Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"It seems the outcome is about to be revealed," Hugo said with a smile.

The next second, a bright red flame appeared in the sky, and the proud chirping of insects resounded through the heavens.

.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the detective's peculiar constitution, the scene inside the Tower of Heaven was quite different.

"Hahahaha! The so-called Unova Champions are nothing but this!"

The tall crown on his head had been blown away by the aftershocks of the battle, and the wise man Jogos was dancing wildly.

Between him and the silent champion were two exhausted Pokémon lying unconscious on the field.

Land cloud, and, Vulcan moth.

The enormous flames and insect chirps just now were the final swan song of this Pokémon before it ran out of energy. Although the battle appeared to be a draw with both sides suffering heavy losses, Yoggs successfully completed the task of exhausting Volcarona's last bit of life.

This battle was a victory for the Sage of Team Plasma.

Chapter 218 The Battle Between Sandstorm and Sun

At this moment, Joggs was extremely grateful that he had adopted a seemingly "one-on-one" underhanded tactic to challenge for the championship.

Otherwise, relying solely on the power of the Earth Cloud he summoned, it would have been impossible to defeat the Fire God Moth, whose strength was at its peak.

Overwhelming strength, ferocious moves, skillful techniques, shrewd strategy, precise command... The sage of Team Plasma had to admit that Alder and his partner were truly worthy of the title of champion.

A quarter of an hour ago, just as he had freed the Earth Cloud from its shackles, believing he was invincible and that the rampaging God of Fertility was about to win, the champion let out a triumphant laugh—

"Insects live underground, but most of them have wings, so they can easily avoid attacks from the ground. But they are only half-baked flyers, so they are afraid of Flying-type Pokémon that can truly soar through the sky."

Her unrestrained red hair swayed wildly, burning like the six crimson wings on the back of a fire moth.

"What a fortunate situation! You actually allowed this Earth Cloud to challenge me in such a place."

The Blue-Robed Cardinal was startled, for the battle situation before him had changed with Adek's declaration.

Having used the "Outrage" move, Landorus truly resembled a dragon breaking free of its shackles, unleashing power far greater than when commanded by Yoggs—after the raging crimson dragon-attribute pressure subsided, this cloud god entered a state of complete berserk fury. With a stroke of incredible luck, Landorus not only avoided self-harm but also nearly doubled its combat power.

Rocks gushed from between the fingers of the torrent, and the flowing clouds covering the lower body stirred up a gale, making the environment inside the tower a sandstorm.

However, the fire moth that charged forward was even more ferocious than its opponent!

The three pairs of orange-red wings vibrated rapidly. The speed boosted by "Butterfly Dance" was like being able to use "teleportation". Whether it was rocks or wind blades, Volcarona could disappear from its original spot without warning before it was about to hit, and then reappear in a safe position nearby - while still having the strength to launch a counterattack against Land Cloud!

One after another, large, fiery barrages bombarded the Earth Cloud at close range. Although the power was relatively weak due to insufficient charging, after several rounds of attack and defense, it still left considerable damage on the desert deity. The Earth Cloud's ferocious attack moves failed to hit its opponent even once.

The land cloud, which could normally create huge waves in the heart of the desert, couldn't even hit the enemy!

What is going on?

The historian's confusion did not last long. As Volcarona continued to repeat her dodging maneuvers, he realized the truth—as Adek had previously declared, the problem lay in the space between the two.

Hovering flight—a skill that only the smallest insects can learn.

The evolution of species is also a magnificent epic – if we consider birds of prey soaring in the sky as straight-going airplanes, then the flying skills of Bug-type Pokémon are more like swimmers in the air.

Due to their body structure, which is very different from the former, the flying Pokémon can flap their wings at high speed while maintaining a seemingly still posture, thus retaining maximum acceleration when moving suddenly.

The reason why Flying-type can suppress Bug-type is partly due to birds' hunting instincts against insects over thousands of years, but the main reason is that they have the vast and boundless blue sky.

Under the boundless sky, Flying-type Pokémon have ample space to accelerate to their full potential, allowing their flying skills to reach their maximum value. In other words, in a small and cramped space, those soaring creatures in the sky cannot unleash their full speed.

Even hovering insects can outrun them.

In extreme situations, strengths can become weaknesses. Bug-type Pokémon, which are usually seen as prey, can turn the tables and suppress the hunters in the sky.

The battlefield at this moment is a special case like this.

The top of the Tower of Heaven has sealed off the maximum flight altitude, and Joggs even scattered sharp "invisible rocks" all around the arena before the match even started!

"Looks like you've realized your mistake." The champion's cheerful voice rang out again, making the sage's eyelids twitch.

"The attacks that follow won't be as strong as they are now."

Even before climbing the tower, Joggs had prepared himself to face the most formidable opponent of his life, but reality still exceeded his most pessimistic expectations.

