Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Aying had no idea that just a few hours earlier, the Cynthia Champion from the Sinnoh region had also looked around the walls of this space with a solemn expression.

Just as the atmosphere in this forest mansion was becoming increasingly tense, almost condensing into mist and gathering into a storm, a huge sound suddenly resounded throughout the entire building from below.

That was a woman's surprised exclamation—

"Huh? What happened to Hugo?"

The voice was filled with disbelief.

Chapter 272 Like the Sun Rising from the Horizon

The Earth rotates on its axis day and night, and the sun cannot be directly overhead for everyone at the same time. Therefore, there is a time difference of almost half a day between Sinnoh and Unova, two regions located at opposite ends of the Earth.

In the morning, Cynthia Champion teleported her Garchomp to her brother in Unova, while it was already close to nighttime at Hugo's location in the Unova region.

Therefore, compared to the Pokémon under Champion Alder's command who had been fighting all day, Garchomp, having been teleported to the other side of the planet, had just woken up. Ignoring its morning grumpiness, it was in peak physical condition, full of energy and vitality.

This subtle difference in physical strength may have, to some extent, quietly influenced the final outcome of that marathon-like battle... who knows?

As dusk approaches in the Sinnoh region, the distant Unova region is also welcoming the first light of dawn.

After struggling for a long time between her obligation to keep the Elite Four secret and her friendship with Cynthia, Caitalia, who was at the Pokémon Center in Fuyuki City, finally made up her mind and dialed an overseas phone call that spanned half the globe.

Just as Cynthia and Officer Jenny were about to leave the basement of the Forest Mansion, the bright red Rotom Phone became restless and jumped out of the Sinnoh Champion's pocket once again.

Seeing that Zhu Lan nodded in agreement to make the call, Rotom's phone spun in the air and emitted light from the camera on the upper left of its back, projecting a transparent image with a bluish glow. In that image, the image of Universe's Celestial Queen, Gadriya, instantly took shape.

"Ah, is that Gadriya? It's been a long time."

Unaware of what was going on, Zhu Lan was the first to greet them.

She didn't connect the phone call with the fact that she had lent the elf to Hugo that morning. She just suddenly felt a little guilty, realizing that she had been in such a rush when she went to Unova last time that she had forgotten to tell her close friend.

Is Cattleya here to confront me? But that was a long time ago. It's been almost half a year since then, and she's only just realized it now. Her reaction time is a bit too slow.

"It should still be early morning on the United States side. Is there something urgent that happened so early in the morning?"

While calculating the time difference between the two places, Zhu Lan asked her friend whom she hadn't seen in a long time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, Gadria was speechless for a moment, looking at her friend's face, unsure of where to begin.

Seeing the psychic king frowning and unable to speak for a long time, and recalling the recent situation of the Unova Alliance, Zhu Lan suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately continued to press for answers—

"What on earth happened? Could it be that something went wrong with Mr. Adek's partner, Volcarona?"

In a sense, this guess hit the bullseye.

"Uh... well, actually..."

Cattleya was not a good storyteller, and she had no clue how to recount such a complex event.

In the past, when such trivial matters arose, the butler, Shilan, would always be there to help explain. But now, the butler, injured by the plasma ball, was lying in a hospital room with the detective. He would have to explain the whole incident to Shilan himself.

In fact, even Cattleya didn't know how to feel about Hugo's victory over Adele.

Cheers to the detective's performance? Sadness for Aldair's retirement? Or resentment that someone else has surpassed him and become the new champion of the Unova League?

When she saw Hugo defeat Adek in such a way, these emotions that should have surged up like a tide did not arise in her heart at all.

As for the detective's victory, Cattleya just felt...somewhat absurd?

After much deliberation, this superpowered king decided to get straight to the point, and so he began—

"Cymbidium, your brother Hugo is going to become the Unova League Champion."

"I see. He's been working really hard in the Unova region... Huh? What did you say?"

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The Sinnoh champion looked at Officer Jenny standing beside her, only to find that Officer Jenny was also watching her reaction intently. They could both see a sense of confusion in each other's eyes.

"What do you think happened to Hugo?"

The two asked in unison.

The voice was filled with disbelief.

"He defeated Mr. Ardek in the All-Star Game and is about to become the Unova Champion."

The Superpower King had already noticed Officer Jenny standing outside the screen, and when he saw the two of them speaking in unison, he calmly replied without taking it seriously.

Officer Jenny leaned close to Rotom's phone, blinking her wide eyes at the Unova Elite Four member: "Is today in the Unova region one of those holidays where you can just joke around?"

“I’m not joking.” Cattleya shook her head deeply.

Officer Jenny was still unconvinced and questioned, "Shouldn't a championship challenge like this, which determines the title, be a live, public event? Why hasn't there been a single word about it? Given that detective's personality, there's no way he would participate in such a competition."

