Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"Hey." Alakazam's "Synchronize" ability activated, transmitting Lyra's thoughts to the vice-captain's mind—

"Give me some of that 'Froggy Bubble' adhesive you had."

.

The long cave passage snaked behind them like a serpent, growing colder the deeper they went. After a long trek in the darkness, Akromma finally stepped into this vast void illuminated by artificial light.

The cold white light shone down from the searchlights overhead, casting sharp shadows on the frozen ground.

"You're here earlier than expected! Didn't you get dizzy in the maze?"

The sound came from above. Akroma looked up and saw Vio, the former Plasma Team sage known as "The Wind Gap," leaning against the railing of the second-floor platform. His specially made, thickened Plasma Team priest uniform looked particularly glaring under the pale light.

The sage had a faint smile on his lips as he toyed with a triangular holographic projection device between his fingers—the very cave map he had sent to Akromah earlier.

“A map of that level only needs to be looked at once.” Akroma pushed up his glasses, the cold light reflected from the lenses obscuring his emotions.

The scholar's gaze swept past Vio, taking in the strange, buzzing equipment behind them: "Looks like you guys are having a great time working here..."

The permafrost beneath our feet vibrated with mechanical force. Dozens of drilling rigs were rumbling and humming, their sharp drill bits gnawing at the permafrost like green caterpillars feasting on the blades.

Due to recent personnel changes, the plasma cluster members inside the cave are fewer than usual, but construction efficiency remains undiminished—the giant rock monsters convert the excavated permafrost into energy, while a dozen or so baboons surround the machine, their special glands constantly releasing high-temperature flames to provide heat for the entire system. A strange balance is achieved between the frigid permafrost and the scorching steam, allowing the excavation to proceed downwards with astonishing efficiency.

Akroma crouched down, running his fingers across the surface of the permafrost. As he went deeper, the ice crystals in the soil became denser, shimmering with tiny blue lights under the lamp.

And beneath this frozen soil—

A huge gray outline is faintly visible within the ice.

"It seems you're eager to take over my work right away." Seeing the scholar's undisguised desire for research, Vio slowly walked down the stairs, showing no sense of crisis about being replaced before the project was completed.

After all, his handover this time was to participate in the Plasma Group's great nation-building operation. The fact that Ghetsis and the other seven sages would recall him at this time only proved his irreplaceable position in the group.

However, Akromá's next words instantly froze Vio's smile—

"These antique devices are truly eye-opening. Mr. Vio, are you paying homage to the steam age?"

He walked briskly to a running drilling rig—

"This large drill bit setup is completely unnecessary. A three-unit small drill could be used—not only would it be more efficient, but the heat generated by friction during operation would eliminate the need for snow removal." He suddenly turned, his glasses reflecting a blinding white light. "Even more ridiculous is the heat conduction system utilizing Pokémon energy—it's a complete mess. Possessing the most advanced research and industrial base in the Unova region, your technical level is inferior to the machines Team Magma built by hand on the sea… Sir, are you really Mr. Vio, one of the Seven Sages in the past?"

"Enough." Vio slammed his boot on the ground, interrupting Akromma's ostensible suggestion, which was actually a sarcastic remark.

He glanced at the researchers around him, who were now silent with fear, and squeezed out his voice through clenched teeth: "Even the most advanced technology needs to be applied according to the actual conditions on site. Even if the improvements you mentioned have merit, can you guarantee that they will continue to operate in the extreme permafrost environment of the Giant's Cave? At least the project I'm leading can withstand the test of time."

"Heh...time?" Akromar shrugged dismissively. "You think that way only because your progress is too slow. If it were me, I could complete the entire process from construction to containment within a week, without needing those so-called 'robust and durable' outdated machines."

Mr. Yuan Xianzhe couldn't help but feel a tickle in his teeth. The bespectacled satellite head in front of him inexplicably reminded him of the cranberries on the Royal Navy.

"Fine, say whatever you want." Vio let out a long breath, his exhaled breath forming white mist in the cold air.

“This project has reached its final stages. Your elaborate improvement plan—” His voice suddenly rose, echoing slightly in the cave, “cannot change the established facts. You just need to complete the final week of excavation step by step, and you will be able to extract this legendary glacier intact.”

