Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 316: Tournament Opening (Two-in-One)

"Today is a day of joy, today is a day of celebration, today is a day that’s simply unbearable!"

"Because the Rio Tournament officially kicks off today!"

At Indigo Plateau. The venue usually used for the Indigo Conference was now packed with trainers from the Kanto and Johto regions who had come to participate in the Rio Tournament.

Oh wait—to be more precise, besides trainers from Kanto and Johto, there were also trainers from other regions around the world who had signed up for this tournament, temporarily turning it into an international gathering of trainers.

At the opening ceremony, the speaker was Chairman Mr. Goodshow—the elderly man who often traveled around the world to present trophies to champions of various regional conferences. He was known by many as the greatest man, and also as the man who loved saying "It’s simply unbearable!"

"The number of participants today is truly unbearable! I just checked—the Junior Division alone has nearly a thousand participants! The popularity is so overwhelming it’s unbearable! So I can’t help but admire our Kanto League Champion, Mr. Rio!"

"We must thank him for his contributions to world peace and fairness, and also for hosting this tournament to give participants the opportunity to choose a Pokémon of their choice through their own strength, using the Pokémon seized from the Hunter Organization."

"Next, let’s welcome our Champion, Mr. Rio, to give his opening address!"

Applause thundered through the venue. Rio, standing behind Chairman Mr. Goodshow, stepped forward. The moment he appeared, a chant of his name erupted from the crowd. It spread rapidly, more and more people joining in until the entire venue was shouting "Rio! Rio!"

In response, Rio smiled and said something that turned the cheers into laughter:

"Let me be clear—I didn’t hire any cheerleaders! I didn’t tell anyone to chant my name! The person who started it, I believe, truly loves me from the bottom of their heart, which is why they started it!"

The laughter lasted nearly half a minute before gradually subsiding. Rio didn’t interrupt—he just waited quietly. When the participants and spectators finally settled down, he spoke again:

"Regarding Chairman Mr. Goodshow’s request for me to give an address—I thought about it while everyone was laughing, and I realized I don’t really have much to say."

"Because I know what you all want."

"Do you want to know?"

"YES!!!"

Like a stand-up comedy routine, Rio’s question was met with a perfectly coordinated roar from the audience.

"You really want to know that badly?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"YES!!!" Another wave of thunderous shouts.

"Since that’s the case, I’ll tell you."

With that, Rio turned and walked away under the gaze of the entire venue.

The audience, Chairman Mr. Goodshow, Secretary Serīna, the Elite Four, and the League officials all froze in confusion. He said he’d tell us what the audience wanted—why is he leaving? Did the audience want him to leave?

"Mr. Rio, what are you doing?" The host quickly called him back and pushed him to the front again.

"What, isn’t that what everyone wanted?" Rio asked, feigning confusion.

The entire venue looked at him strangely. Rio continued: "Didn’t everyone want the tournament to start right away so we can get to the Pokémon battles? You know how it is—when you were in school, the principal would ramble on, and you’d mutter under your breath, ’When is this going to end?’ My leaving means the tournament is about to start—the competitors should get ready!"

The venue burst into laughter again. Rio continued: "So, would you rather have me ramble on, or do you want to battle and earn the right to choose the Pokémon you want?"

"WE WANT POKÉMON BATTLES!" Unsurprisingly, the crowd shouted in unison.

Rio smiled: "Alright then! I hereby declare that the first—and possibly last—Rio Tournament has officially begun!"

With that, colorful fireworks lit up the daytime sky. The tournament named after Rio had officially started.

The format was 2v2 battles. Winners advanced to the next round. By the third round—the top 200—participants would earn the right to choose a Pokémon, and subsequent rounds would determine the order of selection.

The Junior Division was open to trainers under 15 with at least one Badge. The Senior Division was open to trainers under 30 with at least three Badges.

"Mr. Rio, I’ve noticed that trainers in the Kanto and Johto regions are really influenced by you. In this tournament, many participants are using Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur evolution lines. It’s hard to see anything else—there were even two Shiny Charizard and two Shiny Charmeleon!" Serīna said after watching several battles alongside Rio.

"I’ve noticed that too." Rio agreed.

In theory, the starter Pokémon were supposed to be freely available to trainers after they turned ten—either from regional research institutes or Pokémon Centers, or as gifts from family. But in reality, many people couldn’t get them. Some looked down on starters, while others simply weren’t eligible.

If that weren’t the case, starter Pokémon should have been the most common and widespread species in every region—but in reality, they weren’t. In fact, they were less common than Caterpie or Magikarp.

Those who looked down on starters usually came from powerful families that could provide better Pokémon. Cynthia, for example, had a Garchomp egg before she even turned ten. Brock from Pewter City got an Onix as his tenth birthday gift. These families essentially looked down on starters.

Then there were those who weren’t eligible—the commoners. Their homes weren’t near research institutes, so they could only get Pokémon from Pokémon Centers. But Centers didn’t always give out starters—more often, they gave out the most common Pokémon found near the city: Rattata, Nidoran♀, Nidoran♂, Sandshrew, Oddish, Venonat, and the like. If there were a lot of Mankey around, you might get a Mankey. In short, it was all about local availability—there was no guarantee of getting a starter.

