Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Officer Jenny looked around at the magnificent interior furnishings, the luxurious furniture, the gleaming floors, and the maid standing respectfully behind Hayden, her expression becoming increasingly tense.

"The Alliance's clerks aren't stupid; they wouldn't let you pull such tricks."

Aying felt embarrassed to look Officer Jenny in the eye, but in front of her employer, she still braced herself and explained, "We got a group of trainers from the company to register a joint base, which made up the total area of ​​the building. Of course, there were some disputes during the paperwork, but wasn't the Forest Mansion surrounded by a large forest before? Isn't that the perfect terrain for building a secret base? So the application was approved without any major problems..."

“…Alright, we’ll discuss whether there’s any negligence on the part of public officials later.” Miss Officer Jenny seemed to have a lot to say, but considering her obligation to investigate the matter thoroughly before midnight, she had to suppress her confusion and continue questioning Hayden—

"Mr. Hayden, since this mansion has been hidden deep in the forest for a hundred years, how did you discover it? And what made you decide to renovate the mansion and give it to Professor Medan?"

When Officer Jenny questioned him, the old man pointed to the head, the head that looked like that of a low-ranking member of an evil organization: "This matter is related to Team Galactic."

"how do I say this?"

"In the Sinnoh region, Hayden Pharmaceuticals is a leading company in the development of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and naturally, it also engages in exchanges and collaborations with other companies. Among these business partners is the renowned Cosmic Energy Development Corporation."

Upon hearing this name, Officer Jenny and Orchid's expressions simultaneously turned solemn.

That was the largest commercial company under the Galactic Group, and also the one most deeply entrenched. Its founder was named Red Sun.

No one could have imagined that this organization, which claimed to be "developing cosmic energy for all mankind" and focused on space exploration and outer space research, was actually a puppet controlled by an evil organization that intended to destroy the world... No, actually, judging from the meaning of the name, the two are quite closely related, but at the time when the truth had not yet been revealed, no one would have imagined it in this way.

Seeing Officer Jenny's expression, Hayden knew she understood the meaning behind the name, so he continued his story—

"Of course, those aforementioned business collaborations were immediately terminated after the development team was embroiled in a business scandal that crossed our bottom line. That was right before Team Galactic's complete defeat in the Sinnoh region. We are a legitimate pharmaceutical company, and we have plenty of ways to make money. We have no reason to collude with a bunch of lunatics... However, the termination of the collaboration is one thing, but after that organization collapsed, a lot of research data and corresponding scientific heritage still ended up on our company's desk through certain channels."

It was probably intelligence leaked by corporate spies who infiltrated each other, or by researchers poached from other organizations.

Officer Jenny wasn't too surprised; she just hummed in agreement.

After all, Team Galactic's industries spanned all sectors of the Sinnoh region. When they collapsed, almost all the major corporations in Sinnoh were doing the same thing—like a pack of pack dogs, shamelessly trying to tear profits from the corpses of the fallen Titans. It seems that Hayden and his group also took advantage of their past business cooperation to cunningly seize most of Team Galactic's research legacy.

"Is the location of this mansion also one of the legacies that the development team left you?" Officer Jenny asked.

“That’s right.” Hayden nodded without hesitation. “This is the place where Team Galactic is rumored to capture large numbers of Rotom Plasma Pokémon. Those Rotom are transported in batches to the Team Galactic building in Bada City for research on their shape-changing abilities.”

"Tsk, the Cosmic Energy Development Project, which claims to fight for all mankind, is actually doing this kind of thing behind the scenes. It's really disheartening." Mei Dan shook his head and sighed. He thought the scandal of the development project was about its cooperation with the Galactic Group, but little did he know that the Galactic Group was originally established by an evil organization.

“I see.” Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow. “It seems the identity of the Pokémon trapped in the wall is now self-evident.”

"The Pokémon that coexists with that mansion? Hmm, that must be Rotom. Looks like it's trapped in the wires inside the Icewalker's 'Light Wall.' Poor thing."

"But why do you think that the android head that appeared here is a smear campaign against you by a company that is hostile to you?" Officer Jenny asked as she felt she had gathered enough information.

"That goes without saying, because Hayden Pharmaceuticals isn't the only company that has had business collaborations with the development team," the refined-looking company director said, spreading his hands.

