Flash: the visible field of view is filled with infinite, blinding light like sunlight.
Darkness: depriving vision, wherever one looks, there is a deep and boundless black space.
Chaos: enter an illusion and receive erroneous sensory information such as extreme gravity, weightlessness, reversed orientation, and spatial displacement.
Terrance and Mismagius used these three illusions as a foundation to face one challenger after another. After Daimon went down, three more challengers stepped up in succession, yet none of them could break free from Mismagius’ illusions.
All of them were ruthlessly dragged into the Illusionary Space and turned into stationary targets as Mismagius unleashed bombardment-type attacks upon them.
“As expected, rather than head-on clash, Mismagius’ magical abilities are far more difficult to defend against, making it hard for opponents to figure them out.”
“Who’s the next challenger?”
“Me, Flannery!”
A girl with messy red hair stood up and declared loudly.
She had a carefree attitude, and as Terrance tried to recall who she was, he remembered hearing that she came from a Gym background.
“Mismagius is mentally interfering with the Pokémon, right? My grandpa mentioned something about it, and the Pokédex also describes this ability of Mismagius.”
Flannery wasted no time pointing out the exact reason why none of the previous challengers could deal with Mismagius. However, after four battles, and asking the defeated Trainers, this was no longer a secret.
The illusion skill was indeed akin to a form of mental attack, making it nearly impossible to guard against. However, if those Trainers had another chance to battle, they certainly wouldn’t be so easily deceived. But, even if they know, they now no longer have the opportunity to challenge.
“Lavaridge Gym’s Flannery… Never heard of her. Isn’t Mr. Moore supposed to be Lavaridge Gym’s Gym Leader? Could she be his granddaughter?”
“Granddaughter of a former Elite Four member?!”
As soon as Flannery stood up, she immediately drew everyone’s attention. The granddaughter of the Elite Four—this title resonated far more than anyone who had come before her!
Terrance grew serious, preparing himself to face this formidable opponent—
But as soon as Flannery sent out her Pokémon, everyone around was left in stunned silence.
Slugma?
A red, droplet-shaped Pokémon which looks like a mollusk and has appendages hanging below its mouth on both sides. This was the Pokémon sent out by the granddaughter of an Elite Four?
Terrance examined the Slugma carefully, his professional gaze scrutinizing it multiple times, yet he always reached the same conclusion.
Although the Slugma looked healthy, with eyes brimming with spirit, no matter from which angle he looked, it appeared to be an untrained Pokémon—perhaps even a Starter Pokémon that had barely battled at all.
“Something’s off.” Terrance stayed alert. Either this opponent was genuinely weak, or there was something special about this Slugma that had been cleverly concealed.
Terrance preferred to believe it was the latter.
So, he decided to change his combat strategy to avoid being caught off guard.
“Slugma, Mismagius is likely using sound to affect the mind. Be alert, and adjust yourself the moment you hear any voice!”
Flannery issued her command. Her instructions were simple and vague, without any specific tactics. Yet, that only puzzled Terrance further.
Flash, Darkness, Chaos—they have already been thoroughly exposed during the previous four battles. Some of the Trainers in the crowd had likely figured out how they worked.
Terrance couldn’t quite guess Flannery’s intentions. Taking a deep breath, he thought, ‘Let’s see how she handles this.’
Bzzz~~~
Mismagius’ mystical notes rang out, spreading in the form of eerie soundwaves that filled the entire arena, making it impossible to dodge. At that moment, Flannery shouted, “Stay focused!”
Slugma widened its eyes, focusing intensely and reaching the peak of mental concentration.
But… with a resonant hum, the notes shattered, and the melodious sound entered directly into Slugma’s mind. In its state of heightened concentration, it heard every single word of Mismagius’s eerie incantation, and as a result… tragedy struck.
“Zzzz~~”
Without even a hint of resistance, Slugma fell asleep, as if enjoying a pleasant nap.
“Slugma!!!” Flannery shouted. Terrance stood there, momentarily stunned.
However, he quickly snapped back into focus and ordered Mismagius to attack once again. In the end, a single Shadow Ball was enough to knock Slugma out. The outcome left many spectators speechless.
“That can’t be real. There’s no way she’s Mr. Moore’s granddaughter.”
“She’s so weak… Definitely the weakest challenger so far.”
Even Terrance was left at a loss for words. He had gone as far as having Mismagius use a new illusion skill it had never revealed before, and yet… the opponent fell for it so easily? And to not even be able to withstand a single Shadow Ball… this……
“I lost. But I’ll remember your battle style.” Flannery didn’t say much else. Ignoring the murmurs from the crowd, she recalled her Slugma and calmly walked down the arena.
“What’s with her?” Terrance muttered, puzzled.
None of them could have known that Flannery had only decided to become a Trainer after hearing her grandfather’s decision to close down the Gym. In other words, her journey was entirely motivated by the desire to take over the Gym. She was a pure rookie Trainer, and has nothing to do with being the granddaughter of a former Elite Four member; her progress was entirely due to her own effort.
Terrance’s observation was correct. Flannery wasn’t hiding anything. She was genuinely weak.
In order to take over the Gym, Flannery naturally wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to battle a powerful Trainer, even if it meant risking Lavaridge Gym’s reputation. However, Flannery had mentally prepared herself for this. After all, she was in a hurry to take over the Gym, and if she were to rely solely on her own efforts, she had to seize every chance that came her way.
“Did you all see that just now? Slugma… fell asleep!”
Before long, everyone suddenly realized a peculiar change that had occurred during the battle. How could Mismagius have possibly learned the move Hypnosis?
Terrance looked at the suspicious and murmuring crowd and shrugged. Mismagius didn’t know Hypnosis, nor did it know Sing.
However, that didn’t stop it from using illusions to simulate the effects of both moves.
For this new illusion, Terrance had Mismagius listen to Altaria’s Sing for three months, followed by another two months studying the principles of Hypnosis. Only then did it finally succeed in simulating the effect through incantations, achieving a near-perfect imitation of the move!
Granted, the Hypnosis effect simulated by Mismagius’ illusion has quite a short duration, even shorter than that of Hypnosis and Sing, but if it worked even for a brief moment, it was enough for Mismagius to capitalize on that fleeting moment.
For sight, they have “Flash” and “Darkness.”
For touch, they have “Chaos.”
And now, they have “Hypnosis” for hearing.
Under Terrance’s guidance, Mismagius has begun to learn the basic illusion skills, focusing on the five senses.
“Even though it’s been exposed now, I doubt many people will figure out how to counter it,” Looking at the remaining ten challengers, Terrance grinned. It was almost over.
While “Hypnosis” is less useful compared to the other three illusion skills, Terrance was waiting for the day when Mismagius could seamlessly combine them all. For now, it was all about laying the foundation.
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