The fog wouldn't lift.
Skylar, Cynthia, and Gary stood in the heart of the withered clearing on Route 9. The ground remained frozen, the air thick with a strange metallic scent—like stagnant ozone. Everything was silent. Too silent.
Ralts floated next to Skylar, trembling.Gible and Growlithe stood alert, growling low into the woods.
And then the air grew heavy.
The mist thickened… and something emerged.
A floating, dark figure. Its outline unmistakable to anyone who had studied a Pokédex: Darkrai.
But this was no pristine myth.
It moved slowly, unsteadily. Its shadow rippled like a dying flame. Its single blue eye flickered—dim, damaged. Weakened.
"Darkrai…" Cynthia murmured, eyes wide.
Gary stepped forward. "What's a mythical Pokémon doing here?"
Darkrai didn't speak with words—but with thought.Its voice resonated in their minds, old, weary, full of despair.
Skylar… I finally found you…
Skylar stepped forward, his voice tight. "You know me?"
Darkrai nodded, slowly.
I am your Pokémon. Or… I was. In your future timeline.
The group froze.
"Future?" Cynthia repeated, stunned.
Darkrai's voice continued:
I come from twelve years ahead. From a time of ruin. A war.Unknown Pokémon—vile, malevolent—tore through reality. They didn't conquer… they corrupted. They destroyed.Regions fell one by one. The skies burned. The oceans froze. The earth wept blood.
Skylar's heart pounded. His breath caught in his throat.
You were among the last to resist, Skylar. You, Cynthia… and your other lovers…
Cynthia froze.
"Your WHAT?"
Darkrai paused. Its voice didn't register the tension, only truth.
Yes… you were his anchor. But not the only one. You all fought together until the end. And you almost succeeded.
Cynthia crossed her arms sharply, lips pressed into a thin line. She said nothing, but her glare could cut steel.Gary muttered, "Future girlfriends, apocalyptic destiny... I really picked the wrong career path."
Darkrai carried on:
If only… you had mastered the aura… If you had unlocked the secrets of creation…Maybe we could have changed it all.
I was the only one who made it back. Through the rift. I came to warn you… to give you a real chance.
But just as Darkrai raised a trembling claw toward Skylar—the sky tore open.
A sound like ripping metal shattered the air.
And a black vortex burst into existence above the trees.
A beam of darkness shot from it—instant, silent—and pierced straight through Darkrai's chest.
The mythical Pokémon froze. A flicker of blue.
Its body began to dissolve into ash.
"DARKRAI!" Skylar shouted, rushing forward.
The shadow unraveled like smoke in the wind.
But Darkrai's voice, faint and final, whispered into Skylar's heart.
I'm… happy…To have seen you one last time, Skylar…Thank you… for everything…
And then he was gone.
Nothing remained.
Only a symbol burned into the earth:a broken aura ring, split by a black line,and the echo of a war that hadn't begun yet.
Skylar dropped to his knees, fists clenched in silence.
Cynthia knelt beside him, unsure of what to say.
Gary, for once, remained quiet.
"Whatever's coming," Gary finally said, "isn't just a threat. It's destiny."
Skylar looked up to the sky, where wisps of that dark rift still swirled in the clouds above.
If what he said is true… then I have twelve years.
Twelve years to master the aura…to unlock the secrets of creation…and to find those who will fight by my side.