He pulled his right hand back into the wide sleeve of his robe, and under the cover of his left sleeve, the blue-robed bishop touched that thing—

A special Poké Ball that can bind Pokémon and use electric shocks as a control tool to force Pokémon to obey commands.

This thing is certainly not a tool produced by Team Plasma, which touts "elf liberationism." On the contrary, it is the culmination of the illegal items that they strongly oppose.

This Poké Ball is a rare gift from the Hoenn region's Aqua Team, brought across the ocean to Unova. It is said to be a further development and creation based on technology leaked from the now-extinct evil organization in Kanto.

The main reason Jogs used it to restrain Bictini was to provoke his overly benevolent king.

However, it seems that it is going to be of more use now.

He felt the Poké Ball shake against the inside of his palm, and at the same time, a glint of light appeared in the eyes of the Landorus on the field. The burns on its body caused by the flames melted away rapidly, like snow in spring.

"Did you bring any items to restore your stamina?" Adek rubbed his stubble-covered chin, noticing the changes in Land Cloud but not suspecting anything.

Joggs sneered inwardly, "How could the boundless energy emanating from Victini merely restore physical strength?"

With its condition back at its peak, Earth Cloud turned its gaze back to the Blue-Clad Sage, indicating that its intelligence had recovered to the point where it could accept commands.

Okay, even though the attack power is reduced, let's make up for it with that!

"Land Cloud, unleash the 'Sandstorm'! Then unleash 'Rock Blockade' on a large scale!"

Landorus has the "Sand Power" ability, which greatly increases the power of Rock, Steel, and Ground-type moves during sandstorms.

"Don't let him succeed, Volcano, unleash the sun here," Adek calmly commanded.

The champion's partner retreated, dodging "Rock Blockade," and unfurled his six burning insect wings to use the "Sunny Day" skill, competing with the cloud god who summoned "Sandstorm" for the weather.

On one side, the sun shines brightly; on the other, sand and stones fly. Warm as the earth's blood, fierce as the wind from the sky.

Joggs touched his sleeve again.

Almost at the same time, another miracle occurred.

The sandstorm, which was originally on par with the clear sky, suddenly increased in power. The swirling yellow sand defeated the blazing sun in the enclosed room, making it almost impossible to see the sun all around.

Whether it was the Sage, the Champion, or the four Heavenly Kings of Unova watching, all they could hear at this moment was a rattling, teeth-grinding noise—the sound of gravel being kicked up from the ground and rubbing against the "Invisible Rock" in the air.

"Heh, that's somewhat original. Is this your way of retaliating for interfering with your orders at the start of the battle by using 'insect chirping'?"

Despite the sandstorm obscuring everyone's vision, the sounds of calm and collected voices could still be heard from the other side of the battlefield.

Doesn't the Unova champion have any concern that his partner might be defeated by Land Cloud in this chaotic vortex?

Chapter 219 Cloud God's Illusion, Insects Chirping at Sunset

As if trying to banish all doubts, Joggs shook his white-haired head and shouted loudly at the cloud god he had summoned—

"Unleash your full power, Land Cloud! Free Attack!"

Whether it's Rock-type moves like "Stone Slide" or "Rock Slide" that counter the opponent, or Landorus' own STAB moves like "Hurricane," "Earth Power," or "Earthquake"—Yorge believed that under the radiance of Victory Star, as long as any one of these moves hit the Volcarona, the duel would end in an instant.

At the same time, Adek finally issued his instructions, which were concise and to the point.

He slowly gave the command, pointing to the approximate location of the Volcano Moth—

"Flame Vortex."

In a normal battle, this move would likely be surprisingly effective. The spinning "fire vortex" can not only deflect the opponent's attacks, but can also be thrown out in the final stage, leaving the opponent feeling the burning sensation of being engulfed in flames.

At this moment, both Pokémon were also in the dark sandstorm. They were already familiar with the desert environment, and Landorus, being the source of the "sandstorm," could barely make out its location in the dark dust. As for Volcarona on the other side, its vision was naturally even more limited.

The opponent only released a small vortex, which, without precise control, is less effective defensively than the shield formed by the "Protect" move and cannot possibly defend against all incoming attacks...

Has that champion finally shown a weakness?

Jogos' confidence came to an abrupt halt at that moment, because he saw with his own eyes a bright red flame dancing conspicuously in the sandstorm—like a ribbon on a dancer's body, or a paintbrush in a painter's hand, gracefully and swiftly swirling and flying.

No matter how unfamiliar someone is with combat, at this moment they can see that it is by no means a aimless passive defense, but rather the "Flame Vortex" that maximizes the defensive effect of the move.

The fire moth, as if it could see everything in the dark, guided the flow of the vortex with perfect ease.

