User blog comment:Jkphantom9/RWBY clip on Lazer Team Livestream/@comment-10317392-20140622171955/@comment-3257939-20140623232216

There is no saying that Pyrrha is going to lose, neither that she's a fighting at full strength. There is no proof that he is toying with Pyrrha and the moment he fights for real, Pyrrha won't last. It's just how he is, Mercury is cocky and arrogant, he laughed when he forced Pyrrha to retreated once he attacked at full strength and made that "not bad" face but it doesn't necessary means that he is just playing and he has some badass hidden power to defeat Pyrrha without problems.

He was just testing her, he was probably expecting someone like Team CRDL and win the fight in a flash but instead, he got matched with Pyrrha and was slightly of her skills. Also, I kinda of agree with you about the semblance. Maybe it's allowed, but maybe not. In Jaunedice, Jaune didn't know about his semblance yet and Cardin may or may not have any semblance either but he hasn't fought someone at full strength so there is no telling. But either with semblance or not, Pyrrha still has a chance to retrieve her sword. Her advantage is the shield, that's the turning point, as long as she has her shield she can block Mercury's attacks until she finds a way to get her weapon back.

I guess it's a hard choice. People are not exactly basing their ideas on the strength but on the it's for the plot. Mercury has to win because Pyrrha needs to get depressed so it can match our theories of what her arc will be about or that Mercury made the not bad face so he is ultimately powerful and he is just toying with Pyrrha and he is going to win so that Yang can be the one to defeat him because the show is named RWBY. Not really good enough to say anything, I guess it's better if we just wait and watch.