The Pitch-Black Pokémon completely hadn't expected that an ability so similar to its own actually originated from a man-made machine. Even it couldn't help but be impressed by human creativity and technology.
After all... the Team Rocket trio could be said to have maxed out the bizarre tech tree. If they used it in the right places, they probably would have struck it rich long ago. They might have even ended up taking over Team Rocket. But in the end, all they ever thought about was that damn yellow mouse and some low-ranking officer position in Team Rocket.
But having said that, the Pitch-Black Pokémon would under no circumstances allow this machine to continue existing. It immediately unleashed dark purple undulating energy to blast it to pieces!
"Crash!"
As a wisp of green smoke slowly rose, the machine had stopped operating. However, due to inertia, the people were still immersed in their nightmares. At the very least, they wouldn't be able to break free for a while.
Darkrai revealed a cold, stern smile: it was actually quite grateful to these unknown strangers. This way, it saved itself the effort and could directly start dining.
Just as it was about to beautifully savor the nightmare energy of the entire population of Canalave City, it suddenly sensed an energy completely opposite to its own slowly approaching.
Not only did Darkrai not feel disgusted, but the corners of its mouth even curved up slightly: Finally here, huh. You really made me wait. I thought that guy would act like a coward and not dare to fight this year.
Although this grand battle was happening a bit earlier this year, it wasn't a bad thing for Darkrai...
Under the moonlight, a plump-figured Pokémon gracefully appeared. The newcomer was none other than the Lunar Pokémon, who was as incompatible with the Pitch-Black Pokémon as fire and water—Cresselia!
When Cresselia floats and flies in the air, sparkling particles scatter from her veil-like wings. These particles leave a bright, clean trail of light, as elegant and romantic as a fairy drawing the Milky Way in the sky.
However... the condition of the Cresselia that appeared this time couldn't be described as very good. This could be glimpsed from the aurora extending from her tail.
—The stronger Cresselia's power, the longer the aurora and the more vivid the colors. But the current Lunar Pokémon's aurora was short and dim. This clearly wasn't Cresselia's full strength.
Because the Lunar Pokémon is the "Lunar Pokémon," her strength is closely linked to the phases of the moon. Cresselia is arguably strongest during a crescent moon, which perfectly matches her signature move "Lunar Dance." However, counterintuitively, a full moon is not Cresselia's strongest state.
So, the reason why today's moon, although full, appeared so bleak and desolate seemed to be known now. Because this full moon... was the home turf of the Pitch-Black Pokémon, Darkrai!
But Cresselia was neither obsequious nor arrogant. Her face was very calm, and she was also ready for battle.
Even knowing this wasn't her full strength, Cresselia still came without hesitation after sensing Darkrai making a move. It was like some kind of destiny.
"Darkrai, I will definitely protect the people. I will absolutely not let people be harmed by your nightmares."
"If you can do it, then come and try, hahahaha!"
There was no room for communication between them—at least for now.
So, whether it was Darkrai or Cresselia, they immediately launched attacks at each other without reservation. In an instant, the light trails of moves and the sounds of explosions flew recklessly under the moonlight. What a spectacular scene!
Obviously, under the bombardment of firepower, Cresselia gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Seizing the gap in Cresselia's attacks, the phantom-like Darkrai cleverly escaped into the darkness and unexpectedly ambushed Cresselia!
When that cluster of Dark Pulse, condensing its strongest power, was released from its hands and hit Cresselia, this clash had already been declared over.
Cresselia retreated in defeat, and finally had no choice but to leave dejectedly. Although she lost tonight, she hadn't given up; she would make a comeback tomorrow night!
Regardless, the Pitch-Black Pokémon brings nightmares, and the Lunar Pokémon protects sweet dreams. These are two mutually exclusive existences, and both are where their respective missions lie.
Actually, the results of the clashes between the Pitch-Black Pokémon and the Lunar Pokémon are different every year, and there is no definitive conclusion.
Although Darkrai's Dark-type counters Cresselia's Psychic-type, if the moon phase is a crescent moon, Cresselia's hard strength can often surpass Darkrai's...
Besides this, there are many other factors affecting victory or defeat, so detailing the winning or losing moves of every battle is quite tedious and complex.
Darkrai, having driven away Cresselia, looked proud: it had to defeat Cresselia to enjoy its meal even more!
The Pitch-Black Pokémon, beginning to enjoy the fruits of victory, suddenly raised both hands, holding its breath and concentrating to activate its power.
—Ability: Bad Dreams!
In the games, it can cause damage to sleeping enemies. In reality, it serves as Darkrai's means of feeding. However, it still inevitably causes some mental damage to people.
