Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"Buyi!"

Without Azure's command, Eevee took the initiative to protect the boy, keeping the aggressive boy out of the alley.

Eevee lived up to Miss Douzi's earlier praise, using its agility and abundant strength to defeat the human cubs one after another.

The little boy was extremely anxious as Ibrahimovic stopped him, and when he saw the Warrior Eagle lying motionless in a pool of blood, he was even more heartbroken.

And so he began to cry even more loudly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Having done everything she could, Bilan stood up again, calmly looked around, and finally fixed her gaze on the child who was standing there crying loudly.

After wiping the blood from her wounds with the remaining bandages, she approached the little boy and asked in a gentle voice, "Is this warrior eagle yours?"

Upon hearing the question, seemingly sensing that the older sister in front of him meant no harm, the boy stopped crying and gradually calmed down. Looking at the solemn-faced Bilan, he nodded and then shook his head.

"Is it a spirit of your family?" Azure asked again.

This time, the boy nodded without hesitation.

"Why do you think I'm the one who hurt it?" Azure's words contained neither anger nor any intention to defend herself; she simply wanted to know the truth.

“I…I’ve been watching this area the whole time. Before that…no one entered the alley.”

"So how did the Warriors' Hawks get into the alley?"

"Eagle... flew in," the little boy stammered, rubbing his red and swollen eyes.

Where are your family members?

"No."

"Have you gotten separated?"

The child nodded.

Azure quickly sketched out the scene in her mind: the child and the adult got separated, and the parents sent a brave eagle with the ability to fly to find them. In the process, the brave eagle flew into an alley for some reason and encountered an accident or attack in a dead end, resulting in the current tragic situation.

So what exactly caused the Warriors' Hawks to be injured? What exactly happened in the alley?

The only eyewitness was the child in front of her, so Xiao Lan continued to ask, "When did you get here?"

"Just now."

"When did the Warriors Eagles enter the alley?"

"Just now."

When did you start observing the alleyways?

"...Just now...just now."

"You're lying." Sensing something amiss, Bilan didn't hesitate to expose the child's lie. "You've been observing the alley for a while now, haven't you?"

The child lowered his head and did not answer. This is a sign of tacit agreement.

Did you know the Warrior Eagles would come?

"I don't know," the little boy quickly shook his head.

"Then why are you monitoring this alley? Is there anything special about it?"

"Nothing special, just a bit boring, so I'm watching," the little boy said, rubbing his fingers together. Azure thought he was telling the truth this time.

She speculated that, probably because he had gotten separated from his parents, the child had been waiting for them across the alley. With nothing to do, he began to observe the entire neighborhood, including the alleyway leading to this dead end.

Bilan continued, "During the time you were observing the alley, was there anything unusual happening in it?"

The boy shook his head frantically.

A young girl who has just arrived in the Unova region is confused: why did the brave eagle who flew alone into the deep alley meet with misfortune?

Could it be the work of a Pokémon hidden in the garbage dump?

As the girl fell into thought, Eevee, after looking around, jumped back in front of Azure, pointed with its little paw at the garbage heap in the street, and then shook its head.

Azure understood her partner's meaning: there were no wild Pokémon in the deep alley!

Azure's confusion deepened—was this just a simple accident?

Just then, a woman dressed in casual home clothes rushed into the alley like a gust of wind; she appeared to be the boy's parent.

The woman was breathing heavily, her face clearly unmade-up, and her anxiety was palpable.

She saw the dying eagle behind the azure figure, and then she saw the boy with red, swollen eyes. Upon seeing her, the boy excitedly shouted, "Mommy! The eagle..."

Just when Azure thought she was about to be suspected again, an unbelievable scene unfolded—

Snapped!

The mother's response to the boy was a resounding slap that showed no mercy.

Why is Chapter 023 a sandstorm?

What happened next was completely inexplicable to Azure.

First, the little boy was completely stunned by his mother's slap.

After that, he just hung his head, looking lost and dejected. He even forgot to cry and remained silent as if he had lost the ability to speak, making people wonder just how much force was used in that slap.

The boy's mother, however, ignored her son's condition and didn't continue lecturing him. Instead, she immediately rushed over and threw herself beside the Brave Eagle, frantically trying to do something. But Azure quickly stopped her, explaining that the wound had already been bandaged and that the Brave Eagle needed rest and to wait for the Pokémon Center's rescue.

