"My deepest nightmare, huh..."
Eyelids heavy, Natsu closed his eyes, letting sleep drag him into darkness.
...
Ding-ling-ling—
Ding-ling-ling—
The Pikachu alarm clock on his nightstand kept vibrating.
Slapping the clock, Natsu opened his eyes.
Staring at the ceiling, he let out a long yawn:
"Another day waking up to my own handsoness."
After getting up and brushing his teeth, he glanced outside the window.
Common gray pigeons fluttered past under clear, windless skies.
Natsu's eyes flickered as he spat out toothpaste, feeling like sothing was missing.
Splash—
The running water revealed a face in the mirror so dazzling it could only be seen when his phone died.
"A dream?" Natsu muttered. "I should be even more handso than this..."
His complaints did little to ease the growing emptiness in his chest.
When he sat at his computer and saw Cynthia's wallpaper, realization struck.
"That's it! No wonder I felt anxious—the Diamond & Pearl remakes trailer dropped!"
"Damn you Ga Freak! How could the 2021 remakes be this bad? Just quit and let Nintendo take over!"
"Wait... If Dawn got turned into a bobblehead... then my Cynthia must've—"
Natsu searched for Cynthia's chibi model online.
He gasped.
Slapping his own cheeks:
"This has to be a nightmare!!"
Thud!
Grabbing his bag, Natsu left for campus.
A striped green-eyed stray cat walked alongside him atop vine-covered brick walls.
A trainer passed by walking a black-and-white Alaskan Malamute.
"Woof!" The dog raised its paws, grinning as it "bowed" to Natsu.
Natsu rubbed its head, earning happy squints and a nod from its trainer.
'They're all lovely.'
His light steps faltered as sudden pain pierced his chest.
'But... they're not mine.'
Natsu stopped, turning to the sunlit empty space behind him.
"My... Pokémon." His gaze hardened as he looked down at the Poké Ball now clenched in his palm.
The tallic sphere glead brilliantly.
A smile tugged his lips.
Then—he hurled it with all his might:
"I CHOOSE YOU!!"
...
Darkrai watched in astonishnt as the smiling, still-sleeping Natsu.
What could inspire such joy even in nightmares?
Such pure, unfiltered emotion made Darkrai's eyes dim.
"Alicia..." it whispered, recalling the one who'd once trusted it.
Shifting focus through the shadows, Darkrai observed the other dreams:
Gengar snoring loudly...
Blastoise wearing sunglasses...
Togepi curled in its eggshell...
The unmoving Poké Balls...
...
Neon-lit Tokyo pulsed with romance and detachnt, a city of dazzling lights and endless streams of people.
A shadowy Gastly drifted through the dim ceilings of old apartnt buildings in the outskirts, drool dripping from its mouth.
"Gastly~"
It was starving, but it was well-behaved—it knew it had to work for its rewards.
Sotis, Gastly would help the milkn by supporting the bottom of their delivery crates to make their job easier.
"A ghost!!" But the milkn always ran away in panic, leaving behind shattered glass bottles.
"Gastly~" Gastly licked up the spilled milk, carefully avoiding the shards, its face lighting up with satisfaction.
One day, Gastly encountered a plainly dressed young man.
He shouted "Daii Tenryuu!" and hurled a Poké Ball at it.
Gastly was happy—at least inside the Poké Ball, it would be more comfortable.
If it worked hard, maybe its Trainer wouldn't abandon it.
"Stop licking, smile!" The young man pulled out his phone and snapped a selfie.
"Gastly~o(≧▽≦)ツ"*
Gastly flew in front of the cara, its bulging white eyes completely blocking the lens.
Inside the Poké Ball, Gengar bared its teeth in a relieved grin.
Then, it glimpsed a distant light and heard soone calling its na.
Without hesitation, Gengar flew toward it.
"Gengar!"
...
Under a sky dense with stars, the wilderness stretched endlessly, shadows of trees swaying in the wind.