"Because of our past cooperation, we can find out Rotom's habitat through the development team's channels, and they can do the same. And they naturally know about the intricate connections between this Forest Mansion and Team Galactic. Using such a person to muddy the waters and attack Hayden Pharmaceuticals' reputation is just the right thing to do."

Chapter 283 The Flaw in the Puzzle

So, quite a lot happened back then, when we were fighting against Team Galactic two years ago... Officer Jenny frowned and fell into deep thought as she assessed the two versions of events presented by Professor Medan and Director Hayden.

Leaving aside the intricate, subtle planning of the Red Sun Alliance, the Alliance's preventative measures, and the clandestine activities of the detectives, from Officer Jenny's perspective as an Alliance intelligence operative, the underground war that raged throughout Sinnoh in the past can be roughly divided into the following stages—

First, the evil organization, having already revealed its true colors, adopted a confrontational stance, instructing its lower-ranking members to carry out sabotage operations, challenging the authority of the Sinnoh League, and officially announcing Team Galactic's existence to the world. Taking advantage of the League's unpreparedness, Team Galactic, in collusion with others, stole the Adamant Orb and the White Orb, which were stored at the League headquarters, amidst the chaos.

The struggle then entered a stalemate, during which the Sinnoh League, which began to fight back, frequently clashed with Team Galactic, who suffered repeated defeats.

However, the three strongest officers of the evil organization did not participate in any combat operations at this time. Instead, they led a small number of elites to split into three groups to blast the lakes and pump out the water. They found the caves underwater in Lake Heart, Lake Will, and Lake Wisdom, captured the legendary Pokémon that guarded the three lakes of Sinnoh, and used them to forge the Red Chain.

This incident later angered believers in the divine, and indirectly affected Professor Medan's reputation in the future, causing this atheist to be harassed by followers who called themselves the Society of Arceus.

Then came the final stage. In the final moments before their destruction, Team Galactic's madness escalated. Red Sun ascended Mt. Coronet, activating the energy of the two orbs and summoning Dialga and Palkia, causing them to fight and exhaust each other. Finally, he personally intervened, binding the two time-space Pokémon together with red chains, attempting to control them to destroy the world and create a new universe.

Well... judging from the video footage the alliance obtained at the time, it is indeed impossible to completely deny Medan's claim of a "howling monster".

After all, those two had just emerged from the spacetime rift when they encountered their sworn enemies. They had just finished a fight when they were trapped by humans using mythological artifacts. It was indeed difficult to make the two deities of that time display the divinity commensurate with their powers.

At this stage, the commercial entities that the Galactic Clusters originally used to raise funds were no longer relevant. Crimson Sun didn't hesitate to abandon the Cosmic Energy Development Corporation and other industries, as if cutting off a tail to save himself. Even if it only served to mislead, it would still contribute to his plans.

It is likely that Hayden acquired the research legacy of the development team at this time.

At that time, Hayden had just finished sorting out the research legacy of the evil organization when he received a request for help from his old classmate. Over there, the online public opinion of "fighting blasphemers with superstition" had already fermented, and Medan was beginning to suffer the consequences of his past careless words. He was already considering giving up his research and moving overseas. As his sponsor, Hayden naturally wanted to help his old classmate find a solution.

By a stroke of luck, the renovation plan for the Mori Mansion was put on the agenda. Since the project was approved largely due to Hayden's personal interests, the person in charge could only be selected from among Hayden's trusted employees. Thus, the capable and hardworking Manager Aying stood out and took office with the construction team, becoming the person in charge of the Mori Mansion renovation project.

With utmost speed and quality, Aying transformed the Forest Mansion into a landscape art piece hidden deep in the forest. She not only renovated the interior environment to its original appearance but also added a basement to the mansion as requested by the client.

After inspecting the mansion, Hayden was satisfied and gifted the building, for which he had no land use rights, to his old classmate, along with an assistant and a maid to further assist the old man's research. Meanwhile, Meidan, terrified by the threatening letter that broke through the window, dared not delay any longer and immediately moved into the Hundred Generations Forest with her daughter, who was about to start university.

