Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 491 You can't always use a key to unlock a door.

Chapter 493 You can't always use a key to unlock a door.

The wind indicates that there is an air vent in this cave—the little fish must have swum in through some hidden ventilation channel.

Upon closer reflection, this is perfectly reasonable.

Regardless of the fact that the unknown totems themselves require air and supplies, the unknown totems within the caves are constantly being rotated and replaced, which necessitates a stable entrance and exit route. Otherwise, the battlefield would quickly become filled with individuals unconscious from combat, severely interfering with the efficiency of the 'City Defense Master's' remote control of phantoms.

A 'city defense master' aiming for a perfect castle would never leave such a naive flaw.

In other words, the plasma cluster must have left another passage in this seemingly enclosed cave—

This was not a path that the Heavenly King and his party had forcibly opened when they entered. It was simply that before that, it had been obscured by layers of phantoms of unknown totems, hidden from view.

Now, this only weakness has been exposed by an inconspicuous little pufferfish.

"Lianwu." Yueju turned around, her gaze falling on her old colleague beside her.

The fighters understood immediately and turned their gazes toward Wanlong in a relay.

"Can we do that again?" he asked.

The novelist glanced at the Chandelier spirit, who was locked in combat with Regice's phantom, and replied swiftly, "We need to rest, at least five minutes."

"No problem." Lila, who understood the Heavenly Kings' hint, immediately said, "Leave this to me and Raigong."

Before the words were even finished, Lei Gong, who had just finished his rotation and rest, transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly took over the position of the Crystal Lamp Spirit. The latter did not linger in the fight, leaving behind a lingering purple flame afterimage before its true form gracefully retreated to Wanlong's side.

At the same time, the novelist rummaged through his nearly empty stash of props and pulled out a packet of powder. The moment the packet was taken out, the spirit of the crystal chandelier visibly trembled.

As a top-tier Pokémon capable of unleashing magnificent flames and shadows and being invincible on the battlefield, it seemed to have seen something terrifying.

"Bear with it," Wanlong comforted her, her tone carrying a hint of coaxing a child. "The next breakthrough depends on you."

She carefully opened the powder packet and poured the dark brown powder inside into the purple flames crackling above the chandelier spirit's head.

The moment the powder touched the flame, the candlelight above its head abruptly turned emerald green. Chandelure's black, lampstand-like arms instantly curled up in pain, and the entire Pokémon shrank into a ball.

This is a universal powder, made according to a one-to-one replica of an ancient Chinese medicine formula. It can relieve all abnormal conditions and even has a certain effect of boosting spirits. There's only one drawback—

It was extremely bitter.

It's so bitter that even Pokémon that like bitter tastes can hardly stand it. It's so bitter that if a trainer and their partner aren't close enough, forcing them to use it might even lead to a rift in their relationship.

But of course, there couldn't be such a problem between Wanlong and Crystal Lamp Fire Spirit.

That shouldn't be possible, right?

The flames quickly returned to their original purple color, but the Chandelure seemed to drift further away in the air, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the trainer, Wanlong.

In those black, windowpane-like eyes, there was clearly a subtle resistance.

"No way?" Wanlong protested incredulously, but her hand never stopped spraying the wound medicine. "I've tasted this powder before when I was working all night to finish a manuscript! Is it really that bitter?"

The chandelier spirit swayed its body, its eyes filled with disdain that said "I can't explain it to you"—its expression was just like that of a human cub who had been forced to take Chinese medicine and then had to listen to someone nagging, "It's not bitter, it's quite sweet."

"Are you guys ready yet?" Yueju called out to Wanlong, almost timing it precisely five minutes. "While it wouldn't hurt for you to rest a little longer, that little fish that crawled out of the vent seems to be surrounded by an unknown totem. I want to protect it and see where it came from."

Wanlong looked in the direction the gambler was pointing.

At the edge of the battlefield, the small white figure was caught in the siege of unknown totems. It was struggling to defend itself and it seemed that it would soon be swallowed up by the "awakened power" of various attributes.

