As soon as the referee nodded, Alley stood from her bench and released Seyraflare from her lap.
The fox-Whisp landed gracefully, tails flicking with a trail of embers, eyes glowing crimson and cobalt. The moment her paws touched the battle floor, a heat ripple moved through the air, distorting the ring's edges.
Jimmy raised his hand.
Luna stepped onto the battlefield beside him. Her hooves echoed softly on the ground, her radiant form emerging into view—graceful, storm-charged, and noble.
Alley's eyes widened the moment she saw her.
"Hey… what kind of pet is that?"
Even her voice wavered slightly.
Luna stood tall, mane flowing like a storm tide, electric-blue irises locked calmly on the opponent. Her glow reflected off the arena floor like a guardian of rain and lightning.
Jimmy was about to type a reply—but a smooth, robotic voice cut him off.
"Opponent registered: Ondinceic. Whisp Tier: Intermediate — Stage 1"
The voice came from a small, floating golden Data Sphere—Alley's personal one, clearly from an upper-tier brand. Jimmy glanced at it briefly. It was far more advanced than the academy-issued ones. She's from a rich family, he noted silently.
Alley tilted her head smugly.
"Don't try to copy me now. You falling in love or what?"
Jimmy turned toward the referee, ignoring her flirt.
The referee raised a hand.
"Whisp Tamer Assessment test begins. Ready?"
Alley winked and rolled her shoulders.
She lifted a single finger and whispered:
"Smoke Area."
Jimmy smiled faintly and a snap of his hands.
In an instant, black smoke erupted from Seyraflare's tails while a cool grey-blue mist began swirling from Luna's mane and legs. Both fogs expanded, clashing and blending mid-air until the entire arena was swallowed in thick vapor—hot and cold fighting for space.
"Worthy opponent, Luna," Jimmy thought.
Suddenly—in the thick of smoke—two glowing eyes flared like twin moons. One red. One icy blue. They blinked slowly in the dark, watching.
Then:
"Good tactic," Alley's voice on her brain. "But why isn't he giving commands? Not out loud, not even by brain pulse…"
Her voice sharpened.
"Seyraflare—Flame Tackle."
Through the mist, a blazing charge sliced through the air. Seyraflare emerged like a ghost in fire, claws burning, aimed straight for Luna—
But she passed through.
The real Luna had vanished, and the flame-tackle struck a watery afterimage.
Before Alley could adjust, a burst of bubbles slammed into Seyraflare from behind. She growled and skidded sideways.
Alley narrowed her eyes.
"He's good without commands. He is better than them. Guess I should stop playing around."
Suddenly, Seyraflare's three tails lit up—flames dancing at the tips, each ringing like a tiny bell. The vibrations passed through the fog like sonar pulses.
Jimmy immediately recognized the trap.
"Don't listen—use water to cover your ears."
Luna's form shimmered— she followed instantly. Small orbs of water formed and froze into ear-caps, sealing her senses. She gently tucked them behind her glowing mane.
Just in time.
A ghostly figure flashed past—Seyraflare again—but this time, she vanished right as Luna moved.
Jimmy's mind ticked quickly.
"Something's off…"
Ghost illusion.
Sensory manipulation.
He narrowed his eyes.
Of course—she's a Ghost-type. She's using illusion to warp Luna's perception… or mine.
Jimmy said in mind:
"It's an illusion. Attack in all directions—but angle just slightly away from her actual location."
Luna obeyed without hesitation.
She spun, unleashing Bubble Beam, Water Gun, and Ice Ball in multiple arcs—not directly, but enough to graze the air near where Seyraflare hovered.
The fire fox snarled as one stream clipped her tail, distorting her camouflage. The illusion began to crumble.
From the fog, Alley's voice shouted:
"Fine—Flame Burst!"
That was what Jimmy had been waiting for.
Seyraflare's tails spun, a fiery sphere forming in front of her like a sun condensed to burning chaos.
Jimmy let Luna stand still—just for a heartbeat.
Then…
BOOM!
Just before impact, Luna split into five mirror-like clones, vanishing and rushing from different angles.
The Flame Burst detonated—too late.
The real Luna, cloaked among her doppelgangers, struck from the side with Aqua Jet, slamming into Seyraflare before she could react.
Alley gasped.
"You… You're using me as bait?!"
Before she could regroup—a flash of thunder cracked the smoke, a paralyzing arc of lightning locking Seyraflare in place. She trembled, unable to move, as another Luna clone charged and struck her flank with a solid impact.
Jimmy felt the shift in air—danger.
"Luna—hide. Now. Water form."
Luna immediately dissolved, flowing into the mist as liquid form. A moment later, a massive flame ball scorched the ground where she'd just stood, tearing through the arena tiles.
Even Jimmy had to duck, shielding his eyes.
The fog slowly lifted.
Half the battlefield was cratered, tiles shattered, water steaming on contact. Luna reformed beside Jimmy—scratched but still standing.
He said quickly:
"Close your eyes. I'll guide you from here. Everything is here as an illusion"
Luna nodded.
