Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Its weak moves were naturally no match for the Champion Pokémon's kick, but that was precisely what it was aiming for—as the protective barrier shattered, Chimchar used the momentum to fly backward. The Evolution Stone performed as intended, and the landing caused Chimchar almost no damage. Taking advantage of this moment, it extinguished the light on its rear end and fled into the rows of tombstones arranged like desks.

Perhaps because of the presence of a cemetery, the fourth floor had far fewer square windows than the upper floors, resulting in a thinner moonlight stream in. As soon as the flames on the little fire monkey went out, darkness returned. Only the stands at the top of the stairs remained, illuminated by the Star of Victory.

In the darkness, Aldak spoke once more—

"Oh dear, you don't actually think my team doesn't have a single Pokémon that can use 'Flash,' do you? Chimchar, what's the point of you continuing to hide like this, looking so pathetic?"

The champion's powerful questioning echoed between the empty floors, a cold wind blowing through the cemetery turned into a chilling wind, and all around remained silent.

No, it is not complete tranquility.

Wanlong, her ears perked up, suddenly shivered – because she seemed to hear a child's laughter.

Alice, standing beside her, looked around. The girl's intuition kicked in at that moment, and she repeatedly scanned the darkness before her with a puzzled expression.

Adek slowly walked to the old craftsman's side, as if he was also on guard against something.

Hehe, hehehehe...

The children's laughter grew louder and louder, and the air seemed to grow even colder. Was this the little fire monkey's doing? Or was Hugo secretly pulling the strings?

Suddenly, something unexpected happened—

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Wanlong would never have believed it—

Like the strange tales of "buttocks lighting up the lamp" in the Sinnoh region—

in front of you.

Thousands of lights ignited.

Countless bright night lights instantly illuminated the fourth floor of the Tower of Heaven.

Chapter 241 Scorching Stream - The Hand That Takes Chestnuts

"...Now, my vision is filled with ghosts and monsters, leaving me clueless as to how to avoid them. Though the daytime smiles with transparent reason, the night spreads its web of dreams to ensnare me..."

After a brief moment of dizziness, Wanlong immediately understood the situation, and poetic words habitually surfaced in her mind.

Knowledge is both a gift from books and a curse. People who are good at imagining will involuntarily fall into the prison of cognitive construction. As the Ghost King, Wanlong should have been the first to discover the truth.

The facts are obvious; what we are seeing is not a supernatural event like "lighting up a lamp on your buttocks" at all.

In today's modern world, where strange tales have no place, how could the old and strange creatures of the Sinnoh region from a hundred years ago really affect Unova across the ocean?

The hundreds of lights before us are the wild Ghost-type Pokémon that originally lived near the Tower of Paradise.

The child's voice came from the snickers of ghostly spirits hidden among the tombstones, while the firelight that was spreading across the floors came from a Pokémon that Wanlong was most familiar with—Chandelier.

Perhaps because the living's longing for the dead is concentrated here, the existence of the cemetery naturally attracts wild Ghost-type Pokémon. In the Tower of Paradise, where many Pokémon are buried, many wild Ghost-type Pokémon naturally roam around on ordinary days, especially at night, when these dark-loving Pokémon become even more active.

But weren't these warlike wild elves driven away by the four Unova Elite Four members themselves when they climbed the tower during the day? Even if the elves regrouped at night, they couldn't possibly number this many.

The bluish-purple ghostly flames resembled the Milky Way under a clear night sky, numbering at least several hundred.

Considering that each Chandelure has five candles burning on its head, one large and four small, there must have been at least eighty or ninety Pokémon present, if not hundreds.

How can there be so many?

Furthermore, although in theory, wild Pokémon of different strengths would gather on different floors of the Tower of Heaven, with the higher the floor, the stronger the Pokémon hidden there would be—below the empty fifth floor, the fourth floor where they stood was usually filled with the strongest Ghost Pokémon in the vicinity.

However, despite this, the quality of the elves appearing around them at this moment was far too high—

The entire group consisted of Chandelures, with no other wild Pokémon mixed in, and not even a single one that hadn't evolved to its final form. It was like a well-equipped and disciplined high-level military unit.