"The situation here at United is a bit complicated."

Cattleya brushed aside the golden hair that fell across her cheek and tried to explain.

"Vulcan has reached the end of its life. To bid farewell to this comrade-in-arms, Mr. Alder couldn't wait for the next championship match and forcibly held an unofficial series of ring matches, hoping to pass on the glory of the championship with this ultimate battle and to console Vulcan at its end. Of course, we know that doing this is very reckless, but in the current Unova League, no one can stop a champion who has made up his mind to retire."

"Is that so? Oh, I see."

After pondering for a long time, Zhu Lan finally spoke and asked.

"So Hugo had Garchomp defeat Volcarona, the champion of Alderfon?"

“Zhu Lan, I know what you want to ask, but that’s not how it is. It was a real six-on-six all-out battle.”

Cattleya gazed into Orchid's grey eyes. Although she had only joined halfway through, as a witness to that battle, she had an obligation to truthfully recount everything she had seen.

"Garuda didn't beat Volcarona, but Hugo defeated the Ardek Champion."

Then, she began to describe the entire challenge in a halting manner.

From Alder taking Volcarona up the Tower of Heaven to face the challenges from the Elite Four and Team Plasma executives, to Hugo using the flames of his own Pokémon to break through the wall of fire, trapping Volcarona with an illegal Poké Ball, and finally defeating the Unova Champion.

"So... how is Hugo now?"

Even after hearing Cattleya's less-than-vivid description, Zhulan still frowned.

"Perhaps in his own plan, such an adventure was foolproof, but it was really too risky."

"I just took him to the hospital. I don't know the specifics yet, but at least he doesn't have any serious external injuries."

Cattleya, who used her superpowers to carry Hugo all the way to the Pokémon Center, replied.

"Although it was only for a moment, the tactic of using fire to counteract fire was indeed effective. The burns on his body were mostly from the little Chimchar's 'Blaze' ability, and since Fire-type Pokémon tend to be lenient with those close to them, these burns weren't serious. There weren't any other visible injuries."

"No, is that what you're focusing on?"

Officer Jenny, finally snapping out of her daze, stared in disbelief at the exchange between Cynthia and Cattleya.

"That's Hugo! Hugo defeated the Unova Champion and was about to become the new Unova Champion! Not a Gym Leader, not an Elite Four member, but the Champion, symbolizing the strongest in the entire region! Cynthia, you should know best what that title means, right? Hugo becoming the Champion is like seeing the sun rise over the horizon at dawn, only to witness a giant, glowing Electrode! How can you all accept this fact so calmly? My worldview has been completely overturned!"

Chapter 273 The Burden of the Victor

"The battle on the Tower of Heaven ended up like that, probably thanks to the power of that Victini. However, even that mythical Pokémon that could bring victory collapsed from exhaustion at the last moment of the battle. It seems that my brother really has no luck with Pokémon battles."

The Sinnoh champion rubbed his temples and sighed, then turned to look at Officer Jenny beside him.

"As for the Unova region's championship title, perhaps things aren't as serious as you're thinking."

"It's not serious?"

Officer Jenny from the Alliance's investigation department leaned forward, her eyebrows rising in sync with her tone of voice—

"Judging from Elite Four member Cattleya's description, Hugo's only real Pokémon right now are those three Sinnoh starter Pokémon you gave him, right? Just thinking about it makes me realize that when that detective truly inherits the Champion title and has to reveal his identity and strength, it will instantly provoke the outrage of all trainers in the Unova region. A single instruction from the former Champion won't be enough to quell such a raging fire."

This matter was originally a problem in the Unova region. As an intelligence investigator for the Sinnoh League, Officer Jenny didn't really need to worry about the ownership of the championship titles in other regions.

However, perhaps because they had often worked with the detective in the past, Officer Jenny in the Sinnoh region generally maintained a friendly attitude towards Hugo. This Officer Jenny's somewhat excited questioning at this moment was indeed out of genuine concern for the detective.

Detective Hugo's sister shook her head—

"Perhaps my current reputation in the Sinnoh League has led you to have some overly high expectations for the title of Champion. But in reality, the situation in the Unova region is different from ours. There, Mr. Ardek, who was the Champion before, has not taken on any Champion duties other than attending Challenger Tournaments for several years. Nowadays, the four Elite Four members below the Champion are the ones who perform the daily duties of the League's chief."

"Well... you could say that, but usually it's mainly Lian Wu and the others who do the work."

Cattleya on the other side of the screen nodded affirmatively.

"This means that a large part of the rights and glory that should have been unified and concentrated on the championship title has already been subtly transferred to other places outside the championship. Just like the protagonists in ancient myths and legends that have been quietly replaced, people will no longer have a fanatical faith in the halo of the championship title, similar to worshipping a god."

“But there will still be people who are not convinced, right?” Officer Jenny asked rhetorically.

