Sinnoh Region, Lily of the Valley Island, eastern coast.
At that moment, the entire stretch of the eastern coastline had been sealed off by the League. The beach was guarded by a large number of League Trainers in uniform, all standing at high alert.
And out on the nearby ocean, two Pokémon from Sinnoh's Legends were engaged in a fierce battle.
One was entirely pitch black, like a shadow, its movements were strange and unpredictable, and the jagged crimson collar around its neck made it look even more menacing.
The other shimmered with radiant light, graceful in posture. Its pink ring-shaped wings resembled stardust crescent moons draped across its body, dazzling and beautiful.
If Sato were here, he would instantly recognize the two Pokémon before him.
Darkrai!
Cresselia!
The two Legendary Pokémon said to govern the "realm" of dreams in the Pokémon world.
Darkrai controlled nightmares, while Cresselia governed pleasant dreams. Making the two natural-born "enemies".
However, what Bertha couldn't figure out was: why were these two Pokémon, who should have been staying quietly on Newmoon Island and Fullmoon Island to the west of Sinnoh, suddenly fighting all the way out here on the eastern side of the region?
If not for the fact that this was Lily of the Valley Island -the Sinnoh League's HQ- it would have been nearly impossible to gather enough manpower fast enough to contain the situation.
Out on the water, Darkrai and Cresselia completely ignored the tense human crowd watching from the beach. Their eyes were fixed solely on each other.
Beside Bertha, a large Hippowdon stood at the ready. Two swirling Sandstorm currents had already been prepared, ready to erupt at any moment and create the perfect battlefield for it.
Unfortunately, even as a proud Elite Four Pokémon and Bertha's ace partner, Hippowdon still failed to draw Darkrai and Cresselia's attention.
Truly…
What a loss of face¹[1].
Just then, a League Trainer in standard uniform quickly approached Bertha, head bowed as he reported with seriousness.
"Ma'am, all civilians in the area have been successfully evacuated. So far, no signs of underground organizations have been detected. It really seems like… these two Pokémon came here on their own."
Bertha glanced at the reporting Trainer but didn't say anything. She simply waved her hand to signal him to keep scouting.
'Came on their own? Impossible…' Bertha dismissed the report in her heart, eyes never once leaving the two Pokémon in the sky.
---
Elsewhere, Sato and the others had quickly arrived near the eastern beach with the help of their Pokémon.
Thanks to Flint and Volkner's League credentials, the group of four was allowed past the security perimeter. They immediately saw Darkrai and Cresselia battling in the sky.
"Those two Pokémon look insanely strong… Boss, do you know what they are?" Mark asked in awe from atop his Togekiss.
"Darkrai. Cresselia… two of the Legendary Pokémon from Sinnoh's Legends," Sato replied without going into detail and instead signaled Gengar to speed up.
…Because inside his body, the Dark Energy that had always been docile was now surging wildly just from being near Darkrai.
At the same time, inside Sato's backpack, the sleeping Ralts' face suddenly twisted in pain, and its Dark Energy-stained body began flickering erratically.
"Whoaaaa! They're actually Legendary Pokémon? But why are they here?" Mark exclaimed.
But the others were already accelerating ahead, so all he could do was scratch his messy hair and order Togekiss to follow.
"Elite Four Bertha is over there, let's regroup with her first!" Flint urged, making Charizard catch up to Sato as he shouted the reminder.
For some reason, seeing Sato staring at Darkrai without blinking gave Flint a strong sense that if he didn't say something, Sato might actually fly straight toward it.
Sato turned to glance at Flint, then looked down at Bertha on the beach below, and the Hippowdon standing beside her.
"…Gengar, let's head down."
"Gen~"
The four of them quickly descended and landed beside Bertha.
The Psychic mark on Sato's body flickered, as if confirming that they had truly stopped.
Flash!
A burst of white light appeared beside Sato, Joseph had been teleported by Gallade.
"Ga… llade?"
Suddenly, Joseph's Gallade pointed at Sato's backpack with a puzzled sound.
"What's wrong with Ralts?" Joseph instinctively translated.
Sato whipped around. He didn't even think about how Gallade sensed Ralts; he quickly opened the backpack and pulled out the little Pokémon, whose brows were tightly furrowed.
Seeing Ralts clearly in distress, Sato couldn't help but hold it even closer.
"Hippowdon, Sandstorm!"
Suddenly, Bertha, who had remained silent until now, gave an order to Hippopotas. Instantly, a powerful sandstorm whipped up from the beach and surged out toward the ocean.
"DARKRAI'S COMING IN!"
Flint shouted, pointing as Charizard rushed forward to try to intercept Darkrai.
Sato looked up… and somehow, by coincidence or fate, his eyes locked instantly with Darkrai's sky-blue ones.
The howling sandstorm lashed against Darkrai, eroding it continuously.
Behind it, Cresselia gathered a blast of Moonblast and hurled it at Darkrai, paying no attention to anything else.
Flint's Charizard flapped its wings, rapidly closing in as well.
Three parties converging!
And yet… in that moment, only Sato and Darkrai stared into each other's eyes.
"…" "…"
In the blink of an eye, everything around them seemed to vanish.
The entire scene shifted. Sato and Darkrai were suddenly in a pitch-black space with no light at all, but Sato could see Darkrai clearly.
"Sato!"
A deep voice suddenly echoed throughout the space.
It was Telepathy!
Sato glanced around and immediately realized that Darkrai had likely pulled him into its special space.
What shocked him even more was that Darkrai had called him by name!
"…You know me?"
"I do not."
"…Huh?" Sato frowned. 'Was this Darkrai some kind of idiot…?'
"I know the Ralts you're holding."
Sato looked down in surprise, only then realizing that Ralts had come in with him.
But Gengar hadn't…
"This space belongs to me. Only those I permit can enter. That Gengar carries a scent I dislike."
Sato furrowed his brows even tighter. Just what was this Darkrai trying to do? It had brought him here and hadn't even gotten to the point.
"Raaalts~"
Just as Sato was questioning Darkrai's intentions, Ralts suddenly awakened. Its eyes showed no confusion, it stared straight at Darkrai.
"So you really came…" Ralts also communicated via Telepathy, allowing Sato to clearly understand everything being said.
"You were just one step away from gaining a Legendary Domain. How did you end up like this?" Darkrai's Telepathy echoed again across the space.
Sato, meanwhile, was completely lost…
.
.
.
¹.Courting death
[1] Courting death!