At this point, all the people connected within the Forest Mansion were linked together. During the time Officer Jenny and Cynthia hadn't set foot in the mansion, they all went about their lives peacefully...

...until that bloody android head was placed on the shelf in the attic storage room.

Officer Jenny frowned, as if she had fallen into a deeper labyrinth of thought.

While the chain of events above can certainly be linked together, there seem to be a lot of coincidences involved.

It's like someone planted a sunflower garden, but the sunflowers grew so crowded that they became more and more numerous than they were originally planted...

There must be an imposter sunflower monster disguised as a sunflower that has infiltrated them!

.

Meanwhile, as midnight approached, Cynthia, feeling responsible as the Sinnoh Champion, tried to pull her thoughts away from the alluring ancient text in her hands and focus her attention on analyzing the pointless intimidation case before her.

Unlike her detective brother, who excels at logical deduction, Zhu Lan prefers to rely on her intuition and experience when faced with difficult problems. After all, in a battle where victory is a matter of fleeting moments, there is no room for the luxury of "thinking time."

After briefly recalling everything he had heard and seen since stepping into this forest mansion, he cleared his mind and, like facing an enemy's attack in a battle, made his judgments based on his lightning-fast instincts...

A sudden intuition arose in Zhu Lan's mind. It was like the instinctive dodge of a punch to the side.

Now, that instinct stemming from her fighting talent tells Cynthia that the incident happening at the Forest Mansion is more likely, as Hayden said, related to the already destroyed Team Galactic, than the Arceus Society that Professor Medan mentioned.

No, she and Officer Jenny had already suspected the connection between the Forest Mansion and Team Galactic long before they even entered the mansion. Hayden was merely reiterating the information he already possessed; that wasn't really inspiration. The real clue lay in the first half—

The incident at the Forest Mansion had nothing to do with the Arceus Society.

Such wishful intuition is of course unreliable, but Zhu Lan is not Hugo. She does not have the dignity of a detective, does not need to navigate the rules of reason, and does not need to make every word she says the correct answer.

If she guesses wrong this time, she'll guess again. Just like in a battle, she constantly dodges and parries, observing her opponent's attacks. As long as she isn't knocked down, she'll eventually seize the final opportunity for victory.

Judging from the current speculation alone, Zhu Lan's luck seems to be not bad.

Working backward from this intuitive conclusion, and re-examining Professor Medan's testimony, many of his statements suddenly become points of contention worthy of in-depth investigation, as glaring as a flaw exposed by an opponent in battle.

According to Medan, due to the widespread dissemination of his past lecture videos, he was harassed by fanatical followers of the Arceus Society. As a result, he had to move into the Forest Mansion with Hayden's financial support, where he finally lived a peaceful and secluded life. However, the followers there relentlessly pursued him and, two years later, once again launched an intimidation campaign against him.

This argument seems reasonable at first glance, but it is actually full of loopholes.

Meidan's speech video was fleeting on the internet, as evidenced by Officer Jenny's reaction upon hearing about it; nowadays, hardly anyone remembers it. If I hadn't been following news in the academic world of mythology, I wouldn't have remembered this old story either.

No matter how unpleasant Mei Dan's sarcastic and cynical speech was, it was still a public statement, and based on past impressions, it couldn't have been so offensive as to involve direct insults.

The most crucial point is that, regardless of the outcome of the debate at the time, people's understanding of the existence of deities has now shifted more towards the side that benefits religion. Professor Medan was a loser, and people tend to be more forgiving of losers.

With such a gradual reduction, would hatred really persist for two years?

If the hatred that Medan left in the hearts of his fanatical followers was so deep that they still pursued the intimidation two years later, then the anger should have been even stronger at the time. Why would those followers have given Medan two years to live in seclusion?

As Mei Dan said, tracing a family's address after they moved is not difficult. If that's the case, why did the perpetrator place the skull model now instead of two years ago? Wouldn't it have been easier to find that address information two years ago?

And that note stuck behind the stone and thrown through the window—it was clearly a document meant to instill fear, yet it deliberately listed its affiliation at the end. Wasn't that a bit too blatant? The threatening letter was written in such a way that it could easily have been used as evidence to alert the police, but Meidan, who is usually short-tempered and prone to arguing, suddenly backed down, gave up on calling the police, and instead followed Hayden's advice to move the whole family… That also seems a bit odd.

