"Suicune—I'll leave the rest to you."
"Swoosh~"
Following the long cry of the messenger of the north wind—emerald blue arcs of light parted the murky, black river surface before them.
The trailing sound—like a wisp of light gauze—condensed into a thin mist for a moment—before suddenly transforming into sparkling ice crystal rain in mid-air—rustling down onto the water surface—which rippled with a faint blue glow.
"Meow~"
At this moment—Delcatty—startled by the splashing water—instantly bristled—swatting away a poor Magikarp that had leaped up.
[Farm Upgrade Quest 1 – Completed] : Identify the source of river pollution and thoroughly purify the water quality.
[Quest Rewards] : Mystic Water (Gold)
Once the river had returned to its usual clear state—the trip to the Tatara Steel Factory also came to an end.
"Mr. Wade—thank you very much for your help in the arrest of the smuggling gang."
As the overall person in charge of this arrest operation—Hanson bowed in gratitude to the farm owner before him.
"It's nothing—I just did what I should do."
Wade waved his hand.
At this moment—not only did the Interpol officer with the buzz cut nod in thanks—but the accompanying security personnel also bowed—casting reverent gazes at Wade.
Even though they arrived too late to witness firsthand how Wade had carved through the criminals' Pokémon army—judging solely from the chaotic scene—full of victims frozen by ice or charred by lightning—they could imagine the awe-inspiring spectacle that had taken place earlier.
Not to mention Suicune's subsequent appearance—and its willingness to be captured by the farm owner.
By the end—quite a few security personnel were holding paper—swarming Wade like fans to ask for his autograph.
"Hahaha~ This is a very normal phenomenon… because Wade—you are now a celebrity in all the police stations in Sinnoh—you know~"
Jenny noticed the farm owner—surrounded by a fan group of police officers—and covered her mouth—chuckling.
Due to the previous Hiyori Forest incident—Wade's feat of commanding Articuno to annihilate the beast tide—had spread widely throughout Sinnoh—even reaching the point of being household name.
Battle Trainers marveled at Wade's terrifying strength of fighting against ten thousand.
Coordinators were amazed by Articuno's beautiful posture amidst the icy, snowy curtain.
Breeders focused on the farm owner's Pokémon breeding level.
Police personnel—however—unanimously praised Wade's previous arrest of Hunter J's poaching gang.
After all—to capture the Hunter J poaching gang—which was once active in Sinnoh—police stations everywhere had racked their brains—trying every possible method—even collaborating with multiple Gym Leaders multiple times—yet they had returned empty-handed.
There were even rumors that to celebrate the final capture of the Hunter J poaching gang—the Jenny police offices in various towns in Sinnoh were adorned with portraits of this Black-haired Youth—which showed Wade's esteemed position in the hearts of police personnel today.
Wade shook his head helplessly.
Well—he never thought he'd become the savior of the Pokémon police world now~
Celebi—who had originally been sitting on his shoulder—had now landed on the back of his hand—playfully hugging his distinctively jointed fingers—signing the Trainer's name on the paper with a flourish.
"As a reward for assisting in the arrest—we will have a dedicated person deliver it to your farm later. Also—Mr. Wade—are you interested in considering Interpol?"
After the farm owner had signed autographs for all the security personnel—Hanson asked.
The Pokémon world is not truly as beautiful as a utopia—behind the scenes—it's a turbulent place.
Not to mention Team Rocket—active in Kanto for decades—controlling countless underworld industries—yet whose leader remains unconfirmed to this day.
Even Team Magma and Team Aqua—recently emerged in Hoenn—are causing immense headaches for Interpol headquarters.
If a Trainer as powerful and righteous as Wade were to join—it would surely greatly enhance the organization's combat strength~
Unfortunately—under the Interpol officer's expectant gaze—Wade ultimately chose to decline.
"I'm very sorry—Officer Hanson. Though I'm not against combating criminal gangs—I currently have no such plans."
Similar to the search officer promised by Lance earlier—the Interpol organization—under the premise of extremely strict selection—frequent and dangerous missions—gained a very high status independent of the various regional Leagues—as well as the power to mobilize resources of all sizes.
However—the disadvantages for Wade were also obvious—once he joined—he would have to constantly rush around for various evil organizations—completely severing his previous leisurely farm life.
If it were the kind where he could clock in and out at any time—he thought it wouldn't be impossible to consider—and in his spare time—he could take his Pokémon out to stretch their muscles—and enjoy the thrill of crushing and sweeping through.
"Well—that's a real shame."
"Croak~"
With the regret of failing to persuade the farm owner to join—Hanson finally left with the security personnel.
