Chapter 1019: Heaven Organization
Chapter 1019: Heaven Organization
After confirming that May was safe, Yuga temporarily entrusted her to Drew's mother. He rode his Charizard and returned to the flying aircraft once more.
When Yuga boarded the aircraft, the remaining lackeys had already been subdued by his Dusknoir, Mismagius, and Gengar. They were all tied up with ropes and gathered in the warehouse where Ilima's Pokémon were originally held.
Afterwards, Yuga instructed the original pilot of the aircraft to land it on Drew's family's flower planting base. He then made a call to the Pokémon League's Sinnoh Region Investigation Bureau.
This human trafficking organization was evidently a sizable dark operation and fell within the jurisdiction of the League's Investigation Bureau.
The Investigation Bureau responded swiftly, even though it was already late in the evening. They informed nearby personnel to quickly arrive on the island where Yuga and the others were located, and under the cover of night, they took away the aircraft and the individuals onboard with them.
By the time everything had been settled, it was already late at night. And it was too late for Yuga and May to return to Verdanturf Town, so Drew's mother invited them to stay overnight at the estate on the island.
The next day, Yuga had originally planned to take May back to Verdanturf Town directly. However, he received a call from the Investigation Bureau, indicating that there were a problem in the investigation of the human trafficking organization. They requested Yuga to come over to get a better understanding of the situation.
The one who called Yuga was the current Deputy Director of the Pokémon League's Sinnoh Region Investigation Bureau. Since this human trafficking organization had ties to the attacked Deputy Director Nami from Prosecutor Bureau and even resulted in the death of one of the Bureau members, the Investigation Bureau had no choice but to take this matter seriously.
The structure of the League's Investigation Bureau was similar to that of the Prosecutor Bureau. It was composed of one Director and four Deputy Directors. The person who contacted Yuga was the Deputy Director with the most seniority in the Bureau, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.
As this incident had occurred suddenly, the Deputy Director temporarily in charge of this matter hadn't been able to reach the scene yet. Thus, the next morning, a Bureau Captain came to meet Yuga instead.
The Bureau Captain, named Joel, was in his early thirties. When he saw Yuga, he showed great respect due to Yuga's reputation.
Although Yuga's position within the League wasn't particularly high, his strength spoke for itself. Moreover, the recent incident in Rustboro City had further elevated Yuga's status within the hearts of League members.
The island nearest to the sea of Dewford Town, but there was no Bureau branch for the Investigation Bureau here. Consequently, the human traffickers were temporarily detained in the Dewford Town police station, but they were guarded by elite Bureau agents.
When Yuga and Joel landed with their Pokémon in front of the Dewford Town police station, they saw Officer Jenny standing outside, waiting for them. As soon as they dismounted from their Pokémon, Officer Jenny respectfully saluted them.
Officer Jenny from Dewford Town was identical in appearance to Liliana, but Yuga could discern a difference in their temperament. Liliana had a more professional and composed aura, whereas Officer Jenny in Dewford Town seemed more gentle and amiable.
However, because Yuga had interacted with Liliana more frequently, he could spot the subtle differences between them.
Joel returned the salute to Officer Jenny and then took Yuga inside the police station.
After explanations from Joel and Officer Jenny, Yuga learned that during the interrogation the previous night, the Investigation Bureau and the police had not gained any useful clues from the traffickers.
These individuals remained as tight-lipped as a closed clamshell, displaying extreme loyalty to their organization, resembling a solid wall of silence.
What's more, the hypnotic abilities of Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon had no effect on them.
Among the captives, there was a small leader, and in their attempt to extract information, when a Ghost-type Pokémon used hypnosis on him, the attempt caused him to become mentally crazy directly.
The Bureau personnel, knowing their limits, had applied a moderate level of force during the hypnosis, but it was unexpected that it would lead to such an extreme reaction, driving the person intto madness.
Upon hearing Joel's explanation, Yuga fell into deep though. It explained the Masked Man's swift departure; he was aware that even if these captives were apprehended, they wouldn't pose a threat to him.
"I believe these individuals might have been subjected to psychological manipulation or brainwashing," Officer Jenny interjected.
Encountering cases where hypnosis doesn't work during interrogations was something she had experienced before. The reasons were typically a few, none of which were easy to handle.
