Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 46: Heading to the Johto Region

[Level: 39+10 (Currently in a winning streak, positive emotions, eager to battle; leveling speed is doubled. Time until next level: 204 days.)]

[Talent: Quasi-Elite Four]

[Friendship: 80 (range: -25 to 80)

[Ability: Drought]

[Gender: Male]

[Moves: Scratch (51%), Growl (51%), Ember (51%), Smokescreen (51%), Dragon Breath (51%), Sunny Day (51%), Fire Fang (51%), Slash (51%), Flamethrower (10%)]

[Description: This is a confident Charizard that craves battle. When it was still a Charmander...]

"Incredible—its level jumped by 10 points, putting it eight levels above Cynthia’s Gabite."

"Although it lost Solar Power as an ability, the base stat boosts from Mega Evolution completely surpass the Special Attack bonus that Solar Power provided. In fact, the base Special Attack alone after Mega Evolution is higher than Solar Power’s boost—and without the HP cost."

"The only downside is that the rapid leveling today means its move proficiencies haven’t caught up yet. Once they do, it could absolutely crush Cynthia’s Gabite into the ground. Actually, even now it could probably give it a decent fight."

Looking at the updated stats, Rio felt immensely satisfied.

Today had been the most rewarding day yet. Not only had he collected a ton of money—replenishing the funds he’d spent on building the Gym and feeding Munchlax—but he’d also skyrocketed both Charizard and Munchlax’s levels. Charizard in particular had gone from Level 28 to 39, and he’d received both Mega Stones X and Y from Mr. Fuji. Its strength had undergone a transformative leap—almost comparable to a system friendship reward unlock.

And on top of all that, he’d gotten intel on the Red Gyarados. Just thinking about a Gyarados that could spam Hyper Beam like a basic attack made his desire to possess it surge.

Once he’d raised Charizard’s move proficiencies over the next few days, he’d head straight to the Johto region and capture Lance’s soon-to-be prized possession ahead of time.

So—thank you, Team Rocket!

Long live Team Rocket!

Both times they’d appeared, they’d propelled his strength to explosive new heights—each time even more than the last.

"Rio, how did you do that?! How can Charizard evolve again? And after it evolved, it actually changed the weather—that’s incredible!" Cynthia jogged over, her face full of envy.

"This is thanks to the stones Grandpa Fuji just gave me—they unlock a Pokémon’s deeper power. For details, you can ask Grandpa Fuji." Rio explained, and seeing Mr. Fuji approaching, he happily passed the explanation on to him.

Mr. Fuji didn’t immediately answer Cynthia’s question. Instead, he pointed at Rio and said: "You’ve definitely seen Mega Stones before."

Rio just grinned and said nothing. Seeing that he didn’t want to elaborate, Mr. Fuji let it go and turned to Cynthia: "Cynthia, these are called Mega Stones. They allow specific Pokémon to evolve further, granting them greater power for a short period."

"After your Gabite evolves into Garchomp, it can use one too. The two stones I gave Rio—I unearthed them along with your grandmother, Professor Cattleya, and a few friends during an expedition to the Kalos region when we were younger. Didn’t she tell you?"

Cynthia’s eyes lit up at this. "Now I remember—Grandma did say she’d give me a gift once my Gabite evolves into Garchomp! From what you’re saying, Grandpa Fuji, that must be a Mega Stone, right?"

With that, her envy toward Rio vanished, replaced by anticipation—she couldn’t wait for Gabite to evolve and receive her own Mega Stone.

"Rio, once my Gabite evolves into Garchomp and I get my Mega Stone, let’s have a battle—your Charizard against my Garchomp!" Cynthia challenged.

"How about we do it now? Let’s have a bounty match right here," Rio said with a grin.

Cynthia looked up at Charizard, who was showing off its power in the sky, blasting Flamethrower freely under the Drought-enhanced sunlight.

(¬_¬)

"You money-grubbing fiend! Sure, I’m competitive, but I’m not stupid. Back when it was still Charmeleon, every time I challenged you, you’d use Munchlax to shut me down. Now that it’s evolved into Charizard and can Mega Evolve, you’re suddenly all for it? And you’re offering a bounty match? Get lost—I don’t have that kind of money for you to scam. Challenge me again after my Gabite evolves into Garchomp!"

Seeing Cynthia’s annoyed little expression, Rio shrugged. At the rate I’m progressing, by the time Gabite evolves into Garchomp, Charizard will probably be able to pin down a Mega Garchomp without even Mega Evolving itself. Cynthia, you might just have a mental breakdown from losing.

Half a month later.

After some intensive training with Charizard, Rio went to see Mr. Fuji.

"Rio, you’re heading to Cerulean City to earn your second Gym Badge?" Mr. Fuji asked, a little surprised when Rio mentioned it—not because he doubted Rio’s strength, but because he was surprised Rio had finally remembered to get more badges. With Charizard and Munchlax, Rio’s team could already rival a Gym Leader’s ace Pokémon. Earning a badge would be more than easy.

"Yeah, I think I’m strong enough now to give it a shot. Besides, I want to take Charizard and Munchlax out for some fun—they’ve been training hard lately and deserve a break," Rio said with a smile.

In truth, his real goal was to head to the Johto region and capture the Red Gyarados before Lance could. If he delayed any longer and Lance got to it first, he’d be kicking himself. After that, he’d also stop by Blaze Island to retrieve the Silver Wing—Lugia’s feather. He probably couldn’t catch Lugia yet, but securing the Silver Wing early was definitely the right move.

"Go ahead, go ahead—a break is good for you. Especially you young folks—you should get out and travel more. Unlike this old man, I’m too frail to go anywhere anymore," Mr. Fuji said cheerfully, thinking Rio didn’t really need to ask for permission.

But Rio’s next words made Mr. Fuji realize he might have been too hasty.

"Grandpa Fuji, there’s actually one more thing—I’d like your permission to take Mankey with me."

"Take Mankey with you?"

"Yes. I want to bond with it more and see if I can catch it during this trip. I hope you’ll allow it," Rio said with a smile.

Over the past half-month, he’d kept up his efforts to raise Mankey’s friendship—wearing the custom Ghost-type outfit from Silph Co. every day to let it vent its rage, then sharing snacks and chatting once it calmed down. Mankey’s friendship had reached -1, very close to the point where a Poké Ball would unlock its first-tier reward.

Hearing Rio’s request, Mr. Fuji fell into thought. This did technically violate the Pokémon House’s rules, which stated that a Pokémon could only be taken out once it had been caught.

But after a moment, Mr. Fuji smiled: "Alright—I’ll let you take it. Thinking about it, if you don’t take it along and it goes berserk again, no one here can handle its tantrums anyway." After all, he’d made the rules himself, and he trusted Rio. Giving him a little exception wasn’t out of the question.