Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 425 Waiting is the longest detonation

Chapter 427 Waiting is the longest detonation

As the handsome man stormed into the destroyer, the airtight iron door serving as the isolation chamber slowly slammed shut amidst a piercing alarm. The Plasma Squad's garrison had clearly activated a remote control program; the heavy metal door slammed down as mercilessly as a knife.

But this was no longer enough to stop the advancing criminal police.

"Bad Frog, now's the time!"

A short, dark blue figure flashed out and unleashed a "vacuum wave" at the iron gate, accurately hitting the hydraulic device above the door frame. The invisible force shattered the fragile transmission structure, and the falling iron gate was immediately stuck in mid-air, emitting a metallic groan of unbearable pressure.

Without the slightest hesitation, the handsome guy and the scoundrel simultaneously rolled to their sides and slid into the cabin at the last second.

With a loud "crack" from behind, the destroyed mechanical structure finally collapsed completely, and the heavy iron gate crashed down, completely blocking Brad and the others who had just regained their sight from entering.

"The water pipes for the seawater desalination system seem to be connected to the right?"

Upon entering the cabin, the dim emergency lights flickered like a rapid heartbeat, but the handsome young man didn't rush into a blind search. Instead, he took a deep breath, adopting the habit of a detective, and calmly observed—

"Ship propulsion systems are typically cooled directly by seawater, so such a structure wouldn't be present. Therefore, this area connected by desalinated seawater is most likely the ship's living quarters, while the core area should be on the port side!"

He lightly touched the surface of the pipe with his fingertips, feeling the subtle vibrations transmitted by the water flow, and then confirmed the direction of the water pipe's delivery. He then led the scoundrel to the left.

"That detective headed towards the control room. Damn it, reopen the hatch! Navy, how many men are you still on that ship?"

As the battlefield gradually shifted with the movement of the transport convoy, Vio and the Water Fleet's executive Izumi gathered together. The Sage, having just received a report from his subordinates, looked at the "Killer Feather Stream" beside him with a grim expression.

"Don't worry." Izumi, holding the three knocked-down Mightyena Pokémon Poké Balls he had just retrieved, smiled calmly at his words. "There are still at least half the crew on board. Besides, I'm not going to let my ship be taken away like this."

That was the Plasma Group's ship. Vio didn't directly point out the Water Fleet officer's grammatical error, but instead raised an eyebrow and asked, "You still have a backup plan on that?"

"Of course." Izumi poked his forehead with his finger. "Don't worry, I left a 'surprise' in the control room—with that guy there, the detectives sneaking into the cabin won't be able to cause any trouble."

A harsh metallic scraping sound came from afar. The destroyer's isolation hatch was forcibly raised, and a large number of plasma squad members swarmed in.

Meanwhile, the loading of the giant ice crystals has entered its final stage. The ice crystals collide with the steel and then slide into the cargo hold at an angle as the destroyer sails, producing a louder and more ear-piercing friction noise that sends chills down one's spine.

Izumi's gaze returned to the battlefield before her, a cruel smile curving her lips: "Compared to the situation on the destroyer, I think we should deal with this elf here that can generate electricity."

Before her and Vio, the Goldfish King had completely lost its fighting ability under the concentrated attack and fell miserably into the shattered ice.

Although the "Trick Room" that gave Snorlax speed up has been deactivated, the other legendary Pokémon has returned to its peak condition, with vibrant electric sparks dancing in its golden mane.

"It would be ideal if we could take it down." Vio's eyes searched the distance, trying to pinpoint Lila's hiding place. "But the sealed spirit must be sent out before more detectives arrive. That's Team Plasma's bottom line!"

"They're really stubborn." Izumi, while directing the Megalodon to use "Rock Blockade" and coordinating with Vio's Geometric Snowflake's "Light Wall" to block Raikou's electric shock, turned her head and asked, "Since you're in such a hurry—why not block the cave passage and keep those annoying gophers out?"

"This is pointless." The sage shook his head and commanded Magura to step forward and use a Dark-type Pokémon to block Alakazam's "Foresight".

"The fact that two detectives were able to strike our vital points so accurately shows that they have been lying in wait here for quite some time. The cult's other escape routes have likely been exposed. With so many exits, even if we block every cave one by one, it won't buy us much time. At this point, only that destroyer is the only way out."

Compared to the police besieging the Giant's Cave, the current Plasma Group is more like Radamanthys and Diglett hiding in the tunnels.

"Heh, looks like I really do have a heavy responsibility." Izumi chuckled nonchalantly, then suddenly pressed his hand to his head, his eyes narrowing—"That guy's in the command room."

The handsome man did encounter several Team Plasma minions along the way; his opponents had clearly noticed their intrusion, but the detectives swiftly defeated them all without exception. Everywhere he went, there were stunned Pokémon and Team Plasma members bound by his hands and ropes.

"It seems that this destroyer is actually safer than the fierce fighting outside."

Looking back at the traces he had left behind, the handsome man gave a self-deprecating smile. Although he did not let his guard down, he still secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Following the diagram found on the Plasma Group members, the detective moved forward along the cold metal wall, his eyes fixed on the narrow hatch at the end of the passage—that was the destroyer's command center, and also the handsome guy's ultimate goal.