Hugo, that mysterious detective, how did he manage to do all of this?

"Speaking of which, when we went up the tower, the detective wandered around this floor."

Beside her, Alice, a girl from Shuanglong City, suddenly spoke.

"At that time, it seemed that he put something in the center of the cemetery."

What is that? Is it sweet honey that can attract Pokémon? No, Chandelure isn't a Grass or Bug-type Pokémon that likes sweets, so it's impossible for it to be attracted to such an item.

Could it be some kind of exotic incense or a special item like a spirit cloth? But even if we put these things out, we still can't attract this many crystal lamp spirits.

"What a grand display! Are you the trap that the black-haired detective set up for me?"

Champion Alder was now prepared to face the overwhelming horde of wild Pokémon. In addition to the old craftsman, he also sent out a Pokémon with a skin as rough as sandpaper.

"Ah, that's the Red-faced Dragon, champion of Ardek!"

Seeing that the champion had sent out a Dragon-type Pokémon that she also had, Alice looked very proud and said excitedly.

"Although the Red-faced Dragon is a pure Dragon type, it is also very skilled in all kinds of Dark-type moves. Moreover, living in burrows, they are also very good at fighting in confined spaces, making them perfect for defending against attacks from the Chandelure Spirits."

“Yeah, my Crystal Chandelier Spirit was targeted by this guy during the day,” Wanlong said with little interest.

"Although we managed to defeat it in the end through our chubby, attrition-based tactics, the price we paid was severe. I remember the item it was carrying was..."

Ghost King stopped mid-sentence, because a wild Chandelier Spirit launched the first attack on Adek—they were indeed the helpers Hugo had recruited to deal with Adek.

At the same time, the red-faced dragon, now in battle mode, also revealed all the items it was carrying...

"Here."

As Alder nodded, the red-faced dragon on his left seemed to understand its trainer's command and charged forward first.

With a swift step forward, dark dark energy gathered in its azure dragon claws, and it launched a preemptive attack just as its opponent released Shadow Ball.

The Dark-attribute move, "Surprise Attack".

The elaborate headband with the Poké Ball pattern resembles a charging flag, fluttering wildly amidst the spikes on the red-faced dragon's head.

The headband tightly tied on the forehead has a magical power that can stimulate a Pokémon's concentration, thus giving rise to a strange and violent tactic—if a Pokémon carrying this item uses only one move in battle, the power of that move will be dramatically increased.

At this point, the "Sudden Attack" move, amplified by the Headband, is almost as powerful as a Dark-type Pokémon using its own STAB move. Combined with the Dark type's double advantage over Ghost-type, the effect is naturally even more lethal.

A sound like a balloon being popped rang out, and the crystal chandelier spirit that had attempted to attack was sent flying backward. During its fall, it weakened into a spirit form and disappeared into the sea of ​​blue lights.

"Is the targeted move 'Sucker Punch'? If we're using it in a battle against a Trainer, the combination of the headband and 'Sucker Punch' seems a bit hasty."

Looking at the unequal numbers of the two teams in the battle, Wanlong began to analyze the situation objectively.

"If the opponent uses moves other than attacks while on guard, 'Surprise Attack' will lose the initiative. And if it's against a clever detective like Hugo, who knows what kind of tricks he might pull... However, right now Champion Ardek is facing a horde of Chandelures. Wild Pokémon without a leader mostly only use simple attack moves. Perhaps Mr. Ardek's approach is the best strategy at this moment."

In the arena, the Red-faced Dragon, having defeated a Chandelure, raised its head, its ferocious gaze keenly spotting yet another wild Pokémon preparing to attack. The light of the "Sucker Punch" move once again gathered in its claws.

Meanwhile, the other Pokémon sent out by Alder was also busy.

The veteran repairman gripped the middle of the concrete column with both hands, his large fingers moving nimbly, making the concrete column spin with a powerful, swift motion.

The heavy stone pillars transformed into two circular planar barriers, waving left and right like two tornadoes moving side by side, indiscriminately launching area attacks on the crystal chandelier spirits surrounding them.

This is a Dark-type move, "Wild Swing"!

