"What happened?" Lance asked, his voice laced with concern. He knew how much was riding on President Damalanchi's current maneuvers.
"Damalanchi's movements in the Sevii Islands were a feint to paralyze our judgment," Lorelei replied, her tone icy. "The real capture site for Lugia isn't here—it's at the Whirl Islands. Lugia moved there recently."
"The League used a Ditto to impersonate Lugia here in the Sevii Islands to keep me occupied. I've been chasing a phantom while the real god of the sea is being cornered elsewhere."
"I need to notify High Priest Shamiao immediately before he walks into a trap," Lance said firmly. "How did you uncover this?"
"The locals," Lorelei said, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Fishermen near the Whirl Islands saw the League's massive technical installations and a gargantuan shadow moving beneath the waves. I conducted a covert reconnaissance mission and confirmed that old fox Damalanchi's scheme. No one plays me for a fool and gets away with it."
"Understood," Lance declared. "I will head to the Whirl Islands with Shamiao. We cannot let Lugia fall into the League's hands."
The Architect's Hubris
At the Kanto League Headquarters, Damalanchi listened to the report from his top investigators with a satisfied smirk.
"Excellent. Our 'Stealing the Sky and Putting out the Sun' plan is working perfectly," he chuckled. "Lorelei is still running circles in the Sevii Islands. There's a certain thrill in outmaneuvering an Elite Four member. It makes up for all the recent headaches."
He looked at the two figures standing before him. "Black and White, you've done remarkably well. I was right to promote you to Special Investigators despite the pushback. I am not a stingy leader; your rewards will be substantial."
'Black' was a tall, lean man in his thirties with a sharp gaze behind half-frame glasses and a distinctive mole between his brows. 'White' was a silver-haired beauty with an hourglass figure, her sharp business suit and crimson lipstick giving her the aura of a high-powered corporate assassin.
"We live to serve, President," White said with a polite bow. She led the silent Black out of the office.
Once alone, Damalanchi pressed a button on his desk. A massive holographic projection of Lugia filled the room.
"The God of the Sea," he whispered, his eyes wide with megalomania. "Once I have Lugia, the Elite Four and Team Rocket will be nothing but dust beneath my boots. I will be the True King of Kanto and Johto."
The Forbidden Sea
While the storm brewed in Kanto, Feng Che had arrived in the waters surrounding Newmoon Island.
According to the Gardenia records, Newmoon Island only manifests during a new moon or a full moon. It is a place of perpetual shadow, surrounded by waterspouts that touch the clouds and jagged lightning the thickness of a man's arm. Legend says those who step onto the island never return, their souls trapped forever by the Lord of Nightmares.
Feng Che's submarine cruised through a literal graveyard. The seabed here was barren—no seaweed, no coral, just jagged, pale rocks. It was a silent, suffocating world.
"Mewtwo, can you sense why it's so dead here?"
"It's Darkrai's Nightmare Realm," Mewtwo explained. "Any Pokémon that wanders here falls into a sleep from which they never wake. Their bodies eventually calcify and turn into the very rocks you see. It's a zone of absolute death."
"Only newborns wander here out of ignorance," Mewtwo continued. "And the dying come here to wait. They believe Darkrai is a god of death who will ferry their souls to the next world."
Mewtwo paused, its eyes glowing blue. "My telepathy tells me the island will manifest at midnight tonight in a sub-dimension. It will only stay for six hours. If we aren't out by then, we're trapped until the next cycle."
"The Nightmare Realm is Dark-type energy," Mewtwo warned. "It naturally suppresses my Psychic powers. I won't be able to use Teleport to get us out once we're inside. We must find Darkrai within four hours or retreat immediately."
"Understood," Feng Che nodded. "Jessica messaged me that the Lugia operation is imminent. I won't lose the forest for a single tree. If we can't find him, we leave."
As they waited in the silent dark of the deep sea, the water suddenly grew turbulent. A thick, black mist began to seep from the tectonic cracks in the seabed. The dying Pokémon in the area didn't flee; they closed their eyes with smiles of relief as the darkness swallowed them.
The Nightmare had begun.