radicalducati Chapter 123 The Day the Explosion Happened
Chapter 123 The Day the Explosion Happened
"The reason I say there is a killer is because after the explosion, I bypassed the police cordon and sneaked into the burning factory—there I saw a hellish scene."
Mr. Telt lowered his voice and spoke slowly to the three people beside him, seemingly expecting some surprised or fearful reaction from them.
To everyone's surprise, not only the detective on the other side, but even the two girls showed absolutely no interest.
The chestnut-haired girl wearing a sun hat was writing something in her notebook, not even lifting her eyelids while he was keeping her in suspense; the one with black hair in a high ponytail was even more outrageous, staring blankly at the Archaeopteryx that was still casting "Clear the Fog," making no attempt to hide her disinterest.
The trainer regretted not kicking the two listeners out. Were they really a detective team investigating a case?
Could you describe the scene you witnessed in more detail?
Just as Telt was almost in the awkward position of talking to himself, Detective Hugo continued to press him with gentle words.
"I would also like to know why you didn't tell the police about these things afterwards. If it's convenient, please explain as much as possible."
"No problem, but before that, I'd like to confirm whether you've ever witnessed a Pokémon's corpse?"
The bearded man prepared the detective, warning him that his words might shock some people.
"I've seen some of them."
For some reason, Hugo recalled a sentinel mouse that had died in a car accident.
Officer Jenny had told him that the formula for determining the time of death of a Pokémon had been verified by experts, and the paper had been uploaded to the forensic database. Although no one had yet used that formula to solve a case, it had gained widespread acceptance among experts.
To Hugo's great surprise, because the name he gave to the corpse transformation curve of Normal-type Pokémon was too long, it was changed to "Sentinel Curve" when it was included in the book, completely eliminating the traces of the paper's author. It can only be said that fate played a trick on him.
"Where are those two ladies over there? Do they really think Pokémon turn into shiny specks of light and drift away in the air after they die?"
"Don't worry about them, please continue," Hugo said sincerely, his knuckles lightly tapping the table.
Although the source of the information was somewhat unreliable, they already knew what was inside the factory, and the detective couldn't bear to see Telt continue to keep things a secret.
He even began to reflect on himself—was he also this annoying when he discovered important clues and kept them to himself?
"Sigh..." Telt sighed heavily, finally getting to the point—
"Those Electric-type Pokémon that I had spent more than half a year with died neatly in the power plant where the explosion occurred, their bodies charred and carbonized. When I saw them, their bodies were still glowing with fire, but they were already motionless and there was no way to save them."
Azure's note-taking motion, Touko's absent-minded expression, and the detective's light tapping of the table all freeze in time.
The Archaeopteryx, having just cast "Clear Fog," was still outside its Poké Ball. Upon hearing about the corpse and death, it trembled uncomfortably, its eyes growing increasingly vacant.
Although I didn't witness it firsthand, the scene Talter described was truly horrifying...
Finally, it was actually Azure, who had been doodling in her notebook, who broke the silence—
“Mr. Telt, I remember you said before that there were seventy-one Pokémon in the factory, and they were all... dead there? Did you count them on the spot?”
"Do we even need to count them?"
The bearded groomer squinted, seemingly unmoved by the scene he was depicting, and said dismissively—
"I've been managing those elves there for almost a year now. I can tell at a glance if they've all arrived. Seventy-one, all there, all dead. There's no way I could be wrong."
Telt's answer was somewhat far-fetched, but the girl didn't dwell on the question for long before moving on to the next one—
"You mentioned Electrode and Magnemite earlier. Are these the only two Pokémon in the factory?"
"To be precise, there are two Pokémon families, totaling five: Voltorb, Electrode, Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnemite. The power plant only uses these types of Pokémon, supposedly because they have the highest power generation efficiency. I'll also tell you the number of these Pokémon; quickly write them down in your notebook—"
The trainer's tone remained sarcastic as always.
"There's one Magneton, five Voltorb, five Magneton 3-in-1s, thirty Magnemites, and a Voltorb in the factory. They form neat formations when they discharge electricity, and they do the same when they die, which is why I said I could tell their numbers at a glance."
Azure silently added to the number in her mind, and indeed there were seventy-one in total.
"So, who owns these Pokémon? And who has their corresponding Poké Balls?"
“The owner is this factory,” Telt replied with his eyes closed. “Their Poké Balls are locked in a safe in the factory warehouse, and only the factory manager has the key. They are not used except in special circumstances. The factory’s staff take them out from my breeding area every day to assist with their work using the power of these Pokémon’s Electric-type moves.”
Do they enjoy living in the factory? Are they mistreated by the employees?
"Like it? I don't think any person or Pokémon would like their job. Labor is painful, oppressive, and unavoidable. Those Electric-type Pokémon spend all day in the same place, generating electricity and nothing else. I don't see anything to be happy about in their lives..."
Telt's words surprised everyone, but he quickly changed the subject, denying what he had said—
"But the Pokémon themselves might not think the same way I do. Even if we release them back into the wild, the Voltorbs in the ravines and meadows will still just bounce around and release electric shocks; and the Magnemites in the caves will still just float around aimlessly like that bird over there. Maybe they live comfortably in the power plant, with no worries about food or water."
Azure wanted to ask more questions, but the detective stopped her. Hugo had asked her something earlier, and he wanted to confirm the answer to that question first.
"Mr. Telt, why didn't you report this to the police?"
"Hmph, a report?" The trainer's face showed obvious contempt—
"Didn't those police officers already know about this? Otherwise, how could those bodies have disappeared so quietly? Detective, do you know how they classified this explosion?"
"As far as I know, it was an accident of unknown cause," Hugo replied, referring to the materials provided by Officer Jenny.
“They said more when they questioned me,” Telt laughed sarcastically.
"The police said that the newly built factory inadvertently created a special magnetic field that subtly affected the minds of Magnemite and Tumbleweed, driving them crazy and causing them to become nervous, ultimately leading to a chain reaction of self-destruction in a workplace accident."
"They say the Pokémon have gone crazy? Ladies and gentlemen, don't you think that's ridiculous?"