Chapter 61: Mismagius's Stage
However, relying on only two Pokémon to cycle through a gauntlet was still too much pressure.
Especially the new students who came on stage after 50 matches, it was clear that these new students had organized themselves.
They were all Graveler and Golem-type Small Elves, and as soon as they appeared, they immediately self-destructed.
This caught A Liu completely off guard, and his Drapion was directly ambushed by this move.
His remaining Vespiquen, after most of her Combee were lost, also chose to give up.
A Liu came down looking dejected; he had originally boasted about taking on two hundred people by himself.
But in actual combat, he couldn't even handle sixty. Now, looking at Chenxi and the others, he felt a bit embarrassed.
“Let your Pokémon out, my Floette will give them a simple treatment,” Chenxi said.
“Thank you, thank you,” A Liu didn't stand on ceremony and quickly summoned his two Small Elves.
A Liu's ability to stand out from other Bug Catchers, besides the fact that Bug-type Small Elves are easy to train, was largely due to his emphasis on Bug-type Small Elves themselves.
For this, A Liu even studied professional Pokémon Breeder courses, all to extend the lifespan of Bug-type Small Elves as much as possible.
After all, while Bug-type Small Elves grow quickly, many also age quickly.
Although A Liu's current Bug-type Small Elves haven't aged yet, A Liu still tries his best to remove their hidden injuries, allowing them to be healthier.
However, A Liu's inability to continue was also partly due to the slightly weaker constitution of Bug-type Small Elves.
“Floette~ Floette~”
Floette jumped down from Chenxi’s shoulder and used Wish.
Under the pink light, A Liu’s two Small Elves’ injuries recovered at a visible rate.
“First, send your Pokémon to the Elf Garden. Their treatment techniques for Bug and Grass-type Small Elves are top-notch.”
“Okay,” A Liu nodded, then recalled his two Pokémon into their Poké Balls and went to the Elf Garden to treat his Small Elves.
Although A Liu came from a Bug Catcher background, his assets were far less than Chenxi's and the others', but A Liu still had the money to pay for medical treatment at the Elf Garden.
“Next, you’re up!” After A Liu left, Chenxi turned his gaze to Komatsu.
“Only fifty-eight? Not even sixty people?” Komatsu sighed, looking very down as he stepped onto the stage.
At least his heavy dark circles made it seem like Komatsu hadn't slept well at all, appearing very listless.
“A Liu is a Bug Catcher, he was targeted, so it’s normal for him to lose.
But if you get less than a hundred, don’t say you came from Lingling Tower,”
Chenxi fanned the flames from the side, not at all bothered by making things worse.
“Nonsense!”
Komatsu looked up at the already dim night sky and said calmly, “Is it my time?”
Komatsu walked onto the stage step by step, and with each step, a hazy black mist began to envelop him.
Under the cover of this black mist, the entire stage seemed to become a bit hazy.
“Indeed, the night is Komatsu’s stage!” Chenxi couldn't help but exclaim in his heart as he watched this scene.
“Mhm!” This time, even Zhu Lan nodded in agreement to Chenxi.
Compared to A Liu, the strength Komatsu displayed, backed by his family's heritage, even Zhu Lan dared not underestimate.
After all, Ghost type Pokémon are incredibly mysterious and unpredictable, and their battles feel immensely subtle and cunning.
Komatsu summoned his Small Elf, a Mismagius, which looked quite composed, unlike the mischievous Misdreavus.
The Trainer opposite him, who had defeated A Liu with his Graveler’s self-destruct, felt a bit uneasy upon seeing Komatsu’s Mismagius.
After all, he truly had little experience dealing with Ghost type Small Elves, and self-destruct was useless against Ghost types.
After a slight hesitation, this Trainer summoned a Poliwag, intending to use a Water-type Small Elf to face Mismagius.
However, this Trainer’s Poliwag had only just been given the Water Gun command when, with a burst of Ominous Wind emanating from Mismagius, Poliwag quickly fell into Hypnosis.
Then, this Poliwag, in a sweet dream, was drained of all its stamina by Mismagius using Dream Eater and fainted.
