In the castle's backyard, Aven's Pokémon were diligently immersed in their training.
They all already knew about the danger Aven had encountered not long ago, and even now, whenever they thought back to it, a lingering chill of fear still clung to their hearts.
If not for Ralts successfully breaking through and evolving at that crucial moment, Aven really might have been killed by the Mismagius's Shadow Ball attack.
That incident made them all once again clearly realize just how important true strength was. Because of this, every single one of them was pushing themselves to the limit in training.
They understood very well that sudden breakthroughs were not something one could rely on every time. Compared to placing their hopes on a miraculous last-second evolution, it was far more practical to devote themselves to constant, relentless training now!
Even Mothim, who was usually the most laid-back and carefree, had rarely shown such seriousness before. But this time, even it had taken flight into the sky, working hard to refine its aerial maneuvering and endurance.
In recent times, Mothim had frequently acted as Aven's aerial transport. If it could improve its flying ability to a higher level, then in the future, should a dangerous situation arise, it would be able to swiftly carry Aven into the skies and escape at top speed.
"Cheer~"
For Cherrim, its most common form of training had always been basking under the sunlight.
But now, even it had begun taking the initiative to study other kinds of support and enhancement moves.
Among them, the move Growth was the one it focused on the most. With its natural mastery of Sunny Day, Cherrim was able to bring out the full potential of Growth's effects perfectly.
Because Tangrowth had recently been tied up with the responsibilities of managing the berry orchard and promoting the growth of crops used in Pokémon food, it was rarely able to stay at Aven's side.
Because of that, the responsibility of providing enhancement support for the other Pokémon using Growth had now fallen onto Cherrim's shoulders. And, since Cherrim had taken the initiative to request this task, Aven had naturally agreed to add it to its training plan.
Meanwhile, Aven was currently questioning Mismagius in detail about its situation.
"So, the reason you chose to submit to us was because you sensed a familiar aura on Froslass?" Aven asked, his tone serious.
This Mismagius already possessed the strength of an advanced level Pokémon. While its direct combat power was not overwhelmingly strong, its mastery on illusions was extremely refined, making its abilities exceptionally valuable.
Because of that, Aven intended to gather as much information about Mismagius as possible, so that he could then design a proper training regimen and cultivation path focused on illusions. This field of development was something Aven himself was very interested in.
"Maa, maaa~"
Mismagius nodded repeatedly, confirming Aven's question.
"So, it truly was the aura of the Grey Mist you felt," Aven muttered with a solemn expression.
"Mismagius, during your time in the Ghost World, you've encountered an aura similar to the Grey Mist's before, haven't you? And what's more, that aura belonged to an incredibly powerful Ghost-type Pokémon—possibly even a legendary one."
This revelation made Aven's face grow heavy and serious. It was the first time he had gained such clear, specific information regarding the origins of the Grey Mist.
If that was the case, then his earlier suspicions seemed to be validated: within the Abyssal Cavern, there very likely existed a passageway connecting to the Ghost World.
"Maa, maaa…"
After answering Aven's questions, Mismagius glanced uneasily at the other Pokémon nearby.
It could faintly feel the cautious and guarded gazes they were directing at it.
Clearly, after learning that Mismagius had nearly harmed Aven, every single one of them had silently raised their guard.
In fact, their intense training was largely because they had made Mismagius into their imagined rival, using it as a benchmark against which they measured their own current battle power.
"Don't worry," Aven reassured gently, noticing its unease. "Since you've already chosen to become one of our companions, the past is the past. It's over now."
Strictly speaking, since crossing through the rift from the Ghost World into this one, Mismagius had never actively attacked humans or other Pokémon.
The reason it had fought against that knight and Aven previously was only because they had trespassed into its territory—it had been acting out of instinct, a form of passive retaliation.
From that perspective, as long as Mismagius did not deliberately seek out humans or Pokémon to harm, it could still be considered a good-hearted Pokémon, one that could be trusted.
"Maa, maaa…~"
Hearing Aven's words, Mismagius lowered its head emotionally, deeply moved.
Aven smiled faintly. "Alright then, let's see you demonstrate your power for us."
The other Pokémon, upon hearing this, immediately gathered in excitement, eager to experience Mismagius's illusions firsthand.
Once again, Aven's vision began to distort as the scene around him shifted. The entire world plunged into pitch-black darkness, and countless eerie blue ghost-lights began flickering into existence all around them.
This was clearly a re-creation of the environment within the Ghost World, drawn directly from Mismagius's memories and projected outward through illusion. The scenery continued to shift ceaselessly, enveloping them in a chillingly real simulation.
Watching the changing world around him, Aven's eyes gleamed faintly. The level of detail was astonishing—everything felt almost indistinguishable from reality itself, as if he had truly stepped into the Ghost World.
"Lil~ lil~"
Petilil and the other Pokémon, now within the illusion, carefully observed their surroundings while simultaneously attempting to test different ways to break free of it.
"Lass~"
Froslass drifted gracefully through the air.
Ghost energy began faintly stirring around its body, while the Odd Keystone at its neck slowly rose and hovered, sending out invisible ripples of power that swept outward.
