Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 331 Sharp Tongue – A Portrait of a Madman

Chapter 333 Sharp Tongue – A Portrait of a Madman

"Jero, the 'City Defense Master,' why are you here, one of the Sages?"

Vio, whose identity was called out, emerged from the darkness, staring coldly at the newcomer before him.

"According to Lord Ghetsis's previous instructions, you should be serving the King, running errands for his naive ideals, right? Why did you desert your post and come to this remote city in the north of Unova?"

At this moment, Vio no longer wore the purple robe that represented the authority of the Seven Sages, but was only wearing a white priest's robe, the standard uniform of the Plasma Order.

Standing before this former Seven Sages was a short, elderly man, dressed in a sage's robe adorned with ornate golden patterns.

Because Kagome Town was pitch black at night, and there wasn't a single pedestrian on the streets, neither of the two Plasma Team executives lowered their voices—"Heh, it seems someone is showing some contempt for the King we all serve. Have they already forgotten who mercifully cleaned up the mess for their subordinate who caused such a disaster last time?"

Gero, who had to look up to meet Vio's gaze, uttered a sarcastic remark, making no attempt to conceal his disdain for his colleague who was currently being disciplined: "Oh dear, oh dear, your brow is furrowed. Don't get so worked up, shrewd strategist Vio. This isn't some illegal casino on the Royal Union. Even if you put on a show of bravado to provoke your opponent, no one is going to pull out chips and cash to help you recover the economic losses you've caused, which are worth half the cult."

"Stop talking nonsense. You were one of the sages who agreed to recruit Yueju in the first place. I will make up for my mistakes by doing good deeds. It's not your place to criticize me."

The mathematician, fallen from his high position, did not lose his arrogance as a sage. He stepped forward forcefully, looking down at the sage in yellow robes who was a head shorter than him—"So, what exactly do you want to do here, Jero? Let me state beforehand that the affairs of the Giant's Cave are entirely entrusted to me by the Council of Sages. Even if my position has temporarily changed, I will not allow anyone to play tricks here until I receive new orders."

"Oh."

Sage Jero remained motionless, letting out a playful chuckle.

"Truly worthy of being the 'leader' who guided our order through the business world, even after being stripped of his sage status, he still exudes an air of grandeur. However, it seems you are judging a gentleman by your own petty standards."

The short, old man deliberately yawned exaggeratedly, his crab-claw-like mustache swinging nonchalantly—

"I am old and frail, and have no interest whatsoever in coming all this way to humiliate a loser. Besides, the daily affairs of the cult are busy, and I have no energy to help my useless colleague with his simple and boring chores."

Vio gave a noncommittal snort.

Although the yellow-robed sage in front of him was outspoken, he didn't think that Jero would be so stupid as to not even realize what was buried deep in the giant's cave.

Although Quetzs didn't explicitly say so during the council of sages, the fact that the task of exploring the cave was brought to the forefront of the council and entrusted to Vio, who was then one of the Seven Sages, to personally oversee, is enough to prove that this plan was not simple.

"Gero, what exactly is your purpose in coming here? To be honest, I have no interest in wasting my time here with you either."

"Without purpose."

Surprisingly, Jero shrugged.

"As you pointed out at the beginning, I have been following our esteemed King around, running errands for him. However, fate is unpredictable..."

The King's compassion knows no bounds either. We, who have been tirelessly working for the liberation of Pokémon, unwittingly ended up here.

"It's that simple. It has nothing to do with you or that giant's cave. Stop being so presumptuous," the yellow-robed sage emphasized, waving his finger.

However, Vio remained vigilant: "Kagome Town is not a place you can just casually stumble upon on your way."

"That's true, but we're currently tracking someone."

Zero reached into his robe and pulled out a portrait. "Vodu, so he's a criminal from the Hoenn region. He disappeared ten years ago after committing a large-scale massacre of wild Pokémon in Hoenn—and recently, he's resurfaced in Unova. What do you think? Have you seen anyone in Kagome Town who resembles the trainer in the portrait?"

It's called a portrait, but it's really just a printed photograph of a person.

The photo shows a gloomy-looking young man wearing thick glasses who looks no more than twenty years old.

The filming location was probably on the podium of a stadium. A trainer with a silver medal from a Pokémon battle around his neck stood next to a purple Devourer, wearing an awkward smile that made him look bewildered.

Vio glanced at the portrait, shook his head, and said, "I don't recognize him. Who is this person?"

"This is a photo of Futo being wanted in the Hoenn region ten years ago. Heh, it seems 'heroes' have always emerged from among the young."

The sage in the yellow robe began his introduction with a sarcastic tone—

"That guy was originally a battle trainer aiming to challenge the League, but he went astray while training Poison-type Pokémon."

He began slaughtering wild Pokémon indiscriminately for so-called "poison testing." It's said that at his most frenzied, he could turn an entire hill teeming with wild Pokémon into a barren wasteland in a single day using only the six Pokémon he carried with him.

