"A historian… with a champion-level Pokémon?"
Sird's crimson eyes narrowed coldly.
Even with Charon's explanation, she remained skeptical.
It simply didn't add up.
In her experience, a person only reached academic excellence after years of focus and immersion.
It left little time for real battle practice.
Of course, there were exceptions—Professor Oak, for instance.
Renowned across all regions for his encyclopedic knowledge, but also a former trainer of great repute.
There were even rumors he had once fought in the Indigo Plateau Conference—and nearly won.
But Sam?
Barely in his twenties.
An accomplished historian, an academic at Celestic Lab…
And now, this same "quiet scholar" had just revealed a champion-level Lucario.
That wasn't just unlikely. It was alarming.
"That… I don't know…" Charon admitted, nervously adjusting his glasses.
"He was always known as a researcher. I never looked into his battle history."
Sird's expression darkened.
They had spent days engineering Darkrai's madness.
Careful setups. Sonic pulse emitters. Genetic disrupters.
All to push it into a state of violent insanity—ready for capture.
And now?
All that effort was at risk because some young historian just happened to stroll onto the island?
Her voice dropped to a frosty murmur.
"All this time wasted… for nothing?"
Charon, reading her mood, quickly cut in.
"Sird, we did bring manpower, yes… But there's a problem."
"We don't know if Sam only has Lucario."
"If he has another high-level Pokémon, we'd be outmatched. We can't afford to risk direct confrontation."
Team Rocket and Team Galactic had come prepared, yes—but not for a face-off with a champion-level Trainer backed by regional authorities.
Especially not one with connections.
"Sam isn't just some scholar," Charon said gravely.
"He's engaged to Cynthia."
That made Sird flinch.
"The Sinnoh Champion?"
Charon nodded grimly.
"And his foster mother is Professor Carolina from Celestic Lab."
"He has the Champion's favor and the Alliance's academic backing."
"This isn't Kanto. Sinnoh's League enforcement is… stronger."
Sird's fingers twitched around the Dusk Ball in her hand.
So close to capturing Darkrai.
But if Sam alerted the authorities, or if Cynthia got involved—
Even Giovanni would be displeased.
After a tense silence, Sird exhaled through clenched teeth.
Then, with a sharp wave of her hand:
"Withdraw."
Charon didn't hesitate. He motioned to the combined operatives.
They melted back into the darkness like oil dissolving in water.
Before she followed, Sird gave one last look toward Sam's distant silhouette, standing firm against the raging shadow aura of Darkrai.
"Sam…" she whispered.
"You've made my list."
Her eyes burned crimson with restrained fury.
"Next time, there won't be warnings."
Sird and Charon's retreat went unnoticed.
Sam's gaze remained locked on one thing—the creature writhing in the center of the storm.
Darkrai.
Wreathed in sinister haze, the Shadow Pokémon let out a piercing, ethereal shriek.
"Hissssss!!!"
The air itself turned heavy.
Cold winds swept across the mountaintop, spinning fog into ghostly tendrils.
The sky seemed darker.
The wind groaned. Shadows danced unnaturally.
"It's like a horror movie," Sam muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"...Dark-type move... Dark Pulse."
A cyclone of spectral wind surged from Darkrai's body, laced with haunting energy.
Sam raised a hand without hesitation.
"Luca, Aura Sphere, cut it down!"
"Luka!!"
Lucario's shout was defiant, drowning out the wail of the storm.
Aura energy surged from his hands—pure, gleaming white.
He thrust it forward, and the Aura Sphere screamed through the air.
—BOOM!
It collided with the Dark Pulse.
The explosion rocked the mountain, sending shards of stone flying and flattening the grass.
An eerie silence followed… then the wind howled back.
Sam didn't wait.
"Power-Up Punch!"
"Luka—!"
Lucario launched forward like a bullet, fists flaring with fighting energy.
The wind parted around his advance.
Darkrai, despite its berserk state, reacted.
Shadowy mist rippled out from its body in waves—pulse after pulse of malicious fog.
Each wave struck Lucario mid-charge.
Boom—boom—boom!
He grunted but didn't stop.
He roared, surged through the haze, and slammed both fists into Darkrai's chest.
WHAM!
Darkrai was launched backward, skimming above the ground like a rock over water.
But the fight didn't end there.
A final blast of haze hit Lucario full-force.
"Luka—!"
Sam could only watch as Lucario was blasted from midair and smashed into the rocky earth with a devastating crash.
A crater formed beneath him.
Dust rose.
For a moment, all was still.
Then—movement.
Lucario stood.
His entire body was coated in dust and scratches.
His breath came in low, deliberate bursts.
But his eyes—they shone like steel.
"LUKAAAAA!!!"
His roar shattered the silence.
The air quaked with the intensity of his spirit.
And then—his aura surged.
Bright blue light exploded from his frame, coiling upward like a raging flame.
Sam's eyes widened.
"This isn't just battle spirit…"
"He's evolving the Aura into something even purer—he's sharpening his edge."
Lucario now stood like a drawn sword.
A peerless weapon forged in silence.
Refined in war.
Across Mine Island, the sound of Lucario's roar echoed.
People who'd been tossing in their beds, trapped in nightmares, sat bolt upright.
Some gasped.
Others wept.
All of them turned instinctively toward the mountain's peak.
"What was that…?"
"Was that… a Pokémon?"
Even those who had given up on sleep stared through their windows.
Because in the distance, atop the highest point of Mine Island…
The sky itself was glowing.