Ch.86 Darkrai Can Fly

Akira's will is what Darkrai follows.

Its claws loosened, releasing the opponent, and silently returned to the shadows, merging with the darkness, leaving only its gem-like eyes faintly visible.

"Cough, cough."

The third-year student, both an enemy and a senior, coughed twice, showing little sign of resentment on his face.

Though brief, the exchange had been enough for him to understand the difference in their strength.

He finally understood that Akira's tactics of deceit and ambush were simply the most efficient approach – it didn't mean that was all Akira could do.

"Thank you for the lesson."

Following the etiquette of Japanese kendo, he bowed slightly.

Seeing that Akira gave no reaction, he didn't linger and turned away with a sense of defeat.

Whether he was truly dejected or just emphasizing Akira's lack of courtesy was something only he knew.

Either way, Akira didn't care.

If he was going to go for the thrill… no, if he was going to put on a show, he had to see it through to the end.

Second in line was Kyoto High's second-year star, the "legal loli" Nishimiya Momo.

After witnessing Darkrai's overwhelming strength, no one at Kyoto High dared underestimate Akira anymore.

His arrogance was clearly backed by real power.

Once the first defeated participant returned to the audience area, the legal loli sat lightly on a broom that resembled a "Ring 2000" and flew straight into the arena, an unconventional entry.

As she flew, she spoke in her soft, cutesy voice, "Akira, I'm not very good with ground combat, so can we just start like this?"

She even winked playfully, making the most of her cute and witchy charms.

This was Kyoto's specialty; after all, the women of Tokyo High were all self-sufficient and tough – taking the path of strong men, leaving no room for actual men.

Akira had no objections. Being cute and knowing how to be endearing was also a talent, so why not use it?

He raised his hand and waved, indicating that Nishimiya could start anytime.

"Thank you, Akira," she said sweetly, her eyes glinting slyly.

She gripped the broom with both hands and, with a slight movement, unleashed a wind blade over two meters long.

It came slicing down toward Akira and Gardevoir below.

Tsukumogami Technique: Kamaitachi!

What Nishimiya had said earlier wasn't just feigned weakness. She truly excelled in aerial combat, and in the jujutsu world, not many sorcerers had anti-air techniques.

In the group battle, she had been caught off guard by Inumaki Toge's Cursed Speech, leaving her with no chance to demonstrate her skill.

If not for Inumaki, Panda and Pangoro alone wouldn't have been enough to defeat her, and she could have at least held her own.

That was why, even after seeing Darkrai's strength, Nishimiya dared to make the first move – this was her ace up her sleeve.

As the wind blade descended, Gardevoir looked up slightly, her eyes flashing with a hint of psychic energy, preparing to use her power.

But Akira raised an eyelid, signaling her not to bother, just to watch.

In the next instant, another gust of wind arose.

A black whirlwind, from below.

It enveloped Akira and the others, neutralizing Nishimiya's Kamaitachi.

Then, the dark wind dissipated slightly, revealing Darkrai within.

Its long, dark legs slowly retracted into its cloak-like lower body, while its altitude steadily increased.

Darkrai could fly.

In the blink of an eye, it had reached the same height as Nishimiya, its speed in the air even faster than during the previous ground battle.

"No way…" Nishimiya was flustered.

It was already strong on the ground, and now it was even stronger in the air?

What she didn't know was that a Legendary Pokemon that couldn't fly would be a disgrace.

Nor did she know that Darkrai's move, "Ominous Wind," not only attacked with wind but could also wrap the wind around itself, providing a buff to one or several of its attributes.

Darkrai focused all its boosts on speed, taking its speed up another notch.

Sensing things going south, Nishimiya turned her broom, accelerating away.

Darkrai pursued closely, and the aerial battle began.

When it came to speed, Darkrai, boosted by Ominous Wind, had the edge.

However, Nishimiya lived by aerial combat; her maneuvering skills far outmatched Darkrai's.

Abrupt stops, drops, takeoffs, spins – she performed each move effortlessly.