"A battle in a locked room, rented Pokémon, a handful of witnesses, unprecedented battle rules, tactics that can only be used under special circumstances... Not only Pokémon trainers, but even an ordinary Unova player would feel indignant about this result and have thoughts like 'I could win if I participated.' Besides, that's Detective Hugo. In a battle with normal rules, even a novice trainer who has just embarked on their journey would have almost a 100% chance of defeating him soundly."

"No, for Hugo, as long as the opponent isn't pursuing the glory of being a champion or something like that, those incomprehensible metaphysical things, the situation is much easier to resolve," the Sinnoh Champion corrected.

"That guy, when faced with a challenge he can't accept, he'll admit defeat without saying a word. That's just the kind of person he is."

Caldea in the light screen nodded in agreement, having witnessed a similar scene in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier before.

Zhu Lan continued, "Only those who are attached to the title will be bothered by the existence of challengers. As for Hugo, who has no desire to win, no matter how many people are eyeing his championship title, he will not feel any pressure. I even suspect that Hugo may not have thought he could win the championship title at all. I guess until the moment the battle on the Tower of Heaven was decided, he did not think that he could really defeat Mr. Alder."

"But if that's the case, wouldn't becoming the champion seriously disrupt Hugo's daily life in the Unova region?"

"Then all we need to do is hide our identities," Zhu Lan said dismissively.

"No matter what region the alliance is in, there are no regulations that prohibit title holders from hiding their identities or using aliases. Hugo himself should be able to come up with a more creative solution. Even if we take a step back and the United States really finds itself in a difficult situation, for Hugo, all he has to do is move again."

Just like before, back in Sinnoh.

When the topic of concealing their identities came up, Zhu Lan suddenly looked at the light screen projected by Rotom: "Speaking of which, this matter should have been top secret, right? Cattleya, isn't there any potential problem with you calling us directly like this?"

The Unova region's Psychic King scoffed, "There's no one else around me, and I've used my psychic powers to create soundproofing. So, as long as you two don't tell anyone, there won't be a problem."

“That’s good.” In the basement of the Forest Mansion, Zhu Lan and Officer Jenny exchanged a nod. “Then, I’ll leave Hugo in the hospital to you.”

"Of course."

Seeing that Zhu Lan had a general understanding of the situation, Cattleya breathed a sigh of relief and then cut off the communication.

The light screen disappeared, and the basement suddenly became much darker. Officer Jenny remained speechless, staring blankly at Orchid, who was calmly operating the Rotom phone.

She couldn't understand why her sister, Zhu Lan, could remain so calm in the face of the bombshell news that Hugo had become the Unified Champion.

Aside from a brief moment of surprise at the beginning, she seemed to have no other feelings whatsoever. The complex emotions she felt, as if a mouthful of blood was stuck in her heart, did not show on the face of this Sinnoh champion.

Seeing Officer Jenny still looking dazed, Orchid unexpectedly chuckled.

“Officer Jenny, you should know that I became the new champion of the Upper Sinnoh League by successfully challenging the former champion in a public battle ten years ago, right?”

“That’s natural,” Officer Jenny replied.

In the Sinnoh region, this Battle Queen's astonishing conquests are known to all.

"So do you know what my younger brother, who squeezed next to me, said to me after I stepped off the podium?"

"It should be something like congratulations, right?" Officer Jenny deduced logically, since the detective at least had common sense in his interactions with people.

"He did offer a simple congratulatory remark, but the second half of it was..."

Congratulations on winning the championship! Have a good celebration—but please don't share this amazing achievement with others.

The young girl Zhulan's response was even more merciless—

Of course, you don't need to tell me.

This hard-won title is neither due to the opponent's negligence nor to the help of others. Since you have won the game, be proud of it.

That young, newly crowned champion now looks at Officer Jenny with a calm and collected expression.

“Hugo winning the championship in the United States is his business; he'll handle it himself once he wakes up. As for us, we still have our work to do in this mansion. Let's go upstairs, Miss Officer.”

Chapter 274 History is the past of a tower.

"Huh? Who's this butler in the clothes that looks a lot like the Night Demon? Have we got a new guest at the mansion?"

As soon as she went upstairs, Officer Jenny noticed the middle-aged man who was alone in the living room on the first floor.

"The maid and the others are not here. Are they preparing dinner? Speaking of which, the guest that Master Meidan is supposed to entertain today seems to be a big businessman. Is it possible that he has already arrived? And this gloomy uncle looks like he is waiting for something. Could he be Hayden's henchman? If so, where is the businessman who is the real guest...?"

As Officer Jenny pondered, the Sinnoh Champion who had been walking upstairs with her had unknowingly left her side.

"Don't overthink it. Just ask him directly."

After leaving those words, Zhu Lan went to find the guests in the living room.

"Hello, are you also a visitor to this Forest Mansion?"