Pokémon Detective Case Files.

They stared at the Team Aqua members leading the retreat of the wounded, their lips pressed together in resentment, their gazes sharp as blades, as if all this failure was due to their own lack of strength. But in the end, persuaded by Artie, the two also chose to withdraw from the battlefield and head to Route 8 to support the lone Hatchling Gym Leader.

But for some reason, as they parted, Shui Wutong sensed an ominous meaning in the champion's final smile.

He inexplicably felt that he might be the one who made the mistake.

Without the support of Team Aqua, Team Plasma's defeat was inevitable. Faced with the encirclement of four Unova Gym Leaders, the two Sages would likely find it difficult to escape.

But what does this have to do with the Aqua Team?

While their relationship with Team Plasma isn't as hostile as their relationship with Team Magma, they are still long-time rivals in the underworld vying for interests.

As the Sage of Team Plasma was about to be captured, Archie felt like she was watching her opponent suddenly fall in front of her during a race—she was gloating, but also felt she had saved herself some effort.

Moreover, in this collaboration alone, Team Aqua has already bought Team Plasma enough time. From any perspective, he has done more than enough.

Given the current situation, it's unlikely that Quixote would turn against him over such a trivial matter. Even in the worst-case scenario, the only price Fleet Aqua would have to pay is to go underground for the next few months—which was their original strategy when they first came to the United States.

As for the United Alliance? Their movements are hardly a concern.

As the Bug-type Gym Leader implied, dealing with Team Plasma alone has already overwhelmed them. The Alliance's current pursuit of reconciliation is most likely genuine. The possibility of them breaking the alliance and turning against them is virtually nonexistent—after all, it's better not to propose peace talks in the first place than to damage their reputation by reneging on the agreement later.

But... something still doesn't feel right.

With the war over, the naval fleet certainly couldn't turn back.

Returning to Route 8 and facing the newly broken Plasma Matrix again—this option was never available in the first place.

So they headed east, towards the cylindrical bridge leading to Shuanglong City. The people responsible for the rendezvous were already in place before the operation began, and the boat was ready.

Although the threat from the League has been eliminated, Team Aqua will not let their guard down because of a temporary agreement with the Champion, and they certainly will not swagger across the cylindrical bridge into Odd Dragon City, which is guarded by the Gym Leader.

Their real destination was a tributary of the river beneath the cylindrical bridge. Pre-positioned team members would then use boats to ferry them along the inland waterway, silently withdrawing them from everyone's sight.

Halfway through the journey, Shui Wutong's communicator rang.

As expected, the call came from Joggs, the sage of the Plasma Cluster. His tone was angry, and his voice was almost a roar.

It seems this "Exiled Shard" actually survived the Gym Leaders' siege—the power of legendary Pokémon is indeed not to be underestimated. When will Team Aqua be able to catch one?

Unfortunately, Joggs' colleagues and subordinates were not so lucky. In contrast, the entire Aqua Fleet successfully withdrew from the Snowflake City wetlands without losing a single soldier, which was a truly fortunate outcome.

Holding the communicator, Shui Wutong listened silently until the other party had finished venting all their anger and until he had extracted enough information he needed.

Then, without hesitation, he cut off the communication.

If it were Quixote himself who launched the attack, he might have had to put in some effort to reason with him. But as for someone who wasn't even a number two? There was no point in wasting his time on him.

"Boss, the losses have all been tallied up!"

A rough, hoarse voice came from behind. He strode up, still smelling of muddy water from the wetlands.

"The brothers are all fine, except for a few of our main Pokémon that were knocked unconscious, but they've all been treated with emergency medicine."

He wiped the dust from his face and continued—

"Also, there are a few newbies we caught in the Unova region—the rookies are completely unruly and are badly injured. Is this the usual routine of dumping these useless creatures here?"

Shui Wutong didn't answer immediately. He stared at Chao—this energetic but simple-minded subordinate who would never learn to be tactful and would always solve problems in the most direct way.

“This time is an exception,” Shui Wutong finally said. “Let’s keep him under observation for a while longer.”

"Huh?" Upon hearing the unexpected order, Chao's thick eyebrows furrowed, clearly not understanding his leader's meaning. "But boss, these things are even worse than turkeys..."

