Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 58: Munchlax’s Second Metronome

The dazed Munchlax looked at Rio with a bewildered expression, as if asking what to do. It couldn’t fly.

Rio, equally dazed, shook his head helplessly. At this speed of descent, there was no way he could release Charizard in time to catch them. He knew his body was about to break a few bones.

"Pu-cha~"

But just as Rio and Munchlax were about to hit the ground, Primeape made a heroic entrance.

One arm caught Munchlax. The other caught Rio. It held them both steady.

"Nice work, Primeape!" Rio gave a big thumbs-up, relieved to have survived.

Damn—my monkey bro really comes through in a pinch. Sure, it’s terrifying normally, but when it matters, it shows its true strength.

"Pu-cha~" Primeape grinned and gently set Rio and Munchlax down. It had calmed down.

But the next second, its expression darkened again.

"Wraaah~" Aerodactyl came diving at them with Iron Head.

"Pu-cha~" Primeape shielded Rio and Munchlax behind it, clenching its fist. Huge Power and Crush Grip were ready.

When Aerodactyl collided, Primeape’s fist met it with a deafening CLANG—like a hammer striking an anvil.

"Pu-cha~"

"Wraaah~"

Both Primeape and Aerodactyl let out cries of surprise after the impact, each shocked that the other had withstood their attack.

In the end, the forces sent Primeape flying backward—but Aerodactyl went flying even farther.

"Aerodactyl!" Lance cried out in shock from above. He couldn’t believe a Primeape had actually punched his Aerodactyl back like that. It was Aerodactyl!

"Pu-cha~" Primeape stood up again, shook its paw, and gave Aerodactyl a look that said, I’m not satisfied yet.

"Wraaah~" Aerodactyl braced itself on its wings, shaking its head with a low growl—that punch had rattled its brain.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" Lance commanded from above.

Dragonite roared and began gathering energy in its mouth. Seeing this, Rio quickly released Charizard again to escape. But Charizard had reverted from Mega Y back to its normal form.

"This is bad," Rio muttered, his face darkening. He remembered that Mega Evolution wore off when recalled to its Poké Ball, and due to energy depletion, it couldn’t Mega Evolve again anytime soon. Without Mega Evolution, Charizard couldn’t even outrun Dragonite.

"Ka~"

Just then, Munchlax stepped forward. It raised its paws and began to wave them.

"Munchlax, you..." Rio was startled.

Munchlax gave him a resolute look, as if to say: Don’t worry—I’ve got this.

Understanding its intent, Rio gave the order: "Charizard, hold off the Hyper Beam—buy Munchlax some time!"

"Roaar~" Charizard’s mouth began to glow with gathering flames.

Meanwhile, Lance was initially surprised to see Charizard revert to its normal form. Then he noticed Munchlax waving its paws.

"Again?!" His eyes bulged in disbelief. "What does this guy think Metronome is—a ultimate move?! You got lucky once, and you think it’ll happen twice?!"

Dragonite’s Hyper Beam was ready and fired from its mouth. Charizard countered with Flamethrower—but without Mega Evolution, it was helpless. The beam slammed Charizard into the ground, leaving a large crater.

"Excellent, Dragonite—now they’re done for," Lance said excitedly. Without Charizard, the people below were nothing but lambs for the slaughter.

But just as he thought that, Munchlax gave him another shock.

The sky suddenly turned dark. Munchlax gained the ability to fly and shot upward. At the same time, a massive energy sphere rapidly formed in front of its chest.

"No way..." Lance’s pupils shrank. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over him.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" he shouted urgently.

But there wasn’t enough time for Dragonite to charge another Hyper Beam. He could only watch helplessly as the energy sphere burst forth into a colossal beam of light.

Then something unexpected happened—the beam passed right over his head.

"It can’t control the move?" Lance felt a flicker of relief.

But the beam instantly traced a Z-shaped path in the sky—and the center of that Z was precisely where he and Dragonite were.

Before he could react, the Z-shaped energy erupted into a massive explosion that shook the entire Mahogany Town.

"Is that Zygarde’s Core Enforcer?" Rio muttered from below, watching the giant Z in the sky.

After unleashing the move, Munchlax landed softly.

"Ka~" The moment it touched the ground, it collapsed into a deep, exhausted sleep.

"You did great, Munchlax." Rio quickly pulled out Energy Cubes and fed them into its mouth. Then he looked up at the sky.

A moment later, Dragonite crashed to the ground, motionless—completely incapacitated.

Rio frowned. "Where’s Lance?"