Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Meanwhile, Espeon's second wave of "Swift" caused another explosion. Taking advantage of the new round of chaos, Lyra, who had changed her clothes, put on her hood and split up with Lucario again, sending out a new Pokémon, Metagross, and lightly leaping onto its back.

After splitting up, Lucario used the "Extreme Speed" move to burst out of a new wave of steam and mist, instantly attracting the attention of several Team Plasma members.

It first unleashed a "wave missile" to deflect the "air blade" from Vulture Na in the distance. Then it plunged headlong into the encirclement formed by the gathering plasma swarm—

"Bone stick beating"!

A long staff made of ground energy appeared out of nowhere in this Aura Pokémon's hand, and it deflected the moves released by the surrounding Mantle Rock, Excadrill, and Lidgment. In a gap in its movements, it used a close-range "Aura Sphere" to stun a Krookodile that was trying to sneak up from underground.

While Lucario distracted most of the enemy's attention, another grayish-blue Steel-type Pokémon emitted a deep hum and steadily carried Detective Miss to the second-floor platform.

Above the construction platform, the mechanical device that was used to pour mud and water into the sealed spirits still remains.

Lila's sharp eyes locked onto the key points of these devices, and she formulated a plan in her mind—as long as these parts were precisely destroyed, the collapsed steel frame could fall into the predetermined position, reburying the cube of ice that had just been dug out, and buying enough time for her detective colleagues on the outside.

"Metamorphose, first use 'Psychic' to mark the key points of the steel frame above, then prepare the 'Cannonball' attack and instantly blast them!"

After saying that, she separated from her Pokémon again, nimbly leaping and landing on the second-floor platform, perfectly blending into the panicked Team Plasma members.

On the surface, she ran around aimlessly like any other Team Plasma soldier, but secretly she continued to transmit precise instructions to Metagross down to the second through her psychic link.

The four-legged metallic life form moved nimbly and stealthily between the steel frames above, leaving a barely perceptible "psychic" fluctuation with each pause between the devices.

However, just as the plan was proceeding smoothly and Metagross's "Cannon" was fully charged... Lila's intuition suddenly sounded an alarm!

"Metamorphoses, get out of the way!"

Lila immediately shouted.

Upon hearing the trainer's command, the metal behemoth stopped abruptly in mid-air without hesitation and bounced off in the opposite direction.

The next instant, a large hole, melted by the fire, suddenly appeared on the Metagross's original path.

"Oops, did it miss?"

On the ice below, Akromar held a square, empty cartridge case in his hand. Beside him, the Steel-type Pokémon that had originally used its beam cannon for digging had turned its cannon around, aiming left and right at Metagross flying through the air.

Vio, the "opportunity" commentator, clicked his tongue impatiently and scoffed, "Didn't I already say we should target the trainer who gave the order?"

"Genesect is currently equipped with a fire-attribute flame cartridge, and the power of its beam cannon will exceed the limit of energy dissipation under the amplification of fire-attribute energy. And the target is standing on the second-floor platform. It would be bad if it accidentally damaged the load-bearing steel frame."

Akromar's lenses reflected the red light from the cannon barrel as he operated the "consciousness overwriting device," saying dismissively—

"Besides, we have more than one artillery shell."

After he finished speaking, another red heat beam shot into the sky.

"Then you can continue playing your shooting game. Metagross and the remaining two Pokémon are yours. I'll deal with the trainer on the second floor—"

Vio clapped his hands, and geometric snowflakes immediately slid to his feet. As the former sage stepped onto them, he was instantly lifted as if in an elevator to the second-floor platform in front of Lila.

"I don't recall having such a skilled female member in Team Plasma. It's truly a mistake of us wise men not to promote you to a leadership position."

Facing the intruder head-on at close range, what struck Vio most at first glance was Lila's plasma hood, used for disguise. The former sage asked sarcastically—

"You don't seem to be a native of the Unova region. Are you an assistant that Champion Hugo brought from another region?"

Lila didn't respond directly, her gaze calmly passing over Vio's shoulder and landing on the sentry rat in the corner of the platform: "So that's how it is. It was that guy who detected my disguise by smell?"

"It didn't just 'discover' you," the Sage's voice suddenly turned cold. "If you try to move now, you'll find that we've already blocked all your escape routes with 'Black Gaze.'"

"Run away? Ha..."

The female detective calmly adjusted her crooked hood, looking somewhat amused at the Plasma Sage who had been presented to her.

"You've misunderstood. I've never thought that way."

"Fear arises from courage, and weakness arises from strength—showing off is often a habit of the weak."

Vio's priest robes fluttered without wind, and several Poké Balls fell to the ground.

With a crisp unlocking sound, Dust Mountain, Weavile, Centipede King, and another geometric snowflake appeared one after another, instantly crowding the already narrow second-floor platform.

The steel support frame groaned under the increasing pressure. Judging from the imposing presence of these Pokémon, they were clearly far superior to the Pokémon of the Team Plasma troops below.