Then, the mother began to thank Bilan, and then glared at her son as if he were the one who had caused the trouble.

After the mother thanked Bilan for the tenth time, the three of them finally fell into an awkward silence. Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly awkward, the ambulance arrived at the scene at the perfect moment.

It must be said that Feiyun City's medical system is quite good compared to other big cities. From calling for emergency help to medical staff carrying the injured person onto the ambulance, the whole process took no more than twenty minutes.

In this incident, the on-duty doctor demonstrated ample professionalism, the ambulance responded quickly, and the on-site personnel were quite skilled at lifting the injured pet into the ambulance.

In conclusion, the Warriors' Hawk was successfully transported to the hospital.

The doctor who accompanied the ambulance also stated that the Warriors' Hawks' wounds were treated promptly and that there was no immediate danger to his life.

The mother thanked Azure profusely once again, and it was only then that Azure finally realized that this mother was indeed the trainer of the Warrior Eagle—although it had a premonition before.

Although the safety of the Warrior Eagles was assured, the girl still felt somewhat stifled, as if a murky fog had enveloped her.

Did the little boy really end up here because he was lost? Why was the Warrior Eagle attacked so severely in the deserted alley? And what was the meaning behind the mother's strange behavior?

Feeling frustrated at being kept in the dark, Azure returned to the entrance of the Battle Company to meet with Douzi, who was eagerly waiting for her.

"Quick! Sister Lan! The doubles match is about to start!"

The sight of the girl waving frantically from afar cheered Bilan up a little.

She turned around and looked at Ibrahimovic following behind her.

The simple-minded little creature wasn't affected by the mystery; it had just saved a Pokémon and was in a good mood. Little Eevee bounced energetically, seemingly showing off its peak battle condition.

"Let's go then, it'll be a good way to change our mood." Azure raised her hands, rotating them to relax her wrists, the joints making a slight clicking sound.

Doubles trainers, do you know how prestigious the top four teams at the 10th Quartz Conference are?

……

"In the doubles match, your opponents in the final were a pair of Sandstorms. Their teamwork was excellent, but you were just as skilled and won the match."

As evening fell, at the dining table in Yuxi Residence, Hugo addressed his landlord and roommate, who had just entered, in a statement of fact.

"He must have made that judgment because he saw the dust on us. Sister Xiaolan, please don't let that person fool you." Douzi said to Bilan with a smile as he closed the door.

"Actually, it's mainly the smell," Hugo explained earnestly, sitting in a comfortable armchair.

"The dust generated by the 'Sandstorm' property will naturally dissipate after the battle. Even if it gets stuck in your clothes, the amount is so small that it's imperceptible to the naked eye. However, the sense of smell can help the eyes detect things that are normally invisible. For example, with enough experience, one can judge how long a sandstorm has lasted by distinguishing the intensity of the earthy smell on their clothes—of course, it's just a very subtle scent, one that's difficult to detect in normal life."

"You deduced from the smell that the sandstorm lasted a long time, and then inferred that someone was fighting us to a standstill by using the 'sandstorm' property? And then you deduced that the doubles opponents must have had excellent teamwork?" Douzi quickly filled in the detective's reasoning process.

“That’s right,” Hugo nodded in agreement.

"But how did you know that the battle with the sandstorm occurred in the finals? And how did you determine that we were participants in the competition and not eliminated contestants sitting in the stands?"

The black-haired girl fired off a barrage of questions, as if she were a student dissatisfied with the math teacher's problem-solving methods, strongly demanding that the teacher not skip steps and explain things more clearly.

"Because your eyes are slightly red, this is a stress reaction that occurs when people experience a sandstorm in a short period of time. This phenomenon does not occur when sitting in the audience or experiencing a sandstorm much earlier."

Hugo yawned. This was indeed an obvious problem.

Douzi was still unconvinced: "And another thing, how did you know we won the match in the end? Our opponents were Team Sandstorm, while we had Emboar and Eevee scheduled to play! A type disadvantage!"

“I really don’t know how you won,” Hugo admitted earnestly, “but the fact that you ultimately won is the most obvious one.”

"How did you figure that out?" Even Azure, who had been silent all along, was a little curious this time.

