Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

For some reason, Cynthia takes this Jackal Civil War very seriously!

She had tried to contact that Ya Xuan before, but unfortunately, he was too weak and couldn't provide her with any confirmation... Moreover, he kept certain key information to himself, which was unlike what one would expect from a magnanimous man.

Waveguide user, huh? Tsk tsk~

"I'm someone who values ​​winning and losing a lot; I always have to win every battle. But Lucario is currently not strong enough... and if I were to use a cheat code, I'd feel like I'm bullying him~"

"Cheating?" Cynthia's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "What, if you use that kind of... cheating method, you're guaranteed to defeat me?!"

If Xiaozhi hadn't added that last sentence, she might have genuinely started to reflect on whether she had been too abrupt.

But now, this kid is clearly very arrogant. He means he has a way to defeat him and Lucario, but he just doesn't bother to use it?!

Could it be a similar method to Ya Xuan's...?

"Fine, you two talk it out." Hearing Ash say that, Lorelei decided not to interfere anymore.

Whether it was her, Cynthia, or Ash, they all knew very well that the cause of today's sudden challenge was Lucario from the royal family.

But Kona knows Ash; the boy's humility is always subjective.

He has always looked down on so-called tests, and he is never polite in his words.

And that's exactly the case. Even if the other party is Cynthia, Ash doesn't need to blindly obey or even fawn over her.

Besides, he's really in a hurry right now. Whatever Cynthia wants to confirm, it can't be more important than Nidoran being kidnapped!

"Miss Cynthia, I have important business to attend to right now and don't have time to continue this topic with you." Ash shook his head, simply ignoring her.

“Miss Kona, I’ve encountered an emergency… A group of poachers from the Gur poaching gang has wandered onto Little Orange Island, and they have a Nidoran that they kidnapped from Pinggan Island!”

"What did you say?" Kona was also taken aback. "Are you sure those people are on the island?!"

"It's basically confirmed, and it should be in Big City!" Ash nodded. "Thanks to you for moving the presentation here, the city is crowded and noisy these days, they probably won't dare to make any rash moves."

"It was because Mr. Watari received your report that he sent me to Little Orange Island to provide support. It seems that it was timely," Kona said thankfully.

Even so, she still frowned deeply.

Xiao Zhi had far too few clues; using them to capture a group of cunning poachers was like finding a needle in a haystack!

The crowds currently crowding Big City may temporarily slow down the poachers' actions, but once the briefing session ends tomorrow, they will also become their biggest cover!

Ash only has one day to catch these poachers and successfully rescue the kidnapped Pokémon!

The atmosphere in the living room gradually became dull, while Cynthia, an outsider, watched with great interest, eager to know how Ash would solve such a tricky case.

"Not enough clues... Looks like I'll have to resort to some supernatural methods this time." Ash thought for a moment, then tossed out another Luxury Ball. "Alakazam, Psychic Terrain!"

"Huh!" The fox demon landed and instantly unleashed a mysterious and unpredictable aura, as if it had the entire room under its control!

"Foresee the future!" With Ash's command, Alakazam and its trainer instantly formed a psychic link, releasing a bright ball of light that hovered above their heads.

At this moment, Alakazam's eyes were emitting a mysterious blue light, but Ash's eyes appeared even more fantastical. The golden light in his eyes seemed to be able to see through all time and space!

That wasn't just a superpower; it came from Celebi's power!

Ash is using the time ripples to amplify his precognitive abilities in order to find the crucial clues he has overlooked!

Soon, information about poachers, Big City, and even the surrounding environment of Little Orange Island began to shine like starlight in Ash's mind.

Among these scattered pieces of information, there is a hidden thread... and the thread that connects them must be that thread!

"Miss Kona, please contact the hotel staff to send over a computer; also, please inform Miss Officer Jenny from Big City to come for a meeting."

When Ash opened his eyes again, they were filled with a confident light.

The wise are carefree; this is the true way to use superpowers!

"Got it!" Kona didn't delay and immediately called the front desk and the police station.

This scene also surprised Cynthia, who realized that she had underestimated Ash.

Even though Kona is the one in charge of the Four Heavenly Kings, when they started investigating the case, it was actually a child who was giving orders!

The hotel was very efficient and quickly delivered a laptop. Xiao Zhi connected his phone to the computer and immediately pulled up a map of the entire Little Orange Island.

He glanced at the picture for a few moments, then nodded as if confirming a conclusion.

"What we can confirm now is that the other party smuggled the Pokémon by sea, and it was probably transported underwater by submarine!"

"How did you know?" Kona was taken aback, and Cynthia, who was listening in, also raised an eyebrow.

"As you can see from the map, Little Orange Island is at the southernmost tip of the entire archipelago... If I were that mysterious buyer, I certainly wouldn't go north to walk into a trap if I wanted to transship the goods, so I would have to go south directly out of the country!"

“Little Orange Island only has two docks, Big City and Yombella City. However, Big City’s port is too close to Yuzu Island, with a ferry running between them every day. Yombella City’s dock is located on the north shore, which means going around half the island and you’re more likely to run into the Pokémon cruise ships that run from Hassa Island. Neither of these options is enough to keep you out of the loop, let alone hide for so many years without being discovered!”

"Even if they use Pokémon like Alakazam with its advanced teleportation skills, they still lack a foothold on the vast ocean!"

"Couldn't it be shipped by air?" Cynthia suddenly interjected curiously.

"Aircraft are also a big target, and I just checked that neither Big City nor Yombella City has built any helipads; the only place that is inconspicuous and where planes can land is the central desert, but that is a no-fly zone, and there could be thunderstorms at any moment!"

