The attacks canceled out.
And the world froze again.
Because this Darkrai's strength—
It was nothing like the Darkrai that had fought two gods earlier.
[Cynthia: Judging from Dark Pulse's force…
This one feels only Elite Four tier.
Maybe slightly above. Definitely not Champion-level.]
[Leon: Yeah, this Darkrai is weaker.
But still… It's Darkrai.
Ash won't win easily.]
Even a "weaker" Darkrai
was still a Mythical Pokémon.
Ash Attacks Again
"Heracross, use Megahorn!"
Heracross charged!
His horn shone a blinding white—
The whole field trembled from the force.
Tobias smirked.
"Darkrai— Dark Void."
Dark Void.
Darkrai's signature move.
Always inflicts sleep.
"Heracross, dodge—!"
Too late.
A black sphere shot forward,
expanded,
and swallowed Heracross whole.
The beetle slid across the dirt, unconscious.
[Cynthia:
Dark Void—Darkrai's signature attack.
Guaranteed sleep on hit.
Far more oppressive than Sing.]
[Bug Elite Aaron:
Heracross! Show them the dignity of Bug-types!!]
He was desperate.
Bug Pokémon were mocked constantly.
This was his chance to redeem the typing.
Ash Makes His Move
"Heracross—
Sleep Talk!!"
Tobias' eyes widened.
That was a counter prepared specifically for Darkrai.
Heracross staggered to his feet—
His horn glowed again—
And he lunged!
Megahorn!!
A direct hit!
The crowd exploded—
"YES!!"
"Pika Pika!!"
Heracross smashed Darkrai backwards!
But…
Darkrai stabilized in midair
with almost no visible injury.
Not even half HP.
Because—
Heracross and Darkrai weren't on the same level.
Tobias Ends It Instantly
"Tobias: Dream Eater."
A ghostly projection of Darkrai shot forward—
passing through Heracross like a shadow.
"HERAAAA—!!"
Heracross screamed, eyes going blank.
He collapsed.
One.
Hit.
KO.
Both Megahorn and Dream Eater were super-effective—
But the difference in their power levels
was an ocean apart.
And the first round ended in a flash.
[Cynthia: Dark Void… Dream Eater… what a disgusting combo.
Dark Void forces sleep, Dream Eater restores HP—
Darkrai's HP is probably full again.]
[Leon: It's a shame. Ash clearly studied Darkrai's battles beforehand,
which is why he specifically prepared Sleep Talk.]
[Leon: And yet… even with Sleep Talk, even hitting Megahorn,
he still couldn't match Darkrai.
The level gap is just too massive—
and it's a Mythical Pokémon on top of that.]
[Aaron: A brutal loss…
But Heracross fought with heart!
Bug-types are absolutely not weak!]
[Grimsley (Flower / Huayue):…Is promoting Bug-types really your priority right now?
Seeing Aaron still desperately advocating for Bug-types
while Ash was getting demolished,
Grimsley couldn't help but spit venom.
Was this really the time?!
In the Battle—
Ash recalled Heracross with a pained expression.
"You did great, Heracross…
Next— I choose you! Torkoal!"
A black-shelled, orange-brown tortoise materialized on the field—
Hoenn's Torkoal!
[Flannery: Uh… using Torkoal here doesn't seem great…]
[Bertha: Torkoal…
I don't know it that well, but isn't it extremely slow?
Against Darkrai's speed, without Trick Room,
isn't it just a sitting target?]
[Blaine: Doomed.]
Indeed—
Against Darkrai, Torkoal stood almost zero chance.
Still, some viewers hoped that maybe—
just maybe— Ash had another hidden counter prepared.
After all, he prepared Sleep Talk specifically for Darkrai.
Maybe his other Pokémon carried tech, too?
And then…
"Torkoal, use Flamethrower!"
"Gwooooooh!!"
A massive torrent of flames erupted!
Even without sunlight, the flames were astonishingly intense.
( Ash's Torkoal does not appear to have Drought,
since no sunlight effect ever showed on screen. )
But—
"Tobias: Darkrai, Dark Pulse."
A spiraling black wave shot forward.
It slammed into Flamethrower—
And to everyone's shock—
Torkoal's flames lasted barely three seconds
before being crushed outright.
The Dark Pulse blasted Torkoal into the arena wall.
Cracks spread like a spiderweb.
Torkoal slumped to the ground, eyes spinning—
KO'd in a single hit.
Again.
One hit.
And this time, Darkrai had even overpowered a massive Flamethrower.
[Diantha: …It feels stronger now.
Was that Dream Eater's healing effect?]
[Cynthia: Hard to say.
It's possible Darkrai wasn't using full strength earlier—
But one thing is certain:
This Darkrai is above the Elite Four level.]
[Cynthia: Meanwhile, Ash…
So far, all his Pokémon are around Gym Leader tier.
They can't threaten Darkrai at all.]
[Leon: No wonder this chapter is titled "Sceptile vs. Darkrai."
The other Pokémon aren't even considered real opponents…]
[Palmer: Exactly.
Any Pokémon described as "rivaling the gods."
should at least be able to contend a little,
even if they don't win.]
[Steven:
Wait— Palmer, where've you been?
I haven't seen you for a while.]
[Palmer: Been busy.]
Of course, he would never admit
that he was currently inside an ancient ruin,
trying to locate Regice preemptively
after the butterfly effect caused by the earlier countdowns.
He had been secretly following all the episodes—
just staying silent.
In the Battle—
Ash withdrew Torkoal.
Two Pokémon down.
Darkrai was still nearly full health.
"…I have to win.
I HAVE to win!
Just one more step…
Just one more step to reach the finals!"
Ash's resolve burned fiercely.
He was in the Top Four.
One more win and he'd reach the finals.
Then he could challenge Flint.
Challenge Cynthia.
So how could he fall here?
The narration projected Ash's emotions across the world,
making countless viewers' hearts burn with him.
However—
Everyone already knew the result.
In the Manalo Conference recap,
It was stated clearly:
"Ash reached the Semi-Finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Meaning—
No matter how much he fought…
He would lose here.
Still, Ash did not know that.
He lifted his next Poké Ball.
"Go— Gible!!"
"Gaaoh!!"
A tiny, adorable shark popped out—
Gible, the pseudo-legendary line of Sinnoh.
Everyone's jaws dropped.
Not because it was rare—
But because…
A Top Four battle
against Darkrai—
And he sent out a baby Gible?!
Not evolved.
Not experienced.
Was he giving up?!
( Honestly, if Ash used Infernape, Charizard, and Snorlax,
he might've been able to force Tobias to reveal all his Pokémon.
But… here we are.
Also, TV Pidgeot literally took a Thunder and survived,
but here it was OHKO'd by Flash Cannon— absolutely wild. )
[Lance: Ash's Gible might be like his Torracat or Rowlet.
Not evolved, but unusually strong.
We might see something unexpected.]
[Cynthia:
Gible… seems like a lovely child.]
Cynthia had intended to gift Ash a Gible egg,
But upon seeing that future Ash already has one,
She shelved the idea.
(Looks like I'll need to find another gift…
Let's see what Heaven's Store has…)
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