Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 358 Interlude - The Poison Arrives

Chapter 360 Interlude - The Poison Arrives

In this quiet and sorrowful night, time, like a fair and impartial traveler, flows forward steadily and fairly.

As the proud pheasant's hoofbeats pierced the clouds, the first faint rays of dawn appeared on the horizon. The gentle sunlight gradually dispelled the darkness, bringing hope and vitality to the still-sleeping city.

But in this world, there are always some people who get up earlier than the sun.

Before their day's energy has fully blossomed, they are already fully immersed in life and work—like those two journalists who traveled all the way from the Hoenn region to Unova.

In a corner of Feiyun City, inside a 24-hour coffee shop, the rich aroma of coffee wafts above the wooden bar counter, while perfectly timed soft music flows in the warm indoor lighting, creating a tranquil and pleasant atmosphere.

The coffee shop employee, who had just started his shift, silently wiped the cups and saucers, gazing curiously at the two strange customers sitting in a corner of the shop.

"Stop being confused, Dai. We're heading back to Hoenn after tomorrow, so we have to solve the mystery Detective Hugo left behind today—what is Team Lava's purpose in hoarding so many supplies?"

Standing in front of the glass window facing the street, reporter Mary tossed a sugar cube into a steaming cup of coffee and glared disapprovingly at her photographer partner.

"But Mr. Hugo said that he is currently only active in the Unova region, and he has no way of knowing the situation in the Hoenn region. It's best not to make any hasty conclusions."

Photographer Dai rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned widely, clearly not yet fully recovered from his fatigue—

"Furthermore, we sent Mr. Hugo's reasoning to Mr. Daigo via email yesterday, detailing the Aqua Team smuggling case."

This has also been confirmed with Professor Pogaman, who's staying at the detective agency. "All the work is done, it's time to take a break, Mary. You've come all this way to Unova, don't you want to take this opportunity to go on a trip?"

"There are always opportunities to travel, but intelligence and information can be fleeting! The detective may not know the specifics of Hoenn, but we do."

The reporter patted the table piled high with documents in front of her, her tone firm and forceful.

The documents were filled with information about the Hoenn region in recent years, clearly the result of her own painstaking efforts in compiling them.

"We're journalists who travel all over Hoenn year-round. Even if we don't know as much as the police about illegal organizations like Team Aqua and Team Magma, we're among the most knowledgeable ordinary people. Are you really willing to stand idly by and watch such important news unfold? Where is your conscience as a journalist?"

She gulped down a mouthful of coffee, only to wince and stick out her tongue from the heat, quickly fanning her mouth with her hand. Even so, she took a deep breath...

Still undeterred, he addressed his partner—

"And are Mr. Daigo and his team really capable of solving the mystery? Team Magma, under the guise of sabotage, stole a large amount of technical secrets and core equipment from vital production facilities such as food and energy sources. Their conspiracy is definitely not small. At this point, can you still happily stroll around the Unova region, sightseeing and enjoying delicious food?"

"I didn't mention enjoying the food." Dai slumped her shoulders, still looking reluctant, but finally started looking through the ingredients on the table.

"Sigh, I just can't do anything with you. So, Mary, what are your thoughts on Team Lava's actions at this stage?"

"Listen to me." Mary pulled a printed sheet from a thick file, which detailed reports of damage from several acts of vandalism.

She pointed to the report and said in a serious tone, "Although the Lava Team stole a lot from these important facilities, they did not directly plunder the supplies. Instead, like performing a precise surgical operation, they accurately seized the core equipment related to production while minimizing large-scale damage."

"Like seawater desalination filtration systems, timber ripening production line control systems, geothermal energy conversion generators, synthetic protein production devices, and liquid fuel catalytic reactors?"

Dai quickly scanned the documents Mary had provided, his brow furrowed, and asked in confusion, "So, after all the trouble they went through to steal these things, are they planning to build a factory and make money themselves?"

"I don't think Team Lava would be so bound by business rules," Mary shook her head, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Moreover, these industrial facilities are not the same as the Hoenn TV station of Archie. If they build factories on a large scale in Hoenn, no matter how secretive they are, they will be discovered by the Alliance sooner or later. Hoping to recoup costs through production and sales is simply a pipe dream."

"Yes," the photographer nodded in agreement, "the profit margins for products like energy, food, and timber aren't very high."

It's unlikely that Team Magma would use them for commercial trade. Unlike Team Aqua, Team Magma doesn't have much influence overseas.

Investing in and building factories across regions wouldn't benefit them much either.

"Therefore, I speculate that the equipment and technology that Team Lava stole are either intended to be kept and used for small-scale production of supplies for their own use, or they simply plan to sell them directly to forces outside of Hoenn, exchanging the core equipment and corresponding technology for money," Mary concluded with certainty as she put down the documents.

After a moment of contemplation, Dai finally nodded: "If Team Lava doesn't intend to engage in trade, then these are indeed the only two paths they have to take."

"However, as you mentioned before, Team Magma mainly develops its influence on the Hoenn mainland, unlike Team Aqua's smuggling ships which roam the world. They may not have many partners overseas—but if they just need to find buyers for a batch of industrial materials, it's not difficult. Apart from illegal organizations, black markets or merchants in various places should be happy to take on this business. The only problem is..."

At this point, Mary took a sip of her coffee. "Team Lava caused such a huge commotion, but just to sell the equipment for money? Doesn't that seem a bit petty?"

"Stingy?" Dai looked puzzled. "It seems quite normal to me. Doesn't Team Lava always hate those corporations that destroy the land environment? While causing chaos, they squeeze some profits out of those factories to sell—that's pretty much in line with the style of these illegal organizations, isn't it?"