Occasionally, she used the terrain to her advantage or threw out a Kamaitachi to hinder her pursuer.

Darkrai, restricted by its limited training time and the jujutsu world's focus on ground combat, hadn't had systematic aerial combat training, relying purely on instinct.

Though it had the advantage in attributes, it still found itself at a disadvantage in this aerial chase.

Several times it accelerated, only to fail to catch her.

Finally, when it managed to close the distance, Nishimiya separated from her broom, using free fall acceleration to evade Darkrai's strike.

"Haha, it's great that I seriously practiced Hit & Run."

At a distance, she skillfully caught the broom and reunited with it, a smile of relief crossing her face.

This was her biggest trump card – if she couldn't win, she could at least escape.

After all, if a girl got injured and scarred, it'd be hard for her to get married. Just look at Teacher Utahime – almost thirty and still single, all because of the scar on her face.

Nishimiya didn't want to end up like her.

She wanted to always be a cute little fairy.

"Akira, it seems you can't beat me with just one Pokemon."

"That's not necessarily true. Didn't you realize Darkrai was just playing with you? He never has anyone to play real Eagle Catching Chicks with."

Akira shifted from lying on his side to lying on his back, his squinted eyes perfectly observing the scene in the sky.

Darkrai was still just a two-month-old baby, so a bit of playfulness was completely normal.

Just then, an annoying voice rang out.

"I could do it. Why didn't you ask me?"

This kind of interruption, regardless of the situation, could only come from Gojo Satoru.

Akira was used to this randomness and smoothly responded:

"If you came, who'd be the eagle, and who'd be the chick?"

"That's indeed a problem." Gojo pondered seriously.

With the troublemaker dealt with, Akira turned his attention back to Darkrai. "That's enough."

"Mmm."

Darkrai responded quietly, spreading its arms wide like a great bird swooping down on its prey below.

Nishimiya tried to use her mobility trick again to evade, but her body suddenly froze.

It felt like a sudden cramp during exercise – she couldn't move, and it affected her whole body. The Tsukumogami Technique couldn't continue.

Move: Disable.

Like Ominous Wind, Disable was one of Darkrai's starting moves, something it knew from birth.

It could seal the last move an opponent used for a certain amount of time. Though the duration wasn't long, in the high-speed aerial combat, it was enough.

Darkrai didn't even need to do anything further – inertia did the rest, causing Nishimiya to lose control and separate from her broom.

It was a repeat of yesterday.

Without any means of control, Nishimiya fell from the sky, screaming:

"Save me! Someone save me!"

Considering Nishimiya's small frame and the fact that a legal loli was a rare resource, Akira ultimately decided not to let her fall. He snapped his fingers.

"Swablu…"

Swablu, which Gojo had stolen to use as a pillow, flapped its fluffy wings and flew toward Nishimiya.

It used its round body to support the legal loli's waist, slowing her fall until she landed safely.

"Thank you, cute birdie." Nishimiya hugged her savior tightly, refusing to let go.

Unexpectedly, Swablu lifted its beak and began pecking at her flat chest – a natural-born move of its kind.

Though Swablu was only level one, Nishimiya was truly delicate, and each peck brought pain.

Just as she was about to get angry, she noticed Darkrai standing silently in front of her. It was only then that she remembered she was still in the middle of a battle. Helplessly, she raised her hands and lifted Swablu above her head.

"Stop being so uncute. I surrender."

Swablu finally stopped its pecking, flew to Darkrai's shoulder, and chirped twice, looking proud.

Akira waved his hand again, "Next."

Note: In the game, Ominous Wind has the effect of dealing damage to the target with a 10% chance to raise the user's Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by one stage. Here, the effect is altered to be self-initiated, with controllable effects to some extent. The higher the proficiency, the greater the control, making it more logically consistent.

Note 2: Disable causes the target to be unable to use the move it used last for four turns. Here, the duration is also flexible, based on Darkrai's energy output, skill proficiency, and the opponent's resistance.