"Is there a way to remove such psychological manipulation or brainwashing?" Yuga asked, furrowing his brow.
Officer Jenny sighed and shook her head. "It's very difficult."
"Considering the clash between Gym Leader Shimizu and their leader, we invited you here today to see if you have any other knowledge about this organization," Joel timely interjected.
"I've never heard of such an organization. The masked individual I encountered used Pokémon that were cloned, including a Suicune!" Yuga explained everything he knew.
"Cloned?!"
"Suicune!"
Yuga's words prompted surprised gasps from Joel and Officer Jenny.
Cloned Pokémon were written into the League's laws over a decade ago due to a deranged geneticist. Cloning Pokémon, akin to cloning humans, was unethical and prohibited.
There's also Suicune, who is one of the Ho-oh envoy. Ho-oh belong to the League's lawful Legendary Pokémon. Although it hadn't appeared in public for many years. Its three envoys, however, had always been active in the Kanto Region. Therefore, unless under extraordinary circumstances, it was impossible for a lawful Legendary Pokémon to serve as a member of a dark organization.
"That Suicune isn't a genuine one; it's likely a cloned imitation, so it doesn't possess the true power of a legendary Pokémon," Yuga hastened to clarify when he noticed Joel's astonished expression. If it had been the genuine Suicune, the masked man wouldn't have fled in such a sorry state.
Upon hearing this, Joel finally breathed a sigh of relief. As a Bureau Captain, he was privy to much information. If the real Suicune had been recruited by a dark organization, that would have been an immense issue.
"Regardless, an organization capable of cloning a Suicune must be extraordinary, and we cannot take this lightly."
Usually, new groups, whether they're dark organizations or regular civilian groups, have records within the League. Just like the Team Aqua, which was a civilian organization before revealing its ambitions and faced clear scrutiny within the League.
However now, a new dark organization that appeared suddenly, with no records within the League, and possessing an unprecedented scale and power, that was a cause for grave concern.
"The most crucial thing now is to figure out the headquarters of this organization from the captives," Joel said, looking troubled and tapping his forehead.
"Why not let me try?" Yuga seemed to have an idea and suddenly said to Joel.
Joel was surprised by Yuga's proposal. "Gym Leader Shimizu came up with an idea?"
Yuga shook his head. "I'm not sure if it will work. We have to try it first. Can I meet those people?"
"Sure thing, as we don't have any other options at the moment. Regardless of the outcome, we have to try to know," Joel said happily.
So, guided by Joel, Yuga arrived at the place where the traffickers were being detained. Meanwhile, Officer Jenny went to help the kidnapped children find their families.
Yuga had Joel bring out one of the traffickers alone and then summoned his Gengar.
Seeing Gengar released by Yuga, Joel was perplexed. "Is Gym Leader Shimizu planning to use hypnosis? That won't work on these people!"
Yuga glanced at Joel and smiled. "My hypnosis is slightly different from others'."
Following this, Joel saw Yuga release another Pokémon he didn't recognize. This Pokémon was extremely tiny, had a golden metallic shell, and its center was as deep and beautiful as the night sky.
It was, surprisingly, Yuga's Cosmoem.
Although Cosmoem was petite, it harbored immensely potent psychic abilities within its body, incomparable to typical Ghost-type or Psychic-type Pokémon.
Yuga murmured a few words to Cosmoem, and it floated slowly before landing on Gengar's head.
"Gym Leader Shimizu, what's this?" Joel looked at this unknown Pokémon with great curiosity.
The evolved forms of Cosmoem, Solgaleo and Lunala, might be recognized by some people, but its base form, Cosmog and Cosmoem, was indeed too mysterious, not many people know it.
"This is my Pokémon, named Cosmoem," Yuga briefly stated and didn't elaborate further. Joel, sensing Yuga's reservation, so he refrained from asking more question.
The trafficker brought in was handcuffed to a chair, unable to move. However, his eyes were filled with resentment, clearly holding a grudge against Yuga for apprehending them.
Coincidentally, this person was the bald man who had brought May onto the aircraft. His shiny bald head was quite conspicuous, catching Yuga's attention immediately.
"Gengar, Cosmoem, I'm counting on you," Yuga instructed.
