Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 291: Mega Beedrill vs. Old Ghost

"Then I thought, since I’m already here, I might as well not let them block me for nothing, so I had them lead the way. Luckily, they were obedient—otherwise, it would have been troublesome."

In response to Giovanni’s praise, Rio smiled.

"I’ve observed for a long time, and when it comes to Beedrill, no one trains them better than you, Giovanni. I heard your Beedrill was caught right here in Viridian Forest."

"That’s right. My Beedrill was caught in Viridian Forest."

Hearing Rio bring up Beedrill, Giovanni also fell into recollection.

"Back then, I was just a passionate Bug Catcher. I charged into Viridian Forest to catch a Pokémon of my own."

"Unfortunately, I was too hot-blooded and reckless. I suffered greatly here—nearly lost my life, and Weedle’s life too."

"Thankfully, the heavens blessed me. At the critical moment, I received the blessing of Viridian Forest and obtained the legendary Viridian Force, which allowed me to resolve that crisis."

"From that day on, my life changed completely. I began to make a name for myself in this world."

"So I am grateful to Viridian Forest, and I am grateful to my Beedrill."

Listening to Giovanni recount his past, Rio smiled. The fact that he was blessed by Viridian Forest showed that Giovanni was fundamentally a kind-hearted person—otherwise, so many people wouldn’t like and admire him. It was just that somewhere along the way, his principles had shifted. Everything he did now was for the sake of making Team Rocket stronger.

"Unfortunately, no matter how brilliant my life has been, it can’t compare to yours, Rio. You really climbed your way up step by step—on top of Team Rocket."

"Most of our executives have been sent to prison by you—even I’ve been there myself."

Giovanni recounted his memories, but the topic eventually drifted. Rio could feel the annoyance in Giovanni’s gaze as he looked at him.

"Let bygones be bygones." Rio smiled. "Please remember what your goal is today. Of course, if you insist on fighting me here, I have no problem with that either—but next time, there won’t be any chance of a jailbreak."

Giovanni snorted coldly, then clapped his hands. Shortly after, several Team Rocket executives emerged from behind him, along with four Machoke. Leading them was Apollo—one of Team Rocket’s Four Generals, who had been sent to prison by Rio twice. The four Machoke were carrying an object covered by a glass case.

Apollo stared at Rio like he was looking at his mortal enemy.

"Hello there, General Apollo. Fancy meeting you again. How was the food in Kanto League’s prison?"

Rio poked at his wounds with a mischievous grin. Apollo wanted to lash out, but a glance from Giovanni held him back. He just snorted coldly and said nothing, signaling the four Machoke behind him to place what they were carrying in front of Rio.

Once it was set down, Rio could finally see what was inside. It was a meteorite glowing with a faint light. However, this meteorite had an obvious cut mark, as if it had been split in two.

So is this the first one or the second one... Rio recalled the information about Deoxys in his mind. As he remembered, there were two Deoxys, both incredibly powerful. And this meteorite had a large cut mark—clearly Team Rocket had separated one of them.

"This meteorite is the one I mentioned in my letter—the one containing a powerful lifeform. While I can’t guarantee exactly what kind of lifeform it is, I can guarantee that it’s no less impressive than a legendary Pokémon."

"Our Team Rocket scientists have tested it—its psychic fluctuations are not much weaker than Mewtwo’s."

While Rio was thinking, Giovanni spoke up. Then he stared at Rio, waiting for a response.

Rio understood what he wanted and directly took out Beedrill’s Mega Stone. He tossed it out. After a perfect arc, Beedrill’s Mega Stone landed in Giovanni’s palm.

Giovanni was stunned. Confused.

"You’re just giving me the Mega Stone like that?"

Giovanni looked at Rio in shock. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a trade—he had just shown what he was offering, and the other party immediately tossed his item over.

"Of course. Since I came here, it means I trust your credibility, Giovanni. Why would I hesitate to hand over my side of the deal?"

Rio shrugged and walked straight up to the meteorite where Deoxys slumbered.

