Pokémon: Darkrai (Dark Purple) — Corrupt
Gender: Male
Level: 86
Type: Dark
Ability: Bad Dreams
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: None
Basic Moves: Ominous Wind, Disable, Quick Attack, Hypnosis, Feint Attack, Nightmare, Double Team, Haze, Dark Void, Nasty Plot, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse
Learned Moves: Foul Play, Snatch, Spite, Wonder Room, Knock Off, Snore, Drain Punch, Trick, Last Resort, Focus Punch, Throat Chop, Shock Wave, Icy Wind
TM Moves: None
Although he had only gone up one level, his energy control far surpassed that of two months ago.
The mere fact that he could completely suppress Bartram's psychic power with one hand proved it.
Compared to Cain, Bartram did not lack psychic power, but Darkrai dominated him without difficulty.
Something that Darkrai from two months ago could never have accomplished.
Destroying such a psychic would not be a problem; doing so without harming him and completely suppressing him was.
Among all of Cain's Pokémon, only Darkrai could achieve that.
"Mismagius," Cain called softly.
"Miis!" an ethereal voice responded, slowly emerging from his shadow, humming happily.
Mismagius had already reached the Quasi-Champion level. Her Ghost-type energy was only inferior to Gengar's, but her true strength lay in her innate talent for creating dreams.
Perhaps she had inherited her gift from a past life as a nightmare deity; she even surpassed Darkrai himself in dream-related ability.
"Miis!" Mismagius brushed Cain's cheek affectionately and then floated cheerfully toward Darkrai.
Darkrai, usually cold, softened his expression when he saw her.
Cain and Darkrai had never told her the truth of her past, so that she would not bear a burden that was not hers.
And they had done right by it: outside of training and dreams, Mismagius rarely participated in complex battles.
She lived happily every day.
"Mismagius, your mission has arrived. Read all of this man's memories," Cain ordered.
She wrinkled her nose slightly.
Cain's smile deepened. "I know, I know... if you do it well, there'll be extra dinner tonight."
Upon hearing "extra dinner," her eyes lit up and she floated in front of Bartram.
A purple glow appeared in her eyes, reflected as well in Bartram's.
All of his memories began to be extracted, projected within the dream created by Mismagius.
Darkrai watched the scene with mixed feelings; it was far too similar to when he had worked together with his sister... the difference being that she was now a Mismagius.
Everything had happened because he had been unable to protect her.
But his gaze hardened again: now he had more things to protect and needed even greater power.
Cain did not perceive this, for through Mismagius he was already "reviewing" every one of Bartram's memories.
Not only Bartram's own, but also crucial information about the true objectives of the Sacred Church and its members.
What he obtained this time was of vital importance.
Although it seemed simple, reading memories was an extremely complex process: it required that the target offer no resistance and, above all, an ability to fuse dream and reality like that of Mismagius.
Not even Darkrai, after surpassing the first barrier of the Champion level, could achieve something like this.
Only a Mismagius with absolute dream talent could do it.
In the entire Pokémon world, there were no more than three Pokémon capable of reaching this level.
And although Cain was only "observing," he needed his own psychic power to process such a massive amount of information, as well as a mind strong enough to relive it at that speed.
Therefore, to accomplish what Cain and Mismagius were doing at that moment, the requirements were extremely high, both for oneself and for the target.
There were things Cain could choose to see and then set aside without paying attention to them, but he could not choose not to see them at all.
An enormous amount of information flooded into Cain's mind like an uncontrollable torrent. In reality, for Bartram, this process was equivalent to reliving everything he had experienced in his life, while Cain acted as an external spectator, carefully recording all the important and useful information for himself.
After a full hour, while Cain's Pokémon were achieving breakthroughs in strength one after another, completing successive qualitative transformations, Cain finally stopped the "reading" of Bartram's memories.
The reason he had not focused his attention on the Pokémon was simple: he had absolute confidence in them, unshakable faith in his companions.
He knew that all they lacked was an opportunity, a trigger. They were just one step away from achieving a true breakthrough; once it was accomplished, a broad and unobstructed path would open before them.
Cain exhaled deeply, suppressing the complex information accumulated in his mind. He already knew practically everything he wanted to know; however, there were things that were truly better left unknown.
The more one knows, the greater the pressure one bears.
But now was not the time to think about that. Cain looked at the visibly fatigued Mismagius and took several delicious Pokéblocks from his pocket, capable of quickly restoring energy, placing them directly into her mouth. He smiled and gently patted her head.
"Mismagius, you've worked hard. There will definitely be extra food tonight. Rest well first."
After eating the delicious Pokéblocks, Mismagius narrowed her eyes happily and nodded repeatedly before retreating back into Cain's shadow to rest.
Once Mismagius had returned, Cain gave a slight nod toward Darkrai. Darkrai immediately understood; the Dark-type energy in his body surged violently. Bartram, who was being restrained, did not even have time to react: in an instant he was engulfed by something like black flames and, in the blink of an eye, completely disintegrated, reduced to ashes.
For Darkrai, destroying a psychic was infinitely easier than controlling one.
In this way, everything related to Bartram was completely erased. Cain had obtained what he wanted: the breakthrough in his Pokémon's strength and, in addition... what the Sacred Church was pursuing.
Cain exchanged brief impressions with his newly strengthened Pokémon before returning them one by one to their Poké Balls.
They had just completed an important breakthrough and needed time to properly assimilate that growth.
He stored them all away, leaving only Gengar, Weavile, and Darkrai outside.
A strange smile appeared on Cain's face. With a slight flick of his wrist, an enormous black robe appeared in his hand and completely covered him: a voluminous cloak, a wide hood, and... a layer of psychic power obscuring his face. At a glance, he was no different at all from Bartram.
At his side, Gengar—who had just completed his breakthrough—displayed a malice-filled smile. His aura began to slowly descend, becoming almost identical to Bartram's Gengar.
Weavile also understood instantly. For him, imitation was a trivial task.
Finally, Cain looked at Darkrai. At that moment, the difference between him and Bartram lay only in the nature of their psychic abilities: the frequency and the "flavor" were different, but that did not matter. Just moments ago, Darkrai had already helped Cain clearly perceive those differences.
Perfectly imitating him was impossible, but achieving a convincing similarity was feasible with Darkrai's assistance.
After all, Darkrai's Dark-type energy not only suppressed psychic abilities, but could also erode and slightly modify them, as long as Cain did not resist.
Same attire, similar psychic fluctuations, and the same Pokémon. After a series of adjustments, Cain became an "authentic" Bartram. As long as there was no deep contact, it was practically impossible to uncover his true identity.
And thanks to Bartram's memories, Cain also understood where his confidence to act like this came from.
Within the Sacred Church, there were no true friends. Although they cooperated, intrigue and conspiracies reigned among them. No one truly knew Bartram, much less could be considered his close friend. Hidden enemies and competitors, on the other hand, were everywhere. And that made Cain's plan even easier.
Exactly so: what Cain intended to do was replace a person and infiltrate the Sacred Church from within.
(End of chapter)