Upon hearing Aoki's proposed trade, not only Darkrai but also Slowking and Gengar were surprised.
The rhythm seemed a bit off, didn't it? Going straight for the big move?
"Be your Pokémon?" Darkrai found it somewhat hard to accept.
"That's right, be my Pokémon. To be honest, with the strength you have left, you don't have much combat power and can't provide me with much help.
You saw Mismagius being captured by me. From the strength I had when she left to the strength I possess now that I'm truly in front of you, this proves that I'm not someone who talks big. I do have the strength and ability to help you restore your power to its peak, and even help you break through your peak!
Moreover, you can ask Mismagius, or rather, Gengar, Slowking, and Honchkrow. I never force them to do things they don't like.
You don't have to feel that becoming my Pokémon means you're providing me with a lot of help. On the contrary, before you even have the ability to help me, I first need to help you recover your strength!"
Aoki said a long string of words, all essentially conveying one thing:
Follow me, you'll live well, recover your strength, and won't have to do things you dislike.
For a moment, the cave was silent, save for the faint clinking of chains.
Aoki continued, "Since you know about humans, you should also know that as a human, life is limited. To put it bluntly, you only need to be my Pokémon for a few decades at most. For you, are a few decades considered a long time?
You've been imprisoned by Giratina for longer than that, haven't you?"
These words were extremely truthful.
Aoki had just turned eighteen. If he was lucky, he might live for another seventy or eighty years; if unlucky, he might only have another ten or twenty years.
"And you can also help me teach Mismagius. I believe with your abilities, you should be able to fully develop Mismagius's talent." Aoki then played the emotional card.
Judging by Darkrai's expression when he first saw Mismagius, he had a special feeling towards Mismagius, or rather, towards Mismagius's past life.
After saying this, Aoki did not continue.
Too much is as bad as too little. He had already explained all the pros and cons, and he believed Darkrai would make his own choice.
"You… aren't afraid of Giratina?" Darkrai suddenly asked a question.
"Of course… I am afraid. Giratina, the Renegade Pokémon, I believe there aren't many people or Pokémon who aren't afraid of it, right?"
Aoki's answer was honest, but he continued, "But fear is one thing, and doing or not doing is another. You can't just stop doing things because you're afraid, can you?
There are too many frightening things in this world. If you don't do anything because of fear, then living would be too meaningless."
If one were to stop doing things because of fear of a certain event, person, or creature, then there would be too many things in this world that couldn't be done.
Isn't there a saying that goes, the best way to overcome fear is to face it! (Let's go!!!)
Hearing Aoki's words, Darkrai laughed, "Hahahahaha—hahaha—you human, you are truly very interesting."
He didn't know what his laughter contained, but it was the first time Aoki felt that this Darkrai was a living Pokémon, with its own emotions and thoughts.
It wasn't a Pokémon that could be easily manipulated.
But it was precisely because he was such a Pokémon that he had a use, or rather, a value, to be captured by Aoki.
Although this Darkrai could not show his former strength in any aspect, Aoki still had very high expectations for him.
"Alright! I agree! Becoming your Pokémon along with her must be a very interesting thing. I hope we can take care of each other in the future, my… Trainer?" Darkrai no longer hesitated and agreed to Aoki's trade.
To be honest, he had no reason to refuse this trade.
If Aoki left with his Pokémon, it wouldn't be long before he would become a completely new Ghost-type Pokémon, just like Mismagius, and would lose all his consciousness.
But if he followed Aoki, even if Aoki couldn't help him recover his strength, he would at least be free from this cage.
Just as Aoki said, human life is only so long, so what if he had to wait a few decades?
At least Darkrai believed he could fully recover his peak strength, and then he would definitely go trouble Giratina again.
As long as it was something Giratina wanted to do, Darkrai would go and sabotage it!
Hearing Darkrai agree, Aoki was delighted. He currently had no solution for Darkrai's body, which was being eroded by Ghost-type energy, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have a solution in the future.
"But, how will you destroy these chains? They are all filled with Giratina's energy, which is not something ordinary Pokémon can withstand." Darkrai asked.
Aomori looked at Gengar, signaling him to get ready.
Jie jie—
Gengar nodded at Aoki.
"Since Giratina's energy is holding you captive, then absorbing this energy will do the trick!"
As Aoki spoke, he slowly took out a stone emitting a strange light from his pocket.
"Gengar, Mega Evolve!"
Instantly! Gengar, who was in sync with Aoki's mind, immediately burst forth with a large amount of colorful light, enveloping him.
In the blink of an eye, Gengar completed its Mega Evolution!
Mega Gengar!
With Gengar's normal form having Champion-level strength, it became even stronger after Mega Evolution.
Darkrai's eyes lit up as he looked at Gengar's state.
Then, Mega Gengar flashed behind Darkrai, grabbing the four chains with its two huge hands, clenching them in its palms.
The endless energy from the chains continuously flowed into Mega Gengar's body.
For the first time in so many years, Darkrai felt no hateful energy flowing into his body, almost groaning in comfort.
"Slowking! Honchkrow!" Aoki low-roared.
The two Pokémon instantly understood.
After losing Giratina's energy, the chains were just ordinary Ghost-type energy chains.
Clang—clang—
With two sounds, all four chains broke. At this moment, Darkrai was finally freed. Besides Mega Gengar, who was still absorbing energy, Slowking and Honchkrow returned to Aoki's side.
Darkrai rubbed his wrists, feeling a sense of melancholy as he was finally released from his confinement after so many years.
He slowly landed on the flat ground, his eyes intently fixed on Aoki, wondering what he was thinking.