Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 5 The Game of Imitation

Hugo, feigning composure, asked in a businesslike tone, "Miss Zhulan, do you believe there's any connection between your Garchomp's disappearance and this impersonation case? Did it eventually return to you?"

Seeing that the detective in front of her was still pretending to be confused, Cynthia didn't waste any words. She skillfully took out a Poké Ball and threw it into the aisle of the cafe: "Come out, Garchomp! 💘🎈 ♨🐧"

Amidst a brilliant flash of emerald red light, the Pokémon's figure emerges from the Poké Ball: Garchomp—Cyndaquil's longtime partner.

The Garchomp that throws the ball is robust, with bony spikes protruding from its matte blue skin. However, compared to the Garchomp that Cynthia uses in competitions, its skin doesn't appear as rough—thanks to its "Sand Veil" ability.

As it released the ball, it let out a low growl in the cafe, demonstrating its excellent condition to the trainer.

Then it saw Detective Hugo... The fierce earth dragon immediately rushed forward excitedly, its fierce expression completely gone, and began to rub its head on Hugo's chest.

A bit silly...

"No, no, I don't know you." Hugo pushed the dragon head away in resistance, and Cynthia's Garchomp retreated to its master's side, looking confused.

"Did this guy ask you for help last month?" Zhu Lan asked her old partner, pointing at Hugo.

Garchomp tilted its head and looked at Hugo, then nodded without hesitation.

The detective's face was ashen.

"What's this called in your local terminology?" the Sinnoh champion joked.

"A key eyewitness," Hugo said mechanically, his voice trembling with disbelief. "While not enough to warrant a guilty verdict, we can now apply for an arrest warrant from Officer Jenny."

Cynthia chuckled: "The real culprit is you, Detective Hugo, who moved from Sinnoh to Unova a year ago. You were mistaken for someone else because you were seen using a spare Pokémon I kept at my old home."

Hugo stared at Garchomp beside Cynthia, who was bewildered by what had happened, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

I thought the fan club's activities would perfectly cover up my whereabouts, but unexpectedly, Cynthia happened to have a bye in the competition and witnessed Garchomp's disappearance...

"During the year you were expelled from Sinnoh, you encountered many dangerous incidents, and each time you had to borrow my backup team from God and your hometown, because you couldn't command any Pokémon other than them."

In the café, the champion of bamboo orchids unleashed her full authority, her aura as she identified the murderer even more convincing than that of the real detective Hugo.

"Not that many. Only the first two times and the last time." Hugo bowed his head to the table as if confessing, his hands covering his head with messy black hair.

"The famous detective who insists on not using Pokémon has been secretly borrowing other people's Pokémon all along," Cynthia said with a playful smile.

"When I first arrived at Hezhong, the working conditions were extremely harsh. I only contacted my family because I was in dire straits and had nowhere else to turn..."

Hugo covered his head and tried to defend himself, continuing to struggle.

"Listen to me, the impersonation incidents were really done by your die-hard fans. After the first two incidents, they saw the online speculation about Sinnoh champions secretly active in Unova, and they got excited and started patrolling the streets every day with the same Pokémon to fight evil and crime. It's practically imitating acts of heroism, the opposite of copycat crimes. I've noticed these follow-up incidents and started investigating, so even if you hadn't come here, I would have handled this farce myself."

"Tell me the truth about those times." Ignoring the cheerleaders' questions, Zhu Lan glared sternly at the detective.

"The first two times were because I had just arrived in Unova. Although I discovered the urgent cases in advance, no one here believed in my detective abilities, so I had to contact my grandma at the Pokémon Center to send the Pokémon from the backyard over for help. 💜😲 69Ŝђ𝐔乂.cᵒ爪🍧😎"

"Are you referring to the subway explosion and the theft of Dream Smoke?"

"Yes, that bomber had a strong desire to perform and had created several small explosions in uninhabited areas before carrying out the subway bombing. At that time, the suspect's identity could have been identified through criminal profiling, but unfortunately, no one took my warning seriously..."

At this point, the detective shook his head regretfully.

"Afterwards, I investigated the culprit's recent itinerary on my own and found that he had been taking the Battle Subway an unusually large number of times recently. So, while I was calling the police, I asked Venostat and Gastrodon to secretly follow the suspect. The Ghost-type Venostat is the best tracker, and Gastrodon can use mud and water vapor to deal with bombs, so I chose them—but I didn't expect that he was already in the process of planting bombs at that time, and the incident turned into a sudden battle... although it was all Venostat and the others fighting by themselves."

