Chapter 12: The Truth
White Poplar Town, Pokémon Center.
Everyone gathered there could see many people and Pokémon who had been struck by Darkrai's Dark Void lying down. The souls of those Pokémon were still drifting in the air.
"What's going on now?"
Ash, always the impulsive one, didn't understand the situation.
Nurse Joy, worried, said, "That's Darkrai's nightmare. It causes people around to fall into nightmares, including soul separation and body swapping..."
"It must be Darkrai causing trouble!"
In the crowd, a Lickitung, hugging its round body, shouted, "I will defeat Darkrai!"
"Huh? Lickitung can talk like Meowth from Team Rocket?"
Ash was astonished.
"If I'm not mistaken," Nurse Joy held her head, "that's Baron Alberto... Due to Darkrai, their bodies were swapped in the dream..."
"In a way, their bond is quite deep," Cynthia said with a smile.
"I think so too... Cynthia, are you still thinking about that guy who appeared suddenly?"
Dawn noticed Cynthia frowning in thought and asked.
"Without knowing his purpose, he's undoubtedly a ticking time bomb!" Cynthia replied.
Ash raised his fist and said, "Whether it's Darkrai or that guy, Red, I'll defeat them all!"
At this moment, Alice suddenly said, "I don't think Darkrai is a bad Pokémon."
Just then, a flurry of footsteps was heard behind the group.
A researcher ran over, panting, "I... I'm Tonio. Please believe what I say! Darkrai means no harm! Please stop!"
"Mr. Tonio, do you feel the same way I do?"
Alice asked happily upon hearing this.
"Something's wrong!"
Due to Lin Jiu's presence, many Officer Jennys had been deployed to White Poplar Town. One Officer Jenny rushed over hurriedly.
Ash asked, "What's wrong now? No matter what, it can't be worse than the current situation!"
Officer Jenny's words made him shut up: "The entire White Poplar Town is shrouded in white mist, making it impossible to enter or exit."
Everyone went to the town's entrance, where they saw a thick white mist, obscuring the view outside. Cynthia, riding her Garchomp, tried several times but couldn't find a way out, always ending up inexplicably back where she started.
...
Lin Jiu faced the black figure in front of him in silence. Darkrai's azure eyes stared at him, exerting considerable pressure. After diverting Cynthia's attention and allowing Darkrai to escape, Lin Jiu knew Cynthia probably couldn't chase him, so he slowed his pace.
Unexpectedly, Darkrai caught up with him and blocked his way without saying a word.
Darkrai observed the human who had helped it escape. For some reason, even though this human had helped it, Darkrai's feelings towards him were less favorable than towards those who tried to defeat or drive it away.
Feeling something amiss, Darkrai followed him. The closer it got, the stronger the sense of repulsion became. It could sense a faint scent of blood on this human, but that wasn't the reason for the repulsion.
Floating in front of Lin Jiu, Darkrai's azure eyes stared for a moment before it understood. This human exuded a strong sense of purpose. Unlike the other humans, who mostly loved Pokémon, especially the one with Pikachu.
Darkrai's eyes glowed brighter; it wanted to probe this human's mind.
Lin Jiu didn't know what Darkrai was doing, but instinctively felt it wasn't good, frowning. He didn't notice the blood-red "ф" mark flashing on the back of his hand.
"???"
A hint of confusion flashed in Darkrai's eyes. Why couldn't it probe this human's mind? However, it seemed to sense his purpose, so it decided to step back for now.
"!!!"
Darkrai's eyes widened in shock. This human's strong purpose was to drive away the Time-Space deities by any means necessary. Is this something a human should even think about?
Of course! To complete the mission, multiple plans had to be made. What's wrong with being ruthless? He hadn't even killed many people, far less than notorious villains like Cyrus.
Lin Jiu felt that the Darkrai in front of him was acting strange, like a face-changing mask. Although its expression didn't change, the emotions in its eyes were crystal clear to him.
Darkrai gave Lin Jiu a peculiar look before silently turning into a shadow and leaving. It had made up its mind that when the real threat appeared, it would see if this human truly had a solution. If he did, it would protect him.
Lin Jiu had no idea that he had just received a "Darkrai Protection Card." Seeing Darkrai, who had been staring at him for a long time, leave without saying a word, he couldn't help but mutter, "Weird...!"
Unable to leave White Poplar Town, everyone was at a loss. The baron, now in Lickitung's body, stepped forward and declared that as long as they defeated Darkrai, everything would be resolved. He then led a large group of trainers to hunt down Darkrai.
"Miss Cynthia, aren't you going to help?"
Ash asked, looking at Cynthia beside him.
"Aren't you guys not going either?"
Ash smiled awkwardly and said, "Because we feel that Miss Alice might be right, maybe it wasn't Darkrai's doing!"
"If it's not related to Darkrai, then what's going on?"
Dawn couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not sure! But I think someone might know!"
Cynthia pondered and said.
Brock seemed to understand Cynthia's implication and said, "Miss Cynthia, are you talking about that criminal named Red?"
"That's right. If it's not Darkrai's doing, then there must be another reason. Our actions against Darkrai would be unjustified! That guy, after hiding for so long, suddenly appeared in front of me, distracting me and letting Darkrai escape.
If he didn't know anything, that would be impossible."
Cynthia deduced these points from Lin Jiu's sudden and strange actions.
"Alright, let's go catch that guy!" Ash shouted.
Cynthia smiled, appreciating Ash's fighting spirit. However, catching Lin Jiu here wouldn't be easy; it wasn't the wild where Pokémon could unleash their full potential.
Meanwhile, to find the truth, Tonio rushed to a small lab. With Drifblim's help. Inside the lab, he opened his notebook and focused on the computer screen, examining the scanned image of the rift.
He continuously zoomed in, extrapolated, and constructed models. As the Space-Time Tower chimed, time ticked away. In an instant, Tonio's pupils contracted, and cold sweat covered his forehead.
"This figure appearing in the rift is..."
"How... how is this possible!"
He scrambled to leave his seat but tripped over the corner of the table, crashing heavily onto the floor.
"Ouch... I must inform Champion Cynthia! This is a crisis that we must solve together!!"
...
...
"Darkrai got discovered again! What an idiot!"
Lin Jiu noticed a group of trainers gathering in one direction and understood what was happening, his mouth twitching.
That silly dragon obviously wouldn't listen. It might as well wait for them to come out and fight. Why stand in such a conspicuous place and shout?
Even so, given that it had the strength to fight Dialga and Palkia, it should consider the situation even if it didn't want to harm the trainers!
Lin Jiu pulled out a hunting knife and headed in that direction from an alley. Since White Poplar Town had been pulled into a dimensional space, there were no weather effects, so the Morning Sun effect couldn't trigger, which was another disadvantage for Lin Jiu.
...
"Miss Cynthia, everyone, look at this!"
Tonio, holding his laptop, found Ash and the others and showed them his discovery.
"What is this?"
Everyone saw the blurry figure on the Space-Time Tower.
"I made some adjustments..."
Tonio operated the computer a few times, and the figure gradually became clear.
"Palkia!"
As a researcher of myths, Cynthia had some guesses when she saw the figure Tonio displayed. The legendary Pokémon she had longed to see was here, but the consequences didn't seem good!
"That's right. Palkia, the legendary Pokémon said to control space, has always lived in a different dimension. When it entered White Poplar Town, only Darkrai discovered it!" Tonio explained.
Ash also realized, "So those things Darkrai said were directed at Palkia!"
"Oh no! Baron Alberto led those trainers to hunt Darkrai!"
Alice said worriedly, unsure if she should be more concerned about Darkrai or the trainers.
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