Pokémon Detective Case Files.

The two Elite Four members' main Pokémon both exhibited abnormal behavior at the same time?

Lian Wu became serious: "Is there something wrong with the space around here? Could it be related to Mr. Adek and his group's battle?"

"...I think I should have some clues."

Beyond Piplup's increasingly ethereal blue head, Gadriya turned her gaze to someone else.

An acquaintance I knew from my time in the Sinnoh region.

She sighed, looking like she thought explaining would be too much trouble, and said to Lian Wu—

"It's not that something is wrong with this space, but rather that the miracle that covered this place has faded."

"What do you mean?" Lian Wu asked, puzzled.

"With that challenger, the world around Hugo will return to normal."

The superpowered individual emphasized.

"Misfortune is about to befall us."

Almost at the same moment Cattleya made her judgment—

In the third-tier spectator stands, referee Victini, whose eyelids had been drooping, let out a long yawn.

It certainly hopes to witness the end of this battle.

Whether it's the aggressive red-haired old man who wins, or the detective who gave it an ominous feeling who wins the match, after such a wonderful Pokémon duel, they will surely reward it with a huge amount of victory energy.

Just thinking about the bountiful reward, like rain after a long drought, makes the little guy want to spin around in the air to celebrate.

However, there is now a very serious problem.

Perhaps because he had been trapped in the confinement device by the bad guys for too long, Victini, who was said to have endless energy, was feeling more tired than ever before.

Especially as the duel continued, and the Pokémon on both sides used one move after another, this fatigue accumulated and multiplied.

Now, with the match reaching its final stage, the little guy finally couldn't hold on any longer after the man in black shouted out three skills in one breath.

Sleepiness crept into my mind, and my thoughts became heavy and unbearable.

"Well, I'll recover my energy eventually, health is more important..." With that thought, Victini simply closed her eyes and nestled into Alice's dark purple hair. The moment her little head drooped, she immediately started snoring—Victini was just too exhausted.

The last thing it saw was the spectacular scene of Garchomp, Chimchar, and Max Piplup successfully unleashing their respective moves.

Phew, I hope they succeed...

.

Chimchar successfully executed the "Hold On" move!

Even Hugo, who wasn't particularly interested in Pokémon battles, couldn't help but secretly cheer in his heart.

The surging "Big Character Explosion Flame" split in two before the detective's eyes.

With its stamina depleted once again, the Chimchar's eyes shone with golden light as it faced the Champion Pokémon's full-force attack like a rock in the ocean, displaying a stubbornness and courage rarely seen in a beginner Pokémon.

Meanwhile, the attacks from Piplup and Garchomp were successfully executed.

Faced with a pincer attack from both sides, Aldak gave the order without hesitation—

"Forget about 'Scorching Sands'. Use the split 'Flame Burst' to suppress 'Dynamax Rock'! Then use 'Heat Wave' on Chimchar again!"

In a battle, the most important thing is rhythm.

Right now, his Volcano has seized the initiative in the battle, so even if it costs him a little more energy, he must firmly grasp this decisive advantage!

The chirping of insects began.

Like Alder, Volcarona was clearly in an excited state, releasing its abilities more than twice as fast as before.

The two halves of the "Big Flame Burst" drew an embrace-like arc and reunited, colliding with the rock ball released by Pogaman.

Despite the fact that "Dynamax Rock" is four times super effective against Volcarona's Firefly type, the difference is still the difference.

When sparks collide, the difference in strength is immediately apparent.

The move that Gigantamax Piplup painstakingly used instantly turned into a pool of red liquid, disappearing without a trace along with the sandstorm that was about to rise.

The combined "Fireball" continued its rapid advance, aggressively targeting the attacker—Piplup, who had already reverted to its Dynamax form.

boom!

The little penguin, who already had only a sliver of strength left, was thrown backward and crashed into the tower wall of the Tower of Heaven, whereupon it lost consciousness.

The detective team has suffered another loss!

Meanwhile, Garchomp's ranged move "Scorching Sands" also hit Volcarona.

Unfortunately, while the scorching sand composed of ground-type energy temporarily suppressed some of the flames on Volcarona's body, it did almost no damage to Volcarona's main body—which is the fundamental reason why Alder allowed Garchomp to unleash its attacks.

Everything is ready at this moment.

Piplup is seriously injured and unconscious, on the verge of death; Chimchar is too weak to use its moves again; Garchomp has run out of items and is unable to defend; and Hugo himself is right next to Volcarona!

At this moment, nothing can stop Volcarona's next "Heat Wave" attack!

"let's go!"

A roar filled with enlightenment rang out behind the Sun Worm.

Even Aldak himself found it unbelievable that he was so excited about such a weak opponent.

Sensing its trainer's call, Volcarona rouses itself. Although it feels a strange hindrance when using its moves, it manages to unleash the attack using the boundless energy within its body!

"Hot Wind" is a wide-range special attack of the fire attribute, which attacks the opponent by blowing hot air at them.

Adek can swear on his championship career that this move is absolutely enough to completely decide the outcome of the entire match!

With its six fiery red wings flapping rapidly, the world in front of Aldek was instantly covered in a fiery red!

