Ever since the Lily of the Valley Conference began, Luther had felt that he simply wasn't lucky with the draws.
While others seemed to sail through the preliminary rounds with Tailwind, he encountered several minor setbacks.
In the main tournament, he was immediately pitted against Misaki, which nearly exhausted the stamina of his entire main team. Had external factors not forced the Pokémon League to make adjustments, Luther would have had no choice but to rotate his team cautiously just to make it from the top 32 into the top 16.
But finally, Luther got a lucky draw.
Amid thunderous applause from the crowd, he raised his hand and waved to thank them for their support. As the commentator put it, this match was rather unremarkable for Luther, but for the audience, it was shocking enough.
After evolving, Azumarill secured Luther a place in the top 16 single-handedly. Darkrai, who had spent seven days training hard under a plan designed by Luther, was stunned.
While the entire stadium cheered for Azumarill, the breakout popular Pokémon of this tournament, Darkrai could only wish that it would lose quickly and make room for it.
Unfortunately for Darkrai, that moment never came. Azumarill didn't leave him a single opponent.
After all, she was still unfamiliar with her Ability after evolution and needed real battles to adapt fully, so she treasured opportunities like this.
Since complaining about Azumarill was useless, Darkrai mocked Luther's opponent instead, calling them complete trash. Compared to Misaki, they were on a completely different level, so weak that they weren't even qualified to be a proper benchmark.
In truth, both Luther and Azumarill felt the same: the opponent was underwhelming. Perhaps this was because Luther had just gone through an intense battle with Misaki, making this carefully prepared match feel rather dull in comparison.
The combination of Skarmory, Delibird, and Electrode posed no real threat to Azumarill.
Perhaps it was because the forums were filled with jokes about Luther's inability to fly or because Crobat had previously turned the tables against Azumarill, creating the illusion among other trainers that she was incapable of handling Flying-type Pokémon.
This time, Luther witnessed something bizarre: his opponent trying to exploit their aerial advantage by having their Pokémon throw moves recklessly, like bombers.
However, after Skarmory had exhausted itself by repeatedly using moves and had to swoop down to improve its accuracy, Azumarill immediately hit it with a Blizzard.
If you like flashy tricks, then I specialize in countering them.
The next second, Skarmory was lying on the ground, completely unable to move.
Having learned its lesson, Delibird chose to keep its distance and fight cautiously. But Azumarill took Delibird's attacks head-on, grabbed it and slammed it onto the ground before using Brick Break.
As for the last Pokémon, Electrode didn't dare get close at all. It could only roll around the field, continuously using Thunderbolt to wear Azumarill down.
Unfortunately for Electrode, Azumarill could change the battlefield.
With Blizzard, it turned the entire field into an ice rink. The poor Electrode kept rolling, unable to stop, sliding uncontrollably across the ice and drifting helplessly around before being taken out by a single Focus Punch.
The battle against Misaki allowed all of Luther's Pokémon to learn a lot. This was also why none of them seemed particularly excited after the match.
Firstly, they gained stronger confidence. Battling someone like Misaki inspires you with her confidence and makes you want to be like her, perhaps that's where her charm lies.
Secondly, they came to understand their own shortcomings.
For example, since joining Luther's team, Darkrai had hardly experienced any truly head-to-head, evenly matched battles. Most of the time, it simply acted as a sparring partner for the other Pokémon while casually improving its speed.
It wasn't that Luther didn't arrange training for Darkrai; it was that even he didn't know how to train it properly.
Simply 'smurfing' (bullying weaker opponents) and battling those far below your own level made it impossible to identify your weaknesses. In fact, it could leave you unsure of how to improve at all.
This was probably why games across generations emphasized the concept of a rival; having someone of a similar strength wasn't just a benchmark but also a constant incentive to grow stronger.
The appearance of Misaki finally helped Darkrai find its own training path.
It began working on releasing the Dark Void more quickly and stealthily and improving its ability to create distance after being forced into close combat or to execute moves at point-blank range.
Houndoom became Darkrai's best sparring partner, a role it had forcibly taken from Chansey and Jumpluff.
It didn't take Luther long to realize why Houndoom was so enthusiastic: whenever Darkrai missed with Dark Void, Houndoom could seize the chance to mock it.
Sometimes it would lie flat on the ground, sticking its rear up and wagging its tail with a sly grin. At other times, it would let out a cheeky laugh and wear an exaggerated look of "What a pity...".
Houndoom and Darkrai had never stopped taking jabs at each other. Even though Darkrai had long since become part of the team, the two still found each other just as irritating as when they first met.
Luther didn't stop Houndoom's behavior. In his eyes, this was a form of motivation.
"If you don't want Houndoom laughing at you, master Dark Void quickly. Make it have nightmares... make it suffer. Otherwise..."
Darkrai understood Luther's words but was still annoyed.
Pushed to the edge by Houndoom's antics, Darkrai finally fought back. It hurled a Dark Pulse at Houndoom's feet, catching the sarcastic troublemaker completely by surprise.
The shock didn't last long, though. Soon, the two were locked in a skirmish.
No moves, just pure brute strength.
With dark lines across their faces, Jumpluff and Chansey rushed in to break them up. Jumpluff was immediately kicked away by both Darkrai and Houndoom, while Chansey managed to wedge itself between them using its round body to separate the two.
Just as they finally got Darkrai and Houndoom to stop, the battered Jumpluff charged back in and gave each of them a solid headbutt.
Well, no need to say more. The fight resumed.
When Luther returned to the Contestant Village that day after checking on Team Rocket's stockpile, he found all the Pokémon staying there panting heavily and covered in scratches, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
Even Mai's Slowpoke had been dragged into the chaos.
It had simply been sitting by the artificial lake, spacing out. When the fighting escalated, it was caught up in the middle of it. Even after everything had ended, it still hadn't figured out why it had been caught in the crossfire and beaten on both sides.
After that incident, however, both Darkrai and Houndoom trained even harder.
Darkrai was determined to land consecutive Dark Voids on Houndoom and give it a proper nightmare experience.
Houndoom, on the other hand, was equally determined not to be hit once, just to frustrate Darkrai.
How should one put it...
It's probably a good thing.
(End of Chapter)
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