The old man deliberately slowed his speech, each word seeming to be carved from ice: "Remember this: until the Order finds a way to control the dragon, the seal must never be broken without authorization..."

"A week?" Akromah suddenly interrupted him, her golden eyebrows raised exaggeratedly, her expression like that of an elementary school student reporting on their summer Pokémon observation diary at a high-level academic summit.

"It shouldn't take that long at all, right? Forgive my bluntness, but if we want to dig this thing out of the ground..."

He raised his hand and threw the Poké Ball, its trajectory drawing a scarlet arc.

In an instant, a strikingly mechanical red disc appeared beside the scholar. With a click-clack of metal transforming, the disc began to twist its joints, and layers of red armor plates rose up like scales, instantly transforming into a mechanical insect carrying a shoulder-mounted plasma turret—

"It will only take ten minutes."

Akromah snapped his fingers.

The next moment, a chilling cooling sound came from the cannon barrel on the red Pokémon's back, and a blinding blue light began to gather below the muzzle.

Chapter 404 The Beam That Shakes the Abyss

"Stop! Do you want to destroy the entire base?!"

Vio's roar echoed through the cave.

As he watched as the cannon on the mechanical Pokémon's shoulder began to gather a blinding stream of light, he instinctively raised his hand and unleashed a geometric snowflake. The hexagonal ice crystal instantly released an "Ice Beam," constructing multiple ice walls in front of the sage.

Akroma didn't even move an inch: "What's the panic?"

His glasses reflected a cold, stern light—

“I’m not like those old-fashioned steam-age relic. Only a mediocre craftsman can’t control his hammer.”

Before the words were even finished, a blinding white beam of light erupted from the Pokémon's cannon. The blinding surge of energy caused the surrounding Plasma Team members to cover their faces and scream in terror—

"Huh, what's this...?"

Faced with the strange Pokémon unleashing its attack, Vio suddenly froze. He was right next to it, yet he felt no explosive impact as expected, not even a wisp of heat.

“I’ve already said it,” Akromar’s voice came faintly from behind the bright light, “Only an amateur would let energy run rampant.”

Confused, the geometric snowflakes rose from behind the ice wall. The sage looked closely and saw that the beam of light, powerful enough to melt steel, seemed to have struck an invisible barrier the instant it touched the frozen ground. The energy was perfectly contained within a semi-circular area less than a meter in diameter, without even a single shard of ice being spilled.

It was only then that Vio noticed that the Great Universe Monster, which had been silently floating behind Akroma, was now raising three fingers in a peculiar hand seal posture.

In the direction that Da Yu's strange finger was pointing, a pale purple superpower field, like a transparent test tube, firmly imprisoned the destructive energy within.

"A 'spiritual space' superimposed on a 'wonderful space'—what an elegant combination, isn't it?"

"Satellite-headed scholar said proudly, spreading his arms as if he were conducting a symphony."

"The 'Mysterious Space' can convert a Pokémon's physical and special defense. With the assistance of the 'Psychic Terrain,' which is rich in psychic energy, it can, to a certain extent, convert the physical properties of the tundra into energy properties—thus perfectly absorbing Genesect's 'High-Tech Beam Cannon.'"

Vio's pupils reflected the ever-deepening crater, while the mechanical insect's cannons continuously spewed streams of blazing white light.

Under the constraint of the superpower field, the light was precisely controlled like an invisible scalpel, cutting out a perfectly smooth pit in the permafrost.

“It’s ironic, really.” Acromor suddenly sneered, his fingers lightly stroking the remaining empty Poké Balls at his waist. “If you seven sages hadn’t taken the other four Genesects to trade with Team Aqua… this kind of project could have been completed in an instant.”

“The Order only traded them for greater benefits.” Vio’s voice was low. “Besides, those things were just byproducts of the plan. We’re not going to give up a well-equipped destroyer just to save a mere ten minutes.”

"What's even more ridiculous is that those pirates actually managed to lose such an important weapon!"

Akroma rubbed his forehead, sighing with disappointment—

"Even if it's a byproduct, it's really a pity that the equipment we worked so hard to develop was seized by Interpol in such an inexplicable way. Fortunately, those people can't possibly have the means to awaken Genesect, and we'll have to recover them one day."

