Want to read ahead. You know where
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The moment Garchomp collapsed onto the sand, her body twitched uncontrollably.
A soft shimmer of starlight began to rise from her, faint specks of glowing energy.
Those drifting lights, invisible to the untrained eye, slowly floated toward Darkrai and were absorbed into its dark form.
They replenished the energy cost of the exclusive move Darkrai had just unleashed.
Its Ability, Nightmare, was now in full effect.
A passive yet dangerous trait, Nightmare drained the stamina of any sleeping Pokémon nearby, feeding it to Darkrai like a parasite in the night.
"Get up, Garchomp!" Cynthia's voice rang out, sharp and urgent.
But it was no use.
Darkrai hadn't put Garchomp to sleep through natural means; it was a forced sleep effect, a specialized battle condition.
Shouting wouldn't wake her.
Only Garchomp's willpower could break through it.
Sam didn't issue any further attacks.
This wasn't a real battle, after all. Just a test.
"Awrrrgh…"
A few tense seconds passed.
Then Garchomp's eyes snapped open.
With a defiant growl, she forced herself upright, shaking the sand from her neck fins and stomping back into position.
Cynthia's eyes narrowed as she studied Darkrai.
"That style of battling… It's too bizarre."
Sam nodded lightly.
"It is. If you're not careful, you'll walk right into its trap before you even realize it."
He chuckled softly.
In the games he remembered, Darkrai's signature move, Dark Void, had a base accuracy of 90%.
Pair it with a Wide Lens, and the hit rate shot up to nearly 99%.
Back then, it was practically a cheat code.
Of course, this wasn't a turn-based game.
But Darkrai's abilities were no less dangerous in real life.
"Hang in there, Garchomp!" Cynthia called out, trying to rally her partner's fighting spirit.
"Awrrr!"
Garchomp adjusted quickly, her stance sharpening.
The determined gleam returned to her crimson eyes, blazing with renewed fire.
"Garchomp!" Cynthia commanded.
"Use Mud Shot!"
Having seen Darkrai's strange tactics just moments ago, she knew better than to rush in blindly.
A ranged approach, then.
"Awrrr!"
With a roar, Garchomp slammed her claws into the beach, dragging up wet sand and loose earth.
She spun, kicking up a swirling mass of mud and grit, launching it straight at Darkrai like a compressed cyclone.
"Darkrai," Sam said calmly, "Dark Pulse."
"Hiiisshh…"
Darkrai floated backward slightly, its arms raised.
A jet-black pulse of energy condensed between its palms before firing outward in a shrieking beam.
Boom!
The mud-blast disintegrated mid-air, shattered by the sheer force of Darkrai's Dark Pulse.
Residual energy surged past the collision point, striking Garchomp and pushing her back several steps.
She dug in with her claws, but the damage was clear.
Cynthia gritted her teeth.
Garchomp wasn't weak by any means, but her strength lay in close combat.
Darkrai, on the other hand, specialized in ranged pressure.
Wearing down its foes from afar.
"Tch… this style is so frustrating!" Cynthia hissed.
Even for a Champion like her, Darkrai was proving to be a tactical nightmare.
If she moved in close, she risked Garchomp falling to Dark Void again.
But if she kept her distance, Darkrai's energy attacks outclassed Garchomp's options.
Before she could find an answer, Sam struck again.
"Darkrai, Haze."
Darkrai's body began to emit a thick, swirling mist.
Black fog billowed outward, rolling low over the ground and enveloping the field.
A sinister chill followed in its wake.
Cynthia immediately countered.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Breath!"
"Awrrrgh!"
Garchomp's mouth opened wide as twin streams of condensed energy surged out, forming a swirling vortex of dragon force.
The gust tore through the haze, blasting much of the fog aside.
But then,
The haze reformed.
The dark mist wasn't normal fog; it was laced with a malicious aura.
Made of raw Dark-type energy, it didn't disperse like normal smoke.
It condensed again, thickening almost immediately after being scattered.
Cynthia's eyes widened in frustration.
Sam smiled faintly and gave his next command.
"Darkrai, Ice Beam."
Yes, Darkrai was a Dark-type.
But his movepool was big.
Through careful training, Sam had taught it more than just its own type's attacks.
It could use Ice Beam for coverage.
Thunderbolt for versatility.
Psychic to challenge Fighting-types.
Even Shadow Ball, adding Ghost-type pressure.
And now?
It was time to show just how versatile a Darkrai could be.
Although Darkrai was a pure Dark-type and didn't receive a Same Type Attack Bonus from Ice-type moves…
Against a Ground/Dragon-type like Garchomp, it didn't need one.
Ice was Garchomp's greatest weakness, quadruple effective.
If the attack landed, the damage would be more than just decent. It could be devastating.
"Hisss~…"
Darkrai moved silently through the thick Haze, its form drifting like smoke, impossible to track by sight.
Then suddenly,
A thin beam of icy blue light burst from the fog, crackling with freezing energy.
Cynthia's eyes snapped to it instantly.
"Garchomp, Protect!" she shouted.
Her timing was sharp, and so was Garchomp's battle sense.
In a flash, energy surged over her body, forming a transparent, shimmering barrier just in time.
The Ice Beam collided with it, letting off a loud crack as the freezing blast scattered against the shield.
Garchomp held firm.
But Cynthia wasn't smiling.
She was completely on the back foot now.
Every move she made was a reaction.
Every attack was a defense.
Darkrai had control of the entire field.
"…Garchomp, you did well," Cynthia said gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.
The battle was over.
"Awrrr…"
Garchomp gave a low growl, head dipped slightly, not from pain, but frustration.
This kind of opponent… it was the worst possible match-up for her style.
All his power, speed, and close-range dominance meant little against this creeping, unpredictable pressure.
Darkrai's fighting style was eerie, elusive.
No clear rhythm to grasp.
"You hate that kind of battle, don't you?" Cynthia said softly.
"Let's go back and rework our tactics."
"We'll train specifically for this."
"Aw~!"
Garchomp lifted her head, her eyes burning with determination again.
She wasn't the kind of Pokémon to sulk over defeat.
She was Champion-tier for a reason.
Every loss was a stepping stone to something greater.
"Take a good rest," Cynthia said, returning her to the Poké Ball in a flash of red light.
Sam smiled from the side, recalling Darkrai.
"You did well," he said quietly to the ball before slipping it back onto his belt.
Then, without a word, he moved closer to Cynthia and casually wrapped an arm around her waist.
He leaned in toward her ear, lowering his voice.
"…So."
"About what we talked about earlier, "
"*Fun*" he whispered teasingly.
"Don't forget."
Cynthia rolled her eyes and gave him a playful smirk.
"Even though I lost the battle," she said, turning toward him with a sly smile, "I plan to win it back tonight."
Sam arched a brow, tapping her forehead with his finger.
"Oh? That's what you said."
"Don't go begging for mercy later."
"Hmph~"
"Who's afraid of who?" she shot back, eyes glinting with fire.
The two of them exchanged a look, familiar, teasing, warm.
For now, the battle on the sand had ended.
But a different kind of battle was just about to begin.