From this moment on, the entirety of Canalave City would be completely shrouded in nightmares. Lorze and his wives in the small inn were no exception. In their sound sleep, they unknowingly stepped into the fog of nightmares.
For the wives, their nightmares were nothing more than Lorze suddenly not loving them anymore and abandoning them. Changing his usual enthusiasm, he would coldly say that their relationship ended here, and so on. Although cliché, it dealt a critical strike of ten thousand points to the girls' hearts.
Because Rapidash's body size was simply too large, Lorze had no choice but to make a bed on the floor for them. The daughter nestled against her mother, sleeping in a kneeling posture—naturally, it wasn't as comfortable as lying on their sides, but with limited conditions, they could only be wronged for a day or two.
When the mother and daughter rested, they leaned very close to each other, and their hearts were very close too. Rapidash and Ponyta's hearts were connected, to the point that they both had the exact same nightmare.
Normally, after waking up, Lorze would always stroll over to the stable dormitory to care about the mother and daughter's life and rest. Sometimes he would even simply ride the mother out, taking them to the forest to relax, play, or work.
But today was different.
With no cause or consequence, he furrowed his brows tightly, acting extremely impatient towards the mother and daughter. He no longer admired and adored the horses' figures, but became incredibly disgusted.
"How could I fuck two mares? I can't understand it. I must have been possessed by a ghost at the time, right? I am a human. No matter what, using mares to vent my lust is going too far. They are just ugly quadrupeds, not nearly as beautiful as women."
These words made the mother and daughter feel very embarrassed, and also very confused: Why did Lorze's temperament suddenly change so drastically?
The disgusted expression on his face made him seem like a stranger to the mother and daughter, and his irritability puzzled them. Ponyta was very scared, pressing tightly against her mother's side.
In fact, their first reaction wasn't anger or sadness, but rather some worry about whether something had happened to Lorze.
"Mom, Daddy Lorze, he..."
Actually, Rapidash was even more worried and scared than her daughter, but she kept numbing herself with the vows Lorze had made. Moreover, as a mother, she absolutely couldn't show weakness before her daughter, so Rapidash very guiltily comforted Ponyta.
"He wouldn't, baby. Daddy said he would always love us. I think it's just, just..."
But before Rapidash could come up with a convincing reason, Lorze's next words struck them like a bolt from the blue.
"What are you two still lingering here for? Hurry up and get out. You really make me sick to death!"
"H-Honey, but aren't I your wife? You clearly said you wouldn't abandon us. Did we do something to make you unhappy..."
Her "neigh" whinny was slightly distorted due to emotional agitation, but Lorze became even more impatient.
"Stop talking about such disgusting things! Marrying two mares as wives... why on earth did I do that? Anyway, leave here right now, immediately! Go wherever you want, I don't care!"
...
On the other side with Jirachi, in her dream, Lorze was still the Lorze who loved her deeply. Lorze hadn't changed; her nightmare was because of herself.
For some unknown reason, the originally lively Jirachi became increasingly sleepy, and her physical vitality grew weaker and weaker. At that time, Jirachi also noticed her own abnormality, and an ominous premonition faintly arose in her heart.
Could it be?
"Jirachi, you've been looking drowsy and sleepy lately, haven't you? Did little Mew drag you to stay up late again? You need to pay attention to resting."
"Mhm, Jirachi knows. Lorze is the best! Hehe."
While squeezing out a forced smile, she pouted her small mouth—she would always do this whenever she wanted a kiss from Lorze.
Lorze smiled, hugging the petite loli and kissing her passionately and lingeringly, just as always.
The joy and happiness of kissing diluted Jirachi's worries: It's fine, I just haven't slept well lately from staying up late. I just need to rest a bit. She comforted herself with these words.
So much so that when she fell back into a deep sleep and turned into the appearance of a meteorite, the process was so rapid that she couldn't even say a proper goodbye to her husband, big sisters, and little sisters.
...
Florges's nightmare was Lorze starting to despise the uselessness and inconvenience of the flower garden, and consequently despising the six flower-loving women by association; in Meowstic's nightmare, Lorze changed his usual fondness for cats, abusing and domestic-violencing the little cat girl while calling her "Hakimi" (a meme term for cats); and in Hatterene's nightmare, Lorze began to dislike her boring, onahole-like body, and no longer loved the pretty witch...
Except for the dream of the Rapidash mother and daughter, the dreams of all the other wives were independent, with no connection between them.
Moreover, this is precisely what makes Darkrai's nightmares so special. It can always dig out the soft spots in people's hearts. Even if this soft spot isn't fatal, under the continuous amplification of the nightmare, it will achieve the effect of crushing one's psychological defenses.
