"A historian… with a champion-level Pokémon?"
Sirda's red eyes shut coldly.
Even with Charon's explanation, she still didn't believe it.
It just didn't work out.
In her experience, one only received a professor rank after years of dedication and research.
There was hardly time for actual Pokémon battles.
Of course, there were exceptions, Professor Oak, for example.
Famed throughout all regions for his knowledge, he was also once a renowned trainer.
There were even whispers he had once battled in the Indigo Plateau Conference and come close to winning.
But Sam?
Fresh out of his twenties.
A skilled historian, an academic at Celestic Lab…
And now, this same "quiet scholar" had a champion-level Lucario.
That wasn't just improbable.
It was disturbing.
"That… I don't know…" Charon confessed, fidgeting with his glasses.
"He was always the researcher. I never checked up on his battle history."
Sirda's face grew darker.
They had taken days preparing Darkrai's insanity.
Strategic setups. Sonic pulse emitters. Genetic disrupters.
All to drive it into a fit of violent madness, ready to be caught.
And now?
All that work jeopardized because some young historian happened to wander onto the island?
Her voice fell to a chilly whisper.
"All this time wasted… for nothing?"
Charon, sensing her tone, swiftly interjected.
"Sirda, we did bring manpower, yes… But there's an issue."
"We have no idea if he has only Lucario."
"If he has some other high-ranking Pokémon, we'd be at a disadvantage. We can't afford to take a risk on confrontation."
Team Rocket and Team Galactic had arrived, ready, but not for a battle against a champion-level Trainer supported by the League.
Especially not one with connections.
"Samuel is not just some scholar," Charon said in a serious tone.
"He's engaged to Cynthia."
That made Sirda wince.
"The Sinnoh Champion?"
Charon nodded grimly.
"And his foster mother is Professor Carolina of Celestic Lab."
"He has the Champion's protection and the Alliance's support."
"This isn't Kanto. Sinnoh's League authority is… more powerful."
Sirda's fingers quivered around the Dusk Ball in her grip.
So close to catching Darkrai.
But if he had already called the authorities, or Cynthia.
Giovanni would not be happy.
With a strained silence, Sirda let out a breath between her teeth.
Then, with a sharp flick of her wrist:
"Withdraw."
Charon didn't wait. He waved to the coordinated operatives.
They dissolved into the darkness.
As she followed, Sirda caught one last glance at Sam's receding silhouette, holding strong against Darkrai's stormy aura of darkness.
"Sam…"
"You're on my list."
Her eyes blazed scarlet with pent-up rage.
"Next time, there'll be no warnings."
Sirda and Charon's withdrawal was unobserved.
Sam's eyes stayed fixed on one thing: the creature thrashing in the midst of the storm.
Darkrai.
Enveloped in a malevolent haze, the dark Pokémon emitted a chilling, otherworldly scream.
"Hissssss!!!"
The air itself grew dense.
Frigid gusts cut across the mountaintop, twisting fog into ghostly strands.
The sky appeared dimmer.
The wind moaned.
Shadows capered abnormally.
"'This's like a horror movie," Sam whispered, furrowing his brow.
Dark Pulse
A cyclone of spectral wind swept out of Darkrai's body, imbued with eerie power.
Sam did not hesitate to raise his hand.
"Luca, Aura Sphere, slice it down!"
"Luka!!"
Lucario's cry was defiant, silencing the storm's howl.
Aura burst from his hands, pure, shining white.
He pushed it forward, and Aura Sphere shrieked through the air.
BOOM!
It met the Dark Pulse.
The blast shook the mountain, sending shreds of rock hurtling and flattening the grass.
An unsettling quiet followed… then the wind shrieked back.
Sam didn't tarry.
"Power-Up Punch!"
"Luka !"
Lucario charged ahead like a bullet, fists igniting with energy.
The wind split around his approach.
Darkrai, in its rampage.
Shadowy fog bubbled out of its form in waves, pulse upon pulse of evil mist.
Each wave hit Lucario in mid-charge.
Boom boom boom!
He growled but didn't relent.
He bellowed, pushed through the fog, and smashed both fists into Darkrai's chest.
WHAM!
Darkrai launched itself backward, gliding above the earth like a stone skimming upon water.
But the battle was far from over.
One final burst of haze struck Lucario head-on.
"Luka!"
Sam could do nothing but stand there and watch as Lucario was sent flying out and slammed into the rocky ground with a crushing impact.
A crater opened up beneath him.
Dust billowed up.
For an instant, everything was quiet.
Then the movement.
Lucario rose.
His whole body was covered in dust and scratches.
His breathing came in slow, measured gasps.
But his eyes gleamed like steel.
"LUKAAAAA!!!"
His battle cry shattered the silence.
The air trembled with the ferocity of his aura.
And then his aura burst.
Golden blue light erupted from his body, spilling upwards like a torrent of flame.
Sam's eyes went wide.
"This isn't just battle spirit…"
"He's compressing the Aura into something even more refined; he's honing his edge."
Lucario now stood like a drawn sword.
A peerless blade forged in silence.
Tempered in battle.
Throughout Mine Island, Lucario's roar reverberated.
Individuals who'd been tossing and turning in their beds, anchored in nightmares, sat upright.
Some gasped.
Others cried.
All of them looked automatically toward the summit of the mountain.
"What was that…?"
"Was that… a Pokémon?"
Even individuals who'd lost hope for sleep gazed out of their windows.
Because in the distance, at the top of Mine Island's highest point…
The sky itself glowed.