Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 83: Sacred Fire

Rio stared at the spinning disk, shouting in his mind. Though Aeroblast was also a legendary signature move, Sacred Fire—Ho-Oh’s signature move—was clearly a better fit for Charizard.

Three seconds later, the pointer stopped. It landed on Sacred Fire.

"Nice!!!" Rio’s face lit up with pure elation.

Sacred Fire was incredible—not only was it powerful, but it also had the highest burn chance among all Fire-type moves in the Pokémon world (excluding Will-O-Wisp, which existed purely for burning). It was also the bane of freezing—any frozen Pokémon nearby would have its freeze status lifted instantly, regardless of whether Sacred Fire was aimed at it.

Now, with Sacred Fire in its arsenal, Charizard’s X and Y evolutions had much clearer combat roles. Against physical attackers, Mega Charizard X could use Sacred Fire’s burn effect to lower the opponent’s Attack, then brawl up close. Against special attackers, Mega Charizard Y could leverage Sunny Day to boost Sacred Fire’s damage—though the move was physical, so it wouldn’t benefit from Y’s top-tier Special Attack stat. Still, with Sacred Fire, Rio was confident Charizard could take on Lance’s Dragonite and crush it—even without Mega Evolution.

He even felt that from now on, the only opponents worth Mega Evolving against would be legendaries. After all, a Mega Charizard at Level 75 wielding Sacred Fire? He had only three words: Who else?!

Yes—he was feeling cocky. Very cocky. He desperately needed someone to bring him back down to earth and remind him how tall the sky really was, or his ego was going to float away.

"Rio! What’s that supposed to mean—you’re this happy just because you beat me?" Cynthia stormed over, her face flushed with anger.

Seeing her furious expression, Rio’s joy turned to bewilderment. Happy about beating her? That’s just par for the course—no big deal.

"Uh... you’ve got it wrong. Actually, I was—"

"Don’t bother explaining—you’re just happy about winning money, aren’t you? Fine! I’ll transfer it to you right now! It’s only ten thousand League coins—I can afford it!"

She angrily pulled out her phone, transferred the money, and stormed off.

Rio looked at the twenty thousand League coins now in his account, utterly baffled.

Wait—twenty thousand? He called after her: "Why did you transfer twenty thousand?"

Cynthia, almost out the door, shot back with irritation: "Because I also settled our bet from last time! I’m not someone who refuses to pay up when they lose! But I never expected the Kanto League to be just as crooked as you—Sabrina is clearly a Rocket operative, yet nearly two months later, she’s still the Saffron Gym Leader without any consequences! This corrupt League is infuriating!"

With that, she stormed out.

Rio nodded slowly. Okay—that explains it. But seriously, the Kanto League might be crooked, but I’m not. The bet is the bet—what’s with the collateral damage?

BOOM!

Suddenly, an explosion rang out in the distance. Rio turned to see several Golbat and Houndoom leaping across rooftops, attacking indiscriminately.

"Team Rocket! Team Rocket is here!" a trainee shouted, running into the Gym.

Team Rocket? Rio’s face showed surprise. He hadn’t expected another invasion so soon—but then surprise turned to excitement. Perfect timing! They’d make excellent sparring partners for Charizard.

He was about to lead the charge when a cold voice came from behind: "Don’t bother, kid—your opponents are us."

Rio turned to see Sabrina and a man in a Rocket uniform standing on the roof of his Gym, looking down at him. Beside them stood an Alakazam and a Magmortar.

Rio’s brow furrowed. That Magmortar was no ordinary Pokémon—it was Level 64 with Elite Four–talent.

"One of Team Rocket’s Four Generals?" he quickly deduced. In Team Rocket’s hierarchy, only Boss Giovanni and the Four Generals outranked a high-ranking executive like Sabrina—and each was said to rival an Elite Four member.

"What’s wrong, kid? Don’t recognize me without the uniform?" the man Rio had identified as a General taunted.

Rio raised an eyebrow. He’d seen this guy before?

"One month ago. The elevator at Silph Co.," the man reminded him.

Now Rio remembered. "You’re that researcher."

"That’s right—I’m Archer, one of Team Rocket’s Four Generals. I’ve been sent by Boss Giovanni to retrieve an item from Old Man Fuji. I heard our first two missions failed because of you—so I’m here to settle the score. Don’t disappoint me. Because if you lose..." Archer paused, greed flashing in his eyes. "...that Charizard of yours—the one that can re-evolve—will belong to me."

Rio laughed. Just when you think you’ve seen it all—first a mid-level exec, then a high-level one, now a general. And every single one of them has his eyes on Charizard. Is Boss Giovanni himself going to show up and say the same thing?

"Then let me give you a warning of my own: if you lose, I won’t take your Pokémon—but I will take all your money!"

With that, Rio signaled the other trainees to deal with the Rockets in town, then tossed out a Poké Ball toward Archer and Sabrina.

"Come out, Charizard—show these Rockets the true meaning of power!"

With a flash of light, Charizard appeared, having reverted from its Mega X form.

"Roaar~" It let out a deafening roar, accompanied by an overwhelming pressure.

Rio’s pupils contracted. He hadn’t realized that after unlocking the second-tier friendship reward, Charizard’s stats had undergone a massive transformation—aside from gaining the legendary move Sacred Fire, its Ability had also changed. Not only did it now have dual Abilities, but its original Solar Power had been replaced with a new one.