In just a few words, the red steel behemoth had completed a deep excavation equivalent to the workload of a single base drilling rig in 24 hours.

The light blade moved along the "walls" constructed by the superpower field, carving precise straight lines in the frozen soil. The melted ice turned into pale blue energy particles, which floated like phosphorescent flames in the mental field.

However, at this moment, Vio seemed to have discovered something. He completely ignored the progress of the project and fixed his gaze on Akromma.

"Wait a minute..." The Sage narrowed his eyes, his voice carrying a subtle meaning, "How... how did you get Da Yu to use that combination technique?"

His fingers unconsciously stroked his chin: "This is your first time in the Giant's Cave. You only got involved in the project on a whim, so there's no way you could have prepared tactics beforehand... In other words, even if the Genesect's behavior can be explained by the coded signal of a snapping finger, the Great Universe Monster's exquisite skill combination is beyond explanation..."

"Oh? You have quite the eye for quality."

Akromma lightly pushed her gold-rimmed glasses with her fingertips, and the lenses reflected a light that was different from ordinary glass.

"This device... I'll call it the 'consciousness overwriting device' for now."

A dangerous smile curled at the corners of the mad scholar's mouth.

"Isn't my Daewoo monster a bit slow to react because of the long-term suppression of Aya Mushroom's multiple personalities? So... I did a little tampering with its consciousness. By the way, the one I use to operate this Genesect is the same product."

Vio's pupils suddenly contracted.

"This device can take a shortcut and bypass the Pokémon's consciousness," the scholar's voice was eerily soft, "and directly control its physical actions."

"You actually tried this kind of thing?" The original sage's voice trembled with barely concealed emotion.

Akroma raised his chin dismissively: "What? Are you going to give me a lecture on ethics, Mr. Economist?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

In a flash, Vio's thoughts raced, his tightly furrowed brows furrowed, and his steady breathing unconsciously became heavy... His gaze involuntarily moved downwards, piercing through layers of frozen earth, and landed on that faintly visible gray outline—

"If it's this kind of device... we might really be able to..."

"Oh?" Noticing Vio's gaze, Akromma's eyes narrowed slowly behind his glasses, and the scales in his heart began to tip. "That's... a very interesting idea, worth a try."

Their eyes met in the air, and a dangerous consensus was being reached silently.

Deep within the permafrost, the sleeping dragon seemed to sense something, and its frozen body suddenly emitted a barely perceptible tremor.

.

Just as the two Plasma Group executives were plotting, a silent dialogue was unfolding in the shadows at the other end of the cave.

"It seems things have changed." Lila relayed the message through Alakazam's mental link.

Despite the great distance, she couldn't hear the conversation between Akromma and Vio, but she clearly saw the "high-tech light cannon" emitted by Genesect.

The female detective's gaze was fixed on the rapidly operating construction site below—

"There's no time for a final four-point assault. Akromma's arrival has significantly increased their engineering efficiency; at this rate, they might complete the excavation ahead of schedule."

"This ambush might turn into a skirmish." The handsome man's gaze swept over the crimson mechanical giant insect, while the delinquent frog on his shoulder nervously puffed out its cheeks. "That Steel-type Pokémon's firepower... if we clash head-on, it'll be difficult for us to suppress it."

"Leave this to me." Lila's resolve was unusually strong. "The key is to find their escape route." Her supernatural senses extended throughout the cave. "We must ensure the encirclement route..."

Suddenly, the scoundrel's black webbed paw tugged at the handsome man's collar. Following the direction of its finger, in the most secluded corner of the second-floor platform, a circular passage sealed with a metal cap was quietly embedded in the rock wall—fresh wear marks still remained on the edge of the passage.

"A ventilation duct?" Lila asked, her mind filled with doubt.

"No..." The handsome man narrowed his eyes, "Judging by the thickness of that metal cover and the lock, this is clearly a meticulously designed emergency escape route. I bet it leads directly to the outside of the cave."

The two exchanged a glance, and a thought flashed through their mental link at the same time: this might be the key to turning the tide of the battle.

