Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 513 The Evening Breeze

Hello everyone, I'm the beloved phantom thief 'Gawaaaaaa~! @#$%^&；*Special Project'!

As you can see, I am currently high in the sky, wandering alone in the refreshing night breeze, a true embodiment of "going for a drive," hahaha! *&#$%————

Ahem, you have to be extra careful when flying in strong air currents. If you're not careful while talking, the wind will whistle into your cheeks, which is really unbecoming of a lady.

My proudest partner on this journey is my driver and vehicle, a valiant eagle soaring through the skies of United States.

I first encountered it by the roadside when I visited relatives in Unova when I was a child. I eventually caught it through a battle. Oh, that little owl was so stubborn yet adorable back then!

The purpose of this trip is to go to an old man who is trapped in the middle of the ocean and retrieve a certain unscientific artifact from him.

That man is quite old, yet he still went to such a dangerous place, really causing trouble for the younger generation.

Although I really wanted to complain, the real troublesome one was the detective who commissioned me to take on this job, who was none other than Hugo's underling, who had made a meteoric rise to league champion in the Unova region.

I won't go into details about his surprise, doubt, astonishment, and thoughts of wondering if he hadn't woken up yet or if he had traveled to a parallel world when he became the champion.

In short, now that things have come to this, I, the kind-hearted phantom thief, could not resist the earnest invitation of my old friend. At his earnest pleading, I reluctantly took on the arduous mission of saving the United States in this critical moment.

That being said, isn't that asking too much of a question?

The dark cloud in front, bigger than the entire town of Ripple, seemed to be raining down a torrential downpour, with countless bolts of lightning striking down.

Although a normal hurricane is about this size, the air mass at the center of this hurricane is really too bad; it is definitely not the size of a normal natural phenomenon.

Is anyone still alive in that small town?

Could Thundercloud be even more powerful than Zapdos?

Even if you try to take a longer route, the storm will pull you towards its center.

If you were sitting on a flying Pokémon and got struck by lightning, you'd probably die, right?

Using the flashes of lightning in the clouds, we continued flying forward for a while—of course, following the detective's advice, carefully following the direction of the rotating air mass.

The rain was getting heavier, but thankfully both the Warrior Eagle and I were wearing goggles. However, at this stage, the more deadly danger came from the random crosswinds in the air; maintaining balance in such conditions was no joke.

The Warrior Eagle is constantly at risk of losing speed, although it can use "Divine Bird Strike" if it seizes the opportunity.

I can use flying-type moves like "Swallow Return" to adjust my posture, but if I get thrown off at that moment, then everything will be over.

Even in my experience as a phantom thief, this mission was one of the most dangerous.

It's all that detective's fault!

Once, during an adventure in Carlos, I encountered a homeowner who suddenly returned home during a transfer of assets from a tycoon's mansion. I was forced to jump into a running washing machine—but to be honest, it felt better then than now.

Oh dear, what's with the hail? Isn't it already summer?

I clung tightly to the mighty eagle, forced to descend—

That was the eye of the hurricane, where countless rubble, trees, and even heavy vehicles were swept up and swirled wildly in the cyclone's center. And in the deepest part of that chaos, one could vaguely see the lightning emanating from a legendary Pokémon enveloped by the storm—

Ah, I also see the local reinforcements that Hugo mentioned.

It was the lingering cloud that the champion of Bamboo Orchid captured in Baidai City.

Although it was nominally captured by Cynthia, according to the information I received, it seems that this legendary Pokémon sensed a crisis in the distance a few days ago and took the initiative to come to the city to find the Cynthia Champion who had defeated it before but had not thrown a Poké Ball—there were many witnesses at the time, which scared the League Tournament participants on Lily of the Valley Island half to death.

The opponent is releasing "Mist Field" on the city streets to counter the lightning storms created by the cyclone. Great, it seems the local residents haven't been turned into charred corpses.

Due to the rain, I could only see blurry silhouettes of both sides—the pink, humanoid sprite riding on a cloud waved her slender arms, stirring up gusts of spring wind that seemed out of place in this season to battle the dark clouds. Beside the cloud-borne figure appeared to be others assisting her, but they were too far away to see clearly. However, the aftershocks of the battle occasionally affected this area.

Hmm, could those guys be the cause of the hailstorm?

But that's not the focus right now.

Ahead lies the path that will inevitably cut diagonally across the hurricane air mass. This is our only chance to get past the obstruction of the lightning clouds.

However, the problem is that due to the hail just now, I am at a lower altitude than expected.

The margin for error is reduced, and because it's closer to the ground, it faces more turbulence and more dust and debris stirred up from the city.

But now there is no option to abandon the mission.

I strained with all my might, pressing myself tightly against the riding gear on the Warrior Eagle, and barely managed to pull out a hand to quickly press the earpiece and connect to the number on the other end—

"Hugo, I've arrived in Ripples Town! Please help me get through! Ugh...uh...uh...#$%^"

Perhaps we were getting closer and closer to the storm created by the thunderclouds, and if I were to crash headlong into the center of the lightning strike, I would surely die—I couldn't help but raise my voice, and the wind and rain relentlessly poured into my throat, making me cough.

Does that lingering cloud still have the capacity to help?

Just as this worry began to form in my mind—

At the other end of Ripple Town, in the exact opposite direction from me, a purplish-red pillar of light appeared.

There are reinforcements who are longing for the clouds!

The beam of light, like a cascading rainbow, curved in the air in a magnificent arc before striking the thundercloud with pinpoint accuracy.

Even from a great distance, the skin can feel the superpower energy fluctuations emanating from there.

It seems to be a "mental shock" type of move. It's amazing that it can launch a surprise attack from that distance! At least my Dream Eclipse can't do that.

Thank you! And that helper Hugo somehow found!

In short, we're saved! Just like back in Sinnoh, that detective has never disappointed us.

The thunderclouds' attention was clearly drawn to the side launching the attack, and the heavy pressure from the storm on this side was suddenly relieved. We took this opportunity to adjust our flight altitude.

Although the lightning strikes on our path did not decrease after the lightning cloud moved, they were still within our control.

There is no better opportunity than now.

Alright, let's go all out! Let's show the same drive we had when we jumped off the roof of the Silver Company building!

As another turbulent current swept in from the side and rear, my soulmate, the mighty eagle, and I simultaneously tilted our bodies, using the wind to propel ourselves into the churning thunderclouds!

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