Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 332: Lucario and the Transformation (Two-in-One)

Rio was completely confused.

"Mewtwo, Gengar — was that you talking to me?" He turned to look at the Luxury Balls on his belt. Among his Pokémon, only Mewtwo and Gengar could communicate telepathically. Charizard and the others couldn’t.

"No, Old Ghost didn’t say anything." Gengar responded first. "Must be Little Comrade Mewtwo."

"I didn’t say anything either." Mewtwo replied calmly.

If it wasn’t them... Rio frowned. He turned his gaze to the gem on the scepter.

"Is it Lucario?" Rio guessed.

Just then, Queen Irene, who had finished presenting the scepter, announced to the nobles in the hall: "To honor Sir Aaron, who protected the peace of this nation, let everyone enjoy tonight’s feast!"

After speaking, Queen Irene looked at Rio. "Please raise the scepter, Hero!" A royal attendant standing behind Rio whispered.

Rio raised the scepter, and the hall erupted in applause. Cellos began to play. The nobles enjoyed the banquet — some eating, some dancing, some chatting with friends.

"Pichu~" Mew, standing on Rio’s shoulder, bounced excitedly, wanting Rio to join the festivities.

"Alright, I’m hungry too. Let’s go get something to eat first." Rio agreed. But as he was about to step down from the Hero’s throne with the scepter, the royal attendant pulled him back.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Rio. As today’s Hero, you cannot leave your seat." The attendant said seriously.

"What?" Rio frowned. "I can’t even go down to get some food?"

"No. You and the Queen must remain seated, quietly watching everyone enjoy the banquet." The Queen shook her head. "This symbolizes that Sir Aaron’s sacrifice centuries ago was not in vain — that you, in his place, may witness the prosperity of future generations."

"Fine." Rio sighed, holding his stomach as he reluctantly sat back down.

Honestly, he found this a bit hollow. If they really wanted him to witness the prosperity of the people, they should have shown him ordinary citizens — not just the upper-class nobles partying. But he kept that thought to himself — it wasn’t his business.

"Sorry, Pichu. I can’t join you." Rio said regretfully.

"Pichu~" Mew looked disappointed.

Seeing that, Rio smiled and reached for his belt. "Don’t worry — I’ll send Charizard, Gengar, and the others to keep you company."

A flash of light — Charizard, Munchlax, Greninja, Eevee, Gengar, and Mewtwo appeared one after another.

"Everyone, enjoy the banquet with Pichu!" Rio told them.

"Roooar~"

"Munch~"

"Koga~"

"Eev~"

"Gengar~"

All except Mewtwo were excited. Munchlax was the most enthusiastic — it immediately waddled toward the food tables. Charizard and the others greeted Pichu before heading off to find food. Mewtwo, however, used Psychic to grab a few bottles of wine and Teleported away.

"You might need to tell the kitchen to prepare extra food — it could run out quickly." Rio said to the attendant.

"Run out quickly? You mean because of Munchlax?" The attendant smiled. "Don’t worry — the kitchen has prepared plenty. There’s more than enough for Munchlax."

"I think you’re underestimating it. Trust me on this." Rio smiled and shook his head.

His Munchlax was different from others — as its strength grew, it ate at a rate equivalent to two or three normal Munchlax. As soon as he finished speaking, Munchlax had cleared an entire table of food in under half a minute and was already moving to the next. "See?" Rio pointed.

The attendant’s jaw dropped. He quickly rushed to the kitchen. Fortunately, Munchlax had the decency not to eat from the table where Charizard and the others were sitting.

Time passed. An hour later.

Having eaten, drunk, and played, Charizard and the others lay sprawled on one side of the hall, dozing off. Mew, looking at them, suddenly wondered where Mewtwo had gone. It glanced at Rio, who was yawning on the Hero’s throne, then hopped out of the castle.

It jumped onto the castle roof and soon spotted Mewtwo at the top. Mewtwo was drinking alone — or rather, drinking with the air. It raised its bottle, while another bottle levitated nearby, clinking with its own.

Mew used a tree to climb up to the roof.

"Pichu~" — What are you doing? Why aren’t you playing with everyone else?

Mew, still in Pichu form, blinked its big eyes at Mewtwo.

Mewtwo glanced at it and rolled its eyes. "Why do you think I’m not playing with them?"

"Pichu~" — Is it because of me? Did I do something to offend you?

Mew was confused — this was its first time meeting Mewtwo. Why was it so hostile?

"You didn’t offend me. I just hate the aura you give off." Mewtwo, already a bit drunk, answered bluntly.

"Pichu~" — My aura?

Mew looked down at its Pichu form.

"Pichu~" — Are you saying you hate Pichu?

"No. I don’t hate Pichu — I have no quarrel with the Pichu line. I simply hate..." Mewtwo began, but stopped as the Pichu before it flashed white and transformed into a Squirtle.

"Squirtle~" — You don’t hate me now, do you?

Mew smiled with narrowed eyes. Mewtwo’s expression froze, as if struck still. Seeing that made Mew feel especially satisfied.

Another flash — Squirtle became a Charmander.

