Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 501 What are the fish and dragons in the sea doing?

Chapter 503 What are the fish and dragons in the sea doing?

The underwater ruins east of Ripple Town were originally a temple.

After all, throughout human history, pyramid-shaped structures have generally served only two purposes: either as places of worship or as mausoleums. Since the Plasma Cluster did not find any coffins of members of the ancient Unitarian royal family in the ruins, the only possible purpose of the entire structure is the former.

According to Jogos's years of archaeological and historical research, the temple was not built for any simple religious reason, but rather stemmed from a long power struggle between the royal family and the priesthood during the ancient Kingdom of Unova.

The two sides in this power struggle, mutually restraining and needing each other, ultimately reached a tiring compromise before they grew to loathe each other. The royal family provided manpower, resources, and money, while the priestly group provided religious endorsement, gilding the monarchy with a veneer of "divine mandate." The former was also given an additional, nominally noble, but actually mutually beneficial function—praying for favorable weather and national peace and prosperity for the kingdom.

In short, before the temple was reduced to ruins, it served as both a monument symbolizing royal power and a niche for enshrining divine authority.

Later, whenever anything with mythical connotations was unearthed in the kingdom—whether it was a stone tablet of unknown origin or a gemstone containing various wondrous energies—the first reaction was to send it to this heavily guarded temple. This is why the stone tablets symbolizing the Three Holy Swords were enshrined here. And this is also why Quidditch was able to extract so many tons of gold from it—the things in the safe are always the most valuable.

However, the fact that this temple is now submerged in the deep sea is not a coincidence caused by geological changes.

Joges's investigation concluded that it was impossible for a large pyramid structure to sink thousands of meters into the sea by relying solely on natural geological subsidence over a few hundred years.

That's purely man-made.

At the end of the ancient kingdom, when the civil war between the heirs to the throne reached its most brutal stage, the priests guarding the temple made a difficult but wise decision: they must not allow this temple, which could control the Three Cloud Gods and even more legendary beings, to fall into the hands of any side that was already bloodthirsty.

So they took a do-or-die approach and modified it.

With the help of a Pokémon that can draw power through its song, and using countless unknown totems as a source of power, the priests made the entire temple slowly sink like a mudfish sinking into the mudflats, eventually sliding down the underground river into a fissure in the deep sea.

From then on, unless relying on a specific Pokémon's "Dive" move or sufficiently modern deep-sea diving equipment, those who covet its power would be unable to reach this place. Even if someone were to manage to find the location, the labyrinthine interior of the temple and the seawater that flooded it would be enough to render any sacrificial ritual to awaken the gods futile.

But there was one thing they left behind.

That device that gathers a large amount of energy.

To this day, it still lies quietly in the deepest part of the temple, having endured thousands of years of seawater corrosion. Although its surface is rusted and its structure is incomplete, and although the thousands of unknown totems that were originally the source of its power have long been captured and wiped out by the Plasma Cluster for Zero's project, leaving not a single one.

But the device itself was still intact when the plasma cluster excavated the underwater structure for the last time.

Like a shell with its internal organs removed, the skeleton still stands, waiting for someone to fill it with something new.

.

Joggs lifted his gaze from the mirror in his hand.

"Logically speaking, in order for that energy-gathering device to truly function, we must capture the singing Pokémon that assisted the priests of the ancient kingdom in sinking the temple into the deep sea—only through its song can the ruins be brought back to the surface."

But it is clear that, given the current situation, no one in the order has that luxury.

Landorus was already entangled in a sandstorm with Tornado and Thundurus, and had no time to wait for the underwater pyramid to slowly rise from the trench. Moreover, Team Plasma no longer had any spare troops to search for a mythical Pokémon that had long since disappeared from the pages of history books.

"Actually, there is another way."

Joggs muttered to himself.

Otherwise, this historian, who has always maintained neutrality, would never have ended up where he is today.

"The symbol bird."

The Poké Ball flashed red. The Psychic-type partner, rumored to be the guardian deity of an ancient city, appeared beside the sage in blue robes.

"Use 'telekinesis' to help me communicate with the Earth Cloud."

Joggs spoke at a steady pace, a plan he had already rehearsed repeatedly.

The next second, the single eye on the symbolic bird's head lit up with a ghostly blue light. An invisible spiritual force, like a spider's web, reached out, cutting through the gaps in the swirling yellow sand and thunder, and precisely wrapped itself around the earth cloud that was engaged in fierce combat.

"Activate the power of the stone slabs—Land Cloud, use 'Rock Lock'."

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The command to "exile the shards" resounded clearly and coldly within the mental link. Before the earth cloud on the other end of the link could even respond, its hands instinctively gripped the stone slab in its palms. Earthy yellow energy surged from the surface of the slab, climbing up its arms and condensing into a heavy, almost solidified ball of light in its palms.

"Simultaneously capture thunderclouds and tornadoes—"

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The trainer's voice did not pause for a moment, yet it was as resolute as a blade carved into rock.

"Drag them to the bottom of the sea!"

And so, the land cloud erupted.

Those half-closed eyes suddenly opened, and the look in their pupils was no longer the tired and compassionate one they had before; instead, it was a kind of tyrannical and overwhelming will.

A sound that surpassed any previous commotion suddenly exploded in the center of the vortex.