So, Darkrai's nightmares are unsolvable... right?
In the dream, Rapidash and Ponyta looked at each other. They had already made a decision in tacit understanding.
Then, the deeply loving mother and daughter seemed to have made some kind of resolution. They took a step forward in unison. The clopping sounds of the large hooves and small hooves overlapped perfectly. That aggressive momentum gave "Lorze" a start!
"What are you two livestock trying to do!?"
"Neigh!"
The mother and daughter snorted and flicked their tails. However much they fawned and acted spoiled in front of Lorze normally, that's how fierce they were at this moment!
"You are not Lorze. Who are you exactly!"
"What? If I'm not Lorze, then who else could I be?"
"Stop joking around. Even if your skin and your tone are exactly like Lorze's, you are absolutely not him. To actually insult our love in this way... What do you think the relationship between us and that damn husband of ours is!"
You have to know, during the hardest time they lived through, Lorze accidentally barged into their lives.
He quickly resolved the pain from the injuries that had troubled Rapidash for days, protected her reckless daughter, and finally, with a solemn face, told the mother he would give them a home.
Rapidash had to admit that at first, she didn't have that deep of a love for Lorze. Agreeing to become his wife was more out of being moved by his help and the satisfaction of sexual intercourse. Compared to husband and wife, they were more like fuck buddies.
After all, women are such existences. When they are fragile, they are always easily captivated by a man who lends a helping hand, uncontrollably wanting to rely on him. And after sexual intercourse, this feeling becomes increasingly intense—one must know, this reliance is often not love.
Lorze was very good in bed. Even though he was human, he was willing to have sex with mares. Whether it was Rapidash or Ponyta, both were fucked by him until they felt incredibly amazing and happy. Physically, they completely surrendered to his big cock.
Rapidash just agreed to Lorze with an attitude of giving it a try, bringing her daughter to form a new family with him, or rather, to join his existing family.
But Lorze's subsequent performance, everything he did for the mother and daughter, the little details of their daily life, and the passion that hadn't died out to this day—everyone could plainly see it.
He wasn't someone whose enthusiasm lasted only three minutes. He genuinely liked the mother and daughter, so he was willing to spend time and energy taking meticulous care of them, continuously smoothing out the grudges in their hearts.
Looking back, both the daughter and the mother surprisingly discovered that they could no longer leave Lorze; they had indeed fallen deeply in love with him.
Sex before love or marriage before love? Perhaps so, but the result is always the same.
During that difficult time, Lorze warmed them like the sun. So the mother and daughter wholeheartedly became Lorze's women, having already made the resolution to accompany Lorze to the ends of the earth.
Of course, saying Lorze had no flaws is also unrealistic. No one is perfect, and their husband is the same.
He's both lecherous and a playboy. He always casually has sexual relations with other female Pokémon, and then just carelessly brings them back home.
But even a man like this can genuinely love every single wife, and make every single wife love him back, thereby uniting the hearts of a large family together, although this is equally inseparable from everyone's efforts.
Rapidash and Ponyta's bodies and minds already belonged to Lorze. Conversely, the same was true for him.
The so-called love is not a silk thread that can be easily snapped, but a solid bridge that connects each other's hearts with unbelievable power. No matter how the flood ravages, it stands tall and unyielding!
Their Lorze is the humorous man who, even when mating with the mother and daughter, makes them sluttily call him "Daddy❤, Daddy❤~". He is absolutely not the guy standing in front of them!
They are husband and wife, father and daughter. They are partners in soul and body, and members belonging to this family. No matter who is missing, this family wouldn't be complete.
Therefore, Rapidash and Ponyta were incomparably furious, never having been as angry as they were today: those who vainly attempt to provoke their relationship are absolutely unforgivable!
The mother and daughter both unleashed powerful attacks on "Lorze." Honestly, striking out at the skin of someone they loved deeply didn't feel good, but they preferred the real Lorze, not the fake in front of them.
However, their attacks caused the surrounding space to become blurry and distorted, eventually shattering into endless darkness!
"Hmph, I knew it was fake! Daddy loves Ponyta the most. Daddy also said that when Ponyta grows up, he'll let Ponyta have babies too❤!"
Ponyta playfully and cutely stuck out her tongue, and Rapidash also laughed out loud.
Oh my, if both she and her daughter got pregnant with Lorze's seed, the family hierarchy would be quite weird~
Regardless, they defeated their inner demons relying on their own strength. Then, at the end of the darkness, there seemed to be a cluster of light. The mother and daughter, keeping each other company, ran towards it together...
The Rapidash mother and daughter in reality also revealed sweet smiles. Those were the smiles Lorze had always wanted to protect.