That was a raging torrent of flames! The towering, deep walls of fire, powerful enough to incinerate everything, were more than ten times larger than Piplup's "Max Water Stream." Even if Garchomp, at its peak, teleported there, it would be instantly defeated by this "heat wave."

Ah, Aldek suddenly realized that he hadn't felt such a surge of fighting spirit in a battle for many years.

The fire moth in front of it must be even more so.

However, just as he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a strange noise.

It's like hearing the sound of brakes beside you while crossing the street, feeling the airflow in your face while on an airplane, or pressing the launch button for a rocket only to see an error message pop up on the screen.

Slight, but unclear.

Then, a hand emerged from the flames.

It wouldn't be accurate to call it one hand; it's actually two hands overlapping—a large human hand and a small ape's claw tightly gripped within it.

Legend has it that the hands of ape-like Pokémon can sometimes create miracles.

But what is happening now is completely different from the vague and unfounded legends.

The "hot air" released by the volcano is fiery red, the same color as its hair and wings.

The hand reaching out from the fire was covered with a blue light—the same color as the flames.

A weak, yet tenacious blue flame.

Is that Chimchar's "Blaze" ability?

What exactly is the other side trying to do? They think they can win the game by just extending one hand? That's wishful thinking.

As the champion from United Nations pondered this, an ominous premonition grew stronger in his heart.

Since the detective and Volcarona were already very close, and Garchomp's "Scorching Sands" suppressed some of the flames on Volcarona's body, the blue hand that emerged from the flames quickly touched Volcarona's abdomen.

Although the hairs on the abdomen of the volcano moth are pure white, they are filled with violent and surging heat, especially towards enemies that the volcano does not recognize.

Aldak still couldn't understand his opponent's actions.

Then, the two overlapping palms opened, revealing a round object inside, similar in shape to a Poké Ball, which seemed to be some kind of device.

The red-haired champion couldn't immediately recall what it was, but felt as if he had seen it before.

No, it's that thing!

The black Poké Ball that was originally in Joggs's possession was hidden in the window sill of the Tower of Heaven by the Sage of Team Plasma, and then retrieved by Hugo!

That illegal confinement device that once imprisoned the mythical Pokémon Victini!

The champion suddenly realized what was happening, but it was too late.

The button on the black device, protected by two palms, touched the abdomen of the fire moth.

The black Poké Ball opened, revealing the rough texture characteristic of handmade items, and emitted a deep red light that was slightly different from that of a regular Poké Ball.

A distorted, ominous red light!

Swish!

The Vulcan moth vanished suddenly.

It didn't seem unusual while it was there, but as Volcarona disappeared, the Tower of Heaven suddenly became pitch black, and a chilly wind slipped in, ruffling the red hair of the current Unova champion.

Only the blue flames were still faintly visible as the other person strode forward, running towards the bewildered old man.

Two click-clack sounds, like the sound of fastening a buckle, were heard.

The other person seemed to throw something out, and then a cold, hard object pressed against Adek's side of his neck, where the carotid artery was located.

The object wasn't sharp; it appeared to be a round-headed metal piece.

"........."

The other person's vocal cords trembled, as if they wanted to say something, but unfortunately, they couldn't make a sound.

Adek, however, understood the meaning of those words.

You lost.

Boom!

The blue flames had just completely dissipated when the sound of an explosion rang in my ears!

The sun's rays returned to the Tower of Heaven once more, so dazzling that it was impossible to open one's eyes.

It's a volcano moth! The volcano moth has broken free of its restraints!

The modified Poké Ball that had sealed away Victory Star for months lasted less than a few seconds under the resistance of the Sunbug. In no time, it tragically turned into a cluster of ashes in the flames.

At that moment, Adek finally saw his opponent—a figure blackened by flames.

The little Chimchar was held in his arms with one hand, its body also charred black. This beginner Pokémon, which had just used the move "Endure," was clearly in a dying state and unable to battle.

His opponent stood upright in front of Adek, like a knight statue.

But his weapon was not a knight's sword, but a portable baton with a modern style, the round end of which was pressed against the side of the current Unified Champion's neck.

Boo!

An enraged insect chirp rang out, and Volcarona, witnessing everything before her, immediately flew toward her, only to be blocked by a blue figure—Garuda.

The Sinnoh Champion's Garchomp was covered in wounds. It followed the tracks left by its previous "digging" to the center of the battlefield, trying to stop Volcarona's counterattack.

However, how could the earth dragon, whose physical strength was already on the verge of collapse, possibly stop the enraged fire moth?

With a defiant roar, Volcarona unhesitatingly unleashed its attack, swiftly eliminating its last champion-level opponent with a short "Chirp."

The Chimchar in the challenger's arms was already unconscious, and Garchomp was also unable to battle; there wasn't a single Pokémon left.

Meanwhile, Alder's side still has Volcarona, which is at its peak.

...Of course, one cannot ignore the baton pressed against one's throat.

So, what should we do in this situation? Thinking about it carefully, there's really nothing to hesitate about, right?

Aldak took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then raised his weathered eyes to look at his partner—

"Vulcan Moth, that's enough for now."

He shook his head.

"We lost."

The Volcano froze, letting out a pitiful cry, which made Adek smile.

It's been such a long, long time since I've heard the chirping of insects.

If I hadn't heard it tonight, I probably would have forgotten about this special sound.