echoed.

Once that topic ended, Cynthia looked at Rio expectantly.

"So, can we battle now? My Gabite is really looking forward to going up against your Sunny Day Charmeleon. Right, Gabite?"

"Gah~"

Rio raised an eyebrow: "Of course we can battle. But I’d like to start with my newly caught Munchlax first. If you beat it, then I’ll send out Charmeleon."

"You caught Munchlax?" Mr. Fuji interjected in surprise. "Didn’t you say this morning you’d wait a few days?"

Rio said seriously: "I suddenly realized that taking advantage of others isn’t a good thing."

Mr. Fuji studied Rio, sensing something was off.

Cynthia, unconcerned, said: "Fine. Beat Munchlax, and then you’ll have to send out Charmeleon. How about we start now?"

"In two hours. Munchlax isn’t in top condition right now," Rio shook his head. He needed Munchlax to be fully rested.

Cynthia agreed: "Alright, two hours. No more excuses after that—otherwise, I’ll have to wonder if you’re scared."

Rio smiled and shrugged.

Two hours later.

At the Lavender Gym, Rio and Cynthia stood on an unfinished battlefield with Munchlax and Gabite respectively. The audience consisted of Mr. Fuji, the Pokémon House volunteers, and many Gym trainees. The referee was Xiao Hao.

With his signal, the battle between Rio and Cynthia began.

"Munchlax, Metronome!"

Without any wasted words, Rio gave the command.

"Ka~"

Munchlax’s paws glowed white, and under everyone’s bewildered gazes, it began waving them.

Cynthia thought he was mocking her. Annoyed, she said: "Hey, Rio—are you looking down on me, or are you just joking? In a real battle, you open with Metronome? Fine. If you want a quick loss, I’ll give it to you. Gabite, use Sand—"

Before she could finish, Cynthia froze.

Because the sky had darkened in an instant.

Gale-force winds swept through, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

At the same time, an immensely powerful pressure suddenly emanated from Munchlax’s body.

That pressure made Gabite tremble, hesitating to launch its attack.

"What move did it roll?"

Mr. Fuji looked up at the sky, muttering in shock. In all his years, this was the first time he’d seen a move’s wind-up make the world seem like it was about to end.

"Did it really roll a divine move again? Whose? Which legendary’s?" Even Rio, as the trainer, was dumbfounded.

Charmeleon at his feet looked up at the sky, equally stunned, unable to understand how Munchlax could suddenly be so terrifying.

At the same time—

In a dim, alien dimension, inside a massive palace, a colossal, pale-purple Pokémon sitting on a throne suddenly opened its eyes from slumber.

"Roar~"

In that instant, countless spatial fissures tore through the dimension.