Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 390 Loosening Cracks

Chapter 392 Loosening Cracks

In the United League's champion office, Hugo put down the printed report sent by Azure, his brow furrowed.

The intelligence provided by that capable assistant was identical to the monitoring data from other cities, which only made the situation more complicated—the alliance's intelligence department's speculation was completely confirmed, but the truth revealed by the data was more unsettling than expected.

As it turns out, the church established by the Plasma Group is not a true brainwashing organization; it does not distort people's minds to make them believe things they did not originally believe in.

However, it has constructed a more sophisticated operating system. Through carefully designed group identity mechanisms and cognitive reinforcement methods,

An invisible information cocoon has quietly taken shape.

Here, followers are immersed in the illusion of self-realization, and whether or not they have unconsciously and gradually accepted the core ideas of the Plasma Group, the mutual influence between the groups makes these people more susceptible to incitement.

According to Azur Lane's investigation around Stellaris City, these so-called "churches" have almost no religious elements—the book corners are sparsely filled with a few fairy tale picture books about N, a few popular books on the history of the Unova Kingdom and the Pokémon liberation movement, and that's all.

The daily activities of the believers are devoid of meditation or worship services; instead, they resemble a typical community center: the elderly play chess and chat, the unemployed learn new skills, and housewives exchange parenting experiences.

However, as compensation for the organization's abandonment of religious aspects, the activities of these churches fostered a strong sense of collective consciousness among their followers.

Here, believers find not only spiritual solace, but also a shared destiny. When the church becomes their entire support in life, the honor and disgrace of the community naturally become closely linked to their personal gains and losses—they share the same glory and the same loss.

The Qibao City Museum incident is the best example of this mechanism—most of the "thugs" who followed the dark trio in storming the exhibition hall came from small, seemingly harmless churches in the surrounding area.

These people had no idea why they attacked the museum. They simply believed the carefully crafted lies of the leaders—"The United Alliance stole the sacred relics passed down through generations of the church and hid them in the museum's underground warehouse"—and it was this naive rumor that turned a group of normally mild-mannered community residents into fanatical instigators of a riot, driven by collective emotion.

This differentiation strategy perfectly inherits the traditional methods of the Plasma Group—they use sharp ideology to cleave apart the originally diverse and symbiotic social relationships from top to bottom.

Alliance forces and religious groups, conservatives and liberation organizations, diehards and progressives, human rights advocates and Pokémon liberationists—under Team Plasma's careful manipulation, these people who had no fundamental conflicts were forcibly divided into opposing camps, and they consumed each other in artificially created friction.

Meanwhile, the plasma cluster, perched atop the pyramid, reaps the benefits from this meticulously orchestrated social division.

Like bloodthirsty megalodons, they plunder resources wantonly in the turbulent waters of group conflict; like the roots of a troll, they constantly absorb new followers in the fog of ideological clashes.

This is the true terrifying aspect of Smura, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, known as "Rift Mobilization".

His plan was meticulously crafted and flawless. To completely eradicate Team Plasma's roots among the people, it would require either launching a social revolution comparable to the Pokémon liberation movement—which is clearly impractical—or adopting another approach: directly targeting the core of the problem and completely dismantling Team Plasma itself.

Ironically, if we strip away the inflammatory elements of the Plasma Group, these grassroots church organizations might actually become a link in maintaining social stability.

They provide a sense of belonging for marginalized groups and create value for the disillusioned, and could have been a remedy for healing social trauma.

But now, these organizations have become Smura's most dangerous pawns, stirring within the "Rift Mobilization" game, gradually pushing the Unova region towards the abyss of division—

As Hugo pondered this, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said, closing the folder cover.

The office door was carefully pushed open, and Khaki, who had recently become the Alliance Affairs Officer, strode in, his uniform cuffs still dusted from checking equipment.

"Champion Hugo, the special communications room you requested is ready," he reported in a low voice. "We've not only checked and removed all conventional listening devices, but we've also had our Pokémon repeatedly use the 'Light Screen' move to ensure we're not spied on by anyone with malicious intent."

"Thank you for your hard work." The champion finally stood up, straightening the wrinkles on his brand-new white jacket. "Lead the way."

The makeshift communications room, only a few square meters in size, was dimly lit and its mottled walls made the cramped space resemble a solitary confinement cell. But Hugo didn't seem to care.

He dragged over the only metal chair in the room, skillfully operated the encrypted communication device in front of him, and dialed the pre-arranged number.

The communication was established almost instantly.

"Hugo, it's really not easy to get in touch with you."

An old but strong voice came through the receiver, and the familiar teasing immediately conjured up an image of a wrinkled but spirited face in Hugo's mind.

