Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 4: Actually, You’re a Genius

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Fuji suddenly made a suggestion to the volunteers.

A few minutes later, Charmander was the only Pokémon left in the entire room.

"Charmander, would you like to go out and play with everyone in the garden?" Mr. Fuji came up to Charmander.

Charmander glanced at him, then went back to lying down.

Just as expected. Mr. Fuji sighed, said a silent apology in his heart, and turned to leave.

"Ka~"

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Munchlax standing at the door, cracking its knuckles in eager anticipation.

"Don’t rush, don’t rush—I just came out."

Seeing it like that, Mr. Fuji felt a headache coming on. He was genuinely afraid that Munchlax might go overboard and beat Charmander to the point of fainting.

"Go easy on it, alright? Don’t be too harsh."

"Ka~"

Munchlax patted its chest with a look that said, Don’t worry, I’ve got this.

Then it stretched out its chubby little arm and pointed toward the cafeteria, which had been locked with three extra padlocks just because of it.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry. If you do this well, you’ll definitely get an extra meal tonight."

Mr. Fuji felt somewhat helpless at Munchlax’s attitude—so easy to deal with as long as food was involved.

"Ka~"

Satisfied with the answer, Munchlax gave a silly grin.

A quarter of an hour later, having received Mr. Fuji’s permission, Munchlax finally went inside.

After letting it in, Mr. Fuji quickly walked to his office.

Inside the office, Rio and Rina were already sitting in front of Mr. Fuji’s desk, watching the monitor.

"How’s it going? Have they started fighting yet?" Mr. Fuji asked as soon as he entered.

"They’re fighting, but it’s Charmander getting completely thrashed," Rina said, full of sympathy.

She had thought the two would tussle for a while, but Munchlax had caught Charmander while it was still asleep and delivered a Tackle straight away. Before Charmander could even figure out what was happening, Munchlax leaped into the air and brought its nearly two-hundred-pound body crashing down onto the little guy, who weighed only about ten pounds.

After that, Charmander was in for a rough time. It had no fighting technique at all—Munchlax relied purely on dirty tactics.

Hearing his granddaughter’s report, Mr. Fuji hurried to the desk.

On the screen, he saw Charmander wailing in agony under Munchlax’s rear end. It tried to fight back with Ember, but its neck was being tightly gripped by Munchlax’s little chubby hands, so it couldn’t get the flames anywhere near its opponent. Every now and then, it would also receive a few slaps.

"This is just too cruel."

After watching for seven or eight seconds, Mr. Fuji couldn’t bear it anymore. He turned to go stop them.

But Rio held him back.

"Grandpa Fuji, if you go and stop them now, everything we’ve done will be for nothing," Rio said.

Mr. Fuji turned back and looked at Rio’s serious, resolute expression. He hesitated for a long moment, then finally pulled his left foot back. He could only watch helplessly as Charmander was sat on, rubbed into the ground, and humiliated by Munchlax.

In the end, this one-sided beating lasted over five minutes.

It was only when a passing volunteer noticed the commotion inside that it stopped.

"Quick, quick—go comfort it," Mr. Fuji said, watching with a heavy heart as Charmander lay motionless on the ground, covered in wounds, while the volunteers applied healing medicine to it.

"Not yet. Right now, I’m supposed to be on my way to the hospital. Showing up in front of it immediately would be too fake," Rio shook his head.

"You..." Mr. Fuji’s eyes widened.

He looked at Rio, who was being excessively calm, and didn’t know whether to call him meticulous or stone-hearted.

"Then I’ll go," Mr. Fuji said, a little annoyed, and left the office.

Soon, Rio saw Mr. Fuji appear next to Charmander on the monitor.

But no matter how much Mr. Fuji tried to comfort it, Charmander wouldn’t respond. Eventually, it seemed to get annoyed by the consolation and simply covered its ears with its little hands.

Left with no choice, Mr. Fuji returned to the office and stared at Rio, both of them at a loss.

Finally, he couldn’t help but speak: "If Charmander can’t come out of its slump because of this, then Rio, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave the Pokémon House."

Rio didn’t reply. He just watched the monitor quietly.

After sitting there for about another half hour, he finally made a move. He asked Rina to push his wheelchair over to Charmander.

Mr. Fuji took over watching the monitor.

Before long, he saw the two appear on the screen.

Then Rina left, taking the other volunteers with her, leaving Rio alone.

Rio sat calmly in his wheelchair for nearly a minute. Then he spoke unexpectedly:

"I heard Munchlax beat you up."

His voice caused Charmander, curled up on the ground, to stir slightly.

Rio continued: "Do you want to get revenge?"

"I feel the same as you—I really want to teach Munchlax a lesson. The doctor said I still need to rest for a while after this check-up."

Charmander lifted its head out from where it had been buried in its arms.

It stared at Rio for a few seconds, then dejectedly tucked its head back down.

"What’s the matter? Don’t have confidence in yourself? Think you’re a failure?"

Charmander reached out its little arms to cover its ears again.

But just as it was about to do so, Rio’s next words froze its little paws in place.

"Believe it or not, you’re actually a genius. A super genius among Pokémon—one in a million among Charmanders. With just a little effort, you could pin Munchlax down and beat it senseless."

Charmander lifted its buried head again and stared at Rio in surprise.

"Do you know why I fought so desperately to protect your food from being stolen by Munchlax the other day?" Rio pounded his chest with his fist, speaking with passion.

"It’s because I saw the talent in your bloodline. I didn’t think you deserved to be treated that way—and you certainly shouldn’t be degrading yourself!"

Charmander didn’t speak. It just stared at Rio, as if trying to figure out whether this person was talking nonsense.

"I know what you’re thinking—if you’re really that amazing, why were you abandoned? Why did Munchlax bully you?"

"Let me tell you why: it’s because your talent is just too powerful. When you’re still in your infancy, without the right guidance, you’re no different from an ordinary Charmander."

"But once you have the right guidance, you’ll become something completely different. In the future, very few Pokémon will be able to stand against you. Victory will be second nature to you."

At this point, Rio noticed Charmander’s eyes flicker.

"As it happens, I have the ability to guide you."

"If you don’t believe me, come outside with me, and I’ll show you."

Charmander looked at him hesitantly.

After seven or eight seconds, it stood up from the ground.

Rio’s lips curled up slightly, and he wheeled his chair toward the door.

Before long, Rina came up behind him. As she pushed his wheelchair, she whispered in his ear:

"Grandpa and I agree on one thing—you shouldn’t be here at the Pokémon House. Pokémon Hollywood is where you truly belong. There’s definitely a place for you as a future Best Actor."

"But aren’t you afraid of being proven wrong by what you just said? What if Charmander finds out you’re lying to it? It’ll only become more withdrawn and lose even more faith in humans."

Rio glanced at her.

"Not afraid. Because I’m going to show you the power of belief."