Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 418 The Hidden Sentinel Blowing Towards the Ice Field

Chapter 420 The Hidden Sentinel Blowing Towards the Ice Field

Enveloped in Alakazam's superpowers, the handsome man's figure gradually returned to reality from the blur, successfully escaping the underground cave.

He had thought that the spatial ripples created by "teleportation" would alert Team Plasma, but the Steel-type Pokémon's continuously booming beam perfectly masked all the noise, and no one noticed the tiny psychic fluctuations he made when he left.

As for Vio and Akromma, they were completely absorbed in the topic of the "consciousness overwriting device" and had no idea that someone had already set their sights on the Giant's Cave, which was preparing to hand over the work.

Upon returning to the ground, Alakazam successfully completed its scan of the escape routes. Just as the legendary, experienced Digzagoon would create at least three entrances and exits for its lair, Team Plasma had also set up five branches for their secret passageway.

These tunnels were not all carved by hand—they cleverly utilized and modified existing geological fissures in the Giant's Cave. The widest main passage is wide enough for a small car to pass through, while the most secluded one requires crawling along the ground like a gopher.

That's why finding and sealing off all the exits took longer than the handsome guy had anticipated.

At this moment, the trench coat-clad detective stood at the edge of the widest escape tunnel, his fingers unconsciously tapping the rock wall. The team members below all focused on him, awaiting his instructions, but the handsome man was lost in thought.

"So much time has passed, given the efficiency with which that Acromorium uses lasers, it should be able to dig out that giant Pokémon from the tundra by now."

He whispered in a voice only he could hear, "Given Team Plasma's current manpower, the other side definitely lacks the means to directly confront that mysterious Pokémon. They probably don't have time to break the seal and catch the Pokémon on the spot. So, are they planning to move that Pokémon from under the tundra somewhere?"

However, the tunnel in front of them was the widest of all the entrances and exits—neither the five branch paths connected by the secret escape route nor the main passage that the handsome guy and Lila had previously infiltrated could allow that huge block of ice, several meters square, to pass through smoothly.

What exactly does Group Plasma plan to do with that sealed spirit?

"Vice-Captain, shall we begin the operation?"

The team member from the Hoenn region stepped forward in a low voice to ask for instructions. His partner beside him bared his teeth, and the wings of the Giant Swellow trembled slightly in the darkness, ready to strike at any moment.

The handsome man's gaze darted back and forth between the watch and the depths of the cave.

"Wait a little longer."

After much deliberation, he finally shook his head, took out the old-fashioned slider phone he had bought in Hezhong, and skillfully entered a certain number of phone numbers.

The nickname "Whistle" actually comes from the handsome guy's undercover experience when he was an investigative detective in the Sinnoh region.

Back then, he was like a whistle drifting in the night, shuttling between the Pokémon black market and underground intelligence exchanges, monitoring the criminal activities of various illegal organizations, making criminals feel like they had a thorn in their side.

However, what truly made this nickname widely known was an experience the handsome man had while solving a special case—in which a group of thieves dressed up in comical mascot costumes, posing as wild Slaking, carried out a series of robberies. Because they were confused with the real Slaking captured by Pokémon hunters through illegal smuggling, they caused huge chaos in Ogre City. At the most crucial moment, the handsome man, disguised as a black market merchant negotiating with the robbers, sounded the siren, summoning the Ogre City Gym Leader, Hyota, and his men, who had been lying in wait nearby.

It was during that investigation into those smugglers that he met Detective Hugo.

This detective not only possesses keen insight, always able to astutely detect the most secretive schemes of criminal organizations, but also boasts an astonishing network of connections. Back in Sinnoh, he could effortlessly summon numerous exceptionally skilled trainers to his aid, many of whom now hold important positions in the Sinnoh League.

Three years later, he decided to seek the detective's professional assistance and connections once again.

"Pokémon beneath the tundra?"

Because he had been following up on the situation at the Giant's Cave beforehand, the handsome man didn't need to spend too much time describing the current situation when talking to Hugo.

"Team Plasma's current goal is probably not to capture that Pokémon immediately, but to secretly move this frozen Pokémon to another location."

The detective pondered for a moment on the other end of the phone, arriving at the same conclusion as the criminal investigator: "However, the Giant's Cave is already located in a remote area; what's the point of specifically moving it?"

