Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"I can tell you the temporary location of the United Information Storage Center. According to the plan, if this hurricane crisis can be resolved smoothly, the emergency data center will be shut down in seven days; and if the crisis cannot be resolved, probably no one will care about this level of security risk."

"Seven days is like the blink of an eye for many people, but for a phantom thief like you, it's a bit too much. During this time, you can infiltrate the area on your own and create a completely new identity for yourself. I think that's no different from simply giving you a complete resume that someone else has prepared."

"Oh? You, the Unova Champion, aren't you afraid that I'll leave loopholes there and use the stolen information to leak, forge, and sell information on a large scale?"

Such favorable conditions were as tempting as a granary with its doors wide open, right in front of Rada, for both the phantom thief's "Special Project" and the information broker's "Information Shop."

"To be honest, I am a little worried, but I will contact relevant computer experts to ensure the protection of residents' privacy."

Despite saying this, Hugo seemed unconcerned—

"But I still want to advise you to be careful. As the saying goes, 'wherever something goes, there is a trace.' No matter which direction information flows, the traces left behind are always mutual. Therefore, if someone uses this channel to make improper gains, then as their actions unfold, their own information will also be exposed to the investigation—this is probably the last thing you, as a thief, want to see."

"That proverb sounds strangely familiar."

The thief whistled playfully and listlessly put Akromma's "mind-reading glasses" back on his nose.

If these are the terms of the deal, even if the other side of the scales involves the risk of plunging into a hurricane, it's not something that can't be considered.

After all, the value of treasure always lies only in its scarcity.

But Hugo hadn't finished speaking.

"Furthermore—as your former friend, I still have high hopes for your character."

Looking at the data reflected in the glasses, 'Special Project' paused for a moment, then let out a deliberately exaggerated laugh: "Hmph, legal status in the Unova region, huh? It seems that from now on, I'll have more and more opportunities to come and play with you."

"I'll take that as a yes." The detective shrugged indifferently.

"The temporary data center is located on a converted ship at the Liyong City dock. The location of the dark web black market of the Water Fleet gave us a lot of inspiration, so we simply used it directly."

The data center relocation was carried out in secrecy on Hugo's advice.

The person currently guarding the place is a former trainer named Telt, whom he secretly hired. Interestingly, Telt's partner, Electivire, has a connection to the legendary Pokémon Thundurus currently attacking Ripple Town. Perhaps it is because of this external factor that Telt is said to have become a trainer of considerable skill after the explosion.

This extra background information is left for Miss Phantom Thief to discover on her own—it's a small but delightful surprise.

The final confirmation of the transaction was completed at the last moment before the sun sank below the horizon.

The twilight transitioned from orange-red to deep blue, like a tablecloth being slowly pulled away. Just as the world slipped into darkness, the wings of the warrior eagle suddenly unfurled behind the phantom thief's cloak—

With a ripping sound.

Before Garchomp could even cast a hostile glance at the new intruder, the gray cloak had already gracefully leaped onto the eagle's back.

The next second, a loud eagle cry pierced the darkening sky.

As night fell, the gray cloak and its owner were swallowed up by the darkness, as if they had never existed.

"As expected, this guy has a completely different team of Pokémon hidden in every region."

Standing in front of the Garchomp that had started acting up again, Hugo looked at the empty rooftop and muttered to himself.

Chapter 493 Altar and Bear Trap

Before us lies the castle control room, which 'City Defense Master' Jero had gone to great lengths to hide.

Despite the absence of any identifiable signs or clues nearby, the King and the detectives stopped the moment they stepped onto its edge.

The shared instinct of combat personnel tells them—

This is the end.

Holt breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though countless details along the way had confirmed his guess, it was only at this moment that the former inspector of the alliance finally dared to confirm that the map in his mind, which he had built brick by brick over two years, was not a coincidence pieced together from fantasy.

It really exists.

This group, which came together by chance, had already arrived at the true core of Team Plasma's castle without knowing about the changes in the outside world.

At this moment, the last steel door stood before them.

It was clearly thicker and heavier than any of the doors the group had encountered along the way.

The surface is coated with a matte dark gray coating, which seems to be the kind of material that can reduce the power of special attack moves, occasionally used in high-level battle arenas.

