Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 51: News of Raikou

The Pokémon Hunter saw Primeape take down Sneasel and then charge toward him. He smiled and gave the order.

Behind him stood an Electivire and a Houndoom. And behind them was a large cage, holding several wild Pokémon restrained by electric shock cuffs.

"Gigah~" Electivire received the hunter’s command, clashed its fists together, and crackling electricity erupted around them. It charged at Primeape with a fierce expression.

But—

Two seconds later.

"Gigah~" Electivire screamed in pain as it was sent flying backward by a single punch.

"Th-this..." The Pokémon Hunter’s eyes bulged like saucers. "How is this possible?! Its strength is..."

Instead of fear, he was overcome with even greater excitement. "I can’t sell this Primeape to the underground arena—I have to catch it myself!"

He pulled out an electric shock cuff designed to restrain Pokémon movements and aimed it at Primeape, simultaneously commanding: "Houndoom, Flamethrower!"

"Hound—" Scorching flames burst from Houndoom’s mouth.

Facing the flames, Primeape showed no fear. Instead, it used its signature move—Rage Fist—and charged straight into the fire.

"Pu-cha~" The flames burned its body, but instead of screaming in pain, it let out an enraged low growl. It only looked more savage, more demonic.

That startled Houndoom and completely baffled the hunter. He had used Flamethrower to restrict Primeape’s movement so he could land the shock cuff. He never expected Primeape to charge straight through the flames without dodging—who could have predicted that?! It was like a madman. The fire didn’t scare it; it seemed to give it a power boost.

"Pu-cha~" While Houndoom and the hunter were still stunned, Primeape had already closed the distance. One punch shattered Houndoom’s teeth and sent it flying dozens of meters.

Facing Primeape now right in front of him, the hunter trembled in fear. He frantically pressed the launcher on the shock cuff.

Zap— The cuff shot out and successfully clamped onto Primeape.

The next second, a high-voltage electric shock surged from the cuff, enveloping Primeape’s entire body.

The hunter breathed a sigh of relief, then cranked the cuff’s voltage to maximum.

"Good, good—thank goodness I was quick enough to fire it at the last second. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

As he spoke, he saw Primeape struggling fiercely against the high-voltage shock, trying to break free. He laughed heartily.

"Give up, Primeape! Once you’re caught in this cuff, you’ll never escape my grasp. From now on, you’ll have no choice but to obey my commands—or else I’ll—"

Before he could finish—crack!—Primeape snapped the cuff apart with sheer force.

The Hunter: (⊙_⊙)

"Pu-cha~" Freed from its restraints, Primeape looked down at the hunter with a dark, menacing expression—as if to say, Or else you’ll what?

Thud. The hunter dropped to his knees.

"Boss, I was wrong! I didn’t mean to hurt you! It’s all because of circumstances—I have a family to—"

Before he could finish, Primeape’s fist connected. He was sent flying like a dead dog, crashing an unknown distance away.

"Pika-pika~"

"Mee~"

"Nido~"

"Wani~"

From the cage behind, the captured Pokémon began crying out excitedly to Primeape.

Hearing their calls for help, Primeape walked over and smashed the cage door open with one punch. Then, under their grateful gazes, it let out a fierce cry—and knocked every single one of them out with a single punch each. After that, it stepped out of the cage and continued its hunt for the Aipom.

High above, Rio directed Charizard to land near where the hunter had crashed.

The hunter lay slumped against a tree, his chest caved in from Primeape’s punch, head bowed and coughing up blood—clearly on the verge of death. When he saw a human approach, he coughed and pleaded: "Help me..."

Rio ignored him, instead patting him down and pulling out his phone. He used the hunter’s shattered arm to unlock it.

"Help me..." the hunter begged again.

"Help you, my ass. That Primeape you tried to steal is mine. Just sit there and accept judgment from the Pokémon," Rio said flatly, transferring all the hunter’s funds to himself, then tossing the phone aside and turning to leave.

"I have information about Raikou—one of the legendary three beasts!"

Rio stopped.

The hunter smiled weakly and coughed: "It’s true... I’m not lying... this hunting trip was also preparation for capturing Raikou..."

Rio turned back, frowning at him.

The hunter continued: "If you save me, I’ll share the info with you. Otherwise, I won’t tell you a thing."

Rio didn’t reply. He thought for a moment, then picked up the phone again and scrolled through it more carefully.

He found a messaging app with a group called "Operation Raikou Hunt." There were twelve members. Every day, they posted photos of Electric-type Pokémon they had captured. Rio recalled that the cage earlier had contained mostly Electric-types.

Just then, the group admin @everyone and asked how many they’d caught today. Rio replied with the count he’d seen in the cage. The admin said it was too few and told him to work harder, adding that the operation would begin in two months—once they caught Raikou, everyone would be set for life.

Seeing that, Rio smiled.

Then he looked down at the hunter on the ground.

"What are you doing?!" the hunter said nervously, seeing Rio’s sly expression.

"Nothing—just changing the fingerprint lock on your phone," Rio said with a grin, crouching down. A moment later, after updating the fingerprint, he pocketed the phone and walked away.

"Thanks for letting me know about Raikou. To show my gratitude, I’ll call the Pokémon Police for you later. Whether you survive until they find you depends on your willpower."

Rio waved goodbye from Charizard’s back.

"Stay strong—I believe in your will."

With that, Rio and Charizard flew off to find Primeape.