"If we manage to escape this time, it'll be a huge hero." The novelist turned his gaze to the crystal chandelier spirit beside him. "Ready?"

The chandelier spirit did not answer. It simply leaped into the air, its purple flames burning brightly and emitting a reassuring crackling sound.

Wanlong pushed up his glasses, a smile appearing on his lips.

She raised the pen with the key embedded in its tip once more—and in an instant, the light of super-evolution, symbolizing bonds and trust, suddenly shone brightly.

"Break through!"

At the same time, Lian Wu clasped his hands together and made a crisp sound.

The old craftsman responded immediately. Using the concrete pillars as a fulcrum, it suddenly leaped up in the narrow cave, the powerful building beams sweeping in all directions. Countless crystals shattered in response, and the unknown totems attached to them were unable to escape. They were thrown into the air along with the shattered crystals and scattered in all directions, completely routed.

Lila, the handsome guy, and the three superstars all started moving at the same time.

Seeing this, the legendary giants seemed to sense the danger and took action. Regigi, the fastest of them all, instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning, attempting to appear in their path to intercept them.

At that moment, Cranberry chuckled to herself.

Suddenly, a figure clad in iron armor appeared like a ghost before the leaping lightning.

The sharp, bladed arm, imbued with intense Dark-type energy, swung out with a swift motion, striking Reggieleigh squarely as he prepared to unleash a move—

It was a simple and unpretentious "surprise attack".

Because the unknown totem was not completely deactivated from its legendary phantom state before the attack, and because General Servant Blade only made a hasty move, this attack could only delay the opponent's actions for a moment.

But this moment was enough.

"Crystal Chandelier Spirit, 'Big Character Explosion'!"

Because the attack of the Super Crystal Chandelier Spirit has already begun!

In an instant, the purplish-red flames that shot out were like the fire of the apocalypse, and they slammed solidly into Reggie Elegy's body.

The phantom formed from lightning and unknown totems let out a sharp screech, its golden lightning shell suddenly collapsing, most of its body turning into countless flying black symbols. Whether due to increased consumption or a change in some condition, as the battle continued, the unknown totems that made up the phantom seemed to be increasingly able to reveal their true forms under the impact of powerful attacks.

Wanlong gave them no chance to catch their breath.

"Continue the pursuit, use 'Purgatory'!"

The eight newly formed lamp branches of the Super Crystal Chandelier swayed simultaneously, and a dark purple flame swept out from all angles.

This wasn't so obvious when dealing with legendary Pokémon—after all, by the time Unown revealed its true form, Chandelure had already reverted to its Mega Evolution state. But times have changed. In this intense, chaotic battle, nothing is more suitable for clearing the way than Mega Chandelure!

As if echoing the praise from Wanlong Tianwang behind them, countless unknown totems collapsed to the ground in droves, like a large-scale concert venue where Jigglypuff's "singing" moves had been maliciously broadcast. However, the acrid smell emanating from them made the scene far more devastating than any botched concert.

"Speaking of which—doesn't this flame consume oxygen?" The handsome guy following behind sniffed and asked Wanlong in a low voice.

The Ghost King patted his chest, a hint of smugness in his voice: "Don't worry. As long as the flames released by the Crystal Chandelier Spirit remain in their blue will-o'-the-wisp state, what's burning is only the energy dissipating from the surrounding crystals. We've been keeping an eye on this since we entered the cave, otherwise we would have been starving long ago."

During the conversation, the path to the ventilation vents suddenly became clear.

The old craftsman and the servant general took turns to break through obstacles and force the unknown totems hidden in the illusions to reveal their true forms; the super crystal chandelier spirit provided support from behind, using large-scale fire attacks to wipe them out in batches.

Ahead, a visible exit finally appeared.

"Thunder God—'Discharge'!"

As soon as the detective gave her instructions, Mama Little Fish, who had been struggling against the "awakening power" of the unknown totem, was suddenly enveloped in a layer of soft electric light.