“Can Mismagius master Hypnosis?” Maya, seeing this scene, felt a few doubts.
Maya is a priestess from the Whirl Islands in the Chengdu region and has some knowledge of Misdreavus.
In Maya's understanding, Misdreavus cannot master Hypnosis, and neither can Mismagius.
However, they can master illusions that deceive people's senses, which in some ways are more terrifying than Hypnosis.
But to use Dream Eater, the prerequisite is for the opponent to be in a dream state, so if the opponent is in an illusionary state, this move's condition would not be met.
However, the current situation clearly challenged her common sense; this Mismagius had mastered Hypnosis.
“Specially trained Misdreavus can master Hypnosis, but such Misdreavus are extremely rare and uncommon.”
Chenxi looked at this blue-quality Mismagius, and couldn't help but feel a bit emotional in his heart.
However, when he used to play the “Pokémon” game, the official game did distribute a Misdreavus with Hypnosis, but only once.
And in this world, a Mismagius that has mastered Hypnosis can truly be described as a rare treasure.
In the subsequent matches, Komatsu, with this Mismagius, swept through one or two dozen people without lifting a finger.
This mysterious and unpredictable fighting style left most of the new students with no idea how they had lost.
As soon as their Small Elf entered the arena, it would be defeated after being hypnotized.
Facing such a strong Komatsu, they didn't even know how they were supposed to win, and they were filled with dejection.
But just then, a small boy in green, holding a small harp, walked onto the stage. It was Shangzhi.
“Oh?” Chenxi let out a soft exclamation upon seeing this fellow.
“Who is he? Is he strong!” Seeing Chenxi’s expression change slightly, the people around him asked.
“I didn’t expect him to come to Qiefeng Academy… Did he reconcile with his family?” Chenxi murmured.
However, Chenxi replied, “I don’t know how strong he is, but I imagine he should be able to force Komatsu to reveal some of his strength.”
“Come out, Sunflora!” At this moment, Shangzhi summoned his Small Elf.
This was a Sunflora that had just reached level 50.
Although it had only just stepped into the Elite Class level, it was undeniable that this was the first Trainer among so many new challengers to summon an Elite Class Small Elf.
“Interesting…”
Komatsu could tell that this Sunflora was extraordinarily strong. He couldn't help but become a bit more serious when facing the challenger.
But similarly, facing the opponent, Komatsu's Mismagius still started with Ominous Wind.
And Hypnosis was integrated into the rhythm of the Ominous Wind’s blow, making people fall into Hypnosis unknowingly.
At this moment, Sunflora was seen holding two leaves in its mouth, and a series of pleasant sounds spread from Sunflora’s mouth, along with a series of brilliant musical notes.
Surrounded by these notes, the originally eerie Ominous Wind seemed to be constantly purified by them, slowly becoming peaceful.
Ominous Wind no longer brought a feeling of dread; instead, it became harmonious.
Even the drowsy effect of Hypnosis, after being incorporated into this music, was completely destroyed.
“Well played!” Watching Mismagius’s Ominous Wind seemingly purified, Komatsu showed no signs of tension.
After all, Hypnosis was merely the prelude to Mismagius’s battle; it was just that many Trainers couldn’t even break through this first stage.
Now it was time for the next tactical step. Komatsu said to Mismagius, “Confuse Ray!”
In an instant, Mismagius’s eyes emitted an incredibly brilliant light.
Under this light, the gaze of Sunflora, which had been playing music, also seemed to be filled with this strange light.
“Use Sunny Day!” Shangzhi, seeing the scene, decisively commanded his Sunflora.
Sunflora, using its remaining sliver of sanity, directly summoned an artificial sun that appeared in the arena.
In an instant, the thick fog, originally brought on by the night and Mismagius, was directly dispelled by the artificial sunlight, and the gloomy environment Komatsu had created vanished completely the moment the artificial sun appeared.
But Komatsu smiled; Sunflora was completely disoriented at this moment.
Sunflora’s vision had been completely pulled into an illusion by Mismagius.
