A Darkrai's New Reality

(Waning! This Fanfictions contains spoilers of the movie Rise of Darkrai)

This is a very short One-Shot that shows a theory of mine about the Darkrai who protect Alamos town. Not coincidently, the movie Rise of Darkrai was launched in Japan at the exactly same time an event distributing a Darkrai started. After Alamo's town reality was restored to normal, plus reviving Darkrai, Darkrai didn't used any move, consequently don't giving any clue about its move set by the end of the movie. And the Darkrai distributed in the event knew two very special and unique moves. So… theories?

Read and Review, if you want of course. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the mentioned Pokémon, places, Pokémon types or Pokémon moves, all then belonging to Nintendo. I only claim my rights over Michael, my Original Character.

After the last turbulent days, Darkrai was taking the opportunity to take a good rest. After all, just like always happens when he gives someone nightmares (if it is a human) Cresselia would feel it, and would be there in no time. So, giving the accidents involving that kid that saved Alamos town and himself, she should already be on her way. He had heard other humans calling him Ash, hasn't he? And he could not afford his greatest foe know about his favorite secluded place, where he could be without being discriminated by his fame or tracked down by his enemy.

For Arceus sake, if only she didn't know Moonblast, their fights wouldn't be always the same. What he exceeded in Special Attack, Cresselia compensated in Special Defense and endurance. And what she lacked in Special Attack, he lacked in Special Defense and endurance. Resuming: He was too frail to stand to her in a straight fight, no matter how close it would be. And since his Dark Void didn't even scratch her natural defenses against his powers (Curse Arceus and his 'equivalent counterparts' philosophy), he would end merging back into darkness to make a strategic retreat. Well, if she didn't get him cornered, he would be ok.

Forgetting about his current line of thoughts, he took off to the skies, fast and agile like shadows from a new moon. He had to get out of there quick, because Cresselia would come as fast as light from a full moon. Despite flying in midnight, a perfect time for blending in the ambient and travel unseen, it wasn't infallible. Darkrai changed his flight angle from a straight line to a descent of 90 degrees to avoid a barrage of Pin Missiles. Just as he hovered a few feet above the ground, he saw a ball of bright white energy with patterns of cobweb traced in black rising into the sky. The orb reached a determinate height and exploded in an expanding hemi sphere, a transparent force field covered in bright white patterns of cobweb that enclosed around Darkrai and his mysterious attacker. Letting his single eye focus on the entity right before him, he distinguished an arachnid form painted in transitioning tones of purple, yellow, black and red with three distinct white and sharp protuberances coming from it' s head. An Ariados. Unlike most legendary or even mythical Pokémon, Darkrai was intelligent enough to don't ram head first into the force field in a futile attempt to scape without a fight, who had already faded out of view but not out of existence. He knew from experience that he was trapped until his arachnid foe was taken out. Thinking fast, Darkrai summoned a pitch-black orb, and dropped it. It fell and went through the floor, creating a black and purple portal around the Ariados, that only took one second before growing walls and englobing it in a sleep dome. But when the black dome faded, the Ariados seemed unfazed. Yes, of course his ability had to be Insomnia. His trainer took advantage of the distraction and ordered:

-Ariados, use Agility!

Glowing in a pinkish outline, Ariados relaxed and stepped from one side to another in crescent speed, to the point of letting behind just as pinkish afterimages of itself. Now faster than Darkrai, he shot a barrage of Pin Missiles that came very quickly into collision route. Darkrai had no problem floating just over the Bug-type projectiles, giving they hadn't become faster like their shooter.

"Time to counter attack." Darkrai thought.

Darkrai let great amounts of Dark-type energy flow through his arms, feeling they center in an orb between his palms, without bothering to take an eye out of his foe. Once ready, he propelled both his hands forward in a motion to throw a chain-shaped charge of devastating dark energy for a Dark Pulse. Ariados reacted in a blink of an eye, and tensed his leg muscles to jump away from it, it's eyes already thinking of a strategical point to land so he could retaliate Darkrai quickly.

So, what happened when nothing came out of Darkrai's hands is that both Darkrai and Ariados stared at each other dumbly for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen.

