Pokémon Detective Case Files.

The officer walked step by step toward Azure, attempting to confiscate its Poké Ball—with a few steps, he finally left the "safe zone" of five meters around the detective.

This means that the four Champion-level Pokémon that Detective Hugo secretly brought aboard the ship now have a chance to act!

The official, carrying a specially made wire sack, was completely unaware of the impending turn of events, and was even grinning smugly at Bi Lanzhi. Little did he know that in the detective's eyes, he looked like an idiot walking into a fire with a helium balloon in his hand.

Even if the underground workshops that produce steel wire sacks racked their brains, they could never have predicted that one day their products would have to undergo sampling tests by four champion-level Pokémon.

For ordinary Pokémon like Chimchar and Smoothie, this woven net made of steel wire might be an insurmountable barrier.

But for Cyndaquil's veterans, this tattered bag was as vulnerable as a spider web... no, perhaps even less so. Compared to the "Silk Shot" attacks of the Bug-type Elite Four member Aru's Pokémon, these flimsy steel wires were utterly insignificant.

In the tense atmosphere, Azure maintained her surrender posture with her hands raised, while keeping her eyes fixed on the seven Poké Balls in the sack.

Finally, as the girl hoped, a red light appeared in the sack.

What followed was a bony, gray-blue scythe-like claw!

The Garchomp bursting from its Poké Ball didn't even need to use any moves; it easily shattered the steel wires that were trapping it, and also knocked down the Team Aqua leader who was trying to pull out a Poké Ball to retaliate, stunning him.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the three henchmen at the other end of the room planned to threaten the two hostages, Naoki and Hugo, with daggers.

But before they could utter any threatening words, several emerald green "flying leaf daggers" had already struck their knuckles.

With a clatter, three daggers fell to the ground simultaneously. Roseradore placed her bouquet-shaped hand to her mouth, striking a cool pose as if blowing a gun, and even winked at Hugo.

The iron-clawed lobster on the hostage's side became ferocious. Seeing the sudden appearance of reinforcements, the iron-clawed lobster decided to simply kill the hostage and increased the force of its grip on the throat.

But somehow, the lobsters near the detective sluggishly moved.

Such moments often determine the course of a battle.

Milotic then released the ball without giving the hostage a chance to harm it. Its fan-shaped tail gathered azure dragon-type energy, and with a single swing, it knocked the Crawdron away from the hostage area, a high-level application of the "Dragon Tail" move.

"The Aqua Team still has hidden members..."

Having just escaped being held hostage, the detective wanted to shout to alert Golduck to the presence of reinforcements. However, before he could even speak, he heard the booming sound of drums all around him.

So that's how it is. The sea hare immediately used "Primal Power." This pink slug with a shell on its back summoned the projection of ancient rocks and carried out a massive, cataclysmic sweep of every corner of the captain's cabin.

After the raid was over, a stunned Golduck rolled out of an empty beer barrel in the corner of the room. It looked incredibly disheveled, and its eyes had turned into mosquito coils.

The balance of power shifted in an instant.

Fleet Aqua was wiped out.

.

"This murder case is not complicated, because the Aqua team, who are the murderers, are about to leave Unova and have no interest in hiding the whereabouts of the deceased or themselves. It is also easy to guess that the cause of death was to be silenced for witnessing the smuggling operation, after all, the crime scene was on a deserted beach by the sea. The real key question is the true identity of this group of smugglers, and the content of their operation that they would do to kill to cover up."

Outside the porthole, the battered Wailord was driven to the vicinity of the whaling ship by Ditto, while the Pokémon that had been launched by Old Man Doug returned to the whaling ship one by one.

As darkness fell, Hugo stood on the deck with his hands on his hips, smugly explaining how the incident had been resolved.

Not far away, old man Doug used heavy hemp rope to tightly bind the four captured Team Aqua members together; Azure, along with Garchomp and the others, dealt with the Pokémon under Team Aqua's command, many of which were Water-type Pokémon that had been forced to join Team Aqua, and Azure released them on the spot; old man Naoki, because his throat had been scraped earlier, claimed to have suffered a heavy mental blow and was now pretending to be sick and slacking off.

