Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 40: The Overwhelming Pressure from Sabrina

Rio snapped back to reality, suddenly reminded that he was currently surrounded by a group of Team Rocket members, led by none other than the Psychic-type Gym Leader of Saffron City.

"I wasn’t shaking—just a little too excited at the thought of being able to serve Commander Sabrina. Couldn’t quite contain myself," Rio said, swallowing hard and keeping his head down as he fired off a flattering remark.

"Pfft—"

Before Sabrina could respond, Temu let out a snort of laughter. He couldn’t believe anyone would be excited to serve that terrifying woman—she was always using her psychic powers to punish people. Who could handle that?

The next second, however, he was lifted into the air. Sabrina’s icy voice rang out: "What’s that? You’re unhappy that someone’s serving me?"

"No, no, no!" Temu, floating in the air, broke out in a cold sweat and shook his head frantically. "It’s an honor to serve you, Commander Sabrina—it’s just a shame I don’t have the—"

Before he could finish, Sabrina flicked her wrist, and Temu was hurled out of the restaurant, landing face-first in the dirt outside with a yelp of pain.

Rio breathed a sigh of relief. With Temu out of the picture, he didn’t have to worry about being recognized.

"Look up," Sabrina said to Rio.

Rio lifted his head. Sabrina studied him for a moment, then said: "You’re actually quite handsome. Come over here and pour me some coffee."

Rio immediately stepped forward respectfully and poured her coffee. But as soon as he set the pot down, her next words sent cold sweat running down his spine.

"You’re not a member of Team Rocket, are you?" Sabrina smiled at him.

Rio stared back at her smiling face and suddenly felt that her smile was deeply unsettling.

Sabrina took a sip of coffee and continued: "Don’t bother denying it—I noticed you hiding behind that tree watching me. And the Rocket member you followed later—I intentionally sent him out using hypnosis."

Rio’s expression froze. If what she said was true, then every move he’d made had been under her surveillance.

Damn. So this is what a psychic can do? That’s terrifying.

Seeing his reaction, Sabrina’s smile widened. "Don’t worry—I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just curious... do you happen to have a Munchlax?"

With a flick of her finger, the two Poké Balls on Rio’s belt flashed open. Charmeleon and Munchlax were released.

"Ha! So it’s you." Sabrina’s smile grew even brighter. "Don’t worry—I won’t harm you. At least not now. Because the future has shown me that our battle isn’t meant to happen yet."

Rio took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Once composed, he realized she must have used Future Sight to foresee his presence.

"So she predicted my appearance with Future Sight?" he guessed. Summoning his courage, he asked: "If not now, then when?"

"You’ll know when the time comes," Sabrina said.

Rio fell silent for nearly ten seconds. Then he grabbed a cup, poured himself some coffee, and tossed the pot to a nearby Rocket grunt. He sat down across from Sabrina, recalled Charmeleon and Munchlax, and took a casual sip.

Now it was Sabrina’s turn to look surprised. She hadn’t expected that after being exposed, he’d calmly sit right across from her.

"Since you already know who I am, I’m not going to pretend anymore. Whatever happens, happens. You say when we fight, and I’ll be there—I’m completely at your mercy," Rio said with a shrug, putting on a fearless front.

Sabrina was even more taken aback. After a long pause, she smiled again. "Interesting."

She took another sip of her coffee.

About ten minutes later, Temu limped back in. He was about to report the latest on the Lavender Town takeover when he saw Rio sitting across from Sabrina and froze.

"Hey there, baldy," Rio greeted him with a grin.

"Kid—what are you doing here?!" Temu stammered in shock.

"Guess," Rio shrugged.

"Guess my ass! You’ve got some nerve showing up here alone—are you looking to die?" Temu’s eyes went red at the sight of Rio, remembering his humiliating defeat. He turned to Sabrina: "Commander Sabrina, this is the guy who made our last mission fail! You need to detain him!"

"I know," Sabrina said calmly. "I allowed him to sit here."

"You allowed it?!" Temu’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Get to the point. Don’t waste my time with nonsense—unless you want me to throw you out again," Sabrina said coldly.

At her words, Temu felt himself starting to float again. He shrank back and quickly got down to business: "Commander Sabrina, the takeover is hitting some resistance. The trainers here are stronger than we anticipated—especially one female trainer with a Gabite. Her strength is beyond what our current executives can handle. We need you to step in personally."

Hearing this, Rio felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. If the Rockets are finding it tough, then my training of Lavender Town’s trainers is clearly paying off.

"Gabite..." Sabrina murmured, recalling the vision from her Future Sight. That Gabite’s strength was indeed beyond the capabilities of the mid-level executives’ Pokémon.

"Understood. I’ll head over now." With a flick of her wrist, Temu was thrown out of the restaurant again—face-first into the dirt once more.

"Come. Our battle is approaching," Sabrina said, glancing at Rio.

Rio followed her, speaking as he walked: "I’m curious—since you can see the future, Commander Sabrina, did you foresee the outcome of our battle?"

"Of course. In our battle, I win—cleanly and decisively," Sabrina said with a smile.

Rio raised an eyebrow. Cleanly and decisively? I find that hard to believe.

If he fought Sabrina, he would open with Munchlax’s Metronome. Although Munchlax was only Level 31, he’d raised its Metronome proficiency to 49%. And that was without the Lucky Stone—if he’d trained with it, every roll would’ve been a divine move, and Lavender Town wouldn’t exist anymore.

Either way, a Level 31 Munchlax with 49% Metronome proficiency rolling a divine move—he couldn’t see how Sabrina’s Alakazam, even at Level 52 with Quasi-Elite Four talent, could easily brush that off.

"So she’s bluffing?" Rio thought. "Or more accurately—she doesn’t actually know the outcome herself. If she did, and I was going to win, she’d have taken me out right now."

As Rio was pondering this, Cynthia came charging toward them with Gabite, cutting a path straight through.