"Was Togekiss from the Dream Smoke event also something he brought with him when he set off?"

"It wasn't that I was being led, but rather that I was being led. If it weren't for it, I wouldn't have been able to get to the Dream Lab in Sanyo City in time. This theft is far more serious than it appears. The unknown organization from before has now been identified as a clandestine group called Team Plasma, whose main activities include money laundering, fraud, pyramid schemes, and poaching. They have a strict hierarchy and clear division of labor, and they also maintain a highly capable research team. If they were to acquire the technology to control wild Pokémon, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"You already know about the plasma cluster?"

"Tracking down a hidden evil organization in a region is a complex yet simple task. You just need to investigate all the recent well-planned but motiveless crimes and then find a common beneficiary among them—that's how I discovered this organization. They used the guise of third-rate Pokémon protectionism, such as Pokémon liberation, to secretly get involved in several Pokémon robberies, but it now seems that their goals go far beyond that."

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"Is the incident last week involving Garchomp also related to this organization?" Cynthia wondered.

Hugo nodded: "The kidnapper was a former Team Plasma member who had left the organization and was ostracized even within the evil organization for his extreme ideology. In order to further investigate Team Plasma, I bypassed the police and contacted the victim of the kidnapping directly. That person also needed an unofficial detective. Because the target was too dangerous, I had no choice but to call in Garchomp."

"A fight broke out and was filmed."

Zhu Lan picked up the photo and waved it in front of Hugo, then said...

"Actually, as a trainer, I can tell which Pokémon belong to me just by looking at their photos. Rockruff, Togekiss, Garchomp—they all have subtle but unique individual characteristics. So I can confirm that what you're saying is true."

"Trainers are really amazing," Hugo casually remarked with little interest.

He casually pulled a pen from the pocket of his white coat, handed it to the other person, and then picked up the receipt from when Zhu Lan bought the shaved ice.

"Sign your name on it, and then I will pass your autograph to the fan club. After receiving this generous gift, they should not do such stupid things again."

"Are you stopping because you're satisfied? Wouldn't that be a bad way to handle it?" the Sinnoh champion asked while readily signing autographs.

"No, there's only one autograph. I bet that fan club will fall apart because of the unequal distribution of the spoils."

The detective deliberately spoke coldly, placing the invoice bearing the Sinnoh champion's signature into a small, transparent bag used for evidence. At the same time, he secretly put his phone back in his pocket; a new photo had appeared in his album—a candid shot of the Cynthia champion writing on the invoice.

"Will they believe this is my signature?"

"I will persuade them," Hugo assured confidently.

"Alright, the case is successfully closed. Grass Turtle, it's been a very pleasant time with you, but it's time to say goodbye."

Hugo casually picked up the Turtle Poké Ball from the opposite corner of the table, said a perfunctory goodbye, stuffed the ball back into the suitcase, skillfully closed the suitcase, fastened the clasp, and returned it to Cynthia.

"I suddenly remembered that I still have a client to finish up, so I'll take my leave now."

"Garuda, stop him," Cynthia said coldly.

The earth dragon's massive body blocked Hugo's seat, while the detective trembled beneath its scythe.

"You forgot to take your suitcase."

Zhu Lan flicked her golden hair back, a gesture she habitually made when unleashing a fatal blow in the Alliance Battle.

"I've resolved the case. You can use the actions of the support group to explain this incident to the league!" Hugo protested.

"You've been hiding the truth, and you even stole my Pokémon from home. You can continue to use my spare team as henchmen to solve cases, but I think it's time for you to start training your own Pokémon."

"This is the only one I won't do; I don't want to catch any more Pokémon!"

Hugo raised his voice, drawing disapproving glances from the waiter. Sure enough, this guy in the white coat was still not very reliable.

"You have it, I believe in our family genes, my dear brother," Zhu Lan said.

……

After a period of silence.

"Huh! Eh! That Detective Hugo is actually... Rotom, Rotom... I can't understand..."

After glancing at Zhu Lan and then at the detective, Rotom, the cell phone that had only recently been tamed by Zhu Lan, belatedly realized the truth.

It wanted to say something more, but Cynthia, annoyed by the noise, recalled it with a Poké Ball.