Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Did the deceased really convulse and writhe in the room due to the excruciating pain of poisoning?

Hugo's doubts are not a novel conclusion.

It's easy to imagine that the police officers had also found similar clues during the investigation, but because the chain of evidence was incomplete, it would be meaningless to overturn Joey's previous diagnosis before further identifying the type of toxin... For all the reasons mentioned above, this matter was not written into the initial case record.

The unusual condition of the furniture was also interpreted by the police as evidence of a later intruder's search—a reasonable guess, but it overlooked a crucial issue.

What was Servić's condition like before his death?

Since the intruder who ransacked the crime scene before the police arrived, and turned Servić's residence upside down so thoroughly, how could they not have searched the victim's personal clothing?

In other words, the fact that the victim was found lying face up suggests that the intruders who arrived later had tampered with the body.

As for its initial posture at the time of death, judging from the bloodstains on the table and the direction of the bloodstains on its clothes, it was very likely a relatively upright sitting posture.

The deceased died while sitting in the chair in front of the workbench, maintaining a seated posture.

Perhaps Servić did experience some degree of pain before his death, which caused him to display a ferocious expression before dying, but he seemed to still possess enough rationality to prevent himself from falling into meaningless madness.

When did this "plague scholar," who made a living by selling drugs, first realize that he was poisoned?

Was it before or after he carried out the large-scale poisoning?

Did he attempt to save himself? Or, like the police now, was he unable to identify the specific type of toxin?

Hugo reopened his phone, found the victim's photo he'd received from Officer Jenny, and stared at the pitiful figure with its distorted face. He shook his head.

"Perhaps this guy left a suicide note before he died of poisoning."

However, whatever information Servić left behind before his death, it was all swept away by the uninvited guest who found the deceased before the police.

What reason did the other party have for visiting this hidden poisoning suspect?

Before Hugo could even lament the newly discovered facts, the smartphone he was holding vibrated, requesting a communication.

Chapter 331 Toxic Pollution - Vortex

"Akromar was poisoned at the Alliance headquarters? And in the meeting room where you were scheduled to meet?"

Just as Hugo was finding Servilik's death increasingly suspicious, he learned from a phone call from Douzi that the monitor sent by the Plasma Group had died.

It can't really be called a death, since although the Plasma Team member is unconscious due to an unknown toxin, thanks to the excessive efforts of the Alliance headquarters' medical department, he is not completely dead yet.

Given Akromar's sensitive status, the detective wanted to immediately call the League and tell them that it was okay to give up treatment. However, doing so might lead to various unnecessary misunderstandings among the League's higher-ups, and could also cause them to miss the opportunity to directly obtain the truth from Akromar—provided that Akromar still had a chance to be saved.

After considering various factors, this impulsive idea had to be abandoned.

“I understand the general situation. Don’t worry, I’ll take charge of this case. Whoever the murderer is, they’ve chosen the wrong time—it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence that the league champion happens to be a professional detective.”

After carefully inquiring about the details of the scene and calming the landlady down, Hugo immediately hung up the call.

He did not tell Douzi about the poisoning murder that occurred in Feiyun City, since there was no clear evidence to link the two cases.

Experience shows that simply overlapping two mysteries will not lead to the truth. If Hugo were to use his champion status to directly interfere in the case, he might not only disrupt the on-site work of the headquarters police, but also steer the originally grounded investigation astray.

Now that things have come to this, all he, as a detective, can do is think for himself.

While analyzing cases with Bilan and the others can certainly help broaden our thinking, the current cases are not lacking in ideas or clues, but rather in a logical chain that connects all the information.

Standing in the room where the first poisoning occurred, Hugo mobilized the gray cells in his brain, immersing his thoughts once again in the intricate labyrinth—

Servilik and Akromma, two seemingly similar but actually completely different poisoning incidents, happened to occur one after the other within the same time period.

The two incidents occurred in Flycloud City and the Alliance Headquarters, respectively. One is a port city at the southern tip of Unova, and the other is a comprehensive facility in the mountains at the northernmost tip of the region, geographically spanning the entire Unova region from south to north.

The two victims in the incident were a drug dealer who had been on the run in the United States for many years and a former scholar belonging to the Plasma Group.

One arrived in Feiyun City on his deathbed and inexplicably used undiluted insecticide spray to poison a large area of ​​the city's outskirts; while the other, carrying only a pen, came to the deepest part of the Alliance headquarters, violating his duty as a monitor, and took the initiative to request a meeting with the current champion agent.

One is already dead, and the other is dying... and the origin of the toxins in both of them is unknown. Because the police were unable to find any traces of poison in either of their bodies, comparative analysis of the toxins was impossible.

Is there any connection between the two incidents?

"There might be some subtle connection, but essentially they should still be two different things..."