"The Pokémon you have are scattered in various places—recognize the difference in strength."

"In the face of true strength, quantity is meaningless."

Detective Lila slightly bent her knees, assuming a battle stance, and gripped the unusual Poké Ball at her waist—

"From the moment you appeared before me until now, as you summoned all your Pokémon atop this iron frame, you have made countless irreparable mistakes."

"I will not be fooled again."

The original sage didn't waste any words and directly pointed at his opponent in front of him—

"Take her down!"

Four Pokémon, along with Sentry and another Geometric Snowflake, suddenly burst into action, unleashing a burst of colorful energy that dyed the ice below in a riot of colors... However, these Pokémon, who were unleashing their skills, all inexplicably froze in the next second.

For some reason, the entire second-floor platform began to tremble violently. If the members of the plasma cluster below were to listen carefully, they would have heard that the iron plates that made up the upper platform were trembling and humming.

Just as Vio began to sense something was wrong—

In an instant, a yellow figure, as sharp as lightning, leaped out from beside Lila.

As it appeared, countless bright yellow electric lights surged outwards along the steel frame!

In the martial arts world, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

In the underworld, police officers' nicknames are either derogatory terms or indirect reminders to their colleagues, and Lila's situation... clearly falls into the latter category.

In the Hoenn region, the Battle Tower Lord is represented by Lyra, an Interpol agent known for her "fallen psyche," whose signature Pokémon is—

"Thunder God, use '100,000 Volts'!"

Chapter 408 Intertwined Lightning and Ice

Lila first met Raigong when she had just started working part-time as an Interpol agent.

It was a turbulent time—the sudden dissolution of the Grand Violet Corporation triggered a massive wave of layoffs, and with Team Magma's overt sabotage and the covert instigation of Team Aqua, which at the time controlled Hoenn TV, angry unemployed workers launched a large-scale protest.

When the riot reached the Mauville Power Plant, the workers' hasty actions triggered a series of butterfly effects, ultimately causing the plant's largest generator to enter a dangerous overclocking state. Meanwhile, the rioting crowd and out-of-control Pokémon blocked the plant's exits, and the massive amount of electrical energy accumulating within the plant area with nowhere to go unexpectedly attracted the legendary Thunder Pokémon.

Lila encountered Raigong while resolving this incident. After a fierce struggle, Lila barely managed to repel the uninvited guest and successfully shut down the crew.

But perhaps due to an unspoken understanding, during that Pokémon battle, both humans and Pokémon intentionally or unintentionally avoided the power plant's critical equipment—neither side clearly went all out in this duel. It was perhaps this regrettable ending that haunted Raikou, because when Lyra returned to the Battle Frontier after her police mission and resumed her duties at the Battle Tower, this proud legendary Pokémon reappeared before her.

From then on, Raikou began to frequently visit Lyra's territory. Sometimes, when the Battle Tower faced a formidable challenger, this golden legendary Pokémon would personally descend into battle, unleashing a thunderous offensive to intensify the training of those trainers who sought the ultimate in battle.

It was through their daily interactions that a tacit understanding gradually developed between humans and Pokémon. Later on, when Lyra needed to carry out certain high-risk Interpol missions, Raikou would even voluntarily enter her Poké Ball, becoming her most reliable partner.

With the appearance of the Thunder God, the siege formation carefully arranged by the Sage Vio crumbled in an instant.

Blinding lightning surged from between the steel frames, striking every Pokémon along with the enemy trainer.

Although the dispersed electric current failed to knock all the Pokémon unconscious simultaneously due to the large number of targets, the paralysis effect of "Thunderbolt" had temporarily rendered them unable to fight. Weavile's claws twitched uncontrollably, tiny arcs of electricity crawled across the ice crystals of its two geometric snowflakes, and Centipede simply collapsed to the ground.

"This...this is the legendary Pokémon?!" Vio struggled to prop himself up on one side, his voice trembling with shock.

"Enough with the nonsense!" To avoid any more accidents, Lila decisively waved her hand, and Raikou immediately understood and swung its blue, electric tail, and a dazzling "electric net" descended from the sky, completely enveloping the fallen elves.

Because of its exceptional endurance and the greatest stamina, Dust Mountain, despite its paralysis, tried to lift the sludge pipe, only to meet Raigong's eyes, which glowed blue, as it charged up.

The next instant, a highly effective "supernatural power" struck Dust Mountain precisely, causing the last resister to collapse to the ground.

The female detective quickly walked up to Vio and was about to handcuff the Plasma Sage in front of her when her pupils suddenly contracted.

"What secret code are you using with your fingers?" Lila demanded sharply. "Do you have a seventh elf?"

Vio closed his eyes and sneered. The next instant, the two geometric snowflakes trapped in the electric grid suddenly lit up with blinding light. Two "cannon beams" shot precisely at the steel frame node—the very spot that Lyra had previously marked with Metagross.

