Inner-Outer Illusion

Not only the staff responsible for filming but also the contestants watching on the big screen were all bewildered, not knowing what had caused such an intense reaction from the audience and judges.

Finally, the three judges were the first to react, exclaiming in unison, "Affecting sight."

Two Legendary Pokémon appearing out of thin air... This was absolutely impossible, a ridiculous notion.

Recalling the lifelike Articuno ice sculpture that Altaria had made earlier, the judges thought of the mistake Terrance made in this performance, which wasn't really a mistake.

No matter how miraculous and skillful the energy control was, it didn't truly reflect Mismagius' "personality" and couldn't showcase its unique characteristics... There was no reason for Terrance to make such an obvious blunder.

So, what exactly was Mismagius' unique characteristic?

They quickly recalled that, according to the Pokédex, Mismagius had a description that was universally agreed upon by renowned Professors from various regions: its cries sound like incantations that can cause headaches or hallucinations in those who hear them.

"It's an illusion... What we're seeing is an illusion!" Raoul Contesta slapped the table as he suddenly realized.

He glanced at the expressions of the others and understood that many of the audience and judges' sight had been affected by Mismagius' incantation-like cries, mistaking the figure formed by Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp as Legendary Pokémon.

However, before anyone could think further, Mismagius moved again, making the two Legendary Pokémon below clash with each other.

Zapdos moved gracefully, its wings elegantly fluttering, and it's lightning-like eyes shimmering with a unique golden light.

Under the effect of Thunder Wave and the illusion, it truly made people believe it was Zapdos.

Zapdos floated into the air, golden currents swirling around its wings, quickly transforming into electric arcs that dissipated into air with Zapdos' movements.

More and more electric arcs appeared, slowly illuminating Zapdos' body like a radiant halo, making it look incredibly sacred.

Moltres, surrounded by crimson flames, flew around the stage like a captivating sun, its fiery presence impossible to ignore.

"Screee—"

"Whoosh—"

Two more high-pitched cries emerged from nowhere, causing the judges and audience to cover their ears, their mouths agape as they watched the two Pokémon circle around before colliding with each other.

"Boom~~~~"

A deafening boom filled the air, jolting everyone back to their senses. The stage was now engulfed in countless arcs of electricity and fireworks, intertwining in a stunning display. Lightning and fire, gold and red, blended together, radiating mesmerizing colors reminiscent of a sunset.

This scene was the only time the contestants in the lobby saw the same scene as the audience.

"What happened?" the contestants murmured.

Even though their eyes clearly saw the scene, they had a feeling that they had missed something.

Without hearing Mismagius' incantation, the performance contestants watched was incomplete, and they couldn't fully experience the charm of Mismagius' performance or the stunning optical illusion created by Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp.

"This..."

All the audience members were immersed in the charm of the clash between the two Legendary Pokémon, unable to recover for a long time.

"It's an illusion...an illusion...!" At this moment, Vivian received instructions and understood the situation. She immediately explained through the microphone, "Mismagius used a strange incantation to create an optical illusion, making us mistake the images formed by Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp for Zapdos and Moltres... This... this is the first time I've seen such a technique!"

Vivian patted her chest. Being closest to the stage, she had the most direct experience. She was very sure that she could truly feel the crackling of the electricity and the heat of the raging flames. Though she didn't know if it was real, it felt extremely genuine.

Terrance himself was also affected by the illusion and thus witnessed the entire process. It went even more smoothly than he had imagined, which is an extension of Mismagius' second illusion skill.

Instead of relying on deep hypnosis to invade the opponent's mind and trap them in an "Illusionary Space" to create a completely new setting, this method relies on an existing setting to interfere with the opponent's five senses.

This approach is easier to break than pure illusions, and given Mismagius' current level, it can't influence the opponent's five senses out of thin air.

In this scenario, the opponent is not "in trance" but is rather "fully awake." Without Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp as mediums, Mismagius could never create the scene of Zapdos and Moltres in reality.

However, if the opponent is pulled into an illusion, not just two Legendary Pokémon but a whole bunch could be created.

There's an advantage, though. Terrance refers to the method of pulling the opponent into an Illusionary Space similar to a dream as inner illusion, while illusions created by relying on reality are called outer illusions. The difference between these two is that to achieve the maximum effect in the inner illusion, Mismagius can only hypnotize individuals.

But with the outer illusion, Mismagius can influence everyone present, creating a group illusion!

However, the downside of a group illusion is that it depends on the real environment and is therefore easier to detect. If the opponent notices something amiss and attacks, the target of the attack is still Mismagius, and the fundamental nature of reality remains unchanged.

But in an inner illusion, the target of the opponent's attack might be imaginary, which is an advantage.

In summary, inner illusion is a single-target illusion skill requiring the construction of an Illusionary Space, using many factors like "Confuse Ray," "Psywave," "psychic power," and "incantations."

The outer illusion, however, is a group illusion skill, influencing a wide area using moves or a Pokémon's racial abilities, making the opponent perceive one "medium" as something else.

The practical value of the outer illusion is not very high, and it is not easier to perform compared to inner illusion. It requires Mismagius to split its focus. All these reasons make Terrance less optimistic about the outer illusion. However, as Mismagius has grown, inner illusions have reached their limits and are also unsuitable for Pokémon Contest's primary judging. Therefore, Terrance has no choice but to focus on outer illusions.

But mastering the outer illusion to reach the same value as the inner illusion is very challenging.

The three judges were discussing how to score Terrance. After all, such a performance was unprecedented in a Pokémon Contest, never seen or heard of before.

At that moment, several participating Coordinators emerged from the contestant passageway, protesting, "We have a complaint."

"We couldn't see Contestant Terrance's performance properly through the big screen, and the explanation is too far-fetched. This so-called illusion skill is utterly absurd. It's clearly a fake, and how can it count as a performance? Moreover, this illusion skill essentially hypnotizes the audience and judges with a move, which has no precedent in Pokémon Contest history. We request the panel of judges to take these points into account and refer to the performance video for scoring."

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