Pokémon Detective Case Files.

The fruit grower took out her phone again to check the map, only to suddenly realize that she had gone in the wrong direction due to the delay in the location signal.

"Oh dear, no wonder there are fewer and fewer streetlights along the way. Aren't we heading in the opposite direction from the inn? Wait... the opposite direction from Kagome Town, isn't that the Giant's Cave in the north?"

Whether it was Rena's imagination or not, the night wind seemed even colder.

No... it's just a baseless legend, there's no need for me to make a fuss about it.

Today, she is no longer the little girl who cried and was afraid of ghosts. Besides, she has a doll by her side.

"You agree, right, almost a doll?"

Just as Rena was about to speak, she felt something tug at the hem of her clothes. It turned out that Almost Doll had gently pulled her with its other hand, the one not holding the plastic bag.

what happened?

Rena noticed that her partner's large, azure eyes had become somewhat troubled, and the beige antennae that could keenly sense a patient's heartbeat were twitching, as if sensing some kind of information in the air.

Did the doll notice anything unusual?

The breeder dared not be careless. He immediately crouched down quietly and, together with the doll, carried the bag of tree fruit and hid in a narrow alley next to the dark street.

The almost-doll possesses an incredibly keen hearing, capable of capturing the faintest sounds with its ears and antennae like radar. If it holds its breath and concentrates, it can even faintly hear the sound of a small stone rolling from 2 kilometers away.

What exactly did his partner notice?

After hiding in the dark alley for five or six minutes, just as Rena was about to peek out—

The tree fruit grower heard footsteps that even a human ear could easily detect.

At the same time, faint voices could be heard carried on the cold wind—

"The world changes, and people are less likely to be wise... I never imagined that you would fall into such a state of destitution..."

As the sound source drew closer, Rena gradually realized that the footsteps were actually two separate sets, one in front of the other.

Just as the trainer nervously covered his mouth and nose, holding his breath and staring intently, the footsteps in front suddenly stopped, and the voice spoke unabashedly to the person behind—

"Lord Vio, the financial tycoon who once left behind the infamous 'windfall' reputation in the dark city, actually lost to a traitorous gambler... Alas, you have truly disgraced the Order's sages."

Chapter 321 Sharp Tongue – A Portrait of a Madman

“Jero, the ‘City Defense Master,’ why are you here, one of the Sages?”

Vio, whose identity was called out, emerged from the darkness, staring coldly at the newcomer before him.

"According to Lord Quetzalcoatl's previous instructions, you should be serving the King by his side now, running errands for him in pursuit of his naive ideals, right? Why did you desert your post and come to this remote city in the northern part of the Union?"

At this moment, Vio no longer wore the purple robe that represented the authority of the Seven Sages, but was only wearing a white priest's robe, the standard attire of the Plasma Order.

Standing before this former Seven Sages was a short, elderly man, dressed in a sage's robe adorned with ornate golden patterns.

Because Kagome Town was pitch black at night and there wasn't a single pedestrian on the streets, neither of the two Plasma Team executives lowered their voices.

"Ha, it seems someone is showing some contempt for the king we all serve. Have they forgotten who mercifully cleaned up the mess left by their subordinate who caused such a disaster last time?"

Gero, who had to look up to meet Vio's gaze, uttered a sarcastic remark, making no attempt to conceal his contempt for his colleague who was being disciplined.

"Oh dear, oh dear, are you frowning... Don't get so angry, Dr. Vio, the master of calculation. This isn't some illegal casino on the Royal Union. Even if you put on a show of force to provoke your opponent, no one is going to pull out chips and cash to help you recover the economic losses you've caused, which are worth half a cult."

"Stop talking nonsense. You were one of the sages who agreed to recruit Yueju. I will make amends for my mistakes, and it's not your place to criticize me."

The mathematician, fallen from his pedestal, did not lose his arrogance as a sage. He stepped forward forcefully, looking down condescendingly at the sage in yellow robes who was a head shorter than him.

"So, what exactly do you want to do here, Jero? Let me make it clear beforehand that the affairs of the Giant's Cave are entirely entrusted to me by the Council of Sages. Even if my position has changed temporarily, I will not allow anyone to play tricks here until I receive new orders."

"Oh."

Sage Jero remained motionless, letting out a playful sneer.

"Truly worthy of being the 'leader' who has guided our order through the business world, even after being stripped of his sage status, he still exudes an air of grandeur. However, it seems you are judging a gentleman by your own petty standards."

The short, old man deliberately yawned exaggeratedly, his crab-claw-like mustache swinging nonchalantly—

"I am old and frail, and have no interest whatsoever in coming all this way to humiliate a loser. Besides, the daily affairs of the cult are busy, and I have no energy to help my useless colleague with his simple and boring chores."

Vio gave a noncommittal snort.

Despite the outspokenness of the yellow-robed sage before him, he didn't believe that Jero was so foolish as to not even realize what was buried deep within the Giant's Cave.

