Slash!
Haxorus's Dragon Claw once again brushed past Darkrai's face, missing by less than a centimeter. The moment the attack ended, Darkrai—who had retreated—closed in again and left yet another mark on Haxorus's body.
Now Haxorus looked truly miserable: covered in blood, with almost not a single scale left intact.
Yet Darkrai was still frowning.
To be honest, it was not satisfied with the results of its attacks, nor with the control it had over its own body.
Its awareness was ahead of its body. Its strength had not yet fully recovered, and that prevented it from meeting its own standards.
If it had not left safety margins thanks to meticulous control, it would probably have been struck by Haxorus already.
That was why Darkrai was dissatisfied with this performance.
However, it also needed to familiarize itself with its body and gradually recover its sensations through combat.
After this brief close-quarters exchange, it already had a fairly good grasp of Haxorus's style and methods of attack. There was no need to keep testing. Nor did it have any interest in continuing, and Cain judged that Darkrai had adapted sufficiently: it was time to end the battle.
Once again, it dodged Haxorus's attack with an exact precision of barely one centimeter and immediately unleashed the move Dark Void, which swallowed Haxorus whole.
When Dark Void dissipated, Haxorus was completely plunged into a deep sleep.
A sleeping Pokémon, in front of the so-called god of nightmares, was like a delicacy served on a platter, ready to be devoured or ignored at will.
Brad's emotions shifted from the initial joy at seeing Darkrai move into close combat, to frustration at being unable to inflict any damage while he himself was toyed with until he was covered in wounds, and finally to absolute terror when he saw Haxorus fall asleep.
He knew that any sleeping Pokémon, when facing Darkrai, was nothing more than meat on the chopping board—while Darkrai was the knife.
"Stop! I'm willing to tell you everything I know! I'll tell you absolutely everything, without hiding anything!" Brad begged.
If Haxorus lost its ability to fight, for someone like him—who had no Pokémon with healing abilities, was not a breeder, and possessed no special medicines—the recovery period would be extremely long. During that time, not only would it be impossible to compete for the spatial stone, but even survival would be a problem.
Feraligatr might be able to protect him, but it was only one Pokémon and could not be everywhere at once.
Cain looked at the anxious Brad, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
He knew Brad would choose to tell him personally.
However, Cain did not respond. A flash of psychic power gleamed in his eyes, and Darkrai understood instantly. A deep darkness spread within its blue eyes.
A fierce energy burst from Darkrai's body and, in front of Brad, enveloped Haxorus.
Nightmare!
But that was not the end. Another wave of psychic power surged from Darkrai's body and attached itself to Haxorus.
If Mismagius had been there, she would have understood immediately: Haxorus was having nightmares—but not only that. Suddenly, an even more ferocious beast appeared, tearing off a large fragment of Haxorus's dream and devouring it, growing in size as it fed.
That beast continued to devour Haxorus's dream, causing enormous damage both mentally and physically.
To the eyes of ordinary people and normal Pokémon, Haxorus simply began to tremble, and its aura plummeted to the lowest point.
Brad's face turned grim, but he had no way to confront Cain and Darkrai.
If even Haxorus could not defeat Darkrai, Feraligatr would fare even worse. Moreover, throughout the entire battle, a Mega Gengar had been lurking from the side. If Feraligatr moved away from it, his own safety would disappear completely.
But in reality, even with Feraligatr at his side, his safety was not guaranteed.
Cain was clearly intent on weakening the opponent's power and reducing his bargaining capacity.
Plaf!
Cain smiled and jumped down from Salamence's back, positioning himself in front of Brad and allowing him to return Haxorus to its Poké Ball without any obstruction.
Brad looked at the confident Cain and felt a deep frustration rise from the bottom of his heart.
He had fought for twenty-five years with the hope of returning, taking revenge, becoming famous in a single stroke, and washing away his humiliation. Yet all those beautiful illusions were shattered one by one by Cain, revealing his true essence: a complete loser, whose achievements were utterly worthless by comparison.
"You... don't seem like a League trainer," Brad said, his voice filled with defeat, without a trace of his former arrogance.
Cain replied with a smile, "And do you think you can still be called a League trainer now?"
Brad fell silent.
Indeed, he could no longer consider himself a League trainer. Years of hatred and resentment had accumulated in his heart. Time had not erased them; on the contrary, it had carved them deeply, making them indelible.
So even if he returned to the Pokémon world and accepted a position in the League, working alongside those who had once harmed him, that was something he could never accept.
He had only two options: never return and spend the rest of his life there, or return to the Pokémon world, take revenge, and then go into hiding—or join a powerful underground organization, such as Team Rocket or Unova's Team Plasma.
Seeing that he said nothing more, Cain understood that Brad was fully aware of his situation.
"Now you can tell me who the person is that turned you into what you are, or those secrets of this continent that even the League doesn't know," Cain asked with evident interest.
Brad looked at Cain. He had already more or less guessed what his ending would be, so he did not feel that much fear.
It was very likely that after obtaining the answers he sought, Cain would eliminate him without leaving any witnesses.
That was what he had sensed ever since he began fighting him. This young man was not a simple League trainer; he probably had another identity, just like that person from long ago.
(End of chapter)