[Pokémon: Darkrai]
[Gender: Genderless]
[Ability: Bad Dreams]
[Potential: Gold-tier]
[IVs: HP (24), Attack (31), Sp. Attack (31), Defense (28), Sp. Defense (31), Speed (31)]
[Level: 93–97]
[Moves: Mean Look, Quick Attack, Hypnosis, Sucker Punch, Night Shade, Double Team, Haze, Dark Void…]
[Friendship: 0]
[Happiness: 0]
Darkrai did not reveal itself right away. It remained hidden within the folds of shadow, but Lin Feng's eyes sharp and perceptive could see through its veil as if peeling away mist.
When he noticed its level, he exhaled slowly, a quiet relief loosening his chest.
Not level one hundred. Good.
That meant neither Mewtwo nor Gardevoir would have much trouble if things came to blows.
"You are the owner of this plantation?"
The Champion, Victor Gale, narrowed his eyes as he gazed upon the young man riding atop a Dragonite.
What startled him most was not the sight of Dragonite itself, but its aura. Its sheer presence rivaled the strongest of Elite trainers, even brushing against the strength of the Champions themselves.
And Dragonite was not alone. Floating elegantly at Lin Feng's side was a Gardevoir, her aura refined yet deep as an abyss, and beside her, a pale-pink humanoid Pokémon whose very existence radiated overwhelming power. Its gaze carried a quiet disdain, as though the entire world were beneath its notice.
Victor felt a chill crawl up his spine.
This… was the life of a simple plantation owner?
"Mm." Lin Feng's tone was calm, polite even. He sat astride Dragonite with the ease of someone long accustomed to the skies, but despite the intimidating companions around him, he maintained a courteous demeanor.
After all, the man standing before him was Victor Gale, the Champion. Beyond his battle strength, his name was known across the regions.
During his term as Champion, Victor had gained the reputation of being tireless, always the first to respond when disaster struck, his figure a constant presence at crises large and small. That was why people trusted him, why even ordinary citizens would willingly cooperate when he asked.
And for that, Lin Feng held respect.
"Plantation owner, you say?" Victor repeated under his breath.
His voice hitched as he drew in a sharp breath.
Impossible.
With his experience, he had seen countless trainers, breeders, even researchers who surpassed normal standards. But never never had he met a so-called 'farmer' whose team could rival the gods.
This young man could be a Champion himself!
Of course, Victor reminded himself, being Champion was not just about raw strength. It required duty, reputation, diplomacy, and the trust of an entire nation. Still, the idea left him shaken.
Suppressing his shock, he forced his tone steady. "I sent out an official League message to all residents of Wutong City. You must have received it. Tell me, have you noticed any strange phenomena here recently "
Lin Feng cut him off smoothly. "Nightmares. Yes, I've seen Pokémon and even people troubled by them. And I can guess why you came to me."
His eyes shifted past Victor, locking onto the shadows that pooled behind him.
"It's because the master of those nightmares has come calling, isn't it?"
Victor stiffened.
The air grew colder.
He didn't even need to turn around to know that Lin Feng was right.
The Champion gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. Inwardly, his doubts multiplied. Who exactly was this youth?
"It's right behind you," Lin Feng said quietly.
"Not coming out?"
The words were directed at the darkness itself.
For a long moment, there was only silence.
Hidden in the folds of shadow, Darkrai hesitated. When it had left behind a fragment of its power years ago, it had not expected it to bloom into this. At most, it thought it would allow the Pokémon it touched to survive more comfortably in the wild.
Yet now, the Gardevoir at this human's side radiated that same nightmare energy refined, controlled, almost equal to its own current state.
Unthinkable.
At last, Darkrai's form began to materialize. It drifted out of the gloom, black cloak-like body trailing wisps of shadow, crimson eye gleaming like a wound in the night.
Recognition flickered in Gardevoir's eyes.
When she had been a mere Ralts, small and fragile, Darkrai had been like a god in her memory, a distant figure both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
But now, standing here as she was, Darkrai no longer seemed so far beyond reach.
Darkrai studied her, then turned to Lin Feng. "It was you who helped her absorb my power?"
The dark one's voice was a low resonance, echoing like a dream half-remembered.
Lin Feng shook his head lightly. "Not only me. Much of it was her own growth."
Darkrai's gaze lingered on him for a beat, then shifted toward Mewtwo. "And you. Who are you? I have wandered this world for centuries, yet I have never once seen your kind."
Mewtwo met its stare with cool disinterest. His voice, flat and cutting, carried absolute arrogance. "You don't need to know."
The silence that followed was heavy.
For a second, Victor thought Darkrai might lash out, but instead the pitch-black figure lowered its head ever so slightly, as though conceding that no answer would come.
Then it turned back to Gardevoir. "You wield my power well."
Gardevoir shook her head. "Gardevoir… (No. Until I met my trainer, I avoided it as much as I could. I never wished to use it on my own.)"
Her voice was soft but steady. For her, that cursed energy had always felt like a brand, a burden she wanted no part of. Only under Lin Feng's guidance had she found peace.
Darkrai was visibly surprised.
It had assumed mastery over its energy required repeated usage, an immersion that would eventually corrode the user's mind. Any Pokémon who relied too heavily on its nightmare essence would inevitably suffer: drowning in nightmares, psyche crumbling under constant torment.
Yet here was one who resisted it, who had integrated it not through indulgence, but through restraint and with the help of a human.
Darkrai realized, with a pang of disbelief, that this human had untangled the curse it had left behind.
Lin Feng spoke again, voice calm but firm. "Darkrai, listen. That power is no longer yours alone. My Gardevoir has absorbed it and made it her own. If you were to take it back, it would hurt her. So I ask that you leave it with her. Of course, I can offer you compensation in return."
He paused, letting his words hang in the air. "But understand this: if you insist on reclaiming it, I will not allow her to surrender it."
His tone carried respect, yet there was iron beneath it.
Victor, standing to the side, felt his head spin. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. A mere breeder speaking to Darkrai Darkrai! like this, bargaining as equals, even issuing a warning.
The line between dream and reality blurred before his eyes.
Above them, the sky darkened ever so slightly, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
And in the silence that followed, a lone Pidgey fluttered down, alighting on the shoulder of Victor's Moltres, completely oblivious to the tension that hung heavy in the air.
The contrast was almost absurd.
Yet it only emphasized the truth: this confrontation was not ordinary. The fate of something far greater than a plantation hung here, teetering on the edge of shadow and light.
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