Pokemon: Spiritual Master

January 15th, late afternoon. The sun was setting in the west, and a full moon gradually rose over the eastern sea.

Sinnoh, Canalave City.

Drake's ship had brought Johan and Flint to the closest Sinnoh port from Hoenn.

As for Bertha, she had other matters to attend to and did not stay. Instead, she left with Drake on the ship.

"So, Johan, that means you're officially my direct superior now?"

Flint seemed surprisingly calm about this revelation. In fact, there was even a hint of delight on his face.

Wouldn't this make challenging Johan even easier in the future?

"No."

Johan shook his head. "Technically speaking, you and Aaron report to Volkner."

"VOLKNER?!"

Flint's voice jumped eight octaves, and his eyes widened. "What did that guy do to deserve this?!"

Johan casually rubbed his ear.

"Because tonight, you're sleeping at his place."

"...Oh."

Canalave City, Volkner's Mansion.

"Johan, welcome~"

Volkner, who had already been informed of Johan's arrival, greeted him with a smile.

However, he clearly had not yet heard about his upcoming role as Deputy Leader of the Special Task Force.

"Hey, good evening, Volkner," Flint said casually, following behind Johan with his usual laid-back attitude.

"Who the hell are you?" Volkner glanced at him indifferently.

Flint was unfazed. He simply patted Volkner on the shoulder and strode inside as if he owned the place.

How could someone be this shameless?

And yet, Volkner knew—

There was nothing he could do about Flint.

Beat him up?

That would only play right into Flint's hands.

Besides, Volkner wasn't even completely sure he could win in a physical fight.

He sighed and led them both to the third-floor guest rooms.

Though called "guest rooms," they were fully equipped, spacious, and even more comfortable than most luxury hotels.

Since it was late, the three of them didn't do much aside from some light conversation before heading to their rooms for the night.

Outside, the night deepened.

A soft moonbeam cast its glow over the balcony.

Johan yawned and closed his laptop.

Now that he had accepted the Special Task Force position, it was time to start preparing properly.

He had been granted special access to the League's internal network, where he could review classified information unavailable to ordinary citizens.

"That's a beautiful full moon."

Gazing at the moon hanging high in the sky, Johan absentmindedly stroked Ninetales before heading to bed with his Pokémon.

"Speaking of which... Darkrai is supposed to be most active during the new moon, right?"

Near Canalave City, there were two islands—Fullmoon Island and Newmoon Island—which were home to Cresselia and Darkrai, respectively.

In the anime, it was mentioned that every year, Cresselia and Darkrai would visit Canalave City.

Darkrai would bring nightmares, while Cresselia would dispel them, granting people peaceful dreams.

"Logically speaking, there are twelve full moons a year. The chances of them showing up tonight are pretty low..."

Yawning again, Johan stretched.

It had been a long day—he had traveled quite a bit and wrapped up several important matters.

After freshening up, he climbed into bed, hugging Ninetales.

Tinkaton was already sprawled out across the mattress, snoring loudly.

Charcadet sat cross-legged with the Pokémon Egg in its arms, radiating a warm and comforting heat.

Dragonite had settled at the foot of the bed, smacking its lips in its sleep before finally settling down.

"Ka-kaah~"

Lights out.

"Gengar, the Ancient Greek God of Turning Off Lights" clicked the switch, plunging the room into darkness.

"Darkrai isn't even worthy to carry my flashlight," Johan muttered, half-asleep.

"Rotom, set an alarm for 10:00 AM."

"Got it, Roto!"

The Rotom Pokédex settled onto the nightstand.

Listening to Kubfu's steady breathing as it shadowboxed in its sleep, Johan's consciousness began to fade.

Midnight.

The full moon shone high in the sky, casting its gentle glow over the city.

Dark clouds, as soft as black velvet, slowly drifted in, obscuring the moon's light.

As the night deepened, Canalave City seemed to fall into an eerie stillness.

Then—

WHOOSH!

Johan suddenly sat up in bed.

At that exact moment—

From the ceiling, Gengar; from the bed, Ninetales and Tinkaton; from the foot of the bed, Dragonite; and from its meditative pose, Charcadet—

All of them opened their eyes at the same time.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar drifted down from the ceiling, looking around suspiciously.

Something was trying to drag us into a nightmare?

But this...

This technique is so crude!

Not even worth comparing to Johan's Aura-based dream training—heck, even Gengar's own nightmare tricks were way better than this!

What kind of weak horror show was this? Just darkness and a few occasional screams? Lame.

"Oowoo?"

Ninetales yawned cutely.

"Should I tell a bedtime story so we can go back to sleep?"