From across the scorched ring, Alley stepped forward. A strands of hair sticking to her forehead from sweat.
She smirked.
"You're the first one to make me feel like I'm in a real battle."
"Don't hold back now. I'm done flirting."
.................................
Luna closed her eyes.
Inside the mist-shrouded arena, she entered a trance of motion—silent, graceful, deadly.
Jimmy's thoughts reached her through their bond, a pulse of strategy and calm in her mind:
"Zigzag. Corners. Leave shadows behind."
With a crackle of static, Luna darted across the battlefield in a blur—her hooves barely brushing the ground. At every pivot, every pause, she left behind a mirror of herself.
Three clones per turns.
Corners. Curves. Mid-rings. Arcs.
In under ten seconds, the entire arena was flooded with over a hundred Luna-clones, each glowing faintly, mimicking her poise. It was a field of silent spectres cloaked in mist and shimmer, indistinguishable from the real one.
Alley's smirk wavered.
"Tch—so he wants to play illusion games with me?"
Flame quickly teleported upward—hovering just above the fog.
"Illusion tactics won't work anymore."
Below, the clones rushed upward toward her.
Alley's eyes narrowed.
"Flame Burst. Now."
BOOM!
A wave of flame erupted from Seyraflare's body, spiralling outward in a defensive blast. Dozens of clones dissipated into steam and mist instantly.
But then—
"Go left!" Alley shouted mid-air.
Seyraflare swerved—but too late.
The real Luna struck from the blind spot with a blinding Aqua Tackle, smashing into her flank with immense force. Seyraflare cried out and began to fall, but mid-descent, teleported back to her Whisp's side with a flick of her fingers.
She stared across the ring—eyes blazing—and then turned her gaze to Jimmy.
Through Luna's voice in jimmy's mind:
"That Whisp is dangerous. That boy is dangerous."
"He always knows what I'm about to do…"
She narrowed her eyes at Luna again, speaking not with mockery now, but wary respect.
Jimmy said to Luna 'Do you feel something is off???.... it's an double illusion.' Luna also understands it very well. Jimmy said 'Don't do anything, use water as cover when I told you.'
"She's evolved. Not long ago… I can sense it. But she's already this strong?"
She looked at Jimmy one more time.
"Why is a big shot like you hiding down here in the beginner bracket…?"
Jimmy remained silent, but Luna glanced back at him. Their minds synced again. As he is waiting for some big thing as he sense her pause on attacks (Seyraflare's attack).
Suddenly that pet came into middle and.....
A strange glow bloomed under Seyraflare's paws.
Crimson light. Moon-shaped. Pulsing.
Jimmy recognized it at once.
"Crimson Red Moon… It's not mastered—but if she's lucky, even clones can be trapped."
His fingers flew over his phone.
"Don't enter the red circle. Use clones to surround it from every side. Be random. Be wild."
Luna obeyed.
Dozens of new clones leapt into formation, dancing around the glowing perimeter. She angled attacks just outside the red boundary—Bubble Beams, Water Guns, even a few low-powered electric pulses—testing, teasing.
Suddenly—Seyraflare flickered. The real one dissipated.
Alley's voice echoed:
"Ahh… such a bad, weak attack. Now—watch this."
Crimson Blade.
A fiery sword shimmered in Seyraflare's mouth, arcing with ghost-flame and energy. The blade rotated, warping space as it cut small spirals midair.
Jimmy didn't panic.
"Rotate, but don't step near it. Let her think she's hunting."
Luna began circling at top speed—her clones blending into hers, rotating like water caught in a vortex.
Then, a sudden surge from Alley.
Ghostly Dome.
Jimmy's heart skipped.
He knew it—another high level move, still unstable. A dome that traps all within and turns their energy into more copies of the caster.
He gritted his teeth.
"She's absorbing clone energy. Buying time… powering the dome."
Clone after clone slammed into the Seyraflare. She is using her left energy to attack her by making clones, but it's not as powerful as Luna's, so she is getting hit for every time.
But Jimmy had seen through the trick.
He launched a final sequence in his mind:
"Three-by-three tactic."
Three clones ran across the field.
Three more ran towards her to conserve more energy.
Then three—charged with both Water and Electricity—rushed headfirst at the same time.
Luna flung five more watery doubles in.
BOOM.
The dome cracked.
BOOM.
The dome twisted.
BOOM.
It shattered.
A final crack of thunder rang out—and Seyraflare was launched from the center, tumbling across the tiles and landing hard with a heavy thud.
The crimson glow faded.
The referee blew the whistle.
"Match over! Jimmy—victory confirmed!"
The silence afterward was unreal.
Jimmy walked forward, breath calm, steps quiet. He looked at Luna—who was panting slightly but standing proud.
Then something pulsed in his mind. A soft alert.
Something's wrong.
Jimmy rushed to her side.
"Luna, check your body. Now."
Luna looked down.
One of her hooves flickered, twitching. There was a scorch mark across her shoulder. Faint—but deep. From the last wave of the dome.
Jimmy's heart pounded.
He turned toward Alley in some worry.