You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
The Pokémon Trainer with the Metagross froze in place. He slowly turned around, his eyes filled with wariness.
"Who are you?" His voice suddenly turned cold.
From that wording alone, Luther's suspicion was confirmed.
The moment the Darkrai user Dakota appeared, Luther's Darkrai immediately slipped into the shadows.
The opponent also had a Darkrai, and since Luther's Darkrai had been captured before, it instinctively sensed a connection to the Evergreen that Luther had mentioned.
Originally, Darkrai had planned to hide in the shadows and protect Luther during the upcoming battle. However, the instant Dakota spoke, Luther's Darkrai sensed danger and stepped out to stand protectively in front of Luther.
Dakota's Darkrai reacted instinctively, moving to shield Dakota.
"You also have…"
Dakota frowned when he noticed that Luther also had a Darkrai. His gaze locked onto Luther, studying him for a long moment.
The atmosphere, which had started to calm down, once again grew tense and confrontational.
"What's your relationship with those people?"
Luther was confused. "What people?"
Dakota froze at Luther's response, but he did not lower his guard. Just as Luther was figuring out how to explain, Mai poked him with her Pokédex.
"My companions and I are Pokédex holders. I'm not sure what you mean by 'those people,' but we don't have any bad intentions."
The tense atmosphere had almost made Luther forget about the Pokédex, it was practically an ID badge.
Sure enough, upon seeing the Pokédex, much of Dakota's vigilance and tension faded. His Darkrai also took the initiative to step back, signaling no intention to attack.
Luther's Darkrai quietly melted back into the shadows as well.
"We've shown you our identification. Shouldn't you introduce yourself now?"
Although Luther was a transmigrator who knew Dakota would participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference, meaning his identity shouldn't be an issue, the way Dakota spoke, especially when mentioning "those people," made it clear he was extremely cautious.
If Luther couldn't dispel that suspicion, even a little, who knew what could happen out here in the wild?
With Mai by his side, Luther had to prioritize safety above all else.
Dakota fell silent for a moment, then took out his own Pokédex.
"If you know Professor Rowan of the Sunyshore City Research Lab, you can send him a message to confirm."
This truly shocked Luther. Dakota... Mr. Legendary Pokémon himself... was also a Pokédex holder?
Then why hadn't their Pokédexes resonated?
Luther definitely had that feature turned on.
"Is your Pokédex real?" Luther asked skeptically.
Dakota seemed to know exactly why Luther was asking and explained,
"I'm only temporarily holding this Pokédex. Professor Rowan needs Darkrai's data for research. I dislike filing daily reports, so she gave me this Pokédex."
"The Pokédex doesn't contain my personal data, and it isn't officially registered to me. That's why it won't sync with yours."
As he spoke, Dakota took out his phone and pulled up a photo of himself with Professor Rowan at the research lab.
Mai verified it and nodded to Luther.
If the professor of the research lab had issued him a temporary Pokédex, then it was fine.
After all this cautious cross-checking, both sides felt a bit drained.
Dakota had originally intended to chase after Latios immediately, but the Latios was long gone by the time this whole confrontation was over. He accepted Luther's invitation and sat down at the camp to rest.
Dakota was only three years older than Luther. Because of his hairstyle and clothing, he looked older than he actually was.
"Can I ask how you knew my name?" Dakota asked curiously while inspecting the condition of his Pokémon.
This question instantly stumped Luther. How was he supposed to answer that?
He couldn't say, "I watched you use Darkrai and Latios to steamroll every opponent on your way to winning the Lily of the Valley Conference."
"I heard some Gym Leaders mention you before." Luther decided to brush it off casually.
Dakota didn't doubt him... after all, Luther had already shown his Pokédex, and that information wasn't classified.
"I see. So you're also planning to participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference?"
Luther nodded and took out his badge case.
Dakota glanced at it and showed his own in return. He already had eight badges, but aside from Oreburgh, Hearthome, and Veilstone, the other five were all non-core gyms.
This actually reassured Luther. In the anime, it was mentioned in passing that Dakota had cleared every gym using only Darkrai.
Dakota wasn't usually talkative, but seeing that half of Luther's badges were from core gyms and that Luther had the Whitewind badge made Dakota look at Luther with new respect. He spoke a bit more than before.
Luther had always thought that people like Dakota naturally gave off an air of unintentional superiority. However, after chatting with him for a while, Luther realized that impression came purely from Dakota's disjointed appearance in the anime, which created a misleading aura.
Dakko wasn't cold or unfriendly, but he didn't act overly familiar either. That was Luther's first impression.
As the conversation continued, however, Luther began to feel that Dakota was actually pretty interesting.
Seeing their Trainers getting increasingly absorbed in conversation, the two groups of Pokémon simply began interacting among themselves.
After earning Metagross's approval, Chikorita and Milcery experienced something new. They climbed onto its body, and with each step, they heard a deep metallic clang. The little ones couldn't help stomping a few extra times.
Metagross didn't even notice and continued chatting with Marill.
The two Darkrai glanced at their companions' antics from a distance. They sighed in unison, exchanged a look, and silently slipped back into the shadows.
As they talked, Luther eventually brought up the topic Dakota had mentioned twice during their first encounter—"those people."
Dakota, who had been answering smoothly until now, suddenly fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally said, "I don't know who they are either. But I do know they're trying to capture Legendary Pokémon."
"I accidentally saved the Darkrai they were trying to capture. While tracking them afterward, I discovered one of their bases and destroyed it. As for the rest of the information I know, it's better if you don't."
Luther was adding branches to the campfire when he heard this. His mind jolted violently.
"The previous Darkrai was captured by a strange man. You even let him destroy our base. Don't mess up again this time."
That was what Evergreen had yelled angrily at his subordinates in the memory Luther saw through Darkrai. Back then, Luther thought the man was just a passing Pokémon Trainer who happened to foil their scheme.
But now it seemed...
The trainer who went against Evergreen's group was Dakota.
(End of this chapter)