Hugo's gaze was fixed on the spot of blood on the table, and he made a judgment based on intuition and reasoning.

At least the poisons administered to the two individuals were fundamentally different.

It's not about whether or not there's a nosebleed; such differences can be simply explained by the degree of poisoning.

What truly aroused the detective's suspicion was the timing when the two realized they had been poisoned.

In this case, the unusually ferocious expression on Servić's body suggests that he was aware of the abnormality in his body and understood that he was about to die, at least before he died.

Judging from his unusual behavior after arriving in Feiyun City, the other party may have noticed the poison much earlier.

However, in stark contrast to the scene before Servilik's death—according to Douzi and the others' eyewitness testimonies, Akroma, who was poisoned in the Alliance headquarters, appeared to be fast asleep.

He maintained a balanced posture, a calm expression, and even after losing consciousness, he remained seated with one hand supporting his chin.

Despite having a pen and paper readily available to record information, the scholar wrote down a series of meaningless operation symbols before his death.

Rather than a distress signal, it seemed more like a research project done casually to pass the time. It's hard to imagine someone facing mortal danger remaining so calm and collected...

—It was as if he had no idea he was poisoned.

In addition, the surveillance footage provided by the Alliance police, including the footage of that person being filmed in the headquarters lobby, also showed the same information.

Akroma showed no sign of anxiety or urgency as he headed to the meeting room. He simply followed the Alliance Office’s tedious procedures and spent nearly an hour methodically going through the process of applying for a meeting.

Akroma may have indeed discovered something, but the matter requiring a meeting with the champion was probably not that urgent and should have nothing to do with the serious situation he encountered after entering the meeting room.

What exactly is this second toxin that can silently render Akromar unconscious?

Is there some kind of even greater malice lurking behind it?

.

thump, thump, thump—

As the detective was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Who?"

The knocking didn't come from the door of this room, but Hugo didn't panic. He calmly looked towards the source of the sound—a window at the far end of the living room with its curtains drawn.

thump, thump, thump—

The knocking sound rang out again, this time clearly audible as the sound of tapping on glass.

The other person carefully kept the volume low enough not to attract attention, which reassured Hugo considerably—the person outside the window at least didn't seem to be planning a direct confrontation with the police for the time being.

The detective first threw a Poké Ball, sending Chimchar to wait near the door so that the police could be notified in time for rescue.

Then he walked to the window, raised his hand and yanked it open, completely pulling open the curtains that were blocking the sunlight.

The blinding sunlight streamed into the room, where a black-clad ninja could be seen crouching on the dusty windowpane.

Chapter 332 Poison Bomb - Closed Loop

Are you the only one who came?

Looking the ninja he had let in through the window up and down, Hugo couldn't help but ask curiously.

The Dark Trio, who always operated as a group of three, only sent one of them this time, which surprised him.

"Don't misunderstand. Although you have now become a partner of our organization, I have no obligation to disclose the whereabouts of my companions to you."

The ninja named Darkness spoke in a harsh, low voice, sounding like he wasn't in a good mood.

"Is that so? In that case, I'll make an irresponsible guess."

Seeing that the other party did not deny the absence of their companion, the detective felt increasingly relaxed. No wonder this ninja chose to communicate with him in a way that avoided the police; it turned out to be due to his caution after realizing that his own forces were insufficient.

"Judging from our meeting outside Fuki City last time, since the incident at the Rikyu City power plant, the only task your trio has been to perform is to protect King N and obey his orders. In that case, if the king has anything to discuss with me, the detective, the most convenient way, besides going through your cult's liaison, Akroma, is to send you ninjas to make contact in secret."

Hugo directly revealed the uninvited guest's purpose, and seeing that the ninja remained silent without rebuttal, he calmly continued—

"Through intelligence from the Alliance, I know that an unfortunate incident has occurred in Akroma, making it impossible for them to continue serving as intermediaries in the negotiations. Since you noticed such a strange poisoning incident midway through the process, you naturally cannot simply ignore it. You will definitely assign a trustworthy officer to closely monitor the movements of the police at headquarters—and in this matter, your Dark Iron Triangle is undoubtedly the best candidate to carry it out."

"However, at this time of frequent murders, it is impossible for all of you responsible for guarding the king to go out. In the end, one of you will definitely have to stay by his side to guard against any unforeseen events."

"What a lucky coincidence that three things can be done by three people. Although three ninjas who are essentially one person can sometimes be more effective than three people when they are together, when the situation requires it, isn't it also a steady and efficient way to divide people into three groups and have them carry out independent tasks? For the mathematical genius who is in charge of you, this is just like calculating the points in a 24-point game."

"So, based on the information above, your trio of ninjas are currently scattered in different places: the Alliance headquarters, beside the King, and here in Feiyun City—how about it, is there anything wrong with my analysis?"

