Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Gengar’s annoyed voice echoed in Rio’s mind.

"In that case, you’re not wrong." Rio shrugged. The mechanics of Mega Evolution were simple—one Key Stone could only resonate with one Mega Stone at a time. It couldn’t sync with two simultaneously because the trainer’s body couldn’t handle it. Unless, of course, you used some shady black-market tech that let one Key Stone force multiple Pokémon into Mega Evolution—but that put a heavy burden on the Pokémon, transferring the side effects that should have been borne by the trainer. That was inhumane and would lower friendship, so Rio wouldn’t do it.

"Damn it, little Charizard—Old Ghost will graciously let you have the Mega Evolution this time. But next time, you’re giving it to me!" Old Ghost, after Rio’s confirmation, wasn’t petty. It just grumbled at Charizard before rejoining the fight against Zygarde. It started coordinating with Dialga and Palkia, teaming up to absorb Zygarde’s attacks—since none of them, without their Orbs, could enter Origin Forme and would get crushed one-on-one.

"Charizard, drop me and Diancie off. X Forme is best for close combat with Zygarde—carrying us is too cumbersome." Rio patted Charizard’s back and jumped off with Diancie when it descended a few meters.

Now all he had to do was wait for Zygarde to submit. Safety was no concern—with Diancie, the ultimate defender, around, if anyone tried to harm him, a Diamond Storm would shield him. Even Zygarde’s attacks could probably be blocked.

Meanwhile, Giratina flew in from the distant sky—it had used a river kilometers away to exit the Distortion World and hurry over. Following it was Yveltal, summoned to the battlefield. Seeing its former leader getting beaten down, Yveltal didn’t hesitate—it fired an Oblivion Wing without a second thought, clearly eager to take down its old boss.

With Yveltal and Giratina joining the fight, the number of regional god-tier Pokémon ganging up on Zygarde reached seven—two of which had Mega Evolved. The sight was so overwhelming that Team Flare and the three Champions were frozen in terror. Who would have believed that five legendary Pokémon and three near-legendary ordinary Pokémon would all be fighting before their eyes—and ganging up, no less?

"I’m done. Let the world end. With this power, he’ll control everything eventually." One Team Flare member slumped to the ground in despair. "We haven’t even managed to capture a single legendary, and this bastard can already command five of them."

"Are you trying to destroy the world?!" Diantha shouted at Rio, her usual Champion composure gone.

Once Rainbow Rocket arrives, you’ll know who’s really trying to destroy the world... Rio glanced back but didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his attention to Diancie, who was watching the battle intently.

"Do you want to join in, Diancie?" Rio asked suddenly.

"Me?" Diancie was surprised.

"Yes, you." Rio smiled.

"How could I possibly join? That’s the legendary Zygarde! Compared to it, I’m nothing—I only achieved Mega Evolution with Xerneas’s help. How could I be part of this? Even with Mega Evolution and Sacred Diamond, I could probably only block one attack." Diancie shook her head frantically.

"Blocking one of Zygarde’s attacks is already impressive. Look at Gengar, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—none of them can take a hit alone. They have to combine their attacks." Rio immediately launched into praise mode. "If you can block an attack with your Mega Evolved Sacred Diamond, you’d be incredibly strong—stronger than Gengar and the others, even."

Diancie’s face lit up—it hadn’t realized Rio held it in such high regard.

"But what about after blocking one attack? I can’t block a second one quickly." Diancie hesitated again.

"So what? Charizard and Mewtwo will be there—they can block the next one." Rio shrugged.

"Wouldn’t that just be causing trouble for them?"

Seeing Diancie’s hesitation, Rio switched to a classic sweet-talk approach: "How is that trouble? We’re all partners—helping each other is what partners do. And as my Pokémon, Diancie, if you wanted a star from the sky, I’d get one for you."

The notification rang immediately.

[Diancie’s friendship has increased]

[Friendship: 60 (0 → 60) ]

Rio smiled. Sweet talk was most effective on a sheltered princess like Diancie.

[Diancie’s starting friendship was 0. Current friendship is 60. Increase of 60 points. First-level reward unlocked. ]

[Reward Unlocked: Diancie’s level increased to 70. Received a Skill Roulette. ]

[Would you like to use the Skill Roulette? ]

"Yes."

Rio smiled even wider—this was a great reward. A skill roulette appeared before him, showing six moves: Cotton Guard, Iron Defense, Cosmic Power, Sandstorm, Geomancy, and Light of Ruin.

"Five defensive moves and one attack?" Rio was surprised. Previous roulettes had mostly offered attack moves—this was the first time he’d seen so many defensive options. The first five were all about raising Special Defense or Defense, even Geomancy gave a slight Defense boost. The only attack was Light of Ruin—Floette’s signature move, which dealt recoil damage to the user.