"Char~" — What’s wrong? Surprised?

Mew laughed. Mewtwo stared, blinking rapidly. After a long pause, it looked at the bottle in its hand.

Am I drunk? Mewtwo wondered. A Pichu turning into a Squirtle, then a Charmander — even it couldn’t do that. How could a Pichu?

Then something even more shocking happened. The Charmander flashed white again — and turned into a floating, hairless cat.

"Mew~" — Your surprised face is really funny. This is my real form.

Mew curled up, laughing at Mewtwo. But as it laughed, it noticed something off — Mewtwo’s expression had shifted from shock to dark fury.

"Mew! You’re Mew!" Mewtwo stared at the adorable creature that made it want to scream.

So that’s why I felt such deep disgust toward that Pichu. It was Mew in disguise. Now everything made sense.

CRACK. The bottle in Mewtwo’s hand shattered.

"Mew~" — You know my name?

Mew was surprised. It hadn’t expected Mewtwo to recognize it.

"Of course. There’s no name in this world I need to know except yours." Mewtwo glared at Mew, raised its right hand, and quickly gathered a Psystrike.

Inside the castle, Rio, on the verge of drooling from exhaustion, was nudged awake by the royal attendant.

"Is it over yet?" Rio asked groggily.

"Almost. Please hold on a little longer." The attendant said.

"Fine." Rio sighed, looking around. Where’s Mew? He noticed it wasn’t with Charizard and raised an eyebrow.

"Why!"

Suddenly, another voice echoed in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hm?" Rio looked at the scepter in his hand. Then the attendant nudged him again — Queen Irene had risen from her throne and announced: "Now, as the banquet draws to a close, the Hero of Aura will perform a display of his power."

"Quick! Show everyone the Hero’s stance!" The attendant whispered.

"The Hero’s stance?" Rio had no idea what that was. The attendant pointed with her lips toward a mural beside Rio. He looked — the mural of Sir Aaron showed him holding the scepter in one hand and touching the gem with the other.

He mimicked the pose. The nobles below applauded.

"Why!"

For the third time, the question echoed in his mind. After this third question, the scepter seemed to come alive — it vibrated violently.

"What’s happening?!" The attendant panicked.

"There’s something inside this." Rio struggled to hold it. As soon as he spoke, the scepter glowed. The light was so bright that the nobles and Queen Irene looked startled. Then a white streak shot out from the scepter, landing on the ground as a Lucario, kneeling on one knee.

It emerged with its eyes closed, then its drooping ears lifted — as if locking onto something. Finally, they locked onto Rio.

"Sir Aaron!" Lucario lunged at Rio, its face twisted with anger.

"Why did you abandon the castle?!"

Telepathy? Rio raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I’m not Aaron."

His words made Lucario pause. It forced its eyes open — and when it saw a stranger in the hero’s outfit, it stumbled back in shock, frantically looking around.

"This is... Lucario? The one who followed Sir Aaron?" Queen Irene said hesitantly from beside Rio.

Rio also studied Lucario. Its level information appeared:

[Pokémon: Lucario]

[Level: 70 (Temporarily unable to level up due to heart knot)

[Talent: Champion]

[Friendship: -10]

[Ability 1: Justified]

[Gender: Male]

[Moves: Copycat (105%), Feint (105%), Helping Hand (105%), Rock Smash (105%), Metal Claw (105%), Vacuum Wave (105%), Detect (105%), Endure (105%), Aura Sphere (105%), Life Dew (105%), Quick Attack (105%), Counter (105%), Work Up (105%), Force Palm (105%), Swords Dance (—), Meteor Mash (105%)...]

[Description: A powerful Lucario with immense Aura power. It was once the Pokémon of the Hero of Aura, but now bears a heart knot — a deep obsession with Sir Aaron’s betrayal of Rota. ]

Level 70, Champion talent — this is really tempting to capture... Rio licked his lips. He wanted this one too — well, any good Pokémon, really.

Just then, a loud explosion came from outside.

"Hm? What was that?" Rio turned, puzzled. The others in the castle looked back in surprise. The ground shook, and the castle swayed. People fled outside in panic. Rio rushed out to see what happened.

When he reached the outside, he was stunned. Mewtwo and Mew were fighting!

"Mew — today you die at my hands! I’ll show you who the real one is!" Mewtwo gathered an Aura Sphere in one hand and hurled it.

"Mew~" — What’s wrong with you?! I haven’t done anything to you!

Mew’s tiny hands opened and closed, summoning its own Aura Sphere. The two spheres collided midair, creating a massive explosion. Mew still didn’t understand Mewtwo’s hostility — it had only wanted to be friendly and reveal its true identity. Being attacked for that seemed insane.

Damn — Mewtwo finally discovered Mew... Rio watched from below, his head already aching.

"Lady Mew — I’ll help you!" Suddenly, Lucario charged out, leaping to the castle roof and firing an Aura Sphere at Mewtwo.

But even at level 70, Lucario was no match for Mewtwo. Mewtwo casually blocked it with a Barrier.

"Lucario — stand down! This is between me and Mew! Stay out of it!" Mewtwo said coldly.