A small, filthy figure darted through the underbrush, its fur matted and unkempt.
This Eevee was anything but cute—its claws were sharp, teeth bared in a snarl.
"Eevee!" It angrily kicked away a Rattata, snatching the Pecha Berry from its mouth.
The Rattata glared, attacking in a swarm, but Eevee swiftly drove them off.
Moonlight spilled through the trees.
Battered and bloodied, Eevee clutched the stolen berry, leaning against a trunk as it scoffed:
"Eevee! o(′^｀)o"
It rembered this day—how it barely escaped, only to be taken in by the young man for treatnt.
Eevee had never known warm blankets or tasty Pokéblocks.
Afraid it would all vanish, it kept its guard up, never opening its heart to him.
Until that evening, when it walked away without looking back, tears rolling down its face.
"E-Eevee!" Eevee couldn't let him see.
If it got caught, it might start crying.
It rembered waking in pain, barely conscious, seeing a pure white bow floating before it.
That was the first ti it saw the bow.
Thunk!
"Eevee!" Eevee flinched as a Poké Ball bonked its head.
From afar, a cheerful voice laughed: "So you're just a tsundere, huh?"
Vision fading to white, Sylveon gritted its teeth in its sleep, turning away stubbornly.
Then, faintly, it heard its na.
Grudgingly, it flew toward the light.
"Sylveon!"
...
A clear stream bubbled over smooth stones.
On a mossy rock, a turtle shell sat motionless, its occupant deep in thought.
What's the outside world really like?
Why do so many Trainers think I'm weak… that I have no potential?
Squirtle kept waiting in the gardens, certain soone would see its worth.
But even when Trainers passed the principal's test, they balked at the astronomical cost of training "Aura" and left.
"Squirtle!" It rembered the day it t the young man.
It withdrew into its shell, bracing for disappointnt.
But the young man just smiled and said, "We share the sa dream."
"With you, I know we'll make it co true."
Squirtle was moved.
To survive in turbulent tis, without seeking fa…
"Squirtle!" It reached out, placing a small paw in his palm.
It vowed then—even if it ant risking everything, it would make him Champion!
In its sleep, Blastoise still held a Chesto Berry in its mouth, uneaten.
A glimr of light appeared, a voice calling.
Blastoise marched steadily toward it.
"Blastoise."
...
Growlithe often rembered its mother's bravery in battle.
That majestic Arcanine, wreathed in flas, charging fearlessly into the fray.
Growlithe dread of being a hero—a dream that drove it to sneak out and train even at night.
Sotis, it had nightmares—visions of its mother lying in a pool of blood, eyes wide and staring.
"Growlithe…" It whimpered in its sleep, waking to see the man rubbing his eyes under the moonlight.
"Hungry again?" The man sighed, ruffling its fur. "I told you, eating too much will stretch your stomach!"
Growlithe nuzzled his leg, letting him scratch its chin.
"Growlithe~! ╥﹏╥..."
"Fine, I'll make you sothing… What flavor?"
Growlithe wanted to be the team's shield—to rush into danger like its mother.
But with its Trainer, every challenge seed to lt away.
It wondered if it should train harder.
Maybe sparring with Sylveon would toughen it up…
But as long as it was with him, nothing else mattered.
"Arcanine~!" In its dreams, Arcanine's fierce face softened into the dopey grin of a loyal dog.
It saw its Trainer waving from afar, then walking away.
Arcanine sprinted toward the light without hesitation.
"Arcanine!"
...
"Togepi doo-ee~ ヾ(｀Д′)彡"
Togepi's "nightmare" was simple—it dread of a 10-pull gacha failure, tossing its handheld console aside in frustration.
Then, it grabbed its phone, ssaging w for move tutoring.
The new move was complex, the training grueling.
"Togepi~" Its eyes sparkled with excitent.
Darkrai, watching the nightmare, blinked.
Good grief… Why does this Trainer's Pokémon get excited over training?!