If Red Dragon hadn't used "Sudden Attack" repeatedly and advanced deep into the enemy forces, this destructive Dark-type move would have certainly affected its teammates.

Ahead, the Red-faced Dragon moved in a zigzag pattern like a black lightning bolt, its Dark-type moves releasing their aftershocks with abandon, each pause accompanied by a successful new "surpation".

The attack struck, the black chandelier fell to the ground, and the eerie blue flames vanished. This scene played out again and again.

The old builder behind him stood guard in front of Champion Alder, using his wielding cement pillars to block the aftershocks of Ghost and Fire moves, while violently reaping the wild Pokémon left behind by Reddragon. Occasionally, one or two Chandelures would try to flank and attack the trainer directly, but they would also be easily taken down from a distance by the old builder's "Rock Slide" move.

"In the blink of an eye, nearly half of all the crystal chandelier spirits have disappeared."

This was the first time Alice had ever witnessed a single person fighting against so many high-level wild elves.

If this battle continues for a while, Hugo's carefully laid siege will soon crumble.

This is far more than a simple battle like in a video game where the strong mow down the weak. Considering the number and quality of the enemies, if we call this swarm of Chandelier spirits a true beast tide, then the large-scale battles Alice had experienced in the wild were nothing more than a trickle from a leaky faucet.

Faced with such an overwhelming horde of Ghost-type Pokémon, Alder simply sent out two Pokémon, easily defusing the crisis from all sides.

Red Dragon uses priority moves to launch a high-speed charge from the front, preventing the enemies from uniting to unleash a combined attack that the Constructor cannot withstand. Meanwhile, the Constructor acts as a pillar in the rear, protecting the trainer while also reducing the number of enemies, so that Red Dragon does not have to worry about a counterattack from behind.

One in front, one behind; one moving, one still.

Alder didn't even give many complicated commands; with just a flick of his finger, the Pokémon, who had been together for many years, understood their old partner's intention and began their attack in perfect unison. The two sides thus completed a near-perfect teamwork.

Even just glimpsing the tip of the iceberg in this battle, Iris could feel the pinnacle of the aging champion's command skills... I really want to become a trainer like that.

"Six times, seven times... The red-faced dragon should be returning soon."

Wanlong, who was resting her chin on the cap of a pen, suddenly said that the Ghost-type King's perspective on the game seemed to be different from that of the girl.

"Huh? Why?" Alice asked, puzzled.

Before their eyes, the red-faced dragon, who had once again used the "Surprise Attack" move, actually reversed its lightning-fast trajectory and sped back towards Alder's direction.

"This might not be common in normal duels, but when Red Dragon suddenly faces so many wild Pokémon, another weakness of wearing a headband becomes apparent."

"Another weakness... Ah! Could it be the number of times a move can be used?"

Wanlong nodded slowly: "The speed of striking late but arriving first doesn't come without a price. Even for Dark-type Pokémon, 'Sucker Punch' is a very resource-intensive move. Even if Aldera's Red-faced Dragon could sustain a few more attacks, it could never use it more than ten times—and for Pokémon that wear special headbands, running out of moves is no different from a death sentence."

“I understand. So now Red-faced Dragon must return to Mr. Alder's side to get supplies, or simply be rotated out of the arena…”

As the two were talking, the red-faced dragon had already turned back. At the same time, Adek flipped open the cuff of his linen robe and took out a white, spray-like substance.

Then, Alder seized the opportunity and threw the item towards the Reddra. Seeing this, the Reddra, already in front of its trainer, used its final "Sucker Punch" move—

He snapped the white spray bottle in two with his claws, then opened his mouth wide, ready to drink the liquid inside.

Every trainer is familiar with that item—the PP All-Purpose Supplement, which is sold in most friendly shops.

Their perfect teamwork and swift movements were as graceful and stylish as flowing water.

Once the Red-faced Dragon drinks those potions, its attack energy will be fully replenished, and when it returns to the battlefield, no Chandelure will be able to stop its Dark-type moves.

But at that moment, yet another unexpected event occurred during the battle.

