Chapter 349: The God of Nightmares! Darkrai! (Part 2)
Currently, Darkrai was powerful enough to treat any Pokémon below the Champion-tier like a puppet on a string, controlling their every movement with a mere thought.
His Dark Void didn't just induce sleep; it established a total blockade. Within its radius, no opponent could escape—not even through Teleport.
As Volcarona's consciousness was ruthlessly torn from its body, Darkrai made a downward pressing motion with his hand. The moth's spirit was brutally slammed into the pitch-black floor.
Beneath that floor lay the "Nightmare Realm"—the dimension connected to Dark Void.
It was a world where only Darkrai could walk freely. Any other living creature whose spirit was dragged inside would be imprisoned in a loop of their worst fears, suffering endless mental torture until their psyche shattered.
On the field, Volcarona lay as still as a corpse. But from the darkness beneath it, muffled, agonized shrieks echoed through the stadium.
Darkrai's Bad Dreams ability had been triggered.
Kenji had personally experienced the "passive" version of these nightmares, and it was the most harrowing mental experience of his life. But what Volcarona was currently facing was a "Plus" version—an intricately woven nightmare actively crafted by the God of Nightmares itself.
The level of suffering was likely dozens of times more intense than what Kenji had felt.
However, while Darkrai was arrogant, it wasn't cruel without reason. It was a guardian at heart and didn't let the torture continue longer than necessary.
It raised both hands. In the next instant, tendrils of raw life energy began to rise from the shadow realm. They pulsed through the Dark Void and flowed into Darkrai, merging into its shadowy form.
Dream Eater!!!
A 100-power Psychic move that drains the target's dreams to restore the user's health and stamina.
Between the continuous drain of Dream Eater and the passive erosion of Bad Dreams, Volcarona's mental energy was devoured in seconds.
Once the moth's spirit was a frayed, hazy shadow of its former self, Darkrai flicked its wrist. Volcarona's consciousness was ejected from the abyss, rocketing back into its physical body.
Before the moth could even open its eyes to register the return to reality, Darkrai raised a hand and fired a point-blank Dark Pulse.
BOOM!!!! —
Caught in a daze, Volcarona was blasted across the arena.
Darkrai snapped its fingers again. The expanding pool of Dark Void on the ground contracted instantly, shrinking back until it became nothing more than Volcarona's natural shadow.
The Sun Pokémon lay in a heap, its psyche shattered and its body bruised. It was completely out cold.
"Volcarona is unable to battle!!! Darkrai wins the round!!!"
Silence hung over the stadium for several seconds. It wasn't until Darkrai turned its head to shoot a bored, impatient look at the referee that the official snapped out of his trance. He hurriedly raised his flag and shouted the result.
"Contestant Xun Zhurong has lost three Pokémon! We will now enter the halftime intermission!!!"
"Return, Darkrai."
Kenji raised his hand and recalled the God of Nightmares.
Darkrai let out a human-like yawn, a gesture of pure, dismissive boredom, before vanishing into the ball.
As it left, the monochrome gloom lifting from the Phoenix Nest. The artificial suns flared back to full brightness, and the natural light flooded the arena once again.
The hundred thousand fans in the stands seemed to wake up from a collective trance.
The last few minutes felt like a fever dream.
"Did you get that?! Is the camera still on?!" a Poké-vlogger in the front row screamed, shaking with excitement. "Post it now! This is going to break the internet!!!"
Meanwhile, a thin middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses was frantically banging on a high-tech console. "Dammit! This piece of junk! I knew it! A Mythical Pokémon's energy signature is too high—the sensors couldn't even register a baseline!"
His younger assistant looked on with a pale face, whispering, "Sir, that equipment costs forty million gold... please don't break it."
Aside from the researchers, the ordinary spectators were losing their minds.
"My god!! Kenji is the real monster of this tournament!!! Who would have guessed he was holding a literal God in his pocket?!"
"Darkrai... that was a real Darkrai. I've only ever seen artistic renderings in ancient history books."
"I don't think there's a recorded capture of a Darkrai in modern history—not in Huaxia, not anywhere! Does this mean Kenji is the only modern trainer to own one?!" One fan's eyes were filled with pure, unadulterated envy.
"What is Xun even supposed to do now?!" another wondered aloud. "This is the first time in history a Zhurong has entered a tournament and looked like they were being bullied."
A veteran trainer nearby shook his head. "Don't count him out yet. Remember, Xun still has his Houndoom. It was blessed by the Sacred Flame of Ho-Oh. In terms of potential and raw elemental power, it's a match for any Legendary."
"Pfft. A 'blessed' dog versus a 'Rooted' God? Please," another fan retorted. "Darkrai is the God of Nightmares. That Houndoom is about to become a very sleepy puppy."
"You're comparing Xun to Kenji," the veteran argued back. "But you should be comparing Kenji to the actual Champion, Zhurong Yun."
"..."
The conversation shifted. The fans weren't just talking about the current match anymore. They were looking at the high platform, at the man in the center throne.
Could Kenji—a boy not even twenty years old—actually challenge the sitting Champion?
The world had seen many geniuses. There were trainers on that platform who also owned Legendaries—like Yuna Su and her Zapdos. But even they couldn't touch Zhurong Yun's Blaziken.
The power of the Zhurong family was terrifying.
No one believed Kenji could take the throne today. But for the first time in a century, the public was starting to wonder if the throne was actually safe.
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