Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 322: Capturing Ho-Oh (Two-in-One)

High above Viridian Forest, Ho-Oh beat its wings, golden flames blazing along its feathers. When Gengar’s Shadow Ball struck it, the powerful Sacred Fire simply consumed the attack.

Ho-Oh’s voice carried both shock and contempt at Gengar’s solo challenge. It could understand Mewtwo challenging it alone—after their earlier exchange, Ho-Oh had felt Mewtwo’s power. But a Gengar challenging it alone? What was that supposed to mean?

Hey, hey—it was the legendary Ho-Oh! The one who saved the world and brought light to humanity! And its challenger was just a shiny Gengar. Could a Gengar even stand against it? It probably couldn’t even last one hit against its guardian beasts!

"Gengar~" — That’s right! Fight me! I’m confident I can defeat you—just like I once beat the Sea Guardian Lugia into the sky!

Gengar cackled. It was determined to win this battle against Ho-Oh.

Ho-Oh’s eyes widened. It couldn’t believe this Gengar was claiming it had beaten Lugia into submission. Sure, that foolish bird’s combat abilities were mediocre in Ho-Oh’s eyes—but not so weak that a Gengar could bully it!

"Caw~" — Little Gengar, you sure know how to brag! Since that’s the case, let me teach you a lesson!

Ho-Oh cried out and attacked, gathering flames from its mouth and spitting them at Gengar. Not Sacred Fire—just ordinary flames. But even ordinary flames from Ho-Oh carried a golden sheen. The fire formed a large character as it raced toward Gengar—the move Fire Blast.

Facing the attack, Gengar—not yet fully mistified—swung its chubby fist, surrounded by dark energy. Its fist multiplied into countless shadows, striking the Fire Blast and scattering it into embers.

Ho-Oh was stunned. Its Fire Blast had been blocked by Gengar’s Shadow Punch.

"Caw~" — Fine. I admit I underestimated you. Then I’ll take you seriously.

Ho-Oh began gathering golden flames—Sacred Fire. Gengar, seeing this, floated and began intentionally leading the battlefield away from populated areas, following Rio’s instructions. When Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire came, Gengar countered with Dialga’s divine move—Roar of Time.

The two godly moves clashed in the sky, evenly matched—and warping the surrounding space.

Ho-Oh was shocked. A mere Gengar could wield the power of time?

"Caw~" — Why can you control time?

Ho-Oh asked in confusion.

"Gengar~" — Guess.

Gengar replied, mimicking Rio’s favorite phrase.

Ho-Oh grew irritated. If you’re going to answer, just answer—why make me guess? It was clearly mocking it! In all its years as the legendary Ho-Oh, no one and no Pokémon had ever made it guess when answering a question.

"Caw~" — Don’t think that having time power makes you my equal! I’ll show you my true strength!

Ho-Oh cried out, and the golden flames around its body blazed several times brighter. It became a blazing golden sun. Ho-Oh used Overheat—the golden sun dove straight at Gengar.

By now, Gengar had fully transformed into mist. So when Ho-Oh plunged in, it dove headfirst into the time-warping black mist. It would be several minutes before it could emerge.

Meanwhile, the battle between Mewtwo Y, Greninja, and Charizard against Mega Rayquaza continued.

At this moment, Mewtwo was pressing Rayquaza with Psychic while firing six consecutive Aura Spheres. The golden streamers on Rayquaza’s head shimmered, deflecting most of the psychic force, while it used Dragon Tail to meet the six Aura Spheres. One swing blocked five; only one landed.

"Koga~"

As Rayquaza blocked, Greninja stood on Charizard’s back and unleashed its golden Water Shuriken.

"Roooar~"

Beneath it, Charizard roared and gathered purple Sacred Fire. Both moves fired simultaneously—forming a combination attack. The scorching purple flames coated the golden Water Shuriken, creating a move that carried Sacred Fire’s burning power, the golden Water Shuriken’s piercing precision, and scalding steam.

"Sacred Golden Water Shuriken, I’ll call it." Rio stood on Aerodactyl’s back, unable to resist naming the combo.

Facing this combination attack, Rayquaza proved its mettle—having just taken a hit from an Aura Sphere, it quickly formulated a response. It lashed its tail, creating blades of air that could slice through the sky itself. The Air Slash collided with the combo move midair. Though it couldn’t destroy it, it slowed its advance.

Seizing the opportunity, Rayquaza used Extreme Speed. Its velocity skyrocketed. When the Sacred Golden Water Shuriken closed in, Rayquaza had just completed the move, grazing past the attack’s edge.

Then Mewtwo threw three more Aura Spheres. Credit where it’s due—Rayquaza truly lived up to its title as Hoenn’s top legendary. Even in a three-on-one, it showed no sign of being outmatched.

As the three Aura Spheres approached, Rayquaza executed a serpentine maneuver—no, a godly maneuver—dodging all three. Two of them collided behind it, and the resulting blast actually boosted Rayquaza’s speed, helping it evade the third.

"Incredible." Rio couldn’t help but praise from Aerodactyl’s back.

After dodging the combined assault, Rayquaza didn’t hesitate. It launched Dragon Ascent at Charizard and Greninja’s position. In a single blur, it passed between them—no time to react.

Without Mega Evolution, Charizard was instantly knocked out. Even with Mega Evolution, it probably would have been one-shot—it had only unlocked the second layer of friendship rewards, putting it on par with tier-two legends like Zapdos, Entei, or Raikou. But Rayquaza’s Dragon Ascent was a move powerful enough to knock Primal Kyogre and Groudon back into their base forms.

