Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 255 Yang Tui – A Perilous Leap of Vigilance in Times of Peace (Part 1)

The world is full of foolishness and accidents.

However, when an accidental mistake occurs, who can really be sure... that it was just a simple error?

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The third level of the Tower of Heaven had now been divided into two battlefields, one in front and one behind.

In the very center of the battlefield, Volcarona's "Fire Blast" mixed with "Heat Wave" crashed down on the spot where Garchomp stood, instantly engulfing its figure.

Meanwhile, on Hugo's side at the rear of the battle line, Sneasel and Agilebug had flanked Detective from both sides, with each Pokémon unleashing their strongest moves.

This is a Pokémon duel with very simple rules.

With both sides tacitly understanding each other, Hugo could summon wild Pokémon to weaken his opponent and use the destruction of the ceiling as a direct attack on the trainer. Alder, on the other hand, didn't hold back at all, unleashing "Giga Impact" and "Hyper Beam" simultaneously at Hugo and Piplup, whom he was holding in his arms.

Flames erupted, emitting a deafening roar, and the stone-paved ground resembled a real inferno, with towering flames rising into the sky.

This is the final song of a dying Volcano Moth, and even in the entire history of the Unova Alliance's battles, such a magnificent flame is unparalleled.

At the same time, the agile insect successfully completed its energy storage, and the extremely violent energy was condensed into a perfectly round sphere.

Then, as if a balloon had been torn open, the force that had been forcibly compressed suddenly burst out and shot towards the black-clad detective who had no time to dodge.

A white beam of light pierced through the air, followed by a deafening sonic boom!

Meanwhile, on the other side, a speeding steel war machine had already arrived in grand style.

The armor dragged across the floor tiles, making a teeth-grinding screeching sound. The high-speed knight snail was surrounded by vortexes of air generated by friction, its two knightly lances brought together to form a sharp ramming horn, and it came straight at the detective's face.

Thump, thump, thump! Bang, boom, boom! Splash, splash, splash!

Following the "earthquake" created by Garchomp, the Tower of Paradise trembled once again.

This time, however, the source of the tremor was not the ground-based energy injected into the building, but pure force.

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"Ah! I can't believe it!"

"Incredible. How...no, how did they do all this?"

In the spectator area, two women exclaimed in amazement, while Yueju squinted her eyes thoughtfully.

They weren't far from Hugo's location, so even through the dazzling light of the attack, the three of them still witnessed that miraculous scene—

Volcano's "Explosive Flame" and "Hot Wind" landed in empty space.

Garchomp disappeared from where it had been standing.

Without any prior action, it simply vanished from the spot without warning, leaving behind only a scorched black ground ravaged by flames, with no trace of any evasion techniques such as "digging" being used.

Garchomp can't learn "teleportation"!

Meanwhile, in front of the black-clad detective caught in a pincer attack, the rough-skinned silhouette of the deep blue earth dragon reappeared like a ghost.

With eyes closed and head bowed, body curled up, and scythe-like triangular fins crossed, Garchomp appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Hugo, taking the double attack from Agile Bug and Knight Snail head-on.

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Having just narrowly escaped a potentially fatal attack, Hugo calmly placed Piplup on the ground, speaking in a low voice at lightning speed to Garchomp.

"All of the items the opponent is carrying have been identified, and none of them will have any impact on this round of the battle, so you can attack with confidence."

Taking advantage of the previous opportunity, he had already observed the situation of the Knight Snail and the Agile Bug up close—

The item carried by the Knight Snail is a "Metal Membrane" that can increase the power of Steel-type skills.

This prop was like a transparent film, meticulously covering every inch of the Knight Snail Armor. Back on the ice stairs, it was thanks to the smooth surface of this metallic film that Alder was able to smoothly slide down the spiral staircase at high speed.

The item on Agile Bug is "Silver Dust," which can increase the power of Bug-type moves.

It was precisely because of the amplification of this silver powder that the "bug chirp" on the side of Agile Bug was able to tear apart the "Protect" skill used by Grass Sprout Turtle as easily as breaking through a window.

Volcano, on the other hand, carried no combat items at all, because its body temperature was now far too high. Any items would be damaged or destroyed by the high temperature, becoming useless junk.

