Chapter 869: The Golden Coffin

Underground royal tomb! Golden coffin!

Two unfamiliar terms left All All Baimu stunned.

Did I wander into the wrong setting?

Did I end up in the world of Lara Croft or Ghost Hunter?

But thinking carefully, the Pokémon anime, as a road-trip-style anthology, always mixes in all sorts of strange elements, and ancient civilization ruins appear nearly every season.

In the Advanced Generation arc, Ash was even possessed by the spirit of a sealed evil king.

Golden coffin…

It just feels oddly mismatched with Regieleki, yet somehow suspicious.

So he asked, "Who's inside the coffin?"

"Not opened yet. It requires a key with a specific structure to unlock. The Gong Sect City team was already replicating the key; it'll be sent there after this exhibition."

Chibana shrugged.

As the curator of the treasure vault, he was undoubtedly responsible for the theft of important artifacts.

Plus, in the anime world, the moral standards of protagonists are generally high—until the case is resolved, the battle standards might be affected.

All All Baimu silently mourned for Chibana.

At the same time, he speculated on the possibility that Regieleki was sealed inside that closed golden coffin.

Then again—

Steal the coffin, melt it down into gold bricks, and sell it?

Someone who could sneak into the treasure vault and carry off such a massive coffin clearly had more complex motives than mere greed.

He had confirmed with Chibana that the only missing artifact was the golden coffin, further convincing him the thief wasn't after simple profit—the actual value of cultural relics is often unrelated to their size.

Could it be…

The black-skinned youth added, "The golden coffin was inside a tightly sealed transparent glass case, under many people's watchful eyes, and vanished suddenly. This morning, someone still confirmed its presence. No anomalies appeared in the surveillance footage. Preliminary judgment: likely a Pokémon ability was used."

Wow.

The setting just shifted to Detective Conan.

All All Baimu hadn't expected the case to be this complicated; he decisively gave up thinking and replied, "Revealing too many case details to outsiders isn't advisable. Though I myself am guilty of nosing around…"

Chibana smiled. "No problem. I trust you. And my intuition tells me you can help."

"…"

That kind of remark made him hesitate to speak freely.

Even though he did have a suspect—the two former royal descendants.

Though there's some bias, in the games, those two brothers planted moles near Sonia and half-stole, half-snatched the Wish Star from the research facility.

Their private demeanor yesterday noon also clearly showed they weren't good people.

Given their nature, upon learning a golden coffin excavated from an underground royal tomb was on display, they might well have wanted to claim it for themselves.

After all, they claim to be descendants of the royal family.

Doesn't matter whether this underground tomb relates to their ancestors' dynasty—first get the artifact, then figure it out.

The fact that the vault opened at 7:30 but scheduled exhibition at 10:00 is already suspicious.

Creating an alibi?

Or using that time to meet and dispose of stolen goods.

Anything is possible.

Lacking decisive evidence, and since all this was irresponsible speculation, All All Baimu kept quiet.

Besides, the Kanto police aren't necessarily like those in Detective Conan, reduced to mere sidekicks to detectives—give them some credit.

If all else fails, use the last resort.

At that moment—

Chibana volunteered, "Want to go inside? We're just standing here anyway."

All All Baimu blinked. "Won't entering ruin the crime scene?"

"No problem. The evidence collection phase is over."

He waved his hand dismissively, making it unclear whether he truly placed his hopes for solving the case on an outsider trainer.

Sharp intuition?

When did you get this kind of trait, seriously?!

But then again, Ash always easily gains others' trust and gets involved in events that have nothing to do with him.

Internally churned, All All Baimu outwardly agreed.

Given the uncertainty of whether the stolen golden coffin was connected to Regieleki, it was necessary to enter the treasure vault and look for other clues.

—

The treasure vault was on the second floor of the castle.

Much larger than in the games, indistinguishable from a regular museum.

At the entrance—

Four massive color tapestries, like screens, depicted a brief story: two young men discovering the Wish Star, enduring calamity, raising sword and shield to drive it away, and finally becoming king.

Perhaps this was the basis for Sord and Silde's claim that their ancestors were heroes?

All All Baimu didn't linger, following Chibana deeper inside.