"Oh no!" Lila instantly understood the other party's intention. Although they were attacking the same node, the order and number of attacks differed, which would lead to completely opposite results.

Raikou attempted to intercept with an "Electric Shock" attack, but the paralyzed Weavile suddenly sprang up and rammed into it, deflecting its angle. The two beams struck their targets without hindrance.

"boom--"

As the old man's triumphant smile played on his lips, the steel frame overhead began to collapse in the opposite direction of what he had anticipated. The broken metal structure crashed down on the second-floor platform like a giant wave.

"He's trying to take us all down with him. Lei Gong, let's retreat!"

Lila acted decisively, backflipping and leaping onto Lei Gong's back.

Golden lightning ripped through the air, and the instant they left the platform, a deafening crash echoed behind them as the steel frame collapsed. The collapsing steel pipes snapped down like the fangs of a giant beast, and Vio and his elves were instantly engulfed by the ice dust and steel.

Static electricity surged from Raikou's feet, propelling the trainer swiftly down the vertical rock face.

At that very moment—

"boom!"

Another loud bang, and a beam of blazing white light grazed the Thunder God's claws and exploded, leaving shocking scorch marks on the rock wall.

Amidst the flying ice and rock fragments, Lila landed nimbly, having left her partner's back. Her gaze was fixed on the source of the fire—the crimson elf beside Akromar was slowly adjusting the angle of the cannon, the mechanical sound of charging particularly jarring in the cave.

Just as Lila was distracted by Vio, her Metagross had been shot down by the red Steel-type Pokémon with its Beam Cannon, and the Pokémon then turned its attention to her and Raikou.

Fortunately, Lucario and Espeon were still active in the field, fighting against Team Plasma's combatants.

"Such swift movements! So this is the legendary Phoenix Guard from Johto. Can humans really tame them to this extent?"

Sparse applause rang out in front of her, and Akromma stepped forward.

Upon hearing this, Lei Gong arched his back, his purple mane bristling, and a low, rumbling roar echoed from his throat. Electricity crackled around him, scorching the ground with spiderweb-like marks.

"What are you planning?" Lila, who had just put away Metagross, stepped in front of the scholar and questioned him with an unfriendly look.

But Akromar didn't answer Lila's question, instead looking at the legendary elf behind her as if she were invisible—

"I'm sorry, you're far from my idea of ​​'the ultimate'. However... you're quite suitable as a whetstone to test this guy's strength."

The scholar smiled at Lei Gong and gently stroked the Steel-type Pokémon beside him.

With a light pat, the Pokémon, which walked on two legs like an arthropod, suddenly lowered its body and transformed back into a disc shape, its four sharp legs pointing in all directions like javelins. Its steel body slowly floated into the air as if weightless, and Lyra could even faintly hear a high-frequency hum emanating from within it.

"This is Genesis's high-speed flight mode, which can be faster than sound. I've heard that the average speed of a lightning strike is four hundred kilometers per second. I wonder... if your Thunder God can reach that speed?"

Before the last syllable had even finished, the red disc vanished abruptly. Lila only saw a blur before Lei Gong appeared in front of her like lightning—

"clang!"

The deafening crash of the collision was deafening. Genesect's "Iron Head" collided violently with Raikou's body, and the sparks that flew out illuminated the surroundings as if it were daytime.

"So physical defense is weaker than special defense... Heh, I've collected some interesting data."

Akromar adjusted his glasses with one hand and made a keyboard-like gesture with the other, seemingly sending and receiving information. The red mechanical beast's armor subtly adjusted according to his commands, emitting a soft clicking sound like gears meshing.

Lila instantly became alert—she had seen this situation before in her interactions with colleagues at Criminal Investigation Headquarters!

"This is the 'Download' feature! The same on-the-spot battle analysis capability as Polygon..."

"Yes, after all, I used the core algorithm from the Polygon B type adaptive research when I was designing it... It's just that this thing still needs to be done manually for now."

A cold, stern light gleamed in the scholar's glasses as he raised his hand—

"Genesect, use... Eh eh eh eh eh eh!"

The ground began to tremble violently without warning, and Akromma stumbled and almost fell.

The tremor came from deep within the ice!

Lila instinctively turned her head sharply to look at the ice block that sealed the giant Pokémon—but it remained as silent as ever.

Not that elf? Then what exactly is this tremor...?

Click!

Before the detectives could investigate further, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out, and cracks appeared under their feet, resembling the surface of a glacier. The sounds of flowing water and the roar of machinery could be faintly heard.

Immediately afterwards—

boom--!!!

The entire cave shook violently, and the hard ice surface shattered like fragile glass.

Water splashed everywhere! Amidst a deafening roar, a giant ram, several meters thick, broke through the ice!

The sharp tip reflected a chilling light, tearing the ice layer, along with the equipment and steel frame above, as easily as paper!

Chapter 409 Yu Liu is the direction of the water's wind.

With a screech of metal twisting beneath the ram, the steel destroyer burst through the ice like a whale leaping out of the water.