"Excluding all possibilities, the final conclusion is to go by water, and underwater at that!" Xiao Zhi said decisively. "The underground waterways of Big City are intricate and complex. No one knows how many branching paths there are or what they hide! Especially the city's defense dam; if there's an empty space underneath, it could definitely hold a secret dock!"

“Indeed…” Lorelei nodded in agreement, “But who would use underground waterways to transport Pokémon?”

"That depends on what information Miss Officer Jenny can provide us."

Chapter 272 The plan is set; the target is the mayor!

When you can't find any key clues, try thinking in reverse and prioritize determining how the other party smuggled the Pokémon.

Going a step further, we could try to identify who could use this method to smuggle Pokémon, which might lead to new clues.

Xiao Zhi didn't have to wait long; a 'new clue' soon came knocking.

Upon learning of the events on Pinggan Island, Officer Jenny of Big City was quite shocked and immediately expressed her full cooperation with the operation, offering to mobilize the entire city's police force for the manhunt!

Poachers have always been a major threat to the Orange Sea, and those who are arrogant, like Debo's group, even dare to form a pirate crew and openly hunt in the sea.

No matter how rampant the poaching was, Pinggan Island had always been a pristine place, and apart from Butterfree, no other pink Pokémon had ever been smuggled out.

This incident can be described as a slap in the face, leaving all Officer Jenny in the Orange Islands, and even the entire police system, utterly humiliated!

“Given the current situation, it’s very difficult for them to move. A large-scale police search might alert them.” Xiao Zhi shook his head. “Miss Officer Jenny, I have some questions I’d like to ask you.”

"Please speak, sir."

"Was the idea for building the sewer system in Big City originally proposed by [the person who proposed it]?"

"It was built by the city's former mayor, but it was initially small and only used for daily drainage. The real expansion began after the new mayor took office. His reason was that there were many whirlpools in the surrounding waters, and if the ocean became turbulent, the seawater might flood the city. So, he created the complex network of underground tunnels and that city defense dam… But so far, none of his worries have come true; instead, strange things have been happening in the sewers all the time."

Officer Jenny clearly disagreed, seemingly not very optimistic about the new mayor's strategies.

However, her last words piqued Ash's interest: "What do you mean by 'strange thing'?"

"There's a legend about terrifying monsters in the sewers. People often lose things, and sometimes Pokémon go missing... The mayor is very concerned about this, but his approach is too radical. He always tries to send in special forces to deal with it, but after we police stop him, nothing comes of it. Recently, because Lorelei is holding a lecture and the next election is just around the corner, he's even planning to seal off all the sewers and not allow anyone to approach them!"

"When will this mayor take office for the next election?" Ash continued to ask.

“That was more than seven years ago. He had already been re-elected once before, and if he succeeds this time, he will continue to be re-elected… I guess he’s just too anxious, which is why he’s so concerned about the sewers,” Officer Jenny said after thinking for a moment.

"How did you conduct your election? Did you rely on voters' votes?"

“It requires a vote from all the residents of Big City, but it will be done online,” Officer Jenny nodded. “Anyway, it’s a bit strange… uh, never mind.”

She clearly swallowed some things she couldn't say in the end, and Xiao Zhi didn't intend to ask further, since he could find out anyway.

"Thank you very much, you can go back now." Xiao Zhi ended the questioning. "If I need the police's cooperation later, I will contact you again."

"Yes!" Officer Jenny saluted and took her leave of the hotel.

After she left, Xiao Zhi also found some information on his computer and mobile phone at the same time, and combined with some plot points from the original work, he basically confirmed his guess.

“This mayor has a problem; his reputation has never been very good.” Ash turned the computer screen toward Lorelei. “I just checked the online voting results and found that many people are doubting the election results. They didn’t vote for the mayor, but he ended up getting the most votes.”

"In addition, this mayor seems to be very popular with the news media. At every critical moment, all sorts of news will pop up to help him clear his name and conduct public relations."

Actually, Ash found out more than that, but Cynthia was also present, so he couldn't reveal some of the information on his phone.

After all… some doubts could easily affect the relationship between Kanto and the Sinnoh League.

"Looks like this mayor really isn't a good person!" Kona's expression suddenly turned cold. "This guy had been trying to attend my presentations to use my reputation to boost his political achievements. Luckily, I didn't agree!"

“But you have to agree now,” Xiao Zhi said with a smile. “As long as you nod, he will definitely attend. Then you can drag out the process and try to keep him at the venue, so I will have a chance to investigate him.”

“The method is good, but you may have already been exposed.” Cynthia suddenly interjected, “That mayor may already know that you have arrived here, and even if he really has a problem, he would not personally smuggle Pokémon... If you do not show up tomorrow, he will definitely be alert.”

"Thanks for the reminder. I'll ask a professional for help with that," Xiao Zhi said confidently.

"A professional?" Lila suddenly realized. "Brother, are you planning to borrow Xiaobai from Sister Xiaolan?"

“That’s right, Xiaobai impersonated me in Saffron City before. With you guys helping out, it’s absolutely foolproof~” Ash nodded with a smile.

"Blue...is that the girl who rode the three legendary birds back to the venue with you?" Xiao Jian suddenly remembered the rumors about the Indigo League finals and couldn't help but envy Ash and his friends' luck in being able to meet a legend.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow in confusion. How did this get into legends?

Who exactly is this child before me...?

As for Xiaoxia, she was marveling at how amazing someone was, no wonder she was the woman Xiaozhi cherished so much.

Even though she was thousands of miles away from Ash, Blue still had ways to help him.

Could I be as reliable as her...?