Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 446 The final move is inevitably forgetful

Chapter 448 The final move is inevitably forgetful

As a result, Archie accepted the peace talks proposed by Unova Champions.

There's no particular reason; it's purely a matter of shared interests.

Whether it was to avenge the previous attack or to reap the benefits while the Alliance and the Plasma Corps were fighting, he could find no reason to refuse.

The two owners, Ju Laoda and Feng Lu, were clearly extremely dissatisfied with this compromise.

They stared at the Team Aqua members leading the retreat of the wounded, their lips pressed together in resentment, their gazes sharp as blades, as if all this failure was due to their own lack of strength. But in the end, persuaded by Artie, the two also chose to withdraw from the battlefield and head to Route 8 to support the lone Hatchling Gym Leader.

But for some reason, as they parted, Shui Wutong sensed an ominous meaning in the champion's final smile.

He inexplicably felt that he might be the one who made the mistake.

Without the support of Team Aqua, Team Plasma's defeat was inevitable. Faced with the encirclement of four Unova Gym Leaders, the two Sages would likely find it difficult to escape.

But what does this have to do with the Aqua Team?

While their relationship with Team Plasma isn't as antagonistic as their relationship with Team Magma, they are still long-time rivals in the underworld vying for interests.

As the Sage of Team Plasma was about to be captured, Archie felt a mixture of schadenfreude and relief, like watching an opponent suddenly fall in front of him during a race.

Moreover, in this collaboration alone, Team Aqua has already bought Team Plasma enough time. From any perspective, he has done more than enough.

Given the current situation, it's unlikely that Quixote would turn against him over such a trivial matter. Even in the worst-case scenario, the only price Fleet Aqua would have to pay is to go underground for the next few months—which was their original strategy when they first came to the Unified.

As for the United Alliance? Their movements are hardly a concern.

As the Bug-type Gym Leader implied, dealing with Team Plasma alone has already overwhelmed them. The Alliance's current pursuit of reconciliation is most likely genuine. The possibility of them betraying the alliance and turning against them is virtually nonexistent—after all, it's better not to propose peace talks in the first place than to break the agreement and damage their reputation later.

But something still felt off. The war was over, and the naval fleet certainly couldn't turn back.

Returning to Route 8 and facing the newly broken Plasma Sphere again—this option never existed in the first place.

So they headed east, towards the cylindrical bridge leading to Shuanglong City. The people responsible for the rendezvous were already in place before the operation began, and the boat was ready.

Although the threat from the League has been eliminated, Team Aqua will not let their guard down just because of a temporary agreement with the Champion, and they certainly will not swagger across the cylindrical bridge into Odd-Dragon City, which is guarded by the Gym Leader.

Their real destination was a tributary of the river beneath the cylindrical bridge. Pre-positioned team members would then use boats to ferry them along the inland waterway, silently withdrawing them from everyone's sight.

Halfway through the journey, Shui Wutong's communicator rang.

As expected, the call came from Joggs, the sage of the Plasma Cluster. His tone was angry, and his voice was almost a roar.

It seems this "Exiled Shard" actually survived the Gym Leaders' siege—the power of legendary Pokémon is indeed not to be underestimated. When will Team Aqua be able to catch one?

Unfortunately, Joggs' colleagues and subordinates were not so lucky. In contrast, the entire Aqua team successfully withdrew from the Snowflake City wetlands without losing a single soldier, which was a truly fortunate outcome.

Holding the communicator, Shui Wutong listened silently until the other party had finished venting all their anger and until he had extracted enough information he needed.

Then, without hesitation, he cut off the communication.

If it were Quixote himself who launched the attack, he might have had to put in some effort to reason with him. But as for someone who wasn't even a number two? There was no point in wasting his time on him.

"Boss, the losses have all been tallied!"

A rough, hoarse voice came from behind. He strode up, still smelling of muddy water from the wetlands.

"The brothers are all fine, except for a few of our main Pokémon that were knocked unconscious, but they've all been treated with emergency medicine."

He wiped the dust off his face and continued, "Also, there are a few newbies we caught in the Unova region—the rookies are completely unruly and are badly injured. Are we going to dump these useless pieces here, as usual?"

Shui Wutong did not answer immediately. He looked at Chao Yiyi, this energetic but simple-minded subordinate who would never learn to be tactful and would always solve problems in the most direct way.

"This time is an exception," Water Wutong finally said. "Let's keep them under observation for a while longer."