Hearing Rio say that, Giovanni suddenly found Rio much more agreeable again—even though this brat had sent him to prison once before.

If only this kid’s strength hadn’t grown so fast... Giovanni looked at the Beedrill Mega Stone in his hand and sighed inwardly. If Rio’s strength were only at the level of a Four General, he would have done everything to recruit him into Team Rocket’s ranks.

But unfortunately, fate had other plans. This kid’s strength grew too quickly. Every time they met, he brought immense shock. Now, Giovanni could only hope that by relying on Beedrill’s Mega Stone to become stronger, he would eventually be able to stand against him.

"You can try it out now. If you can make Beedrill Mega Evolve, I’ll take this meteorite and leave."

On the other side, Rio finished examining Deoxys’s meteorite and spoke to Giovanni.

"Aren’t you afraid that after I complete Mega Evolution, I’ll turn on you to avenge the humiliation I’ve suffered?" Giovanni asked anyway.

"You can try—if you have the ability." Rio shrugged. "If you do, then I suppose I don’t have what it takes to be Kanto’s Champion."

Giovanni smiled. He took out a Key Stone he had already obtained from his pocket, then threw a Poké Ball, releasing his Beedrill—the one capable of slaying gods.

Beedrill held the newly acquired Mega Stone, which resonated with the Key Stone in Giovanni’s hand. Moments later, it underwent Mega Evolution, becoming Mega Beedrill. Its limbs and tail all became needle-like stingers. Its level shot up from 83 to 93.

A terrifying aura erupted from its body, accompanied by black lightning flickering around it.

Rio’s eyes narrowed. This was Giovanni’s Beedrill, no doubt. The aura after Mega Evolution felt almost comparable to that of a Legendary Pokémon.

What surprised him even more was when Giovanni ordered a test move—Poison Jab. The speed displayed by Mega Beedrill was absurdly fast, even faster than Greninja’s Bond Evolution combined with Geomancy.

Under Giovanni’s command, Mega Beedrill vanished from Rio’s sight in the blink of an eye. All he heard was a buzzing sound in his ears. The next moment, Mega Beedrill was back in front of Giovanni. Immediately after, the surrounding trees fell like paper, and many weaker wild Pokémon fled in terror.

All of this happened just two seconds after Giovanni gave the command.

Apollo was thrilled.

"Boss!" He looked at Giovanni excitedly, his meaning unmistakable: Take the loot! Wipe out Rio—that bastard who’s ruined so many of our plans!

Unfortunately, Giovanni ignored him. He just smiled contentedly at his Mega Beedrill. In his view, a man must keep his word. Treachery was unacceptable—especially when the other party had trusted you so completely, never once suspecting you might offer something worthless in exchange.

"Take the meteorite and go, Rio. I’m very satisfied with your Mega Stone." Giovanni gestured for Rio to leave.

Rio looked at Giovanni, a faint smile on his lips. He wasn’t surprised at all that Giovanni let him go. But he suspected that Giovanni would find a way to challenge him in the future, to confirm whether Mega Beedrill could stand against his Pokémon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to suppress his restless heart.

If that was the case...

"Come out, Old Ghost. Let Giovanni see what you’ve got."

A flash of light—Rio sent out Gengar.

Whether it was early or late, a battle was inevitable. Better to nip Giovanni’s growing confidence in the bud now.

As for why he sent out Gengar instead of Mewtwo—the answer was obvious. Mega Beedrill had a type advantage against Mewtwo, plus a five-level gap. Rio wasn’t sure Mewtwo could win for certain.

"What do you mean by this?"

Giovanni frowned at Rio. He had already let Rio take the meteorite and leave—why was he sending out a Pokémon now?

"Look at General Apollo behind you—he looks so excited, you’d think I was done for. Let’s have a battle. I want to calm his restless heart and make him understand that as long as I’m here, Team Rocket stays low in both Johto and Kanto." Rio said.

Giovanni’s slight frown deepened into a scowl. Rio’s words weren’t really meant for Apollo—they were clearly directed at him.