In another dream, the little cutie Jirachi's performance was equally moving.
Realizing she had turned into a meteorite, Jirachi was very depressed and desperate: Why did it go back to this again? We finally managed to be together with such great difficulty.
Every time she fell into a deep sleep in the past, her mood was very calm. Even if she made new friends and felt slightly reluctant to part, there wasn't much fluctuation in her heart.
As if that was her destiny, she gladly accepted it.
However, Lorze's appearance shattered this numbness of parting. Ever since she became Lorze's girlfriend, Lorze's wife, she never wanted to sleep deeply again. She wanted to live with Lorze forever, depending on each other.
Actually, Lorze hadn't specifically told Jirachi about him running around everywhere searching for a way to awaken her. This was something Meowstic told Jirachi later while they were playing.
After all, that process was truly very arduous. He was also very haggard during that time. Perhaps he was afraid that the innocent Jirachi would feel self-blame and burdened, etc. In short, out of his own considerations, he didn't say anything.
Jirachi wasn't the ignorant young girl she used to be either. After becoming a wife, she had matured quite a bit, so she was immensely grateful for everything Lorze had done for her.
She had always pretended not to know and didn't bring it up, just clinging to Lorze even more to make her husband happy. Using this way to tell him that she also loved him very much. This way, Lorze would definitely feel very gratified and feel that his efforts weren't in vain, Jirachi thought.
In fact, this was indeed the case. Two-way dedication is what makes each other's relationship longer-lasting and more stable, whether it's romantic love, friendship, or familial affection.
So this time, Jirachi wanted to rebel against the destiny of deep sleep, and return once again to the side of the man who made her go from a girl to a woman!
This intense desire made Jirachi erupt with surging power she had never possessed before. Even if she had to burn out all her energy, she wanted to be with Lorze. He had already sacrificed so much for her; this time, it was her turn!
Jirachi felt the energy inside her body continuously surging up, finally breaking through the shackles of the meteorite, and ultimately restoring her original appearance!
The moment she changed back from a meteorite to her original self, she was tightly hugged by Lorze. Jirachi smiled: As expected, the first person to hug her must be Lorze, who loves her the most. Pressing tightly against the young man's embrace, Jirachi shed tears of happiness, silently repeating "I love you."
Jirachi's nightmare, with a sudden change of direction, turned into a joyous happy ending.
The power of love is very idealistic, very illusory.
But bonds truly exist, and they genuinely contain unbelievable power.
Outside the dream, Jirachi was also sleeping in Lorze's embrace. The little cutie at that time also successfully broke through the nightmare, smiling foolishly while drool flowed from the corners of her mouth and landed on Lorze's chest cavity.
If that guy were awake, he would definitely drink the saliva flowing from Jirachi's mouth completely clean!
This was the nightmare of the Rapidash mother and daughter and Jirachi. And the other wives in the room also used their own methods to shatter Darkrai's nightmare. They either turned it into a sweet dream, like Jirachi; or returned to normal, dreamless sleep, like the Rapidash mother and daughter. Such things were almost unheard of for Darkrai.
Undoubtedly, being able to accomplish such a thing ultimately boiled down to the tightly connected bonds between Lorze and his wives. This wasn't a fragile link, but true "love."
However... Lorze's nightmare was completely a different story. And it's hard to say if this guy broke through the nightmare, because his nightmare might be a sweet dream that others could only wish for...
In the dream, Lorze slowly opened his eyes, only to find that his body couldn't move! His hands and feet were shackled with iron chains and pulled to all four sides respectively. His entire person presented an "X" posture, seemingly trapped in a small room with very dim lighting...
But just this would be fine. The problem was that right now, he was... completely naked!
He looked down and found the dense pubic hair at his crotch, and his unerect little bird and scrotum were also there, but such a posture was undoubtedly very indecent.
Lorze felt it was simply too weird. After all, one is always groggy when dreaming. In the dream, he couldn't remember what he was doing before either.
Where is this now? In the treehouse of the Tree of Beginning? Strange, there clearly isn't such a room at home...
If we first assume this is at home, why am I controlled like this and stripped clean of my clothes? Is this some kind of BDSM play the wives newly developed?
Although Lorze didn't have much interest in BDSM, if the wives wanted to play, he wouldn't mind playing with them.
"Big Sister Mewtwo? Latias? Gardevoir? Are you guys there? Meowstic, Delphox? Jirachi, Mew, Mime Jr...."
However, even after Lorze listed all his wives' names, he still received no response. Lorze panicked a little.
Finally, the door of the room was opened, but the three "people" walking gracefully in dumbfounded Lorze.
Because they were actually humans, not female Pokémon!?
Misty, May, and Dawn!?