Grinning widely, Gengar nodded in response, displaying a row of large white teeth and even attempted to pat Cosmoem on its head with its chubby little hand, although it was too short and round to reach.
The mischievous Gengar retracted its smile and widened its eyes, projecting an eerie purple glow as it stared at the bald man. Simultaneously, Cosmoem cooperated with Gengar, emanating a purplish aura around itself.
The two Pokémon's mental energies quickly merged. Yuga could clearly sense a powerful and refined mental force flowing from them towards the bald man.
In just a few seconds, the man's previously resentful gaze suddenly became vacant.
Witnessing this, Yuga knew it had worked. Indeed, a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon; even in its second form, it was not something an ordinary Pokémon could match.
Although Cosmoem couldn't utilize hypnosis, it could lend its immense psychic energy to Gengar, enabling Gengar to break the psychological manipulation in the bald man's mind.
As both were Ghost-type Pokémon, their psychic energy melded seamlessly (Yuga's Cosmoem belonged to a mutated species, with Psychic and Ghost type).
"Captain Joel, try asking him again now," Yuga said, smiling at Joel.
"Uh... okay," Joel hesitated briefly but then agreed with a nod.
Half an hour later, Joel, with a dazed expression, finished questioning the man and got the answers he needed—success!
The first try had been successful. To ensure the accuracy of the interrogation, Joel and Yuga together questioned the remaining traffickers one by one.
According to the information gathered, these people held low positions within the organization, belonging to the lower echelons. They didn't even know the name or appearance of their own leader.
Their organization, named "Heaven," mainly engaged in the abduction and kidnapping of young children, subsequently subjecting them to training and brainwashing. However, the final destination of these trained children was unknown to them.
Most of them shared the same origins as the children they kidnapped, being part of the same batch. However, they were those who performed the worst. As for the whereabouts of the outstanding children, they were beyond the captors' knowledge.
Despite its name, the "Heaven" organization was indeed a hell.
The leader of the "Heaven" organization was the masked man Yuga had confronted, while the deputy leader was the masked man's brother. These two brothers were always inseparable.
Based on their observations and testimony, the traffickers felt that their understanding of the "Heaven" organization was superficial due to their low status and limited access to its deeper aspects.
Apart from this, the most useful information Joel managed to extract was the location of one of the "Heaven" organization's bases.
The situation made progress, prompting Joel to immediately contact his superior to report the interrogation results and suggest leading a team to besiege the "Heaven" organization's base.
The head of the "Heaven" organization had just fled, and Joel was concerned that if action wasn't taken promptly, the enemy might flee upon sensing danger.
However, the Deputy Director of the Investigative Bureau disagreed with Joel's unilateral action.
The leader and deputy leader of the "Heaven" organization possessed the strength to severely injured the Deputy Director of the Prosecutor Bureau and managed to escape smoothly from the Verdanturf Town's Gym Leader. To approach them directly without plan would be like courting disaster.
But, he also acknowledging the merit in Joel's reasoning. Once the opportunity was delayed, the other party would definitely run away.
After thinking for a long time, the Deputy Director contacted Yuga again, and requesting him to lead the siege against the "Heaven" organization. As long as Yuga was present, the organization's leader and deputy leader would not be a daunting threat.
Upon receiving the call from the Deputy Director of the Investigative Bureau, Yuga, after a moment's thought, agreed to the request. He had already become a foe of the opposing side and saw this as an opportunity to bring them all to justice.
However, when Yuga, accompanied by the elite members of the Investigative Bureau, arrived at the base pinpointed by the traffickers, the place was already vacated.
The base was situated on a remote island in the deep sea area, making it truly difficult for an ordinary person to discover.
Yuga discovered a multitude of training facilities, laboratories, areas for keeping Pokémon, and more on the island, indicating that the people had just left not long ago.
Admittedly, the opponents were quite vigilant. Even though they might have realized their underlings would be difficult to extract information from, they swiftly moved their base upon their return.
The siege operation failed, leaving Yuga and Joel no choice but to regretfully return with their team and report the outcome.
However, despite the failure of the siege, Yuga still acquired a considerable amount of credit. After all, Yuga was the one who discovered the "Heaven" organization, captured their members, rescued the children, and elicited intelligence through the interrogations.