—The scene unfolds—
A quiet path lay beneath the shadow of ancient trees.
Without warning, a stone flowerbed was suddenly sliced apart by an invisible force.
Crack!
A surge of violet light flashed.
The heavy stone barrier was cut cleanly in two, and faint motes of purple energy shimmered along the fracture—like something alive, squirming beneath the surface.
"Something's moving over there," Ash muttered sharply, eyes narrowing.
His instincts screamed danger.
Just then, clouds swallowed the sun.
The park fell into darkness.
A chilling presence gathered.
A phantom shadow spread across the ground—twisting, warping—before rising upward, congealing into a shape.
From the gloom emerged a pale white head, bandages fluttering like torn ribbons in the wind.
A single exposed eye—icy blue—glowed with a silent menace.
"You… are not meant to be here."
The voice—low and hollow—rippled through the park like a cold wind from the abyss.
"I knew it was you all along! Darkrai, show yourself!"
Albert's fury burst forth as he stepped forward, pointing an accusing finger at the dark specter rising from the shadows.
It was him—
The final deity of the Battle for the Tower of Time!
The God of Nightmares—Darkrai!
His appearance silenced everyone.
Until that moment, most had dismissed Albert's claims as nonsense.
But now, faced with the very being he described, none dared to breathe.
Could it be that all the strange happenings in the park… were his doing?
—The commentary chat erupted—
[Professor Rowan: I can't believe it… Darkrai has actually appeared! But what's his connection to all of this?]
[Steven: From what I can tell, Darkrai doesn't seem to be directly opposing Dialga or Palkia. In fact, his actions look more like… he's defending this park.]
[Wallace: Maybe when the temporal and spatial gods clashed, their battle damaged the park—and Darkrai's protecting it!]
[Bertha: Hm, that sounds reasonable, but if he's protecting the park, why attack others? The twin gods are still fighting within their rift.]
[Gardenia: Then maybe Darkrai was dragged into their battle! The shockwaves from Dialga and Palkia's fight must've damaged the park, and that's what enraged him!]
[Aaron: That explanation actually fits everything we've seen.]
[Steven: Agreed. It all lines up neatly now.]
[Ash: But why did Darkrai try to drive us away from the park? Miss Alice said this has never happened before!]
[Cynthia: Keep watching. I think we'll get our answer soon.]
[Ash: Got it!]
[Gary: Wow, that "Got it" was fast.]
——
Sinnoh Region, Alamos Town.
Alice stared at the broadcast in disbelief.
Darkrai—in her park?
That couldn't be right.
She'd grown up here, spent her entire childhood among its trees and flowers.
Yet she'd never heard a single mention of a Darkrai from anyone—not trainers, not townsfolk, not even Pokémon.
But then… a memory surfaced.
When she was little—after Tonio had rescued her—Albert had kept insisting that it wasn't Tonio who'd saved her.
He swore it was a shadow, a dark shape that had lifted her to safety.
Could that shadow have been… Darkrai?
Was he the one who saved her life that day?
Her heart trembled at the thought.
"Darkrai… was it you who saved me?" she whispered.
She didn't notice the faint shimmer behind her—
A shadow rising silently from the ground.
Darkrai's blue eyes watched her from the dark, emotionless, unreadable.
Then, just before he sank back into the shadow—
For the briefest instant, his gaze softened.
You look so much like her…
——
Back in the broadcast—
Darkrai's sudden appearance put everyone on edge.
As his form solidified, Ash and Pikachu instinctively fell into battle stance.
Before Ash could even command Pikachu—
Albert charged forward.
"Go, Lickilicky! Use Hyper Beam!"
The round-bodied Pokémon waddled two steps, opened its mouth, and fired a searing orange beam.
But Darkrai dissolved into shadow an instant before the blast struck.
He reappeared behind them in a blur of motion, faster than even the three legendary golems Ash once faced in the Lucario and the Aura Guardian saga.
