Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 447 The Leading Train Awaits the Whistle

Chapter 449 The Leading Train Awaits the Whistle

It has to be said that the Water Team's luck was extremely bad.

If it were any other trainer, and if they had even a fraction of their Pokémon left, Archie might actually have been able to fight his way out. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs"—they were facing the King of Team Plasma, who had just fought a major battle against two Gym Leaders from the Unova League.

In the wild, N is practically a cheat code. With a mere wave of his hand, he can summon countless spirited wild Pokémon from all directions; moreover, with an almost telepathic ability, he can precisely control the battle rhythm of each Pokémon. Although not widely known, he once single-handedly defeated the four Elite Four members of the Unova League—and there's clearly no reason for his victories to end here.

Of course, Shui Wutong also tried his best to use his language skills as a former TV station director to reach some kind of consensus with the other party.

As night deepened, he claimed that Team Aqua was a benevolent organization dedicated to protecting all marine Pokémon. In Mauville City of the Hoenn region, they intercepted and destroyed several ships illegally dumping industrial waste in vital waters—the toxins powerful enough to kill fragile Corsolas and young aquatic Pokémon. Near Slateport City, they thwarted a large-scale fishing operation that harvested Pokémon for food, releasing countless wild Pokémon. Furthermore, as protectors of the Aqua world's inhabitants, Team Aqua had repeatedly thwarted evil organizations attempting to trigger volcanic eruptions. Unlike arrogant anthropocentrics who sought to reshape the world, they were committed to purifying waters and restoring the ocean's original beauty and ecological balance—all of which fundamentally conflicted with N's ideal of Pokémon liberation. As for the misdeeds N heard from the detective, they were nothing more than exaggerated information manipulation, a common tactic used by illegal investigation companies to solicit business.

As far as the speech was concerned, Archie's words were absolutely brilliant. Considering that he said these words while dealing with an overwhelming attack from wild Pokémon, his perseverance was even more admirable.

However, ever since N witnessed firsthand the carnage left behind by Voodoo, a former member of the Aqua Fleet, in the Giant's Cave, his last remaining trust in this distant overseas organization was completely extinguished.

Not to mention, through a private investigation within Team Plasma, he also discovered that the organization operated a global Pokémon smuggling network with the tacit approval of the Order, and had already secretly begun to crack down on it.

In this situation, Hugo's phone call was like cutting the last thread binding this "puppet king".

Rather than the one-sided account of the Aqua team leader, N was more willing to believe the memories of the Archaeopteryx that he had personally experienced.

The battle ended exceptionally quickly.

The already exhausted Team Aqua watched in despair as the wild Pokémon they usually looked down upon surged in like a tide, their momentum even more terrifying than Kiku's endless sand sea and Fenglu's aerial assault.

Breaking through head-on was utterly hopeless. So several team members tried to jump off the bridge to escape, but were caught red-handed by a Water-type Pokémon that had been lying in ambush in the river.

These self-proclaimed environmentalists were ultimately dragged into the water by the very objects they claimed to be protecting, suffering the same fate as the support troops who had been waiting on the shore—they were nearly suffocated in the water before being dragged ashore and detained by the frivolous people who had just finished playing.

Under the desperate cover of Ushio, Mizuki, having failed to persuade N, finally attempted a decapitation strike at N's location.

The Diallok roared and charged forward, but was stopped by the combined efforts of Nut Dumbbell and Double Ice next to N before it could take the last step.

The next second, Archaeopteryx mustered its courage and leaped into the air, the "Primal Force" striking the desperate commander head-on.

Almost simultaneously, Cradle Lily, which had quietly climbed up from under the bridge, used a "Tighten" to firmly bind Archie. With a "gulp," the leader of Team Aqua was completely trapped inside the green maw of the fossil Pokémon that had been sleeping in the wetlands and had now awakened again.

With their leader captured, the defeat of the naval fleet was inevitable.

Packs of hyenas were cleaved in two by the "Fairy Wind" whipped up by the Wind Fairy; their Great Hyena leader collapsed under a heavy "Explosive Punch" from the Iron-Boned Earthling. A swarm of Zubats attempted a surprise attack with "Poison Stings," but were all decimated by Gear's well-prepared "Gear Discs." Megalodon's sharp teeth shattered before the impenetrable "Iron Wall" of the Slow Rock, and the Pelipper swooped in from the air, only to be met head-on by the Electric Spider's ferocious "Pounce."