Therefore, Hugo, left all alone, had no choice but to explain his reasoning and solution to the little fire monkey and Piplup.

"The moment I saw the message from the turtle, I recalled the various anomalies in the news about President Zvoich's visit to Unova:"

"First of all, for business giants, it is obviously more efficient and convenient to come to United States by plane than by ship, but President Zvoich still chooses a luxury cruise ship as his means of transportation."

"Secondly, this president has been in the Unova region for a month, but his talks with the Alliance did not involve any business content at all, as if he had just come to Unova to say hello."

"Finally, and most importantly, this simple and fruitless visit actually made headlines in the United Press newspaper, which is unimaginable for the United Press media industry, which is driven by profit."

“Poga Poga,” the little penguin interjected, pointing with its tiny flipper at the darkening sky that was drawing near to dusk.

“That’s right.” Hugo patted Pogaman’s head.

"I immediately investigated the newspapers that first reported the president's trip abroad and found that these newspapers had a common large investor. When I discovered this, I realized that the news of the 'president's trip abroad' was likely a huge lie."

Hugo rubbed his nose: "The investigation proceeded smoothly from there—we contacted Tessun to find out the true location of President Zvoki; we deduced from his style and behavior that the smugglers belonged to the Hoenn region's Fleet Aqua. Then, I realized the true purpose of Fleet Aqua's trip to Unova."

"What is the purpose?" A clear, curious voice rang out. It turned out that Bilan had finished her work and come over to pay attention to the detective's reasoning.

"There were three people who came to Unova by boat disguised as the president, and one person who came to pick up his teammates in Wailord. We have now captured four people and a Wailord used as a means of transportation. Azure, can you find anything out from this?"

"Uh... one plus three equals four?"

The girl didn't understand what Hugo was talking about, so she made up an answer on the spot.

Not only Hugo, but even Piplup and Chimchar shook their heads repeatedly this time.

The detective in the white coat couldn't help but reveal the answer—

"The problem isn't the number of people! The real issue is the ship! That imposter President Zvoich came to Unova on a giant cruise ship! In the blink of an eye, that superyacht mysteriously disappeared!"

Chapter 103 Resolution – The Plasma Group's Deal

The sun had already set, and the whaling ship turned on its nighttime searchlights. Under the white light, the detective in the white coat cast a long, drawn-out shadow.

"Team Plasma controls a vast amount of wealth in the Unova region, yet they are secretly engaging in smuggling transactions with Team Aqua. What is their true purpose?"

Hugo strolled up to the four prisoners and deliberately raised his voice to ask them a question.

The navy sailors were on high alert, their mouths agape in tension. The leader, supposedly named Tsubasa, sneered disdainfully, "You'll never know. We absolutely won't reveal a single word..."

"Excuse me, that's a rhetorical question." The detective rolled his eyes, interrupting the prisoner's stubborn remark, and continued—

"What Group Plasma really wants is the advanced navigation technology of the Aqua Fleet. They want to get an advanced warship from you, an ocean-going cruiser with long-range navigation and powerful attack capabilities! To that end, you guys disguised yourselves as President Zvoich, disguised the cruiser as the president's private mega-yacht, and just like that, you sailed into the harbor of Flying Cloud City openly and without inspection!"

I don't know what you're talking about!

The Navy Navy officer roared, his face grim, but his gaze unconsciously drifted elsewhere. Clearly, his counter-interrogation skills were lacking; he'd already started to feel guilty after the detective had hit a nerve.

Hugo smiled and didn't bother to argue with Di. He wasn't the kind of third-rate detective who needed to observe a suspect's behavior to deduce the real culprit.

The first-rate detective Hugo said without any mercy—

"It's no use denying it. It can't cover up the fact that your cruise ship disappeared after arriving at Feiyun Port. Besides, your Wailord has also fallen into our hands. We have plenty of opportunities to investigate your criminal hideout. What evidence won't we find then? Furthermore, what exactly did Team Plasma use to exchange for that harmless 'cruise ship'? I believe we'll see the answer soon."