Mythologists excel at tracing the causes of history from what has already become fact.

Intuition leads to speculation, which in turn leads to another. One point of doubt sparks yet another.

Zhu Lan suddenly looked up, her gray eyes widening as she gazed at the interior wall of the Mori Mansion, which she had been paying close attention to since entering. She then looked at the android head placed on the chair, her gaze sweeping over Hayden and Mei Dan before finally settling on the ancient document in her hand, which was covered by wooden boards on both sides and contained poems.

Ah, so that's how it is... The Sinnoh champion breathed a sigh of relief.

There's no need to care about reasoning, evidence, or logic; all you need to do is seize the flaw in the puzzle to deliver a fatal blow.

Chapter 284 The Solution - The Bottle That Locks Up the Fairy

Despite being the champion, she effortlessly completed the detective's reasoning task. Even someone as composed and carefree as Zhu Lan couldn't help but feel a little touched at this moment.

However, she immediately thought of Hugo, that detective, who was even more remarkable, having inexplicably defeated Champion Alder in Unic. The stark contrast caused her nascent sense of satisfaction to vanish instantly, like a bubble in the sunlight.

...Alright, even if it's just to avoid being outdone by that guy, I absolutely have to solve this puzzle.

Rarely, her family stirred up her fighting spirit. Zhu Lan carefully put away the ancient book in her hand, took out her red Rotom phone from her pocket, and glanced at the time.

It was 11 p.m., four hours after the bloodstained head was found on the attic shelf. I didn’t expect it would take so long to sort out my thoughts. There was less than an hour left before Miss Officer Jenny’s final report.

Let Zhu Lan unravel all the mysteries—wait, what?

"Ahem. Everyone, while I wouldn't dare say that all the mysteries have been solved, the reasoning has made some progress... Well, at least we should be able to handle the report before midnight."

Whether by coincidence or not, before the champion of Bamboo Orchid, who was filled with fighting spirit, it was Officer Jenny, dressed in a police uniform, who broke the silence in the hall first, clapping her hands to attract everyone's attention and standing up to speak.

At this moment, everyone was sitting in twos and threes on the first floor of the Forest Mansion. Cynthia, Officer Jenny, and the head that had suddenly appeared were in the reception room; Vinnie, Neil, and Professor Medan sat in the middle of the living room, exchanging silent glances; Zina and the giant vine that hadn't yet retrieved its Poké Ball were hiding in a corner of the dining room; Hayden and Shadow stood far away at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, the former operating his phone and occasionally giving the latter instructions, presumably handling some internal company matters.

Given the recent discovery of a threatening human head, the possibility that a criminal might still be hiding inside the Forest Mansion cannot be ruled out. Therefore, for everyone's safety, Officer Jenny suggested that everyone gather in an area where they could see each other clearly. The task of searching the entire Forest Mansion was assigned to Pokémon familiar with its layout.

With the patrolling elves returning safely to the living room and reporting that no outside creatures had entered the sealed mansion, Medan and the others became increasingly relaxed. Before Officer Jenny gathered them together, everyone had already begun eating the mansion's stored food, and Professor Medan even planned to leisurely have a drink—luckily, her daughter Venetian dissuaded her in time.

Upon hearing the policewoman's summons, Director Hayden, accompanied by Ah Ying, slowly approached and asked calmly and elegantly, "Since you've considered this for so long, Ms. Officer Jenny, are you prepared to accept Professor Medan's testimony or mine?"

Their deep gazes met Officer Jenny's bright, piercing eyes, creating a sense of unfathomable depth.

"Do not."

Officer Jenny denied it outright.

Both of their guesses are unfounded.

After a brief pause, as if she had made up her mind, Officer Jenny, who works in the intelligence department, added: "In fact, the most baffling part of the whole incident is that you two deliberately concealed the truth and used flawed speculations to confuse the public."

"Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying."

"Why bother, Director Hayden? Professor Medan is not a skilled liar. In his panic, the excuse he made up was full of holes. But how clever can you be, trying to cover for him?"

Officer Jenny, looking completely confident, spread her hands with an air of self-assurance as she addressed the big boss in front of her—

"Business competitors may use any means necessary, but those business tricks, whether clever or naive, are something that could never be played out in this mansion at this moment."