"But do you remember the deductions made by Detective Hugo?"

Mary pushed aside the documents in front of her and opened her shorthand notebook, which contained her interview with the detective from the night before last.

"Don't forget how we differentiated the destructive actions of Team Aqua and Team Magma; that's the most crucial premise of the whole incident."

"That's right." The photographer slapped his palm in realization. "Team Aqua's targets are mostly companies they actually oppose, while Team Magma's reasons for choosing targets seem far-fetched. It was based on this that Mr. Hugo concluded that the two organizations were carrying out attacks for their own interests and purposes, completely unrelated to each other."

Miss Mary nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear: "If reselling equipment is the Lava Team's main objective, then it's impossible to explain why they specifically chose targets like grain warehouses and freshwater plants."

"Hmm, after ruling that out, there's only one possible reason why the Lava Team stole those devices—they intend to secretly produce them on a small scale for their own use. But what's the point?" Dai's brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.

"That's exactly what I've been thinking about—why is the Lava Team forced to use these stolen devices to produce the corresponding supplies?" Mary closed her interview notebook and looked expectantly at her photographer partner.

"You're asking me? I don't know either," Dai said, scratching his head in frustration.

"Generally speaking, if an organization wants supplies, it can just purchase them directly. Apart from rocket fuel, other resources such as fresh water, food, timber, and electricity can be purchased normally to meet the daily needs of a large number of people. There is no need to build production facilities from scratch."

"So you think their demand is abnormal? The quantity they purchase might be so large that it would attract the attention of the Hoenn Alliance?" Mary asked, taking the last sip of coffee from her cup and holding a ballpoint pen with the cap still on.

"That makes even less sense," Dai said, clutching his head in confusion. "Why would they buy so many resources? Even building timber! Does the Lava Team want to build a city from scratch?"

"That's a bit too far-fetched," the reporter shook his head without hesitation. "While Hoenn is sparsely populated, it's not like someone could build a city on such a large scale without being noticed. Besides, even if Team Magma did build their own city, how would that help their cause of restoring the land?"

"At least we could have our own secret base, right?" Seeing his companion's direct rejection, Dai insisted on his point of view—"Didn't Detective Hugo say that Team Magma started operating because, judging from the timing, it was probably spurred by the collusion between Team Aqua and Hoenn TV? Driven by a competitive spirit towards their rival organization, they probably wanted to build an operational base comparable to Hoenn TV—that reason should be reasonable, right?"

"That's completely unreasonable," Mary maintained her negative opinion.

"Even the smallest settlement would be far more difficult to build from scratch, from civil engineering to water and electricity supply, than starting a company. Moreover, Team Magma has no need to build a large base right now. Given their swift and elusive style of operation, establishing a central base in Hoenn would only create another target for the League, which would be detrimental to Team Magma."

"Moreover, perhaps it was a journalistic habit, but after gaining the upper hand in the debate, Mary relentlessly continued her pursuit—"

"How can building a new city on the Hoenn mainland be considered reviving the land? It's just building a few more houses on existing land. It doesn't expand the habitable space for humans. If the construction isn't done properly, Team Magma might even think it's destroying forest resources."

At this point in the argument, Dai disregarded any semblance of rationality and forced a response: "Then—could they be planning to build a base deep in the desert at the end of Highway 111? Look, Team Lava's looted equipment is basically self-sufficient. Transforming the desert into a habitable environment would at least count as reviving the land, right?"

"It's the same problem as before—it's too difficult—"

Just as Miss Mary was brandishing her pen, ready to thoroughly refute her news partner, a commotion suddenly arose outside the café window—

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

A very familiar dog-type Pokémon jumped into the reporters' view—it was a large wolfhound commonly found in the Hoenn region.

Surprisingly, despite the electric sparks flashing on the Great Wolfhound's body, which indicated a paralyzed state, its speed was not affected in the slightest.

"Its speed increases under abnormal conditions, and it's unaffected by paralysis—could this be a 'speedy' wolfhound?"

Almost instinctively, Mary's professional instincts kicked in. She quickly stood up, her eyes fixed on the scene outside the window.

As she stood up and her perspective changed, the view outside the window suddenly opened up considerably. Behind the large wolfhound, she saw a figure wearing a gray-black cloak being chased like a wolf.

The man was covered in mud, desperately trying to cover his face, clearly trying to avoid something—no, it wasn't just "appearances." The moment Mary stood up, the sound of police sirens pierced the glass from afar, reaching the ears of the two reporters clearly.

"Looks like he's an escaped convict! Quick, Dai! Let's go help the police—"

The reporter had only spoken halfway when a shadow suddenly appeared in front of the running wolfhound.

The shadow instantly grew larger, and in the next instant, a Pokémon with black and white stripes descended from the sky.

The creature was enveloped in dazzling blue electric light. With each step it took, crackling sounds of electricity would explode in the air, like an urban legend emerging from the morning mist, terrifying and horrifying.

"You have nowhere to run."

A familiar voice rang out, and Officer Jenny, dressed in a beige police uniform, walked out from the corner of the intersection that the fugitive was sure to pass through—it was the same officer Mary had met the day before yesterday.

"You're just unlucky. In the entire criminal investigation department, no one knows the streets and alleys of Feiyun City better than me. In this place, speed alone is far from enough to race me."

In front of the policewoman, the Thunder Zebra raised its head and hoof, proudly letting out a thunderous neigh—it was ready to "make a scene."