Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 44: Mr. Fuji’s Reward

Officer Jenny arrived with a team of officers in a truck. After hearing the full account from Rio and the other trainers, they loaded all the Team Rocket members into the truck.

Before they left, Cynthia approached Officer Jenny and told her that the Saffron City Gym Leader was a member of Team Rocket. Officer Jenny was visibly shocked. She said she would report the matter to the higher-ups, then departed.

"Hmph! You’d better get that transfer ready," Cynthia said smugly, coming up to Rio after delivering the news.

"Sure. I’ll be waiting," Rio smiled, shrugged, and turned to walk back toward the Pokémon House.

He soon arrived and saw Mr. Fuji, Rina, and some volunteers caring for the Pokémon. When Team Rocket invaded, Cynthia had told them to stay put, saying she would lead the Lavender Gym trainees to defend the town—and she had delivered, not letting a single Rocket step foot inside the Pokémon House.

"Rio, Cynthia—once again, we owe you both," Mr. Fuji said warmly, having already heard about what happened in town. Then his gaze settled on Rio. "I heard your Charmeleon evolved into Charizard during the Rocket attack! Let me see it—I’ve never seen a shiny Charizard."

Rio tossed out a Poké Ball. With a flash of light, Charizard appeared in the Pokémon House garden. Its imposing figure and jet-black skin immediately drew envious and admiring stares from all the volunteers.

"Unbelievable—just a few months ago, you were a little Charmander, and now you’ve grown into a Charizard."

"It seems Rio really knows how to raise you—your growth has far exceeded my expectations," Mr. Fuji said, stepping forward to feel Charizard’s frame and praising it.

"Roaar~" Charizard roared to the sky, spat out a burst of flame, then lowered its head and nuzzled Mr. Fuji. It felt grateful to him too—without Mr. Fuji’s shelter, it would never have met Rio, who had shown it that it wasn’t lacking in ability, but was actually a super genius—one in a million among Charmanders—whose former trainer simply didn’t know how to bring out its potential.

"Good boy, good boy. Make sure you stick with Rio—he won’t let you down, and you shouldn’t let him down either," Mr. Fuji said cheerfully, patting Charizard’s head.

"Roaar~"

On the other side, Rio’s eyes lit up. After that exchange with Mr. Fuji, Charizard’s friendship had increased—to 80 points, leaving only 15 more until the second-tier reward unlock.

"Rio, do you remember what I told you before?" Mr. Fuji said after a moment, turning to him.

"Yes—you said once Charmeleon evolved into Charizard, you’d give me something," Rio said with a smile.

"Come with me. I’ll give it to you now. I thought it would take much longer, yet here we are—just over a month later." Mr. Fuji walked toward his office with his hands behind his back.

"Charizard, wait for me here." Rio told Charizard. Its current size made it inconvenient to fit into Mr. Fuji’s not-so-large office.

"Roaar~" — Got it, Rio. You go ahead—I’ll show off my muscles and strength to all these people.

A few minutes later, Mr. Fuji placed two boxes in front of Rio. When opened, each box contained a crystal-clear stone with a leaf-like substance inside—one held a blue leaf, the other a red leaf.

"Just as I thought—Mega Stones," Rio thought excitedly. He’d had that suspicion when Mr. Fuji first mentioned it—why else would he wait until Charmeleon evolved into Charizard to give it? The only surprise was that Mr. Fuji was giving him both the X and Y evolution stones.

"You know what these are?" Mr. Fuji asked, noticing Rio’s expression.

"No—I just think they’re beautiful, like gems," Rio shook his head like a rattle. Better to play dumb now—let the old man have his moment of pride.

Seeing this, Mr. Fuji cleared his throat, ready to show off a little.

"Rio, let me tell you—these stones in these boxes are extraordinary. They can unlock a Pokémon’s hidden power, allowing it to evolve further. That evolution is called Mega Evolution."

"The two boxes I’m giving you represent two different Mega Evolution forms for Charizard—I unearthed them when I was younger."

He paused to take a sip of water before continuing: "Though I’ve never personally seen either form, I’ve learned from other research materials that this blue stone—the one with the blue leaf—grants Charizard immense physical attack power. This red stone, on the other hand, grants Charizard immense special attack power."

"Think about it—which path do you want Charizard to take?" Mr. Fuji gazed intently at Rio, waiting to see his choice.

But Rio’s response caught him off guard.

"Um... Grandpa Fuji... could I possibly take both?"