Under Mismagius’s manipulation, various strange enemies appeared before Sunflora, attacking it.
Indeed, Sunflora now seemed to be dodging something, starting to run, jump, and roll on the stage.
Meanwhile, Mismagius, who was weaving the illusion, silently gathered a splendid ball of flame in its hand, preparing to strike.
This was the rare move Mystical Fire, which was once even Delphox’s sole exclusive move.
And Mismagius was also one of the few Small Elves capable of mastering this type of flame.
The damage from this flame was quite good, and it could lower the target’s special attack, making it a rather troublesome move.
More importantly, this was still a Fire-type move.
At this moment, it would receive the boost from the artificial sun brought by Sunny Day in the sky.
Under this boost, the power of the flame in Mismagius’s hand was astonishingly great.
It also accurately timed Sunflora’s movements and decisively launched its attack.
“It looks like this Trainer also has no way to deal with Komatsu!” Maya said excitedly as she watched the situation unfold.
“Not necessarily…” Chenxi looked up at the artificial sun created by Sunny Day in the sky.
Was this artificial sun truly just for dispelling darkness? If so, was it worth Sunflora using it as its last resort?
And just as Chenxi was deep in thought, Sunflora, as if breaking free from the illusion's restraint, keenly sensed the arrival of Mystical Fire.
Sunflora turned its head, and a Solar Beam shot out from its mouth.
In an instant, Sunflora’s Solar Beam and Mystical Fire collided.
In this fierce collision, the two forces unexpectedly stalemated.
“That’s an excellent tactic!” Komatsu praised Shangzhi, looking at him. “Although I don’t know when your Sunflora broke free from the illusion, your plan to lure my Mismagius into attacking was very well executed.
The only pity is that you miscalculated one thing: your raw strength is still not enough!”
“Huh?!” Shangzhi was startled by Komatsu’s words, but he had no more trump cards left.
The next second, Shangzhi saw the red gem on Mismagius’s chest emit a brilliant glow.
This gem, accumulating Mismagius’s energy, released as much energy as possible.
This instant energy boost made Mismagius’s Mystical Fire incredibly terrifying.
The Solar Beam shot by Sunflora was directly defeated head-on by this flame, which was boosted by the gem’s power.
Sunflora, having taken a direct hit, fell to the ground, unable to battle.
At this moment, Mismagius lunged forward, came before Shangzhi, and grabbed him with one hand.
This was an extreme battle, where Pokémon were allowed to attack Trainers, so sometimes subduing the Trainer counted as a victory.
If it were other ordinary Trainers, the kind Mismagius could sweep through, Komatsu wouldn’t have done this.
But the Shangzhi before him already possessed the strength to threaten him, which forced Komatsu to treat him seriously.
However, Shangzhi, looking at the Mismagius in front of him, even though he was restrained, still smiled calmly.
Shangzhi recalled his Sunflora and said, “I surrender.”
Seeing Shangzhi surrender, Komatsu clapped his hands, and Mismagius released Shangzhi and returned to Komatsu’s side, looking very mature.
At this moment, Komatsu watched Shangzhi prepare to leave and asked, “How did your Sunflora break free from the illusion?”
“Because of the sun,” Shangzhi said, not intending to hide anything, pointing to the artificial sun in the sky.
Shangzhi continued, “Mismagius’s illusion should be a visual illusion.
But for Sunflora, observing the world isn’t just about its eyes; it also relies on its sensitivity to sunlight.
So, while it couldn’t break free from your illusion, it wasn’t entirely controlled by you.
Your attempt to hide your true attack with an illusion, in front of a Sunflora under Sunny Day, couldn’t be concealed.
Because in the sunlight, your attack was too obvious.”
“Thank you!” Komatsu nodded, finally understanding why Sunflora, despite being caught in Mismagius’s illusion, still detected Mismagius’s attack and counterattacked decisively.
If his Mismagius hadn’t held back a move, it might have actually been overturned by Sunflora.
Komatsu took a deep breath, glanced at the Mismagius beside him, and sighed, “Only mastering visual illusions is still not enough!”