Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 15 Tomorrow will be a new day

Then Miss Zhulan quickly defeated her opponent—though I don't want to use such a perfunctory way of putting it, that's really how it was…

The twelve Galar champions, touted as rivals to Gym Leaders, didn't even have a chance to release their Poké Balls. Almost the instant the robbers in the truck appeared in Cynthia's field of vision, a lithe figure appeared instantly with the red glow of the Poké Ball. ♢♦ 6➈รHuˣ.𝕔όᵐ 👽♢

Lucario, as he released the ball, was like a warrior surveying the battlefield, not unleashing any skills, but simply calmly striking forward with his palm to collide with the truck.

The expected explosion and impact did not occur. Instead, the champion's Pokémon released a mysterious aura energy from its palm, causing the speeding truck to come to a sudden stop—as if a video player had been paused.

The car's airbags deployed, leaving the two robbers dazed and confused. However, at that moment, they were still unaware of the gravity of the situation—

Instead of surrendering, they attempted to fight back.

The two Pokémon, Strider and Felfin, were relatively small and were already in the car without being put into their Poké Balls, so the robbers commanded them to jump out of the car window to fight.

Unfortunately, before the two Pokémon could even step onto the ground outside the car, Lucario had already rushed up to their side, and its Iron Fist arrived first, forcefully slamming them back into the car.

It then jumped into the car itself, and to the horror of the two robbers who looked as if they had seen a ghost, it knocked both of them unconscious with a punch and a kick.

The entire process took no more than 10 seconds, and Lucario didn't even use any moves.

Ham and his childhood friend's robbery operation came to an end, their bloody criminal path abruptly cut short, and what awaited them was a long and uncertain prison life.

By the time the police realized what had happened, the heroic Sinnoh champion had already reached the truck and retrieved Lucario, who had performed the great service, back into the ball.

This earth-shattering case, which shook the entire city of Feiyun, came to a close so lightly and without any real impact.

.

"To be honest, I always feel that something is missing from this incident."

Hugo crouched in a small corner next to a police car, seemingly avoiding someone's gaze, and muttered something while baring his teeth.

"Is there more to the case? Does the perpetrator have a backup plan? Is there a mastermind behind it all?!"

Officer Jenny, who had just been released by her superior, immediately tensed up when she heard Hugo's ramblings.

The series of cases that happened today have left her with considerable psychological trauma.

"A mastermind? Maybe. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Don't you think something's missing from tonight's big operation?" the detective said, still wanting more.

Officer Jenny was completely bewildered: "What's missing?"

"Those guys who always show up at times like this," Hugo said, pointing his finger out of the blockade.

The police station is full of blabbermouths who are in cahoots with the media; with a large police force mobilized tonight, it's impossible for reporters not to get the news. However…

"They seem a bit sluggish today. I haven't seen a United Press reporter run slower than the police in a long time."

This means that some force has suppressed the journalists' actions, deliberately leaving a wide escape route for the robbers.

Behind the yellow cordon, a large group of reporters, as hungry as stray dogs, had gathered. They had been driven out of their homes in the middle of the night by their own editors' yelling, and now they were all red-eyed and wanted to tear the spokesperson of Feiyun Police Station apart and excrete the excrement called "front-page news".

"The United States' news media is the most boring of all the regional alliances. Their hired writers only produce two kinds of articles: whitewashed messes and scandalous infighting. The police did a decent job tonight, so they'll probably write something praising the police department to the skies." The detective commented scathingly.

"Isn't this a good thing?" The policewoman had completely become the detective's sidekick.

"At least not for criminologists. In such cases, they'll write adventure novels about past cases that are completely different from the facts, filled with superhuman thieves and brilliant detectives, but completely ignoring or even arbitrarily altering the specific case clues and reasoning processes." Hugo gave Officer Jenny a meaningful look. "You'll soon experience these things firsthand."

"What do you mean? They're coming after me?"

"The reporters' first target is naturally Zhu Lan, who suddenly appears and takes down the criminal. The second target will be that shrewd detective chief of the criminal investigation department. That detective is very shrewd and would never take credit for your work from the Officer Jenny family. So you become the third target of their attention."

"Sounds pretty safe?"

