"The real cause?"
Alakazam furrowed his eyebrows. He glanced at Chatot, Dante, and the rest of the Omnipotent Travelers, before continuing.
"Why are you only telling it to us? Why not tell it to the other teams as well?"
"That's because you've stayed. If possible, I really don't want to tell this to anyone other than the Chatot and the Guildmaster. After all, the information I'm about to share is something that may cause panic if learned by the general public."
Dante said with a serious face. It made the three groups of Explorers to straighten up in unison.
"Kekeke. Then aren't you afraid we'd spread the news after leaving here?"
"It's fine. As fellow Explorers, I believe in the integrity of everyone. Besides, since there's only a few of us who will learn this information, it would be easy to pinpoint who spread the news."
Dante gazed at Gengar, along with his cronies, Arbok and Medicham. Although this Team Meanies took advantage of his and Pikachu's plight during their early career to obtain Drowzee's bounty, from what he investigated, they weren't a particularly evil team.
They just operate in a more pragmatic manner than the usual Explorers- choosing tasks with the highest reward to effort ratio. But because of this, they often clash with others when choosing tasks, gaining them a bad reputation among Exploration Teams.
With that nature of theirs, they would have no interest in sharing the information he was about to share and risk antagonizing their team. Though even if they did, the damage they could cause is miniscule.
"Kekeke, it would depend on what you're going to tell us, then. As upstanding and moral Explorers, it's our duty to share with everyone something that may endanger them, no?"
Gengar said with a grin, meeting Dante's gaze unflinchingly. If this white fox thinks he would be intimidated just because their team is lower ranked, then he'd better think again.
"Ahem! So, Dante. What is the real cause of this rift?"
Chatot interrupted the stare-off between the two. Right now, the most important thing was to learn the reason behind the rift. They have no time for this nonsensical posturing.
"Right. Before I tell you, let me give some background information first. As you may know, our team had just recently finished exploring a 5-star dungeon. And there, we uncovered some pretty shocking secrets."
"Oh? A secret? Is that why you refrained from submitting an exploration report earlier?"
"Yeah. At the end of that dungeon, we fought a Cofagrigus. They were very powerful, being able to command Regirock, Regice, Registeel, and Regidrago. From his mouth, we learned that he was part of an organization which dated back thousands of years ago. And said group's goal is to dominate the Grass Continent."
"Ehh!! T-there's such an organization!?"
Dante nodded seriously, his eyes inadvertently glancing at Dusknoir whose eyebrows became furrowed.
Lying 101: The more truth contained in a lie, the more believable it will be.
In addition to clearing their name as much as possible, his other goal for this information exchange is to mislead Dusknoir. And for that, he'd use the information Cofagrigus generously provided.
"We captured Cofagrigus and brought him to the Magnezone Corps to further obtain information. However, we didn't expect him to suddenly kill himself just so we couldn't read his mind."
"K-kill himself!?"
Chatot and some of the other Explorers widened their eyes. Even in their line of work, the death of a Pokemon is quite uncommon. And for someone to commit suicide, it was the first time they heard of it!
"Yes. To protect the group's secret. That's how loyal he is to their cause. And for a member to be capable of doing that, you can just imagine how immoral this organization really is."
"How abominable! Tsk, for such a group to exist..."
Dante raised his eyebrows in surprise at the indignant Gengar. It seems he was more moralistic than he gave him credit for.
"Indeed. And based on your story, was this organization the one responsible for causing the rift?"
Dusknoir asked in a grave tone. An organization that spanned thousands of years. There's no doubt, such a group must have countless Legendary Pokemon within. And only they have the power to slice a continent in half.
Dante shook his head while casting an illusion over his teammates- to ensure they wouldn't reveal anything. From this point on, his lying skills will be put to the test.
"No. That one was caused by our team. While we were resting at the bottom of the Beach Cave, the leader of their organization, Darkrai, ambushed us to take revenge for Cofagrigus and take back the Regis. That slice was the result of our counterattack."
"""Your team/Darkrai?!"""
Dante's sentence was like the explosion of a box of Blast Seeds. It caused everyone to erupt into an uproar. However, because of this, no one noticed the more exaggerated reaction of a certain Pokemon when they heard the name, "Darkrai".
"Waitwaitwait, you're responsible for this rift!?"
"You've met the leader of that organization?!"
"Did you capture them? What do they look like?"
The scene turned into pandemonium. Everyone stared at Dante and his teammates in disbelief, especially Dusknoir and Alakazam. They couldn't imagine how an ordinary group of Pokemon could unleash such a powerful attack. Only Chatot on the side had an 'as expected' look.
"Everyone, calm down! Let me finish my explanation."
With Dante's words, the room finally fell silent. Facing the gaze of everyone, he inwardly smiled. And this smile only grew when he noticed Dusknoir listening with rapt attention.
After learning the extent of damage Mawile's attack caused, he chose to reveal this information for two reasons.
One, to act as a deterrent against Dusknoir. He doesn't know why this ghostly cyclops' still haven't acted even though he should have learned his identity by now. But for Dante, maintaining the status quo is more beneficial.