If the ship's control system can be temporarily disabled, the plasma cluster's evacuation plan will be completely ruined.

"Bad Frog, how's the situation up ahead?"

As he approached the hatch, he lowered his voice and asked his partner, who was lurking in the shadows ahead.

The deep blue frog-like Pokémon nimbly made its famous hand gesture, sharing what it had detected behind the door using echolocation: first, it extended three toes, then clenched its fist, and finally made a clean throat-slitting motion—[Three guards, on alert, can be dealt with quickly].

"Very well, then let's send them to bed!"

With a "bang," the Bad Frog's "vacuum wave" shook open the door lock.

Having confirmed the intelligence, the handsome man didn't hesitate and decisively threw the last smoke grenade he was carrying into the doorway.

With a hissing sound as the canister released gas, hurried footsteps and coughs immediately came from inside the hatch. He exchanged a knowing glance with the Unruly Frog, then crouched low and charged into the billowing smoke like a leopard hunting its prey.

""bluff"!"

A quick glance revealed that the Pokémon under the Plasma Swarm were Babysitter, Lantern Ghost, and Iceberg Lettuce.

The strongest of them all appears to be the final evolved form, the Babysitter, but considering the weaknesses of the Bratty Toad, the handsome guy still chose to harass the Lily of the Valley first—"Ribbit!"

The hoarse croaking of the wicked frog exploded in the sealed chamber, the sound sending a ghostly face flying through the smoke. The Light Ghost, exceptionally sensitive to spirits, was thrown into chaos. In the confusion, the "Shadow Ball," which was meant to be aimed at the intruder, struck itself instead.

At the same time, a "sticky net" was woven out by the babysitter bug and pounced on the bad frog from above; on the other side, Dodo Ice opened its blue mouth in the shaved ice and used a "freezing wind" to blow away the fog of the smoke bomb.

"Splitting the tiles to break the net! Then poisoning the babysitter bug!"

Noticing their senior's command, the Plasma Team members on the other side hastily tried to give orders to their Pokémon to respond, but were drowned out by a sharp alarm whistle.

This is a prop that the handsome guy made out of self-deprecation after he got the title of "Whistle". Apart from its amazing volume, it has no other advantages, but at this moment it created a deafening sonic boom in the closed cabin!

With the trainer's help, the Frog's claws glowed white, and the instant it tore through the bug web, it turned into a purple light and went straight for the Babysitter. The power of this attack far exceeded the level that an unevolved Pokémon should have. The Babysitter, which was weak to Poison, was not good at defense. After being hit, it turned blue and fell unconscious.

On the other side, the Spectral Spirit struggled to escape the chaos. It barely heard the trainer's command under the siren and shot out a "Flame Vortex" from the flame inside the lampshade.

However, the ghostly figure of the wicked frog had already appeared beside it.

"Surprise attack!"

The Dark-type move's black light not only severed the flames' trajectory but also caused "Flame Vortex" to swirl back towards the Ice Crystal behind it. Under the scorching heat, the ice crystal body emitted a piercing cracking sound amidst the flames.

Seeing the situation was dire, the three members of Team Plasma prepared to summon other Pokémon to deal with the intruders. But the detective, however, wore a satisfied expression, as if his plan had succeeded—the path ahead had been cleared.

His gaze fell upon the central control system that controls the destroyer's operational systems!

Ultimately, the handsome guy didn't board the ship to defeat these people!

"Bad frog, throw mud!"

As he gave the order, he simultaneously threw a Poké Ball-like sphere, which, along with the sludge created by the Croagunk, was firmly fixed to the control hub on the wall behind him.

Installation successful, countdown begins!

Several Team Plasma members looked at the handsome guy making strange movements with puzzlement. Although he had thrown something behind him, it didn't seem to cause any trouble. Instead, they breathed a sigh of relief and smoothly switched out their new Pokémon: Eel, Float, and Smash.

Compared to the previous starting lineup, this batch of substitutes is obviously much easier to deal with.

The detective secretly calculated the time.

Retreating now would surely arouse suspicion from the other side, so he could only continue to command the bad frog to deal with the opponent while subtly moving towards the hatch.

The thirty-second countdown flew by in the battle, and the human and the frog had quietly retreated to a safe distance.

"Four, three, two — one!"

Taking advantage of a round of exchanges, the pair simultaneously leaped backward, curled up to protect their vitals, and lay down to avoid the shockwave from the explosion.

However, nothing happened.

The bomb, which the handsome guy has used multiple times, hasn't exploded. Did it misfire? Or did it fail to ignite the fuse?

"What happened?"

The handsome man looked up and saw that the bomb above the control system was still intact and stuck in its original place, with a blurry figure standing next to it.

A jewel-like red dot shimmered on the figure's forehead. As the figure emerged from the darkness, its distinctive duck-like beak and its long, blue body with a tail became increasingly visible.

As it passed the control hub, the Pokémon gently pressed its webbed claws against the surface of the bomb. During Fog Time, clear water gushed from its palm, instantly washing away the mud and explosive devices from the Feraligatr.

The unexploded bomb rolled to the ground with a crisp sound.

The detective's heart sank. "It's a Golduck with the 'moisture' characteristic!"