"Luxray has lost the ability to battle. Trainer Volkner, please send out your next Pokémon!"
With the referee's formal announcement, Volkner was down to his final Pokémon.
The battlefield had been heavily damaged. The [Night Daze Sphere] had blasted open a massive crater, and in the middle of it lay Luxray, covered in serious wounds and barely breathing.
With a flash of red light, Volkner silently recalled it, then turned around and handed Luxray's Poké Ball to the medical staff waiting behind him.
It was obvious that Luxray's condition wasn't as simple as having "lost the ability to battle," if it didn't receive timely treatment, there was a real chance of lasting aftereffects.
In the waiting room, Flint and the others had all stood up to watch. Flint gripped his spiky afro tightly, his face full of worry and anxiety.
"This is... serious now!"
"What did you expect? They've already used Explosion… of course it's serious!"
Phoebe shot Flint a glare. Compared to the not-so-familiar Volkner, she naturally sided with Sato, after all, they'd once traveled together.
"Alright, alright, let's keep watching~ It's a battle, injuries are always a possibility,"
Wallace quickly stepped in to smooth things over, and the argument fizzled out before it escalated.
The others wanted to say more, but seeing this, they gave up and turned their attention back to the match.
However, Phoebe's mouth kept moving, even though she wasn't making any sound… it was clear she was still upset.
Strictly speaking, Octillery had been knocked out by Magnezone's Discharge. Tyranitar's Bulldoze couldn't have possibly taken out a soft-bodied Pokémon like that in one hit.
And while moves like Explosion hadn't been explicitly banned from major League events, most Trainers who cared about their Pokémon avoided such moves by default.
Victory in battle only lasts a moment…
But a Pokémon's health is for a lifetime.
Moves like Explosion and Self-Destruct usually left permanent damage on the Pokémon that used them.
While Magnezone could avoid much of that damage, it didn't mean there was no injury at all.
So yes, Volkner's tactics had been aggressive in taking down Sato's Tyranitar and Krookodile.
However, Sato wasn't one to swallow his anger either, which is why he sent out Zoroark to suppress Luxray with Illusion-based tactics, eventually injuring it heavily.
If it hadn't been Tyranitar facing off against Magnezone earlier, but any one of his other partners, the damage they took might've been far worse.
That's exactly why Sato had counterattacked so forcefully!
Pop~
The Poké Ball burst open. With a flash of red light, Volkner's final Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Electivire!
"Battle, continue!"
"Electivire, close your eyes, use Thunder Wave across the whole field!"
The moment the battle started, Electivire shut its eyes. Clearly, this was meant to avoid falling prey to Illusion. The Thunder Wave it spread across the field became its new "eyes."
This was the method Volkner had come up with to counter Zoroark's Illusion tactics. It seemed crude and simple, but it actually worked to some extent.
What Volkner didn't realize, though, was that even if Zoroark's Illusion only targeted the visual sense, the ones participating in battle weren't just the Pokémon alone.
"Zoroark, Night Daze."
Once again, a wide-range move was used at the start. Even if Electivire didn't need its eyes to fight, Sato wanted to use Illusion to test it.
"Electivire, Thunderbolt, maximum power!"
"Electivire!"
Electivire kept its eyes shut, relying on the surrounding electromagnetic waves to precisely detect Zoroark's position.
Then came a flash of blinding yellow electricity, Thunderbolt broke through the Night Daze and continued straight toward Zoroark's true body.
It hit!
Electivire excitedly pumped its fists. Before going onstage, its Trainer, Volkner, had reminded it more than once: Zoroark is extremely strong.
'But now? Didn't seem like such a big deal after all!'
"ELECTIVIRE, FALL BACK! QUICK!"
'…Huh (⊙o⊙)?'
Electivire instinctively took two steps back, but then looked confused. Why had Volkner told it to retreat?
Zoroark was clearly still in place, getting hit by Thunderbolt, right?
"Electivire, Brick Break counter, go!"
The next moment, Volkner's command came again. Electivire instinctively raised its fists, but its electromagnetic senses told it that Zoroark… wasn't even close!
The scene rewinds…
Back to the start of the battle.
When Thunderbolt and Night Daze collided, what everyone -including Volkner- saw was this:
Night Daze repelled Thunderbolt and engulfed Electivire. Then Zoroark charged out from within the blast and attacked Electivire.
Seeing Electivire standing still and doing nothing, Volkner naturally couldn't help shouting, "ELECTIVIRE, FALL BACK!"
Electivire stepped back; but Zoroark, seemingly having anticipated this, advanced two steps and struck Electivire with its sharp claws.
Unable to stand by, Volkner gave another command: "Electivire, Brick Break counter, go!"
And what everyone saw next was Zoroark and Electivire locked in intense close combat, landing blows on each other again and again.
It even seemed like Electivire… had the upper hand?
"ELECTIVIRE, THAT'S IT! Keep using Brick Break to build up your advantage!" Volkner shouted with excitement. In terms of stamina, he had great confidence in Electivire.
But just then, the real Zoroark moved…
It opened its mouth and fired off a powerful Dark Pulse, striking Electivire while its Trainer was distracted.
"V-VIREEEEEE!"
A sharp cry came from Electivire. But neither the crowd nor Volkner saw it open its mouth; in their view, it was still locked in fierce close combat with Zoroark.
The sound didn't match the scene…
It was an illusion!
----
"WHOAAAAAA!"
The sharper spectators immediately noticed something was wrong, they couldn't believe everything they had just seen was an illusion.
And in the actual battle… it was Electivire who was being overwhelmed?
This illusion… was terrifying beyond belief!
-----
Volkner suddenly realized: this time, Electivire truly hadn't been affected by the illusion.
The one affected… was him!
"ELEEEEC!"
Another scream rang out. This time, everyone clearly saw Electivire open its mouth.
But just a second ago, it had punched Zoroark. So how could it be the one screaming again?
There was no doubt now: everything in front of them… was an illusion!
And then it hit Volkner: apart from the initial Night Daze, Sato hadn't issued a single command since.
Which meant… everything after that had been Zoroark fighting on its own?
'That's it… of course!'
It was as if Volkner saw a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation. With a trembling voice, he shouted:
"E-ELECTIVIRE! FIGHT ON YOUR OWN!"