Once perceiving that nothing happened, Darkrai stared at his hands in shock. What was wrong? He had known and used Dark Pulse since the start of his existence, which was since Pokémon started sleeping, which was since the beginning of life on earth, millennia ago! There's no way he just forgot how to use it without even trying!

Unaware of Darkrai's thoughts, the young trainer commanded:

-Quick Ariados, use Toxic.

Fast like a lightning, Ariados released a jet of pressurized and Toxic gas. Darkrai tried to avoid it, but it formed into a five-fingered hand-shaped cloud, changing its course and closing around Darkrai, badly poisoning him.

-Cursed Poison-Types and their Toxics that cannot miss. Darkrai muttered under his breath as he felt a slight tinge of pain when the poison started acting.

He was in a bad situation. This probably was one of those smart-ass kids that passed a long time studying his weaknesses, creating strategies to counter him and training specific Pokémon just to capture him. This kid probably had those black and yellow balls that were harder to escape from than the white and red ones. But what really was troubling him is that he couldn't use his main and more powerful attack. Looking for an alternative, Darkrai centered his attention in making electricity concentrate in his hands, so he could expel it like his claws were triplex tesla antennas. Once again, he moved both three-clawed hands in a pushing motion, ready to discharge a few tents of ampere into that annoying spider. Upon sensing another attack coming, Ariados once again tensed in preparation to dodge, unaware that if that inescapable Shock Wave came out, he would be fried spider.

Fortunately, for Ariados at least, it didn't. More ready this time, Ariados jumped forward, sending direct Pin Missiles right in Darkrai's face. Taken a little down from the impact, Darkrai floated a little more irregularly and Ariados took once more the opportunity to shot Pin Missiles at him, this time from a little more afar. Darkrai tried to fool Ariados senses with his Double Team, but almost expectably, he couldn't perform the move. This time, the three Pin Missiles hit Darkrai straight in the chest, making him fall on his back. Already putting a hand on the floor to pick himself up, Darkrai ended up falling again once the poison suddenly acted, inflicting unexpected pain on his body.

-Is that enough? The boy wondered, tossing an Ultra ball lightly in Darkrai's direction.

It hit slight on his arm, converting him into a mass of red energy and sucking him into captivity. The ball shook once, but then broke to unrepairable pieces as Darkrai emerged with a furious look. He tried shooting at Ariados everything he had learned and forgotten in his millennia of life. He tried using Ominous Wind, Disable, Quick Attack, Feint Attack, Nightmare, Haze, Nasty Plot, Dream Eater, but absolutely nothing worked. As he perceived Darkrai's harmlessness, Ariados became increasingly confident, shooting Pin Missiles from point blank range without bothering to be ready in case Darkrai actually let out an attack of any kind. The kid, instead of developing such confidence, started growing more and more uncertain. How come the Mythical Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon and Ruler of Nightmares, was founding himself defenseless against a simple Ariados?

In the last minutes, the kid, named Michael, had already throw two more Ultra Balls when Darkrai had been taken down by a Pin Missile / Toxic activation combo. The first time, it shook only once again, but in the second, it actually shook three times before Darkrai exploded from inside it. Even Darkrai himself was starting to lose his hope. He had no clue what was happening with him, and he didn't know if he would manage to solve it before it was too late. As a barrage of five painful Pin Missiles hit him one more time, he lost part of his floating and found support on his legs, who lasted little before bending in signal of his endurance starting to wear thin. On his knees, Darkrai put both clawed hands on the ground, panting slightly. When Ariados slowly walked to him, holding a confident chuckle, Darkrai shot a cold glare at him, one that would kill if it was possible. But, without any battle performance to sustain such implied threat, it only made Ariados's chuckle harder to hold. When he was about to Pin Missile him from point blank range, his trainer emitted an order:

-Ariados, stop!

Surprised, both Ariados and Darkrai looked at Michael. Looking at Ariados, he said softly:

-No. Leave him.

