A Light Screen appeared just in time, easily blocking the Dark Pulse.
But by now, Darkrai had already closed the distance, its claws sweeping toward Calyrex with a sharp whooshing sound.
Calyrex's eyes shimmered once again as countless vines burst from the ground, instantly wrapping around Darkrai and tightly restraining it.
"Awaken, Darkrai," Calyrex said softly.
As the words fell, a massive flower seemed to grow from the earth, enveloping Darkrai completely.
The black mist surrounding Darkrai gradually dissipated.
Its terrifying aura faded as well.
Calyrex glanced at Nathan and said, "When Darkrai emerges again, it will be back to normal. I'll leave the rest to you—I'm heading out."
"Oh right, about that unexpected gain I mentioned earlier—you can ask that little one."
Calyrex pointed to Celebi.
Then, under Celebi's puzzled gaze, Calyrex vanished instantly—presumably teleporting back to the Vibrant Forest.
"You're... a special human," Celebi said as it flew circles around Nathan, gazing at him curiously.
As a Mythical Pokémon with the power to control time and life, Celebi was a very unique creature. Though not suited for combat, Celebi could travel through time, bring vitality to wherever it appeared, revive fallen Pokémon, and even purify corruption.
Celebi possessed many mysterious powers.
Wherever it had been, trees flourished, and flowers bloomed in abundance.
Naturally, it could sense that there was something special about Nathan.
The three marks he bore radiated familiar energy.
"Celebi, what exactly is going on with this island?" Nathan asked, ignoring Celebi's comment in favor of his own pressing question.
In response, Celebi began explaining.
A short while later, Nathan nodded in understanding.
It turned out Celebi had arrived on this island by chance not too long ago—only to find a berserk Darkrai wreaking havoc.
Innocent Pokémon had been caught in the chaos, and many were injured or worse.
In order to prevent further casualties, Celebi stayed to suppress Darkrai and created the thick fog to keep humans from discovering the island.
Celebi had seen many humans. While some were kind and virtuous trainers, others were consumed by greed and evil.
If the island were discovered, Celebi feared even greater disasters would follow.
Thus, it shrouded the island in dense fog.
To this day, no one knew two Mythical Pokémon were residing here.
Nathan rubbed his chin, silently marveling.
Just as Calyrex had said—the secret realms were indeed dangerous.
If these issues weren't dealt with now, and secret realms continued merging with the real world, countless rampaging Pokémon would spill out across the land.
Especially those powerful ones...
Some were able to resist the corruption due to their nature or abilities, but others weren't so lucky.
Once out of control, the damage could be unimaginable.
Celebi gently landed on Nathan's shoulder and asked, "When Calyrex left earlier, what did it mean? Do you know?"
"No idea," Nathan shook his head, but then smiled and said hopefully, "Maybe it thinks you can help one of my Pokémon get stronger?"
"Stronger?" Celebi tilted its head and replied in its clear, bell-like voice. "I don't like fighting. I don't even know how to help someone get stronger. But... I can sense that one of your Pokémon has a power within it that hasn't awakened. I can help it awaken that power."
"Awakened power?" Nathan immediately thought of the move Hidden Power. "Which Pokémon?"
"That one," Celebi pointed at one of the Poké Balls on Nathan's belt.
"This one… Pangoro?" Nathan muttered as he released the Pokémon.
"Rawrr," Pangoro scratched its head and looked around curiously, eyes settling on Nathan with confusion.
"This is the one," Celebi confirmed, flying above Pangoro's head and sprinkling glowing white particles from above.
The sparkles transformed into a luminous green aura, wrapping Pangoro entirely.
"It's done. It'll awaken soon," Celebi said as it fluttered back to Nathan's side. "I have to leave now, human."
"You're not going to wait for Darkrai to wake up?" Nathan asked.
"No way!" Celebi puffed up and turned its head, arms crossed. "That jerk tried to attack me at first—I don't want to talk to him."
"Well… fair enough." Nathan chuckled, rubbing his nose as he saw Celebi's sassy side for the first time. "But don't come back to this island again, okay? I'm going to report why the island was covered in fog to the human authorities. If you return, it might be dangerous."
"I understand. Thanks for the warning, human."
Celebi nodded, then asked curiously, "By the way, do you have a name?"
"Of course I do," Nathan rolled his eyes and introduced himself, "Nathan Vesper. I'm a Pokémon Trainer."
"I'm Celebi. We'll meet again, Nathan."
As its words echoed, shimmering ripples of color surrounded Celebi's form, and in the next moment, it disappeared entirely.
