Chapter 350: The God of Nightmares!! Darkrai!! (Part 3)
...
In the other locker room, Xun Zhurong sat in total silence after recalling his Volcarona. The usual arrogance that defined his face had been replaced by a grim mask of frustration and desperate resolve.
He held the Poké Ball of his final partner between both hands, as if drawing strength from it.
"Houndoom... we can still do this. We have to."
The ball pulsed slightly in his palms, a low vibration echoing through the metal—a warrior's response to its master.
...
Meanwhile, the debut of Darkrai had officially detonated like a thermal bomb across the nation. Every major social media platform was top-heavy with one name. The "God of Nightmares" had effectively hijacked the entire Huaxia League Conference's news cycle, pushing the hype to a level that bordered on religious fervor.
This wasn't just a domestic celebration anymore. The news had crossed borders, catching the attention of every major Pokémon League on the planet.
In this world, a Mythical Pokémon was viewed with the same tactical weight as a nuclear deterrent. For the Huaxia League to suddenly reveal a teenager with a high-tier Darkrai was a geopolitical shift that no one could ignore.
And Kenji? His reputation was no longer that of a "rising star." He was now a global anomaly—the young man who had tamed a legend.
...
Back at the Phoenix Nest, the thirty-minute intermission passed in the blink of an eye.
Kenji and Xun Zhurong returned to the center stage. The atmosphere was unrecognizable from the start of the day. Initially, the crowd had been overwhelmingly biased toward Xun, viewing him as the predestined heir to the throne.
But with the arrival of Darkrai, the narrative had flipped. Now, the majority of the 100,000 spectators believed they were witnessing the end of the Zhurong family's era. They were watching the coronation of a new god.
Xun could feel the shift. He took a deep, steadying breath, doing his best to tune out the crowd and the cameras. He needed to be cold. He needed to be perfect.
"Battle... Begin!!!"
"Rise!! Darkrai!!!"
"Stand with me!! Houndoom!!!"
Two beams of red light shot into the arena.
This time, Darkrai didn't hide in the shadows immediately. It hovered in the air, its single blue eye fixed on the demon dog appearing across from it.
Xun didn't hesitate for a second. This was his Last Stand. If he won this exchange, he might still have a path to victory against Kenji's remaining reserve. If he lost, the sweep would be absolute.
"Become the Reaper of the Abyss! Houndoom!! Mega Evolve!!!"
The transformation was instantaneous. The violet Abyssal fires erupted around Mega Houndoom once more, turning the arena floor into a scorched wasteland.
"Houndoom!! Fire Blast!!!"
"HEI-JIA!!! —"
Mega Houndoom struck first. A massive "Fire" (大) kanji made of roiling purple flames roared through the air, hurtling toward Darkrai.
"Dark Pulse!!!"
Kenji countered with raw power. Darkrai raised its claws, unleashing a spiraling beam of concentrated, malevolent darkness that met the flames head-on.
KRA-KOOM!!!! —
The explosion rocked the stadium. Purple fire and pitch-black energy tore into each other, creating a chaotic vortex in the center of the field.
Using the wall of smoke and fire as a visual shield, Darkrai flickered. Its body dissolved into a puddle of ink, diving into the shadow world created by its Dark Void.
Even though Darkrai was Level 81, its Mythical status allowed its Dark Pulse to trade evenly with the Level 99 peak-Champion Mega Houndoom's ultimate attack.
"Dark Void!!!"
The shadows on the ground began to expand with terrifying speed, threatening to swallow the entire arena floor.
Mega Houndoom dropped into a low crouch, its head swiveling as it scanned the gloom. Its eyes were sharp, searching for the slightest ripple in the darkness.
"Flame Charge!!! Stay mobile!!"
Xun knew he couldn't let Houndoom become a stationary target. The hellhound accelerated, its body wreathed in violet fire as it sprinted across the arena, a blur of flame trying to stay ahead of the encroaching shadows.
"Odor Sleuth!!"
"HEI-JIA!!!! —"
Odor Sleuth. In competitive play, it allowed moves to hit Ghost-types. But in a high-level battle against a master of shadows, its effect was far more literal.
Mega Houndoom's sense of smell, already legendary, was supercharged by the move. It began to process the arena through data far more reliable than sight. It could "smell" the displacement of psychic energy and the scent of the void.
Suddenly, Mega Houndoom skidded to a halt and whipped its head to the left. It opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of purple Flamethrower at an empty patch of darkness.
BOOM!!!!! —
An explosion of shadow and fire erupted. Darkrai had just been emerging to launch a Dark Pulse, but Mega Houndoom's hyper-senses had caught it in the act.
Missing its surprise attack, Darkrai immediately sank back into the shadow realm.
While Odor Sleuth couldn't pinpoint Darkrai's location inside the dimension, it meant that the second Darkrai showed even a hair of its body in the real world, Mega Houndoom would be on it.
However, the Dark Void was still draining the air. If the match turned into a war of attrition, the God of Nightmares would eventually win by default.
This was a style of victory Darkrai found insulting. It wanted a decisive end.
SWISH!!! —
Darkrai lunged out of the darkness behind Mega Houndoom again, firing a Dark Pulse. But the hound was too fast; it vaulted over the beam with a predatory leap.
"Houndoom!! Carpet the entire field with Will-O-Wisp!!!"
"HEI-JIA!!!!! —"
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