Double Team, a Normal-type move. It creates numerous identical copies of the user, confusing the opponent's senses before striking when their guard is down or disrupting their judgment.
A swarm of Zorua surrounded Dratini, cutting off every escape route. Dratini's eyes darted around warily, its slender body tense like a drawn bowstring.
Lucien focused all his attention, carefully scanning the battlefield, trying to distinguish the real Zorua from its illusions and relay that to Dratini.
But Anna clearly had no intention of giving him the chance.
"Zorua, use Extrasensory! All of you!"
In the next instant, every Zorua moved at once.
Invisible power condensed into dozens of translucent spheres, hurtling toward Dratini from all directions.
Fast...too fast!
And worse, Anna's Zorua had refined its Illusion to the point where even the shadow clones appeared tangible. To an untrained eye, every single one looked real.
Lucien reacted instantly. "Dratini, jump, now!"
But even so, he was a heartbeat too late.
The blasts of psychic energy struck Dratini squarely, enveloping it in shimmering waves of force.
"Dra… tiii!"
Dratini cried out in pain, its body trembling under the barrage.
"Zorua, one more Extrasensory!" Anna commanded sharply.
The copies hesitated for only a fraction of a second before moving again, but that brief pause was all Lucien needed.
"Dratini, front-left, Twister!"
"Dra!"
Despite its injuries, Dratini drew in a deep breath. Violet light flared from its mouth, coalescing into a roaring spiral of wind and dragon energy. The raging Twister collided head-on with Zorua's psychic blast.
For a moment, the two forces fought for dominance, then Zorua's psychic power shattered the cyclone apart, sending Dratini flying through the air.
"Dra… tii…"
It hit the ground hard, struggling to rise… but its strength finally gave out, and it collapsed.
Lucien rushed forward, kneeling beside it. "You did well, Dratini. Rest now."
He gently fed it an Oran-Berry tonic and stroked its head.
Only then did he look back at Anna, his tone calm but serious.
"Anna… from here on, I'm going to get serious now."
At his signal, Servine stepped forward, elegant and composed. It regarded Zorua with its usual air of disdain, emerald eyes glinting with quiet confidence.
Seeing the Pokémon before her, Anna's chest tightened. After so many encounters, she could roughly gauge an opponent's strength, and she knew that Lucien's Servine was his strongest partner by far.
"We're not giving up!" she declared, clenching her fists.
Zorua barked sharply in agreement.
Thus began the second match.
"Zorua, Double Team, then use Extrasensory!'' Anna shouted, eager to repeat her earlier success.
But this time, her opponent wasn't the still-maturing Dratini.
As the illusionary Zorua once again encircled Servine, Lucien spoke softly, almost lazily:
"Magical Leaf."
In that instant, both Pokémon launched their attacks.
Psychic energy surged toward Servine, yet before it could land, countless glowing leaves burst forth, whirling through the air with razor precision.
"Whoosh..whoosh..whoosh!"
The leaves sliced through the false images one after another until only the real Zorua remained.
Servine lowered itself, body coiling gracefully before darting aside like a striking serpent, the Extrasensory grazing harmlessly past.
Then the storm of leaves locked onto Zorua's true form.
"Whsssh!"
A flurry of sharp green light struck its target, leaving several clear gashes along Zorua's fur.
"So fast…!" Anna gasped, her eyes wide.
Lucien's expression softened. "I understand your resolve, Anna… but I can't allow you to set foot on the battlefield."
His voice grew firm. "Servine, Vine Whip!"
Two thick vines lashed out from Servine's sides, snapping through the air toward Zorua.
Anna's heart skipped a beat. "Zorua, dodge!"
But before Zorua could move, it felt its paws tighten, caught by a tangle of living grass.
"Grass Knot…!"
Anna realized too late.
The vines came down hard, striking Zorua squarely and driving it to its knees.
"No!" Anna cried out.
Zorua trembled, teeth clenched, refusing to yield.
It turned its gaze toward Anna, toward the girl who shared its dream.
Anna… I feel your heart. You're not the only one who wants to protect this place.
Even I, a Pokémon, want to defend this home where humans and monsters can live in peace.
Zorua let out a sharp, determined cry.
The next instant, a blinding, radiant white light burst forth from its body, soaring toward the sky.
Within that light, Zorua's silhouette began to shift and change rapidly.
It slowly rose to its feet; its short forelimbs stretched into powerful claws, and a thick mane of crimson fur unfurled from its head, cascading down its back like living fire.
That was… evolution.
Zorua had evolved into Zoroark!
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
Across from him, Anna's face lit up with unrestrained joy as she watched the glow fade.
"Zorua…!" she whispered, trembling with excitement.
The newly evolved Zoroark gave a low, rumbling growl before turning to Anna and nodding silently, its eyes gleaming with understanding. Then, it looked back toward Servine, its gaze sharp and focused.
In the next second, Zoroark's eyes glimmered with a strange, bewitching violet light.
Lucien's expression hardened. 'Not good.'
After evolving, Zoroark's Illusion ability became vastly more powerful.
It was about to weave another illusion, strong enough to trap even experienced opponents.
"Servine, close your eyes and stay calm!" Lucien ordered quickly.
Servine obeyed at once.
Darkness swallowed its vision. The sounds around it faded, one by one, until there was nothing, no wind, no footsteps, no voice.
When Servine opened its eyes again, it found itself standing alone in the middle of a vast, endless forest.
…
"Servine! Wake up!"
Lucien's voice called out, but the Pokémon stood frozen in place, its eyes glazed over, completely unresponsive.
It was trapped, ensnared in one of Zoroark's illusions.
That was Zoroark's true power.
In its earlier stage, Zorua's illusions had been shallow, mere visual tricks. But once it evolved, this ability grew exponentially.
Now, Zoroark could not only transform its own form, but also project illusions on a massive scale, creating vivid mirages that hundreds of people could see simultaneously.
It was said that wild Zoroark punished those who tried to capture them by trapping their minds within endless hallucinations.
When their forest homes were threatened, they would conjure illusions so realistic that intruders would wander in circles for days, never realizing they'd lost their way.
Unless one possessed a will of steel, or psychic power greater than Zoroark's own, there was no escape from its illusions.
...
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