Ariados made a motion and shot a look that screamed 'Why?'. Answering him, Michael said in a disappointed tone:

-I know it is Darkrai, but maybe the news from Alamos town overestimated him. If he is like that here, maybe he wouldn't be such a powerhouse in gym battles or official leagues. I guess he is not all that I thought. And I don't think it would be right to keep him from his freedom if I wouldn't use him over anyone I have currently in my team.

Darkrai heard every single word of that sentence. And it was the last straw.

Rising from his position and floating a few feet above the ground, even bothering to retreat his legs into his body, Darkrai's right hand closed into a fist, who unnoticeably to him glowed with bright pink energy. As Darkrai panted, it's fist moved slightly, making the air around it bend and vibrate in a unique way. Starting to become fearful of whatever was happening, Ariados took three steps back, and Michael's eyes widened.

"I am Darkrai, ruler of Nightmares! How dare this insolent child attack me out of nowhere, poison me and, on top of that, doubt of my power!? I will teach him a lesson!" Darkrai though with overflowing rage.

Opening his fist and raising it above his head, he could almost feel his claws tearing space apart and burning with both the essence of space itself and the fury of a raging dragon. Tearing thin air with his claws in a descending arch, Darkrai sent a wave of extremely sharp and powerful pink energy, tearing a deep line in the rocky soil like it was made of paper and hitting Ariados's surprised form dead on, creating a very powerful explosion.

Both Michael and Darkrai where sent back by the power of the Spacial Rend Darkrai just released. Ariados was down in a single shot, unconscious. Michael was astonished. He had studied Darkrai for a long time, and never heard of an Darkrai using Palkia's signature move. His eyes shone once he realized: This Darkrai wasn't only rare and powerful, he was unique! He had to be his! Animated again, he picked and throw another Pokeball. From inside it, emerged a mostly blue serpent with distinct marine characteristics and four very sharp fangs on its mouth hanging open. He said then:

-Darkrai, prepare to be mine!

Despite the urge of pain coming from the powerful venom coursing through his body, he was overjoyed. He could use Palkia's signature move, a move that he felt in his own skin how powerful it was. And if he knew it, what else he might know?

Without enough stamina left to make new discoveries, Darkrai powered and sent another Spacial Rend cutting through space, so fast that the Gyarados didn't have the slightest chance to dodge. Another dead hit, another explosion. Confident on his Gyarados's strength, he commanded:

-Take him down with Waterfall!

Unfortunately, such confidence was proofed without fundament, as his Gyarados laid unconscious on the floor. Michael's face fell as he perceived that his Ariados, due to the difficulty it was to develop his strategy and train him, was his unique counter measure against Darkrai. Pidgeot, Infernape and Altaria where One-Hit KOed each, without a chance, with only Spacial Rend. All that was left, was his secret weapon and most powerful Pokémon of all. With a deep breath, he said:

-Go Lucario!

With a battle roar, the mighty Aura warrior emerged from his Great Ball. Upon facing his foe, he didn't needed another instruction. Charging and throwing, his Aura Sphere zoomed through the air in a straight line. Then and there, Darkrai was faced with a problem: His time was wearing thin. The venom which was propelled through his circulatory system was slowly overwhelming him, so he didn't have another two minutes without fainting from the powerful toxin. Also, he couldn't hope to either endure or dodge the spherical-shaped Aura burst coming in his direction, given the sphere had already locked onto his own aura. He only had one option left: Overpower the Aura Sphere and knock the Lucario out with a single hit. But not even the almighty Spacial Rend was powerful enough to shot down a Steel-Type in such single hit. What he was going to do?