"Fine. Since you, as Champion, insist on fighting my Mega Beedrill, I’ll grant your wish, Mr. Rio."

Giovanni signaled Apollo and the others to step back, leaving an open space for Beedrill and Rio’s Gengar.

Two seconds later, with a shared glance, both gave their commands simultaneously.

"Gengar, Dark Pulse."

"Beedrill, Twineedle."

"Gengar~"

"Beedrill~"

Although they gave their commands at the same time, Mega Beedrill’s speed was clearly much faster. The moment Giovanni’s command was given, Mega Beedrill was already upon Gengar, stabbing it with a single venomous sting and drawing a pained cry from Gengar.

Fortunately, Gengar had a four-fold resistance to Bug-type moves, so the damage wasn’t too severe. Dark Pulse was still being released.

"Beautiful!"

From behind, Apollo cheered excitedly at seeing Mega Beedrill easily land a hit on Gengar. Giovanni also smiled. He had seen Rio’s confident expression and thought Gengar might be terrifyingly strong. But now, it seemed manageable.

He just didn’t understand why Gengar’s Dark Pulse manifested as it turning into black mist—completely different from the Dark Pulse he knew.

But confusion aside, he couldn’t let up on the battlefield.

"Beedrill, Twineedle!" Giovanni quickly gave a second command.

"Beedrill~"

Mega Beedrill struck Gengar again with another move, drawing another cry of pain.

"Beedrill, Poison Jab!" Before Gengar could fully release its first move, Giovanni had already given a third command.

"Beedrill~"

But just as Mega Beedrill was about to strike again, Gengar vanished from its sight. Mega Beedrill lunged into empty black mist.

Then, eerie cackling echoed through the forest.

"Damn Beedrill! You had fun hitting Old Ghost just now, huh? If I don’t peel a layer off you, I’ve wasted my few hundred years of life." Gengar’s telepathy spread across the forest.

Giovanni’s expression changed.

"Beedrill, get out of there!"

But Giovanni’s voice carried into the black mist, and all he could hear was Beedrill’s buzzing cries—no sign of it emerging. Instead, Gengar poked one of its heads out of the mist with a smug, obnoxious expression, sticking its tongue out at Giovanni.

"Want it to come out? Stop dreaming. Once it’s inside my domain, unless I allow it, your Beedrill will never get out."

"Beedrill, Twineedle!"

Giovanni ignored Gengar and continued commanding. But Beedrill still didn’t emerge—only its pained cries from within the mist could be heard.

Giovanni’s face turned pale.

"What did your Gengar do to it?!" Giovanni glared at Rio.

Rio shrugged.

"I don’t know either. Once inside Dark Pulse’s domain, only your Beedrill and my Gengar know what happens in there." Rio smiled.

A minute later, the black mist dissipated. Beedrill lay on the ground, covered in wounds, its Mega Evolution already undone. No one knew what it had endured inside—only that for the rest of its life, a shadow of fear would be cast by a Shiny Gengar named Old Ghost.

"Alright, battle’s over. We’re leaving."

After the fight ended, Rio waved at Giovanni, then signaled Gengar to use Psychic to lift Deoxys’s meteorite.

Giovanni watched Rio and Gengar leave, taking several deep breaths to calm the storm raging inside him.

After the initial test, he had thought Mega Beedrill would crush Rio’s Pokémon. But now, clearly, he had been overthinking it. He had lost again. Thoroughly. His Mega Beedrill had been utterly dominated by a single Gengar, in a way he couldn’t even comprehend.

"Tell the members to behave from now on. As long as Rio is around, Team Rocket must not cause any trouble." Giovanni said as he used Viridian Force to heal Beedrill, speaking to Apollo.

"Yes, sir." Apollo nodded reluctantly.

Above Viridian Forest, Rio rode on Charizard’s back, flying back toward Indigo Plateau.

"I’ll need the League to help manage this meteorite. With technological support, Deoxys should be able to recover a bit faster."