Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 435 Effort Will Never Betray

Chapter 437 Effort Will Never Betray

"Speaking of the sages in Team Plasma, their past identities were either university professors or highly respected scholars in research institutes. Therefore, these people can almost be said to be the embodiment of dogmatism. When facing Hatchling, who is good at Ice-type Pokémon, such people will naturally choose to follow the most basic textbook common sense - to use Pokémon with type advantage to deal with it."

Looking at the battlefield in the distance, where sand and fire were spreading, the captain of the naval fleet, who was lying in ambush beside a reed bed in the snowflake wetlands, spoke to his subordinates.

Unlike the sniping attack on Azure, this ambush did not require any concealment. Therefore, these dozens of Fleet Aqua members simply wore a perfunctory layer of grass-colored camouflage cloth and sat openly around their leader, Archie.

Like pirates waiting to board a ship, the members of this evil organization suppressed their burgeoning fighting spirit while listening to their leader analyze the purpose and direction of the ambush: "Don't be fooled by Yoggs's lone-wolf stance. That cult has plenty of reinforcements lying in ambush nearby, strong enough to handle a desperate counterattack from several gym leaders. So, no matter how much commotion they cause over there, we don't need to worry."

Archie plucked a wisp of reed that had drifted onto his shoulder and flicked it into the water. "Our mission is to hold off Team Plasma. To rescue Hatchling, who has fallen into Team Plasma's trap, the Unova League will inevitably send more reinforcements—perhaps other Unova gym leaders, perhaps even members of the League Police—who they are doesn't matter. Our only task is to intercept them here. If the League bypasses us to attack Team Plasma, we'll wait until they launch their offensive before launching a sneak attack from behind. As for how to fight, I doubt I need to specifically teach you."

The thugs, hidden beneath camouflage, revealed cruel smiles, and at the same time, two small black dots appeared on the horizon behind them.

"Was the league's reaction that quick?"

Watching the black dot gradually approaching them, the leader of Team Aqua frowned. With Kanto trainer Azure incapacitated, the League and that scout shouldn't be able to gather more manpower for the time being.

According to the information he received as a "gift" from the "information shop," at this very moment, the Elite Four members in the Unova region are under the close surveillance of Team Plasma and are gathered near Flying Cloud City for unknown reasons.

According to the cult's strategy, the Plasma Team churches located in major cities have completed their initial "propaganda" work and are ready to cooperate with the Plasma Team's actions at any time to cause various disturbances in the local areas to hold back the gym leaders. Of course, with the strength of those rabble, it is impossible to hold them back for too long. Perhaps the League police alone can suppress them, but that would be enough to disrupt the League's overall plan.

If the person who came was really sent by that detective, it could only be an outsider like Azure and himself who came to Unova temporarily, or it could be a backup plan that was set up in this area from the beginning. Archie tends to think it is the latter, but given the intelligence of the other party, would they really reveal their last trump card at the very beginning of the battle?

The answer was soon revealed.

The black dots that appeared in the sky transformed into clear shapes, revealing them to be two Pokémon that had mastered the move "Fly"—Swan and Flygon.

The people riding on the backs of these two elves were a young girl with long ochre hair and a middle-aged man wearing a huge wide-brimmed hat.

It was none other than the Gym Leaders of Fuyuki City and Homba City—Kazeru and Kiku-sama!

They abandoned their original ambush location!

On the other side of the battlefield, Hatchiku reacted as the trap was set.

"Geometric Snowflake!" he shouted. Without further instructions, the crystal Pokémon, whose body was made of ice crystals, turned around decisively and rushed towards Volcarona.

The Ice-type Gym Leader charged forward, and the Aerodactyl blocking its path spread its purple wings, unleashing a barrage of "Rock Slide" attacks.

"Is he trying to use himself as bait to make the Super Armored Rhinoceros and the others' attacks interfere with each other?"

Seeing Hachiku recklessly charge into the center of the encirclement, Yogs became wary.

"Vulcan Moth, 'Big Flame Burst'! Let's take down that geometric snowflake first!"

Watching Hachiku skillfully dodge the falling rocks and leap across them like a celestial being, closing in on Aerodactyl, the Sage in Blue decided to continue the encirclement tactic: "Rodkure, Rhyperior, use 'Rock Block' to restrict that person's movement! Aerodactyl, intensify the 'Rock Slide' attack, don't give him a chance to unleash his Pokémon to counterattack!"

Towering rock walls suddenly rose up on both sides of Hachiku. The smooth surface offered no footholds to climb over, and between the two rock walls, a deluge of rocks poured down.

Behind the Ice-type Gym Leader, Volcarona's "Pyroblast" instantly engulfed the geometric snowflakes, and the fragile ice crystals vanished without a trace amidst the explosive sound.

The rumbling "rockfall" created a tidal wave that buried the original location of Hachiku.

As the dust settled, there was no trace of the Ice-type Gym Leader left in the arena.

"So, it's over just like that?"

As he stroked his beard, trying to guess his opponent's tactics, Yoger was momentarily dumbfounded. At the same time, the land cloud that had been floating beside him let out a cold snort and turned its gaze to the back of the super armored rhinoceros on its right.

In the shadows of all Pokémon's blind spots, water vapor scattered in the air is quietly condensing, transforming into a smaller geometric snowflake. And in the gap of this Pokémon's mouth-like opening, a wisp of green light has already condensed with the sunlight provided by the setting sun and Volcarona.

"Oh no! Super Armored Rhinoceros, 'Dig'!"

Joggs hastily issued the order—but it was too late.

The Grass-type Solar Beam, which is four times stronger than Rhyperior, suddenly burst out from the gap in the orange-red armor shell of this Drill Pokémon, blasting it into the "rock wall" it had created. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by Rhyperior, two figures emerged from the rubble.

A red light flashed in one of the men's hands, and a snow-white tundra bear appeared beside him—it was Hachiku, covered in sand.

Thanks to the height created by "Rock Blockade" and "Rock Collapse", the distance between him and the aerial fossil pterosaur has been greatly reduced.

A massive ice pillar solidified between the giant claws of the Tundra Bear. This Ice-type Gym Leader's ace leaped into the air, unleashing a devastating "Ice Pillar Slam" aimed at the Aerodactyl, which was weak to Ice-type attacks!

While rocks are twice as effective against ice-type moves, they do not have any resistance to ice-type moves!

At the same time, the Rock Palace Crab, located on the left side of the battlefield, also met its opponent, the figure that leaped out of the rocks along with Hachiku.

That slender and agile figure carried an aura that instilled a subconscious fear in the Rock Palace Crab. In its haste, it tried to retreat into its shell to avoid the attack, but it ended up playing right into its opponent's hands!

The blue fist grew larger and larger in the field of vision, and in the next moment it landed on the square rock on the Pokémon's back.

"Broken Rock"!

Logically speaking, this is not an excessively powerful rare move, but the same skill will show completely different power in the hands of different users.

The Pokémon that threw that punch was Hatchling's partner before he became the Ice-type Gym Leader, and the starter Pokémon that man had been following closely by his side ever since he aspired to become a martial arts actor.

It once honed its martial arts skills alongside Hatchling, silently supporting the latter's growth as a sparring partner, and even sometimes appeared in movies with its trainer. Although it has had few opportunities to battle recently due to its owner starting to run an Ice-type gym, this Pokémon has never neglected to hone its martial arts abilities.

The wiry, blue-skinned Pokémon, Strike, withdrew its charging stance. Without a trace of anger, it withdrew its fist from the Crab's shell and turned away without looking back.

The next second, a clatter.

Just like the name of the move, the sound of rocks cracking came from behind.