Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 68: Recording Again?

Blazing flames poured from Charizard under the combined boost of Sunny Day and the Choice Specs. (By the way, the Choice Specs were something Munchlax had picked up in the forest yesterday.)

"Starmie, Hydro Pump!" Daisy quickly commanded as Rio struck first.

"Starmie~" A torrent of water gushed from one of Starmie’s top points.

But under Sunny Day, the power of the Water-type Hydro Pump was significantly reduced. When it met Charizard’s Flamethrower, the water was rapidly consumed and evaporated by the flames—the attack even pushed through to strike Starmie directly, sending it crashing into the water of the Water-type Gym.

The result of this type matchup immediately caused an uproar among the spectators.

"This re-evolved Charizard is this strong?!" The tattooed man was particularly stunned.

He had expected the re-evolved Charizard to put on an impressive show—but this was beyond impressive. The type-disadvantaged side had overwhelmed the type-advantaged side. If his own Blastoise were on that battlefield instead of Starmie...

Just then, Rio’s voice rang out across the battlefield: "Gym Leader Daisy—water may extinguish fire, but remember: when the fire grows too great, offense and defense switch in an instant."

"Charizard—keep up the Flamethrower! Evaporate all the water here!"

"Roaar~"

Scorching flames poured into the Water-type Gym’s arena, and thick, scalding steam quickly filled the entire building. Neither Rio nor Daisy could see clearly anymore.

Daisy wanted to order a counterattack, but she didn’t know how—not only was she outmatched in power, but her vision was severely limited. She didn’t even know where to aim. She couldn’t even recall Starmie because she had no idea where it was in the arena.

"Damn it—why is this Charizard’s Flamethrower so powerful?!"

"Three months ago, when it battled Brock, was it really just a Charmeleon? No way—absolutely no way. And with a Charizard this powerful, how could it have barely beaten a non-ace Onix? A complete stomp would’ve been the logical result!"

"Brock, you bastard—you uploaded false information! If you’d reported the real battle to the League, I would never have sent Starmie back out without rest!"

Gritting her teeth in the blind haze, Daisy mentally pummeled Brock a thousand times over.

The steam lasted five minutes. When it finally cleared, everyone saw a fully incapacitated Starmie and a completely dried-out battlefield—not a single drop of water remained. Charizard, meanwhile, was completely unscathed.

"Clap, clap, clap~"

The tattooed man couldn’t help but start the applause. Though this battle hadn’t showcased much tactical skill, the power of the re-evolved Charizard had said it all. In one word: incredible.

He began to look forward to the second battle.

"Good work, Starmie." Daisy sighed softly and recalled it.

Then she locked eyes with Rio. "I admit—I underestimated you earlier. But now, I’m going to give it my all. Let’s have a real Pokémon battle."

"Come out, Kingdra!"

With a flash of light, Daisy sent out a Level 56 Kingdra.

"Kiin~"

Rio looked at the Kingdra, then calmly took out two Poké Balls. One was aimed at Charizard.

Though Charizard was unharmed and had even leveled up to 44 after the victory, Rio could tell it was exhausted—continuously blasting high-intensity Flamethrowers had drained its energy. It was tired, and continuing to fight Kingdra would be risky. Even if it didn’t lose, a loss would tarnish the glorious image it had just built.

"You did great, Charizard."

"Roaar~"

"Come on out, Munchlax."

"Ka~"

With a flash of light, Munchlax appeared on the now-dry Water-type Gym battlefield.

"Munchlax?" Daisy was taken aback. "An interesting choice. But I won’t underestimate you again."

She then remembered something and called out to her youngest sister, who was still a child, in the stands: "Misty! Record this battle—it’s worth showing to Cerulean City’s trainers for study."

"Got it, big sis!"

Satisfied, Daisy nodded. Then, as the referee announced the start of the second battle, she struck first:

"Kingdra, Dragon Dance!"

"Kiin~"

But just as she gave the command, she heard an utterly baffling one from across the field:

"Munchlax, Metronome!"

"Ka~"

Wait—what? Metronome? Right at the start?!

"Has that kid lost his mind?! How did he even think of using Metronome?!" In the spectator stands, the tattooed man suddenly looked like he’d swallowed something foul.

He’d been filled with high expectations for this second battle after the first one, hoping to learn something useful for his own battles. And what did he get? Metronome? How was he supposed to learn anything from that? Was this even worth studying? In a critical battle like this, rolling a random move—what if it turned out to be Magikarp’s Splash? He’d lose all dignity and squander his advantage. Did this guy actually think he could roll a one-hit KO move?

"His Charizard was probably inherited from his family—Munchlax must be the one he actually raised himself," the tattooed man muttered darkly, deeply regretting the Charizard’s fate. If only it were his Pokémon.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a deafening crash came from the sky, making him jump. The sky instantly darkened, and a massive bolt of lightning struck down—landing squarely on Munchlax. The surrounding battlefield shattered on impact.

But Munchlax was unharmed. Instead, it had become a brilliant blue orb of electricity. Crackling currents spread in all directions, blasting craters into the ground wherever they touched.

"Wh-what move is that?!" The tattooed man’s pupils trembled. He couldn’t believe this was the result of a Metronome.

"Ka~" Munchlax let out a divine cry. Then, faster than lightning, it shot toward Kingdra, which had just finished its Dragon Dance. In less than an instant, it was right in front of Kingdra—and all the accumulated electricity discharged at once.

BOOM!

At the same time, another lightning bolt struck from the sky—slamming directly onto Kingdra’s head. Unlike Munchlax, Kingdra let out a pained shriek.