Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 477 A Mountain Collapses Before Us

Chapter 479 A Mountain Collapses Before Us

"Ya-wu"

A short scream shattered the silence inside the castle.

After the blue light receded from the retina like a receding tide, a humanoid object wearing glasses and a purple dress appeared in mid-air three meters in front of the two people.

The other person exclaimed in surprise, clearly unprepared for their situation.

Fortunately, during her fall, a Chandelure appeared almost simultaneously below her and caught her with its crown made of spirit flames—the flames hissed slightly when they touched the fabric but did not ignite, clearly showing a deep bond with the trainer.

"King Wanlong?"

Lila and the handsome man could obviously tell who the person in front of them was, and they quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Wanlong used the support to steady himself and adjusted his slipped glasses.

After a brief moment of confusion, his gaze behind the glasses quickly cleared, sweeping over the two people in front of him—they were dressed in dark civilian clothes that allowed for easy movement, without any organizational insignia, but their capable demeanor and wary posture were enough to identify them.

"Captain Lila—and the handsome agent from Sinnoh?" Her voice still carried a hint of dizziness from the spatial displacement, but she already recognized the faces of the two people in front of her. "What are you doing here? And where is this?"

"We came in from the original underground sewers of the League headquarters about an hour ago, and were moved here by the building reconstruction mechanism. We're trying to locate the castle's core control room," the handsome man said. "But along the way, we've encountered nothing but pre-set mechanical traps and uncontrolled swarms of Pokémon. We haven't seen any Team Plasma members directly intervene. We suspect—"

'

He was about to share his conjecture about the "barbican" theory when he was interrupted by the Heavenly King in front of him.

"I see, that explains it—this area itself must be a giant trigger mechanism."

Wanlong raised her hand to interrupt the Interpol report, as if she had already sorted out the situation, and said quickly, "The castle manipulator's preset target is us, the Heavenly King-level combatants. Therefore, he plans to activate some kind of one-time clearing mechanism after we are all converted into the wall traps—like a climax reversal that has been built up over a long period of time in a novel. And you—" She looked at the two of them, "are variables outside the manipulator's plan, so only the minimum automatic defense program was triggered."

"As expected of the United Heavenly King, your arrival also means that our real challenge is about to begin."

""

Lila nodded, quickly relaying the information she had gathered along the way to Elite Four: "The enemy Pokémon we've encountered so far are mainly Gear and Smurfs, but the real challenge lies in the constantly shifting terrain and various traps. This handsome detective has already drawn up part of the map and made physical markings—"

"But its reliability is limited," the handsome man said, opening his notebook and showing the map inside.

"They're already quite reliable." Wanlong took the notebook and flipped through it. "Compared to Yueju and the others, I'm already very lucky to have met you guys so quickly."

"Speaking of which, how are the other three Heavenly Kings doing?"

While Wanlong was signaling the Crystal Lamp Spirit to use "ghost fire" to replicate the map outline in the air, the handsome man pressed for details about the battle outside.

"Lian Wu and Yueju were probably moved by the wall trap like me, their locations are unknown. Gadria was most likely left outside."

Wanlong quickly pulled out her communicator and operated it; the screen indeed showed that the signal was completely blocked. She shrugged and put the device away. "But there's no need to worry about Gadria—if a superpowered person wants to retreat alone, they can do it anytime."

"So, Your Majesty, will you be joining us from now on?" Lila asked.

"Of course," Wanlong replied without hesitation. "Separation doesn't mean a change in our objective. Our core mission remains the same: to raid the central command, paralyze command, and restore control of headquarters. As long as we are aligned, we will eventually reunite."

"Let me offer a word of caution," the handsome man interjected, his expression grave. "My rascal frog has been listening for the underground tremors—the sound of walls shifting in all directions has never ceased. If I were Zero, I would never allow the three of you to meet so easily in the labyrinth. He is dynamically adjusting the labyrinth's structure to ensure you remain isolated from each other at all times."

"You mean, this entire area is a constantly changing living cage?" Wanlong frowned.