"Even if there are problems with your analysis, I have no obligation to point them out..."

The ninja intended to maintain his rigid tone, but seeing Hugo's increasingly knowing nods, he could only sigh.

"Forget it, those details aren't really anything worth keeping secret. It's more accurate to say we're being led around by the nose than to call it a secret operation by the organization. How about this: if you insist on believing your conclusion is correct, then I won't object to it."

Is this an indirect confirmation? They gave up so quickly...

The ninja opposite him should be the same indecisive henchman who followed the leader of the Dark Trio and played the guessing game with him during the museum incident. These members of the Dark Trio seem to exhibit more pronounced personalities when acting alone.

Just as Hugo was thinking this, the black-clad, white-haired ninja suddenly changed the subject, staring directly into the detective's eyes and asking—

"However, Akromar's situation has indeed surprised us greatly. Let me just ask directly—Detective, were you behind this?"

No, that's not true.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Hugo swiftly and directly denied it—

“I’ve hardly ever met Akromar. And I left the Alliance headquarters long before this case happened. Besides, poisoning and assassination are not in line with my style—I’ve always believed that violence is the worst, most costly, and most troublesome solution when trying to solve problems.”

"Hmm... After all, you prefer to hit people with a solid iron ball rather than poison them."

"Let me defend myself by saying that the situation at that time should be considered self-defense."

"Is that so?" The ninja gave a nonchalant, indifferent expression.

"Leaving aside the matter of the medicine ball, I cannot verify the veracity of your statement about Akromma. Let His Majesty and the sages decide for themselves. Getting back to the main point, my purpose in coming to Flying Cloud City is not for this matter, but to seek advice..."

"Wait first!"

Hugo gestured for a pause to stop him—

"It's a bit unfair for me to keep giving information; it's practically like an interrogation. I'm now a partner of your cult, so consider this a deposit for future consultations. Could I also ask you a few questions?"

Darkness looked at him with great suspicion, and Hugo quickly added, "It's a problem related to the Akromar poisoning incident. You must be having a headache about it too."

"...Okay, what do you want to ask?"

Although the ninja was somewhat impatient, he eventually agreed to the detective's bargain.

This ninja seems to have some discretion over which information to reveal. That makes sense, since N sent these ninjas to Feiyun City to find Hugo most likely to solve a case or something similar. If they remained silent about such a person, the discussion about the case certainly wouldn't continue.

"What is Akromar's background? I've only heard that he was a scholar who collaborated with the Plasma Team in the past. What did he do before joining the Plasma Team?"

"Hmm..." The ninja pondered for a moment, "There is some information that you, as an outsider, should not know, and I will avoid discussing those matters."

Hugo nodded: "I understand. Please disclose as much information as possible within the scope of confidentiality."

"As you know, Mr. Akromar is a scholar who recently joined Team Plasma. However, compared to you, a detective who is nominally a collaborator but whose true intentions are unknown, although Akromar only recently joined, he has long been regarded as a member of Team Plasma by the Sages. He has provided the Order with a great deal of intelligence and technology in areas outside of Unova, which can be described as outstanding—as for the specific intelligence and technology, as well as the areas he has been in, I cannot disclose that information."

The detective, unconcerned, began pressing for details that concerned him: "I see. Is this widely known within your cult?"

"No, this is information that only high-ranking officers and above can know, but recently, with that gentleman's formal joining, the level of secrecy has been relaxed considerably," the ninja replied.

"I see. When a cadre of this rank officially joins the Plasma Corps, it will surely cause huge personnel changes. If the future subordinates cannot learn about Akromar's achievements, that scholar's position in the cult will probably become very awkward."

"That might be the reason... Detective, is there any connection between these circumstances and Akromma's poisoning incident?"

Hugo stroked his chin, his expression somewhat hesitant: "Perhaps it's related. By the way, what is Akromma's area of ​​expertise as a scholar?"

"Broadly speaking, it's classified as Elven Studies, but I can't disclose the specifics."

"Oh? It's an area that the Seven Sages aren't good at. Is Team Plasma, which focuses on releasing Pokémon, finally starting to make up for their weaknesses?"

"I'm not familiar with this situation, and your provocation won't change anything," Dark replied with a stern face. "Isn't it time to hear my side of the story?"

The detective's casual expression vanished, and his tone turned serious: "Well, I'm pretty much mentally prepared myself. Please tell me, just how serious is this case that has drawn the King of Team Plasma to travel all this way through the Order's channels for consultation?"

The ninja known as Darkness took a photograph from his pocket and slowly placed it on the desk that Servić had faced before his death.

Above the photo is another poisoned corpse with a gruesome death.

"We found the body of a wanted criminal who died of poisoning in a cave somewhere in northern United States."

The ninja then recounted in great detail everything that had happened since N began his pursuit of the fugitive Voodoo to the detective before him.