Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 91: Rio vs. Giovanni (Part 3)

Don’t dream about it, Giovanni.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw—use your body to tank the smaller rocks and Dragon Claw to block the big ones! Whatever you do, don’t get knocked down!" Rio shouted, responding calmly to Giovanni’s tactical setup.

He didn’t expect Charizard to escape Rock Tomb unscathed—only that it wouldn’t be knocked out of the sky. That would be victory enough.

"Roaar~" Sensing Rio’s fighting spirit, Charizard roared and weaved through the hundred stones, spinning, dodging, and swinging its Dragon Claws relentlessly. Rocks shattered midair one after another.

After a moment, Rhyperior’s Rock Tomb ended. Though Charizard had taken some hits, it was still in good shape, hovering in the air and looking down at Rhyperior, whose Horn Drill had whiffed completely.

"What a shame," Giovanni thought to himself. "But this kid is genuinely skilled. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a battle like this."

On the sidelines, Proton stared at Rio with his mouth agape in amazement. The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

No way—this kid is actually going toe-to-toe with Boss Giovanni? Oh wow, okay! I take back what I said earlier—you’ve got real skills, kid. Keep it up! Push a little harder and beat him! Today, I’m your cheerleader—well, in my head, anyway. On the surface, I’m still Boss Giovanni’s cheerleader.

"Charizard, dive down—Sacred Fire, and charge Dragon Claw!" Rio seized the offensive after weathering Giovanni’s attack.

Now that Rhyperior was afflicted with both a burn and Growl’s Attack-lowering debuff, it was the perfect time to close in.

"Roaar~" Charizard dove, unleashing Sacred Fire while its claws extended into sharp draconic blades.

"Rhyperior, Wide Guard—Rock Blast!" Giovanni countered calmly.

"Rhy~" Rhyperior once again used its tail to fling debris to scatter the incoming Sacred Fire, while raising both hands at Charizard. Two smaller stone spheres—much smaller than the first volley—shot out like bullets toward Charizard.

But even with these two moves, the debuffed Rhyperior couldn’t fully stop Charizard’s advance—only slow it down. Unless Giovanni had a better trick, Charizard would break through with Sacred Fire and follow up with Dragon Claw, dealing massive damage.

"Rhyperior—use Earth Power directly beneath you!" Just as Charizard closed to within six meters, Giovanni found his answer.

"Directly beneath...?" Rio’s eyes widened in surprise.

Then he saw it—Rhyperior roared and followed Giovanni’s command, using Earth Power not on Charizard, but on itself. The ground directly beneath Rhyperior collapsed, and thanks to all the previous Stomps, the rupture was deep enough to drop Rhyperior into a crater, narrowly avoiding Charizard’s dive.

"Damn—that actually worked?!" Rio’s pupils contracted. He never expected Giovanni to come up with such an evasion at the last second—willing to self-inflict damage just to neutralize Charizard’s attack.

And that Earth Power wouldn’t have caused enough collapse without all the earlier Stomps. Truly, Giovanni was the master of Ground-type moves.

But the next second, Rio’s expression shifted—he realized an opportunity. If Rhyperior had fallen into a pit, that meant it was temporarily a sitting duck.

"Charizard, Sacred Fire!" he commanded.

"Roaar~" Charizard aimed straight into the crater and unleashed Sacred Fire. The searing purple flames made Rhyperior cry out in pain.

"Rhyperior, use Drill Run downward—" Giovanni started, then stopped himself. He remembered this wasn’t an outdoor battlefield—it was inside Silph Co. If Rhyperior drilled any deeper, it would fall through the floor and out of bounds.

"Rhyperior, Stone Edge!" Giovanni changed his command.

"Rhy~" Rhyperior endured the pain and launched dozens of sharp stones at Charizard.

Rio’s voice rang out coldly: "Charizard, block what you can with Dragon Claw—tank what you can’t! Keep the Sacred Fire going!"

This was a battle of endurance now. Whoever held out longer would win. If Charizard fell, Rio would end up as a Rocket General.

Charizard growled low, using Dragon Claw to block the most dangerous Stone Edge strikes while continuing to pour Sacred Fire into the pit. It was a desperate slog.

But at this moment, the most anxious person wasn’t Rio, and it wasn’t Giovanni—it was Proton, the referee.

His eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the battlefield.

"Come on, Charizard! I believe in you!"

"You’re the greatest Charizard in the world!"

"Hold on—victory is right there!"

"You’ll be the first Pokémon to ever beat Team Rocket’s Boss Giovanni!"

"You’ll be the righteous force that defeats the evil organization—bathed in glory!"

"Keep going!!!"

He screamed internally.

A moment later, the battle finally reached its conclusion.

Rhyperior fell.

Proton wept with joy—He won! Charizard won!

This is incredible! My General position is finally safe!