Since the beginning, Sam had been playing it safe with his tactics.
No high-risk attack.
No full power.
No Close Combat until this point.
It was all by design.
He'd wanted Lucario to be mobile, quick, and able to change moves in the blink of an eye.
But that moment had slipped away.
Darkrai had burned through most of its reserves, its Dark Void had done nothing, and its haze had dissipated.
Now was the time to put an end to it.
"Go, Luca!
"Use Close Combat!"
"LUKAAAAAAAAA!!"
With a primal scream, Lucario charged forward.
Air shattered around him, a boom of sound echoing his wake.
He streaked like a silver missile, his fists radiating.
If this hit, it was all over.
But Darkrai wasn't helpless.
"Hisssss!"
Its body sheared like ink in water
A burst of light, gone in a split second.
Then Sink.
It dissolved into the shadows of the ground below.
Gone.
Any other trainer would have buckled.
In darkness, Darkrai was notorious for guerrilla attacks and shadow manipulations.
But Sam didn't even flinch.
He and Lucario both had Aura.
They did not require light.
They felt the battlefield.
The ripple of Darkrai's aura was faint, but there
Concealed just beneath the ground.
"There you are."
Sam's voice was ice-calm.
"Luca, push it out, Meteor smash!"
"LUKA!!!"
Lucario's right fist flared in a blinding white aura, Steel-type energy condensing into raw force.
The glow blazed like a searchlight across the devastated mountaintop.
With a thunderous bellow, Lucario brought his glowing fist down
BOOM!!!
A shockwave exploded.
The ground cratered inward.
Dirt and gravel burst into the air, and trees snapped and fell like matchsticks.
A 20-meter-wide crater formed at Lucario's feet.
And at its rim
Darkrai was flung into the air, its body bared, open, panting from the sheer power.
Sam didn't hesitate.
"Extreme Speed, then Close Combat! Now! Before it gets away "
Lucario was a blur too fast to see.
The Extreme Speed was through in a burst of light
And then the onslaught started.
CRACK.
CRUNCH.
THWACK.
Lucario's fists and feet whirl, showering with merciless passion.
Every strike is a cleansed power of will.
Every strike resonated with the rage of Aura energy.
"LUKA KA KA KAAAAA!!"
Darkrai's body writhed and spun beneath the assault, its dark form only just retaining coherence.
Couldn't back away.
Couldn't disperse.
Couldn't strike back.
It was finished.
Sam stood at the rim of the crater, his garments whipping in the wind, eyes squinting.
He didn't blink.
Didn't applaud.
He merely watched
Watching Darkrai fall to its knees, its body shimmering in and out of existence.
Lucario halted.
Chest heaving.
Aura pounding.
First held aloft.
Awaiting his trainer's command.
Sam advanced slowly.
Then, with a soothing tone:
"That's enough."
Lucario lowered his arm.
Darkrai hovered just above the earth, wavering like a candle flame in the breeze.
The madness in its eyes faded.
Pain lingered. Fatigue as well.
But something else came back: Awareness.
Guilt.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Subdue Darkrai.]
[Reward released: Viridian Force.]
[Please feel free to explore its functions at your own pace.]
As the soothing, comfortable voice of the system receded from Sam's thoughts, the residue of the battle settled like ashes after a storm.
The darkness still lingered in the sky.
The broken cliff lay quiet.
And Sam… could sense something new building quietly within him.
A warmth like life force coursing through every cell.
"So this… is the Viridian Force."
Unlike the raw and surging Aura power, the Viridian aura felt gentle, like the earth breathing, nourishing.
Beside him, Lucario was still catching his breath.
"Huff… Huff…"
Though his injuries were not serious, maintaining a quadrupled attack output for so long had taken its toll.
Sam stepped forward and pulled out a few Sitrus Berries, their surface still dewy.
"Here, Luca. These will help."
"Luka~"
Lucario nodded and took them gratefully, chewing slowly.
As the tension released, Sam patted his partner on the shoulder.
"You were great. We did it."
Lucario's eyes shone with pride.
His trainer's approval was worth more than any medal he could have won.
Sam approached Darkrai.
Then, resting a hand on Darkrai's forehead, he shut his eyes and reached inside.
'Viridian Force, activate.'
A gentle green light emanated from his palm, suffusing Darkrai's injured body.
His mind concentrated.
He could sense the power draining from him in waves.
Bit by bit, Darkrai's aura slowed the frenzied rhythm.
The red from its eyes dissipated.
And finally
Peace.
Sam's face went pale. Sweat poured down his neck.
"Too much… drained me…"
He stumbled, about to fall, until Lucario caught him with a supporting arm.
"Luka!"
"I'm okay, Ou… Just… tired."
Lucario stood guard beside him, eyes fixed on Darkrai.
Even now, he was alert.
But Sam shook his head.
"No. It's alright."
"He's not our enemy anymore."
He could sense it through Aura and Viridian both.
Darkrai's aura was no longer aggressive.
It was peaceful.
Curious.
And… warm.
The so-called Dark Type.
So misjudged.
It didn't signify evil.
It signified cleverness. Stealthiness. Self-reliance.
Darkrai, like so many others, had been wrongly judged for much too long.
Now, however…
"Darkrai," Sam whispered, "who did this to you?"
The black-as-coal Pokémon shifted.
Its eyes opened gradually again to their peaceful Cian-blue color.
Then, there came a whisper, a voice in the mind, delivered on the lingering strength of Aura.