Dr. Dov stared at the sky in disbelief. His all-out attack had been reduced to nothing more than a dazzling display of fireworks.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Hahaha…!"
"So this is how it ends for me?!"
"I refuse to accept it… I refuse to accept it!"
Despair and resentment burned in his eyes. He threw his head back and roared at the sky, his voice thick with bitterness.
But before he could finish—
BOOOOM—
A beam of pitch-black energy struck him directly. A dull explosion echoed across the battlefield.
Dr. Dov's body disintegrated instantly, breaking apart into countless particles that scattered into the air. Darkrai had made its move.
To it, this human had simply become too irritating—running away one moment, trying to drag everyone down with him the next.
An annoying pest.
Darkrai slowly lowered its arm and glanced indifferently at the spot where Dr. Dov had vanished.
The leader of the Symbiosis Society—
Dead.
A brilliant geneticist had vanished along with him.
If Dr. Dov had used his knowledge for the right purpose, he could have greatly strengthened an entire region.
Unfortunately, he chose the wrong path.
What a waste.
...
With Dr. Dov dead, the Symbiosis Society completely lost its leadership. Meanwhile, the trainers from the four defense corps surged with renewed morale, their rallying cries echoing across the battlefield.
The Symbiosis Society forces quickly collapsed.
Some were killed.
Others fled.
Even the four executives were defeated. With Darkrai joining the battle, three of them were eliminated instantly. The last one managed to escape during the chaos following Dr. Dov's death and vanished without a trace.
The remaining Symbiosis Society members were nearly wiped out.
Lilith's Gardevoir possessed peak Champion-level strength. Dealing with the remaining enemies was effortless.
...
On the battlefield, Darkrai slowly drifted down until it hovered in front of Aaron.
Aaron swallowed nervously.
Still, he forced a bright smile and said,
"Darkrai… hello."
A faint glint flickered in Darkrai's eye.
Then a deep, mature voice echoed directly in Aaron's mind.
"Young one… you are unusual."
"There is something… mixed within your soul."
Aaron's eyes widened.
Did Darkrai notice that he had transmigrated?
Or had it sensed the System?
A familiar voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Host, please stop overthinking. Even Arceus wouldn't be able to detect the System."
Aaron froze for a moment.
So he really had been overthinking. Still, curiosity got the better of him.
"What do you mean… something mixed in my soul?"
Darkrai's cyan-blue eye flickered slightly. After a moment, it shook its head.
"I cannot see clearly."
Aaron's mouth twitched faintly. Even Darkrai couldn't figure it out.
Darkrai spoke again, its gaze still fixed on him.
"I am more curious about something else."
"You were able to summon me…"
"I have been sealed for one hundred years. Yet you used a power I cannot understand to bring me here… and I even followed your command."
"What exactly is that power?"
Aaron looked slightly surprised.
Darkrai had been sealed for a hundred years? That was extreme. What kind of conflict could lead to something like that?
Of course, he had no intention of explaining the System.
Instead he asked,
"Darkrai… you're sealed? Where is the seal? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Darkrai paused, seeming to consider the question carefully before speaking.
"Perhaps… you truly can free me."
A faint glint appeared in its eye as it looked at Aaron. For some reason, this young boy reminded Darkrai of someone from long ago—someone very familiar.
"Oh?"
Aaron's eyes lit up.
"Then how can I help break the seal?"
Darkrai extended its right hand. A black crystal slowly floated toward Aaron.
"This is my energy crystal. It will guide you to the place where I am sealed."
It paused briefly before continuing.
"But I must warn you—the place where I am sealed is extremely dangerous."
Darkrai's gaze drifted across the battlefield for a moment before settling on Lilith's Gardevoir in the distance.
"You must grow stronger before you attempt it."
Its cyan eye flickered faintly.
"At the very least… you must reach a strength close to that Gardevoir."
"Only then will you have even the smallest chance."
Aaron reached out and caught the crystal.
"I understand."
He looked at Darkrai seriously.
"Darkrai… wait for me. I'll come rescue you."
Darkrai remained silent for a moment.
A faint warmth appeared in its gaze.
"I can feel the power that summoned me fading."
"I will soon return to the place where I am sealed. Then I will entrust this to you… unusual boy."
As Darkrai finished speaking, its body slowly dissolved into shadows. Within seconds, the dark figure vanished into the void as if it had never appeared at all.
Aaron looked down at the black crystal in his hand and carefully placed it into the System inventory.
His gaze hardened.
"Darkrai… I'll free you."
At that moment, a system notification suddenly sounded.
"Ding~"
"Quest Triggered: Rescue Darkrai."
"One hundred years ago, a massive war took place—one the world deliberately erased from history. Many Legendary Pokémon fell, while others were sealed away. As a result, Legendary Pokémon have become extremely rare in the present era."
"Darkrai is one of the Legendary Pokémon sealed during that war."
"Break Darkrai's seal to complete the quest."
"Quest Rewards: Opportunity to capture Darkrai, Random Legendary Core ×1."
Aaron froze for a moment after hearing the notification.
A hidden war… from one hundred years ago?
Legendary Pokémon had actually died in that conflict.
Just how catastrophic must that battle have been?
And why would the world deliberately hide such a piece of history?
Countless questions ran through Aaron's mind.
For the first time, he realized something.
This world… might be far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.