"Sigh..." Shui Wutong sighed, interrupting him helplessly—

“Unlike the situation in Hoenn in the past, we have now reached an agreement with the Unova League and should be able to use institutions like Pokémon Centers normally, so raising these weak Pokémon is not a burden now. Some tools need to be polished before we can determine if they are still usable—it’s not too late to decide to discard them then.”

He had no love or hate for Pokémon themselves. In his view, Pokémon and humans were not fundamentally different—both were usable resources, tools. There are useful tools and there are shoddy wastes. He would use them, and so would his enemies. Valuing reliable subordinates and being wary of powerful opponents—positive and negative balances, that's how the world works.

Since it's a tool, it should be carefully selected, fully maintained, and used in a standardized manner until its value is completely exhausted. The current decision is simply the optimal solution from an efficiency perspective.

Chao opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end he gave up thinking and just nodded heavily.

"I understand!"

—He didn't understand at all.

Chao turned and strode toward his teammates, his voice booming as he shouted, "Listen up! The boss said—no throwing! Not a single one! Anyone have a problem with that?"

Shui Wutong could almost picture the confused yet hesitant expressions on her subordinates' faces.

Despite numerous attempts to instruct him, Chao still struggles to understand and interpret commands, relying solely on his loud voice and physical presence to intimidate. In the past, tasks requiring meticulous communication were handled by Di, but unfortunately, things have changed. It seems I'll have to personally handle the communication and clean up the mess later.

He looked into the distance.

The wide River of Union had already unfolded before my eyes, its waters dark and murky, like a huge gray ribbon.

Everything in the snowflake wetlands has finally come to a complete end—accompanied by the still loud, yet unnecessary roar of the Chao Na.

There was neither victory nor defeat, but the matter ended inconclusively due to the other party's compromise—such an ending is rare even in Shui Wutong's blood-soaked life.

But I still feel like something's missing...

The cylindrical bridge over the river gradually revealed its steel outline, like the metallic embodiment of the tentacles of a stinging jellyfish.

Arrogant man-made structures have imprisoned the once-flowing river within the gaps of the bridge piers. This conquest of nature should have been reassuring, but it inexplicably exacerbated the unease in Water Wutong's heart.

An error has occurred.

Some kind of irreparable mistake is lurking in the blind spot of his thinking.

what exactly is it?

What the hell did they miss?

As the leader of the organization, Shui Wutong had to maintain his composure and dignity, unable to share this unease with anyone. Therefore, he could only pray in his heart and use reason to convince himself that he had not made any mistakes and that everything was fine.

Before they knew it, the naval fleet had arrived at the riverbank.

Sunlight shattered into countless silver flakes on the water's surface, while the towering bridge cast cold, hard shadows.

But at that moment, two unusual things came into view.

First of all, the support team that was supposed to be waiting on the shore disappeared without a trace, along with the ships that should have been moored.

The riverbank was deserted, with only the silent lapping of gray water remaining.

Secondly—on the lower-level tracks reserved for trains, there was an unusually large train stopped at that moment.

It lay quietly on the tracks, engine off, carriage silent, like an iron coffin deliberately placed there, waiting for its owner for a long time.

Even more striking is the sight of three figures standing on the edge of the bridge above the locomotive.

Two of them were wearing black and white train conductor uniforms—they were Bei Shang and Nan Xia, the leaders of the United Alliance versus the Metro.

The fact that the entire line came to a standstill was undoubtedly the work of these two brothers.

But what truly chilled Shui Wutong's blood was the third person in the middle.

The moment he saw the young man, he suddenly realized what he had overlooked.

At that moment, the young man, who was almost considered the embodiment of "strongest" in Unova, was raising his hand to straighten his baseball cap. A simple gesture, yet it sent a chill down the spine of the Aquarion Fleet leader.

"I heard," the tall young man in white said, his voice calm yet carrying undeniable weight, "that you've broken ties with Team Plasma?"

Undeniable. This is a fact that Shui Wutong herself admitted to the owner of the United Pavilion.

So that's where the trap was buried...

“That’s perfect.” The young man continued, his usual gentleness vanishing, revealing a hardened nature beneath. “I also have some personal grudges with your organization that need to be settled.”

An Archaeopteryx perched quietly on the green-haired youth's shoulder, its gaze as somewhat vacant as it had been at the Feather Residence.

It was a victim of the Aqua Team in the past.

