manynovel Chapter 97 The Secret Under the Fish's Belly
Chapter 97 The Secret Under the Fish's Belly
The Victini had now moved far away from the Unova region and entered the waters where different regions meet, and the number of Pokémon that were rarely seen in Unova began to increase.
Besides the dancing swans unique to the Unova region, the silhouettes of gulls gliding in the sky can now be seen from time to time, and the creatures floating on the water have gradually changed from chubby and light to giant flying fish and agate jellyfish.
Old man Naoki sat quietly outside the engine room of the whaling ship, just as he usually did when he was on duty as a gatekeeper, his eyelids drooping listlessly as he watched the situation inside the engine room. His job on the ship was to constantly monitor the parts and determine if any malfunctions had occurred.
At first, Azure was a little worried, wondering if this unreliable old man would mess things up. However, within the past week, Mr. Naoki had astutely discovered several malfunctions in the power room. He even personally took charge, participating in emergency repairs of the power equipment alongside Doug.
It seems that appearances can indeed be deceiving.
Although both were resting, Captain Doug was much more active than the elderly Naoki who was resting with his eyes closed.
He remains in the captain's cabin, intently observing the real-time detection images obtained from the underwater sonar, occasionally rubbing his hands together and tapping out a restless rhythm with his rain-booted feet.
Suddenly, the old captain, who was obsessed with Wailord, raised an eyebrow. Besides the sound of footsteps, he heard a series of unusually chaotic footsteps.
Looking back, I saw that it was the two young passengers, a man and a woman, who had come to my door.
Seeing this, Doug opened the cabin door of the captain's cabin and let the excited detective and his bewildered assistant into the room.
Before the two could speak, the old captain shouted sternly at the top of his lungs—
"I said before we set sail that the Victini would not return unless I caught that mischievous wild whale king or the ship ran out of supplies. If you really want to go back, there is a small lifeboat at the stern. Just paddle that thing back to land."
“No, Mr. Doug, you misunderstand. We are not here to disembark.”
Hugo was not intimidated by the old man's voice. He responded calmly and then spoke frankly—
“I’m here today hoping that Mr. Doug will maneuver the Victini at full speed in a certain direction, because I have predicted the movement of the wild whale king that you have been tracking.”
Not only old Doug, but even Azure, who was next to the detective, was startled.
What exactly did Hugo discover from the clues above? Why did he suddenly become like that crazy old man and start tracking Wailord? And how did he know the location where wild Wailords would appear?
The old captain looked with interest at Hugo's faded "black hair," unmoved by the detective's crazy talk, and calmly asked, "What do you think the whale will do?"
“It will travel along the continent in a large C-shape,” the detective replied without hesitation.
"That whale will soon leave the Unova-Hoenn route during its voyage, heading towards the closer Alola region, where it will rest for a while before setting off again towards Hoenn."
"Oh? But that wild whale, wandering aimlessly alone, is unpredictable. How do you know what's going on in its huge head?"
Hugo took a deep breath, looked directly into the old captain's eyes; it seemed it was time to lay his cards on the table—
"Doug, the Wailord you're chasing isn't a wild Pokémon. A Pokémon Trainer is controlling its direction. That Trainer is a fugitive murderer, and we boarded this whaling ship to capture him."
That's it!
The moment Bilan heard Hugo's explanation, she understood the crux of the matter.
The whale roaring king, which lurks underwater, is a more convenient and agile means of transportation than a submarine!
The reason Samuel's body was abandoned on the wasteland was precisely because it was a place where wild Pokémon could freely approach, and it was the most convenient place for Team Aqua to leave Unova.
Hugo, on the ship, kept tracking the fleet's vessels, but completely ignored the enormous whale that the fanatical captain was chasing!
That "wild" whale king is the one the detective has been searching for but has been overlooking!
However, even though Azure instantly understood Hugo's thoughts, could the detective convince this fervent Wailord enthusiast with just a few words?
If what Hugo said is true, then it means that Old Man Doug's voyage was a waste of time. Will he be angry?
The dark-skinned old captain indeed lost his temper. He angrily pounded his fists on the table in the captain's cabin, making a deafening thud.
"That's impossible! A whale king that can carry people can only float on the surface of the water. Even if it uses the 'diving' skill, it can only stay in deep water for a short while! You've never seen a whale or the ocean, so what makes you think you can just stand here spouting nonsense!"
The detective remained calm: "The other party is an organization that has been using Wailord for smuggling for a long time. They have built a sealed vehicle that can be fixed in Wailord's mouth. Taking advantage of the phenomenon of Wailords traveling to and from various regions in groups, they have established secret and unspeakable connections with other malicious organizations in other regions."
"Do you think I'm an idiot? How can a person hiding under a fish's belly breathe? Even submarines need to surface periodically to breathe. Are you suggesting that the Wailord should surface and open its mouth to breathe?"
"No, Wailord breathes differently from fish Pokémon that filter oxygen from seawater through gills. It breathes with its huge lungs. The organ we are familiar with that spouts water into the sky is Wailord's nostrils. Trainers who have it hidden in its mouth can use the air that Wailord inhales to breathe."
"Do you think I'd believe such nonsense? That someone would live inside a Pokémon's belly for a year, like the child in the fairy tale who was swallowed by Wailord, only to be spat out by the whale?"
Old Doug let out a roaring, stormy laugh, his bloodshot seaman eyes glaring menacingly at Hugo.
"At ten o'clock, if we leave the shipping lane and travel at full speed for five hours, we will reach the boundary of the Alola Sea ahead of us by evening, where we will see the whale that swallowed the 'child'."
The detective exuded an aura no less imposing than the old man's, as if a prophet chosen by the gods were proclaiming a prophecy that was about to come true. His gray eyes calmly gazed into Doug's bloodshot eyes.
Azure anxiously glanced back and forth at the two people whose atmosphere was not harmonious, clutching Eevee's Poké Ball tightly in her hand, ready to make a move at any moment.
The assistant's intervention wasn't simply to mediate the fight.
Having already heard the detective's entire reasoning, she now fully understood Hugo's reasoning for making that decision—if necessary, immediately send out Eevee to use "Quick Strike" to take down the captain and seize control of the Victini!
Just as the girl was plotting a mutiny to seize the ship, a sloppy, hoarse voice came from behind the detective and his assistant—
"Doug, what are you putting on an act for? You noticed that Wailord's behavior was abnormal a long time ago, didn't you?"
Old man Naoki appeared by the cabin door at some point, rolling his eyes at the old captain.
"Tsk, I'm a trainer who once received the title of Senior Trainer in the Pokémon League. How could I not help with something like hunting down a murderer?"
Captain Doug's imposing aura vanished, his demeanor completely changing. He picked his nose with his little finger and looked at the three with disdain.
"I'm just angry, why didn't you tell me something so important sooner?"
"Isn't it all because of you, Doug, who's always yelling about catching whales? Anyone would think you're a crazy old man looking like this!"
Naoki, not to be outdone, responded to his old friend with a mocking face.
Azure was stunned by the change in the situation, while Hugo had an "I knew it" look on his face and touched his chin.
It's unclear whether he genuinely anticipated how things would unfold, or if he was simply good at managing his facial expressions.
"Ten o'clock, right?" Old Doug asked Hugo to confirm, and the detective gave him an OK sign.
Without any preamble, the old captain immediately began operating the helm in the center of the room, muttering to himself, "Speaking of which, none of you have ever seen the Victini at full speed, have you?"
The detective and his assistant immediately had a bad feeling...