"Why is that?" Hayden asked, puzzled. "Besides Hayden Pharmaceuticals, the only other organizations that know the secret of this abandoned mansion are those commercial organizations that have also had dealings with Team Galactic. Naturally, the news of my renovation of this mansion couldn't have escaped their notice. How can you be so sure that the model of the head of a Team Galactic member displayed here wasn't made by those organizations?"

"The reasoning is simple. At least in the place where I work, this principle is well-known."

Officer Jenny raised her index finger—

"When intelligence is put into use, not only will the party harmed by the intelligence suffer losses, but the party that actively uses the intelligence to launch a surprise attack will also suffer a backlash due to the exposure of the intelligence. Just like a Kecleon in stealth mode who wants to use a move on an enemy, its own hidden position will be exposed the moment the move is used. Even if the opponent is damaged, its intelligence advantage will be lost. Therefore, before issuing the next command, the trainer commanding Kecleon will inevitably weigh the maintenance of information advantage against the initiative. If the power of the attack is not significant, it is better to keep Kecleon in stealth mode and respond to all changes by remaining unchanged."

"Is the very existence of intelligence itself a form of important intelligence?"

Hayden frowned. Although the metaphor of the dragon turning into a ghost was very difficult to understand, he had vaguely realized the flaws in his logic.

“Yes, that’s exactly right.” Miss Officer Jenny nodded repeatedly.

"From Hayden Pharmaceuticals' perspective, the dark history of its dealings with the Galaxy Group is undoubtedly a stain that is difficult to wash away. When this weakness is in the hands of an unknown business rival, you will naturally feel like you have a thorn in your side. However, from the other party's perspective, isn't this secret obtained from the Galaxy Group also a piece of unpalatable treasure that is neither tasteless nor worth throwing away? Even if it can be used to threaten people, it will also expose the fact that your company has colluded with the Galaxy Group."

Despite Hayden's increasingly grim expression, Officer Jenny continued to make her pronouncements with unbridled bravado—

"Therefore, under such a state of mutual restraint, they will not casually bring the android head into this building, nor will they carry out such a bizarre so-called 'framing'."

"You know, Champion Zhulan and I only happened to visit this Forest Mansion today. If we hadn't been there, there wouldn't even be any need for an investigation. Mr. Hayden, you could simply bury this head with blood streaming from its neck right there. Or even better, just throw it into that stinking cesspool of sewage to destroy the evidence and leave no trace. And you could also compile a list of suspicious companies with motives based on the recent business situation and take precautions in advance. Wouldn't that completely waste the intelligence advantage your business rivals originally possessed? They would have absolutely no motive to do such a thing!"

Hayden was pale, while Officer Jenny pressed closer—

"Therefore, in conclusion, Professor Medan and Director Hayden, you two have been vying to provide misleading testimonies regarding this android head, which is clearly a sign of something to hide. Based on my deduction, you two must have known the secret all along!"

"Oh dear, Officer Jenny, you say I'm not a master liar, but you yourself are quite the expert at confusing right and wrong."

A cold, dry laugh rang out behind Mr. Hayden, and the mansion owner, Mei Dan's, thin figure emerged like a shadow from the shadow of Steward A Ying.

"It's absolutely ridiculous. We were just offering you some guesses, and how did it become a malicious attempt to mislead you? And what do you mean by 'having a guilty conscience'? Hahaha! Little girl, I think your bluffing is just as guilty as having a guilty conscience."

The expressions of various provocative people on the old man Mei Dan's face changed like a revolving lantern, and his words were full of sarcasm and ridicule, which was astonishing.

No wonder it has become a popular trend online.

However, Officer Jenny had already seen through the old man's true nature hidden behind the mask, and her gaze towards Medan held a hint of pity—

"Master Meidan, actually... whenever you feel guilty or fearful, you unconsciously make such exaggerated and arrogant statements, right?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A deathly silence fell over the mansion.

Suddenly, a hysterical, loud laugh rang out. In the enclosed mansion, the old man's voice, like the "echo" attack of a sonic monster, relentlessly assaulted everyone's eardrums.

"Me? Feeling guilty?"