Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Zygarde’s core cell, Z1, jumped out of Rio’s bag. Yveltal, who had just been talking about ganging up on Zygarde, froze at the sight of Z1. As a fellow Kalos legendary, it knew that this little thing was the cellular split of the region’s strongest Pokémon.

"Z1—what’s it doing here?" Yveltal looked at Rio, feeling like it had been caught talking behind someone’s back.

"I promised to take it where it wants to go." Rio said honestly. "But I haven’t captured it yet."

"You haven’t captured it?" Yveltal’s expression shifted from panic to a sly grin. "So does that mean I still have a chance to gang up on it with the brothers?"

"Exactly." Rio nodded with a smile.

"Giratina!!!" — That’s right—plenty of chances to gang up with the brothers!

Giratina chimed in enthusiastically.

"Palkia!!!" — Don’t worry—if you want to beat up Zygarde, we’ve got your back.

Palkia was also happy to agree.

"Yveltal~!" — Thanks, brothers!

With the others backing it up, Yveltal’s confidence soared—completely forgetting that these same "brothers" had just been beating it up moments ago.

"Rrrrr~" — Stupid bird—you’ve got some nerve!

Z1 hopped frantically on Rio’s shoulder in rage.

"Come and get me, then! I’m his Pokémon now—you’re not!" Yveltal taunted.

Z1 was fuming, but also a little worried. If it fused with Z2 into complete Zygarde, could it really withstand a siege from this many legendaries?

"You could always become my Pokémon too." Rio interjected. "You’ve been with me for a while now—and after seeing all this today, you know that becoming my Pokémon won’t restrict your freedom. You can still do whatever you want."

Yveltal’s smug expression froze—it thought its beating had been for nothing and that it wouldn’t get an outlet for its frustration.

"No way—it has to get beaten up at least once before being captured!" Yveltal said excitedly.

Seeing Yveltal’s reaction, Rio realized it was his perfect ally—an unconventional motivator. Z1 would surely want to become his Pokémon just to avoid getting beaten up.

"Rrrrr~" — Then capture me! If you capture me, you can’t gang up on me!

As Rio expected, Z1 immediately called out. But Rio couldn’t understand it—he turned to Mewtwo for translation. But Mewtwo didn’t translate right away, because Yveltal was urging it to lie and say Z1 was being tough and refusing to surrender. Giratina and the others joined in, all encouraging the deception.

Honest Mewtwo felt a little awkward about lying. "It says you’re a bastard and it’ll never bow to you—even if you beat it to death, it won’t let you capture it." Old Ghost beat Mewtwo to the punch with a false translation.

Mewtwo’s eyes widened, but it didn’t contradict Old Ghost.

"Is that so? Z1 says it’ll never bow to me? Even if I beat it to death, it won’t let me capture it?" Rio raised an eyebrow, amused. He knew that wasn’t what Z1 had said—Z1’s frantic reaction told him Old Ghost was making it up.

"Rrrrr~!" Z1 was squealing in protest.

"It says you’re a bully who picks on the weak—it can take on a hundred of you without breaking a sweat!" Giratina joined in the false translation.

"Z1, I respect that—you’re a true warrior. When you become Zygarde, I’ll make sure to give you a proper beating!" Palkia added.

"Yeah, Z1—you’d better stick to your guns!" Giratina echoed.

"You’re truly the strongest legendary in Kalos—I respect that!" Yveltal joined in, thrilled at the prospect of ganging up on Zygarde.

"Is that right? Z1’s that tough? Wow—as the strongest Pokémon in Kalos, it wants to challenge all my legendaries. I’ll make sure to fulfill that wish. I’ll bring Giratina, Dialga, Palkia, Rayquaza, Kyogre, Groudon, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Mewtwo, Kyurem—all of them—for a battle. Whether it’s a gauntlet or a gang-up, I’ll make sure it’s satisfied." Rio played along, ignoring Z1’s attempts to explain. He couldn’t understand it anyway, and Z1 couldn’t use telepathy yet. Whatever his Pokémon "translated," that’s what he would believe—trusting his team completely.

Finally, Z1 couldn’t take it anymore. It couldn’t stand these liars twisting its words. It jumped from Rio’s shoulder to his belt pouch, pulled open the zipper with its mouth, and pressed the button on an unused Poké Ball. A flash of light—it was drawn in.

Yveltal and the others were stunned. They had never expected Z1 to capture itself.

Rio, on the other hand, smiled. This was exactly what he wanted. The ball shook three times—capture successful.

"Today’s been a great day." Rio picked up the Poké Ball, his smile growing wider. He had captured Diancie, Xerneas, Yveltal, and now Zygarde’s core cell Z1.

But then a thought crossed his mind: "Does capturing Z1 count as capturing the complete Zygarde? Or will I have to capture the complete form separately?" He wondered aloud.

He released Z1, who immediately started squeaking angrily at Yveltal and the others. They all looked away, pretending not to hear.

"I don’t care—since I can’t gang up on Zygarde, you have to find me another legendary to fight." Yveltal demanded.

