Divine Plan? But I'm a Pokémon trainer.

Chapter 497 The Attack of the Nightmare God
In order for the Grand Contest to be held smoothly, Ash and Dawn immediately set off to investigate the urban legends of Ashtown.

It was determined that this incident was caused by Darkrai's claim that the two of them were gathering information at the Pokémon Center at the first opportunity, but neither of them had ever seen this Pokémon before.

So they had no choice but to go around visiting people who had had nightmares to try and find out what was going on.

However, that very night, Ash and Dawn had a nightmare in which they saw a mysterious figure draped in black cloth telling them to get out of there.

Ash tried to ask the other party why they did such a thing, but was attacked by a mysterious shadow.

Marcia then appeared in the nightmare, protected Ash, and fought him, revealing the true identity of the mysterious shadowy figure—Darkrai.

Upon realizing that Ash was a bit too difficult to deal with, the latter decisively ran away, and the nightmare subsided. When he woke up, he recalled the contents of the dream and confirmed their guess.

The next morning, Zhiguang and his companion, clearly having not slept well, met up with Link in the central hall with dark circles under their eyes.

"Good morning. Judging from your expressions, you two have probably already confirmed this urban legend."

Link, the Fire Fox, and the Evil Phantom, on the other hand, looked full of energy, as if they had never been attacked by the elf that brought them nightmares.

"Yeah, and as a result, I didn't sleep well..."

Xiao Guang leaned back on the sofa, looking extremely tired: "Darkrai told me to get out of this town in my nightmare. Is Ash Town so hostile to outsiders?"

She didn't notice anything amiss when she and Xiaozhi were strolling through the streets yesterday. Rather, the residents here are quite warm and hospitable; otherwise, why would they have built a venue for the Grand Contest?
So, is it that Darkrai himself is extremely averse to humans?
However, there has never been any legend about it in the town.

Even this incident only started recently.

With no clue in his mind, Xiao Guang posted the clues in the group, hoping to get help from others.

[Xiao Zhao: All we need to do is defeat that Darkrai, right? Do you need my help?]

[Hikari: Has Shirato also decided to become a Trainer?]

[Xiao Zhao: That's not how it is. Pikachu is still growing, but I might be able to help.]

As she spoke, Xiao Zhao, who was at the Yamanashi Research Institute, looked through information about Darkrai on her computer.

It is of the evil attribute and can move through shadows. The "Dark Hole" it releases can put people to sleep and cause nightmares, from which it drains their energy.

Apart from that, it doesn't seem like a big deal.

If you can dodge and withstand Darkrai's "Dark Hole," then rushing in and smashing it should solve the problem.

At least that's Xiao Zhao's assessment.

[Mingyao: It's very dangerous for humans to fight elves!]

[Ash: Marshadow peeking out.jpg]

[Mingyao: Before battling Darkrai, try bringing a Pokémon that has "Trouble Seed" or "Electric Terrain" or has the abilities "Hardcore" or "Insomnia".]

[Ah Xun: I know! Messenger birds possess both "drive" and "sleeplessness"!]

[Xiao Zhao: Is there a difference between these two characteristics?]

Upon hearing this, the Sinnoh chat room fell into a brief silence.

Actually, it's not entirely without difference, but overall it's similar to Flying-type Pokémon with the "levitation" ability.

[Minghui: I think "Enthusiasm" is a superior ability to "Sleepless," but Ash's Pikachu should have mastered "Electric Terrain," right?]

The electric current will stimulate the nerves of organisms within the range, making them unable to sleep for a short period of time.

Link taught Mew this move when he fought the strongest Mewtwo, but in reality, "Dark Hole" always felt a bit insufficient when used to deal with Darkrai.

Perhaps "imitating," "sealing," or "trading traits" would be more reliable. [Dawn: No problem! Now all that's left is how to stop Darkrai from escaping.]

[Xiao Zhao: Since it can move along its shadow, let Pikachu use "Flash," then take the opportunity to launch Darkrai into the air and chase after it with something heavier.]

Something heavy?
Xiao Guang tilted his head, puzzled. He figured the other person probably meant "a rather heavy attack."

That's even less of a problem. They have two top-tier fighters on their side: the champion and the tournament winner. They're sure to send Darkrai on a rampage.

Porygon can communicate with elves and then output voice messages to tell them what the elves have said.

Having secured the means to avoid falling asleep, defeat the opponent, and negotiate, all that's left is to wait for Darkrai to appear.

[Xiaoguang: Thank you everyone, I'm all better now.]

[Yamanashi: Hmm, if there's a chance, we could ask Darkrai for some Crescent Moon Shadows. That would be a great help to Oak and my research.]

[Xiao Zhao: No problem! I'm off to Baiyang Town right now!]

Link: How come you're starting to say "no problem" just like Hikaru...?

[Minghui: Xiaoguang does have this verbal tic, and the more she says "no problem," the more likely she is to mess up.]

"That's all in the past! This time, there will absolutely be no problem!"

In the central hall, Xiao Guang protested vehemently, drawing stares and whispers from those around him.

"Sorry, sorry, we'll keep it down here."

[Hikari: Anyway, we'll track down Darkrai and find out why it's giving the townspeople nightmares and driving them away.]

[Yamanashi: Don't be careless. The recent spatial and temporal disturbances have exceeded the critical threshold. Baiyang Town is in the core area, which is why Kobayashi went there to stand by as a precaution.]

[Ah Xun: Isn't Darkrai's behavior like it's driving people away? Does it sense something, like a massive spacetime distortion about to occur in Aspen Town?]

[Minghui: If that's the case, it's terrible.]

[Yamanashi: So I've already contacted Baron Albert in Ashford. You all need to be careful.]

Ash: I understand!

Dr. Yamanashi's news was unsettling, and the two decided to find Darkrai as soon as possible to find out the truth.

Just then, Ash thought of Link's extensive intelligence network and was about to ask if he had noticed anything when he heard panicked voices coming from outside the Pokémon Center.

"Miss Joey! Miss Joey!"

"I found this person in the alley on the street corner. He and the elf were unconscious and unresponsive no matter how I called them!"

A local spotted a coordinator from out of town who was participating in a grand contest and was training. The local was about to ask if he could watch from the sidelines when he discovered that the coordinator and his Pokémon had suddenly been struck by a strange attack and collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

She looks like she's asleep.

Seeing the green-haired boy and Gallade's appearance, Zhi and Guang exchanged a glance and secretly concluded that it was Darkrai's doing.

Unexpectedly, after its intimidation tactics failed for some time, it chose to take the initiative in reality!

"Ok?"

Link and the Fire Fox were somewhat surprised when they saw the Sleeper's face.

"Isn't this a full charge?"

(End of this chapter)