After hearing the detective's explanation, the cadre was seething with hatred. Just then, Azure delivered the finishing blow—

"Hugo, that Wailord seems to have been forcibly captured from the wild by the Aqua Fleet. After learning that the smuggling team had been wiped out, it stopped resisting. Is it willing to cooperate with us in inspecting that smuggling hideout? Should we check what's in the child's mouth?"

Hugo pondered for a moment, imagining the unexpected situation that might occur if he stood in the mouth of a giant Pokémon, and couldn't help but shudder.

Finally, the detective said, "Why don't you and Mr. Doug go in and take a look? I won't go. Garchomp and the others are here, so there won't be any problems."

Upon hearing its name called, Garchomp proudly raised its majestic dragon head adorned with two headbutts, signifying that it was absolutely capable of withstanding the test.

The assistant glanced deeply at the detective, whose hair had turned almost entirely golden, and the Garchomp that was so submissive to Hugo, but said nothing more and simply nodded silently.

.

Ten minutes later, the whale king opened its huge mouth and docked next to the Victini.

Old man Doug has spent his whole life catching whales, but he never imagined that today he would have to jump into the mouth of the whale king himself.

The old man was cursing and swearing, but his body language betrayed his intentions as he prepared to set sail. He was wearing an orange inflatable life jacket and had even put on waterproof boots beforehand, looking quite excited about this thrilling adventure.

Azure was dressed the same way. Under the watchful eyes of Hugo and Naoki, the two of them passed through the makeshift wooden planks and landed on Wailord's jaws.

The moment they jumped off the plank, the two stepped onto the tongue of this giant sea monster.

The feeling of stepping on the tongue of the whale king is very magical, as if you are in a soft swamp, and the surface of the swamp is slowly wriggling.

When the two explorers turned on their flashlights, the first thing they saw was a row of white pillars.

The pillars, hanging upside down in the air, were more than a person tall, forming a tight fence. Azure quickly realized that these were the upper teeth of the Whale King.

Beyond the teeth lay a vast, dark vaulted ceiling. The girl could see arches made of enormous bones. These arches gradually tilted backward, eventually leading to a huge, black opening that constantly shifted shape, like a drunken, black Ditto.

Azure swallowed hard; that hole was right in the throat of the Whale King.

"Look, that's the thugs' makeshift base!"

Old Doug strolled leisurely on Wailord's enormous tongue, radiant with joy, hopping and leaping about, pointing a finger to a reflection in the dark distance.

The usually brave and optimistic girl suddenly became hesitant and asked anxiously, "What if Wailord accidentally swallows us all?"

"What are you thinking?" The old captain laughed loudly. "Of course the Wailord can recognize us, just like you can distinguish the flesh from the tiny pit when you eat fruit. As long as the Wailord doesn't intend to swallow us, we won't be swallowed by it."

Azure couldn't manage a smile; she had a nagging feeling that such a nightmarish accident could actually happen. However, giving up halfway through would be too embarrassing, so the girl quickened her pace, hoping to finish this unsettling mission as soon as possible.

After walking another ten meters or so, the two arrived at the secret base of the water fleet.

Since Wailord had already surfaced, the base was not submerged and was in an open state.

The smuggling hideout was actually a transparent, oval-shaped container attached to the base of Wailord's tongue, about the size of a small truck.

To secure the hull, the Marines used barbed nails to firmly anchor their base to Wailord's mouth. They seemed oblivious to the fact that the surrounding walls were the mouth of a living creature, recklessly using their spikes to ravage their environment; the oral tissue around the nails had long since become ulcerated and festering.

As expected, Team Aqua is not only cold and ruthless towards their enemies, but also equally cruel and merciless towards their own Pokémon. No wonder Wailord betrayed the smuggling team without hesitation.

The old man clicked his tongue in displeasure and muttered angrily, "Those scumbags from the water fleet!"

Azure was equally angry, but she quickly calmed down and instead advised the old man: "Let's check the cargo inside the cabin first, and then help the child get rid of his pain after this is over."

Old Doug nodded, handed the flashlight to Azure, and reached for the control panel-style door of the transparent cabin. He gripped the doorknob, pulled hard with both arms, and with a creaking sound, the tempered glass door opened.

The cabin isn't large; a quick scan with a flashlight is enough to search almost the entire area.

