Pokémon Detective Case Files.

The clouds in the sky parted and came together, gradually coalescing into the shape of a certain creature.

"So I said enough, that's enough, you don't need to endure any longer. Right now and in this place, I will be your opponent, your boundless, raging fury! As a Pokémon Trainer and a legendary Pokémon, let's settle this once and for all!"

Closing the book, Zhu Lan's gaze sharpened as she fixed her gaze on her opponent. Her lips moved, uttering the true name of the deity before her, a name passed down through the ages—

"Let's battle! The Pokémon of love and hate that is as famous as Thundurus, Tornado, and Landorus in the ancient land of Shizuku—Crystal!"

In mythology, even if it is not the unique true name of the deity, the correct name passed down from ancient times still has irreplaceable value in rituals.

At this very moment, above the pink-tinged sky, the stars did not close their eyes. Instead, a pair of enormous, bright yellow vertical pupils appeared in the sky!

call!

A powerful gust of wind suddenly arose.

In an instant, the sea of ​​clouds reversed direction.

The boundless spring light converged into a pink storm, and the life energy representing the fairy attribute surged like waves. Faintly, one could even hear the rumble of spring thunder.

"Heh, Flying and Fairy type, huh. Looks like this is a battle where Garchomp will have a hard time making use of itself."

Amidst the champion's light laughter and his five partners entering battle mode, a legendary Pokémon, entirely pink and resembling a woman, appeared in the Sinnoh champion's field of vision, riding on pure white clouds.

……

No one witnessed the duel between the Sinnoh Champion and the God of Spring. Only a certain red portrait in the Forest Mansion silently turned into a blank sheet of paper after the battle, as if the ghost that had once resided in it had left.

On this day, the forest of trees deep in the Hundred Generations Forest was broken in half by a huge impact.

That month, the dense forest surrounding the Forest Mansion grew at a sudden and rapid pace, truly sealing off the entire mansion like a cage. This later caused great trouble for Hayden Pharmacy's renovation work.

That year, spring arrived a week earlier than usual in the Sinnoh region, leaving countless climatologists baffled.

Chapter 301 The Detective on His Sickbed

"So, you want to ask me... cough cough cough... former Galactic Group executive Pluto... about his purpose and reason for instigating the explosion at the mansion?"

Detective Hugo leaned against the pristine white hospital bed at Fukien Hospital, forcing himself to summarize the dilemma his client was facing.

The detective appeared dazed and confused, his eyelids barely open, and his speech was not as fluent as usual, giving the impression of extreme weakness.

"Ugh……"

Looking at Hugo's appearance, a long sigh came from the smartphone that was placed upright on his bedside table.

The person he was video chatting with was Officer Jenny, an intelligence agent from the Sinnoh League.

This elite investigator, who had experienced the Forest Mansion incident with Cynthia, cast a sympathetic glance at the new champion of the Unova League late at night the day after the incident ended—at 2 PM in Unova.

"Although I would like to wait a few more days until you have recovered before consulting you about this matter, the intentions of those remnants in the Galactic Group prison are too unpredictable. I am worried that things might change if I delay, so I have no choice but to bother you at this time."

Dressed in a white-collar suit and wearing glasses, Ms. Officer Jenny sat demurely in front of the phone screen, raising the interrogation report in her hand to the detective with a worried expression—

"In addition, the authorities have already interrogated them many times. As a result, they have basically figured out our interrogation strategies, and conventional interrogation methods can no longer extract more information from Hades and the others. Even if we want to conduct other intelligence work, we can't find any clues at all."

To be able to stump the notorious intelligence agency in the Sinnoh region, those criminals must be quite capable. Causing an explosion in a forest thousands of miles away, through thick prison walls—Miss Officer Jenny, you've certainly brought me a puzzle that's quite to my liking—if it were the usual Detective Hugo, he'd probably be able to discuss this with ease.

However, pale-faced, he could only suppress his discomfort, stifle his dry throat, and reply in a weak, feeble voice—

"I understand. Well then, let's get to the point... cough cough cough cough!"

Despite the detective covering his mouth with a tissue, his violent coughing still erupted like a "seed machine gun."

After defeating former United Champion Mr. Ardek, Hugo immediately contracted a very serious cold.

The reasons for catching a cold are not hard to imagine.