Greninja fared better. Thanks to Bond Evolution, its level was close to Rayquaza’s. Though severely wounded, it didn’t fall—but with no Pokémon to carry it, it began to plummet. Mewtwo caught it with Psychic.

"You did well, Charizard." Rio recalled Charizard into its Luxury Ball and looked toward Rayquaza’s battlefield.

"This is getting tricky." Rio bit his lip. Greninja, now suspended by Mewtwo’s psychic power, couldn’t fight as freely as when it stood on Charizard’s back. And Mewtwo, while holding Greninja, would be distracted—giving Rayquaza openings.

He considered recalling Greninja—but that would leave Mewtwo Y against Mega Rayquaza in a one-on-one again. In the short term, maybe fine; in the long run, he wasn’t sure Mewtwo could win. And if Mewtwo lost, the chain reaction would be disastrous—Gengar, already struggling against Ho-Oh, would face a two-on-one and wouldn’t stand a chance.

Just then, a salty sea breeze reached his nose.

"Hm?" Rio frowned. He turned—in the distance, several waterspouts had risen from the sea. The largest one in the center suddenly shattered, revealing a massive silver-white Pokémon.

The Pokémon let out a deafening roar.

"LUUGIA~!" — Ho-Oh! Your dad is here!

With that, it charged toward the battlefield. At that moment, Ho-Oh was still trapped in the black mist, able only to spit out golden flames—which Lugia’s Aeroblast scattered like embers.

But when Lugia reached the battlefield and saw Rayquaza instead of Ho-Oh, it stopped.

"What’s this? Why is this Hoenn idiot here? I clearly sensed that stupid bird Ho-Oh!" Lugia’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind. It couldn’t understand why Rayquaza was in Kanto.

"Ho-Oh is in the same situation you were in last time—trapped in Gengar’s black mist. As for Rayquaza—it’s here to kill me." Rio pointed left at the mist, then right at Rayquaza.

Lugia ignored the latter half, its attention locked on the first part. It immediately looked toward the mist with glee, listening to the cries within.

"LUUGIA~!" — Hahaha! Nice work, Old Ghost! Beat it! Beat that stupid bird senseless!

Lugia was absolutely delighted at the prospect of Ho-Oh getting pummeled.

Rayquaza, seeing Lugia’s attitude toward Rio, realized it was here to help him—which meant it was here to fight it. Without hesitation, Rayquaza struck first, launching a Dragon Pulse.

Sensing the attack, Lugia was forced to defend, using Aeroblast to counter. The two moves collided and neutralized each other.

"LUUGIA~!" — What’s your problem, Rayquaza?! I didn’t even attack you!

"RAY~" — If I don’t attack you, I’ll have to fight you and them together! Rayquaza writhed in the sky.

Rio chimed in: "Lugia, team up with Mewtwo and Greninja to surround Rayquaza!"

But Lugia shot back: "Why gang up on Rayquaza first? Let’s take out that stupid bird Ho-Oh, then all surround Rayquaza together!" Lugia looked excitedly at the black mist—it was very interested in beating up Ho-Oh.

Rio considered this. Lugia wasn’t wrong—capturing Ho-Oh first and then joining forces against Rayquaza might be better. The key was whether Mewtwo could hold Rayquaza alone.

"Mewtwo, can you do it?" Rio asked.

"Leave it to me." Mewtwo was happy to solo. It formed several Aura Spheres and hurled them at Rayquaza, while using Psychic to send Greninja onto Lugia’s back. If Rio didn’t believe it could win, then proving him wrong would be all the sweeter—and prove that Mewtwo was the strongest.

"Alright. Rayquaza is yours." Rio agreed.

"Gengar, Lugia, Greninja—all three of you, focus on Ho-Oh!" Rio assigned their tasks.

The three Pokémon accepted enthusiastically.

"Gengar~" — Leave it to Old Ghost!

"Koga~" — Understood.

"LUUGIA~!" — Say it with me—Beat that stupid bird Ho-Oh!

As they accepted, Ho-Oh finally broke free from the mist, bearing fresh wounds. It stared at Lugia in shock.

"Caw~" — You foolish bird—you were actually captured by a human!

"LUUGIA~!" — Stupid bird! This isn’t capture—Rio and I are partners! You’re the one who’s about to be captured! Brothers, attack! Beat this stupid bird!

Lugia struck first with Aeroblast. Ho-Oh countered with Sacred Fire. But while Ho-Oh focused on that, Gengar hit it with Roar of Time, and Greninja followed up with Golden Water Shuriken.

Unlike Rayquaza, Ho-Oh lacked that combat instinct and godly evasive maneuver. After its Sacred Fire clashed with Aeroblast, it had no time to react to Roar of Time or the Golden Water Shuriken. It took a direct hit, crying out in pain.

The battle followed that pattern from then on: one of the three would occupy Ho-Oh with a move, while the other two landed heavy blows. Ho-Oh was completely on the defensive, unable to land a single hit on Lugia, Gengar, or Greninja.

After nearly ten minutes of this, Ho-Oh was severely weakened. Rio saw his chance and tossed a Luxury Ball. A flash of light—Ho-Oh was drawn in. The ball shook in the air, held by Gengar’s psychic power. Luck was on his side: after three shakes, the capture was successful.