"There's no signal here, handsome. You and Alakazam teleport to the outside of the cave to direct the operation. It must begin immediately. Alakazam will use his powers to memorize the path to that passage; you must seal off that exit as quickly as possible."

"So what are you going to do?" the detective in the trench coat asked.

"I'm here to monitor the Plasma Group's next move, to prevent them from escaping prematurely." She smiled. "Don't worry, I used to be a pioneering brain of the Battle Tower; this kind of situation is easy to handle."

“And…” Lila’s voice lowered in the telepathic connection, “I sense something awakening deep within this cave… that oppressive feeling is unsettling; we need to speed things up!”

Dozens of meters below them, as the laser continued to shoot out, the gray outline in the permafrost seemed to tremble again, this time more clearly than before.

Chapter 405 The Hidden Sentinel Blowing Towards the Ice Field

Enveloped in Alakazam's superpowers, the handsome man's figure gradually returned to reality from the blur, successfully escaping the underground cave.

He had thought that the spatial ripples created by "teleportation" would alert Team Plasma, but the Steel-type Pokémon's continuously booming beam perfectly masked all the noise, and no one noticed the tiny psychic fluctuations he made when he left.

As for Vio and Akromma, they were completely absorbed in the topic of the "consciousness overwriting device" and had no idea that someone had already set their sights on the Giant's Cave, where they were about to hand over their work.

Upon returning to the ground, Alakazam successfully completed its scan of the escape routes. Just as the legendary, experienced Diggs would create at least three entrances and exits to their burrows, Team Plasma had also set up five branches for their secret passageway.

These tunnels were not all carved by hand—they cleverly utilized and modified existing geological fissures in the Giant's Cave. The widest main passage is wide enough for small cars to pass through, while the most secluded one requires crawling along the ground like a gopher.

That's why finding and sealing off all the exits took longer than the handsome guy had anticipated.

At this moment, the trench coat-clad detective stood at the edge of the widest escape tunnel, his fingers unconsciously tapping the rock wall. The team members below all focused on him, awaiting his instructions, but the handsome man was lost in thought.

"So much time has passed. Given the efficiency with which that Akroma uses lasers... they should be able to dig out that giant Pokémon from the permafrost by now."

He murmured in a voice only he could hear—

"Given Team Plasma's current manpower, they definitely lack the means to directly confront that mysterious Pokémon, and they probably don't have time to break the seal and capture the Pokémon on the spot. So, are they planning to move that Pokémon from under the tundra somewhere?"

However, the tunnel in front of them was already the widest of all the entrances and exits—neither the five branch paths connected by the secret escape route nor the main passage that the handsome guy and Lila had previously sneaked into could allow that huge block of ice, several meters square, to pass through smoothly.

What exactly does Group Plasma plan to do with that sealed spirit?

"Vice Captain, shall we begin the operation?"

The team member from the Hoenn region stepped forward in a low voice to ask for instructions. His partner beside him bared his teeth at Kuma, and Swellow's wings trembled slightly in the darkness, ready to strike at any moment.

The handsome man's gaze lingered between the watch and the depths of the cave.

"hold on."

After much deliberation, he finally shook his head, took out the old-fashioned slider phone he had bought in Hezhong, and skillfully entered a certain number of phone numbers.

The nickname "Whistle" actually comes from the handsome guy's undercover experience when he was an investigative detective in the Sinnoh region.

Back then, he was like a whistle drifting in the night, shuttling between the Pokémon black market and underground intelligence exchanges, monitoring the criminal activities of various illegal organizations, making criminals feel like they had a thorn in their side.

However, what truly made this nickname widely known was an experience the handsome man had while solving a special case—in which a group of thieves dressed up in comical mascot costumes and disguised themselves as wild Slaking to carry out a series of robberies. Because they were confused with the real Slaking captured illegally by Pokémon hunters, they caused huge chaos in Ogre City. At the most crucial moment, the handsome man, disguised as a black market merchant negotiating with the robbers, sounded the siren, summoning Piao Tai, the Ogre City Gym Leader, and his men, who had been lying in wait nearby.

It was during that investigation into those smugglers that he met Detective Hugo.