The detective first hid in the tomb and endured the aftershocks of the Red-faced Dragon's "Absolute Zero" attack. Then he faced the Volcano in its prime, wearing clothes that hadn't completely melted from the ice water, and took a hit from the "Heat Wind" attack.

Given such extreme temperature fluctuations, it would be even stranger if he hadn't suffered any injuries and was as lively and energetic as ever the next day.

However, while Officer Jenny's guess was largely correct, it still differed slightly from the actual situation in some details.

If Detective Hugo were still in good health at this moment, he would surely explain this by slowly shaking his finger—

On the fourth floor of the Tower of Heaven, Hugo didn't actually suffer much frostbite. After all, he hadn't directly encountered the "absolute zero" attack, and the little fire monkey he had retrieved was still in his arms.

While a beginner elf fully healed might not be able to go toe-to-toe with Alder's partners, they are certainly qualified as a warm and comforting companion.

The battle with the Volcano was also a close call.

The black coat, soaked with ice water, was actually mostly soaked intentionally by using the ice and snow left behind by the Red-faced Dragon on the fourth floor when leaving. The purpose was to counteract the intense heat caused by the Volcano Moth.

Although he looked miserable after being burned by "Hot Wind", the charred marks on his clothes were actually mostly the work of Chimchar's "Blazing" ability.

Pokémon fire won't harm their close trainers. Volcarona, caught off guard, also had its attack power weakened by a strange force near Hugo. Finally, the mist created by Piplup's "Max Water" and the dust generated by "Max Rock" further reduced the power of Volcarona's fire moves to some extent.

Therefore, after being weakened layer by layer, the damage caused by that "hot wind" was not as great as it seemed.

Throughout the entire confrontation, Hugo's body temperature remained consistently healthy.

The real problem actually arose after Hugo collapsed and lost his ability to move.

The defeated volcano moth, its victory stolen in such a manner, was naturally furious. In its rage, it flapped its red wings, radiating a large amount of heat that had nowhere else to go.

The first victim, naturally, was Mr. Challenger, who fell down next to it.

By then, the moisture on Hugo's clothes had long since evaporated, so it had no cooling effect whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Champion Alder and the Elite Four members who came to the scene were either trusted trainers of Volcarona, or isolated upstairs by the Psychic Barrier, or hiding behind Elite Four member Wanlong's Chandelure with the "Flash" ability. They were all coincidentally unaware of the heat that permeated the scene.

Therefore, when taking Hugo to the hospital, Queen Cattleya, who had been taken care of by her butler since childhood, naturally did not notice the temperature difference either.

Amidst the alternating chill and heat of late winter and early spring, Hugo, having just completed strenuous exercise, contracted a severe cold.

"So, you already know those people's intentions?"

Although Hugo's words were interrupted by a cough, Officer Jenny still sensed the detective's grasp of the case from his words and immediately asked him questions with shining eyes.

“The important thing… is not what those people intend to do, but what you intend to do,” Hugo said with difficulty.

"us?"

The intelligence officer suspiciously pointed to the tip of his nose.

“Hmm, let me think… If we don’t get any information from you today, the most we can do is to continue to strengthen the guard and surveillance of the former Galactic Group members. Given the personality of our current director, whom the criminals call ‘paranoia,’ they will probably be transferred to a prison that is even more heavily guarded than the Alliance headquarters.”

"Cough, cough, cough!" Hugo coughed again.

"Wasn't your boss's previous nickname 'Paper Fraud'? Has his style changed recently?"

“This information is from two years ago,” Officer Jenny said, shaking her head.

“Our department has actually had three different top leaders since that incident. After the ‘paper fraud’ lady you mentioned who was good at portraying the prisoner’s dilemma, we were followed by the ‘perfect tracking’ gentleman who focused on practical application, and now this ‘paranoia’ leader who was transferred from the administrative department.”

Just from these offensive nicknames, you can totally imagine what kind of person they are...

Hugo felt his already groggy head getting heavier and heavier.

Despite having no connection whatsoever with the lofty gods, criminals often need to hide their real names.

Therefore, criminals in the underworld have a long-standing tradition of giving each other nicknames.

For example, the Team Aqua executive who was captured by Hugo at sea during the Mega Evolution murder incident had the nickname "Reef Alert" in the Hoenn region. The former Team Plasma kidnapper who confronted the detective in Cornerwood at the end of last year's fake Champion incident had the very dangerous-sounding nickname "Massacre." No wonder Hugo was so cautious back then, keeping his sister's Garchomp with him.