"As everyone knows, Cynthia has a flying Togekiss, and in this situation, she usually just flies away. Your superior, however, isn't aware of the detailed investigation process… In conclusion, you'll still be greeted enthusiastically by reporters. Look, they might already be looking for you…"

Just then, Officer Jenny's walkie-talkie, which was clipped to her waist, crackled to life: "Officer Jenny, please meet the officer at the west intersection. We need you to explain in detail how the robbery was discovered."

Hugo grinned wickedly, "Then I won't bother you any longer. Good luck!"

As night fell, the detective, wearing a shabby white coat, waved his arm and left without looking back.

"Can I tell the reporters about your situation?" Officer Jenny shouted at Hugo's retreating figure.

The voice came from the detective's receding figure: "It doesn't matter, but don't get your hopes up too high; they won't believe it."

.

Back at the office in the Feather Residence, the detective did not open the door directly, but instead climbed onto the roof via the windowsill and external drainpipe.

Here, he saw his sister—Zhu Lan, who had just left the scene of the standoff between the police and criminals.

The detective spoke first: "There's a gray, straight dust mark on the back of your clothes, and there's brown residue of special fruit-growing soil on the heels of your shoes. These two things indicate that you climbed over the window and stepped onto the land in the fruit-growing area outside. This also means that you couldn't leave the gate of the Feathered Residence for some reason. In addition, there are some small, haphazard rope marks on your hands. You must have created some kind of mechanism at the gate using the fishing line I left inside."

Zhu Lan touched her forehead with her hand bearing the rope mark and said with a smile, "Your reasoning speed is comparable to Lucario's straight punch."

"Speaking of mechanisms triggered by opening doors, it must involve using the force of opening the door to move an object in the room, which then triggers a trigger device in the room—like the button on a Poké Ball. And you just showed me three Poké Balls at noon today. I guess your plan is that the moment I open the door, the Poké Balls containing Turtwig, Piplup, and Chimchar will be released simultaneously. These Pokémon will then affectionately surround me and recognize me as their trainer, allowing you to leave safely from the rooftop."

"A brilliant strategist, just like always," the detective's sister said.

"You want to take advantage of my sense of responsibility to make me raise those three," Hugo glared at the other person with displeasure.

"That was originally the case," Zhu Lan nodded frankly, "but now there's a better reason."

The detective didn't react for a moment.

"The copycat case you claimed to have perfectly resolved is now impossible to resolve. Because I personally intervened to stop the crime."

Hugo instantly understood what Zhu Lan meant, and his expression immediately turned ugly, as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

"No matter what I say to the two alliances now, I can't explain what happened today. Those people in the alliance will just give me that United Guardian Medal without a second thought. Although I can't return the honor of heroism to those who actually did it, for the time being, I have no choice but to go with the flow."

Zhu Lan shrugged, looking into Hugo's eyes. Their eyes met in the same shade of gray. "So, will you, the super-professional detective, keep your promise?"

Hugo remained silent, then stood there motionless for a full ten minutes. Zhu Lan wasn't in a hurry either, staying with her younger brother on the rooftop to enjoy the night breeze.

Finally, the detective made up his mind, ignored the bamboo orchid in front of him, climbed down the roof along the windowsill and drainpipe, straightened his white suit, and walked seriously toward the main gate of Yuxi Mansion.

Turn the key, open the door, and as expected, three crisp sounds of Poké Balls opening rang out, pulled by barely visible threads.

The little monkey with a burning tail, the penguin with a round head, and the turtle with a tender sprout on its head all happily clung to the detective on his way home—no wonder they were chosen as champions, they are all adorable children with wonderful personalities.

"Hello, nice to meet you outside the Poké Ball. I'm Hugo, a detective, and from now on I'll be your trainer," the detective said in a gentle voice, which drew equally enthusiastic responses from the three Pokémon.

Inside the Feather Residence, a warm and cozy scene unfolded, while on the rooftop, Orchid had already departed on Togekiss; she had already lingered long enough in Unova.

The interlude in Feiyun City under the night sky has come to an end, and it has fallen into a deep sleep under the bright moonlight.

Tomorrow will be another new day. Some will embark on their journeys and leave, while others will arrive with light steps. Some will form bonds with Pokémon, and some inexplicable cases will occur.

The doors of Hugo Detective Agency will continue to be open to all who bring cases.