"I'm afraid so," Lila added. "We've tested the castle walls—part of the exterior is made of ordinary building materials, but the interior is inlaid with some kind of high-density alloy, which we couldn't penetrate even with all our Pokémon and every possible method. Trying to break through the walls by brute force won't work."

During the conversation, another batch of gears and tiny fish emerged from the vents and wall gaps.

But this time the clearing was exceptionally swift, without any need for dodging. The attacking enemies were successfully repelled by Raikou's "electric discharge" and the Crystal Lamp Spirit's "flame jet".

"Where did these Pokémon come from? Are they wild Pokémon?" Wanlong asked, looking at the retreating remnants of the army.

"The little fish and the eel entered through the vents, while the gears came from the mechanical compartments exposed after the wall rotated." The handsome man gestured for the rascal to leave a new corrosion mark in the corner of the wall, and replied, "I tested it with a spare Poké Ball, and they've all been marked with their master mark in the Poké Ball registration system."

"Interesting—" Wanlong said, resting her chin on her hand. "Have you ever tried marking the Pokémon that you've defeated, like the little fish, and then, when they attack in large numbers again, calculating the proportion of marked Pokémon in the group to estimate the total number of Pokémon?"

"Mark-and-recapture method?"

Lila became interested—

"Great idea! That's an angle we hadn't considered. Defeated Pokémon do crawl back into their original tunnels to hide. We've been trying to beat them until they're too weak to fight anymore. When the next wave of Pokémon comes, we can try leaving them with more stamina and see how many of them make up the percentage after they return."

"Yes, it's a breakthrough point in our reconnaissance." The handsome man nodded. "This way, we can also estimate the total energy base supporting the operation of this castle and see just how big a conspiracy Jero is hiding."

However, the three people's good wishes could not be fulfilled.

Because at the next corner of the intersection, what appeared before them was a four-legged Pokémon with huge horns on its head.

At the end of the passage, the four-legged Pokémon stood like a sculpture.

The monotonous stripes of light shone on its brown and gray body, stretching its massive shadow to appear exceptionally imposing.

dense.

"Terrakion — I've seen this Pokémon in the Pokédex."

Seeing that the elf that appeared in the distance did not immediately launch an attack, Lila cautiously commanded Raikou to keep their distance.

Judging from how the Pokémon kept adjusting its orientation as Raikou moved, it seemed that the Pokémon did not intend to let the three of them pass through the corridor.

"Isn't Terrakion supposed to be the Pokémon representing justice and virtue in the Unova region? How come it's hanging out with Team Plasma?" Interpol frowned.

"No—something seems off." Wanlong narrowed his eyes, his glasses reflecting a cold light. "A metallic body, and those horns that glow orange—hiss, I feel like I've seen this image somewhere before."

"All the other grunts have vanished." The handsome guy and the delinquent frog were now in battle stance. "It seems this one is the real 'city defense division' sent to entertain' us."

Upon closer inspection, the torso of the opposing elf is not flesh and blood, but rather has a smooth, streamlined texture. Thick iron blocks are stacked on top of each other, forming cold, hard armor seams similar to rock fractures.

Most striking are the two giant, forward-curving horns on its head—they aren't even horns, but rather two axe-like blades joined together, their edges flowing with a lava-like orange-red aura, pulsating with light and shadow as it crouches, causing subtle distortions in the surrounding air.

The elf stood silently, its four legs firmly planted on the ground, as if it had always been part of this steel castle, just peeled off and formed from the walls.

"Ah! I remember now, it's Iron Rock!"

Wanlong clapped his hands suddenly, and exclaimed with delight—

"That bizarre column in the Paranormal Science Gazette in the Parthian region mentioned—a Terakion variant modified by an evil organization!" But when that magazine was published, even Team Plasma hadn't emerged yet—where did those editors get that information?

Unfortunately, the novelist's academic research was abruptly interrupted because Iron Rock lowered its head.

With its glowing orange horns pointed forward, the hind feet pushed off the ground, causing the entire corridor floor to tremble.

Without a roar or any warning, the Iron Rock silently charged straight in with the momentum of a collapsing mountain.