The items for the first two can only enhance the power of their own moves, and do not have the effect of replenishing energy or leaving the field, while Volcano is still far away and beyond reach.

This means... this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Thoughts flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye, but in the real world, they were gone in the blink of an eye.

Hugo looked ahead—

Garchomp, covered in scorch marks and bruises, was breathing weakly and could barely maintain its standing position.

Escavalier and Agilebug are, after all, the Unova Champion's prized main Pokémon. Under the combined onslaught of their strongest moves, Garchomp was truly battered and bruised. Its stamina, barely clinging to life, was not much more than that of Piplup beside it.

But now, the opponent before them is even weaker.

Knight Snail and Agile Bug—both elves—were frozen in place, exhausted from unleashing their powerful attacks, unable to move even if they wanted to.

"Hang in there a little longer, Garchomp."

Even before the flames created by the Volcano Moth had subsided, and just as Alice uttered her first gasp, the detective had already made up his mind and issued his next command—

""Reverse Scale"! "

A low growl rumbled from Garchomp's throat, a sound Hugo knew was only made when Garchomp was extremely satisfied.

It seems that his command had scratched the itch in its proud dragon heart.

The extremely weak Garchomp blinked, and in an instant, its bright yellow vertical pupils turned blood red.

The knight snail closest to the deep blue earth dragon suddenly felt a shiver run down its spine, and cold sweat poured down its face inside its helmet.

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"Look, that's the key item that allows Garchomp to use its 'teleportation' magic."

From the stands, the Dark-type Champion, Cranberry, pointed to a charred rag in the corner of the battlefield and said this.

Victini, still radiating light, tried to fly up, wanting to peer out and see what the so-called "key item" actually was.

However, after flapping its wings a few times, it eventually gave up due to exhaustion. It simply shook off its little wings and sat back on Alice's shoulder, waiting to hear the opinions of the humans watching the battle.

"Are you referring to that piece of cloth that was burned black? And what was it originally?"

Wanlong withdrew his gaze from the Garchomp that had just begun to display its might and asked Yueju.

The latter shrugged: "The answer is actually quite obvious. Now it seems that Garchomp's previous 'Dragon Star' wasn't a blunder from the start, but rather a premeditated plan."

"how do I say this?"

"After all, to perfectly conceal a battle item on a Pokémon, you have to prepare all of this before the battle begins. This means that the detective must have anticipated a similar situation long ago, which is why he specifically chose that item."

Is this your perspective as a professional gambler?

"No, you might not believe it, but I haven't gambled properly since I became the League King. The reason I was able to detect it is just some experience I gained while I was a cheater."

Urged on by Victini, Alice, who had been left standing to the side, couldn't help but ask—

"Elite Four member, what exactly was that item that Garchomp used? Why could it create a 'teleport' effect, moving Garchomp from Volcarona to the trainer?"

"Actually, items that can instantly disengage from the battlefield are not uncommon. For example, the red card can disengage the opponent from the battlefield, and the escape button can immediately disengage from the battle after being attacked. As long as the trainer does not use Poké Balls to switch Pokémon after these items are activated, but lets them continue to engage in the battle, they can instantly pull the Pokémon on the field in front of them. The effect is similar to the Pokémon instantly moving to a different position."

"I am," said Lingju slowly and deliberately.

“But that couldn’t be a red card or an escape button,” Alice retorted.

"Garuda wasn't attacked at all before it moved. And Garuda had already joined the battle beforehand; if it was carrying an Escape Button, it should have activated it as soon as it was hit by the 'Big Bang' of the Geometric Snowflakes."

"Therefore, Garchomp is carrying a different item."

The novelist, Tianwang, said, clearly having already guessed the answer.

A one-time "instant teleportation".

With the fabric remnant in the room, the answer to the mystery is becoming clear.

"That combat item originated in the Galar region. You, who were born in the Unova region, may not have heard of it. However, given that detective's background, obtaining such an item would not be difficult."

Wanlong raised her index finger and said the correct answer—

"Refuge Backpack. When an allied Pokémon's stats are low, it will automatically be removed from the field for rotation."