Chapter 399 - Darkrai: Oh No, Am I Just a Substitute?
Cresselia and Darkrai are not unique Pokémon.
Johan knew of at least three Darkrai.
For example, the one owned by Tobias, the one right in front of him, and the one capable of holding its own against both Dialga and Palkia in a two-on-one battle.
That last Darkrai, the one that could stand against Dialga and Palkia, was most likely the strongest among them.
It might have even secretly learned Spacial Rend and Roar of Time.
After all, in the games, there was a special "Movie Darkrai" distributed during an event.
As for the Darkrai before him, while it wasn't weak by any means, Johan estimated it was roughly at the level of an Elite Four's main Pokémon.
So, while it posed a threat, it wasn't overwhelmingly dangerous.
"Oowoo~~"
The Ninetales was accumulating more and more lunar energy, its already snow-white fur now glistening under the full moon.
Hmm?
Noticing the change in Ninetales, Johan shifted his gaze toward it.
"Is this...?"
Moonblast?!
Now that he thought about it...
As an Ice/Fairy-type Pokémon, Ninetales had already demonstrated its prowess in the Ice-type domain to an exceptional degree—so much so that even Pryce couldn't help but praise it.
But that didn't mean its Fairy-type abilities were lacking.
It was just that, whether in Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kanto, or Johto, Fairy-type resources were relatively scarce.
Learning Fairy-type moves was much harder compared to other types.
More importantly...
From Johan's memory...
Alolan Vulpix and Alolan Ninetales could indeed learn Moonblast, but only through inheritance, not by Move Tutor or TM.
That made him wonder: Could Ninetales learn it naturally over time?
If he invested a lot of time and resources only for it to fail, that would be a huge waste and could even hurt Ninetales' confidence.
And there was no doubt about Moonblast's power and utility.
Not only did it boast high accuracy and great damage, but it also had a solid chance of lowering the opponent's Special Attack, making it one of the most commonly used Fairy-type moves in competitive battles.
He didn't expect...
That the little one would gradually pick it up from Cresselia.
Ninetales remained serious and focused, and Johan simply watched silently, not wanting to disturb it.
If something blew up, well... this was Wake's house, after all. As long as no one got hurt, it was fine.
Suddenly—
"Oowoo~!!"
With a long cry, Ninetales' deep blue eyes reflected the full moon above. The energy it had been gathering finally erupted.
Buzz—
A pink energy sphere formed between its nine tails before shooting forward.
Hmm?
Cresselia and Darkrai, locked in battle, both sensed something off at the same time and quickly broke apart, retreating.
Ninetales' Moonblast streaked between them like a shining moonbeam.
Cresselia and Darkrai turned to look at Ninetales.
"Oowoo..."
The little one stuck out its tongue sheepishly and hid behind Johan.
It wasn't intentional! Would they believe that?
Cresselia eyed Ninetales curiously—it didn't sense any hostility from it.
But Darkrai...
It had already failed to drag its target into a nightmare once, and now it had nearly been hit by Moonblast.
"Goka!!"
Charcadet jumped onto the balcony railing and spoke in a deep voice.
Big Boss didn't mean it! Please show some mercy!
Buzz—
Darkrai didn't say a word. A Dark Void orb immediately formed in its hands.
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar narrowed its eyes and licked its lips.
It was curious—how was Darkrai's black sphere different from its own?
It had tried mimicking it earlier, but...
Nope, couldn't copy it.
Maybe if it experienced it firsthand, it would understand?
But before it could act, Johan called out:
"Kubfu, incoming!"
"Ku! zzZ"
The only one who hadn't left the room, Kubfu, heard Johan's call and dashed out, running straight into Darkrai's Dark Void.
Buzz—
A wave of dark energy engulfed Kubfu, swallowing it like a black hole.
Darkrai smirked.
It had never seen a Pokémon rush headfirst into Dark Void before.
Even Cresselia, the guardian of dreams, would start dozing off after being hit—let alone... huh?
Thud—
Kubfu landed beside Charcadet. Under the moonlight, it stood atop the railing... and began shadowboxing!
Whoosh, whoosh—
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Its fists and feet blurred with rapid strikes.
Cresselia's eyes widened in surprise. Dark Void... had no effect?
Darkrai was just as stunned.
How was this possible?!
"Ku! zzZ"
Kubfu scratched its head and looked around.
Did something just happen?
Above Darkrai's head, a bright golden question mark seemed to appear.
Was there such a thing as immunity to Dark-type moves?
Even Johan noticed—Kubfu seemed to be Darkrai's natural counter.
And on top of that, Fighting-type moves were super effective against Dark-types.
Cresselia's eyes gleamed with interest as it observed Kubfu.
This little one...
"Goka~"
Charcadet patted Kubfu on the shoulder.
Nice! Just like two days ago when they earned some respect together—now it had saved its dignity once again!
"Ku~(＾＾)zzZ"
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar clenched its fist and smacked its palm.
So Dark Void was just hypnosis, huh?
Since it was hypnosis, then it was of no use to him!
After all, "Johan's Hypnosis" was the best!
Darkrai looked down at its own hands.
For the first time, doubt crept into its mind.
Had it gotten rusty from lack of use?
It spread its hands open again.
This time, instead of Dark Void, it prepared a pure Nightmare-inducing hypnosis.
It was ready to go all out!
"Ka-kaah~!"
Gengar grinned and floated out over the balcony, spreading its hands toward Darkrai.
Come on, let's see whose hypnosis is stronger—"Johan's Hypnosis" or yours!
Darkrai and Gengar locked eyes.
Buzz—
Darkrai: !!!
What the heck?!
Darkrai actually felt its eyelids grow heavy. A wave of sleepiness washed over it.
And worse—
It could sense it was a nightmare.
Wait... who's supposed to be the Lord of Nightmares here?!
At that moment—
Darkrai seriously doubted itself.
Even Cresselia was bewildered.
If Kubfu resisting Dark Void could be explained as a simple miss, then this reverse hypnosis made absolutely no sense.
Cresselia glanced at Johan's Pokémon.
Kubfu, Charcadet, Gengar, Ninetales...
When its gaze met Ninetales', it briefly froze.
"Oowoo?"
Being haunted by Darkrai must be exhausting. How about I give you a nice dream?
Cresselia shuddered, suddenly snapping back to attention and averting its gaze.
What the heck?!
It, the guardian of dreams, had almost been lulled into a dream by another Pokémon?!
This made no sense!
"Garrr~"
Dragonite patted its belly, looking a little bored.
Why wasn't anyone sleeping?
If they slept, it could wake them up!
"Cha!"
Want me to smash them with my hammer?
Tinkaton suggested.
Darkrai and Cresselia instinctively exchanged glances, seeing the same shock in each other's eyes.
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar snickered at Johan.
Hey, do I look just like him?
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