The welded seams along the edges of the iron gate were so smooth they looked like they had been cast in one go by a machine. There were no hinge-like structures, let alone handles for pulling from the outside. As a result, it didn't look like a door at all, but rather like a solid block of steel deliberately embedded at the end of a passage. It even made one wonder, since this door was so indestructible, why not just dig a hole in the wall next to it and go around it?

However, the latter approach would only trigger more structural mechanics problems. If it caused the load-bearing walls to collapse, the group would need to spend even more time clearing the passage. Moreover, given the Alliance's ample fighting force at this moment, even genuine superalloy steel blocks would likely be unable to stop the invaders.

Wanlong's Crystal Lamp Fire Spirit made the first move.

Following the trainer's command, the purplish-red flames of "Fire Blast" instantly covered the surface of the iron gate like a giant hand.

Against a top-tier main force, the expensive coating material didn't even serve to buy time. The metal quickly lost its strength under high temperature, and in the blink of an eye, the surface peeled off, revealing the dark red core underneath.

On the other side, as the Crystal Chandelier Spirit unleashed its full power, the Blueberry Servant General immediately filled the gap in perfect coordination.

The continuous "metal claws" precisely cut into the edges of the expanding and deformed steel, peeling off the brittle reinforcement layers one by one, and cutting off the exposed connecting steel bars as well.

Finally, Lian Wu, who was the last to speak, raised his hand.

The old craftsman stepped forward, easily gripping two thick concrete pillars with one arm as if they were two stacks of newspapers. He clenched his other hand into a fist, took a half step back, and briefly gathered his strength.

Then, he unleashed a simple and unadorned "True Qi Fist".

boom.

This trick has been used many times during the exploration of the maze, and even the last of the PP potions were used twice to repair the old craftsman's skill.

However, unlike the same scene along the way, this time, there was no crisp cracking sound from the other side of the wall, only a dull, almost distorted, loud bang.

Immediately afterwards, the entire steel door was like a piece of clay being pushed out of a mold.

First, the entire surface became concave, then it slowly loosened along the bottom, continuously emitting a metallic groan.

After a long time, the huge piece of metal was forced to deform by the weight of the iron gate itself, and finally crashed onto the ground on the other side, stirring up a cloud of dust.

After the dust settled, the scene that unfolded before everyone's eyes was completely different from any place they had seen on the way there.

Before me lay neither the ornate corridors of Gothic style, nor the monotonous, seemingly endless space of a pure white maze; neither the eerie jungle of the energy core area, where every crevice was covered with unknown totem crystals, nor the ruins where Holt was imprisoned, with their ancient and rugged practical style…

Before me stood a brand-new temple.

It is grand in scale, solemn on all four sides, and the dome is so high that it almost disappears into the light overhead.

The ground is paved with neatly cut pure white stone bricks, and there is no trace of wear on the surface.

A continuous band of reliefs encircles the wall, with neat and orderly patterns, but without any figurative images.

There are no characters from legends here, no mythical Pokémon figures, and not even the coded symbolic patterns found in the Meteor Ruins of the Hoenn region.

It simply covers the entire high wall with white geometric patterns, like a book stripped of all narrative, leaving only the binding pattern on the spine.

Even light poured down from above, giving the impression of being bathed in sunlight in this dark maze.

In the very center of the vast space stood a square altar made entirely of white.

The altar was completely empty; there were no offerings, no inscriptions, and no ritual implements.

It simply stands there.

"Hey. With such diverse styles, did Team Plasma build your castle to theme park standards?"

The sound of blueberries spread under the dome.

He had already seen the outline of the yellow robe on the altar, and the gaze cast from there.

Since there was no longer any need to hide, the Dark Elite Four member simply raised its mocking tone by half a octave, letting it roll across the empty ground like a stone.

"It looks a bit like an altar dedicated to Arceus, the creator god."

Wanlong adjusted her glasses, her gaze slowly moving along the reliefs on the wall.

"The style should lean towards Sinnoh, especially those abandoned ancient altars near Veilwall City. But it's still a bit strange—why choose this theme? Shouldn't Unova prioritize the twin dragon myth from the founding era?"