The next moment, Lei Gong appeared with a roar, stepping on arcs of electricity. His handsome mane stood up in the static electricity, while the unknown totems that had been attacking him fell to the ground in paralysis.

"Hostage rescue successful." Yueju looked at the bewildered little fish being protected by Leigong and whistled lightly. "Now, it's time to retreat."

The experienced construction worker responded immediately, sweeping across the concrete column and instantly widening the passageway.

The group filed in without stopping, leaving the enormous legendary giants far behind.

Inside the passage they entered, an unbelievable sight unfolded—a group of unknown totems lined up in an orderly fashion, divided into two columns, moving towards each other like a high-speed rolling cassette tape.

They flow along some unseen path, one batch being transported out from the depths of the cave, while another batch is replenished from the outside in, in a way that is eerily orderly.

The intrusion of the Heavenly King and the police officers instantly disrupted this meticulously crafted rotation system.

The advancing ranks were cut off, the retreating ranks were blocked, and countless unknown totems were crammed together in the narrow passage. Layers of black symbols with white eyes were forced to writhe and struggle in the dim light, like a pot of boiling black soup. As the enemy drew closer, they simply abandoned their original order, collectively reversed direction, and scattered into the depths of the passage.

As a result, the entire rotation system completely collapsed.

The intruders' attack pattern remained the same as before—a master builder wielded a concrete pillar to clear the way, the wielder's blade drove them away from the flanks, and the super crystal chandelier spirit unleashed a wide-ranging burst of flames from behind. The Heavenly Kings' trump cards, like shepherds, propelled the scattered unknown totems forward with triumphant strides.

In this extremely chaotic situation, the "City Defense Master" Gerald was completely unable to effectively monitor, let alone control, the intruders.

Because it's too chaotic.

The "eyes" of every unknown totem were squeezed out of place, and the information transmitted through superpowers was blocked by layers of dense vision. All the pre-set defense mechanisms were rendered useless in this chaotic rout.

As for the phantoms of legendary Pokémon behind them, their enormous size completely blocked the narrow passage. They angrily pounded on the entrance, but could only watch helplessly as their prey slipped through their fingers—this was the disadvantage of a giant's size.

All these earth-shattering changes started with just an inconspicuous little fish.

At this moment, it is being carefully held in the arms of the handsome man.

The small white figure clearly hadn't figured out what was happening yet, and just blinked its eyes in confusion.

After groping around in the dark for about two thousand minutes in the narrow ventilation tunnel, a huge mechanical roar began to sound from the outside.

The shrieking of metal rubbing together, the muffled clatter of gears meshing, the hissing of hydraulic systems—these were signs that the castle's structure was about to deform again.

This time, no one was surprised. It would be strange if Jero didn't use this time to rebuild the castle's defenses.

Amidst the continuous roar, a white light suddenly shone from the center of the unknown totem group being driven away ahead.

The scattered totems rushed there in a hurry, scattering and disappearing into the open space outside.

—Exit, we've arrived.

The moment the white light engulfed their vision, everyone instinctively squinted.

As their vision readjusted to the light, the sight before them stunned everyone—

The familiar Gothic corridors, the familiar metal walls, and the familiar branching paths stretched out in all directions like a spider web. The exquisite etched patterns, the regularly arranged lighting sources, and the surveillance cameras that appeared every few meters all reminded them that they had returned to this labyrinth once again.

It felt like a different world.

However, unlike before, the interior of the castle had clearly been rearranged. The density of the maze's branching passages had increased, the width of each passage had been reduced by a third, and many new partitions had been added to the ceiling. It was obvious that Geralt had learned from his previous experience—to prevent anyone from using the gaps in the walls to hide their tracks again.

However, compared to the crystal cave filled with legends, phantoms, and endless unknown totems, the orderly man-made maze in front of them gave everyone a strange sense of security.

At least here, the enemy is visible. At least here, hundreds of darting eyes won't suddenly appear from behind every wall.

It seems the "city defense division" is planning to use a complex maze to buy time.