At the same time, the earth-yellow figure suddenly accelerated in the "sandstorm," no longer dodging or blocking. The earth cloud's broad palms reached out simultaneously, grabbing at the two figures intertwined with lightning and hurricane on the left and right sides respectively.

Even though the Thundercloud's "Evil Pulse" struck its shoulder and the Tornado's "Air Blade" slashed across its ribs, with air currents, lightning, and blood splattering at the same time, the Landcloud merely groaned and didn't even blink.

At the cost of his numerous wounds, this god of abundance gained a chance to get close to his two archenemies.

Then, it caught it as expected.

With his muscular arms outstretched, Earth Cloud, carrying a rock slab in his mouth, controlled both opponents simultaneously in a posture that could be described as extreme. His powerful left hand gripped Thunder's neck, while his strong right hand's fingers seized Storm's throat.

The two legendary Pokémon simultaneously let out a screech mixed with anger and astonishment, their electric tails lashing wildly and the air currents surging violently, yet they could not break free from those iron-like grips even an inch.

And that's not all—

"Supernatural power"!

A ripple of superpower erupted from Landorus's eyes, like an invisible hammer, slamming into the minds of the two restrained cloud gods. A moment of confusion flashed in Thundurus's eyes, and Tornado's struggles suddenly weakened. It was only a lapse of less than a second, but for Landorus, it was enough.

The stone slab’s energy poured out from beneath its spiked white beard.

Rocks appeared out of thin air amidst thunder and gale, layer upon layer, like a giant hand closing in, swallowing the three legendary Pokémon locked in combat.

"Rock Blockade"!

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

The roar of the colliding boulders drowned out the waves and thunder.

The sphere of rock and energy hovered briefly at the center of the sandstorm before collapsing under its immense weight.

Driven by the force, it carried the three deities and plunged straight into the boundless sea.

The splashing water shot straight into the sky.

Waves crashed like waterfalls, the sea churning. Joggs lowered his hand from his forehead; rainwater mingled with the splashing seawater, dripping down his sleeve.

"It's done," he said softly.

Behind Joges, the old archaeological platform creaked and groaned.

That was the groan of metal fatigued to its limit, as rusted gears meshed with equally rusted chains, slowly and laboriously dragging a heavy, enclosed compartment up from below the platform along the crane.

The cabin is cylindrical, and its outer shell is covered with mottled rust and traces of marine life such as sun corals. Several round portholes are covered with salt stains and are translucent. This is the deep-sea work cabin used when excavating the underwater ruins. Because it was converted from an old type of oil well development equipment, it looks extremely simple and bulky, and it has been in disrepair for many years.

But Joggs did not hesitate.

As soon as the hatch opened, the historian strode into the room, and the smell of rust mixed with the salty smell of seawater immediately hit him.

The cabin was cramped, and most of the buttons on the control panel were illegible. Several exposed cables hung from the ceiling, swaying gently as the platform rocked.

"The symbol bird, stay outside."

He turned and gave the order. The black-headed bird-shaped Pokémon perched on the edge of the hatch, its single blue eye fixed on him.

"Make sure the pulley system is working properly, then use 'gravity' to send me down."

The symbolic bird let out a symbolic cry, as if expressing its reluctance to part. But Joggs simply pressed the rusty button and closed the hatch.

Fortunately, the facility wasn't completely ruined; the outer door and waterproofing layer closed smoothly and slowly under the motor's drive. However, the lighting seemed to be malfunctioning; the cabin fell into darkness shortly after it started operating, with only a faint, gray light filtering in from the porthole.

Joggs had no time to feel relieved or dissatisfied with the facility's preservation. The next second, an invisible pressure descended from above, and his superpowered partner outside faithfully carried out his orders.

The compartment jolted violently, the rusted winches screeched, and the pulleys spun wildly under the pressure. The deep-water work capsule plummeted toward the surface at an almost out-of-control speed, the impact sending up a white spray before continuing to sink.

The light outside the porthole dimmed rapidly.

The blue of the seawater changes from light to dark, from bright to muted, like a curtain being slowly drawn up.

The sky, rust, and rain above the platform all rapidly shrink within this small, round window until they disappear.

In the near-free-fall sensation of weightlessness, Joggs gripped the bulkhead, his fingers trembling slightly. He tried not to think about what would happen if a crack appeared in the rusted iron shell, simply watching quietly as the world outside the window sank into darkness.

The compartment continued to sink. The metal hull creaked under the pressure of the deep water, like the groan of some ancient skeleton.

Deeper inside, a faint light flickered.

Yellowish-brown, blue-white, and purple-green light intertwined, collided, and tore at each other in the deep sea, yet remained trapped within a layer of ochre-red rock. The man-made cage slowly tumbled with the ocean currents, stirring up a cloud of murky mud with each rotation.

The seawater continuously washed over the surface of the rocks, dissolving the debris and leaving a long, yellowish-brown tail beneath. But at the same time, the earth cloud and the rock slabs were constantly reinforcing the seal—no matter how the lightning cloud and tornado cloud struggled in the confined space, the "rock seal" did not weaken significantly.

The only remaining variable is time.

Land Cloud's stamina probably won't last much longer.

But it doesn't need to persist any longer.

Because at this very moment, that underwater ruin, that mysterious pyramid that lies dormant at the bottom of the trench, is almost within reach.

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