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"Darkrai, use Thunderbolt on Crobat! Celebi, use Psychic on Nidoking! Moltres, use Air Slash on Roserade!"
Although the defeat of Heatran made the man in black realize his own arrogance, he still didn't believe he would lose to Sato. He immediately commanded the remaining three legendary Pokémon clones to attack.
It had to be said—the completion level of these legendary clones was quite high. Their aptitude had all reached the purple tier. Especially Darkrai and Celebi—these two had even inherited some of the original's innate abilities.
For example, Celebi could communicate with plants. The man in black had relied on this ability to locate Sato in the vast wilderness. In battle, Celebi could also manipulate surrounding vegetation to fight.
Upon receiving the command, Celebi and Moltres launched their attacks at once.
Celebi attempted to directly use powerful telekinesis on Nidoking. But Nidoking refused to back down, immediately firing back with Ice Beam.
In the end, Celebi successfully struck Nidoking hard with Psychic, but it was also severely injured by Nidoking's Ice Beam. Worse still, because its body had been soaked by rain, it was unfortunately frozen.
As for Moltres, although it had already been heavily injured earlier, its legendary physique still allowed it to fight—at least for a final desperate counterattack before collapsing.
Its dimmed flaming wings suddenly flared as it beat them fiercely, releasing countless white air blades that blanketed a large area around Roserade, completely sealing off her space for short-range evasion.
Fortunately, Roserade was not fighting alone.
Under Sato's command, Scolipede—who had already stacked three rounds of speed boosts through its Speed Boost ability—acted like a high-speed vehicle. In the blink of an eye, it carried Roserade out of Moltres's Air Slash range.
At the same time, Roserade didn't remain idle. She immediately counterattacked with Weather Ball.
Unfortunately, Moltres no longer needed to follow the man in black's earlier command to use Sunny Day. With its aerial advantage, it easily dodged Roserade's attack.
...….
Meanwhile, Darkrai's assault was already underway.
Among all the legendary clones in the man's possession, this Darkrai was the strongest. However, its strength didn't come from its replication quality—it came from its independent consciousness.
Unlike the other three clones, Darkrai acted extremely proactively. Even without commands, it could make its own judgments and attack accordingly.
As soon as it received the order, a bolt of lightning infused with sinister energy shot from its body toward Crobat.
The lightning was far too fast. Even with Crobat's speed, it couldn't outrun it. Left with no choice, it used Protect to block the attack.
At that moment, Darkrai transformed into a streak of shadow, instantly slipping past Crobat's interference. At the same time, the dark glow on its body—caused earlier by Crobat's Taunt—began to rapidly fade.
In an instant, Darkrai appeared beside the relatively weakest Pokémon on the field—Tentacruel.
Immediately, numerous Double Team clones split off from its body, surrounding Tentacruel from all sides.
Tentacruel reacted quickly. The moment it sensed Darkrai's approach, it lashed out with its tentacles, using Poison Jab. However, Darkrai's sudden use of Double Team caused all of its attacks to miss.
Then, from behind Tentacruel, one of the Darkrai clones extended its arm. A small black sphere instantly formed and was released.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Sato tried to react, it was already too late.
Tentacruel was struck by Darkrai's Dark Void. Its entire body turned gray, and it fell into a nightmare state.
Darkrai's attack flowed seamlessly. The moment Tentacruel entered the nightmare, it followed up with Dream Eater.
A phantom Darkrai surged forward and collided with Tentacruel. Upon impact, Tentacruel's eyes shrank into needle-like points before it collapsed to the ground, completely losing its ability to fight.
After defeating Tentacruel and absorbing its nightmare, Darkrai seemed as if it had taken a stimulant. Its single crimson eye flared with intense light, and its aura surged dramatically.
At the same time, vast amounts of nightmare energy—like thick black mist—poured out from its body, enveloping the surrounding space and concealing it within.
Yet every living being present could feel an overwhelming evil presence emanating from the fog. It was like a dark abyss, pressing down on their hearts and filling them with suffocating dread.
"As expected… this Darkrai is the most troublesome one. The other clones all have dull eyes, but this one is filled with malice. It clearly has strong independent consciousness."
Seeing Darkrai suddenly become so terrifying after defeating Tentacruel, Sato's heart grew heavy.
He had encountered a real Darkrai before and was somewhat familiar with its methods. Without a doubt, this berserk-like state was a special application of nightmare energy.
"HAHAHA! Kid, you're dead! Darkrai has consumed a nightmare—now even I can barely control it! Oh, and let me tell you—its strength is at least 50% higher than usual right now! Go, Darkrai—kill them!"
The man in black revealed a flicker of fear at first, but it was quickly replaced by wild excitement as he laughed arrogantly.
The moment he finished speaking, a red glint flashed within the black mist.
In an instant, a shadow streaked across the ground behind Sato. Darkrai emerged from it, its hand clutching a dark sphere as it lunged toward Sato's head.
The moment Darkrai appeared behind him, every hair on Sato's body stood on end. A powerful sense of danger surged within him.
If Sato had been an ordinary person, he would have been doomed.
But he wasn't.
He had faced even god-tier Pokémon before—how could he fear a mere clone?
"You brought this on yourself. I'm not even afraid of the real Darkrai—why would I fear a copy like you?"
Just as Darkrai thought it had succeeded, its hand grasped nothing but air. At the same time, Sato's voice—filled with disdain—echoed in its mind.
At some point, Sato had already appeared behind it, holding an opened PokeBall in his hand.
Darkrai possessed independent consciousness. It was fully aware that it was merely a clone—but it had not lost control because of it.
That didn't mean it didn't care.
On the contrary—it hated its identity. It longed to grow stronger, to one day defeat the real Darkrai and prove its own existence.
Now, Sato's words tore open that deeply buried wound.
Fury exploded within it.
Darkrai immediately sensed Sato's position and turned, preparing to drag him into an endless nightmare.
But the moment it turned—
A terrifying aura erupted from its left side.
For an instant, Darkrai felt as though it were facing a prehistoric beast… while it itself was nothing more than a trembling lamb.
The next second—
Its entire body was blasted away by an overwhelming force.
And the last thing it saw…
was an enormous fist.