Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 429 The Visitor Before Dawn

Chapter 431 The Visitor Before Dawn

Enveloped by a superpowered light barrier, Akromar sped through the underground river leading to the outside world.

By the light of the low-powered signal light clipped to his clothes, the scholar stood on the smooth ice surface, his white robe reflecting light unusually in the dim cave.

Although the "wall of light" released by Da Yu Monster formed a windbreak, strong air currents still managed to seep in through the gaps, tearing his clothes and making them flutter loudly.

Beneath him, the enormous block of ice, dug out of the permafrost by the plasma cluster, floated steadily on the water's surface—within the ice layer. The gray sprite remained asleep with its eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to all the changes in the outside world.

At this moment, this rectangular giant ice block was not mounted on any vehicle, but was suspended on the water's surface solely by its own buoyancy, yet it was moving forward at an astonishing speed. The reason for this scene was exactly as Detective Hugo had predicted from afar—the red Genesis was currently clinging to the bottom of the ice block, its Water Stream Card constantly unleashing attacks. The water-attribute "High-Tech Beam Cannon" generated a powerful propulsion force underwater, causing the entire ice block to move forward at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary ships, like a silent speedboat.

"I feel a little sorry for Vio and the others, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Akromah pushed up his glasses, the "consciousness overwriting device" mounted on the frame was flashing with a faint light.

Through the monitors connected to the two Pokémon's bodies, he could clearly sense that Daewoo and Genesect were nearing their physical limits—if they were to force a fight against Interpol in this state, not only would they have no chance of winning, but they might even lose these two precious experimental subjects completely.

So, without informing anyone, he chose to escape without hesitation. As Akromar, ordering his Plasma Squad subordinates to reopen the destroyer's cargo hold doors was not difficult. A few alert subordinates seemed to notice something amiss, but before they could question it, Daewoo's "Hypnosis" had already quietly taken effect. Under psychological suggestion, the guards' confused eyes quickly became dull, and they began to mechanically carry out his commands.

Under the circumstances, Akromma believed that even if Vio himself were present, he would agree with his choice—it was better to preserve the most important research results than to suffer total annihilation.

The possibility that letting Genosect fight the detective a little longer might change the outcome of the entire battle did indeed flash through his mind, but it left him with no trace of guilt.

Scientists won't gamble their lives on things whose probabilities can't be calculated.

Akromar's ideal was to witness firsthand the ultimate power of Pokémon. Before seeing that sight, he had no intention of sacrificing himself for Team Plasma, this illegal organization—to him, Team Magma, Ghetto, and Team Plasma were all just financial backers providing research resources.

The scholar refocused his gaze on the monitoring data reflected in the lens, his expression playful. "Genesect's speed and output have been verified in actual combat, and it is indeed enough to somewhat contend with legendary Pokémon, but its weaknesses are still very obvious. The type disadvantage is one thing, but the problem is that when facing Fire-type moves that it is super effective against, the fear deep in the Pokémon's consciousness will reduce the efficiency of consciousness overwriting. This phenomenon also occurs when Daewoo faces Dark-type moves. It seems that the equipment still needs to be adjusted."

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the frame of his glasses, then looked down at the massive, frozen structure beneath his feet.

"Otherwise, if even these two are so difficult to control, then controlling this guy would be an even more unrealistic fantasy."

Beneath the ice, the sleeping giant seemed to tremble slightly in response.

Just as Akromah was gradually immersing himself in the plan to modify the "consciousness overwriting device".

Crackling sounds, like the crisp sound of ice being pressed down.

He could hear footsteps on the ice behind him!

"Who is it?"

Was I being followed?

The scholar turned around in alarm, and the traffic lights shone behind him, revealing only a large gray cloak.

"I stumbled upon this place by chance while following a team of international police officers, intending to gather some secrets—I never expected to make such an unexpected discovery."

The newcomer stopped five meters behind Akromma, and a hoarse, indistinct male-female voice came from inside the cloak—

"To be able to betray 'The Wind' and 'Killer Feather' without hesitation, and escape from 'Whistle', 'Decadent Wave', and a whole bunch of police. Mr. Akromma, it seems you'll have a pretty good nickname from now on."

Judging from his tone, this person seemed to know everything that had happened in the Giant's Cave. Akromar's heart sank.

