Chapter 287: The Nightmare God
"Admit defeat. You won't go back on your word, right?" Kenji said, pulling out an Ultra Ball, enlarging it, and handing it to Darkrai.
Darkrai was silent, but its eyes were full of reluctance.
As a dignified Mythical Pokémon, how could it willingly submit to a human trainer?
Seeing Darkrai's hesitation, Kenji spoke up. "I know what you're thinking. How about this: if you become my Pokémon obediently, I promise you that in five years, if you still want to leave, I'll set you free. Deal?"
He paused, then added a darker note, "Of course, you can refuse. But even if you refuse, I'll still capture you by force.
Although the result is the same—you getting caught—if I have to force you, leaving won't be so easy. Unless..."
Kenji pointed at Beedrill behind him. "You can beat this guy."
Under Kenji's carrot-and-stick approach, Darkrai wavered.
Five years might be a long time for a human, but for a Mythical Pokémon with a long lifespan, it was just a fleeting moment.
Darkrai looked at the Beedrill behind Kenji, seemingly weighing its chances of defeating this unfathomable insect within five years. The mere presence of Beedrill standing there quietly was enough to instill fear.
After a long while, Darkrai finally spoke. "I am not one to go back on my word. Since I lost to you, I will fulfill my promise. But I hope you will keep yours as well."
Clearly, Darkrai was referring to Kenji's promise to free it after five years.
Kenji nodded. "No problem."
In five years, Kenji didn't believe he couldn't warm Darkrai's heart. If after five years Darkrai still insisted on leaving, Kenji would accept it.
Most Pokémon were pure-hearted, and even Mythical ones like Darkrai were no exception. After getting Kenji's confirmation, it hesitated no longer and reached out to touch the Ultra Ball.
A red beam shot out, enveloping Darkrai and sucking it into the ball.
Wiggle... Wiggle... Click!!! —
The ball shook for a long time before finally clicking shut. Clearly, Darkrai still had some internal struggle.
As Darkrai was captured, a system notification rang out.
Ding!!! Congratulations Host on capturing: Darkrai!!!
Ding!!! [Four-Cost Reinforcement] Hex Core triggered!!! Darkrai instantly upgraded to 2-Stars!!
Darkrai's Base Stats have increased!!
Darkrai's Potential has increased to: S+!!
Darkrai has awakened a Second Ability: Shadow Tag!!
Shadow Tag!!
Kenji's eyes lit up. Shadow Tag was an absolute T0-tier Ability in his past life's competitive scene. In this world, it was equally powerful.
Darkrai already possessed the ability to move through shadows. Combining that with Shadow Tag was a terrifying synergy.
He wondered what kind of sparks Darkrai would create with this ability.
[Darkrai] (2-Star)
Gender: Unknown
Level: 71
Type: Dark
Abilities: Bad Dreams (Damages sleeping opponents), Shadow Tag (Prevents opponent from escaping)
Base Stats Total: 660
(HP: 75, Atk: 100, Def: 100, SpA: 150, SpD: 100, Spe: 135)
Moves: Dark Void, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse, Nasty Plot, Haze, Double Team, Sucker Punch, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam...
Potential: S+
Even among Legendaries and Mythicals, there were differences in potential.
And this Darkrai Kenji caught had an initial potential of S+!
This was the first time Kenji had seen a Pokémon with a starting potential of S+.
This meant that at 3-Stars, Darkrai would already reach the "Limit" potential.
And when it upgraded from 3-Stars to 4-Stars, it would gain a direct 100-point boost to its base stats!!
Calculating this out, Darkrai, with an initial base stat total of 600, would reach a terrifying 880 at 4-Stars!
Surpassing even Slaking's 850, it would become the Pokémon with the highest base stats on Kenji's team!!!
Moreover, as a Mythical Pokémon, breaking through its potential limit would likely bring benefits far beyond simple stat increases.
Just as there was a gap between First-Class and Secondary Legendaries, there were power gaps among Mythicals too.
Darkrai's lore power level was roughly equivalent to a Secondary Legendary.
After Star-Up enhancement, Kenji wondered if Darkrai could wrestle with First-Class Gods.
Darkrai was heavily injured and had run around White Moon Lake all night. Its stamina was completely depleted. After being captured, it fell into a deep sleep inside the ball.
Kenji looked down at the Ultra Ball in his hand, a grin spreading across his face. His eyes shone with uncontrollable excitement.
This was his first Legendary Pokémon.
But he was sure it wouldn't be his last.
After healing Darkrai at the Pokémon Center, Kenji immediately purchased 18 Champion Duplicators from the shop.
Upgrading a Pokémon to 4-Stars required 26 copies (Neekos). The [Four-Cost Reinforcement] saved him 2. The Golden Egg gave him 2.
Plus, he had 4 saved up from [War's Treasures] drops in previous battles.
Total needed: 26 - 2 - 2 - 4 = 18.
18 Champion Duplicators at 500,000 gold each cost a whopping 9 million gold.
This expenditure massively shrunk Kenji's savings.
But Kenji didn't feel bad. Money was meant to be used.
If he ran out, he could just earn more.
"Come out, Darkrai."
Back in his room, Kenji released Darkrai.
The shadow-like figure appeared in the room, slowly opening its blue eye.
"What did you do to me?" The moment it was captured, Darkrai felt something added to its body.
It seemed to have awakened a new ability.
This brought Darkrai both joy and shock.
So, it asked Kenji immediately.
Kenji shrugged, giving a vague answer. "My special ability."
Darkrai knew that some humans possessed special powers, so it nodded and didn't question further.
"By the way, I need to use my ability again. I need your cooperation."
"Cooperation for what?"
"Go to sleep."
...
As the God of Nightmares, if Darkrai didn't cooperate, putting it to sleep with Hypnosis would be impossible.
But Kenji was afraid Darkrai wouldn't be able to handle seeing him clone 24 copies of itself while awake.
Fortunately, Darkrai chose to cooperate.
If it hadn't, Kenji would have had to give up on the upgrade or ask Beedrill to administer a "physical sleep aid."
"Mo..."
Ninetales's blue eyes glowed, sending a wave of psychic energy at Darkrai.
Darkrai slowly closed its blue eye and fell asleep.
Seeing Darkrai asleep, Kenji took out the Champion Duplicators and began the familiar Star-Up process.
Only this time, he was upgrading a bona fide Mythical Pokémon.
Ding!! Congratulations Host on synthesizing a 3-Star Darkrai!!
Ding!! Darkrai Level raised from LV.71 to LV.73!!
Ding!! Darkrai's Base Stats have increased!!
Ding!! Darkrai's Potential has increased!!! Reached Limit!!!
...
Ding!! Congratulations Host on synthesizing a 4-Star Darkrai!!
Ding!! Darkrai Level raised from LV.73 to LV.76!!
Ding!! Darkrai's Base Stats have increased!!!
Ding!! Darkrai's Potential has increased!!
Ding!! Detected Darkrai's potential has reached the cap and cannot increase further!!
Ding!! Due to potential cap, Base Stats have received an additional boost!!
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