"Fine—but give me something to call you with." Rio agreed. Yveltal’s body glowed, and a red feather floated into Rio’s palm.

"Alright." Rio made an OK gesture. "Everyone, you can go now. I’ll call you when I need you."

With that, Palkia and Dialga tore open dimensional rifts and left. Giratina flew into the lake Yveltal had emerged from and returned to the Distortion World. As for Kyurem and Zekrom, Rio had to order them to fuse, since Kyurem couldn’t make the journey back to Unova on its own.

After they all left, Rio asked Z1: "Z1, I’m curious—if I capture you, and you later fuse with Z2 to become complete Zygarde, will I still be able to command you?"

Z1 was stumped. It had no idea—it had never been captured before. If it didn’t count... the thought made Z1 sweat. That would mean it still had to get beaten up.

Seeing Z1’s reaction, Rio understood. He didn’t press further. Instead, he carried Z1 and rode Charizard back to Xerneas and Diancie.

"Old Ghost, modify their memories—make it so they saw a face under my hat and sunglasses, but make it different from mine. Give it some mismatched eyes, a receding hairline, a few moles—just enough to be close but clearly not me." Rio ordered.

He wanted these people to spread the story that someone was impersonating Rio to capture regionals legends. And he would make sure Rio’s name was spoken loudly—because the more attention drawn to it, the less anyone would believe it was actually him. People’s minds work that way—the more obvious something seems, the more they suspect there’s a trap.

Ten minutes later, Old Ghost had modified the memories of the Team Flare members and the thieves.

"Alright, Xerneas, Yveltal—you can go now." Rio dismissed them. Unlike Yveltal, Xerneas hadn’t asked to gang up on anyone else—it was much more gentle.

"Diancie, I’ll go with you to your kingdom and help you set up the Sacred Diamond. If there’s any trouble, I can assist." Rio turned to Diancie.

[Diancie’s friendship has increased]

[Friendship: 52 (0 → 52) ]

"Okay!" Diancie beamed.

Two hours later, Rio and Diancie returned to the underground kingdom. Empowered by the Fairy Aura, Diancie Mega Evolved on her own and, before her subjects, used Diamond Storm to create a new Sacred Diamond. It replaced the old one, restoring light to the kingdom.

"Thank you so much for your help, Rio." Diancie said gratefully.

"No need to thank me—I’m your trainer now. Saying thank you feels too formal." Rio waved his hand. "But since you’ve completed your task, I should get going too—I have my own things to do."

Diancie’s face fell with disappointment. Seeing this, Rio smiled and added: "But Diancie, if you’re bored, you could come with me for a while. Would you like that?" With friendship already above fifty, just a little more effort would unlock the first-level reward.

[Diancie’s friendship has increased]

[Friendship: 53 (0 → 53) ]

Diancie’s disappointment vanished. "Yes! I’d love to!"

"Love what? No—the Princess can’t leave the kingdom!" The Great Elder immediately refused.

"Why not? Rio is my trainer—why can’t I travel with him for a while?" Diancie pouted at the elder.

"He said capturing you wouldn’t restrict your freedom—that you could stay in the kingdom. Now he’s taking you away?" The Great Elder argued.

"I’m going willingly—Rio’s not forcing me! Dai, don’t stop me. I’ve already restored the kingdom’s light—my mission is complete!" Diancie shot back.

The Great Elder frowned at Rio. Rio shrugged and said: "Don’t worry—I won’t steal your Princess. I’m just taking her to see the legendary Zygarde. After that, I’ll bring her back. If you don’t trust me, you can send some guards—your underground network spans all of Kalos."

"No, no—no guards! Just me and Rio." Diancie insisted. "Please, Great Elder?" She blinked her big eyes pleadingly.

The Great Elder looked at her desperate expression, then at Rio’s gentle smile. Finally, it turned away. "Fine—go ahead. But Rio, you have to promise me—after you see Zygarde, you’ll bring the Princess back."

It waited for Rio’s reply. After five or six seconds of silence, it turned around—only to see Diancie already pulling Rio toward the exit.

The Great Elder could only sigh helplessly—but it didn’t stop them.

Meanwhile, Kalos Champion Diantha, Hoenn Champion Steven, Unova Champion Alder, and some Sinnoh officials arrived at Orus Forest. Thanks to Xerneas’s power, the forest had already been restored from the battle’s devastation.

Diantha was puzzled—with so many legendaries fighting, the forest should have been destroyed. Yet the ecosystem was fine, with lush greenery, though few Pokémon were visible. After searching, they found the hypnotized Team Flare members and the thieves, still unconscious.

Diantha had her ace Gardevoir interrogate them in their sleep. She was shocked to learn that Team Flare had been trying to capture Xerneas and Yveltal. She was even more relieved to learn that the person commanding the legendaries was not Rio—just someone who looked vaguely like him. She, Steven, and Alder became even more convinced that someone was using the Kanto Champion’s identity to cause chaos.