As Rio considered which move would best suit Diancie, the roulette began to spin. "Not Cosmic Power, not Cosmic Power." Though he hadn’t decided which was best, he knew which was the most mediocre.

Three seconds later, the roulette stopped on Cotton Guard, a Grass-type move. Rio breathed a sigh of relief. "Not bad—no, actually, it’s great!" He quickly reconsidered. Cotton Guard dramatically raised Defense—far more than Iron Defense, Cosmic Power, Sandstorm, or even Geomancy. With Cotton Guard stacked before Sacred Diamond and Mega Evolution, he wondered who could break through Diancie’s defenses—even with a quadruple weakness to Steel, it wouldn’t be a problem.

"Rio, what’s wrong?" Diancie asked, confused by his sudden excitement.

"Nothing, Diancie—I’m giving you a gift." Rio reached into his bag and pulled out Diancie’s Luxury Ball.

"A gift? What do you mean?"

"You’ll see."

A flash of light—Diancie was drawn in. "One... two... three..." Another flash—Diancie was released. Its level had been raised from 60 to 70. A pair of saplings now adorned the diamond on its lower body.

"How do you feel, Diancie? Any different?" Rio smiled.

"I feel stronger somehow—I’m not sure how, but I definitely feel stronger." Diancie stared at its own body in disbelief.

"Mega Evolve. I’ll have Gengar send you into the fight—use Sacred Diamond to test your new power." Rio looked up at the battlefield. Zygarde was being pushed back by Mega Charizard and Mewtwo leading the charge, with the other five supporting. Even Zygarde’s signature move, Core Enforcer, had been blocked by Charizard’s Sacred Fire.

"Old Ghost, come over here!" Rio called. Old Ghost, thoroughly enjoying the fight, frowned at the interruption—and pretended not to hear.

"Old Ghost, come here!" Rio called again. Still nothing. Rio frowned—he wasn’t that quiet, and Old Ghost wasn’t deaf.

"Being deliberately ignored, huh?" Rio’s frown relaxed into a sly smile. "Charizard, tell Old Ghost to come over."

Charizard, leading the Mega assault, heard Rio immediately. "Roooar~" — Old Ghost! Rio’s calling you!

"Such a busybody. Can’t the bastard let Old Ghost have any fun?" Grumbling, Old Ghost drifted over to Rio and mentally shouted at him—its friendship dropped by two points.

"Why do you always call me when there’s something? Can’t you call Mewtwo, Charizard, Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina? Always me! If you don’t give me a good reason, I’m leaving! Don’t think I can’t live without you just because I waited a hundred years! Old Ghost has pride, you know!"

"Because you’re handsome."

Gengar: "..."

Its anger inexplicably vanished. The two friendship points it had lost immediately returned—plus one more.

Rio held back a laugh and raised an eyebrow: "Am I wrong?"

"Of course not! That goes without saying—Old Ghost is the most handsome Gengar in the world!" Old Ghost placed its hands behind its back smugly.

"Not the most handsome Pokémon?"

Diancie stared at Rio in disbelief—she couldn’t believe he could say such a blatant lie with a straight face.

[Gengar’s friendship has increased]

[Friendship: 170 (-30 → 170) ]

"Exactly! Old Ghost is the most handsome Pokémon! As expected of you, Rio—great eyesight! I knew I hadn’t waited a hundred years for nothing." Old Ghost’s irritation had completely dissipated.

"So, what do you need Old Ghost for?"

Rio smiled: "Help me get Diancie into the fight—it just gained some power and needs to test itself. You can protect me while you’re at it."

"Between you and me, no need for formalities! I’m your beloved Old Ghost—your command is my mission!" Old Ghost immediately enveloped Diancie and Rio with Psychic, sending Diancie into the fray.

"Everyone, make room—Diancie’s joining the fight!" Rio called out to the legendaries.

"Rio, are you serious? You’re letting it fight? Do you think Zygarde is a Magikarp that anyone can gang up on?" Dialga’s skeptical voice echoed in Rio’s mind—but thankfully, it didn’t reach Diancie.

"Just watch." Rio replied, then patted Diancie’s head. "Mega Evolve—show them your new power."

Diancie nodded and, before the assembled legendaries, burst into brilliant light as it Mega Evolved. Its level rose from 70 to 80.

"Use Sacred Diamond first, then Cotton Guard." Rio reminded. Diancie obeyed, summoning pink diamonds that coalesced into a massive shield, while the saplings at its waist grew into vines that wrapped around it like armor.