Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 81: Team Rocket’s Third Invasion

Twenty-eight days later.

Silph Co., Ghost-type Suit Research Lab.

A Primeape was swinging its fists at batch after batch of the latest Ghost-type Suits, punching through them one by one with a steady rhythm of "Pu-cha, pu-cha." Outside the testing chamber, the three researchers watched in utter despair.

"Failed."

"Failed again."

"How is this Primeape’s fist so absurdly strong?! We’re already on the eighth version—how can it still punch through in one hit?!"

"Heavens above, earth below—I don’t understand. I really don’t understand!!!"

The three of them alternated between lamenting and banging their heads against the desks in frustration.

Rio stood behind them, biting his lip. He knew it was a bit unkind—even felt a little sympathy—but right now, he really wanted to laugh.

To be fair, these three had worked hard, and their development speed was genuinely impressive. But Primeape had also been getting stronger every day. Rio now had it practice move proficiency alongside Charizard, the Red Gyarados, and Munchlax on a daily basis. Unless Primeape’s power suddenly plateaued, or their R&D progress suddenly exploded, it was very likely these three would never create a Ghost-type Suit that could withstand a single punch from Primeape.

And that meant Rio could keep making money off this indefinitely.

Ten minutes later, after the testing was done, Rio left Silph Co. as usual and prepared to fly back to Lavender Town on Charizard.

Just as he was about to release Charizard, a middle-aged man with an extraordinary presence, flanked by several burly men, caught his eye. Rio glanced at him; the man, drawn by the black Charizard, glanced back at Rio.

The two locked eyes for a moment. Though neither spoke, both muttered something under their breath as they passed each other.

"That Charizard’s physique looks exceptionally well-trained. That young man seems like a good trainer," the middle-aged man murmured.

"Who was that guy? He looked kind of handsome," Rio muttered.

Then he climbed onto Charizard’s back and flew out of Saffron City.

Not long after Rio left, that same extraordinary middle-aged man appeared in the top-floor president’s office at Silph Co. He had changed into a black uniform with a large "R" emblem on the chest. Towering over President Takuma, who sat in his office chair, he declared:

"Old man—your company is now under Team Rocket’s control."

At the same time, at Lavender Town’s east gate.

A spirited blonde girl with a radiant smile stood at the entrance with a Garchomp by her side. She spread her arms wide and shouted to the sky: "I’m back—Lavender Town, I’ve finally returned!"

"Garch~"

"Rio, just you wait—I’m coming to challenge you! This time, I’ll show you a brand new us, right, Garchomp?"

"Garch~"

With that, she strode into Lavender Town, her fighting spirit burning high. This time, she was determined to win back everything she’d lost before.

An hour after the girl entered Lavender Town, Rio flew back to the Pokémon House on Charizard. As he landed, he spotted a blonde girl leaning against the gate, striking a pose—as if waiting for someone to notice her.

"Cynthia—you’re back." Rio was a little surprised. He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but after nearly two months apart, she seemed even prettier, with a slightly better figure.

"Of course. I’ve been traveling long enough—time to come back and see everyone." Cynthia curled her finger at Rio. "Rio, how about a bounty battle? Ten thousand League coins."

"A bounty battle?" Rio raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected her to challenge him the moment they met—and for ten thousand coins. "Looks like your Gabite has grown a lot stronger during this trip. Alright—I accept."

In his mind, no matter how fast Cynthia’s Gabite had grown, it couldn’t have outpaced his own progress. Besides, Charizard was just one friendship point away from unlocking its second-tier reward—this battle might just push it over the edge. Perfect timing.

A few minutes later, they stood in the Lavender Gym’s battlefield. The Gym was now fully completed, spacious enough to host many trainees and their Pokémon for battles and training. Naturally, the match between Rio and Cynthia drew a large crowd of spectators.

Among them were Team Rocket members who had infiltrated Lavender Town. Their hidden chest cameras transmitted the battle footage to the Rocket encampment outside the town.

"That’s the kid who’s been foiling your missions?" Archer, one of Team Rocket’s Four Generals, narrowed his eyes at the figure on the screen. He remembered the young man from the elevator a month ago—so this was the one who’d been causing them so much trouble.

Standing beside him was Sabrina.

"Yes, General. My previous mission failed because of this kid’s Munchlax—it used Metronome and disrupted my entire plan," Sabrina said.

"Metronome? Not the Charizard? Both that shiny Charizard and his opponent’s Garchomp look fairly impressive," Archer observed, watching the two trainers release their Pokémon.

"It was Metronome. The Munchlax rolled some unknown move that put every Rocket member—myself included—into a deep sleep. If I hadn’t come to my senses in time, I’d probably be in a League prison right now."

"Understood—so it was luck. That Munchlax happened to roll an unusual move during the invasion." Archer dismissed Sabrina’s previous failure as sheer luck. "That kind of luck can’t happen every time. Once this battle is over, with both sides’ Pokémon worn out, we’ll launch the invasion and wipe them all out."

With that, Archer turned his attention back to the screen.

On the screen, Rio was looking at his opponent’s Garchomp with mild surprise.

"No wonder she challenged me so confidently—her Gabite evolved into Garchomp," Rio muttered.

The Garchomp before him was Level 48—four levels higher than Charizard.

On the other side, Cynthia was beaming with pride. "What’s the matter—scared? I’m telling you, after Gabite evolved into Garchomp, its combat power skyrocketed. Even without Mega Evolution, I’m confident my Garchomp can take down your Charizard."

"We’ll see about that." Rio smiled, then touched the Key Stone on his chest. "Charizard—show Garchomp what you’ve got."

"Roaar~"

The X Mega Stone on Charizard’s neck responded.

That’s right—the X Stone. Recently, Charizard had learned close-range moves like Thunder Punch and Dragon Claw, and Rio wanted to test them out. Thunder Punch was immune to Garchomp due to its Ground typing, but Dragon Claw was super effective. On top of that, X Charizard’s Tough Claws ability doubled the power of contact moves. If it clashed up close with Garchomp, it would absolutely dominate.

The only downside? Shiny X Charizard was a little... ugly.

A moment later, a green Mega Charizard X appeared before everyone’s eyes.