The exhibition attendees had been preliminarily interviewed, registered by name, and orderly evacuated—mostly upper-class individuals similar to Team Rocket's James. The police couldn't detain them long.

A few security personnel from the vault went to the police station to assist the investigation.

Thus, the vault was now eerily empty, with only a few officers stationed around.

Chibana said, "The golden coffin's display is inside."

"Not urgent. Have you heard of Regieleki?" All All Baimu wasn't really here as a detective—didn't the police know evidence collection better than him?

"Regieleki?"

Chibana naturally knew nothing about this legendary Pokémon long vanished from public view, and asked curiously if it was connected to the case.

How was All All Baimu supposed to answer?

He could only vaguely deflect, his gaze sweeping over the artifacts in each glass display.

None seemed related to Regieleki.

Suddenly—

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from ahead.

"Director Chibana, why are you coming in? What happened outside?" The speaker was Inspector Junsa from the Galar region.

Aside from her uniform, her face matched those of Junsa from other regions by at least 99%.

She looked at All All Baimu standing aside and asked, "Is this the civilian providing a tip?"

"Nothing's wrong outside. I just came to check the situation. He's my friend—we arranged to tour the exhibition today. Carry on. We won't disturb you."

At least Chibana hadn't forcibly labeled himself a detective.

He secretly exhaled in relief.

Inspector Junsa frowned, saluted, and said, "Rest assured, we'll solve this case as soon as possible! We'll give you a reply within seventy-two hours at the latest!"

Really?

You can't just make promises like that!

Do they have key evidence?

All All Baimu knew little about police systems—he'd only heard such blanket promises in literary works, when superiors pressured subordinates to solve cases within a set timeframe.

"That's perfect."

Chibana smiled faintly.

At the deepest part of the vault, a massive two-tier display stood clearly visible, surrounded by projection backdrops, with a central empty glass case.

"Do Not Enter" seals and barriers tightly blocked off the display, preserving the crime scene.

"According to those present, this entire display area suddenly went dark for one second, and when the lights came back on, the golden coffin was gone."

Chibana kept his hands in his pockets, barely suppressing the urge to take photos.

Posting this on social media would earn him a scolding from Chairman Lusamine.

But All All Baimu felt it was becoming more and more like a Detective Conan scene.

"You weren't here when it happened?"

He didn't climb over the barrier, just circled around outside. "Do you have photos of the golden coffin?"

Chibana glanced around, then retrieved a thick stack of exhibition booklets from a corner.

"Every artifact in the exhibition has one! I wasn't on-site—I was even on my way here when a car accident blocked the road."

"What a coincidence?"

After thanking him, All All Baimu found an empty table, opened the booklet, and asked, "Did you tell Inspector Junsa about this?"

Chibana paused, then immediately said, "I'll go tell her right now."

Without another word, he turned and left.

All All Baimu said nothing.

Though the car accident might be coincidence, better safe than sorry—more clues mean more angles. Chibana likely didn't know all the leads the police had.

Flipping to the section on the golden coffin in the booklet, several ultra-high-definition photos instantly appeared.

One glance.

He saw the lower half of the coffin lid depicted a king raising a lance atop a strange steed.

The king wore a bud-shaped crown and a cloak, radiating heroic grandeur.

The steed beneath him had a long mane but no horns; its four legs were slender, adorned with flowing, wispy hair—ruling out Galarian Talonflame and Galarian Mr. Rime.

The upper half of the lid bore the sun, moon, and stars, alongside an irregular, massive object.

"So abstract…"

Intuition told All All Baimu this "king" was his target, Regigigas—but the craftsman who made the golden coffin had rendered it too human.

Not even a Crowned Deer's head!

The enormous bud symbolizing the crown was painted absurdly small!

Intentional?

After Calyrex and Cramorant were turned into humans, now Regigigas too?

All All Baimu was filled with deep confusion.

But he could firmly confirm this golden coffin was what he sought.

Whether Regigigas was inside or not, opening it would surely yield his next clue—in other words, his immediate priority was to find the stolen golden coffin.

Yet.

A question surfaced in his mind.

Should he open it himself once found, or return it to the Treasure Vault for the Palace City to open?

If Regigigas emerged, fine—but if it yielded only a related artifact, how would he claim it from the research institute?

Opening it privately felt no different from being a thief.