The PP potion, which was about to be swallowed by the red-faced dragon, seemed to suddenly break free from the control of Earth's gravity, dodging the dragon's huge red mouth and splashing back onto Aldek.

At the same time, the elaborate headband tightly wrapped around Red Dragon's forehead suddenly tightened, as if held in place by an invisible giant, gripping Red Dragon's head tightly just as the Pokémon was about to return to its trainer and was least prepared.

"Ghost-attribute move" is a physical attack that uses the opponent's items to manipulate them!

It's unclear which chandelier spirit, hiding in the shadows, used such a treacherous move against the red-faced dragon.

At the same time, the crystal lamp spirits, who had been suppressed and attacked by the old craftsman, suddenly changed their offensive.

The moves that had been constantly interrupted by the Red-Faced Dragon were now released all at once—"Shadow Ball," "Hot Wind," "Purgatory," and "Misfortune Never Comes Alone"—countless dense ranged moves came crashing down on the old craftsman.

"Ha! You cowards who've been hiding your true intentions, haven't you finally lost your patience?"

Wiping the PP medicine that had splattered all over his face, and seeing the two sudden changes on the battlefield, Champion Adek was actually pleased rather than angry.

As if he, who had previously held all the advantages, was the one who had been enduring the pain, Adek, while comforting the red-faced dragon as it slowly freed itself from the restraints of the carrying device, made a punching motion and loudly commanded—

"The old craftsman just walked right into the flames unleashed by the opponent!"

The pillar that held the sea together began to move. Facing the various attacks coming from the front, the old craftsman simply shook his head and dodged slightly before fearlessly stepping into the nearest raging fire.

"The prop worn by the old craftsman is an assault vest," Wanlong explained at the opportune moment.

"Because Mr. Alder customized this item to match the color of the Craftsman's original skin, outsiders cannot recognize its existence at a glance. Pokémon wearing the Assault Vest become more aggressive and less inclined to use status moves, but their special defense is greatly enhanced. Therefore, the Craftsman wearing the Assault Vest should be able to withstand this wave of ranged attacks without any problem."

Although Wanlong explained in great detail, the girl beside him clearly didn't want to ask that question. She quickly pressed on, "But why did Mr. Adek order the old craftsman to jump into that bonfire?"

“This is because…” Wanlong swallowed.

"The 'Purgatory' technique, once it hits an opponent, has a 100% chance of causing burns. And Mr. Adek's trait as a master craftsman is 'Perseverance.'"

Generally, a Pokémon suffering a burn will have its attack power reduced to half of its normal level. However, Pokémon with the "Guts" ability are an exception. They can not only ignore the negative effects of burns, but also further increase their attack power while under a status condition.

Boom! Boom!

The old craftsman, emerging from the flames, was covered in fire as he pounded the ground with the enormous weapons in his hands, his dark eyes seemingly glowing red.

The air around it was scorching hot, like boiling water. This muscular Pokémon glanced sideways and aimed at the Pokémon closest to it—the Chandelure that had used the "Purgatory" move to help the builder get a status condition.

"Go! Keep using 'Frenzied Swings'!"

"A single skill can make you successful in any field," Adek commanded without hesitation.

Although the number of Chandelures on the field has decreased significantly, Alder still faces a situation where he is outnumbered. Therefore, the wide-range Dark-type attack "Dance Swipe" remains the most sensible choice. Alder isn't an expert in flashy, aesthetically pleasing battles; as long as the moves are simple and effective, he could use them for a lifetime without ever getting tired of them.

No sooner had the trainer finished speaking than the concrete pillar, as thick as a person's embrace, was swung around again.

Although the Crystal Chandelier Spirit unleashed the "Misfortunes Never Come Alone" move in an attempt to retaliate, the move was blasted apart by the strong wind from the stone pillar into ghost-attribute energy that could not be gathered before it could be fully executed.

Seeing that resistance was futile, the Chandelier Spirit tried to escape, but the concrete pillar that had already attacked followed closely behind, slamming it upwards and knocking the wild spirit into a comatose state.

Bathed in the glow of slowly sinking blue flames, the old craftsman, whose defense and attack were both amplified, exuded an unshakeable aura of peak power.