As Wanlong was filled with doubt, behind her, Lianwu turned his head and winked at the old craftsman.

The latter silently picked up the concrete column again, turned to face the passage they had come from, and began to widen the gap that had been pried open at the entrance—to make more room for the group's next move.

"I simply restored the original appearance of this underground building."

On the altar, the yellow figure spoke slowly, as if trying to explain something.

And at the very moment his words fell—

Swish!

A bolt of lightning shot out from the direction of the cave entrance!

That speed was almost beyond the limits of what the eyes could capture.

The golden arc of light traced a straight path through the air, like a taut optical fiber piercing straight towards the center of the altar.

It is the Thunder God.

It leaves the ground on all fours, its mane flying backward at high speed, its entire body enveloped in compressed air that only legendary Pokémon would create when unleashing their full power.

"Lightning speed!"

Lila made her move.

It carried the momentum of a fatal blow.

This commander of the frontier zone, contrary to his usual upright and honorable demeanor as an Interpol officer, launched a surprise attack the moment he stepped into the hall without any warning.

Given the circumstances, there was no point in discussing morality with the "city defense mastermind" who had personally designed the entire treacherous castle.

Ultimately, however, that psychological preparation didn't require much effort—the police's daily arrest operations were mostly surprise raids, and Lila, who relied on her strong abilities and always made a grand entrance before each operation, was an anomaly in Interpol.

Now, she is simply relearning the most basic lessons she learned during her police academy training.

Then, golden lightning passed through.

Jero's figure remained unharmed, unyielding, and unmoved.

The yellow robe faded the moment Lei Gong touched its edge, like a slideshow whose power had been cut off. Even the white altar beneath him blurred along with it.

"Is it just a smokescreen?" Lila wasn't particularly surprised.

The previous Phantom Paradox had already allowed her to figure out the true nature of this "City Defender"—the imposter would never place his real body where his opponent could see it at first glance.

She calmly recalled the Thunder God, placing it on standby beside her, while scanning the entire hall for a new opportunity.

“It’s a projection created by the ‘Light Wall’,” Wanlong said, her gaze still following the remaining fragments of superpower in the air. “Don’t panic. Superpowers have limited range; Jero and the real altar must be inside this temple.”

She was speaking to Holt, who was in the distance.

The moment Jero's phantom disappeared, a look of despair flashed across the latter's face—Wanlong's timely confirmation brought him back to his senses.

But Lian Wu and Yueju's expressions were even more tense than before.

"Something's not right," Lian Wu said in a low voice.

Linguine's gaze had already fallen on the wall.

Those silent, geometrically patterned reliefs, which had been quietly spreading along the four walls, now showed subtle abnormalities.

“There’s something hidden in the relief.” He was certain.

But what exactly is the anomaly...?

If the three starter Pokémon entrusted to them by the current champion were still around, they would have discovered the enemy's hiding place much sooner.

However, like Holt, who was leading the way, those little guys were of little use in the final battle. So they remained at a distance behind the battlefield, where the alert and handsome guy was responsible for protecting them while providing support.

When the team was initially configured this way, Yueju was worried that the opponent might exploit these vulnerable points to launch a hostage-taking tactic. However, as the battle progressed, it was actually the "rear support team" led by the handsome guy that repeatedly played an unexpected and silent role.

And the same is true now.

Hiding behind the handsome detective, Bogarman nudged the delinquent frog squatting beside him.

The latter seemed to understand the advice of the beginner Pokémon, and began to puff out its cheeks, emitting a series of short and low croaks—"bluff".

The sound waves spread outward at frequencies that are difficult for the human ear to detect, echoing and swirling between the walls along the castle's enclosed structure.

At first there was no reaction, but as time went on, a response actually appeared on the wall on the side closest to the bad frog.

It was a buzzing sound made up of countless breathing sounds and the rustling of fabric, like a giant pupa turning over inside the wall.

This is purely psychological harassment, without any actual lethality, yet it is enough to expose the flaws of anything that is holding its breath and lurking.

The originally still hiders could not maintain their composure under the noisy buzzing and instead exposed themselves.

There are people hiding in the surrounding walls!