Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 423 The Most Urgent Matter

Chapter 425 The Most Urgent Matter

At the critical moment, a sharp alarm whistle suddenly pierced the noise of the cave. With the sound of the whistle, Lila, who was originally surrounded by six attacks, was immediately enveloped in a layer of pink light.

The next instant, the female detective vanished, replaced by a yellow Pokémon with flowing whiskers.

"Did they escape by 'exchanging venues'? A futile struggle, the result is ultimately the same."

Vio looked at the scene before him with disdain, and six beams of light from his attack slammed down on Alakazam, who had just appeared.

However, when the smoke cleared, the expected scene of Alakazam falling to the ground did not appear. Instead, Snorlax's sturdy and robust body appeared in the same spot.

Disruptive moves were easily countered by this Pokémon. Its massive arm, covered in dark blue fur, blocked Marabou's "Dark Strike" without any effect, and the "Ice Beam" from the Geometric Snowflake couldn't even leave a mark on its "Thick Fat".

"What's going on? With Snorlax's speed, there shouldn't be any way it could have reacted in time!"

Sage Vio suddenly widened his eyes, staring incredulously at the battle unfolding before him.

Alakazam, who had switched places with Lyra, was gracefully wielding a ladle under Snorlax's cover. First, it used "Secret Guard" to neutralize the "Strange Light" from the geometric snowflakes, and then it used "Psychic Blade" to repel the approaching Dust Mountain and King in one fell swoop.

Behind the two Pokémon, Sharpedo, which had been knocked back by the "Sacrifice Strike," was stuck upside down in the ice, its sharp dorsal fin flailing futilely from side to side.

What's going on with this reaction speed?

Team Plasma Sage's confusion didn't last long, because in the next instant, Snorlax, having completed its defensive maneuver, soared into the air at an incredible speed. Blazing flames suddenly erupted from its round palms, and with a physics-defying agility, it lunged directly at Genesect, which was hovering in mid-air!

"Flame Fist!"

The red Steel-type Pokémon was about to dodge when its body involuntarily froze—as if bound by an invisible force. The "Fire Punch," which was four times weak to Steel, slammed into its steel armor, unleashing a dazzling burst of sparks.

"I see."

Seeing his carefully laid-out offensive thwarted in one fell swoop by his opponent, Akromma smiled wryly and pressed a button on his glasses holder, causing Genesect to exit its super-speed mode—

"It's 'Trick Space'! That's truly brilliant."

At this moment, the entire battlefield was shrouded in countless pale blue cubic grids, making everyone feel as if they were inside a giant superpowered Rubik's Cube.

Under the constraints of "Trick Room", the speed of Pokémon's movement will be reversed. Agile Pokémon will have difficulty moving, while slow-moving Pokémon can do a lot of punches and kicks - just like Snorlax now!

Even after landing, it didn't stop attacking Genesect—in the space where speed was reversed, Snorlax's strong arms firmly gripped the metal cannon on its back, and with a "Throw," it slammed into the glowing monster in the corner, preparing to use "Trick Room" to restore space to normal. The latter's move was interrupted midway, and the two Pokémon rolled together in a loud crash.

"She's gained the upper hand."

Acromah, whose vision was becoming chaotic due to the simultaneous attack on the two Pokémon she was controlling, shook her head in frustration and took off her glasses equipped with a consciousness overwriting device. "If I hadn't used 'Psychic Field,' I could have controlled Genesect to break through spatial limitations with 'Extreme Speed.' In the end, my previous arrangements backfired. I really shouldn't have underestimated the Lords of the Battle Frontier."

At the same time, Vio, who was commanding the Pokémon under his control against Alakazam, suddenly shouted, "Ignore that detective! She's telepathically 'synchronized' with Alakazam, allowing her to silently command all the Pokémon on the field simultaneously. The more chaotic the battle, the greater our advantage—we have the numerical advantage. Send some of our Pokémon to hold her off, and the rest of you focus on moving the Pokémon from the ice!"

As he spoke, he flicked the wide sleeves of his robe, and the dust mountain in front of him suddenly unleashed a "foot" attack.

The ground-based attacks rapidly transmitted. Accompanied by a teeth-grinding cracking sound, the weak point where the sealed Pokémon had been excavated from the ice finally succumbed to the pressure from the chaotic battle above and began to crumble inch by inch, revealing the broad steel hull of the shuttle-shaped ship.

"Brad," Vio turned to his old subordinate who had come with the Navy's officers, "open the hatch immediately and prepare for transport!"

"But the ship hasn't come to a complete stop yet—" After signaling to his teammates on the remaining ship, Brad looked at the destroyer, which was still at an angle of at least seventy degrees to the underground river surface, and couldn't help but look troubled.