Troublesome.

All All Baimu sighed and had his Pokédex take a photo of the golden coffin's page, then flipped through other artifact descriptions.

Logically, there should have been other artifacts unearthed alongside it…

Tap-tap-tap!

Sudden hurried footsteps came from behind.

He turned and saw Kibanah beaming with joy—his heart skipped a beat. "Found it?"

"Almost! You were right! That morning's car accident blocking me from the Treasure Vault was deliberate!"

Kibanah slapped his shoulder and said, "Someone in the Vault's police-assisted investigation saw one of the accident's parties talking to a new security guard who'd just arrived."

"That guard vanished for a long time under the pretense of using the restroom—but we can reach him. The police are setting a trap!"

This.

The case was about to be solved!

All All Baimu never expected his case to crack before he even deployed his ultimate weapon—Hu Pa!

And this familiar tactic of planting an insider…

It definitely felt like those brothers.

The Galar royal descendants weren't just Sod and Sildy—many NPC models of former royal descendants appeared in the game.

Including the female assistant who stole the Wishing Star near Sonia.

This guard was likely one of them, partnered with the one who arranged the accident—working inside and out, using Pokémon to steal the golden coffin.

Should he intercept them?

Strike first while the police were still lying in wait?

The thought flashed through his mind—then vanished.

Mainly because All All Baimu realized that unless he physically erased Sod and Sildy, the Galar League would eventually trace him.

Besides, he didn't even know where those brothers lived.

"Ha! Caught them!"

Kibanah slammed the table, excitedly shouting, "Come on, let's go see!"

All All Baimu subtly avoided the hand reaching for him, nodding in response.

"Let's go!"

—

Police station.

When they arrived, the atmosphere was tense.

The guard admitted to the theft but refused to reveal the golden coffin's location.

His method was brutally simple—

He sent Dugtrio to hypnotize his colleagues, took the coffin during the morning Vault inspection before opening, altered their memories, then used projectors around the display to create a fake golden coffin illusion.

All internal surveillance had been overwritten; the coffin was moved via underground tunnels.

"So that's how!"

Kibanah suddenly understood.

All All Baimu remained noncommittal—complex crimes were easier to solve, as long as the officers weren't as clueless as those in Detective Conan.

As for the coffin's whereabouts—

Officer Junsa was actively reviewing surveillance and dispatching teams to investigate.

The other accomplice behind the car accident had not yet been caught—but once they found their usual meeting spot, tracing it would eventually lead to the coffin.

After all, such a massive object couldn't just vanish after theft.

It must be said.

Officer Junsa was impressively competent—she quickly discovered the two frequently met at a large estate outside Kanto City.

But since the estate was private property, she needed a search warrant to enter.

"The estate is registered under a philanthropist named Sildy—these people… must be descendants of the former Galar royal family!"

Officer Junsa told Kibanah solemnly.

Kibanah was stunned—he'd clearly never heard of such a group before—and recalled the coffin's origin.

"Could it be…"

He turned to All All Baimu, who shrugged.

Not long after—

The search warrant was approved.

A large group set off toward the suburbs.

But as they stepped outside, an officer cried out:

"Chief! The golden coffin's online! Someone's livestreaming it!"

All All Baimu sharply noticed the captured guard smirking in the detention room.

Livestream?

He pulled out his Pokédex to search—and soon found the livestream on an unfamiliar platform.

Title: 【Reuniting with Our Ancestors, the King of Galar】

A woman stood before the camera, behind her the gleaming golden coffin. She passionately declared her identity as a descendant of the former Galar royal family, accusing the Galar League's expedition team of unlawfully entering their ancestors' tomb, dragging the coffin into the human world for exhibition, and disturbing its peace.

After great hardship, they had finally brought their ancestor back to them—yet the evil Galar League turned around and accused them of theft.

In truth, it was the Galar League that were the thieves!

To prove they were truly the coffin's rightful heirs, the woman held up a strange golden key, declaring she would open the coffin to clear their name and reveal the eternal glory of the Galar royal lineage to the world!

"Oh my…"

All All Baimu was stunned.

He'd spotted Sildy and Sod flickering in the background—but what truly unnerved him was this group livestreaming the opening of their "ancestor's" coffin.

Desperation?