I Really Didn’t Want to Be a Trainer

"I have more important matters to attend to as well," Darkrai nodded. "You and Haunter have passed the test... I'm willing to teach it 'Dark Void'."

"Gengarrr!" Haunter jumped excitedly.

Lu Ye, interrupted mid-sentence, was taken aback: "Teach it... Dark Void?"

Darkrai replied simply: "It wants to learn, so I'll teach it."

Teacher Lu stared blankly for a long moment before facepalming. Now it's not just self-learning... but also making connections with Legendary Pokémon on its own?

"Then... what's the price?"

"Two cans, no—" Darkrai extended three claws, "Three cans."

"Three cans of what?"

Darkrai swallowed hard, struggling to say it: "That... thing you keep in Haunter's glass jars."

The most basic Oran Berry PokeBlocks! Lu Ye suddenly understood and waved grandly: "I'll give you four cans."

"!!" Darkrai's eyes widened in shock. "Thank you, human."

"On the condition that you don't teach it."

"......"

"Though teaching is fine too," Lu Ye sighed. "But surely you don't expect me to cover the training resources?"

"You mean..." Darkrai said confusedly, "I should also prepare the resources Haunter needs for training?"

"That's your suggestion," Lu Ye said with burning intensity.

Darkrai felt a weight in its chest and admitted honestly: "...I know the locations of several treasure chests buried last century."

"Ah, forget about treasure chests!" Lu Ye stepped forward, attempting to sling an arm around Darkrai's shoulders with a laugh. "Our main responsibility is to prevent White Poplar Town from being destroyed!"

Darkrai sidestepped the gesture but showed a hint of warmth in its eyes: "I understand... After driving 'those two' away, I'll teach Haunter properly!"

"Those two... you mean?"

"The Temporal Pokémon, Dialga," Darkrai said solemnly. "And the Spatial Pokémon, Palkia!"

"Oh."

Darkrai looked puzzled: "Why... do you seem like you already knew?"

Lu Ye spread his hands and sighed deeply: "What else could it be?"

"The Rise of Darkrai: Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai"—the movie title spelled it out clearly enough!

Beside them, Haunter mimicked the gesture, striking the same pose: "Gengarrr~︿(￣︶￣)︿"

Darkrai felt suffocated—after centuries of existence, this was the first time it had ever been so thoroughly exasperated.

"Fine... consider it me taking on a bargain apprentice."

Finding no common ground, Darkrai began sinking into the shadows.

Lu Ye quickly called out: "Wait! I haven't even discussed the important matter with you yet!"

Darkrai's form rose back up.

"Before the Temporal-Spatial Twin Dragons arrive," Lu Ye pondered for a long moment, "could you send me outside White Poplar Town first?"

Darkrai slowly descended back down.

"What I mean is, I'll go get reinforcements—Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!"

Darkrai rose again.

"And then we'll both escape together."

"!!" Darkrai roared. "Are you done yet?!"

"Right now, the Twin Dragons are already on their way. The outskirts of White Poplar Town are shrouded in white fog from dimensional rifts—even I can't find a way out!"

Lu Ye frowned slightly, his expression turning serious.

"So the movie plot has already begun..."

Due to the battle between Dialga and Palkia, White Poplar Town had become an isolated space enveloped in thick white mist. Even with Darkrai's power, it couldn't breach the 'dimensional barrier' to reach the world outside.

This might not be entirely bad news.

After all... Cynthia was still outside the 'dimensional barrier' and wouldn't need to come to White Poplar Town.

Lu Ye sighed: "So there's finally a dimensional wall between me and Mengmengda, huh?"

"Damn you, Decade!"

Darkrai: "?"

Darkrai felt there was some hidden meaning in his words but, trusting in his strength, said gravely: "Do you have any good suggestions?"

Lu Ye looked at Darkrai.

This Darkrai could temporarily hold its own against the Twin Dragons—its power was terrifying. According to the original plot... the Tower of Time and Space would play "Oración" to calm the Twin Dragons' rage.

But right now, he hadn't met any of the original protagonists. Pinning hopes on Ash would take too long...

'Not sure if my Great Health Technique—no, my Aura—would work on the Twin Dragons.'

Lu Ye rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"The Twin Dragons probably don't understand ancient language either... Only Aura might work."

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and Lu Ye's eyes lit up.

That's right! Ash came with Ami to watch the matches, so he must be in White Poplar Town too!

With Ash's "Power of Viridian," he could communicate with the Twin Dragons and soothe their anger. At the very least, his "Power of Viridian" could also buff Darkrai, providing healing, buffs, and even power boosts!

Lu Ye made up his mind—after waking up, he'd go find 'Brother Ash' for help. He'd beaten Articuno before, so Legendary Pokémon were just small fry to him!

Moreover, they couldn't afford to waste any available combat power.

"We need to work together," Lu Ye said solemnly to Darkrai. "You want to protect White Poplar Town, and I..."

Lu Ye paused.

His original goal was to save Darkrai from its fate and maybe profit along the way. He just hadn't expected Ash to arrive so abruptly, triggering the movie plot right away.

Now, Haunter had reserved Darkrai's "Dark Void," which paired perfectly with its specialty "Hypnosis"—this would be an epic upgrade. After this movie arc, Haunter's power would likely break through to Elite Four level, temporarily surpassing Mega Blastoise to become the strongest fighter.

'Two Elite Four-level troublemakers... I wonder if I can handle it.'

Lu Ye shook his head and said to Darkrai: "And I want to protect the people I love."

Darkrai's gaze softened: "She's... in the Sinnoh region?"

Lu Ye nodded.

"If White Poplar Town is swallowed by the dimensional rift, all of Sinnoh will be doomed too," Darkrai said gravely. "With you and that Sirfetch'd here, I believe your plan can succeed."

As white mist swirled, Darkrai's shadow shifted forward, extending a shadowy claw toward Lu Ye.

Lu Ye placed his hand on it, pressing firmly as they reached an agreement.

"With me here, the success rate increases—that makes sense..." Lu Ye muttered in confusion. "But what does Ducklett have to do with this?"

"By the way... how did you know," Darkrai mumbled, "that I wanted to... protect White Poplar Town?"

Lu Ye: "I found Gaudí's diary in the library."

Darkrai: "...That guy really can't keep secrets."

"True, respectable people never keep diaries."

His hand, which had been reaching into his pocket, withdrew as Lu Ye thought to himself.

Darkrai attempted to teach "Dark Void," but failed.

The super rookie triggered the movie plot early to trick a virtuous teacher like me.

This grudge... I, Lu Ye, will remember it!