Mismagius moved too quickly. Initially, when Croagunk opened its eyes, Mayumi was thrilled, thinking she had found a way to break the illusion. However, the actions of Mismagius and Croagunk in the next moment made her doubt her own eyes.
Croagunk stood there dumbfounded, while Mismagius wove Thunder Wave into a large net, covering Croagunk’s head, causing it to groan in pain.
“Croagunk—” Mayumi screamed.
Croagunk felt numb all over, unable to muster any strength. Coupled with the boundless darkness, the dual blow inflicted a huge psychological shadow on it. With a cry of ‘Waa,’ it couldn’t bear it anymore and fainted.
“I guessed right…” Terrance scratched his head.
Mismagius’ incantation and moves can connect to form a double illusion, trapping other Pokémon within. If the connection can be made even tighter, the double illusion can be upgraded to multiple layers, each linked to the next. As long as Mismagius finds a brief moment of gap, it can be the key to victory.
Moreover, if Mismagius’s illusion skills reach the state of perfection, it can completely break down the opponent’s psychological defenses using illusions alone.
This time, a simple combination of flash and darkness achieved remarkable effects. First, the flash caused physiological stimulation, creating countless feelings of tension, anxiety, and irritation, then when Croagunk finally broke free from the illusion, it found itself deep in darkness. The huge change in outlook caused Croagunk to produce a series of negative emotions again, making Croagunk doubt its senses and eyes, thus giving rise to fear.
This not only gave Mismagius ample preparation time but also sapped Croagunk’s fighting spirit significantly, delivering a severe blow both mentally and physically.
Using “darkness” first followed by “flash” could have also created another emotional shift for Croagunk. In short, no matter how they are used, as long as the two complementary illusions are well-designed, they can produce unexpected effects.
Moreover, Mismagius hasn’t even had time to carefully perfect the current flash and darkness; they were simply executed based on past experiences, yet still produced such outstanding effects. In the distant future, a single Flash Illusion would be able to trap the opponent for several seconds or even leave them perpetually lost within, unable to find a way out. Mismagius’ accomplishments would then be truly extraordinary.
“I lost…” Mayumi recalled Croagunk, feeling utterly confused. She didn’t even know what happened to Croagunk, only feeling she was an unqualified Coordinator, unable to understand her Pokémon’s feelings well.
The panel of three judges and Vivian also fell silent, as they also couldn’t clearly describe the details of the fight. Although they knew Terrance won through Mismagius’ illusion skill, they couldn’t explain the intricacies, the changes in Croagunk, or the shifts in its mindset. Only the two Pokémon knew what truly happened…
This style of battle was the first time in a Pokémon Contest, a fight that couldn’t be judged by the naked eye……The three judges had countless comments they wanted to make, but even in the final judging round, the lack of battle details led to many generic remarks.
“Did he win?” asked an audience member.
“He won, right?” another audience member said.
The audience looked at each other in confusion, scratching their heads, unable to comment on this baffling Contest Battle.
At first, everything proceeded according to the usual course of the battle. But once Mismagius used its first illusion skill, the audience was left confused about what was happening.
Though appeal points were continuously reduced by subsequent attacks, until the huge net of Thunder Wave finally brought Croagunk’s points to zero, the audience’s most direct feeling was confusion about Croagunk’s reactions.
“This is really…” The staff responsible for filming this Pokémon Contest were on the verge of tears. Both of Terrance’s performances were extremely difficult to capture on video; even the human eye couldn’t make sense of it, so the footage turned out even worse.
Unlike previous Pokémon Contests, typically after winning a Ribbon, Terrance could leave. However, due to the “illusion skill,” this time there were some issues with the performance aspect of the contest. As a result, Terrance unexpectedly received an invitation from Raoul Contesta.
Although Raoul Contesta, dressed in a red suit, appeared friendly, Terrance knew some of his experiences when he was young. Raoul detested any disruption or cheating in Pokémon Contests. He had previously blacklisted a Coordinator for such behavior. Although this was something Raoul Contesta did when he was young, and he began to handle things more smoothly as he grew older, Terrance still did not dare to underestimate him.
As the Chief of the Contest Committee, Raoul Contesta’s status has grown increasingly significant with the rising prestige of Pokémon Contests, comparable to that of a top-tier Breeder.
“Hello, I believe this is our first meeting.” Raoul Contesta said with a smile in a reception room at the contest venue.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Terrance replied, shaking his hand. Then, the conversation quickly got to the point.
“How did it go?” Sukizo asked, walking into the lobby and looking at Raoul Contesta, who was seated on the sofa.
“Very smoothly. I’ve already asked him to make a detailed report of this Pokémon Contest. We should be able to address the loopholes in the rules regarding illusion skills,” Raoul Contesta replied. “Fortunately, apart from the Grand Festival, other contests aren’t broadcast live. Otherwise, if illusion skills become widespread… the impact on Pokémon Contests would be enormous.”
“Ohh..Did you mention that other matter?” Sukizo inquired.
“I did. Terrance is more astute than I expected. I only hinted at it, and he understood,” Raoul Contesta said with a smile.
What Raoul Contesta didn’t know was that Terrance had already guessed his intentions when he received the invitation. So, Terrance tactfully assured him that Mismagius would not be participating in the Grand Festival.
If such illusion skills were used in the Grand Festival which is broadcasted live and viewed across entire Hoenn and other regions, the impact would extend beyond just the contestants in the lobby. There would be widespread demands to redo the event, causing immense headaches for the Pokémon Contest officials.
Terrance’s performance served as a reminder and a wake-up call for the Pokémon Contest officials. They must be cautious to prevent similar issues at the Grand Festival. While there is still a chance to fix minor rules in regular contests, any blunder during the live-broadcasted Grand Festival was something the Pokémon Contest officials wanted to avoid at all costs.
This incident further thrust Terrance into the spotlight, catching the attention of numerous Pokémon Contest higher-ups…and not just Raoul Contesta.
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