However—just before their final parting—he paused—and vaguely saw the shadow of another colleague in Wade—Anabel—the Battle Tower Tycoon of the Battle Frontier—and the head of Interpol's Executive Headquarters.
Though there were differences in the combat power of their Pokémon—a closer look revealed many similarities between the two.
For example—they never went undercover—but preferred to deal with criminal gangs by frontal crushing and sweeping.
Additionally—rumors said she also possessed the special ability to communicate with Pokémon telepathically.
Hmm—if that Executive Department Head were to approach him—perhaps with the common ground they shared—she might be able to persuade Wade to join their Interpol organization?
The buzz-cut detective secretly nodded—and his steps quickened.
"Swoosh~"
Hearing the ethereal, cool, older sister-like voice in his mind—Wade followed her gaze to look into the distance.
Leaving with Officer Hanson—the security personnel responsible for the cleanup pushed the criminals—bound like zongzi—and escorted them one by one onto Staraptor mounts—awaiting the League's judgment.
The Grimer group that had initially gathered at the sewage outlet—were captured in Poké Balls—and after being transferred by the Flower Garden Town police station—were sent to the large sewage accumulation pond in Oreburgh City—as agreed—to start a new life.
As for the vast, dilapidated Steel Factory—after ceasing operations—it returned to its original silence.
The previous roar disappeared—leaving only a pile of Mt. Coronet ores stacked in a corner.
"You're asking… why they did that?"
The farm owner—instantly understanding her meaning—stroked his chin and repeated thoughtfully.
Compared to the incompetent Articuno—who was his wife—Zapdos—who always crackled and demanded that its Trainer absorb electricity—and Darkrai—who constantly wanted to keep its Trainer in captivity and squeeze him for juice—the messenger of the north wind clearly had more of a legendary Pokémon's demeanor.
Holy and elegant—with an inherent inviolable majesty in her gestures—yet upon longer acquaintance—one would find her not as aloof and high-and-mighty as imagined—but rather cool with a hint of compassion—and otherworldly yet still grounded.
Looking at the furnace of the Steel Factory—still full of dirty, dark ore fragments—and then recalling the initially foul and murky river—Suicune—as the Guardian of Water—frowned—indicating that she had never quite understood.
Water is the source of life—so why would they choose to pollute the entire river just to smelt ore?
"Hmm… it's probably because desire is endless."
After a moment of contemplation—Wade softly answered the messenger of the north wind's confusion.
No matter which world—human desires cannot be eliminated—
Like Hunter J—who—to capture Celebi—directly used explosives to blast the forest—triggering a terrifying beast tide.
Or like this criminal gang at the Steel Factory—who—to smelt ore faster and smuggle it across regions—chose to discharge large amounts of wastewater into the river without any treatment measures.
Regarding this—Wade felt there was no need to stand on moral high ground to criticize.
Since one wants to fulfill one's desires—whether good or bad—one must inevitably pay a corresponding price along the way.
"Swoosh~"
"Of course—it's not just those criminals who pollute the river—everyone actually has them too."
Seeing the messenger of the north wind still looking slightly confused—Wade nodded gently in affirmation—then pulled over the police officer—who was looking elsewhere but secretly peeking at them from the corner of her eye.
"Here—if you don't believe me—you can ask Miss Jenny what unspeakable desires she has?"
"Eh?! I… I…"
Miss Jenny—caught by the farm owner—was stunned.
A blush—like peach blossoms—instantly spread across her fair, cold, beautiful face.
"D-do I have to say it directly? It's a little…"
As a righteous police officer—she naturally had no thoughts of violating League law.
But compared to committing a crime—having to speak out her deeply buried desires now—felt even more socially mortifying—
At this moment—there were no other outsiders in the vast, dilapidated Steel Factory.
"I… I want to become Wade's Growlithe!!!"
After stammering for a long time—the police officer still couldn't withstand the double gaze of Wade and Suicune—and she shouted it out—her face flushed crimson.
Suddenly uttering the thought that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time—
Her jade-like cheeks were flushed with shyness—and her collar—which had been disturbed and had its buttons loosened—revealed her soft, delicate neck—as smooth as silk.
Like a fresh lychee—her glistening, full breasts gathered beneath her plain bra—pushing out a shallow cleavage that invited infinite imagination.
"Woof?!"
Growlithe—cued by its Trainer—made a questioning sound.
Wade's eyes widened—and even the Weavile Poké Ball strapped under his shirt trembled.
Beside them—Suicune nodded slightly—deep in thought.
"Swoosh~"
The sin of lust?
The messenger of the north wind's beautiful crimson eyes rippled—and she subconsciously looked at Wade—who had a stunned expression.
If he was the fated one—it seemed to make sense?