Pokémon Detective Case Files.

From the very beginning, its goal was not to launch a point-to-area attack, but to escape cleanly and decisively!

The heavy body turned back with incredible agility, rushing towards the side corridor that the handsome man had previously explored.

Metagross, positioned beside the escape route, swung its massive steel arm in an attempt to block the way, but Ironrock merely shifted its body slightly and used its giant horn to deliver a seemingly fierce but actually feinting "Tile Split," which sent Metagross's heavy steel body staggering half a step to the side.

A mere half-step gap.

But that's enough.

Before the sparks from the collision had even dissipated, Iron Rock had already accelerated again using the momentum of the recoil, its figure disappearing like a fleeting orange-red meteor, completely vanishing into the darkness deep within the corridor.

There was no roar, no hesitation, not even a turn of the head.

Just as abruptly it appeared, so too did it abruptly and decisively depart.

The empty corridor was left with only the faint glow of the remaining electrical field, the scattered energy dust, and the heavy breathing of Pokémon and humans.

Silence returned to the castle.

It was as if that steel behemoth had never descended.

"The person who was controlling it chose to retreat."

Wanlong said, carefully placing the pen back between the pages of the book, and the colorful glow disappeared—

"This at least shows that elves like this are extremely rare in the castle. For the person in the control room, it's a wiser choice to reclaim existing assets than to let Ironrock and us both suffer heavy losses here."

“At least we know how to deal with it now,” the handsome guy shrugged. “But it seems particularly interested in Chimchar; a normal Taunt move won’t change the direction of a Double Strike.”

“Perhaps in the ‘City Defenders’ calculations, this little guy is the most threatening one among us.” Wanlong patted the little Chimchar’s head. “Of course, there is another explanation—strong emotions always lead to accidents. Perhaps it was the resonance between wills that allowed that Pokémon to temporarily escape Team Plasma’s control.”

"But ultimately, was it really a Pokémon?" Lila asked a particularly pointed question.

Indeed, although that Iron Rock looked like a normal Pokémon, with attributes, abilities, and moves, its behavior was completely like that of a cold and ruthless machine.

That Pokémon doesn't even have Electric or Steel types!

How exactly did the opponent convert the collected attack energy? And how did Group Plasma control it? And since they possess this power within the castle, why haven't they revealed it all these years?

The group fell silent, briefly exchanging glances, but the tension of surviving a close call still lingered.

Lila crouched down and checked each of her companions' injuries one by one, using the most precious medicine on Raikou and Metagross, who were the most exhausted.

The handsome guy quickly unfolded his notebook and, using the faint light of Espeon's "Flash," hastily recorded the structural details of the battlefield—the material of the walls, the distribution of energy nodes, and the direction of the corridor where the Iron Rock disappeared.

Within the castles constructed by the "City Defense Division," any piece of information may have a pitifully short shelf life.

At that moment, the Chimchar that hadn't been put back into its Poké Ball suddenly raised its head.

Its nostrils flared rapidly as it took a deep breath.

Then, the beginner Pokémon let out a series of short, sharp cries, immediately attracting the attention of the shrew. The shrew patted its trainer's leg with its webbed paw and pointed at the unusually focused Chimchar.

"Hmm, did you discover something?"

Despite his doubts, the handsome man did not neglect Hugo's subordinates. He quickly put away his notebook and followed them, completely bewildered.

The little chimpanzee didn't respond, but kept sniffing the air, as if it were tracking an invisible scent.

It strode forward without hesitation toward the deep corridor where the Iron Rock had disappeared.

After passing through several side paths, the corridor gradually narrowed, and exposed pipes began to appear on the walls, with a faint smell of metal and dust in the air.

The little Chimchar finally stopped in front of a ventilation grille embedded in the wall, just big enough for small Pokémon to pass through.

From the darkness behind the grid, a faint, rustling sound carrying an electric current could be heard—a few lone little fish were hiding among them. Facing the Chimchar that approached alone, these Pokémon, especially weak after being separated from their group, mustered their courage and released a weak "electromagnetic wave" towards it.

The little fire monkey didn't even glance at them, and swiftly swung its paw.

The strong wind generated by the "random grab" precisely swept through the gaps in the grille, cutting through the alloy mesh. The small fish trembled in fright, slid out of the ventilation opening, and disappeared into the corridor.

"Is there...something in here?"

Lila and Wanlong, who had finished their treatment, also rushed over and asked in a low voice.