Now, this Pokémon stands before the all-knowing king, its beating heart silently recounting the pirates' crimes.

Regardless of good or evil, everyone needs to be responsible for their own actions.

On the table of fate, the pieces that determine black and white have already been turned over.

Chapter 433 The Leading Train Awaits the Whistle

It has to be said that the Water Team's luck was extremely bad.

If it were any other trainer, and if they still had even a fraction of their Pokémon left, Archie might actually have been able to fight their way out. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs"—they were facing the King of Team Plasma, who had just fought a major battle against two Gym Leaders from the Unova League.

In the wild battlefield, N is practically a cheat code. With a mere wave of his hand, he can summon countless spirited wild Pokémon from all directions; moreover, with an almost telepathic ability, he can precisely control the battle rhythm of each Pokémon. Although not widely known, he once single-handedly defeated the four Elite Four members of the Unova League—and there is clearly no reason for his victories to end here.

Of course, Shui Wutong also tried his best to use his language skills as a former TV station director to reach some kind of consensus with the other party.

As night deepened, he declared that Team Aqua was a benevolent organization with the mission of protecting all ocean Pokémon—

In Mauville City of the Hoenn region, they intercepted and destroyed several ships illegally dumping industrial waste in vital waters—the toxins powerful enough to kill fragile Corsolas and young aquatic Pokémon. Near Slateport City, they thwarted a large-scale fishing operation to harvest Pokémon for food, releasing countless wild Pokémon. Furthermore, as protectors of the Aqua world's inhabitants, Team Aqua repeatedly thwarted evil organizations attempting to trigger volcanic eruptions. Unlike arrogant anthropocentrics who seek to reshape the world, they are dedicated to purifying waters and restoring the ocean's original beauty and ecological balance… all of which fundamentally conflicts with N's ideal of Pokémon liberation. As for the misdeeds N heard about from the detective, they were nothing more than exaggerated information manipulation, a common tactic used by illegal investigation companies to solicit business.

As far as the speech was concerned, Archie's words were absolutely brilliant. Considering that he said these words while dealing with an overwhelming attack from wild Pokémon, his perseverance was even more admirable.

However, ever since N witnessed firsthand the carnage left behind by Voodoo, a former member of the Aqua Fleet, in the Giant's Cave, his last remaining trust in this distant overseas organization was completely extinguished.

Not to mention, through a private investigation within Team Plasma, he also discovered that the organization operated a global Pokémon smuggling network with the tacit approval of the Order, and had already secretly begun to crack down on it.

In this situation, Hugo's phone call was like cutting the last thread binding this "puppet king".

Rather than the one-sided account of the Aqua team leader, N was more willing to believe the memories of the Archaeopteryx that he had personally experienced.

The battle ended exceptionally quickly.

The already exhausted Team Aqua watched in despair as the wild Pokémon they usually looked down upon surged in like a tide, their momentum even more terrifying than Kiku's endless sand sea and Fenglu's aerial assault.

Breaking through head-on was utterly hopeless. So several team members tried to jump off the bridge to escape, but were caught red-handed by a Water-type Pokémon that had been lying in ambush in the river.

These self-proclaimed environmentalists were ultimately dragged into the water by the very objects they claimed to be protecting, suffering the same fate as the support troops who had been waiting on the shore—nearly suffocating in the water before being dragged ashore and detained by the frivolous kids who had just finished playing.

Under the desperate cover of Ushio, Mizuki, having failed to persuade N, finally attempted a decapitation strike at N's location.

The Diallok roared and charged forward, but was stopped by the combined efforts of Nut Dumbbell and Double Ice next to N before it could take the last step.

The next second, Archaeopteryx mustered its courage and leaped into the air, the "Primal Force" striking the desperate commander head-on.

Almost simultaneously, Cradle Lily, which had quietly climbed up from under the bridge, used a "Tighten" to firmly bind Archie. With a "gulp," the leader of Team Aqua was completely trapped in the green maw of the fossil Pokémon that had been sleeping in the wetlands and was now awakening again.

With their leader captured, the defeat of the naval fleet was inevitable.