"Perhaps for research purposes?" the handsome man asked tentatively, recalling Akromma's iconic white scholar's robe.

"Unlikely," Hugo immediately denied.

"Leaving aside Akromar who just arrived, the Plasma Squad leader you described should be Vio, the mathematician from the original Seven Sages—he's not the kind of person who would be interested in applied technology. When Quixote sent him here before, he was probably just sending someone to keep things in order, to let this scholar who made a mistake get a second chance in the mission, without intending for him to participate in combat or research."

"The key question is, what giant Pokémon lies beneath the tundra—"

The detective's voice suddenly became focused—

"Why was it frozen under the ice? Was it due to geological changes during the seal, or did the long-term leakage of energy cause ice to spontaneously condense around it? Hmm—judging from the legends circulating in Kagome Town nearby, the latter seems more likely. But would a Pokémon really freeze itself because of the cold air it creates? If the reason for the seal comes from the Pokémon's own Ice-type energy, why is there frozen ground around the Pokémon instead of just ice? Did it deliberately bury itself before being sealed?"

Hugo kept raising questions and then refuting and correcting them one by one, as if he were helping himself to organize his thoughts.

"Could it be related to the local meteorite legend in Kagome Town?" the handsome guy, who had done his homework beforehand, asked. "A meteorite from outer space plunged into the soil, and sealed inside was that Ice-type Pokémon. The cold air it emitted from within the seal accumulated over time, causing the surrounding soil to turn into permafrost?"

"This explanation has flaws."

The person on the other end of the phone objected without hesitation, and the handsome man could almost see the detective's frowning and head-shaking face.

"Although this is my sister's research area, as far as I know, there are legends about giant monsters that have been passed down in Kagome Town since ancient times."

"An ice-type spirit that has been sealed away since falling to the ground could never have left such a legend among the people without possessing a special ability to communicate through dreams." Hugo's voice carried obvious skepticism. "You've observed that underground spirit up close; can you confirm that it possesses psychic abilities?"

The detective recalled that the gray shadow under the ice had a terrifying aura, but it had nothing to do with superpowers.

"I don't think so," the handsome man answered honestly. "At the time, Miss Lila's Alakazam didn't react much to that Pokémon either."

"This makes the existence of the permafrost even more suspicious." Hugo's speech quickened. "Loose soil shouldn't exist at that depth. The most reasonable explanation is that the Pokémon once awakened. Both the huge cavities and that soil are traces left by this Pokémon's activity, and the interconnected Giant's Cave is very likely the passage it left behind!"

"How does understanding this help our current actions?"

"There's a contradiction here," Hugo said, quoting his classic line from Sinnoh. "If that giant Pokémon chose to hibernate, it shouldn't have allowed the tundra to completely seal it away. And if an outsider defeated it, forcing it into the seal, that outsider wouldn't have used such a slow and gentle method as freezing the tundra to suppress a Pokémon that was originally Ice-type—it's more like this tundra was a safety measure set up after the Pokémon was already sealed, to make its slumber even more complete—wait a minute!"

Hugo's explanations and reasoning began to quicken for some reason, which sent a chill down the handsome man's spine.

"I understand!" the detective's voice suddenly boomed through the receiver.

"That frozen ground wasn't originally in the Giant's Cave! It was created by Team Plasma! They poured soil and water around the seal where the Ice-type Pokémon was sleeping, using its own heat to completely freeze it. This was the 'ice coffin' Team Plasma made for that creature! This also explains another question—the transportation of that giant block of ice!"

"Besides the passages we've blocked, is there another way Team Plasma can get the ice blocks containing the Pokémon out?"

The handsome guy asked anxiously.

"Yes! There must be underground passages we haven't discovered! Right beneath that frozen ground! That's why they were able to carry out such large-scale excavations with such fearlessness!"

Hugo raised his voice on the phone, recalling the staged kidnapping on the Road to the Champion; these intricately designed caves often connected to—

"An underground river! That passage likely leads to a nearby underground water system!"

The detective's voice carried a hint of understanding.

"Damn it, no wonder we can't find that huge ship they stole anywhere in the Union!"

At the same time, the Alakazam next to the handsome man suddenly trembled, its eyes lit up, and it raised its hand to press its yellow forehead—it was Miss Lyra on the ground sending a message through her Espeon!

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