The little fire monkey didn't turn around.

It focused intently on gently pressing a finger against the edge of the cold vent.

The next instant, a shimmering green light shone from the tip of the monkey's paw, carrying the fresh scent of sprouting grass and trees.

Grass-type move, "Grass Knot".

The light extended and condensed into a slender, almost transparent, emerald green vine.

Unlike its companions in the agency, Chimchar is not proficient in this move, so the vines look fragile and delicate, as if they would break at the slightest touch—but they are enough to handle many tasks, such as unlocking locks and finding lost items.

Now, the vines released by the beginner elf seem to have a mind of their own, deftly slipping through the metal gaps of the grid and silently sliding into the darkness inside the pipe.

The little fire monkey closed its eyes.

Its ears twitched slightly, and all its senses seemed to converge on the fingertip connected to the vine, feeling every subtle touch and feedback from the other end.

Time flowed slowly in the silence. Only the suppressed breathing of a few people and the faint rustling of an almost invisible vine rubbing against the pipes could be heard in the corridor.

After what seemed like an eternity—perhaps only a few dozen seconds, yet feeling like an eternity—the little fire monkey's eyebrows suddenly shot up.

The vines began to shrink back.

It finally opened its eyes, its gaze filled with excitement.

As the little fire monkey carefully guided it, the slender green vine slowly emerged from the depths of the pipe, its end seemingly wrapped around something extremely light and tiny.

Finally, the vines were completely reclaimed.

Near the pipe opening, which reeked of engine oil and dust, a faint, incongruous natural scent appeared...

Everyone stared wide-eyed.

In the little fire monkey's paw, a tender green leaf lay quietly.

Chapter 467 Fist and Labyrinth

Since stepping into this steel maze constructed of plasma clusters, Lian Wu has been following behind Bogarman, wandering around inside for almost half an hour.

This Unova Champion's Pokémon explores dungeons in a way that is completely different from any other Pokémon Lianwu knows.

It neither sniffed the smell left by the deformation of the room's structure nor listened to the sound of the wind coming from the corridor. Instead, like an art critic immersing himself in the exhibition, it would sometimes lean close to the wall to carefully examine the geometric patterns etched on the metal surface, and sometimes step back a few steps, cross its short arms, squint its eyes, and measure the width of the corridor and the angle of the splicing of the floor tiles.

Its composed and deliberate demeanor made it seem as if this were not a perilous enemy's lair, but rather an art gallery run by its trainer.

Of course, even Wu himself isn't good at navigating mazes.

Although this place used to be the headquarters of the United States Alliance, which he visited almost every week, it has long been unrecognizable after Team Plasma's castle rose up and covered and reconstructed the original buildings.

Now, standing in this cold, orderly, yet endlessly repetitive metal corridor, if he were alone, he would probably only be able to smash his way through with his fists, or spin around in place like a dangling speck.

In fact, he had tried the former as well—but the alloy inner walls of the castle were indeed a bit tricky. With Lian Wu only having one main Pokémon left, it was really difficult for the old craftsman to carry out such a massive project.

However, in this fighting king's mind, the normal way to explore a maze should be more rigorous, such as marking the path, drawing a sketch, or leaving a code that only his own side can recognize.

But the little guy didn't do any of these things.

However, despite Pogaman's "unprofessional" way of leading the way, Lian Wu and his group rarely went back along the way.

Well, it was Hugo's partner after all... perhaps it really does have some unique way of finding its own path.

call out--

The sudden whooshing sound interrupted the Fighting King's thoughts.

Suddenly, a familiar green blur emerged from the shadows of the fork in the road ahead.

"A master craftsman!"

This wasn't the first time they'd been attacked, and Lian Wu immediately roared in anger.

Almost simultaneously, the burly figure of the old craftsman flashed to the side and in front of Pogaman, and a heavy concrete pillar swept out, accurately blocking the cluster of "magic leaves" that came at him.

The blades struck the concrete, making a soft crackling sound.

The old craftsman was naturally prepared to continue the pursuit, but the green figure had already retreated into the shadows like a ghost.

—Just like its previous actions. Harass, probe, then withdraw.

If Wanlong were here, she should have recognized this elf—Ironleaf—from their very first encounter.

The Paradis region's "Occult Science Gazette" also published a sketch of it: its form was highly similar to the Unova legend's Virizion, but its entire body was covered in cold, hard metal armor, and its joints were embedded with artificial light sources like fluorescent tubes. It's obvious that such a futuristic industrial design could not possibly appear on the swordsmen who have been active in Unova for hundreds of years; it is most likely a biological weapon secretly developed by Team Plasma.

