Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 241 Scorching Stream - The Hand That Takes Chestnuts

"...Now, my vision is filled with ghosts and monsters, leaving me clueless as to how to avoid them. Though the daytime smiles with transparent reason, the night spreads its web of dreams to ensnare me..."

After a brief moment of dizziness, Wanlong immediately understood the situation, and poetic words habitually surfaced in her mind.

Knowledge is both a gift from books and a curse. People who are good at imagining will involuntarily fall into the prison of cognitive construction. As the Ghost King, Wanlong should have been the first to discover the truth.

The facts are obvious; what we are seeing is not a supernatural event like "lighting up a lamp on your buttocks" at all.

In today's modern world, where strange tales have no place, how could the old and strange creatures of the Sinnoh region from a hundred years ago really affect Unova across the ocean?

The hundreds of lights before us are the wild Ghost-type Pokémon that originally lived near the Tower of Paradise.

The child's voice came from the snickers of ghostly spirits hidden among the tombstones, while the firelight that was spreading across the floors came from a Pokémon that Wanlong was most familiar with—Chandelier.

Perhaps because the living's longing for the dead is concentrated here, the existence of the cemetery naturally attracts wild Ghost-type Pokémon. In the Tower of Paradise, where many Pokémon are buried, many wild Ghost-type Pokémon naturally roam around on ordinary days, especially at night, when these dark-loving Pokémon become even more active.

But weren't these warlike wild elves driven away by the four Unova Elite Four members themselves when they climbed the tower during the day? Even if the elves regrouped at night, they couldn't possibly number this many.

The bluish-purple ghostly flames resembled the Milky Way under a clear night sky, numbering at least several hundred.

Considering that each Chandelure has five candles burning on its head, one large and four small, there must have been at least eighty or ninety Pokémon present, if not hundreds.

How can there be so many?

Furthermore, although in theory, wild Pokémon of different strengths would gather on different floors of the Tower of Heaven, with the higher the floor, the stronger the Pokémon hidden there would be—below the empty fifth floor, the fourth floor where they stood was usually filled with the strongest Ghost Pokémon in the vicinity.

However, despite this, the quality of the elves appearing around them at this moment was far too high—

The entire group consisted of Chandelures, with no other wild Pokémon mixed in, and not even a single one that hadn't evolved to its final form. It was like a well-equipped and disciplined high-level military unit.

Hugo, that mysterious detective, how did he manage to do all of this?

"Speaking of which, when we went up the tower, the detective wandered around this floor."

Beside her, Alice, a girl from Shuanglong City, suddenly spoke.

"At that time, it seemed that he put something in the center of the cemetery."

What is that? Is it sweet honey that can attract Pokémon? No, Chandelure isn't a Grass or Bug-type Pokémon that likes sweets, so it's impossible for it to be attracted to such an item.

Could it be some kind of exotic incense or a special item like a spirit cloth? But even if we put these things out, we still can't attract this many crystal lamp spirits.

"What a grand display! Are you the trap that the black-haired detective set up for me?"

Champion Alder was now prepared to face the overwhelming horde of wild Pokémon. In addition to the old craftsman, he also sent out a Pokémon with a skin as rough as sandpaper.

"Ah, that's the Red-faced Dragon, champion of Ardek!"

Seeing that the champion had sent out a Dragon-type Pokémon that she also had, Alice looked very proud and said excitedly.

"Although the Red-faced Dragon is a pure Dragon type, it is also very skilled in all kinds of Dark-type moves. Moreover, living in burrows, they are also very good at fighting in confined spaces, making them perfect for defending against attacks from the Chandelure Spirits."

“Yeah, my Crystal Chandelier Spirit was targeted by this guy during the day,” Wanlong said with little interest.

"Although we managed to defeat it in the end through our chubby, attrition-based tactics, the price we paid was severe. I remember the item it was carrying was..."

Ghost King stopped mid-sentence, because a wild Chandelier Spirit launched the first attack on Adek—they were indeed the helpers Hugo had recruited to deal with Adek.

At the same time, the red-faced dragon, now in battle mode, also revealed all the items it was carrying...

"Here."

As Alder nodded, the red-faced dragon on his left seemed to understand its trainer's command and charged forward first.

With a swift step forward, dark dark energy gathered in its azure dragon claws, and it launched a preemptive attack just as its opponent released Shadow Ball.

The Dark-attribute move, "Surprise Attack".

The elaborate headband with the Poké Ball pattern resembles a charging flag, fluttering wildly amidst the spikes on the red-faced dragon's head.

The headband tightly tied on the forehead has a magical power that can stimulate a Pokémon's concentration, thus giving rise to a strange and violent tactic—if a Pokémon carrying this item uses only one move in battle, the power of that move will be dramatically increased.

At this point, the "Sudden Attack" move, amplified by the Headband, is almost as powerful as a Dark-type Pokémon using its own STAB move. Combined with the Dark type's double advantage over Ghost-type, the effect is naturally even more lethal.

A sound like a balloon being popped rang out, and the crystal chandelier spirit that had attempted to attack was sent flying backward. During its fall, it weakened into a spirit form and disappeared into the sea of ​​blue lights.