“Touko rang the doorbell twice, which means she’s in a good mood—that’s a habit I’ve noticed in Touko in the past,” the detective revealed with a smile. “When I heard the doorbell ring a second time, I thought: Touko must have come back after winning the prize money.”

The landlady blushed for once, and it took her a while to reply.

"Detectives are all voyeurs!" she exclaimed angrily.

“I can’t deny that. As an apology and compensation, how about I treat you two to dinner today? How about a seafood pizza? It’s a specialty of the port city of Feiyun.”

Hugo lazily got up from his seat, seemingly unintentionally, and asked Azure, who was in a bad mood.

It must be said that Detective Hugo is quite emotionally intelligent when he's at leisure.

"Hugo, are you going to cook?" It was Douzi who asked again, the girl's mouth practically watering.

“Yes.” Then Hugo lowered his head and thought for a moment, as if confirming the biological clock in his brain, “It will be ready in five more minutes. You can release the Pokémon first. This pizza is enough for everyone to eat together.”

"Alright!" The landlady happily tossed all six Poké Balls from her waist.

They are: Emboar, Serperior, Greatsword, Vulture, Mudfish, and Diplodocus.

"Has your green vine snake finally evolved?" Hugo asked.

"Not only did it evolve, I also used a super rare Ability Potion on it. Now Serperior's Ability is 'Contrarian,' and if I use 'Leaf Storm,' its Special Attack will increase with every attack!"

Considering Hugo's almost superhuman observational skills, which are akin to a Pokédex, Touko felt she shouldn't give the detective a chance to show off, so she proactively revealed Serperior's unique characteristics.

"I've always felt that items like Ability Plasters and Nature Mints are somewhat unethical. Won't arbitrarily altering a Pokémon's innate characteristics have side effects?" Hugo asked rhetorically, deliberately sounding alarmist.

"Whatever, my Serpent Lord is perfectly healthy right now." The girl happily ignored the detective's warning, while the Serpent Lord beside her proudly flicked its tail in response.

"One day I'll put the most inappropriate personality mint into your recipes."

Hugo made a malicious joke as he took an enormous pizza out of the kitchen oven, along with two other pizzas of the same size in the same oven.

"Buyi!"

At some point, Azure also released its only Pokémon.

Smelling the aroma of delicious food, Eevee immediately moved closer to Hugo.

"Bu-i...Hah-shu!"

Unfortunately, the detective's bad luck kicked in.

Eevee, who was eagerly gazing at the delicious food, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason, leaping three feet into the air, about to crash into the huge, steaming plate in Hugo's hands...

Chapter 024 The Detective's Pre-Meal Game

At the critical moment, Eevee, who was about to cause trouble, mysteriously disappeared as if he had never been there at all.

Hugo and the tray in his hands remained firmly in place, and almost every creature in the room breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

Looking in the direction where Eevee disappeared, the landlord and the detective saw a bright blue Poké Ball held out horizontally. It turned out that the girl had used the Poké Ball to retrieve Eevee just in time from causing trouble.

"I'm sorry, my partner and I have caused you trouble," Azure said apologetically. As she apologized, she had to look at Hugo. She opened her mouth as if in a daze, but said nothing more, as if she had swallowed a bitter cup of wine.

Little Blue seemed to be forcing herself to stay awake—the landlady noticed Blue's fatigue. Hugo, on the other hand, had already discerned Blue's thoughts the moment the two entered the room; it was an expression his clients often wore.

After the Eevee sneezing crisis was resolved, Hugo continued to shuttle between the kitchen and the dining room. Considering that it was never too late to mend the fence, Douzi ordered Yanwu and the others to stay away from the detectives.

The crisp sound of opening a large bottle of soda is especially pleasant on a summer day, and the food is already plentiful on the table.

After cutting the pizza with a roller, Hugo suddenly started a conversation: "My hometown is a conservative and old-fashioned small town, where people sometimes pay attention to some strange table manners. One of them is that if someone at the table looks troubled, they must tell you their worries before the meal is over."

"What if that person doesn't want to talk?" Douzi asked with interest.

“Then the others at the table can guess as they please,” Hugo replied, “until that person reveals their troubles.”

“Your hometown must be very peaceful,” Douzi commented earnestly.

“Although it’s peaceful,” the detective said, putting down the pizza-cutting wheel as if ready to dig in, “there’s often a lot of noise around the table.”