novelraw Chapter 222 Kings, Popes, and Gods
Chapter 222 Kings, Popes, and Gods
Chapter 224 Kings, Popes, and Gods
"I see, so that's how it is. It really happened. ♪🐠 ❻➈ᔕ𝓗𝓾Ж.c𝕠爪🏆😾"
Hugo, dressed in a black trench coat, stood at the crossroads in the tall grass, nodding to himself with the fresh expression of someone who had just read an interesting news article.
Originally, they came to Fukiyori City only to attend the funeral of the Volcarona, but they ended up encountering a series of unexpected and strange events—
Champion Alder in the Tower of Heaven is engaged in a series of battles with the Elite Four members of Unova. A large group of strange people are lying in the grass around the arena. All of their Poké Balls have been stolen. Cattleya's butler is unconscious at the crossroads. Team Plasma's spiritual leader emerges from the grass and is recounting the crazy actions of his subordinates...
If someone else were to encounter this situation, even if they weren't completely at a loss, they would probably be completely bewildered.
However, the person standing here is Hugo. Although he is on vacation outside of work and is not wearing his usual signature white coat, he is still a detective.
Since he is still a detective, he cannot tolerate lies that are right in front of him.
"The reason you so readily leaked information to me wasn't for such a trivial reason as paying a commission fee; there's another purpose behind it."
The green-haired youth remained silent, offering neither comment nor response.
Hugo wasn't in a hurry. He squatted down next to Mr. Shi Lan, deftly removed the gloves from the butler's hands to examine them, and spoke to N as if in casual conversation—
N spoke as if reciting a text verbatim, then changed his expression, revealing a somewhat fearful smile—
"You hate that kind of naming; it makes it seem like you and your father are having a fight," N said, frowning.
After counting on his fingers, the detective suddenly had a bad idea: "Hmm, how about we give those two factions names now, like 'The Papal Faction' and 'The King's Faction'?"
"To put it bluntly, you were entrusted by someone else." Zhao Lu casually examined the white gloves, studying the tears and stains underneath, her tone nonchalant.
The detective's explanation was brilliant, but the green-haired youth clearly understood—
"In that patch of grass, apart from the trainers, no one was fatally wounded. Among the Sages, there are only two who can be that gentle—the neutral Rod and the fundamentalist Joggs. That alone eliminates the seven outside of the Sages. Of the remaining two, Rod is only good at battles and is currently busy dealing with a gambler's debt. He is definitely not likely to be here."
That's the truth that can be guessed simply by reading the character introductions on the title page of a novel.
Shi Lan stated her speculations as if recounting facts.
"Thinking about it that way, it makes perfect sense that we, Lantang and Garde, would be battling the League Champion. Similarly, those elite trainers who were defeated by Team Plasma would have no reason to be here. Because if we just climb to the top of this Tower of Heaven, we can skip the long Unova League tournament and become the Unova Champion in one fell swoop—a fantastic opportunity like Magikarp leaping over the Dragon Gate. However, that news probably hasn't spread beyond the circle of low-level trainers; otherwise, there would be even fewer people involved further away."
...According to well-known legends, the fire moth, revered as a god by the ancients, slumbers beyond the desert ruins. However, a careful examination of historical documents reveals that this belief was merely a primitive projection of the early people's sun worship. What the ancient people truly worshipped was this eternally extinguishing star hanging low in the sky. The fire moth, in our minds, is merely a messenger of the gods, a figure on par with Heracross, who, according to local legends, pushed the sun down from the sky like a ball of earth—far removed from the true mythical Aderc, the legendary Aderc. Yet, in the boundless desert, perhaps there truly is no Aderc slumbering there, one worthy of being called a god. A bard's song once circulated in Raven City: "In the storm-ravaged plains, only the narrow, thick earth sleeps soundly..."
"Actually, it wasn't as polite as 'please.' This person's attitude was closer to 'Hey, he, go get him for me'... Haha, they actually used such an Aldrich."
"You're really not worthy of being called a detective. It seems you'll need to continue betraying information about the Order."
Seemingly having stumbled upon a brilliant discovery while examining the evidence, the detective's expression instantly relaxed. He tossed the gloves back under the unconscious butler and stood up again.
"His true goal is to liberate all the Ardek beings in the world on the day he becomes the ruler of the world, granting them equal rights with humans... Until then, I don't care about the deluge. 🐟✌ ❻❾ⓢнยא.𝓒𝕠м 👮🐤"
"But in reality, you don't need to worry about whether the country the cult is going to create can last for thousands of years, because this is the dream of our father and teacher, and it is yours."
"It's a process of elimination, but it's definitely not working. He seems to know even less about factional structures outside the cult than you do."
"Aside from the two hot-tempered outcasts, Rhodes and Joggs, Team Plasma has split into two smaller factions. There's Ghetsis, the Sage Leader; Vio, who's in charge of finance; Smura, obsessed with propaganda; and this eight-man ninja group known as the 'White, Dark, Iron Octagon.' These executives belong to one faction, blindly following the orders of Ghetsis, the founder of the Order. Their primary goal in operations is to profit the organization, and they are adept at remotely controlling the organization's intelligent criminal activities."