Muk attempted to wriggle forward but was completely stunned by Mudfish's "Mud Shot." Nearby, Starfish tried to spin away but was blasted away by Zoroark's "Night Blast" from behind. Tentacruel was locked in a type-based battle with Heartbat and struggled to break free; Marill and Poliwag were steadily pushed back by Sprout Deer's swift "double kick."

The most tragic scene was when Gyarados roared and swooped down, only to be met head-on by Dodo's "Frozen Dry" attack—its massive body instantly froze, and it plummeted straight down, landing squarely on Feraligatr below, which was dodging Treasure Cocoon's "Rapid Leaf Blade".

In less than ten minutes, the last remaining Team Aqua member who was still resisting was tightly bound by the "Parasitic Seed" of the Nut Dumbbell and was discarded like a piece of junk at the feet of the two Metro Bosses.

"The sheer scale of wild Pokémon deployment is like a walking natural disaster; those massive numbers of wild Pokémon seem to have appeared out of thin air. Even during our highest-level challenge in the Metro, I've never seen such masterful command."

As night fell, the lights on the cylindrical bridge shimmered in the thin mist. Nanxia, ​​the white-clad train conductor who witnessed the entire battle, took a long time to recover from his shock and couldn't help but feel deep respect for this Plasma Team outside helper invited by the champion.

"You didn't observe carefully enough." His older brother, Kitano, pushed up his black train conductor's hat, walked steadily towards N, and said, "Some of the Pokémon had actually been secretly following our train from the middle of the journey."

He stopped in front of the green-haired youth, his tone formal and restrained. "Thank you for your assistance in apprehending these overseas criminals who smuggled themselves into Unova. Just now, Champion Hugo informed us that Team Plasma's Sage Asura was captured by Gym Leader Hachiku and his men in the Snowflake Wetlands ahead. He asked us to inquire whether you are prepared to exchange prisoners?"

"No need," N replied without the slightest hesitation.

He raised his arm, and the Protobird that had been perched on his shoulder nimbly hopped over to Bei Shang.

"My intervention against Team Aqua was solely to seek justice for this kid, not for any transaction. As for Asura—" his voice lowered slightly, "I know his loyalty, and I understand that this teacher is willing to give everything for me—even cross the line. However, precisely because of this, I don't want him to continue to be involved in Team Plasma's upcoming operations."

"Should I relay this to him?" Bei Shang gently stroked the head of the Archaeopteryx and asked cautiously.

"It doesn't matter." The young king of Team Plasma shook his head. The Pokémon that had been surrounding him began to silently retreat to the surroundings, dispersing like a tide.

"I have achieved my objective. The next time we meet, I may be an enemy of the United States."

"Perhaps we don't need to be so pessimistic—a train traveling at full speed sometimes appears like a steel behemoth to outsiders, its presence terrifying. But for the passengers inside the carriage, they hardly feel any vibration—even when turning. Do you know why?"

For some reason, the subway manager, Bei Shang, suddenly posed this question to N.

N hesitated slightly, but still answered truthfully based on his knowledge: "It's because the train's initial acceleration is controlled to be very low. Once it reaches a constant speed, inertia will make the environment inside the train approach stillness. As for cornering... it should be compensated by the centripetal force generated by the superelevation of the outer rail, which is essentially a precisely calculated horizontal circular motion."

The young king did not understand why the other party had suddenly brought this up.

"Then, why not take my advice?" Bei Shang's voice remained steady, like the rhythm of wheels rolling over the seams of rails. "If you feel that the world is like a train heading in the wrong direction, then don't rush to turn the train around. Slowly stop, find your direction, and change tracks. This is also the only way to reach your destination. Otherwise, the train will waste more time due to derailment and mechanical failures."

"There's another thing to be aware of before attempting to turn—" Nanxia chimed in with a smile, waving her white-gloved index finger from side to side, "We always have to make sure there are tracks underneath."

N's expression softened slightly; he understood the implied meaning.

"What I'm about to do isn't that drastic. Regardless of what the plasma cluster thinks, I don't intend to derail the entire train."

The green-haired youth said softly, "He just wanted to sound the horn."

Bei Shang finally showed a slight smile.

"If that's all there is to it," he adjusted his hat brim, "then the day when we each lead our Pokémon and meet as enemies may still be a long way off."

"I hope so."

At night, the steam horn blared in front of the cylindrical bridge.

The special train, laden with prisoners, started up again, heading into the deeper night of the United States, moving so smoothly it seemed as if it had never stopped.