Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 428 The End of the Giant's Cave Incident

Chapter 430 The End of the Giant's Cave Incident

When Interpol reinforcements arrived at the bottom level of Giant's Cave, the Team Plasma members stationed there were in a state of chaos, leaderless and disorganized. Even just Lyra's Snorlax and Lucario, left behind, were making it as difficult for them to regroup as a Caterpie being chased by Pidgeotto.

Although the strange destroyer stuck in the ice surprised the detectives, it did not slow down the expedition's progress.

Near the ship, on the precarious ice, the leader of the resistance was a mid-level Plasma Group officer named Brad. Despite his desperate attempts to reorganize the battle lines, the Interpol agents' coordination was clearly superior. Simultaneously launching attacks from both the caves and escape routes, they also held a numerical advantage, quickly routing the Plasma Group.

As the battle progressed into the destroyer's interior, the detectives successfully located the handsome man in the command center, who had already administered initial first aid. As the highest-ranking officer after the captain went missing, he had continued to provide updates on the situation to the main force via the police communicator while trapped—one of the reasons why the operation to apprehend the suspects had proceeded so smoothly.

Incidentally, although the handsome detective's partner, the delinquent frog, was seriously injured in the explosion, fortunately, his life was not in danger. Having used the Spirit Shard, his condition has now stabilized. Another larger team is also searching towards the stern of the destroyer, their goal being to find Captain Lila, who has been silent since the explosion.

This part progressed even more smoothly, because before they even reached the emergency control station at the stern, they could already hear the pitiful screams of Team Plasma soldiers and the crackling sounds of Lyra's Pokémon actively unleashing Electric-type moves.

This legendary Electric-type Pokémon was recalled into its Poké Ball by its trainer when Lyra commanded Metagross to use "Explosion," so it was unaffected by the blast's impact. Therefore, after the explosion wiped out all the opposing Pokémon on the field, Raikou occupied the steering station, preventing any Team Plasma members from entering.

Guided by its electric light, the detectives quickly found the unconscious Captain Lila in the control station, along with a large number of Team Plasma members who had also fainted beside her—including Team Plasma's former sage "Windhole" Vio and the infamous Team Aqua executive "Murderous Feather" Izumi.

No one was in mortal danger, perhaps because Metagross deliberately reduced the power of its self-destruction to protect Lyra. Additionally, it seems another Pokémon used the "Mud Play" move at the Steering Station earlier, which also reduced the blast radius of the "Big Bang."

After successfully locating the two officers who had taken the lead, the Interpol officers swiftly and decisively subdued all the Plasma Team members present. The crisp sound of hands clashing echoed throughout the Giant's Cave, and no accidents occurred during the entire process.

About two hours later, Lila awoke from her coma in the destroyer's lounge.

Hearing people talking in hushed tones, she secretly opened her eyes and found her familiar Interpol colleagues in front of her, which made Lila breathe a sigh of relief.

Further away, the detective saw the Pokémon that had been injured in the battle earlier: Alakazam and Espeon were sitting back to back, using their psychic powers to manipulate healing potions to treat each other; outside the door, the round figure of Snorlax and the upright back of Lucario could be vaguely seen; and Metagross—the warrior most severely injured in the self-destruction—was now lying on the carpet with its four legs spread apart like a tired mechanical beast, with scorch marks from the explosion still remaining on its metal shell.

On the opposite hospital bed, the handsome guy's delinquent frog was also lying quietly receiving treatment, its dark blue skin covered with a thick layer of ointment.

Lei Gong was the first to notice her waking up. He gently pressed his warm golden mane against her arm, and the familiar warmth, carrying a slight static charge, finally made Lila breathe a sigh of relief, and her tense muscles gradually relaxed.

But then, she heard some bad news from her colleague: "What? The giant ice block that sealed the spirit is gone?"

Lila, who had almost single-handedly fought against the entire Plasma Group base, stared wide-eyed at the news she was hearing, her emerald-purple eyes wide with disbelief.

"Isn't that destroyer still here? The Plasma Spheres couldn't break through the cave exit either, so how did they manage to move the ice?"

"When we broke into the ship, the cargo door at the stern had been secretly opened, and there were still scratches and water stains on the floor where ice had slid."

A hoarse voice rang out from afar, and a handsome detective, now wearing a trench coat again, was being helped towards them by his colleagues. The detective still had bandages on his head. His gaze lingered for a moment on the unconscious Frog on a nearby hospital bed before turning to Lila—"Besides the sealed Pokémon in the ice, Team Plasma scientist Acroma and his Steel-type Pokémon have also disappeared."

"The two are not necessarily related," Lila said cautiously.

"Akromar has a pretty strong Psychic-type Pokémon with her, so it's not surprising that she was able to escape from the cave." She sighed, recalling the previous battle, then frowned. "But the frozen tundra blocks that sealed the Pokémon were so huge, they couldn't have just vanished without a trace. Could they have been sunk into the underground river by Team Plasma?"

"The underground river beneath the permafrost isn't very deep. We sent out a water-type spirit to investigate as soon as we discovered the situation," the detective who helped the handsome guy said, shaking his head. "The riverbed is full of sharp rocks, and there aren't even any wild spirits. Apart from the icy water, it's practically empty."

"So it seems the disappearance of that sealed spirit must be related to Akromma, right?" The expedition captain struggled to sit up from his sickbed.

"Is it possible that the Pokémon inside the ice was released from its seal after entering the water and escaped on its own?" The detective had never seen a Pokémon under the ice with his own eyes, and he asked with some confusion.

Lila shook her head: "Rome wasn't built in a day. Although it's been cut, the thickness of the ice layer can still maintain the seal for quite some time. Besides, if a powerful Pokémon were to awaken from the seal nearby, Raikou would definitely sense it."

Everyone turned to look at the legendary elf lying beside Lila. As if noticing their gaze, the elf raised its neck and shook its majestic head with remarkable understanding.

It seems they are unaware that "in fact, I have already reported the situation here to Hugo."

Seeing that everyone was silent for a moment, the handsome man's hoarse voice rang out again—

"He agrees with the assessment that Acromah stole the sealed spirit and has already begun to send people to track him down. In the champion's opinion, the method by which Acromah took the ice cube is likely related to that mysterious mechanical spirit."

"You mean he suspects that the red Pokémon might have been used as a propulsion device for the ice?" Lila asked.

"Yes, that's what he thinks—hiss!" The handsome man accidentally aggravated his wound as he nodded, and couldn't help but gasp.

"Remember how that Pokémon in Acromorma's hands could switch its moves to different types by changing different cartridges? Perhaps one of those Water-type cartridges could have given it tremendous propulsion in water, allowing it to move ice blocks."

"To be able to deduce this much just from someone else's account, that's quite the detective." Lila, who was always very demanding of herself, lowered her eyes. "On the contrary, we, who already knew the enemy's exact location beforehand, still managed to mess up the operation—he must be very disappointed."

"No, not at all. Hugo was quite pleased to learn that we had captured Vio and Izumi, and told us not to worry about sealing the Pokémon."

The handsome guy scratched his head, which was still bandaged.

"It seems that compared to the situation in Snowflake City, things have turned out much better here."