As the flames danced, the range of the attack grew larger and larger, interspersed with a large amount of red-hot rocks and dust.

"put!"

Champion Adek, full of confidence, waved his equally wide robe sleeves. He opened his mouth wide and uttered a command that could shake the entire Tower of Heaven.

For no apparent reason, Jogos was suddenly filled with fear.

Even with his two trump cards, Landorus and Victini, even though he believed that the power of legendary Pokémon was beyond the reach of ordinary Pokémon, even though it was just a relatively weak "Flame Vortex"...

No, no, it's absolutely impossible to withstand!

Faced with the champion's all-out attack, the sage in blue instinctively chose to avoid its edge—as if something in his mind was desperately reminding him.

Even "Guard" is unavailable; you have to avoid that move...

Joggs gritted his teeth and ordered, "Land Cloud, leave the 'Substitute' behind and retreat!"

Before he knew it, the Poké Ball that imprisoned Victini was now tightly clutched in his hand.

Upon hearing the trainer's command, the Landorus within the sandstorm snorted coldly, but still quickly separated into a shadowy form, retreating to the edge of the arena as if cutting off its tail to survive.

Joggs made the right choice. This retreat at that moment changed the final outcome of the battle.

When the move that looked like a "vortex of fire" was released, its size suddenly increased dramatically, and its power increased by dozens or even hundreds of times in an instant.

Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

The blue headdress was blown off by the strong wind, and the sleeves of the long robe fluttered in the wind.

The sage's vision was first occupied by a flash of white light, and by the time he regained his sight with the help of Victini, the roaring flames were already raging across the field like a red sandstorm.

The "doppelganger" left behind by Landorus vanished instantly like dew in a fire. Even though it had taken cover at the edge of the arena, Landorus was still caught in the aftershocks of the attack. It had already opened its palms to block the flying stone chips, but the red-hot stones were no longer solid. Instead, they were molten lava that stuck directly to Landorus's orange-red hands, emitting gray smoke.

There was no trace of the sandstorm; the yellow sand looked as if it had been burned away. Although the explosion's epicenter was in the air where Landorus had originally been, the ground was equally devastated—the rocks and boulders that had been scattered everywhere by Landorus's attack had vanished, leaving only a charred expanse of ground, the rock formations subtly sunken...

The firelight that the detective and the green-haired youth saw outside the tower was the power of this move.

That couldn't possibly be the power of a normal "Flame Vortex".

Whether it's a legend or a fantasy, if one were to encounter this attack head-on, there would be absolutely no chance of escaping unscathed.

"Tsk."

Joggs looked up and saw the Ardek champion with an extremely distressed expression. The sweat on his forehead had long since been dried by the heat of the arena. The man opposite him was violently scratching his hair, which had been ruffled by the aftershocks of the skill, scratching it again and again, and even complaining to his opponent in a completely uncouth manner—

"I thought you'd be too cocky and take this hit since you seemed to have a trump card up your sleeve, but I didn't expect you to run away so decisively."

If Landorus had remained in the center of the arena and taken all the damage from that attack, the outcome of this battle would have been far from dire. Only now was Joggs truly beginning to feel the chill of fear.

Just now it was... like I was being protected by something.

He then remembered the Poké Ball containing Victini that he was clutching tightly in his hand and quickly put it back into his sleeve. At the same time, Joggs also came to his senses.

After unleashing that move, Volcarona had already wiped out the "Substitute" on the field, but did not pursue Landorus. This shows that even the champion's ace player could not be without damage after using such a move.

That's undoubtedly a fire-type move. Since it explodes in the air instead of directly piercing through the floors of the Tower of Heaven, it means it's not a physical attack... It's either a "burnout" or "overheating" move!

Regardless of the type, the opponent's prized internal fire will fall into an awkward state of flux, which is precisely the time to counterattack!

Joggs looked at the land cloud and found that the other was also looking at him.

It's time to launch a counterattack.

The sage twitched his beard—

"A gift of peaches should be repaid with a gift of plums. Great divine incarnation, please 'smash' the enemy before you!"

"Use the 'Fly' technique to speed up and dodge!" Aldek sensed danger and quickly gave the order.

too slow!

Having experienced the previous battle, Joggs was already used to Volcano's teleportation-like speed. Because of this experience, he immediately saw through his opponent's disheveled appearance when he tried to dodge.

It's all about timing and luck—even Volcarona has been reduced to relying on Flying-type moves to increase its speed. In that case, it should be prepared for the curse that those who spread their wings must bear!

""Supernatural power"! "

As Joggs shouted at the top of his lungs, the land cloud responded with a roar.

The move that hadn't had a chance to be used before suddenly erupted. A purplish-red wave of psychic energy emanated from between the Cloud God's brows, quickly transforming into a giant net of psychic energy that bound the insects that lacked initial acceleration.

The decisive blow is just one strike away!