Lingju stopped, stroked her chin, and scanned the fork in the road ahead, just as she was about to begin analyzing the next step—

The little fish in the handsome man's arms suddenly moved.

The small white figure broke free from the detective's arms, flicked its tail, and landed lightly on the ground. Then, it swayed from side to side a few times, spotted a corner where the wall met the ground, and without hesitation, darted inside.

"Hey, wait a minute—"

—

The handsome man tried to reach out and catch it, but only touched the slippery tip of its tail. The little fish had already disappeared into the crack in the corner of the wall, leaving only a string of static sparks.

"We'll follow it." Lian Wu's decision was made without any hesitation.

If it weren't for that little fish, they might already be starving and out of supplies in that cave filled with unknown totems. The creature was undoubtedly trying to guide them to something, and it was clearly not on the same path as Group Plasma. Therefore, following it for now shouldn't be a problem.

At the trainer's command, the old craftsman's concrete pillar swung out and smashed into that seemingly ordinary corner of the wall.

The wall was cracked, revealing a narrow gap behind it—a mezzanine left during the construction of the building structure, which is almost unavoidable in large buildings, but Jero concealed it almost perfectly.

Meanwhile, the figure of Mama Little Fish flashed ahead and continued to venture deeper inside.

He was indeed leading the way.

Seeing this, the group had no choice but to continue following it with trepidation, digging and traversing the area.

Behind the wall is an even more complex sandwich structure, with crisscrossing pipes and steel beams, clearly a "gray area" between the castle's load-bearing system and the decorative layer.

Mama Fish was even more skilled than the previous Flame Monkey. Like a well-trained gopher, it nimbly navigated the maze-like crevices underground, sometimes turning left, sometimes right, as if it knew every inch of the underground terrain of the castle. It did not hesitate when finding its way.

After digging through what seemed like countless partition walls, the group entered a narrow corridor.

The passage was extremely narrow; even behemoths like the Old Craftsman and the Servant of the Blades couldn't pass through and had to be recalled to their Poké Balls. Raikou could barely squeeze in, but its golden fur would create a trail of sparks as it rubbed against the metal pipes.

"What if Jero suddenly crushes us here? That would be terrible." Lila looked at the space in front of her, hesitating whether she should step in.

"No." Her handsome subordinate shook his head. "This area should be far from the castle's deformable range. We might even have escaped Jero's surveillance. Otherwise, it's inexplicable why the 'City Defense Master' hasn't altered the terrain to stop our actions for so long."

"How about this," Lian Wu suggested, "the old craftsman and I will keep watch outside. If something unexpected happens, we can hold out with brute force for a while."

This was a safe plan, and no one objected. They turned sideways and entered the narrow path one by one.

Their exploration didn't last long. The passage didn't connect to any other paths; at its end, there was only a solitary, cast-iron room.

The room's walls were constructed from thick cast iron plates, the seams welded together seamlessly. There were no windows, only a single, equally cast iron door, tightly shut. It must be said that the room's style clashed drastically with the other Gothic structures in the castle.

"Is this a prison cell?" Yueju rubbed his chin in confusion. He had already noticed the ventilation opening on the iron door. Little Fish must have already crawled in through there.

After seeking the opinions of others with his eyes, the handsome guy next to him raised his hand.

So, the wicked frog sitting on his neck leaped to the door, raised its hand and used a move called "Tile Splitting," and the lock on the iron gate snapped in two.

The moment the door opened, a faint light shone out, and there was indeed a figure inside.

And the little fish that led the way for them was floating beside them.

He was a pale, thin middle-aged man.

He was wearing an old coat that should have been dark but was now unrecognizable, his lips were chapped, and his eyes were sunken, clearly indicating that he had been trapped there for quite some time.

He looked up, squinting at the light outside the door, seemingly struggling to adjust to the sudden situation.

Everyone looked at each other.

"You are—" Yueju cleared her throat, stepped forward, and was about to ask.

But at that moment, Wanlong behind him suddenly narrowed her eyes and blurted out a name: "You are... Holt?"

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