"We're running out of time." Vio's expression softened slightly as he watched the cargo hold door struggling to open while tilted. He explained seriously, "Police are like iron ants; they can't really act alone. That woman's aggressive attack is probably to buy time for her accomplices."

Lila, hidden in the shadows, frowned in regret—she hadn't expected the Plasma Bomb to react so quickly.

She had already reunited with her senior detective, who, along with Alakazam, had entered the cave using the teleportation technique they had previously marked. Meanwhile, the Interpol agents who had entered through the escape route and the Giant's Cave entrance were still at least half an hour away from arriving.

If this time were used to corner the criminals trapped in the cave, it would be a piece of cake, but who knew those guys could travel through underground waterways!

Judging from the way those Plasma Team members are now directing the giant rock monsters and baboons to move the ice blocks, they'll probably be able to pack the sealed spirits into the cabin and leave in less than ten minutes—and because of the "Trick Space," the giant rock monsters are even moving faster.

"Can I take down a few of the Pokémon carrying the ice blocks first?" Lila was thinking this when a series of "ice spikes" suddenly fell like ping-pong balls, blocking the way between the restless Snorlax and the cargo Pokémon.

"Stop strutting around! Do you think only your Snorlax can benefit from the 'Trick Room' bonus?!"

The sound of the spring echoed between the ice caves. Although she could no longer pinpoint Lyra's exact location after the "exchange of locations" with Alakazam, the Fleet Aqua officer still maintained the flamboyant demeanor that was characteristic of the original organization.

This straightforward style is a hallmark of Team Aqua—unlike Team Plasma's religious fanaticism, Team Rocket's gangster-like behavior, or Team Magma's academic atmosphere, they seem to admire a more pirate-like, unrestrained and bold style.

Click!

With a crisp clang of shells colliding, a spiny clam slid into the arena at incredible speed.

With the help of "Trick Room," this normally slow-moving bivalve Pokémon displayed astonishing agility. Although Snorlax still had its advantage in speed due to its "slower" pace, it struggled to break through Cloyster's impenetrable physical defense for a while.

Ice-type energy flashed, and the sharp edges of Cloyster's shell gleamed with a cold light. It cleverly positioned itself, completely separating Snorlax from the transport team. The two Pokémon clashed under the inverted laws of space and time, each collision sending ice shards flying.

Further away, Raikou was caught in a pincer attack by Sharpedo and Goldeen. Although Genesect and Mega Charizard had been defeated, the "Psychic Terrain" hadn't dissipated, preventing them from using Electric-type moves and priority moves. Alakazam, Espeon, and Lucario were in an even worse situation; it was a miracle they were still holding on despite being outnumbered.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Akromar began to heal his fearsome Steel-type Pokémon.

"It's truly a case of exhausting all options"—just as Lila was thinking this, the vice-captain, who had been hiding beside her, suddenly made a move.

"It seems the enemy has been completely tied down—"

The handsome detective whispered softly, slowly rising from his concealed position with a stoop. The hem of his trench coat swept across the cracked ice surface without making a sound.

Looking up, I saw that the Pokémon Ball of the Delinquent Frog was already in the hand of the trench coat detective known as "Whistle".

"Rushing in now won't make a difference."

Because Alakazam was fighting Vio's minions in the arena, it couldn't spare any attention, so Lyra and the handsome guy weren't in a state of mental "synchronization".

She could only hold the handsome man's shoulder and warn her vice-captain with words: "It's not that I don't believe in your and the delinquent frog's fighting strength, it's just that the situation has now escalated into a full-scale war. You alone cannot defeat all of Team Plasma and that Team Aqua executive at the same time."

Unexpectedly, a knowing smile appeared on the handsome man's face: "Looks like you made the same mistake as me."

He gently brushed Lila's hand away from his shoulder. "We don't need to defeat them all; we just need to stall until Interpol's support arrives."

"Of course I know that. But if we don't break their blockade, we can't stop their transport operations. They can move that giant ice block onto ships before reinforcements arrive." Lila paused halfway through her sentence, as if she had thought of something.

"It seems you've figured it out. Sure enough, when people get impatient, they tend to overlook many obvious things, even the Grand Lords of the Hoenn Battle Tower are no exception. However, this suggestion is something I heard Champion Hugo say outside the cave."

The handsome guy threw out a Poké Ball, releasing his partner, Crunchy. Then he took out another red and white Poké Ball.

The luster of this item seems different from that of a regular Poké Ball. If you look closely, you can see that the texture and lines on it are somewhat abstract, and the waterproof rubber rings at the seams are faintly visible.

"To thwart the Plasma Group's plot, all we need to do is blow up their ship."

The handsome guy waved the secret Interpol gadget in his hand in front of the captain—it was obvious that it was a waterproof bomb disguised as a Pokémon Ball, produced by the research and development department of the Interpol organization.