Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 47: Young Master James (Part 1)

Rio, carrying Mankey on his back, stood ready to leave the Pokémon House, with Mr. Fuji, Cynthia, Rina, and some Gym trainees seeing him off.

"Everyone, I’ll bring back gifts for you all!"

"And you Gym trainees—don’t slack off just because I’m not around. When I get back, I’ll be checking your battles one by one."

Rio smiled, took out two Poké Balls, and released Charizard and Munchlax. Around Charizard’s neck hung an iron ring embedded with the X Mega Stone, and on its tail was another ring with the Y Mega Stone.

"Everyone, say goodbye."

"Roaar~"

"Ho-ja~"

"Ka~"

The three Pokémon politely bid farewell to everyone.

Then Rio climbed onto Charizard’s back with Mankey, recalling Munchlax back into its Poké Ball. Why? Because Munchlax, despite its size, was incredibly heavy—even Charizard after evolution wasn’t as heavy as that dense little chubby ball. Charizard could carry it, but it would be exhausting, so for Charizard’s sake, Rio had Munchlax say its goodbyes and then recalled it.

"Roaar~" After Rio was seated, Charizard let out another cry, as if reminding him to hold tight, then spread its wings. With Rio and Mankey on board, it rose into the sky and soon disappeared from view.

The moment Rio left, Cynthia suddenly pulled out her own luggage and said goodbye to Mr. Fuji.

"Cynthia, what are you doing? Are you heading back to Sinnoh? Your ancient script studies aren’t finished yet," Mr. Fuji said, caught off guard.

Cynthia replied: "No, Grandpa Fuji—I’m not going back to Sinnoh. I just think that with Rio gone, studying alone isn’t as fun. I want to travel around Kanto with Gabite, get stronger, and then come back."

Mr. Fuji was puzzled: "Then why not travel with Rio?"

Cynthia shrugged: "Traveling with him would be boring—he’d see Gabite’s growth every step of the way. It’s better if Gabite gets stronger on its own, then surprises him with a challenge."

Seeing Cynthia’s expectant expression, Mr. Fuji shook his head and looked up at the sky. Young people’s minds—I just don’t get them.

High above the clouds.

"Hey, hey—slow down, Charizard! Fly slower—we’re not in a rush!" Rio exclaimed, noticing Mankey’s pig-like nose suddenly scrunch up, as if it was about to lose its temper.

He wasn’t wearing the Ghost-type outfit right now. Why? Partly because he thought it was ugly and too conspicuous. More importantly, yesterday, after deciding to take Mankey to Johto, he’d had a conversation with it, negotiating that whenever its anger started to rise, it would try to give him a heads-up first—giving him time to put on the outfit, or at least let it find a worthy opponent to vent on.

Mankey had agreed. So he’d taken the risk of not wearing the ghost suit.

Charizard, hearing Rio’s words, immediately slowed down. Mankey’s scrunched nose relaxed back to normal.

Rio breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good—as long as it doesn’t get angry. Otherwise, I’d have to demonstrate a ten-second dressing routine midair.

"Buzz—"

After a while, Rio felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out—someone had placed an order for his guidance service.

Over the past month or so, he’d built a modest reputation in the guidance community, earning the title "One-Glance Mentor" with a 99% positive rating. The missing 1% came from someone who, worried that Rio would get too popular and they wouldn’t be able to book him, left a bad review—which had made Rio laugh in disbelief. Unable to tolerate a single negative review, he’d raised his price to 10,000 League coins, reasoning that higher prices would reduce demand and keep availability open. The lone reviewer was then dogpiled by others, and no one dared leave a bad review again.

"The appointment is at 9:00 AM—that’s twenty minutes from now. The ferry to Saffron City leaves at 3:00 PM. Plenty of time—I’ll take it," Rio said, checking the schedule and accepting the order.

"Charizard, find a clearing to rest for a bit."

"Roaar~"

Ten minutes later, Charizard landed by a lake, and Rio jumped off with Mankey. He also released Munchlax.

"You guys can play around here—just don’t wander too far."

"Roaar~"

"Ka~"

"Ho-ja~"

The three Pokémon acknowledged and went about their own activities. Munchlax immediately lay down beside Rio to nap, asking for a few Snorlax Energy Cubes. Mankey climbed a tree to play. Charizard went to an open area to practice Flamethrower proficiency.

Despite two weeks of intensive training, Charizard’s move proficiencies still hadn’t reached their level cap—just close. Progress slowed the higher they went; two weeks wasn’t nearly enough.

Rio sat under a tree, watching the scene with deep satisfaction. I absolutely love this life.

Soon, 9:00 AM arrived. Rio’s phone received a video call on time.

He answered. The person on the other end surprised him—a bald, impeccably dressed elderly man in a tailcoat.

The elderly man spoke directly: "Hello. Our young master is currently looking for a guidance instructor for his Growlithe. I’ve heard you have the ability to tell at a glance how many practice attempts a Pokémon needs to master a move. Would you be interested in applying?"

"A ’young master’? Seems like I’ve hit a big spender," Rio thought, surprised. He’d heard plenty of "miss" and "young lady" since coming to this world, but "young master" was a first.

"I’m interested—but I assume there’s some kind of test, right?" Rio said.

For a household like this, he didn’t expect to be chosen without a challenge.

"Indeed, there is a test. Since we’re selecting a guidance instructor for the young master’s most beloved Pokémon, we’ll only accept the best. Aside from you, twenty other guides have been shortlisted. You’ll compete against them for the position."

"How do we compete?" Rio raised an eyebrow.

"Next, you’ll all face five rounds of testing. In each round, a Pokémon will be presented for your guidance. The one with the highest accuracy will earn the chance to meet the young master."

Rio frowned, then asked: "I assume the testing is paid, right?"

"Of course. Regardless of the outcome, you’ll be compensated for all five Pokémon at the standard rate."

"Alright, let’s start."

"One moment, please."

The elderly man clapped his hands off-screen. A moment later, a Staryu appeared on camera.

Before the man could speak, Rio jumped in: "It can currently learn two moves: Swift and Reflect. It’s already been training in Swift for a while—it needs 45 more practices to master it. For Reflect, prepare three portions of Drowzee fur and three portions of Flabébé down, place them in front of Staryu, and it will begin practicing on its own after touching them. After 97 practices, it will master Reflect."

With that, Rio waved his hand. "Next Pokémon—I’m in a hurry."

The elderly man across the screen was stunned. He hadn’t expected Rio to blurt out all the answers before he could even ask. It wasn’t until Rio urged him again that he snapped out of it. He had someone take Staryu away and brought out the second Pokémon: a Bulbasaur.

Again, without waiting for questions, Rio laid out Bulbasaur’s status. The elderly man was left dumbfounded.

"This kid can’t be just making all this up, can he?" the old butler muttered internally.

Still, he had the remaining Pokémon brought out one by one for the test. However, when they reached the last one, an unexpected incident occurred on the other side.