Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 221 Beyond Heaven

Chapter 223 Beyond Heaven

Mr. Shilan is the pioneering leader of the Battle Citadel in the Sinnoh region. His preferred Pokémon are Houndoom, Staraptor, Empoleon, and Gallade.

His fighting style is known for its steady, reactive approach, with meticulous attention to detail mirroring his personality. However, describing it merely as "steady" is somewhat inaccurate; every decision he makes in battle is ultimately the best strategy derived from a deep analysis of the situation. If his calculated strategy tells him, "Okay, it's time to go all in," then Shi Lan will not hesitate to employ bold tactics.

In short, anyone who has ever tried to conquer the Sinnoh Battle Frontier Battle Castle will understand how difficult this man is to deal with.

Besides being the leader of the pioneering region, Shilan has another well-known and proud identity: the butler of Cattleya, one of the Unova Elite Four.

"I serve noble people." This is how Shi Lan introduced himself when Hugo first met this steward.

Since her parents' generation, Shi Lan's family had worked in the Cattleya family mansion. It was for this reason that Shi Lan learned various butler skills from a young age, and after her father retired, she naturally served Cattleya as her butler, harboring unwavering loyalty to the young lady.

Therefore, Hugo was somewhat surprised, but not at all, to see this familiar castle butler in Fukichi City in the Unova region at this time.

After all, as the Psychic-type Elite Four member of Unova, Cattleya would definitely come here to witness Volcarona's final farewell. And on such an important occasion, it's quite reasonable for Mr. Shilan, as the young lady's butler, to suspend his business dealings with his colleagues in the Battle Frontier and come here.

What truly surprised Detective Hugo was Mr. Shilan's current state. This pioneering leader of the battle castle was now unconscious by the roadside, lying on his back in front of the road in the grass like a defeated wild elf.

Rather than saying he had lost all his composure, it would be more accurate to say that Shi Lan looked utterly miserable—his eyes were tightly closed, his hair was disheveled, his exquisite thin-rimmed glasses were cracked, his white gloves were stained black, and even his butler's uniform, a symbol of his dignity, was covered in dust and tatters.

Could this be an illusion deliberately created by Cattleya using her superpowers?

In a moment of hesitation, Hugo subconsciously began to doubt.

His relationship with that superhero wasn't bad; in fact, thanks to his older sister, their relationship could even be described as harmonious.

However, before leaving Sinnoh, the detective unintentionally did something that indirectly affected the duel between the Psychic-type Elite Four members of Sinnoh and Unova, resulting in Cattleya suffering a crushing defeat—could it be that Gosho let slip that the matter was exposed?

However, the detective immediately dismissed his own idea.

As his gaze shifted from Mr. Shi Lan's slumped body, more information flooded into Hugo's field of vision.

This could not possibly be a performance of Cattleya's illusion—because further away from Mr. Stone, among the overgrown tall grass, one could vaguely see more unconscious people, all of them in a pitiful state, covered in wounds.

Even with a rough estimate based on the naked eye, the number of people in a coma is at least fifty.

If everything in front of us is just a prank or joke, then it's really not funny.

.

Hugo was standing on Route 7 in the northeast of Fuki City. If he looked up, he could see the Tower of Paradise standing at the end of the tall grass.

There is no direct road leading to the white ancient building, so this stretch of tall grass is the only way to see Champion Ardek and his Volcanoes.

These tall grasses are nearly two meters high, and generally speaking, many powerful wild Pokémon hide within them. Of course, this "powerful" only applies to an ordinary person with nothing to do. No matter how strong the wild Pokémon in the grass are, they could not possibly have driven the battle-experienced castle steward to such a miserable state.

The detective intended to cross the grass via the walkway built above it, but before he could step onto the walkway, he discovered the butler lying unconscious at the entrance to the grass below.

Since he arrived here by taxi directly from the train station, Hugo was unaware of the situation in Fukichi City at this time, and this unexpected discovery made the detective feel a little uneasy.

However, since the train station and taxi network were operating normally when I arrived, I suppose the incident has not yet affected ordinary citizens.

Although Mr. Shi Lan's body was covered in wounds, the assailant seemed to have exercised some restraint, leaving no fatal injuries. His chest was now rising and falling slowly with his breathing, and he was not in mortal danger. Presumably, the other victims in the tall grass were in the same situation.

Who is the culprit? At this point, there's no need for further deduction.

Because that's too obvious.

Too blatant, too careless, too negligent. So much so that the detective immediately shifted his focus, began considering other possibilities, and even began to suspect the possibility of a prank by someone with superpowers.

It would have taken only a glance to discern the prisoner's stance—just to notice that one crucial anomaly.

Among the unconscious trainers, whether it was Shilan or the others, there was nothing that should have been present beside them—

Pokémon Poké Ball.

Given the current situation in the United States, there is only one organization with both the motive and the capability to do such a thing—

O

As Hugo pondered, a rustling sound came from the tall grass in front of him—which alerted the detective once again.

The sound grew closer, and a figure parted the tall grass and bushes, greeting him sharply, "You reached for your weapon in your pocket first, instead of the Poké Ball containing the Pokémon? I admire you more and more, Mr. Detective of Flying Cloud City."

Emerging from the tall grass was a familiar-looking young man with green hair.

I had a brief encounter with it during the power plant incident in Liyong City, and even more recently, it appeared in Douzi's communication equipment in a low-resolution video call format.

N, the monster who understands the thoughts of Pokémon and the nominal king of Team Plasma.

"The sides of your shoes are very clean." Hugo glanced at the other man, concealing his portable baton in his pocket, and said directly, "And there are no signs of any fighting on your body, so it's clear that you didn't defeat these people in the grass."

"Yes, it wasn't me who did it. It was a sage sent here by the Order who defeated them." The green-haired youth stood calmly in front of the detective and answered as if nothing had happened.

"The Unova Elite Four are currently taking turns challenging their champion inside the Tower of Heaven, while these people in the grass were originally challengers waiting to enter. My wise teacher took advantage of the champion and the Elite Four fighting each other to defeat all the potential challengers outside. There were also a few of the Order's subordinates here, but I sent them to unleash the Pokémon they had collected."

"Where did that sage go? And what is your purpose in speaking to me?" the detective asked, getting straight to the point.

"He also went to the Tower of Heaven, hoping to use that power that defeated the trainers to defeat Champion Alder, whose stamina had been depleted by the Elite Four. As for me leaking information to you, consider it payment for the commission I made during the Power Plant incident."