One advantage of staying at the Petalburg Gym is that it provided Terrance with a large training area right outside the gym, offering ample space for him to train his Pokémon.
However, although he was staying at Petalburg Gym, to restore Pokémon's fatigue, compared to Terrance doing it himself, it was still faster to go to the Pokémon Center.
Hearing that Terrance was going to participate in the Pokémon Contest, May and Max became interested in the contest. After some pestering, Norman agreed to let their mother Caroline take them to watch the Petalburg Contest in Petalburg City.
During this period, Terrance didn't bother Norman, who had Gym Leader duties, and he also had to prepare for the Pokémon Contest. However, the two children, May and Max kept coming to watch Terrance's training.
"Mismagius, are you ready?"
"Mm-hmm," Mismagius nodded.
May and Max looked on eagerly, curious about the surprise Terrance had for them. Moments later, their mouths were agape as they found themselves in a forest, surrounded by countless glowing cocoons and immersed in an endless sea of white light.
"This is..."
They stood in shock. Wasn't this the same scene they saw in Petalburg Woods earlier?
Now it was happening right in front of their eyes again?!
Next, the birth of Dustox and Beautifly unfolded exactly as they had seen before. This time, however, May and Max were in the center of the evolution, making it visually more stunning and much more impressive than watching from a distance.
"What's happening..." They regained their composure only to find themselves back in the Petalburg Gym with no trace of the forest or moths or butterflies.
Terrance had a smile on his face. From their expressions, it was clear that the Mismagius's Illusion skill was a success, perfectly recreating the scene they had seen before. The setting of an illusion skill varies in complexity—merely simulating a very simple static image is the easiest and can be done by any Pokémon that knows Illusion skill.
More challenging is creating a dynamic illusion, such as simulating a flood, adding tremors to make the scene shake, giving those experiencing the illusion a feeling similar to an earthquake.
An even higher level would be adding sound to the illusion.
As for the finer details such as subtle movements and smells, it depends on the Pokémon's energy control. There are very few Pokémon that can achieve this level, let alone the one Mismagius demonstrated this time.
Recreating the process of countless Wurmple evolving into a butterfly, considering the number of changes and details involved, is incredibly difficult. Not only the sheer number, but even the evolution of a single Wurmple tests a Pokémon's energy control. With hundreds of Beautifly and Dustox fluttering together, if Mismagius hadn't had a certain skill, there would have been collisions long ago. The fact that even May and Max, who had experienced the real scene, were captivated by this makes it even more outstanding.
"Very good... but not enough," Terrance thought to himself.
******
Petalburg City, Pokémon Center.
After training his Pokémon, Terrance came here to restore their stamina. But his timing was perfect as the center was crowded with Trainers gathered around a large screen, watching a live broadcast.
"It's Sidney...It's Sidney!!"
Many Trainers cheered. Sidney was currently one of the Hoenn Elite Four, a Dark-type Trainer!
At the same time, he's the only Hoenn Elite Four member from a purely civilian background.
It is said that Sidney used to be a delinquent, but a life-changing event set him on the path of becoming a Trainer. Despite many doubting him, he went on to win The Ever Grande Conference and secure a spot in the Champion League. After years of hard work, he stabilized his battle ranking in the top four for three years, eventually securing his position as an Elite Four member.! [*Champion League is the common word for all regional leagues. This should be the Hoenn League.]
"Has the first half of the Champion League ended?! Which Trainer made it through?"
Someone in the know said, "Steven Stone, heir to the Devon Corporation..."
"What a strong background..."
Terrance looked over and paused. Indeed, it was Steven on the stage.
"He's come this far already..." Terrance sighed.
As the announcer introduced the backgrounds of both sides, the Pokémon Center erupted in noise again, with Sidney's supporters cheering the loudest.
After all, Sidney's background resonates more with these Trainers, and as a current Elite Four member, he has gained many supporters. In contrast, Steven is less known to the public.
"When did this Steven qualify for the Champion League? I know the winners of the recent Ever Grande Conferences, and he's not one of them!"
"Did he use his background to get in through the back door... That's despicable!"
"Hey, are you joking? A Trainer who went undefeated in the first half of the Champion League needs to use the back door?"
"Undefeated?! How-How is that even possible?"
Every Champion League contestant was nearly at conference-winning caliber, and he is undefeated in such a competition with so many experts?
"I expect Steven to win. It's said that he won The Ever Grande Conference at just 12 years old, and now in his early twenties, he's aiming for the Elite Four's position....It seems like he's already determined to win. This is his first time participating in the Champion League, and he's had the qualification for a long time but hasn't used it until now. Unless he's very confident, he wouldn't have come to participate."
"I still feel Sidney will win..."
"Me too..."
"Well... Even so, all the current Elite Four members were almost undefeated in the first half of the Champion League, and they ranked at the top in terms of points."
As the live broadcast was about to start, Trainers shared their views, mostly supporting the seasoned Elite Four Sidney, with few favoring Steven.
"I believe in Steven." A discordant voice came from the crowd.
Everyone looked over to see a Trainer with light brown hair, who analyzed the situation for a while and concluded that Steven had an 80% chance of winning.
Everyone shook their heads, clearly not taking Terrance's opinion seriously. Terrance didn't mind, smiling as he watched. Among the crowd, he was likely the only one who had interacted with Steven and had a direct understanding of his strength.
He was also familiar with the Hoenn Elite Four's data and had watched countless battle videos. His analysis wasn't just random guesswork, but a comprehensive estimate from the battle class of Crown Academy. Although it cannot be taken as the actual result, it has a very high reference value.
"The battle begins...Both side's Pokémon are..."
"Mightyena and Skarmory?!"
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