At this moment, Froslass was attempting to sense the structure of Mismagius's illusion, trying to reproduce it using its own abilities.
Unfortunately, Mismagius's illusions were powered by immense quantities of Ghost-type energy. Without being able to fully call upon its own Ghost-type energy, Froslass was unable to replicate them with perfection.
Noticing this limitation, Froslass let out a soft sigh. With winter approaching, its training efficiency in Ice-type techniques had risen significantly.
But when it came to quickly advancing its strength, the most crucial factor remained its mastery over Ghost-type energy. Though it had been experimenting with using the Odd Keystone to assist in this, the results were still far from sufficient.
"Roooaaarrr!"
Meanwhile, Rhydon was also ensnared within the illusion.
Its expression was grave and tense as it swung its mighty fists again and again, but no matter how fiercely it attacked, it could not so much as graze the intangible phantoms drifting in the air.
Clearly, when it came to illusions, brute strength was utterly useless. Frustrated, it scratched its massive head, at a loss.
Crack, crack, crack—!
Just as the Pokémon were still struggling to find ways of breaking the illusion, a sharp sound of shattering suddenly echoed through the world around them.
Kirlia stood with its eyes closed, releasing calm, steady pulses of psychic energy. Wherever its thoughts extended, the space itself fractured apart!
With a resonant boom, the illusion completely disintegrated, vanishing without a trace. Aven and the Pokémon once again found themselves back in the backyard of the castle.
"Kir~lia?"
Kirlia opened its eyes, blinking in slight confusion.
It had only wanted to use its psychic energy to probe its surroundings, and yet the entire illusion had shattered so easily?
"Maa, maaa…"
Mismagius stared at Kirlia in open fear.
It hadn't expected that its signature, painstakingly refined illusions would be utterly useless against Kirlia, broken apart in an instant!
And considering that Kirlia also already possessed the power of an advanced level Pokémon, it meant that in any direct confrontation, Mismagius stood absolutely no chance. It was completely and hopelessly suppressed.
"Hm? Something definitely isn't normal here…" Aven murmured, his eyes narrowing in thought.
It was impossible for ordinary psychic energy alone to dismantle Mismagius's illusions like this. The problem clearly lay with Kirlia itself.
"Mismagius, try casting the illusion again," Aven instructed.
At his words, Mismagius nodded quickly and projected its illusion once more.
Immediately, Kirlia once again released its psychic power. Just like before, wherever its mind reached, space began to fracture and collapse.
Within moments, the illusion shattered entirely, and they were all back in the backyard again.
This time, Aven's suspicions were confirmed. "As expected, the key lies with Kirlia."
Closing his eyes in thought, he recalled: when it had still been a Ralts, even though it had fought against Mismagius, nothing like this had ever happened.
That meant the change must have occurred after its evolution into Kirlia. And this naturally led Aven to one conclusion—
"The illusions are also a kind of application of spatial power, aren't they? By distorting space, you can create illusions?"
Aven's mind was racing with speculation.
According to scholars, distorted space could indeed be used to generate illusions. Especially since Mismagius specialized in pulling environments from the consciousness of others into tangible projections.
If that was the case, then yes—this was a form of spatial power at work. And if Kirlia could truly master spatial power, then it too should be capable of similar feats.
Moreover, if Kirlia could learn to harness the technique of twisting space to create illusions alongside Mismagius, it would become a highly effective method of training its control over spatial force.
If his theory proved correct, this could be an invaluable avenue of growth.
"Kir~lia!"
Kirlia's eyes lit up at once.
Ever since experiencing the overwhelming strength of spatial power, it had been desperately trying to recapture that feeling.
Until now, its only training method had been repeatedly using Teleport, but the move consumed too much energy to be sustained for long.
If it could instead learn to master this ability of distorting space to form illusions, training its spatial power would become far easier and far more efficient.
"Maa, maaa~"
Upon seeing this, Mismagius also gave a small nod. Then, as if seeking to curry favor, it turned to Kirlia and let out a friendly, almost ingratiating smile.
"Froslass, this ability to control illusions is something you can try learning as well," Aven continued.
In fact, most Ghost-type Pokémon were capable of learning this art of weaving illusions, though some possessed far greater natural talent for it than others.
He remembered very clearly that Froslass's gift in this aspect was quite exceptional. Furthermore, she could merge her Ice-type affinity with it, making it relatively easy for her to craft unique, frost-laden dreamscapes of snow and ice.
"Maa, maaa~!"
Mismagius immediately nodded in delight, clearly expressing that it would spare no effort in helping Froslass master the art of illusions!
"Mhm. Then the three of you can go ahead and begin your illusion training first," Aven said thoughtfully.
"When I've gained a deeper understanding of illusions myself, I'll try to help you refine and strengthen your mastery further."
As he spoke, Aven's hand never paused, his quill gliding quickly over his notebook as he jotted down the information he had just grasped.
At this, the three Pokémon—Froslass, Kirlia, and Mismagius—rose into the air together. Floating some distance away, they began practicing and experimenting with the powers of illusion.
(End of Chapter)