Darkrai Guy—more formally known as Tobias in the Pokémon anime—is one of the most bizarre characters to ever appear. His screen time wasn't much, but his appearance left an unforgettable impression on every viewer.
In the main Pokémon anime, Legendary Pokémon are typically treated with reverence. Their appearances are noble and rare. Even Suicune—who eventually became the subject of a viral meme from its awkward appearance in a net trap—still holds considerable status.
Unlike the games, where players can casually catch Legendary Pokémon and even shiny-hunt them, in the real world of this story, meeting a Legendary is already a stroke of extraordinary luck, let alone capturing one.
Even someone like Edward had only encountered Ho-Oh once and managed to become friends with Mewtwo. Trying to make a Legendary Pokémon fight on your behalf is a monumental challenge.
But this Tobias guy?
He shows up with two Legendaries in battle like it's nothing.
Whether Latios and Darkrai count as true Legendaries or Mythical Pokémon is debated—but regardless, they're incredibly powerful and extremely rare. Tobias displayed overwhelming power during the tournament, using just basic combos like Dark Void and Dream Eater to sweep his opponents.
Darkrai earned the title "God of Nightmares."
And then Ash faced Tobias. After a hard-fought battle, Ash lost—and was forced to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.
That plot twist sparked intense backlash from fans at the time. Many believed Ash had a real shot at winning the league that season, but then the writers suddenly introduced Tobias as a mysterious "final boss" and handed him the championship with virtually no setup.
Had Tobias been given some build-up, the audience might have accepted it. But he wasn't. He just appeared out of nowhere like a walking plot device designed specifically to block Ash from winning.
Even though Ash eventually won a championship in Alola, many fans still weren't satisfied. It wasn't until the Masters Tournament arc, where Ash finally became a Pokémon Master and exited the anime, that the writers truly wrapped up his journey.
So, although Edward knew of Tobias from the anime, he never expected to actually meet him in this world.
After all, this was the guy who casually walked around with Legendary Pokémon. A truly bizarre existence.
"Is that… Darkrai? The God of Nightmares?! How could that man possibly have a Legendary Pokémon?!" Cynthia was visibly shocked. Her eyes widened as she looked at the screen.
As a Champion, Cynthia was no stranger to the inner workings of the League or the identities of special Pokémon. And even she had never possessed anything on the level of a Legendary.
"Yeah. That's definitely Darkrai—but technically, it's a Mythical Pokémon with a Dark typing," Steven added, his expression turning serious. Any battle involving Legendaries demanded caution—even from a Champion.
"Didn't the League only recently introduce the 'Mythical Pokémon' category?" Lance chimed in. Still, their focus remained glued to Tobias.
To wield Pokémon of that caliber, Tobias had to be someone extraordinary.
Edward said nothing.
He knew even more than the Champions present. Tobias didn't just have Darkrai—he also had a Latios. That was two Pokémon with base stat totals of 600.
And the scariest part?
That probably wasn't the end of it.
Tobias very likely had other Pokémon that he hadn't revealed yet. There was no way his entire team was just Latios and Darkrai. So, Edward was dying to know: What are the rest of his Pokémon?
As he pondered that, Tobias began issuing commands to Darkrai on screen.
Though the competition was called the Tom Tree Contest, the organizers had made accommodations for Pokémon without legs—or, more importantly, without crotches. After all, how could Water-types or Bug-types with no limbs perform a crotch-based tree-splitting technique?
So instead of sticking to that one rule, the organizers allowed any Pokémon who could replicate the tree's shape in some way to pass. This change opened the door for all sorts of strange performances.
The next moment, Darkrai's body expanded dramatically. Edward recognized the move—Shadow Sneak followed by Shadow Claw.
With a single sweep of its claw, Darkrai split the entire tree clean in half, leaving a perfect cut behind, exactly matching the Tom Tree template.
"This guy's definitely going to qualify for Sinnoh's bracket," Diantha commented.
"I'm more curious whether he plans to enter the Sinnoh Lily of the Valley Conference," Alder added, coming over. Edward looked around and realized that all the Champions were gathering around the screen now.
And there Edward sat—holding Q, standing completely out of place among these titans of the League.
"He probably will. That's Darkrai we're talking about. Most trainers wouldn't stand a chance," Diantha said with a smile.
Leon nodded beside her, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. To him, undefeated to this day, battling powerful opponents was one of life's greatest pleasures.
"Normally, a trainer brings a full team of six Pokémon to official matches," Edward added. "I'm more curious what the others are."
The moment he said it, everyone perked up.
It wasn't just him—everyone had started wondering the same thing.
And then, slowly, all eyes turned to Cynthia.
"…Even though I'm the Champion of Sinnoh, I really don't know much about this." Cynthia sighed helplessly.
Yes, she was the region's Champion—but she only cared about whoever won the Lily of the Valley Conference. Only those champions were eligible to challenge the Elite Four and her.
Not every tournament winner even made it to the Champion. Many fell to the Elite Four along the way.
The Champion of a region was like a giant academic figure, a towering intellectual presence. Tobias, by comparison, was like a student who just published a paper in a top-tier journal—impressive, sure, but still unknown to the larger community.
"…I'll ask," Cynthia sighed again. There was no helping it—everyone here clearly had to know what the rest of Tobias's team was.
(End of Chapter)