Similarly, these criminals would also give all sorts of nicknames and aliases to the Alliance police who were constantly at odds with them.

In this way, not only can Officer Jenny, who looks exactly like a clone in different places, be easily distinguished, but her nickname can also be used as a kind of code to help criminals quickly recognize the characteristics and habits of their opponents, and even achieve the purpose of secret communication in some cases... In short, it is beneficial to them in every way.

Since these are nicknames given to cops by criminals, the more offensive they sound, the better.

Over time, even those in the lawful camp began to regard the nicknames given to them by criminals as badges of honor. These shameful names became an unspoken convention between hunter and prey in the dark world where life and death were at stake.

Criminals wouldn't give nicknames to those renowned dojo leaders and champions, since those titles were enough to prove their strength and experience; too many titles would only confuse them.

They also wouldn't give nicknames to ordinary citizens who posed no threat to them, or to trainers who weren't deeply involved in the underworld. This was because, in a sense, it represented a kind of recognition; only rivals who had fully entered the dark world and staked their lives and futures on each other deserved such special titles.

The intelligence officer, Officer Jenny, who is speaking with Hugo, is nicknamed "Regression Hypnotist." This means that no matter how vicious a criminal is, once they are brought before Officer Jenny and interrogated, they will become as if possessed, regressing in speech to that of a babbling toddler.

And if we're talking about the type of person that 'regressive hypnosis' is least adept at dealing with, it would undoubtedly be the very elderly.

It's unclear whether it's because her interrogations genuinely have the power to reverse psychological age, but even when she uses her so-called "time magic" on the elderly, they often experience an unusually excited "youthful" phase before successfully extracting their secrets. This side effect significantly increases the difficulty of the investigation at the Mori Mansion.

"Leaving aside the topic of the intelligence chief, there are probably only a handful of prisons in the Sinnoh region that are more well-equipped than the headquarters."

Hugo raised his finger and reminded Officer Jenny again in a weak voice.

“It’s far more than just a handful,” Officer Jenny replied immediately, her tone serious.

"If we're talking about a prison with even tighter defenses than the League headquarters, there's only one in the Sinnoh region—the Volcano Prison, located in the northernmost part of Sinnoh, an ultimate fortress built using the natural barriers of mountains and geothermal energy. Only the most dangerous individuals and habitual escapees are imprisoned there. Near that prison, which emits intense heat that even flying Pokémon avoid like the plague, even if prisoners manage to escape the guards and overcome countless hardships to reach the outside of the prison, they still have no way to escape that mountain except by jumping off a cliff."

It seems I'll see quite a few old friends there... If Hugo were in a normal state right now, he would definitely be snapping his fingers while casually making such a remark.

However, the detective's energy was limited at the moment, so he didn't change the subject and went straight to the core of the mystery—

"Pluto and his group hope to cause a volcanic eruption on Mount Harshness after being transferred to the volcanic prison, so that they can take the opportunity to escape."

His tone was weak, but the confidence in his words was unwavering.

"Is...is this even possible?"

Although Officer Jenny had a similar thought when Hugo mentioned prison, it was so far-fetched that the investigator dismissed it the moment it occurred to her.

"Normally, I would list a whole bunch of evidence to increase the credibility of this conclusion, but right now I really don't have the energy for that. I just want to lie down and sleep until evening, so... cough cough... although the following is all my speculation, I'll keep it short."

Despite feeling sleepy in the afternoon, Hugo forced himself to stay awake and continued speaking to Officer Jenny.

"A hundred years ago in Sinnoh, there was only one Pokémon capable of forging the steel beneath the Forest Mansion: Heatran, which lived near the Mt. Severus crater. According to the legends of explorers in the Sinnoh region, there was a large ancient volcanic rock at the center of Heatran's habitat, at least a hundred years old. I suspect that it has the same properties as the device that sealed Electrode."

"Ah, that stone is very famous. Could it also have been left behind by the builders of the Forest Mansion?" Officer Jenny exclaimed.

"If so, then beneath that rock lies a Sealord from a hundred years ago. And if this volcano king were to go berserk, it could very well trigger a volcanic eruption... cough cough cough cough..."

