For some reason, Daimon, the Trainer dressed in a black hoodie, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that Arcanine could no longer fight.
“I remember Daimon also has an Arcanine. I wonder if he’ll send it out.”
The ten or so standing Trainers were clearly somewhat famous; regardless of the size of their fame, they were somewhat familiar to some people.
“Alright, my next Pokémon is this one!”
Terrance threw a Poké Ball in front of everyone. After the ball rebounded back into his hand, he casually clipped it onto his belt and calmly gazed at his opponent.
“Mis~magius~~~”
Mismagius let out an eerie laugh, flickering in and out of sight. Terrance’s lips twitched slightly—although he had initially instructed Mismagius to present itself with “dignity” rather than looking completely expressionless, it seemed to had misunderstood the meaning of “dignity.”
Daimon pulled his hoodie and remarked, “A Ghost-type Pokémon… Looks like this will be tough to deal with.”
Whoosh!
Another Poké Ball popped open on Daimon’s side, revealing the Pokémon many onlookers had speculated about—Arcanine!
“It’s Arcanine after all! What a pity—if he had fought earlier, we could’ve seen an Arcanine-versus-Arcanine match!”
“I wonder how strong this Arcanine is compared to Terrance’s Pokémon…”
All eyes turned toward the arena, and the audience collectively swallowed. Would this match be as intense as the previous one?
This Arcanine’s ability was also Intimidate. As soon as it entered the arena, it immediately exuded an imposing aura, pressuring Mismagius.
Arcanine, Flamethrower!
Whoosh!!
A thick column of fire surged forward, and Terrance’s eyes narrowed instantly. The heat radiating from the Flamethrower was intense, causing the air to look like it was burning. Compared to his Arcanine, Daimon’s Arcanine displayed a more refined mastery of the move.
Also… this is the kind of majesty an Arcanine should possess.
Mystical Fire!
An eerie flame formed a circular ring, directly enveloping the Flamethrower. Then, it compressed to its limit.
Bang!
The column of fire seemed to be clamped by giant pincers as the energy connection was interrupted, causing a sudden explosion from the center. Dazzling fire serpents scattered in all directions before being drawn into a cloud of thick smoke, then with another bang, the Flamethrower was cleverly destroyed by Mismagius using Mystical Fire. Yet, it wasn’t over; an extremely dazzling light ray emerged from one side of the smoke. A massive rock burst through the smoke as if manipulated by a strange force. It was the move—Power Gem!
The battle had only just begun, and Mismagius launched into a frenzied assault, giving Arcanine no time to catch its breath. A stone glowing with a mysterious light flew straight toward Arcanine. Daimon was momentarily startled before reacting quickly: “Use Flamethrower!”
Boom!
Arcanine’s Flamethrower shattered the Power Gem. Seeing this, Terrance scratched his head, muttering to himself, “It seems it is still too difficult for Mismagius to win using moves like Mystical Fire, Power Gem, and Magical Leaf, which it learned only a few months ago… Maybe the opponent is just too strong.”
“But no matter how strong it is, it will be ruthlessly crushed by Mismagius’s illusion skills. Now, it’s time for Mismagius’s performance!”
Terrance gazed calmly at the two Pokémon locked in their standoff. As the smoke cleared, Arcanine immediately locked onto Mismagius’s position. However, just as its eyes met Mismagius’s eerie yellow eyes, it suddenly felt as though something had coiled around it…
“Arcanine, use Extreme Speed to get close, then use Fire Fang!” Daimon commanded swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, Arcanine unleashed its incredible speed, turning into a blur as it dashed forward. Whoosh!
“It’s fast, but…” Terrance smiled faintly. Extreme Speed move was indeed quick, but unfortunately, it was facing Mismagius.
Pop…
A mysterious voice echoed, and in an instant, the charging Arcanine was enveloped by an overwhelming pressure. Its mind was struck with intense dizziness, and its sense of direction became completely disoriented. Bang!!
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the spectators, Mismagius slowly floated to a higher altitude. Meanwhile, Arcanine, which had moments ago displayed astonishing speed, now seemed as if its legs had turned to jelly. In the midst of its sprint, its limbs tangled awkwardly, and the combination of immense inertia and its uncoordinated body sent Arcanine tumbling to the ground, rolling several meters away!
At that moment, Daimon was horrified to discover that six Shadow Balls, arranged in a hexagram-like formation, were swirling in the air before descending in perfect unison!
The target: Arcanine, who had inexplicably tumbled to the ground!
“Arcanine, get up——” Daimon was in disbelief. His Arcanine had undergone rigorous training in Extreme Speed and running drills; it was impossible for it to trip over its own legs like that. This battle was turning into something beyond comprehension.
“This isn’t looking good…” Many spectators, seeing Arcanine stagger to its feet in a daze and the six Shadow Balls descending rapidly, could already anticipate the outcome.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Still disoriented and struggling with the awkward sensation from its limbs, Arcanine was suddenly struck by six intense energy waves, one after another. It let out a pained roar, and it desperately tried to flee.
“Can it endure?”
“That’s six Shadow Balls, after all.”
Terrance gazed at the center of the explosion, where thick smoke lingered, and murmured to himself. The Shadow Ball used now wasn’t the same as the one from four months ago—it had grown significantly stronger in terms of destructive power.
Shadow Ball was the primary offensive move Mismagius had practiced over the past four months.
Once the opponent was caught in the illusion skill, the six Shadow Balls would be launched in a specific sequence, locking down the target with successive strikes. Even if the opponent tried to dodge, they would still suffer considerable injuries. It was essentially an unavoidable move.
A low groan echoed across the arena. Daimon was stunned to see that his Arcanine had been so affected by the Shadow Ball barrage that it could no longer continue fighting. With great reluctance, he retrieved Arcanine into its Poké Ball, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
“Resistance to illusions is its weak point,” Terrance observed Daimon’s frustration but didn’t comment further. Just as most Trainers struggle when facing rare Ghost-type or Psychic-type Pokémon, those who specialized in illusion-based skills were even fewer in number, and there were hardly any effective countermeasures against them.
If not for the fact that he owned such a special Mismagius, Terrance doubted he would have delved into the knowledge of illusion skills so early on.
“This Arcanine is on the same level as Aaron’s Dragonite, but it can’t quite be compared to Brawly’s Hariyama. It seems I might have set my expectations too high.”
“Can you tell me why Arcanine lost control of its movement? It was Mismagius’ doing, right?” Daimon forced himself to stay calm. Losing was one thing, but he didn’t want to leave without understanding why he had lost.
“Hm… You really want to know?” Terrance said with a smile.
“Then watch Mismagius’s next battle carefully. You’ll find the reason.”
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