Now that he learned of this feat, Dusknoir would be more cautious and not hastily enact whatever plan he may be brewing. That would give Dante and his team more time to prepare for Dialga.
And the second reason, to sabotage whatever Darkrai and his lackeys are planning behind the scenes. Even though he planned to prioritize taking care of Dialga before focusing on this endgame boss, hindering their progress would only help in the long run.
As for their possible retaliation? Unless their leader Darkrai comes, Dante is confident their team could take on anything their organization could throw at them. In fact, if it's someone like Cofagrigus that drops so many loots, he'd welcome it with open arms.
"For your earlier question about Darkrai's appearance…they have a dark body, a white head like flames, and a red, scarf-like thing on their neck. And no, we weren't able to capture them. In fact, they almost wiped out our team."
"Huh???"
Chatot and the others opened their mouths in confusion and disbelief. Dante just told them earlier that they were the one responsible for causing the rift. And now he's telling them a single Pokemon almost defeated a team capable of doing that? What the hell is going on?
"Hmm. That's understandable. After all, Darkrai is a Legendary Pokemon." Dusknoir, the only one who wasn't surprised about Dante's statement, spoke up.
"Ah! A Legendary?! No wonder they're so strong!"
Dante said with a 'shocked' and enlightened expression. As expected of Dialga's agent, he possessed information about this as well.
"Sir Dusknoir, can you tell us more about this Darkrai?"
Dusknoir nodded at Chatot's inquiry. He turned to Dante and his team, his expression unreadable.
"I only know a little myself. Darkrai, also known as the Nightmare Pokemon. Their appearance is similar to what Dante described. And they possess the power to cause nightmares, as well as the ability to control darkness. Even among Legendaries, they are among the 2nd echelon in strength. To survive against a being like that, your team lives up to its reputation."
"Hahaha, you flatter us. It was more of a fluke, really. Darkrai underestimated our team, giving us time to accumulate power and unleash this powerful slash. And even with that, we only managed to drive them away."
"Not mentioning how your team could release such an attack, but they survived? After taking a move of that magnitude?"
Alakazam asked with furrowed eyebrows. Hearing Dusknoir confirm Darkrai's appearance, the credibility of Dante words further increased in his mind.
"Yes. They escaped into the shadows at the last moment. I tried chasing them but was unfortunately unable to find any of their traces. This is also part of why I wanted everyone to keep this information a secret."
Dante turned to the three Exploration Teams and Chatot. Seeing no visible looks of doubts on their faces, he inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. He knew his words weren't enough to completely convince them- except maybe Chatot. But this was enough.
Even if they investigated his words, among the information he shared, everything that could be verified was the truth.
They captured Cofagrigus, yes. And he committed suicide in the Magzone Corps due to not wanting to divulge information. Even his identity as Darkrai's subordinate could be verified in the future, which would further solidify his claim.
The slash coming from their team also couldn't be hidden for long. After all, it contains Mawile's energy signature. Instead of lying about that, he admitted it was done by them to sell his other lies more.
And it seems to be working. All that was left is the final step. To thoroughly bring Darkrai and his cronies further into the light.
"Based on the limited information we obtained from Cofagrigus, this organization's members are scattered throughout the continent. The possibility someone is lurking inside Treasure Town is very likely."
Dante paused, his expression turning serious.
"And from our team's inference, it's possible they even have someone inserted among the Federation's higher ups."
"What!?"
Chatot's eyes widened. Does the influence of their organization even reach that point?
"Hmm, a sound guess. If they had been around for more than a thousand years, they would have countless opportunities to infiltrate the Federation."
Alakazam mused. He glanced at Gengar and his team members, then at Dusknoir. Although Dante hasn't explicitly stated it, it's also possible for a member of that group to be part of an Exploration Team. And not to mention…
"However, Dante, you've overlooked something. They may not be as powerful as you were led to believe. After all, if they've been around for thousands of years as you said, then how come they haven't taken over the whole continent already?"
"Huh. Now that you mention it…"
Dante lowered his head in thought. Alakazam was right. Darkrai already had the five Regis and Victini in his grasp. And he was sure their group had other similar levels of resources. With that level of strength, couldn't they have taken over the continent already? Or was he giving the Federation much less credit than they're worth? Or…maybe dominating the continent was not their goal all along?
Just as Dante was about to state his guess, someone else first spoke up.
"I may have the answer to that."
Everyone turned to Dusknoir, who raised a hand under his chin and continued.
"From the records I had read, Darkrai has a counterpart Legendary, one by the name of Cresselia. She is said to possess the ability to neutralize Darkrai's powers of nightmare and darkness. In addition, it is stated that Cresselia will help a Pokemon solve their problems if they are lucky enough to meet her, netting her many allies."
"Hmm?"
Dante turned to Gengar. Just now, this chubby ghost's energy fluctuated. However, seeing Dusknoir continue to speak, he kept it to the back of his mind for now.
"Thus, it may be that it's not that Darkrai and his organization didn't try dominating the continent hundreds of years ago. Instead, their attempts were stopped by Cresselia and her allies."