Taking advantage of the detective's suppressed cough interrupting her words again, Officer Jenny seized the opportunity to ask—

"But even if the remnants of Team Galactic were transferred to the volcanic prison near Mount Harshness, how could they possibly drive the sealed Heatran into a berserk state while it was inside? Did Team Galactic leave behind some kind of backup plan before its collapse?"

"It's just a desperate act."

The detective said briefly, shaking his head as if he were exerting all his strength.

Officer Jenny, who claims to possess "regressive hypnosis," can even read the omitted details from the detective's expression—

Remotely detonating the Forest Mansion, and then using that opportunity to remotely detonate Mount Harshness, thereby destroying the Volcanic Prison and allowing the officers who had just been transferred there to escape... If this can be considered a backup plan, then these guys from Team Galactic are really too fond of walking a tightrope.

An organization's modus operandi is inevitably profoundly influenced by its leader. As subordinates of the meticulous and ruthless Red Sun, the cadres would never have devised such an absurd scheme, a domino effect where each link barely connects to the next. And since they've been forced into this situation, it means the remnants of the Galactic Group in prison are truly desperate.

Hmm... This kind of arrogance—leaving no room for retreat, a do-or-die mentality—is, in a sense, also a manifestation of that ambitious person's will...

"Speaking of which, the Galactic Group's research into mythology is actually no less than that of my sister."

Hugo suddenly spoke, interrupting Officer Jenny's reverie.

"Therefore, it's possible that Hades already knew Cynthia's conclusions in the Forest Mansion before his arrest. If so, in his view, the rediscovery of Raiden would inevitably lead to the unsealing of Heatran. Because unlike Raiden's passive sealing, Heatran, who originally belonged to the Forest Mansion, most likely deliberately fell into a deep sleep in the harsh volcano—so, what was the purpose of this sleep?"

"Sleeping for a hundred years... Hiss, could it be that it slept to await the arrival of the creator god? Or perhaps it was to await the descendant or successor of that trainer from the past?"

Officer Jenny, who had heard the Sinnoh Champion's mythology lecture at the Forest Mansion, immediately guessed this possibility.

"Ahem... Although I don't like the term 'god,' for the sake of my nap time, let's accept both possibilities for now. So, once Heatran senses the renewed activity of Electrode—especially after bringing an item carrying Electrode's scent to its side—the Volcano King will immediately realize that his actions at the Forest Mansion have had some effect."

"Yes... it's possible that a god descended and saved Raiden; or it's possible that the mansion's builder had a successor who found it with the token... whichever the possibility, it's very likely that it will trigger Heatran to unseal itself! And the person who brought Raiden's token only needs to instigate Heatran a bit more to drive it to trigger a volcanic eruption powerful enough to destroy the volcanic prison!"

Officer Jenny concluded excitedly.

"But who could be the person who helped Team Galactic find the token?"

Hugo did not answer Officer Jenny's question directly, but instead asked her—

"It's been almost three years. Within Team Galactic, those members with the least serious crimes should be starting to be released from prison by now, right?"

Officer Jenny thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes. Including the time spent on release education and subsequent community corrections, about twenty Team Galactic members with minor offenses and good attitudes have gradually returned to society. Do you think one of these people manipulated that Rotom, ultimately causing the explosion of the Forest Mansion, and intended to awaken Heatran? Or do you think these people brought some codes or instructions from the prison to the outside world?"

"On the contrary... cough cough cough, someone used this channel to bring information from the outside into the prison," Hugo said.

Officer Jenny frowned: "Considering that some release education centers have a tradition of sharing rehabilitation experiences with former inmates before release, it's not entirely impossible for someone to take advantage of this and slip in a word or two... But even then, it's only a chance to say a word or two, so what's the point?"

"If I'm not mistaken, someone sent a message from the outside world—telling Hades that Medan has moved into the Forest Mansion. And this brief message, after being relayed through layers of the prison over two years, finally reached its final destination, Hades' ears, not long ago."

"Ah, so that's why I heard Hades' confession at that time?"

Officer Jenny widened her reddish-brown eyes behind her glasses—

"But how exactly could he manipulate the timing of the Forest Mansion's explosion? Hades should have no way of contacting Rotom."

“There’s no manipulation involved; it’s just a coincidence,” Hugo said without hesitation in a weak voice.