How can they treat sothing so exhausting… like play?!
"Is it because of the Trainer's influence…?"
Darkrai glanced at the young man and muttered:
"So… he aims to be a Trainer among legendaries."
After the online lesson, Togepi bounced around, chugging soda and munching chips.
But today, its Trainer was late.
"Togepi doo-ee~（｀へ´）"
It kicked its tiny feet, sulking.
Then—a light!
Togepi grabbed a jumbo soda and rushed toward it, eager to share with its Trainer.
"Togepi doo-ee~ ヽ(￣▽￣)ノ"
...
"Sirfetch'd! "
In its dream, Sirfetch'd stood as World Champion—
Confetti rained, fireworks bood, and its Trainer led it onto the stage for photos.
"Why the long face?" Natsu asked. "We promised you'd be champion, didn't we?"
Sirfetch'd's heart ached.
All I wanted was to laze around!!
No! This has to be a dream!!
Darkrai stared in shock as the Premier Ball shook violently.
This Sirfetch'd was the first to break free of Dark Void.
"Incredible strength…"
Darkrai kept watching, baffled, as Sirfetch'd plunged into another nightmare.
"Sirfetch'd!"
The noble white knight swung its lance, a blazing glow piercing a massive, sword-wielding hound!
"It… fought Zacian?!"
In a century of wandering, Darkrai had only heard whispers of the legendary wolves.
This was unmistakably Zacian.
Darkrai gaped at the Premier Ball.
Just what is this Pokémon…?
Sirfetch'd radiated power even Darkrai couldn't ignore.
And its connection to Zacian…
"How is this a nightmare?"
Darkrai whispered:
"Beating Zacian… Shouldn't that be a dream?"
"Sirfetch'd! (ー`´ー)"
Sirfetch'd stared at the fallen Zacian, trembling.
What if Zamazenta cos for revenge?!
This HAS to be a nightmare… I just wanna laze around!!
A light glowed in the distance—its Trainer's voice calling.
Sirfetch'd waddled toward it as fast as it could.
"Sirfetch'd!"
...
In Natsu's dream.
A clearing pulsed with white light.
"I Choose You!"
The mont he shouted those words—
His little ones erged from their Poké Balls, gathering around him.
At that instant, the barriers in Natsu's heart shattered. mories flooded back, and a smile touched his lips.
Forgetting his own Pokémon—that, to him, was the cruelest nightmare.
And then there was that chibi, two-headed Cynthia from the Diamond & Pearl remakes in his dream…
Natsu: "Ahem… Better not ntion this dream to her."
This was still the dreamscape. His little ones appeared beside him in spectral forms.
For a mont, the air filled with ghostly wails and Sylveon's lodic cries.
Natsu smiled, gently petting each of his Pokémon.
Seeing the clarity in their eyes, he felt it—the bond between them had grown stronger.
This was the purest connection between Natsu and his little ones.
And yes, that absolutely included Moe-Moe!…
While they dread of him, he dread of them too.
But.
Natsu glanced at the Rotom Pokédex and raised an eyebrow. "What did you dream about? I didn't see anything."
The Rotom Pokédex stroked its chin with a chanical arm, its screen flashing a giant question mark:
"Dread… of becoming a berry stall, Rotom."
Natsu: "…Must've been all those Pokéblocks lately. Take three days off."
"Long live understanding, Rotom!"
The Lunar Feather in his pocket finally glowed—a faint, struggling light.
Against a Darkrai of legendary strength, even its power had limits.
Natsu: "…Talk about lag! I wake up, and now you decide to work?"
The Lunar Feather: "…"
"How can you be sure," a voice challenged, "that you're truly awake… and not still dreaming?"
A shadowy mass swirled before him, the murky darkness coalescing into Darkrai's towering form.
"Not in the mood for philosophy right now."
Natsu locked eyes with Darkrai's piercing blue gaze and spoke slowly, deliberately:
"I'm here… to tell you sothing far more important."
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