However, unlike the Ghost-type Elite Four members he worked with, Lianwu, who was in battle, did not know the true identity of the attacking Pokémon.

He didn't even consider Virizion, one of the three legendary swords of Unova—after all, there are just too many green Grass-type Pokémon. And Lianwu himself wasn't a trainer adept at using information superiority to suppress his opponents.

His only strength has always been one thing—facing the enemy head-on.

"Sonic Fist!"

Unlike the previous tentative probes, this time the enemy seemed particularly interested in the clues discovered by the Piplup, launching their attack from a much closer distance. Therefore, Lian Wu didn't intend to let this opportunity slip by and chose to take the initiative in pursuit.

Following the trainer's command, the old builder suddenly released his grip without warning, and the two heavy concrete pillars, which were like parts of his body, crashed to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the old construction worker, now unburdened, transformed into a blurry afterimage, charging towards Iron Leaf with his bare hands!

boom!

This "sonic punch" released no energy; all the force was compressed into the fist's tip. At the moment of impact, the air was rapidly compressed and pierced, unleashing a short, sharp sonic boom!

Bang—crash!

The moment fist clashed with metal, the green sprite was blasted away solidly, its back slamming into the corridor wall, smashing the gothic patterns that Piplup had been admiring just a minute ago.

But Ironleaf reacted with astonishing speed—using the recoil from the impact, it pushed off the wall with both feet, its body instantly changing from green to red, its superpowers highly condensed, forming a crimson psychic blade above its head—

"A spiritual blade!"

The slash aimed straight for the old craftsman's neck!

"Hold on."

Lian Wu's voice was calm and composed. There is no such thing as an opponent who can only take a beating; he had certainly anticipated this counterattack.

"A Psychic-type Pokémon, huh?"

The opponent appears to be a Grass/Psychic type.

Fighting-type Pokémon are at a disadvantage against Psychic-type Pokémon, something he, as the Fighting-type Elite Four member, is very familiar with, and Lianwu's method for dealing with this type is exceptionally simple—

""slap"!"

It's neither the Dark-type move "Knock Off" which counters Psychic-type moves, nor "Brick Break" or "Hand Hammer" which have STAB boosts, but rather a Normal-type move that even pre-evolutionary Crafty can learn.

The moves were mediocre in power and not even fighting-type skills, but for this fighting king's partner, they were actions that had been honed countless times and had become second nature.

Without any pause, the veteran construction worker removed the concrete column with lightning speed.

Those massive hands, powerful enough to split rocks and shatter stone, now displayed exquisite control, striking the joints and balance points where the iron-spotted leaf exerted its force with just the right amount of force and angle.

Unable to break free, Iron-spotted Leaf turned its horns towards the old craftsman. The luminous organ in the center of its head suddenly lit up, and emerald energy extended into a sharp, vertical "leaf blade," slashing fiercely towards its opponent's vital chest!

"Bear the blows, through sheer hardship!"

The essence of combat boils down to two things: to withstand or avoid attacks, and to ensure that your attacks hit their mark.

Lian Wu raised a thick eyebrow.

In the center of the battlefield, the old craftsman crossed his arms with perfect timing, grunted, and took the brunt of the leaf blade strike head-on, grass-attribute energy sparking blinding sparks from his muscles. But he also seized the opportunity to spread his arms wide, precisely clamping down on the iron-spotted leaf's horns, using the momentum of its forward charge to twist his waist and generate power—

A classic over-the-shoulder throw! Slamming Iron Leaf hard into the ground!

"A low kick!"

In street fighting, there's no such thing as "leaving a way out," and Lian Wu certainly wouldn't stop his pursuit there. The immediate priority is to deprive the opponent of mobility, and moves that slow them down are the most suitable.

The old craftsman braced himself with one hand on the ground, and his legs, which seemed rather short compared to his muscular arms, swept out like whips, aiming straight for the lower limb joints of the iron-spotted leaf—

But just as it was about to hit, it suddenly stopped its attack.

Because the figure of the iron-spotted leaf had already disappeared into the pale blue ripples of space.

Instead, the old craftsman was replaced by Bogaman, who was holding his head and looking completely bewildered.

It's exactly "changing venues"!

"Tsk, what a troublesome skill."

Lian Wu scratched the back of his head in frustration.