"Huh?" Upon hearing the unexpected command, Chao's thick eyebrows furrowed, clearly not understanding his leader's meaning. "But boss, these things are not even as good as turkeys—"

"Sigh," Archie sighed, interrupting him helplessly, "Unlike the situation in Hoenn, we've now reached an agreement with the Unova League, so we should be able to use Pokémon Centers and similar institutions normally. Therefore, raising these weak Pokémon isn't a burden anymore. Some tools need to be polished before we can determine if they're still usable—we can decide to discard them later."

He held no love or hate for Pokémon themselves. In his view, Pokémon and humans were not fundamentally different—both were resources to be utilized, tools. There are useful tools, and there are also worthless scraps. He would use them, and so would his enemies. Valuing reliable subordinates and being wary of powerful opponents—positive and negative aspects balanced each other out, and that's how the world works.

Since it's a tool, it should be carefully selected, fully maintained, and used in a standardized manner until its value is completely exhausted. The current decision is simply the optimal solution from an efficiency perspective.

Chao opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end he gave up thinking and just nodded heavily.

"I understand!"

He didn't understand at all.

Chao turned and strode towards the team members, his voice booming, "Listen up! The boss said no throwing! Not a single one! Anyone have a problem with that?"

Shui Wutong could almost picture the confused yet hesitant expressions on her subordinates' faces.

Despite numerous instruction sessions, Chao still struggles to understand and interpret commands, relying solely on his voice and physical presence to intimidate. In the past, tasks requiring nuanced communication were handled by Di, but unfortunately, things have changed.

It seems I'll have to personally handle the situation and clean up the mess later.

He looked into the distance.

The wide River of Union had already unfolded before my eyes, its waters dark and murky, like a huge gray ribbon.

Everything in the snow-covered wetlands finally came to a complete end—accompanied by the still loud, yet utterly unnecessary roar of the tide.

There was neither victory nor defeat, but the matter ended inconclusively due to the other party's compromise—such an ending is truly rare even in Shui Wutong's blood-soaked life.

But I still feel that something is missing. The cylindrical bridge over the river gradually reveals its steel outline, like the metallic embodiment of the tentacles of a stinging jellyfish.

Arrogant man-made structures have confined the once-flowing river within the gaps of the bridge piers. This conquest of nature should have been reassuring, but instead, it inexplicably intensified the unease in Water Wutong's heart.

An error has occurred.

Some kind of irreparable mistake is lurking in the blind spot of his thinking.

What exactly is it?

What the hell did they miss?

As the leader of the organization, Shui Wutong had to maintain his composure and dignity, unable to share this unease with anyone. Therefore, he could only pray in his heart and use reason to convince himself that he had not made any mistakes and that everything was fine.

Before they knew it, the naval fleet had arrived at the riverbank.

Sunlight shattered into countless silver flakes on the water's surface, while the towering bridge cast cold, hard shadows.

But at that moment, two unusual things came into view.

First, the support team that was supposed to be waiting on the shore disappeared, along with the boats that should have been moored.

The riverbanks were deserted, with only the silent lapping of gray water remaining.

Secondly, on the lower-level tracks reserved for trains, an unusual train was stopped at this moment.

It lay quietly on the tracks, engine off, carriage silent, like an iron coffin deliberately placed there, waiting for its owner for a long time.

Even more striking is the sight of three figures standing on the edge of the bridge above the locomotive.

Two of them, dressed in black and white train conductor uniforms, were none other than Bei Shang and Nan Xia, the leaders of the United Alliance versus the Subway.

The fact that the entire line came to a standstill was undoubtedly the work of these two brothers.

But what truly chilled Shui Wutong's blood was the third person in the middle.

The moment he saw the young man, he suddenly realized what he had overlooked.

At this moment, the young man, who is now almost regarded as the embodiment of "the strongest" in Unova, is raising his hand to straighten his baseball cap.

A simple action sent a chill down the spine of the fleet leader.

"I heard," the tall young man in white spoke, his voice calm yet carrying undeniable weight, "that you've broken ties with Team Plasma?"

Undeniable. This is a fact that Shui Wutong herself admitted to the owner of the United Pavilion.

So that's where the trap was buried.

"That's perfect." The young man continued, his usual gentleness vanishing, revealing a hardened nature beneath. "I also have some personal grudges with your organization that need to be settled."

An Archaeopteryx perched quietly on the green-haired youth's shoulder, its gaze as somewhat vacant as it had been at the Feather Residence.

It was a victim of the Aqua Team in the past.

Now, this Pokémon stands before the all-knowing king, its beating heart silently recounting the pirates' crimes.

Regardless of good or evil, everyone needs to be responsible for their own actions.

On the table of fate, the pieces that determine black and white have already been turned over.