Pokemon: The Legendary Trainer

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"My gosh, this guy's going berserk! Move, move now!"

Watching Darkrai in a frenzied state, Sato immediately realized it had likely lost all reason in its rage. The terrifying power it now unleashed all at once was evidence enough.

If Sato's assumptions were correct, the black energy waves emanating from Darkrai were its nightmare energy, stored within its body. 

In the Pokémon Special manga, it was likely this sinister energy that turned Ash and his friends to stone.

It also seemed that the place they were currently in was a barrier created by Darkrai using this nightmare energy. Sato decided to call it the "Nightmare Barrier," a truly fearsome construct.

Within this barrier, Sato felt as though his body was paralyzed by an overwhelming fear, leaving him trembling uncontrollably. At the same time, a powerful drowsiness gnawed at his nerves, making it nearly impossible to resist the urge to fall asleep.

Under normal circumstances, intense fear can drive living beings to faint as a defense mechanism, sparing them from further torment. 

This primal instinct was causing the drowsiness within Sato and the others to grow stronger and stronger.

But Sato, with his unusually strong will, witnessed a horrifying scene that jolted him awake. 

For those with less resilience—trainers and Pokémon alike—the colors drained from their bodies as their eyes slowly closed, turning them monochrome like the rest of the environment.

The black mist entwined around these trainers began to envelop them completely. Those fully covered in mist started sinking into the ground, vanishing into the endless darkness below.

Where were they going? What fate awaited them? 

Sato was certain it wasn't anything good. He clenched his teeth, fighting the fear and sleepiness, desperately trying to stay conscious.

Time seemed to crawl within the Nightmare Barrier. 

Sato felt as though he had endured this torment for over half an hour, though only seven or eight seconds had passed.

At this point, his bloodshot eyes and bulging veins made him look like a man on the brink of insanity, yet he had managed to remain conscious. 

Not a single hint of color had faded from his body.

After another ten seconds, only a handful of individuals still retained their color: Sato, Courtney, the male Team Magma elite who had earlier defied Courtney, and, surprisingly, Marcus.

As for the Pokémon, only Courtney's Ninetales and the male elite's Camerupt remained; the rest had been completely wiped out, all dragged into the darkness below.

Throughout this period, Darkrai continued to rage, radiating waves of black energy. However, its output was noticeably declining, indicating the massive energy drain of maintaining the Nightmare Barrier.

This was now a battle of wills. Whoever held out the longest would emerge victorious. After several more seconds, Marcus and the male Team Magma elite succumbed, despite their struggles. Their bodies grew increasingly monochrome, and black mist eventually engulfed them completely, pulling them and their Pokémon into the abyss.

Now, only Sato and Courtney remained.

"Hey, Courtney! Where are those Lunar Wings? Take them out now, or we're all going to die here!"

Perhaps due to Darkrai's waning strength or Sato's growing resistance to the torment, he found himself able to move slightly. He immediately turned to Courtney and shouted with difficulty.

Courtney, who no longer bore even a semblance of her usual beauty, had a face twisted in agony, resembling a banshee. 

She heard Sato's voice but nearly lost consciousness in the process of trying to respond. Ultimately, she stayed silent, enduring the torment in grim determination.

"Are we really going to die here?"

Seeing Courtney unresponsive and nearly monochrome herself, Sato's heart sank in despair. The moment this emotion arose, the monochrome began spreading rapidly across his own body.

As the black mist and monochrome color reached up to his head, Sato suddenly thought of his tragic experiences in his previous life and the bright new path he had just begun to walk. A life lived twice—how could he accept dying here without even fulfilling his dreams? 

He couldn't.

"No! I won't die here! Not again… NEVER!!!"

A surge of unyielding determination filled his heart, and Sato found himself able to move freely. Letting out a roar of defiance, he drove back the fear Darkrai had instilled in him through his mind. 

The black mist surrounding him recoiled as if in fear, and the monochrome parts of his body instantly regained their color.

"Raiii!"

From above, Darkrai's blood-red eyes widened in disbelief as it stared at Sato. Letting out a furious roar, it tried to muster the last remnants of its strength to subdue him once again.

"Swampert, knock this fucker out with Hammer Arm! Now!"

Recognizing the momentary opportunity, Sato acted swiftly, tossing a now fully restored PokéBall into the air. From within emerged Swampert, its massive blue body appearing in a flash of light. 

Following Sato's command, Swampert's right arm bulged with energy, doubling in size as it delivered a devastating upward punch to Darkrai's chin, brimming with Fighting-type energy.

Boom!

A resounding impact echoed as Swampert's powerful attack, enhanced by its incredible strength, landed squarely on Darkrai's weak point. 

The legendary Pokémon was sent hurtling skyward.

Crash!

Darkrai's body shattered through the Nightmare Barrier, creating a cracked hole in the monochrome sky. A small patch of blue peeked through.

The barrier began to crumble rapidly, cracks spreading like wildfire. Black-and-white fragments rained down as the entire Nightmare Barrier disintegrated.

With the barrier gone, Sato once again saw the clear blue sky and ocean. Those who had been dragged into the darkness reappeared, lying unconscious on the ground alongside their Pokémon.

Relieved, Sato slumped to the ground, his face pale and drenched in sweat. He felt as though his entire body had fallen apart.

Just as he began regaining some strength and attempted to stand, a loud thud echoed.

A shadow fell from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground and leaving a large crater.

Initially thinking it was Darkrai, Sato prepared to have Swampert finish it off. But as he approached the crater, he realized it wasn't Darkrai—it was a black crystal, shrouded in ominous mist.