Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 315 Poisoning – The Suicide Note of a Woman

Mia was twenty-five years old at the time.

My hometown is Shippo City in the Unova region.

Both parents are alive, and the family background is quite ordinary.

She didn't choose the path of becoming a trainer, but instead pursued higher education, eventually graduating from a well-known art academy in Raven City. Her major was fashion design.

He had excellent grades and outstanding professional skills during his school years.

However, three years after graduating from university, this woman is still struggling in a rented room in Feiyun City, diligently sending out resumes everywhere, living a life of job hunting and unemployment.

Hmm, that's probably because of my personality...

The detective looked at the suicide attempt victim huddled in a corner of the room, seemingly lost in his own world, trembling and muttering incoherently. He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, then turned to Champion Carlos beside him—

"Sigh, let me have some time alone with this lady. It seems that Miss Mia won't be able to have a proper conversation until you, this world-famous star, leave the room."

"Can't you talk properly? I think you're about to get the girl's bank password out of her."

Karuni looked at the detective with deep suspicion, but she also felt that continuing like this was not a solution, so she had no choice but to leave the room as instructed.

This is the private lounge of the Feiyun City Seaside Hotel.

After bringing Miss Mia back from the beach, Hugo called Carlos, the champion, who was attending a charity gala.

The latter immediately sent out her partner Gardevoir, who used the "Teleport" move to teleport the two of them into an empty room that the organizers had specially prepared for Karune.

It was here that Hugo and Mia changed their shoes and clothes, which had been soaked by the seawater, in the changing room inside their room.

"What is your relationship with Champion Karuni?"

A trembling voice came from the woman squatting on the ground.

It seems that even the most timid and introverted suicide victim can't help but muster up their curiosity when faced with gossip involving movie stars and league champions.

Hugo answered casually, "My sister knows her, so I've received a lot of help from that champion lady. During her visit to Flying Cloud City, I accompanied her as her tour guide for a day."

"........."

The woman in the corner didn't answer, but occasionally peeked up at Hugo's face—she probably thought that the strange detective's sister might be one of the actresses who had worked with Karuni before.

"Miss Mia, let's continue our previous conversation."

Hugo approached the woman in the shadows by the corner, crouched down, and spoke in as friendly a tone as possible.

"Although your job search didn't seem to go smoothly, you've persisted in staying in Feiyun City for three years. Rent in Feiyun City isn't cheap, so the financial pressure must be immense. Even so, you still insist on not returning to your hometown. Is there something in this city that you're unwilling to give up?"

Mia buried her head in her knees, withdrawing into herself, and offered no reply.

However, the detective noticed that Mia trembled slightly and lowered her head even further when he mentioned her hometown, suggesting that she had experienced something similar in her hometown.

However, this experience is probably unrelated to her parents, otherwise Mia wouldn't have been so frank about her family situation before.

Let's put aside the topic of our hometown for now and approach it from other angles.

Considering he hadn't found anything resembling a suicide note at the beach, Hugo decided to temporarily set aside treating the matter as a suicide attempt and instead proceed cautiously by asking questions—

"Speaking of rent, Miss Mia, you shouldn't be living here in Feiyun City on your own, relying on your own abilities, rather than relying on your parents' support, right?"

"How...how did you know?"

As an unemployed young person, financial independence is probably one of the few things Mia can still be proud of. A small voice faintly echoed from the corner upon hearing Hugo's question.

"Although you looked a little haggard when I saw you, your complexion and makeup were still quite good, and your clothes were relatively stylish. This shows that even including rent, you have not been struggling financially in Feiyun City for the past three years. It would be difficult to achieve this with just your parents' financial support."

At this point, Hugo flipped his hand, revealing the bottle of sleeping pills he hadn't received from Miss Mia—

"Also, sleeping pills aren't exactly easy to get in the Unova region. You can't buy them in regular pharmacies; you need a proper prescription from a doctor to get them from a hospital pharmacy, and there are limits on the amount you can get each time. Judging from the number of pills accumulated in this bottle, you must have undergone quite a long period of psychotherapy in Flying Cloud City."

"If you can't be financially independent and still ask your parents for money to treat insomnia, I don't think even the most heartless parents would feel comfortable letting you continue to stay in a big city and struggle to make ends meet under the pressure of job hunting, right?"

"Ah..." Mia looked up at the detective in surprise, it seemed that Hugo was right.

"In conclusion, Miss Mia, you must have your own source of income in Feiyun City. Considering your major and abilities during your university years, as well as the calluses on the knuckles and tips of your right middle and little fingers, it must be work related to painting."

However, there was no trace of pencil dust or paint stains on Miss Mia's body, so the painting work was probably done with electronic tools such as a graphics tablet, the detective added.

"...Yes, that's right."

The introverted woman answered hesitantly.

She earns commissions by drawing illustrations for people on an online platform, which covers her rent and daily expenses in Feiyun City.

"You, who live in seclusion at home and paint all the time, why are you standing on the beach with a long-accumulated stash of pills... Hmm, let's put that question aside for now. Miss Mia, you don't seem to have a single Pokémon on you right now, do you?"

Just like when the word "hometown" was mentioned before, Mia hugged herself tightly again in a panic, as if she had shrunk a size.

It seems that the "Pokémon" element made her subconsciously uneasy.

If Mia really intended to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills on the beach, she certainly wouldn't have put her Pokémon into a Poké Ball and carried it with her.

That could not only lead to the elves drowning with her, but Mia's own suicide plan could also be stopped by her caring companions.

"Hmm... I guess you teleported those Pokémon back to their hometown? Are you the kind of person who isn't good at communicating with people but loves raising Pokémon?"

Hugo stood up, pacing back and forth as if deep in thought, gradually turning his back to Mia with nonchalance.

Unlike typical interrogation subjects, these extremely introverted individuals only show a degree of relaxation when they feel they are being looked down upon by others.

"No...no, that's not true. I only kept one Electric Bug, which evolved recently, so I took this opportunity to send it back to its hometown."

Mia tried to speak, her words tumbling out incoherently.

"By ordinary standards, you keep a relatively small number of Pokémon... though I have no right to criticize others for that."

Electric bugs are small, only the size of a palm, and they like to quietly lie on power outlets to absorb electricity, making them a very suitable pet for introverted illustrators.

But... why does Mia have only this one Pokémon in Flying Cloud City?

Based on the growth pattern of Bug-type Pokémon, when Mia was in her childhood, when she should have adopted her first Pokémon, that Electivire shouldn't have been born yet, right?

Hometown... Pokémon... Being alone... Introverted personality... Accumulated sleeping pills... The act of standing on the beach, gazing into the distance in a daze...

Hugo observes Mia out of the corner of his eye, and the scattered clues and testimonies gradually connect to form a hazy truth. The detective also gradually gets some inspiration about the motive for her suicide.

"Well then, Miss Mia."

Having considered this, the detective, without hesitation, turned directly to the timid painter in the corner and asked him a question from above—

What are your thoughts on Team Plasma's Pokémon Liberation Movement?

"Hey!"

The woman cried out in distress, her squatting body instantly losing its balance, and she collapsed to the ground in a sorry state.

"How...how did you know?"

Mia looked up in a panic at the unfamiliar detective who had seen through her thoughts, her terrified eyes peeking out from under her messy bangs.

Obviously, this is the direct reason why Miss Mia stood blankly on the beach.