Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 293: Baby Lugia

Half an hour later, Rio looked at the baby Lugia, who had been dragging him into playing water polo, and sighed speechlessly.

He had calculated everything, but the one thing he hadn’t calculated was that upon arriving at the undersea temple, he wouldn’t find Lugia itself—but its child.

He had come here hoping for a battle to settle the score from last time. But now, not only was he not getting his revenge—he was stuck babysitting.

Though, this baby Lugia was truly innocent. It had shown no wariness toward him at all. Not only did it tell him that its mother—the real Sea Guardian Lugia—had gone on patrol and wouldn’t be back for a while, it also said it wouldn’t return anytime soon.

If it had been anyone else, they would have already caught it in a Poké Ball and taken it away, then set up an ambush. But Rio was kind-hearted and had principles. He wouldn’t lay a hand on someone else’s child.

"Rio, since Lugia won’t be back for another two or three days, it’d be boring to just sit around here. How about we have some liquor?" Mewtwo’s voice suddenly echoed in Rio’s mind.

"Liquor? What’s that? I want some too!"

Before Rio could respond, the baby Lugia rushed over with the curiosity of a child.

"That’s for adults. Kids can’t have it." Rio shot it down immediately.

Lugia pouted, glaring at him unhappily. "Stingy! Just because you’re an adult, you think you’re so great? Watch out—I’ll blast you with a Hydro Pump!"

Rio couldn’t help but laugh.

"Yeah, I’m an adult, and I am great." Rio crossed his arms smugly. "If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and Hydro Pump me."

"Fine, I’ll blast you right now!"

Seeing how arrogant Rio was, the baby Lugia actually opened its mouth and fired a Hydro Pump at him—only for Mewtwo to block it with Psychic.

Behind the barrier, Rio kept shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"Raaaahhh—!" Lugia stomped its feet in frustration. "If you weren’t hiding behind it, I’d beat you up for sure!"

"Dream on. Do you think I’m as dumb as you?" Rio teased.

That made Lugia even angrier. It flopped into the water and threw a tantrum.

"Just you wait! If you don’t apologize to me, I’ll have my mom beat you up!"

"Then tell your mom to come quickly. Who knows who’ll be beating whom by then." Rio shrugged, showing no fear.

"So, do you want to drink or not?"

Mewtwo had no interest in watching Rio and the baby Lugia bicker. All it wanted was to drink.

"Of course. Why not? We’re going to be stuck here for a few days anyway—might as well stock up on food and drinks." Rio laughed. He was all for drinking. "But I didn’t bring any in my backpack this time. Mewtwo, go buy some from the islands above the Whirl Islands. Remember to pay."

"Understood."

The moment Rio agreed, Mewtwo Teleported out of the side chamber.

And the moment it left, the baby Lugia—who had been throwing a tantrum in the water—stopped. A sly grin spread across its face.

"It’s gone. Your Pokémon’s gone. If you beg for mercy now, I promise not to beat you up."

"If you kneel down and call me grandpa right now, I might consider sharing some human food with you later." Rio scoffed.

"Then prepare to die! Watch me teach you a lesson!"

Seeing that Rio was still so arrogant, the baby Lugia fired another Hydro Pump. But with a flash of light, Gengar appeared in front of Rio. It opened its mouth wide and swallowed the entire Hydro Pump.

Then, with a single Psychic, Gengar tossed Lugia back into the water.

"How do you still have more Pokémon?!" Lugia was furious.

"You really are as dumb as I thought." Rio laughed. "Who said I can only have one Pokémon? Want to fight the rest of my team too?"

For this Lugia-capturing expedition, he had only brought Mewtwo, Gengar, Charizard, little chubby, and Articuno. He had left Annihilape, Red Gyarados, Greninja, Eevee, Aerodactyl, and the others behind at Mt. Silver near Indigo Plateau.

"Hmph."

Upon hearing there were even more Pokémon, Lugia just snorted and said nothing. It wasn’t stupid—what if the others were even stronger than it? Then it would just be asking for a beating.

"Just you wait. When my mom gets back, I’ll have her beat you up." Lugia silently swore to itself.

Revenge would come—just not yet. When had it ever suffered such humiliation? In this sea, only it bullied others—never the other way around.

Two hours later.

"Grandpa, please give me some. I want to drink too."

The baby Lugia watched Rio, Mewtwo, Gengar, and a little chubby Munchlax drinking merrily, drool pooling beneath it. It tried to approach, but Rio had Mewtwo and Gengar take turns tossing it back into the water with Psychic.

After more than a dozen rounds, it finally surrendered.

"Fine! You really want to drink that badly?" Rio looked at the baby Lugia with amusement.

He hadn’t expected the little thing to call him "grandpa" for something it had never even tried before. If its mother found out, it would definitely get a spanking.

"I want it! I want it so bad! Please, Grandpa!" Lugia nodded frantically.

"Sorry—same as before. Kids don’t get to drink. Wait until you’re as big as your mom." Rio said with a mischievous grin.

Lugia’s eager expression froze. Enraged, it fired a Water Gun straight at Rio’s face—only for Mewtwo to block it with Psychic again.

Charizard, who had been quietly munching on Pokémon snacks on the side, couldn’t take it anymore. It let out a growl.

"Roooar~" — What’s so great about alcohol? Wouldn’t you rather have some Pokémon snacks with me?

Charizard had no interest in alcohol. It didn’t like the taste, and it made its mind foggy. It hated that feeling. That wasn’t something a true warrior should touch.

But the baby Lugia wasn’t grateful for Charizard’s offer.

"Who wants your dumb snacks? The four of them are fighting over that liquor, and you’re the only one eating whatever that stuff is. Clearly, what they’ve got is better. I’d be an idiot to join you." Lugia shot back.

Charizard’s expression darkened. Here it was, offering kindness, and this was how it was repaid.

"Watch your mouth when you’re talking to your Charizard senior!"

Smack. Rio threw a rice ball right at Lugia’s face.

Lugia was furious. "This is my home!"

"So what if it’s your home? Your mom’s not here." Rio teased. "Go ahead—bite me."

Lugia was seething, grinding its teeth in frustration. It glared at Rio for a long while, then finally slunk back to the pool with the rice ball dangling from its mouth, blowing bubbles and cursing Rio in its mind.

Halfway through its curses, its expression suddenly changed.

It realized the rice ball was actually pretty tasty.

A little while later, it crept back onto shore and quietly sat down next to Charizard.