Although Quetzs didn't explicitly say so during the council of sages, the fact that the task of exploring the cave was brought to the forefront of the council and entrusted to Vio, who was then one of the Seven Sages, to personally oversee, is enough to prove that this plan was not simple.

“Gero, what exactly is your purpose in coming here? To be honest, I have no interest in wasting my time here with you.”

"Without purpose."

Surprisingly, Jero shrugged.

"As you pointed out at the beginning, I have been following our esteemed king around, running errands. However, fate is unpredictable, and the king's compassion is equally boundless. In our constant efforts for the liberation of Pokémon, we have inadvertently ended up here."

"It's that simple. It has nothing to do with you or that giant's cave. Stop being delusional," the yellow-robed sage emphasized, waving his finger.

However, Vio did not let his guard down: "Kagome Town is not a place you can just casually walk by on your way."

"That's true, but we're currently tracking someone."

Gerald reached into his robe and pulled out a portrait.

"Vodu, originally a criminal from the Hoenn region, disappeared ten years ago after committing a large-scale massacre of wild Pokémon in Hoenn—and recently, he's resurfaced in Unova. So, have you seen anyone in Kagome Town who resembles the trainer in the portrait?"

It's called a portrait, but it's really just a printed photograph of a person.

The photo shows a gloomy-looking young man wearing thick glasses who looks no more than twenty years old.

The filming location was probably on the podium of a stadium. A trainer with a silver medal from a Pokémon battle around his neck stood next to a purple Devourer, wearing an awkward smile that made him look bewildered.

Vio glanced at the portrait, shook his head, and said, "I don't recognize him. Who is this person?"

"This is a photo of Futo being wanted in the Hoenn region ten years ago. Haha, it really is true that 'heroes' have emerged from among the young since ancient times."

The sage in the yellow robe began his introduction with a sarcastic tone—

"That guy was originally a battle trainer aiming to challenge the League, but he went astray while training Poison-type Pokémon and started slaughtering wild Pokémon for so-called 'poison testing'. It is said that at his most insane, he could turn an entire small mountain full of wild Pokémon into a barren wasteland in a single day with just the six Pokémon he carried with him."

"How stupid."

The mathematician delivered his verdict on this fugitive wanted ten years ago, then calmly asked—

"Since you insist that this criminal who disappeared ten years ago has reappeared in the United States, it seems he has caused some new trouble."

"Yes, but compared to when he was in other regions, this Voodoo has clearly become much more restrained on our territory. Our king has been tracking him for almost half a month and has only found forty-six wild Pokémon corpses along the way, which is far from his record back then—it is true that people become timid and hesitant as they get older. I'm sure Lord Vio feels the same way."

Gerald maintained his sarcastic tone, as if the deaths of dozens of wild elves were nothing more than a trivial occurrence on his journey, and he didn't forget to take the opportunity to mock Vio.

You're not that much younger than me, are you...?

Vio wanted to retort, but arguing with this sharp-tongued colleague was pointless at any time, so he cut to the chase and continued to press on—

"Half a month? The King should have been in Fuki City in the west of Unova before, right? So, you followed a bloodthirsty maniac across the entire continent, from Fuki City to Kagome Town in the northeast corner?"

"After all, police officers who are capable of arresting criminals don't care about the life or death of wild Pokémon. Isn't it the same in Hoenn? If Voodoo hadn't gone mad and slaughtered an entire mountain range, making the Hoenn League feel threatened, that guy's 'testing' would have continued indefinitely—our king felt a responsibility that was none other than his own."

The sage in the yellow robe rolled up the portrait and put it back into his inner pocket.

"Where is the king now?" Vio asked.

"He was healing the wild Pokémon affected by the 'poison,' but based on past experience, those guys are probably beyond saving. Sigh... I've never seen that Master N lose his temper like this since the coming-of-age ceremony. Luckily, the followers didn't see him like that."

"Catching fugitives in secret won't make you popular, it's really not profitable," Vio shook his head, looking quite disappointed.

"Stop worrying unnecessarily. You really don't know anything except numbers and formulas."

Gerald showed no mercy to the mathematician, bluntly criticizing him—

"Once we capture Voodoo, our Sage Smura will naturally use this to 'publicize' the matter, and the Plasma Group's doctrine will be further enriched. In addition, this act of practicing faith will increase the tacit understanding between the King and that stone, making it easier to control the Dragon God in the future."

"It's just a small consolation. You should know yourself that you could have done much more meaningful things in the same amount of time."

Vio rationally retorted—

“Even if that king has done nothing these days, Smura’s propaganda machine will not stop for a moment. Your last-minute changes will only disrupt his overall plan. As for that dragon god, whether the king and He are of one mind or not, the upper limit of His power will not change. I think we should not place all our hopes on such an unstable fighting force.”

"Tsk, I really can't win an argument with you. But Vio, there's one thing you've overlooked."