Now, with so many participants using Charmander, Charmeleon, and even Charizard—but few Squirtle or Bulbasaur lines—it made one wonder if the League’s adoption system was truly fair. It felt like the world Rio had been reborn into: a society of connections. If you had good connections, you got a good starting Pokémon. If not, you started as a Bug Catcher, hoping for a future as bright as Giovanni’s.

"Exactly. Look how many Mankey are being used too." Serīna said, not thinking as deeply as Rio—she was more focused on how much the public adored Rio. Most of the Pokémon in this tournament were the same ones Rio used.

Charmander’s line was the most common. Next was Mankey, also a commoner’s Pokémon. The public now knew a lot about Rio’s team: Charizard, Munchlax, Annihilape, Red Gyarados, Greninja, and Eevee.

Charmander’s line could be obtained with some connections and a bit of money. Munchlax could also be acquired through connections, but its upkeep was too expensive for most wallets. Mankey didn’t cost much and didn’t require deep connections—the only requirement was that the trainer could take a beating. Many trainers in Kanto and Johto couldn’t originally handle that—but seeing Rio with his terrifyingly powerful Annihilape, they suddenly decided that taking a few hits wasn’t so bad. That was the star effect.

As for Red Gyarados—though not seen much, Serīna felt it was only because Magikarp was so hard to evolve. If it were easy, Gyarados appearances might even outnumber Charizard.

Then there was Greninja—this tournament featured seven or eight of them. Though not many, it showed public recognition of Rio. In previous Indigo Conferences, it was rare to even see a Kalos starter.

Finally, there was Eevee—a rich person’s pet. It was also quite common this tournament.

Only after these did the usual common Pokémon appear: Beedrill, Nidorina, Nidoran♀, and other commoner Pokémon.

For example, right now, a Mankey was battling a Charmeleon. The Mankey had entered a rage state and, under its trainer’s command, used Brick Break against the Charmeleon. The Charmeleon’s trainer ordered Dragon Breath, but the move came out too slowly. Before Charmeleon could release Dragon Breath, Mankey’s Brick Break struck it, hitting a vital spot and knocking it back.

"Too bad. If I were that Charmeleon’s trainer, I would have used Smokescreen to blind the Mankey, then repeatedly used Growl to lower its attack, and only then engage." Rio commented from the guest seat.

No sooner had he finished than Old Ghost’s voice echoed in his mind: "I agree—that trainer’s not great. But Charmeleon itself isn’t much either—it’s embarrassing for the Charizard line. Taking that long to use Dragon Breath? If it were our little Charizard back in its Charmeleon days, one Dragon Breath would’ve taken that Mankey out."

As he spoke, a Luxury Ball on Rio’s belt opened on its own. Charizard popped out.

"Roooar~" It roared.

Its sudden appearance startled Rio and the surrounding Elite Four and League officials.

"Right, Little Charizard? Don’t you think this Charmeleon is embarrassing you?" Gengar’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind again. Then Gengar’s own Luxury Ball opened, and it popped out to join Charizard in banter.

But before they could talk for long, a third Luxury Ball glowed. Annihilape emerged. Its appearance made everyone except Rio uneasy—the Elite Four and officials nearby thought Charizard and Gengar’s chatter had angered it and that it was about to throw a tantrum. They all knew how explosive and terrifying Rio’s Annihilape could be.

But they were overthinking things. As Annihilape grew stronger, its temper had improved quite a bit. Aside from its usual rage, it wasn’t as quick to blow up as before. Though it found Charizard and Gengar’s conversation annoying, it didn’t explode—it just retorted:

"Kyash~" — I don’t think this Charmeleon is weak. It’s actually pretty good. Our Mankey junior from the Annihilape line is just stronger.

As soon as it finished, a fourth Poké Ball on Rio’s belt glowed.

"ROAR!!!" — That’s right! My big bro’s junior is just stronger!

Red Gyarados made a flashy entrance, tagging along behind Annihilape like a devoted follower. As someone who craved Annihilape’s fists, it was the only being in the world it would unconditionally support—even Rio was less important in its heart.

Now it was like two factions debating whose junior was stronger. Charizard and Gengar were on one side; Annihilape and Red Gyarados on the other.

A few seconds later, Munchlax, Greninja, Eevee, and Aerodactyl also emerged from their balls and picked sides.

Munchlax sided with Charizard—Charizard’s line was stronger than Annihilape’s. Aerodactyl sided with Annihilape—Annihilape’s line was stronger than Charizard’s. Greninja held Eevee and stayed neutral, happy to watch the chaos without picking a side.

As the argument grew heated, Gengar was too busy to translate, so Rio had Mewtwo take over. After hearing both sides, Rio proposed a game: a junior showdown. Whenever a junior of their respective lines was in a 1v1 battle, whoever won would receive half of the loser’s food rations for the next day—no cheating.

The Pokémon happily accepted. Half a ration wasn’t a big deal—they could afford to lose. What they really wanted to win was the argument.

The current battle between Mankey and Charmeleon counted as one. If Mankey won, Charizard would give half of tomorrow’s rations to Annihilape. If Charmeleon won, Annihilape would give half of tomorrow’s rations to Charizard. No cheating allowed—Rio would be the witness.