Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai by Ryo Takamisaki

Ash Ketchum and his friends Brock and Dawn have come to Alamos Town for a Pokémon contest with their Pokémon. When it seems they have come to the town from the wrong side, missing the bridge that leads into the city, they are given a balloon ride into the city by Alice, a music student that works as a tour guide. While on the way into town, they see the Space-Time Towers, a building constructed by Godey, the same genius architect who built Alamos town in the first place.

In addition, he also constructed a fabulous garden where both humans and Pokemon find peace. On the way through town, the Pokemon get into a fight, but Alice calms them with a tune she plays on a grass flute. Soon after, an Aipom brings her a message that the garden has been ransacked. As she wonders who would do such a thing, Baron Alberto, the ruler of the town, tells her he suspects a Pokémon named Darkrai, the master of Darkness, who has been spotted near and in the garden. Alice refuses to believe Darkrai is responsible, but Darkrai appears and tells them to get out. Soon, more buildings are destroyed, and Alberto blames it all on Darkrai, who he tries to battle with his Pokémon, LickiLicki, but Darkrai refuses to fight, telling all of them to get out of town.

But soon it's too late, and the bridge out of town is filled with a mist that comes in off the mountains around. Anyone entering it to try to leave finds themselves exiting it at the same place that they enter the fog. There is now no way to leave. Team Rocket shows up and things start to get really strange. Baron Alberto merges with his Pokémon, LickiLicki, giving him the appearance of a Pokémon. All the Pokémon fall asleep and things become stranger and stranger.

Then, the true source of the problems appear: Dialga, the Pokémon who controls Time, and Pakia, the Pokemon who controls the boundaries of Space, appear. Their endless, eternal battle has somehow managed to rip a hole in the dimensions, allowing them to fall into Alamos Town. Unless they can be convinced to take their battle elsewhere, the entire town, and everyone in it, will be destroyed.

Alice's friend Tonio, who has been studying the life and works of Godey, thinks that there is a clue hidden in his words to save the town. But in the meantime, Darkrai, who had been trying to protect the townspeople by getting them to flee, fights Dialga and Pakia to save the town. But though Darkrai is stronger than most Pokémon, Dialga and Pakia are almost Pokémon Gods! How can it save the town from two such immensely strong Pokémon?

While it might be able to fend them off for a while, it will be up to Ash, Alice and Tonio to discover Godey's Oracion amd save the city from Destruction. But can they save Darkrai along with it?

This was another nice Pokémon story, even if it involved Ash, the GrandDaddy of "Gotta Catch 'em all!" (I mean, even his name is Ash L. Ketchum or "Ash'll Catch 'em"!) The mystery of Darkrai is well-presented, although I admit that I haven't followed the story enough to figure out why he's travelling with Brock and Dawn rather than Brock and Misty May. Brock is up to his usual trick of falling in love with every passing woman who's even close to being Adult, but Dawn seemingly exists to be shocked and have an emotional response to the things that are going on. Otherwise she doesn't actually do much. But I suppose that's the fate of women in a series aimed primarily at boys. Unless they are actually villains (like Jessie of Team Rocket), they exist in two forms: the motherly type (like Nurse Joy) or sisterly types, those who are an annoyance or just stand around not doing much. Neither poses a risk to the main male character, or ever comes close to eclipsing him by being competent or better at what he does than he is.

But for a Juvie book, it's not bad, and there's no cursing, or really bad stuff going on besides the possible destruction of the city, which is averted by Ash and his friends. It's not a bad story, and the mystery and destruction provides some mild thrills for the readers. Not bad at all.