"Is the targeted move 'Sucker Punch'? If we're using it in a battle against a Trainer, the combination of the headband and 'Sucker Punch' seems a bit hasty."

Looking at the unequal numbers of the two teams in the battle, Wanlong began to analyze the situation objectively.

"If the opponent uses moves other than attacks while on guard, 'Surprise Attack' will lose the initiative. And if it's against a clever detective like Hugo, who knows what kind of tricks he might pull... However, right now Champion Ardek is facing a horde of Chandelures. Wild Pokémon without a leader mostly only use simple attack moves. Perhaps Mr. Ardek's approach is the best strategy at this moment."

In the arena, the Red-faced Dragon, having defeated a Chandelure, raised its head, its ferocious gaze keenly spotting yet another wild Pokémon preparing to attack. The light of the "Sucker Punch" move once again gathered in its claws.

Meanwhile, the other Pokémon sent out by Alder was also busy.

The veteran repairman gripped the middle of the concrete column with both hands, his large fingers moving nimbly, making the concrete column spin with a powerful, swift motion.

The heavy stone pillars transformed into two circular planar barriers, waving left and right like two tornadoes moving side by side, indiscriminately launching area attacks on the crystal chandelier spirits surrounding them.

This is a Dark-type move, "Wild Swing"!

If Red Dragon hadn't used "Sudden Attack" repeatedly and advanced deep into the enemy forces, this destructive Dark-type move would have certainly affected its teammates.

Ahead, the Red-faced Dragon moved in a zigzag pattern like a black lightning bolt, its Dark-type moves releasing their aftershocks with abandon, each pause accompanied by a successful new "surpation".

The attack struck, the black chandelier fell to the ground, and the eerie blue flames vanished. This scene played out again and again.

The old builder behind him stood guard in front of Champion Alder, using his wielding cement pillars to block the aftershocks of Ghost and Fire moves, while violently reaping the wild Pokémon left behind by Reddragon. Occasionally, one or two Chandelures would try to flank and attack the trainer directly, but they would also be easily taken down from a distance by the old builder's "Rock Slide" move.

"In the blink of an eye, nearly half of all the crystal chandelier spirits have disappeared."

This was the first time Alice had ever witnessed a single person fighting against so many high-level wild elves.

If this battle continues for a while, Hugo's carefully laid siege will soon crumble.

This is far more than a simple battle like in a video game where the strong mow down the weak. Considering the number and quality of the enemies, if we call this swarm of Chandelier spirits a true beast tide, then the large-scale battles Alice had experienced in the wild were nothing more than a trickle from a leaky faucet.

Faced with such an overwhelming horde of Ghost-type Pokémon, Alder simply sent out two Pokémon, easily defusing the crisis from all sides.

Red Dragon uses priority moves to launch a high-speed charge from the front, preventing the enemies from uniting to unleash a combined attack that the Constructor cannot withstand. Meanwhile, the Constructor acts as a pillar in the rear, protecting the trainer while also reducing the number of enemies, so that Red Dragon does not have to worry about a counterattack from behind.

One in front, one behind; one moving, one still.

Alder didn't even give many complicated commands; with just a flick of his finger, the Pokémon, who had been together for many years, understood their old partner's intention and began their attack in perfect unison. The two sides thus completed a near-perfect teamwork.

Even just glimpsing the tip of the iceberg in this battle, Iris could feel the pinnacle of the aging champion's command skills... I really want to become a trainer like that.

"Six times, seven times... The red-faced dragon should be returning soon."

Wanlong, who was resting her chin on the cap of a pen, suddenly said that the Ghost-type King's perspective on the game seemed to be different from that of the girl.

"Huh? Why?" Alice asked, puzzled.

Before their eyes, the red-faced dragon, who had once again used the "Surprise Attack" move, actually reversed its lightning-fast trajectory and sped back towards Alder's direction.

"This might not be common in normal duels, but when Red Dragon suddenly faces so many wild Pokémon, another weakness of wearing a headband becomes apparent."

"Another weakness... Ah! Could it be the number of times a move can be used?"

Wanlong nodded slowly: "The speed of striking late but arriving first doesn't come without a price. Even for Dark-type Pokémon, 'Sucker Punch' is a very resource-intensive move. Even if Aldera's Red-faced Dragon could sustain a few more attacks, it could never use it more than ten times—and for Pokémon that wear special headbands, running out of moves is no different from a death sentence."

“I understand. So now Red-faced Dragon must return to Mr. Alder's side to get supplies, or simply be rotated out of the arena…”

As the two were talking, the red-faced dragon had already turned back. At the same time, Adek flipped open the cuff of his linen robe and took out a white, spray-like substance.

Then, Alder seized the opportunity and threw the item towards the Reddra. Seeing this, the Reddra, already in front of its trainer, used its final "Sucker Punch" move—

He snapped the white spray bottle in two with his claws, then opened his mouth wide, ready to drink the liquid inside.

Every trainer is familiar with that item—the PP-Boosting Potion, which is sold in most friendly shops.

Their perfect teamwork and swift movements were as graceful and stylish as flowing water.

Once the Red-faced Dragon drinks those potions, its attack energy will be fully replenished, and when it returns to the battlefield, no Chandelure will be able to stop its Dark-type moves.