"How foolish."

The mathematician delivered his verdict on the ten-year-old fugitive, then calmly asked, "Since you insist that this criminal who disappeared ten years ago has reappeared in United States, it seems he has caused some new trouble."

"Yes, but compared to when he was in other regions, this Voodoo has clearly become much more restrained on our territory. Our king has been tracking him for almost half a month, and has only found forty-six bodies of wild Pokémon along the way, which is far from his record back then. Indeed, once people get older, they start to become timid and hesitant. Lord Vio must feel the same way."

Gerald maintained his characteristically sarcastic tone, as if the deaths of dozens of wild elves were nothing more than a trivial occurrence on his journey, and he didn't forget to take a jab at Vio as well.

You're not that much younger than me, are you?

Vio wanted to retort, but arguing with this sarcastic colleague was pointless at any time, so he cut to the chase and continued to press—"Half a month? The King should have been in Fuki City in the west of Unova before, right? So, you followed a bloodthirsty maniac across the entire continent, from Fuki City to Kagome Town in the northeast corner?"

"After all, police officers capable of arresting criminals don't care about the lives of wild Pokémon. Isn't it the same in Hoenn? If Voodoo hadn't gone on a rampage and slaughtered an entire mountain range, making the Hoenn League feel threatened, that guy's 'testing' would have continued indefinitely—our king felt a responsibility that was uniquely his."

The sage in the yellow robe rolled up the portrait and put it back into his inner pocket.

"Where is the king now?" Vio asked.

"He was healing the wild Pokémon affected by the 'poison,' but based on past experience, those guys are probably beyond saving. Sigh, I've never seen that N-sama lose his temper like this since the coming-of-age ceremony. Luckily, the followers didn't see him like that."

"Catching fugitives in secret won't make you popular, it's really not profitable," Vio shook his head, looking quite disappointed.

"Stop worrying unnecessarily; you really know nothing but numbers and formulas."

Jero showed no mercy to the mathematician, bluntly sarcastically remarking, "Once we capture Voodoo, our Sage Smura will naturally use this to 'publicize' the matter extensively, further enriching Team Plasma's doctrine. Besides, this act of putting beliefs into practice will increase the rapport between the King and that stone, making it easier to control the Dragon God in the future."

"It's just a small consolation. You should know yourself that you could have done much more meaningful things in the same amount of time."

Vio rationally countered, "Even if that king hasn't done anything these past few days, Smura's propaganda machine won't stop for a moment. Your last-minute changes will only disrupt his overall plan. As for that dragon god, regardless of whether the king and he are on the same page, the upper limit of its power will not change. I think we shouldn't place all our hopes on such an unstable fighting force."

"Pfft, I really can't win an argument with you. But Vio, there's one thing you've overlooked."

The plasma cluster's "city defense division" remained calm and simply raised one finger—

"Capturing the ruthless and dangerous individuals and freeing the Poison-type Pokémon under that monster's control—this in itself is meaningful."

"Is this the meaning behind your goal?"

Vio stared at the yellow-robed sage in front of him as if he were a madman.

Zero, a die-hard member of Team Plasma's King's faction and the most fervent supporter of the Pokémon liberation movement, slowly wagged his finger, mocking his colleague's incompetence with a rhetorical question—

"What value does this potent poison, forged in the crucible of corpses and bloodshed of Hoenn, and honed over a decade in obscurity, truly possess? I suppose you are aware of that?"

The waving fingers transformed into a hand, suddenly grabbing Vio's standard white robe and forcefully pulling the latter down to lower his head.

"Group Plasma will surely liberate all the Spirits. Just like formatting a giant computer, only by destroying all existing order can we have a chance to rebuild a completely new castle—and in this process, 'poison' is undoubtedly a very useful tool. Don't you think such a useful tool should rightfully be in the hands of Group Plasma?"

So that's why!

The short, elderly man commanded rudely toward the "windy spot" in an unyielding tone—

"Now, no matter what that Quixote once said to you, put down what you're doing. Cooperate fully with my and the King's operation in Kagome Town! Find that drug enthusiast hiding here, dead or alive, or else—"

Suddenly, Sage Zerg's threat abruptly ceased. The two Plasma Team thugs turned around simultaneously, their gazes fixed on a certain alleyway in the distance.

There's someone there!

"Geometric snowflakes, use 'Frozen Beams' to seal off the north exit of the alley."

"Magneto, 'High Velocity Star'! Force the people inside out!"

Blue crystals made of ice and the magnetic field Pokémon reconstructed by Magneton shot out from the glowing Poké Ball, flying straight towards the alley from which the faint sound was coming from, unleashing their respective skills as they sped along.

A woman's scream echoed from afar in the alley.

It seems this night will inevitably be stained with some blood—the two sages, who were just arguing, had the same thought at the same time.