The detective unconsciously straightened his back.

The elderly man on the other end of the phone was none other than the legendary head of Interpol—the key figure who had contended with Team Rocket at their peak for many years in the previous era. Hugo had previously had contact with this Interpol leader when he was a detective.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Hugo adjusted the frequency of the communication equipment to ensure the call was secure. "It took some effort to set up this temporary anti-eavesdropping communication room."

"It's okay, being cautious is never a bad thing."

The old man's hearty laughter came through the encrypted channel. His gentle tone made it hard to connect him with the "Iron-Fisted Police Superintendent" who once struck fear into the hearts of underground organizations. Time seemed to have smoothed out his rough edges, but it had not diminished his composed demeanor.

"What brings you here? Is it about the United Nations League, or is it related to my detective work?" Hugo asked directly. "Heh, both, I suppose." A low, slow laugh came from the other end of the line. "Whether as a champion or a detective, you're an important ally of our organization. Team Magma's operation really owes a lot to you. If we had allowed Crimson Pine to establish a secret base outside of Hoenn, our colleagues in Hoenn would have had a tough time."

He paused, his tone slightly serious: "I'm contacting you this time for two reasons: firstly, to formally express my gratitude, and secondly, because I need to share some information with you."

"Intelligence?" Hugo raised an eyebrow. "Has something gotten into trouble lately?"

"Detective, the world isn't just in your area where things are turbulent. Remember that prison near Mount Harshness? That Officer Jenny from the Sinnoh Intelligence Department seemed to have consulted you. Did what you feared happen?"

"The devastating volcano has been triggered? Someone used it as an excuse to escape?" Hugo frowned. "How could the Sinnoh League's news department completely block information about a disturbance of this scale?"

"That's not how it is." The old man paused, as if shaking his head.

"Because of your reminder, Elite Four member of the Sinnoh League arrived at the scene in time. Although he was unable to stop Heatran from waking up, he managed to drive away the Pokémon and stop the eruption of the dormant volcano. However, the awakening of that Pokémon still caused an earthquake in the area, and several senior executives of Team Galactic escaped in the chaos. You should be very familiar with the list—Star, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluton."

"Why those specific individuals?" The champion looked puzzled. "I should have advised the Sinnoh League not to transfer those criminals to the Volcano Prison. Why did this mistake happen?"

"Heh, it's just a trick to lure the snake out of its hole."

The old man chuckled softly, his tone tinged with amusement.

"It's one thing for you to give advice, but whether others listen to it is another matter. The young minister of Sinnoh has a tendency to be overly paranoid. Rather than keeping the criminals locked up in prison, he wants to know what forces are threatening the security of the Sinnoh region. I even suspect that the escape of those four prisoners was itself a step in his probe of the enemy forces."

"Persecution complex" is truly a fitting name—Hugo sighed, realizing that there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names.

"Sigh," a sigh came from the other end of the phone. "The moment the back office opens its mouth, the front lines have to run themselves ragged. That minister's 'luring the snake out of its hole' has forced Interpol to redeploy a large number of personnel to Sinnoh, even delaying the handover of the Team Magma prisoners."

"So that's why Interpol couldn't provide support back at sea?" the detective suddenly realized.

"After all, we don't have that many people. Speaking of which, the Hoenn region hasn't been very peaceful lately." The old man's tone suddenly changed—

"While you were still on Mushroom Island, the barrier around Mount Sending God was attacked by the Water Fleet. That guy, Wutong, led his entire force out to try and seize the precious pearl that had been worshipped for generations in the shrine of Mount Sending God, but they were successfully stopped by the Heavenly Kings and the Masters who stayed behind."

"I hope things go smoothly."

Hugo responded casually, but his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of the communicator.

He knew this all too well—because it was he, the detective, who had anticipated the movements of Team Aqua and advised Daigo to strengthen the protection of the special ruins during his departure, and to keep the remaining three Elite Four members ready to provide support at any time. Unexpectedly, they ran right into Team Aqua's surprise attack.

"The crisis in Hoenn has been resolved, but you're probably in for some trouble—that's the main reason I contacted you this time." The head of the criminal investigation organization's tone suddenly turned serious.

"What's going on?" Hugo asked.

"Members of the Hoenn regional police organization noticed that after their defeat, Team Aqua boarded a large ocean-going vessel and headed towards the Unova region. The abandoned Team Aqua base later seen in Hoenn confirmed this—Champion Hugo, they're clearly after you."

The champion sighed and said with a wry smile, "I did know that Team Plasma was colluding with Team Aqua, but I didn't expect them to act so quickly."

"Then, my dear ally," the old man's gentle yet powerful voice rang out from the other side, "do you need reinforcements?"