In addition to the large and small instruments that occupied half the space, there were also six seats for people to sit in the base.

At this point, it was clear that someone had sat in all four seats, with clothes and some daily necessities scattered on them.

One of the boxes on one of the seats contained costume props such as fake beards, and also the expensive suit that "President Zvoich" had once worn, though it was splattered with blood, probably Mr. Samuel's blood...

The remaining two seats were piled with some inexplicable goods.

What is this?

Faced with this huge pile of purple goods, Doug was as bewildered as Exeggutor from Alola: "It looks like it's made of iron, and it resembles a thick surfboard? Did that Team Aqua come all the way to Unova just for these things?"

Azure was equally puzzled. She felt that these mechanical-looking goods resembled some kind of weapon, and perhaps pressing a button would pop out an energy cannon.

"Let's take it back and show it to that detective or whatever."

The old captain offered some very constructive suggestions, and Azure immediately nodded in agreement.

The two tried to lift a purple metal plate together, only to find that it was surprisingly heavy.

"There are four surfboards in total. Throwing Ghost and Striking Ghost, you two can each carry two."

The old captain released the spirits in his hands, instructing them to carry the cargo onto the whaling ship for the detective to examine, and then looked at the girl beside him with eager anticipation.

His eyes kept glancing at the festering wound on the side of the cabin.

Bilan sighed, rummaged through the wound medicine and other medicines hidden in the waterproof bag, wondering if this amount would be enough.

Chapter 104 The End of the Smuggling Case

"And so, Azure and I captured the evil organization executives who murdered Mr. Samuel, freed the wild Wailord that they had persecuted, and returned to Flying Cloud City from the sea, ending this passionate and adventurous voyage."

In the reception room of the Yuxi Residence, Detective Hugo, whose hair had returned to black, sat facing his client, Rena.

The detective placed the box containing the Mega Evolution Stone of the Nearly Doll on the table and handed it to the Berry Breeder along with the investigation report.

"No, the ending of the case is completely vague."

Rena refused to accept the box and report, protesting in dissatisfaction.

"What exactly did you do with those Team Aqua members in the end? Has Wailord's injury healed? How many days' journey is it to return to Flying Cloud City from the ocean? How did you spend it? And most importantly, what exactly were those things Team Plasma used to exchange for the cruisers? Don't just gloss over them!"

Hugo scratched his newly dyed black hair in annoyance: "Why is everyone like Azure, always digging into things? Don't you think it's boring to recount these trivial matters one by one like a diary?"

Upon hearing her name called, Azure, who was outside the reception room, came over while munching on an apple to replenish her vitamins.

"Just give a brief explanation, it's not exactly a secret. Hugo, aren't you always so good at explaining things? Why did you suddenly go silent at this crucial moment?"

"Only interesting things are worth explaining. I am, after all, a detective, and I have no interest in the petty squabbles of the world."

The detective crossed his arms and turned his face away, his resistance resolute. The assistant had no choice but to sit down next to Hugo and continue providing the client with details about what happened after the case was closed—

"To prevent things from getting complicated over time, we contacted Interpol while at sea. I had interacted with them before when I was in Kanto, so the communication went very smoothly. The day after we returned, Interpol's helicopter arrived and took away four Team Aqua members, led by Drew, along with their Pokémon that were determined to resist. These people were already notorious in the Hoenn region, and this time they were supposed to be imprisoned in a large prison in Johto. As for the Pokémon that were forced to join Team Aqua, we found a suitable place for them to live at sea and released them."

"Oh, I see. Now that the Pokémon have been released, the Wailord's injuries should have been healed by now, right?" Rena asked with concern.

"Yes, but the process was rather complicated." Azure's expression was somewhat embarrassed.

"The medicine on the ship was completely insufficient to heal the wound in Wailord's mouth. In the end, it was Milotic, whom Hugo had borrowed to help, who used the 'Life Drop' move to completely heal the wound left by the spikes."

Azure glanced at the detective beside her. It was Hugo who had instructed Milotic to secretly follow Azure and Doug to prevent them from being swallowed whole by Wailord. He hadn't expected it to come in handy in this situation.