Unsure of what to do, Darkrai started to relax. He found his power for the Spacial Rend in his fury, mixed up with chaotically changing space essence. But what would happen if he tried to tap into the serenity that comes from the constant, river-like flown of time? Closing his eye and inhaling deeply, Darkrai was taken aback by an unexpected and overwhelming sensation. As his single cyan-tainted eye shot open, the first thing he registered is that everything was moving in slow motion. Lucario was still in his throwing position, with a death glare forever sculpted on his face. Darkrai couldn't move either, but he could sense. He could feel one of the twin essences of reality flowing around and through him. In an instinctive motion, he gathered his hands together, much like he would to use his almost-signature Dark Pulse. But he saw as the essence of time centered between his palms, converting into a blue orb of high unstable energy. Thrusting both hands forward in a motion known for a very deadly result, he released the energy. With and very powerful roar-like soundwave for background, the intense blue essence of time, outlined in blinding white light, shot in a straight forward laser. Shooting right through the Aura Sphere and making it explode in mid-course, the little weakened beam hit Lucario. The figure of the canine Pokémon was completely engulfed in the powerful and very brilliant beam of time. Considering Michael was perfectly aligned with his Lucario, he barely had time to jump out of the way as the remnants of the beam transformed the little hill he was on into a flat, blackened dead terrain.

Once all the energy was dissipated, Michael ran to see the results. Darkrai was standing there, barely moving as it's chest went up and down in deep breaths, with its single cyan eye closed in demonstration of its bad condition. His Lucario didn't have the same luck. He was unconscious, his figure releasing a constant stream of smoke. His metal spikes where glowing red, and the air was visibly disturbed due to the source of intense heat.

As Darkrai snapped out of his recharge turn for using such powerful move, he fled as quickly as possible, diving straight into the forest before it was too late.

A few seconds later…

Darkrai weakly cleaned his scarf, stained with bits of the Lum Berry he just ate to get rid of the poison. Unfortunately, he still needed a few Sitrus Berries and a good night of sleep to recover from the agitated night for which he just passed.

"Well, tomorrow I will look for some. " Thought Darkrai.

As he leaned his back onto the walls of a deep cavern, reading himself to spend a good number of hours asleep, he noticed that it would be hard to go to sleep with so many thing spinning in his head right now. He could use Palkia's amazing Spacial Rend and Dialga's ludicrous Roar of Time! He had no idea how he received such powers! Maybe it was because of the incidents on Alamos Town? If it was, was it a coincidence? A gift? An apology? He only knew three of his four possible moves. What is his forth? There were so many questions.

But, as Darkrai tried to drift to sleep, hone question hammered on his mind more than any other: How would he get the answers for all these questions? Was he going to look for human ways of research? Ask to elder Pokémon that might know the answer? Look for Dialga or Palkia? As he tried to figure out a way of getting such answers, he perceived that there were other problems involved. Any of these options would request intense search and exposing himself to very vulnerable situations, such as travelling during the day, go to places usually crowded of trainers, etc. How could he do these things without painting a target on his back?

As he thought about this, his mind started drifting towards the boy that just fought him. While he had tried to convince himself that the kid only stood a chance due to his lack of Dark Pulse, the more he thought about it, the clearer it became that he might be wrong. That Ariados was in fact very well trained. With his increased agility, he had no idea how hard would it be for him to actually hit his target, and how much damage he would have taken from the poison. He only took Ariados out in a single hit because the spider entered in state of chock after the monstrously powerful move, that went against all of what his trainer had taught him about Darkrai, was going dead in his direction. Anything else he might had been able to dodge, or counter. With his regular Dark Pulse, he for sure wouldn't be able to knock that Lucario out in a single attack, and who knows what else he might have done if that Aura Sphere struck home? Mach Punch? Close Combat? Darkrai could have been in way more serious trouble than he really where. And Darkrai had to admit to himself that he had some kind of admiration for the child. Despite his young age for a trainer of his level, he had well trained and very powerful Pokémon. Who know how hard it must have been to either capture that Gyarados or to train him from a pathetic Magilkarp? Plus, he had showed enough care to don't capture him just for a trophy. He wanted someone that could fight and be a valuable member of a team fighting for his personal cause. No one was perfect, but he wasn't that bad. And a trainer would also be the perfect way to develop his potential to top and get the answers he wanted.

Who knows? Maybe, and only maybe, getting a trainer wouldn't be that bad.

Done. Despite being the second story I started writing for Pokémon, it's the first I finished and published. If you had constructive critics or observations to do, fell free to review and leave your commentary.

Obs: Just a minor information. Despite the narration of the story referring to the kid directly as Michael, for the sake of giving him some identity, Darkrai never got to know his name.