Darkrai's hands gathered a ball of black energy—
A shadow sphere pulsing with dread.
Before anyone could react, he hurled it.
The attack was meant for Albert—
But Albert dove aside, leaving Ash directly in its path.
The black vortex swallowed him whole.
Too fast.
No one could stop it.
"Ash! Are you okay!?" Dawn shouted, panic in her voice.
No response.
Because Ash was no longer in their world—
He'd fallen into Darkrai's nightmare realm.
——
[Misty: Oh no! Ash—he's not hurt, is he?!]
[Sabrina: Hmph. A coward like that Albert should've been destroyed on the spot. Using someone else as a shield—pathetic.]
[Lance: To be fair, anyone would dodge an attack like that. He probably didn't realize Ash was right behind him.]
[Sabrina: So you're defending him now? Do you want another psychic toss out the window?]
[Lance: Nope! He's scum! Absolutely scum!]
[Flint: Hah! Lance, the mighty Dragon Master, terrified of a single Gym Leader.]
[Flint: Retire while you still have dignity!]
[Bruno: You've got guts, kid!]
[Flint: I'm very brave, thank you!]
[Misty: Please, someone help him!]
[Brock: Relax. This is Ash. Luckiest guy alive. Not even Darkrai could take him out.]
[Gary: Yeah, he's too dumb to die. That's basically his superpower.]
[Ash: …Gee, thanks, guys.]
——
In the nightmare realm—
Ash crashed hard onto the ground.
When he looked up, everyone was gone.
The park was the same—yet twisted.
Silent. Cold. Wrong.
"Pikachu?!"
"Dawn! Brock! Where are you?!"
His calls echoed unanswered.
Then—he felt it.
The shadow behind him stretched… writhing… growing.
He turned—
And a towering silhouette rose from the ground, eyes glowing blue.
Darkrai.
The shadow's body rose higher and higher until it blotted out the sky.
Before Ash could move, it enveloped him completely.
The next moment, he was falling again—
Down, down, into an endless void.
From that darkness, a crimson shape flickered past.
It wasn't solid—just a faint outline surrounded by violet light.
Two blood-red eyes gleamed in the dark.
"Pa…lu…"
The distorted cry echoed, making Ash's skin crawl.
What is that thing!?
The shape surged toward him, passing straight through his chest—
But brought no pain, only the weight of terror.
When the darkness faded, Darkrai stood before him once more.
Ash clenched his fists.
"So it really was you, Darkrai! You're behind all of this, aren't you?!"
Fueled by anger, he pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it.
"Go! Turtwig!"
(Inside the ball: Wait, me?!)
The Poké Ball burst open—
—or tried to.
A swirl of black mist consumed it whole.
Before Ash could even gasp, the ground itself began to dissolve into shadow.
From the abyss, a massive dark vortex opened, pulling everything in.
Ash spotted Pikachu struggling against the suction not far away.
"Pikachu!"
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward and dove, wrapping his arms around his partner.
The black vortex swallowed them both.
They fell—
Together.
——
"Pika!!"
Lightning flared within the darkness.
A powerful jolt burst through the void—
—and then, suddenly, the screen changed.
Ash jolted awake, wearing his pajamas, Pikachu still in his arms.
A thunderbolt struck him point-blank.
"Pika-chuuu!!!"
The room lit up with ten thousand volts.
Yet… not a single scorch mark.
Not even smoke.
Yup.
Ash wasn't even pretending to be normal anymore.
Confirmed—Super Protagonist Powers: ON.
The shock finally woke him up, and Pikachu too.
Ash blinked, disoriented.
"Pikachu… is it really you?"
"Pika!"
Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash's, eyes glistening.
Both had fallen into Darkrai's nightmare together—
and somehow escaped it.
Ash hugged him tight, relief flooding through him.
Maybe… a little too tight.
Pikachu's little paws flailed desperately, slapping his trainer's shoulder.
(Help! My own trainer is trying to strangle me with love!)
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