With its departure, the fog began to gradually dissipate as well...
"Tch, such a shame I can't catch it… I really would've loved to try."
As Celebi left, Nathan couldn't help but shake his head with a helpless sigh.
Whether it was a Mythical or Legendary Pokémon, Nathan wanted to catch them all. After all, they represented incredible power. Even the ones not particularly suited for battle had unique abilities.
Unfortunately, a Pokémon like Celebi was simply out of reach for now.
Not to mention Celebi didn't even like to fight—Nathan wasn't sure he could win against it even if it did.
If he wanted to capture a Legendary Pokémon, there was only one realistic path forward: grow stronger, train his own Pokémon, and defeat the legends in battle.
There were no shortcuts.
Sure, maybe he could resort to schemes or underhanded tricks—but that wasn't who Nathan was. He had no intention of taking that kind of path.
"System… why couldn't you just give me a Legendary Pokémon, huh?" he grumbled inwardly.
He was starting to notice a pattern—aside from the Volcarona he'd received at the very start, the system wasn't in the habit of handing him Pokémon directly.
At most, it would give him a location or a map, and he would have to go catch it himself.
Still, that was already more than most people had.
With enough strength and the system's help in finding Legendary Pokémon, becoming a Legendary Trainer wasn't just a dream.
Nathan shook his head and turned his attention to the two "cocoons" in front of him.
One held Darkrai.
The other, Pangoro.
If nothing went wrong, Pangoro would soon awaken its hidden power—though what type it would be remained a mystery.
As for Darkrai…
Nathan had no illusions about his chances of catching it. If even Celebi was out of reach, there was no way he could subdue this Darkrai.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting quietly while pondering how to report this discovery to the Exploration App.
To complete an exploration task, he had to upload everything—photos, findings, evidence—to the app. Once approved, he'd be marked as having completed the mission.
Then all he had to do was enter his shipping address and account info, and the reward would be mailed to him.
After some thought, Nathan decided not to hide the fact that both Darkrai and Celebi had appeared. There was no point—it wasn't like anyone could track them down anyway.
At most, he'd leave out Calyrex's involvement.
By the time the report was reviewed, both Celebi and Darkrai would be long gone. Greedy humans wouldn't stand a chance of catching either of them.
With that decided, Nathan took a few pictures of the two cocoons.
He planned to say that the cocoons contained Darkrai and Celebi. No one would be able to tell they actually held Darkrai and Pangoro, anyway.
Once the pictures were done—
Click.
The cocoon around Darkrai began to slowly unfold.
Darkrai's form reappeared in front of Nathan.
But this time, it was calm. Its eyes were clear. No trace of the earlier madness remained.
Perhaps sensing Celebi had already left, Darkrai didn't go searching for it. Instead, it fixed its gaze on Nathan.
"…Human, thank you."
The voice was deep and gravelly—resonating not through ears, but directly in his mind.
Telepathy.
Something most Legendary Pokémon were capable of.
Hearing it, Nathan waved his hand casually and smiled. "No need. It was Calyrex and Celebi who helped you. I didn't really do anything."
Darkrai shook its head. "You brought Calyrex here. Without you, I might have harmed Celebi… or even brought more destruction to this island."
Most Pokémon were simple creatures.
Even Legendary Pokémon tended to be straightforward. Personalities might vary, but their thinking was rarely complicated.
If they felt you helped them, they'd repay you.
If you seemed like a good person, they'd trust you.
If you didn't, well, they wouldn't.
That was the way of Pokémon—honest and unpretentious.
Though Darkrai was known as the "God of Nightmares" and was a pure Dark-type, it wasn't a malevolent creature.
As long as you didn't provoke it, it wouldn't harm you.
Its nightmare-inducing powers weren't used intentionally, either—they were a defensive instinct, not an attack.
"I see… So, are you planning to leave now?" Nathan asked.
"Yes." Darkrai nodded. "This place is too close to human civilization. It's not safe for me to remain here."
"But—you helped me. If you ever need help in the future, come find me. This will show you the way. And if you're in danger… I'll know."
With those words, Darkrai raised its hand.
Something flew from its fingertips and landed in Nathan's palm.
A black feather.
It looked like it came from Darkrai itself—and seemed to contain some of its power.
As Nathan studied the feather, he looked up again…
…but Darkrai was already gone.
...
(TN: I'm curious on what you guys think, Is it alright for me to pick me a story if the translator stop translating it for more than 2 months? I was thinking of picking Lord of Fear since its my favorite genre, Pokemon and Hollywood. Do you guys it will be alright?)