"You understand. You saw it then during the power plant incident." The detective sighed helplessly, revealing the truth the green-haired youth was about to say—
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"While the Pokémon Champion has been quite active off the field lately, I'm not so unpopular that people would care even if my partner passed away. There are no Pokémon trainers around the world who have received my guidance. A trainer who received Pokémon guidance in battles asked you to express his condolences on your behalf at Volcarona's funeral."
—That was a local history notebook written by the wise man Jogos in his youth.
"Human perspectives are never more deceiving than the thoughts of elves. Just like liquids of uniform density, people will spontaneously group together once they gather."
"The Plasma Sage who attacked that place must be the authoritative historian, Junior Master Joggs," Shi Lan said confidently.
"So it came here to attend a funeral. But this fire moth wasn't willing to die so quietly." N shook his head, then turned the conversation to the detective. "Speaking of which, you accepted a request or a commission. Does that mean the person who later took him away was someone very close to him?"
"Alder's main partner is old and dying. However, Volcarona is a Pokémon that doesn't have the unique ecology of burning itself out and becoming weaker as it approaches the end of its life. I suppose the champion wanted to use Volcarona's final battle to decide his successor."
"Like thunderclouds and tornadoes, the Earth Cloud is a weather deity that roams throughout Unova, changing with the weather. It can stop the conflict between storms and lightning, but it always appears in the bountiful autumn. Whenever it appears, it unleashes its power to make the crops outside the land more lush and abundant... So where does it go in the winter when everything withers? Where does the Earth Cloud accumulate the power of a year's harvest?"
"Furthermore, there isn't a club of fanatics outside of Team Plasma who idolizes him personally. Asura, who once attacked the Dream Lab, Zero, who was the most active and passionate in the Elven Liberation Movement, and his two sisters are not among them. Therefore, if his orders conflict with Ghetsis, we will resolutely disobey his instructions."
For the first time today, the green-haired youth showed a look of astonishment.
"Let's get back to the white glove."
Behind the King's Face of the Plasma Cluster, Shi Lan, in her small, square shape, began counting on her fingers—
"Detective, did he only just find out the details? Did he receive specific intelligence before coming there?"
"But isn't that inevitable? Does the Plasma Group intend to overthrow the Alliance and establish a kingdom-like political system? He should know that endless court intrigues are a traditional characteristic of hereditary rule—Jorges, as a historian, should have already taught him about that, shouldn't he?"
Shi Lan, too lazy to lecture the young man whose worldview differed so drastically from that of abnormal humans, began to reinterpret her reasoning about the battle scene—
"After arriving in the United States, you read the works of this man, and you never expected that I would also come here. What's even more surprising is that the most infamous of the wise men, the Blue-Robed Cardinal, actually gained the approval of this Adek—did he really gain nothing from the ruins of the ancient city?"
"Yes, mainly because he narrowed down the attackers to one of the Sages from the Plasma Group. Choosing the real culprit from a list of only one people is a puzzle of that difficulty, even for readers of mystery novels."
N didn't react with the exaggerated reaction typical of people when a detective reveals the truth; I simply shrugged with a hint of mischief: "How did he arrive at that conclusion? Just based on a glove?"
"Butler Liya's gloves are covered with clean, sharp cuts, the kind of marks left by wind blades that aren't caused by Flying-type moves. The palms of the gloves are stained white with soil color, so there are very few clues to be found with the naked eye. But the velvet on the back of the hand should be clean, but there are quite a few traces of sand and dust on the outside, which means that Ground or Rock-type moves were used at the scene."
"The kingdom you are about to build will be a completely new and ideal world. There may be conflicts, but those who possess wisdom will resolve them properly."
"Sage Jogos, I have found this god buried in the desert."
"Besides, Mr. Lia has always been keen in judging the battle situation, and her loyalty to Gardehugo is seven out of ten. She must have encountered a weak enemy that she could not defeat. I would have sent out my Starhawk to inform the little sister outside the Tower of Heaven as soon as possible—but the information obviously did not reach the tower. My Starhawk was also defeated by Joggs's mysterious elf. That means that this Adek at most has the speed and strength to intercept a Flying-type Adek. Combined with Joggs's professional experience and my long-term research outside the Desert Ruins, the answer is obvious."
Flight, sandstorms, speed, strength, and legends of the desert... all these elements clearly point to the one and only Zhao Luqiu.
Yoggs is a Team Plasma executive stationed in the Ancient City for a long time in *Black and White*. He was also arrested there in the second playthrough, probably because of his expertise in history and archaeology. He's called the Blue Cardinal because his name comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "green." The names of the seven sages other than Ghetsis are all derived from various colors in different languages; the same applies to the previous Purple Cardinal, Vio. The setting of Landcloud's dormancy in the desert comes from the first episode of the *Generations* anime, and also from Landcloud's "Sand Power" ability.