Packs of hyenas were cleaved in two by the "Fairy Wind" whipped up by the Wind Fairy; their Great Hyena leader collapsed under a heavy "Explosive Punch" from the Iron-Boned Earthling. A swarm of Zubats attempted a surprise attack with "Poison Stings," but were all broken by Gear's well-prepared "Gear Discs." Megalodon's sharp teeth shattered before the seemingly indestructible "Iron Wall" of mantle rock, and the Pelipper swooped in from the air, only to be met head-on by the Electric Spider's ferocious "Pounce."

Muk attempted to wriggle forward but was completely stunned by Mudfish's "Mud Shot." Nearby, Starmie tried to spin away but was blasted away by Zoroark's "Night Blast" from behind. Tentacruel was locked in a type-based battle with Heartbat and struggled to escape; Marill and Poliwag were steadily pushed back by Sprout Deer's swift "Double Kick."

The most tragic scene was when Gyarados roared as it swooped down, only to be met head-on by Dodo's chilling "Freeze-Dry"—its massive body instantly froze, and it plummeted straight down, landing squarely on Feraligatr, which was desperately dodging Pokémon's "Razor Leaf" attack below.

In less than ten minutes, the last remaining Team Aqua member who was still resisting was tightly bound by Nutbell's "Parasitic Seed" and was discarded like a piece of junk at the feet of the two Metro Bosses.

"The sheer scale of wild Pokémon deployment... it's like a walking natural disaster. That huge horde of wild Pokémon seems to have appeared out of thin air. Even during our highest-level challenge in the Metro, I've never seen such exquisite command."

As night fell, the lights on the cylindrical bridge shimmered in the thin mist. Nanxia, ​​the white-clad train conductor who witnessed the entire battle, took a long time to recover from his shock and couldn't help but feel deep respect for this Plasma Team outside helper invited by the champion.

“You didn’t observe carefully enough.” His older brother, Kitano, pushed up his black train conductor’s hat and walked steadily toward N, saying, “Some of the Pokémon had actually been quietly following our train from the middle of the journey.”

He stopped in front of the green-haired youth, his tone formal and restrained—

"Thank you for assisting us in arresting these overseas criminals who smuggled themselves into Unova. Just now, Champion Hugo informed us that Sage Asura of Team Plasma was captured by Gym Leader Hachiku and others in the Snowflake Wetlands ahead. He asked us to inquire with you whether you are prepared to exchange prisoners?"

“No need,” N replied without the slightest hesitation.

He raised his arm, and the Protobird that had been perched on his shoulder nimbly hopped over to Bei Shang.

“My intervention against Team Aqua was solely to seek justice for this kid, not for any transaction. As for Asura…” His voice lowered slightly, “I know his loyalty, and I understand that this teacher is willing to give everything for me—even cross the line. However, precisely because of this, I don’t want him to continue to be involved in Team Plasma’s upcoming operations.”

"Should I relay this to him?" Bei Shang gently stroked the head of the Proto-Bird and asked cautiously.

"It doesn't matter." The young king of Team Plasma shook his head. The Pokémon that had been surrounding him began to silently retreat to the surroundings, dispersing like a tide.

"I have achieved my goal. The next time we meet... I may be an enemy of the United States."

"Perhaps we don't need to be so pessimistic—a train traveling at full speed sometimes appears like a steel behemoth to outsiders, terrifying in its presence. But for the passengers inside the carriage, they hardly feel any vibration—even when turning. Do you know why?"

For some reason, the subway manager, Bei Shang, suddenly posed this question to N.

N hesitated slightly, but still answered truthfully based on her knowledge.

"It's probably because the train's initial acceleration is controlled to be very low. Once it reaches a constant speed, inertia can make the environment inside the train approach stillness. As for cornering... it should be compensated by the centripetal force generated by the superelevation of the outer rail, which is essentially a precisely calculated horizontal circular motion."

The young king did not understand why the other party had suddenly brought this up.

“Then, let me offer some advice,” Bei Shang’s voice remained steady, like the rhythm of wheels rolling over the seams of rails. “If you feel that the world is like a train heading in the wrong direction… then don’t rush to turn the train around abruptly—slowly come to a stop, find your direction, and change tracks. This is also the only way to reach your destination. Otherwise, the train will waste more time due to derailment and mechanical failures.”

“There’s another thing to be aware of before attempting to turn—” Nanxia chimed in with a smile, waving her white-gloved index finger from side to side, “We always have to make sure there are tracks underneath.”