But Gengar was already floating toward the balcony, full of curiosity.

Johan rubbed his temples.

Gengar wasn't wrong—the entity trying to drag them into a nightmare was shockingly bad at it.

Of course, it was also possible that...

Whoever was behind this was trying to pull in too many people at once, causing the technique to weaken.

To others, this might be a terrifying nightmare, but to Johan and his Pokémon...

It was nothing more than an annoying alarm clock going off in the middle of the night.

And really—

Who wouldn't be annoyed if their alarm woke them up at midnight?

"Ka-kaah!!"

"Hey, look! There are TWO moons in the sky!"

Gengar's voice echoed from the balcony.

The clouds had parted, revealing the original full moon—

And another figure, glowing in the moonlight like a rising crescent.

A majestic, ethereal form floated gracefully in the night sky.

Cresselia!

"Oowoo~"

"So beautiful~"

Ninetales and the others stepped onto the balcony, gazing at Cresselia in admiration.

Click!

The Rotom Pokédex immediately snapped a photo.

"Cresselia, the Legendary New Moon Pokémon! First-ever recorded image, Roto!" Rotom exclaimed excitedly.

In the Pokémon world, Cresselia's photos were incredibly rare.

After all, whenever it appeared, people were either asleep or already dreaming.

Johan followed Cresselia's line of sight—

And sure enough—

In the shadowy depths of a nearby forest, a black mist-like figure slowly began to rise.

A swirling mass of black and white mist, its hair-like wisps covering most of its face, long claws extending outward, while the shadows on its shoulders flickered ominously—

Darkrai!

"This night just keeps getting more interesting..."

Johan murmured.

Something feels off.

Just a few days ago, he encountered Heatran.

And now, on the same night, he was seeing Cresselia and Darkrai at once?!

Were Legendary Pokémon really this common now?!

A one-in-twelve chance, yet here it was...

...Wait.

Johan narrowed his eyes.

Was this Flint's fault?

Come to think of it, Flint did seem like a walking disaster magnet...

"Ka-kaah~!! (Д)σ"

"Hey, that Darkrai actually looks kinda cool!"

Gengar pointed at Darkrai, calling out excitedly.

Click!

"Darkrai, the Legendary Phantom Pokémon! Another rare find, Roto!"

As if noticing the noise, Darkrai turned toward them.

Its eyes narrowed.

Why... why aren't they affected by my nightmare energy?

Darkrai narrowed its eyes.

These people and their Pokémon... They weren't wearing Lunar Wings, so why weren't they affected by its nightmare energy?

A faint, nearly invisible ripple spread outward from Darkrai's body, washing over Johan and his team.

The next moment—

Darkrai froze.

Johan yawned, wiping away a tear at the corner of his eye.

Gengar scratched its backside, looking unimpressed.

Ninetales' gaze never left Cresselia, as if completely uninterested in Darkrai.

Dragonite chuckled, patting its belly in amusement.

Tinkaton was admiring its hammer in the moonlight, thinking it looked even shinier than usual.

Charcadet, on the other hand, was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to stop a fight if one broke out.

Did... Did it just fail?!

Darkrai was genuinely taken aback.

Was there something wrong with its abilities?

Just then—

From the next room over, a loud, bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence.

"AAAHHHHH!!! JOHAN!! CYNTHIA!! YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU?! TONIGHT, I'LL FINALLY KICK YOUR ASSES! COME AT ME!!"

SLAM!

A vein twitched on Johan's forehead, but his expression remained calm and smiling.

Nope. No problem at all.

Darkrai, however, was utterly perplexed.

This... This had never happened before.

"Oowoo~~"

From above, Cresselia let out a soft, melodic cry.

Tiny, shimmering particles of light began to fall from the sky, scattering across Canalave City and pushing back the lingering darkness.

Seeing this, Darkrai turned its focus back to Cresselia.

There was no conversation—no exchange of words.

And yet—

In the blink of an eye—

BOOM!

The two collided midair, then quickly separated again.

A dark sphere formed in Darkrai's claws, absorbing all surrounding light, creating a void of pure darkness—

Dark Void!

Cresselia sang once more, radiant pink energy flowing around it. From the crescent moon behind its body, power gathered and condensed into a shimmering, rosy energy sphere—

Lunar Force!

BOOM!

The two powerful attacks clashed, illuminating the night sky.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

"Ka-kaah! Ka-kaah?"

Gengar rubbed its hands together, watching with excitement.

"Why does that Dark Sphere look different from my Shadow Ball?"

"Oowoo~"

Ninetales gazed at Cresselia, mesmerized by the moonlight.

Soft, pink light began to gather around its body.

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Powerstones?

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