The plasma cluster's "city defense division" remained calm and simply raised one finger—

"Capturing the ruthless and dangerous individual and freeing the Poison-type Pokémon under that person's command—this in itself is meaningful."

"Meaning...is that your goal?"

Vio stared at the yellow-robed sage in front of him as if he were a madman.

Zero, a die-hard member of Team Plasma's King's faction and the most fervent supporter of the Pokémon liberation movement, slowly wagged his finger, mocking his colleague's incompetence with a rhetorical question—

"Having built mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Hoenn, and honed it for over a decade in a place unknown to anyone—what value could such a potent poison possibly possess? I think you surely know the answer."

The waving fingers transformed into a hand, suddenly grabbing Vio's standard white robe and forcefully pulling the latter down to lower his head.

"Team Plasma will surely liberate all the Spirits. Just like formatting a giant computer, we can only rebuild a brand new castle by destroying all the existing order—and in this process, 'poison' is undoubtedly a very useful tool. Don't you think such a useful tool should rightfully be in the hands of Team Plasma?"

"so!"

The short, elderly man commanded rudely toward the "windy spot" in an unyielding tone—

“Now, regardless of what that Quixote once said to you, put down what you're doing. Cooperate fully with my and the King's operation in Kagome Town! Find that poison enthusiast hiding here, dead or alive, or else…”

Suddenly, Sage Zerg's threat abruptly ceased. The two Plasma Team thugs turned around simultaneously, their gazes fixed on a certain alleyway in the distance.

Someone's there!

"Geometric snowflakes, use 'Frozen Beams' to seal off the north exit of the alley."

"Magneto, 'High Velocity Star'! Force the people inside out!"

Blue crystals made of ice and the magnetic field Pokémon reconstructed by Magneton shot out from the glowing Poké Ball, flying straight toward the alley from which the faint sound was coming, and unleashing their respective skills as they sped along.

A woman's scream echoed from afar in the alley.

It seems this night will inevitably be stained with some blood—the two sages, who had just been at odds, had the same thought at the same time.

Chapter 322 Devastation – A Picture of Hell

In conclusion, the tacitly coordinated attack by the two Plasma Group Sages, while well-coordinated, did not achieve the desired results.

Because when their Pokémon attacked the source of the sound, Reina, the berry breeder hiding in the shadows, had already moved far away from that alley.

In fact, after hearing their first two sentences and realizing that they were officers of the Plasma Group, the woman immediately sensed something was wrong and, together with her partner, grabbed the bag of tree fruits and began to flee.

As a tree fruit cultivator employed by the Feather Residence, Rena had naturally heard of the infamous reputation of that evil organization from Detective Hugo.

Even without this background knowledge, she could hear from afar the sage Jero's obviously hostile entrance and mockery. What good person would speak like that? Based on this alone, the other party's identity was definitely not innocent.

That's a Plasma Group! How many of her and the other dolls would dare to hide under the nose of an evil organization and eavesdrop on information like the protagonists in an adventure story?

At this point, preserving one's own life is of utmost importance!

run!

Miss Rena retreated in a hurry, barely noticing anything behind her except to tiptoe as much as possible. Her Doll was a little more cautious, and before leaving, it released a "Light Wall" move that could temporarily block out footsteps.

The noise that Vio and Jero heard was the sound of the soundproof "light wall" breaking down after the doll had almost left the area.

As it turned out, the doll's precautions were definitely not superfluous. The enemy could even hear the sound of the "light wall" dissipating, so of course they couldn't miss the footsteps of Reina and her group as they fled.

Just moments after Rena moved away from the street, the enemy's attack came suddenly!

The "Frozen Beam" instantly blocked the alleyway's entrance and exit with its frozen walls of ice and the "High-Speed ​​Stars" raining down on the alley. The dazzling light burst in the darkness startled the berry breeder, who had no combat skills or awareness.

She was completely unprepared for the battle, so she cried out in fright and almost slipped and fell.

It was this fright that made Rena realize that the villains had discovered her and the doll's existence. So she completely gave up hiding and, with the same ferocity as a mouse avoiding its natural enemy, she and her partner grabbed plastic bags and began to flee desperately.

.

"Aren't we going to chase after her and deal with her?"

Seeing that Vio, who had blocked the alley entrance first, did not order the geometric snowflakes to continue their attack, Sage Gerald frowned.

The mathematician shook his head, withdrew his gaze from the distance, calmly adjusted his standard cleric's cap, and answered—

"The other party has already run far away. There's no way to shut her up before she screams. Let's just leave it at that. Besides, judging from the distance between that person and us, they probably started running away at the very beginning of the conversation. Such a coward can't possibly affect our plans at all."

In reality, because Rena had to carry a large number of tree fruits, her escape speed was much slower than Vio had estimated. If the two sages had sent out more elves to fight with all their might, they might have been able to capture her and the almost-doll silently and silence them.

"Hmph, I think you should cherish your reputation."