Now, he only has two Pokémon left, Daewoo and Genesect, which are no longer combatants. If this guy in front of him really watched the whole battle from the sidelines, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

"You don't have any Pokémon around you who can fight properly anymore, do you?" The gray-cloaked man cut to the chase, ruthlessly extinguishing the scholar's last shred of hope.

"In other words, if I wanted to, I could easily stop this small boat made of ice and let you and it fall into the hands of the Alliance Police—or even more extreme, I could—"

The mysterious man in the gray cloak made a slicing motion across the throat.

What do you want?

"I really shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess of plasma clusters," Akromma thought regretfully, his eyes fixed on the visitor before him who seemed to have no flaws.

Now that things have come to this point, although the initiative is completely in the other party's hands, the fact that the person in front of him did not directly stop his escape indicates that this person is at least not an Interpol employee, and may even be on the side of the Plasma Group.

If the other party calls out to me here, they probably have ulterior motives!

"Heh, it's so convenient dealing with smart people." The hoarse voice sounded somewhat pleased. "Then, let's exchange information."

"Intelligence?" Upon hearing this unexpected term, the scholar raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Gold and jewelry decrease with use, but information increases in value through sharing—that's the kind of business I'm in."

Business-

Akroma, adjusting her glasses, remained vigilant despite the visitor's frankness: "What do you want in exchange? And what will I get in return?"

"What I want to know is the address of your secret bases in Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Alola, and all the other regions, Acromoma. In return—" The Grey Cloak paused, "you will know—your name in the underworld from now on."

"Ha." Akromar spread his hands. "This means nothing to me, does it? Even in the plasma cluster, I'm just an ordinary researcher."

"No, no, that's not how the rules of the underworld are calculated."

The newcomer extended a slender, pale finger from under the cloak and waved it.

"You stepped over two colleagues with titles, letting them go to prison in your place, and gained your freedom on your own. With such outstanding performance, you should naturally be awarded a corresponding title—otherwise, the title will be devalued."

"What does this have to do with you and me?" the scholar said dismissively. "It's as if you'll suffer losses because of the devaluation of the title." "Yes, of course you will."

The man in the grey cloak answered without hesitation.

"Because, in this underground world, about 50% of the titles are given by me."

The visitor's nonchalant words drifted in the wind.

"I am both an intelligence intermediary and a creator and collector of various titles—including 'The Wind' and 'Killer Feather Stream,' as well as 'Whistle' and 'Decadent Radio Wave'—from today onwards, your title will also be one of these fifty percent."

"Are you that legendary information broker?"

Akromar recalled a rumor he'd overheard in the black market—the entire underground alias system was actually a hobby concocted by an information broker, whose title was "Information Broker." True to his name, this man seemed to know everything, always appearing quietly before those who needed him, offering the most valuable intelligence at the highest price.

According to rumors, one should be especially careful not to complain about the nicknames created by the "information broker" in front of him, or misfortune will surely follow!

"Although I don't want to use my power to intimidate you, since you guessed it, there's nothing I can do about it."

The man in the gray cloak did not deny the title of scholar, but shrugged slightly.

"I'm sorry, but you don't have the right to refuse in this deal. Because I'm standing right here, ready to capsize this little ice boat at any moment, just like this—..."

The cloaked figure suddenly raised his hand. In the next instant, Akromma almost slipped on the ice due to inertia.

The ice block that was speeding through the water has stopped!

He looked toward the "bow" and saw a huge blue webbed hand extending from its grasp, striking the front of the ice block with a snap.

The immense force almost made Akromar jump in place, but no matter how hard he activated the "consciousness overwriting device" and how much effort Genesect exerted underwater, it could not move an inch further in the water.

Immediately afterwards, a blue head covered with a rocky faceplate slowly emerged from the water, beneath which was a thick, dark blue tortoise shell as solid as a rock.

It's a Rib Turtle, and a very powerful one at that—Akroma couldn't possibly not recognize this Pokémon. When developing Genesect, Akroma even resurrected several from ancient fossils for experimental purposes.

"How are you feeling? Have you calmed down a bit?"

The grey cloak swayed gently on the suddenly frozen ice, echoing the grey shadow beneath the ice.

Akroma could almost feel the cold, condescending gaze emanating from within the cloak.