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Darkrai's crimson eyes gleamed like blood moons beneath the haze-choked sky.
He floated in the air, cloaked in a spiral of gloom, his breath ragged from the clash.
Sam stood firmly on the edge of the rocky slope, eyes narrowed.
"Lucario's a Fighting and Steel type. He resists Darkrai's Dark-type moves…"
"And with the Justified ability, every time he's hit by a Dark move…"
He looked up.
Lucario's aura was blazing.
"His power just keeps growing."
Darkrai's flurry of Dark Pulses—devastating to most Pokémon—had barely scratched Lucario.
Instead, it became fuel.
Aura and righteousness surged within him, burning away the evil energy like a divine forge.
Lucario's fists clenched.
His breathing had slowed.
Focused.
Deadly.
"He's at his peak," Sam muttered.
"Luca, Brick Break!"
"LUKAAA!!"
Lucario kicked off with explosive force, the earth beneath his feet cracking like shattered glass.
He blitzed forward like a flash of silver and blue flame, aura trailing behind him in a glowing wake.
Darkrai hissed violently, reacting instinctively—its shadowy claws wreathed in dark vapor.
They met in midair.
BOOOM!!!
The shockwave rippled through the mountain top.
Both Pokémon were hurled back several meters.
Lucario landed hard, but on his feet.
Dust and debris spiraled around him.
Across from him, Darkrai wobbled in the air, cloak fluttering.
Its form flickered slightly—like static on a screen.
The surrounding haze was thinning.
"He's weakening," Sam thought, "but still dangerous."
That's when he noticed something strange.
Lucario's breath hitched.
The impact had taken more out of him than the last.
"Just now... that wasn't Dark Pulse."
He narrowed his eyes, recalling the exchange.
"That was Foul Play."
A sinister Dark-type move that uses the target's own Attack stat against them.
Lucario's boosted power had backfired—used against him.
"So that's Darkrai's countermeasure..." Sam's jaw tightened.
"But it's still a Dark move."
"Which means we still have the upper hand!"
"Luca, Rock Smash, now!"
"LUKAAAA!!!"
Lucario roared and sprinted forward—blindingly fast.
He weaved through the air like lightning unleashed, fists glowing orange-red with fighting energy.
Each step launched a burst of aura, stirring the dust.
A concentrated shockwave followed in his wake.
If this attack hit cleanly—
Even a legendary Pokémon like Darkrai would crack.
But just as Lucario closed the distance—
Zzzhhhkkkkkk—!
The air in front of him twisted.
Space itself warped—and from that distortion, a black vortex formed mid-air.
Darkrai's signature move.
"Dark Void!"
Dozens of black, ghostlike hands erupted from the rift—grasping, reaching.
"He's trying to pull Lucario into a nightmare!"
Most Legendary Pokémon possess overwhelming signature moves—devastating attacks that rewrite the field in an instant like Dragon Ascent that lets Rayquaza carve through the heavens themselves.
But Darkrai…
Darkrai was different.
Its exclusive move wasn't a blunt force technique.
It was psychological.
Insidious.
Dark Void.
A black vortex that drags foes into unshakable sleep, filled with nightmares so real they tear at the soul.
Sam narrowed his eyes as the twisted black portal rippled.
"Once caught in it, no Pokémon can be awakened by external force."
"Not sound. Not pain. Only raw willpower."
If Lucario fell into that void—
The battle would tip instantly in Darkrai's favor.
But Sam wasn't caught off guard.
Through the power of Aura, he connected directly with Lucario's mind, issuing his command before the attack even completed:
"Luca, Extreme Speed—dodge!"
"LU-KAAAAA!!!"
The moment the black hands reached out—
Lucario exploded backwards with a burst of white aura.
Boom!
The Aura force around his body blasted outward, disrupting the swirling shadows.
He ducked, spun, and slipped between the grasping claws, the space distorting behind him.
He landed beside Sam, unharmed.
"You okay?" Sam asked, not breaking eye contact with Darkrai.
Lucario nodded, short and sharp.
"Luka~!"
The black haze surrounding Darkrai was thinning.
The force it had poured into the Dark Void had drained its reserves.
Now—
It floated lower.
Slower.
A subtle tremor shook its frame.
"Good," Sam muttered.
"Luca, finish it. Let's decide the outcome!"
Lucario stepped forward, aura surging.
He tilted his head back—
"LUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"