Silence fell over the broken chamber beneath Pokémon Tower.
Not peace—just silence.
The battle had paused, but not ended.The corrupted Pokémon had been driven back.The glyphs had been shattered.And Darkrai, purged from the alien parasite, now floated in a fragile slumber.
But in the center of the chamber, the black obelisk still pulsed faintly—its energy sick, slow… but alive.
Skylar sat on the cold stone floor beside Gardevoir, staring into the glow with a clenched jaw.
Misty tended to a scratch on her arm, sitting just across from him.
"Any movement?" she asked softly.
He shook his head. "The heart of the corruption hasn't acted again yet. But it's still here. Watching us."
She exhaled. "Then we don't have long."
A quiet hum reached their ears—Gardevoir's aura shielding the group in a gentle dome of calm.
Darkrai floated motionless, hovering just a few feet from the floor, wrapped in a field of shimmering psychic energy to protect him while he healed.
And though the chamber was still…
The war wasn't over.
Not even close.
Elsewhere, above ground, inside an unmarked League facility miles away…
A communication crystal buzzed on a black metal table.
The image flickered—showing a masked figure kneeling before a line of red-scarfed superiors.
Agent Sera of League Shadow lowered her head.
"Subject Skylar has formed a bond with the recovered Darkrai. The corrupted glyphs were purged through aura and psychic convergence."
The line of superiors—five in total, clad in shadowed robes—watched silently from behind a red-tinted screen.
A voice, genderless and cold, echoed through the room.
"He has absorbed power beyond sanctioned limits. And claimed a Legendary outlawed from use."
Another voice followed.
"His ability to influence corrupted Legendaries suggests he may be a destabilizing force. If allowed to continue…"
A third voice spoke sharply.
"What if he seeks more? What if Darkrai is just the beginning?"
One gloved hand hovered over a control panel.
Five council members.
Each with one vote.
"Proposal: Subject Skylar is to be marked for full surveillance, and terminated without trial if confirmed to pose threat to planetary stability."
A fourth voice, quiet but absolute, whispered:
"In the name of absolute justice."
No one objected.
The screen flickered.
Four green sigils lit up.
One red.
Majority: Approved.
The order was sealed.
"Commence protocol: Shadow Chain."
Back beneath the Tower, Skylar's aura flickered as he pressed his palm against the stone near Darkrai's floating form.
He wasn't unconscious anymore.
Just quiet.
Almost listening.
Then—
Darkrai stirred.
His eye slowly opened—blue again, faint and clear.
The air around him grew heavier—but not hostile.
More… watchful.
Skylar didn't speak right away.
He waited.
Darkrai's voice slid into his thoughts, gentle and tired:
"The pain is quieter now."
Skylar smiled faintly. "You're safe."
"Am I?" Darkrai asked."The fear is still there. I still feel… hollow. As if part of me was rewritten."
Misty stayed silent, giving them space.
Skylar leaned forward.
—"The fear is real. But it doesn't have to rule you."
He stood, slowly holding out a Poké Ball—its core unlit, untouched.
—"You don't have to carry that weight alone anymore."
Darkrai tilted his head.
"You would offer me a place, even knowing what I was? What they sealed me for?"
Skylar nodded. "Because I saw the version of you that fought beside me in the future. The one who chose to protect dreams, not haunt them."
He lowered the Poké Ball slightly, not pushing—offering.
—"Maybe this is destiny. Or maybe it's just choice. Either way… I'd be honored to walk forward with you."
Darkrai hovered in silence.
Then his eye closed again.
"Strange… for the first time in centuries… I feel no pull toward solitude."
He floated forward.
One clawed hand touched the Poké Ball.
A shimmer of dark light passed between them—
Click.
And with a soft pulse of energy, Darkrai entered the Poké Ball.
It rocked once.
Then sealed.
Skylar exhaled slowly, pressing the capsule to his chest.
"Rest now," he whispered. "We'll face the rest… together."
The chamber vibrated softly.
The obelisk pulsed again—deeper this time.
Skylar's eyes sharpened.
Misty stood, her hand on her belt.
"Time's up," she said. "Whatever's down there—it knows we've recovered."
Skylar nodded, standing slowly, Poké Ball still in hand.
"Then let's finish what we started."