Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"You should be able to freely mobilize the forces under the United Alliance now, and even appoint your Heavenly Kings, right? No matter how you look at it, you have ample combat power. Why are you coming to me, an outsider from the Carlos Alliance, for help?"

"I don't like evenly matched battles."

Hugo leaned on the railing with both hands, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if staring at an unseen enemy.

"When facing an opponent with no scruples, of course you should gather as much power as possible and not give your opponent any chance to create any unpredictable changes. Let's leave the dramatic stuff to Pokémon battles and TV screens."

"That sounds really heartless."

“There are two other reasons as well,” Hugo said, holding up two fingers.

"The first reason is that the place we are going to is not within the territory of Unova, and the current Unova League still needs enough manpower to guard the homeland and prevent Team Plasma from making a move, so it cannot spare more Elite Four trainers."

"Yes, I can roughly guess, after all, they've already gotten involved with Team Lava." Miss Champion nodded, saying understandingly.

"Secondly, it is related to the enemy we are about to face. If they are only at the level of a Heavenly King, we may not be able to be absolutely certain of victory."

"Oh?" Karuni showed an exaggerated expression of surprise, her black eyebrows slightly raised. "You really don't consider yourself a league champion anymore."

"After all, there's no point in deceiving yourself."

Hugo shrugged, glanced at Champion Carlos beside him, and continued—

"How about lending a hand? If you plan to pursue a career change in film, I think the experiences I gained on this trip might be helpful to you."

“There’s no need to try to seduce me with sweet talk.” Karuni put her arm around Hugo’s shoulder. “Miss Zhulan’s beloved younger brother asked me for help, how could I possibly refuse?”

"This isn't just sweet talk. You've probably noticed it yourself, haven't you?"

The detective gazed at the distant clouds, but his words struck at the deepest worry in Karuni's heart—

"Movie audiences are becoming increasingly discerning. While old-school art films that focus on inner turmoil remain moving, they are finding it increasingly difficult to resonate with audiences in the increasingly noisy theaters. Every new film seems to be climbing over the bones of its predecessors, trying to secure a place on the altar. Moviegoers need more dramatic plots, more dazzling action, more outrageous fantasies, and more unconventional elements... They yearn for movies to fulfill their original function, which is different from books, television, and video games, and to open their eyes to new possibilities."

He looked at the actress beside him: "And you, you are not willing to be left behind by this wave, so you keep trying to change your screen image, just like an athlete warming up before the start of a competition."

"What does this have to do with the case you mentioned?" Karni didn't deny it, but simply followed the Unova Champion's gaze and looked at the same sky.

"Witness what is about to happen."

Hugo's voice remained calm, yet carried a subtle, almost imperceptible depth.

"This might change your perspective on choosing scripts in the future—although people often say that 'reality is stranger than fiction,' which audience member would be willing to step into the cinema only to see a script that is even more bland and boring than reality?"

The air on the top floor of the Alliance headquarters seemed to tremble slightly. Karuni looked curiously at the horizon and saw a small black dot emerging from the distant clouds.

The black dot gradually expanded, transforming into a jet plane, its wings gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"It seems our transportation has arrived," Hugo's voice rang in Karuni's ears.

The Carlos League champion then noticed that at the top of this long, narrow building built into the mountainside, there was actually a whole runway for jet aircraft to take off and land. The runway extended along the ridge, making clever use of the terrain, and was equipped with advanced navigation lights and deceleration devices on both sides to ensure that aircraft could take off and land safely in the limited space.

A moment later, the plane slowly landed on the runway behind the two men. After decelerating for about 100 meters, the roar of the reverse thrust engine and the friction sound of the landing gear gradually subsided, eventually returning to silence.

The cabin door slowly opened, and Fuuya, the leader of the Fuyuki City Gym, appeared in the doorway.

The pilot with long, ochre-red hair first waved to Hugo, then his gaze fell on Carlos Champion Karuni beside the detective, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

"Just like yesterday's reservation, there are four passengers in total, including myself. Although there is an airport available for landing, we still need to be prepared for unexpected situations, such as switching to parachutes or parachuting in with Pokémon..."

Hugo stepped forward and confirmed the details of the flight with Fenglu. He seemed particularly concerned about the quality of the parachute, checking it several times to ensure everything was in perfect working order.

"A reality even more bizarre than the script...?"

Karuni stood there, a strange tension rising within her, as if something irreversible was about to happen.

She looked up at the sky again and saw that, without her noticing, thick clouds had already obscured the sun's rays, like an invisible giant hand slowly pressing down, trying to shroud the whole world in its shadow.

Behind her, the discussion about the parachutes had ended. Feng Lu jogged off to check the plane's condition and fuel reserves, while Hugo turned and headed into the building. His footsteps echoed clearly in the empty corridor.

"I'll go and call Lingju and Pachira."

Hugo's voice came from deep within the corridor—

"It's time to uncover the whole truth."

Chapter 353 Resolution - The Servik Poisoning Incident

The plane weaved through the clouds, the roar of its engines blocked by the thick cloud cover, making the interior exceptionally quiet.

Feng Lu sat in the cockpit, concentrating on controlling the speed-specialized jet aircraft, occasionally glancing at the data on the instrument panel.

A heart-shaped bat stood in her co-pilot's seat. This creature, which always liked to sleep with its eyes closed during the day, would act as the aircraft's radar in an emergency.

Inside the cabin, four passengers of distinguished backgrounds sat in two rows facing each other, each squeezed tightly into their small seats.

Beyond the window, the waves of the Hoenn Sea appear and disappear between the gaps in the clouds, like the ripples created when Kyogre's dorsal fin cuts through the water, or the cloud trails left by Rayquaza as it soars through the sky.

"What do you know about Akromma?"

Seeing that the plane had stopped the turbulence during its climb, Hugo felt it would be better to share some intelligence before starting the operation, so he took the initiative to speak, breaking the silence in the cabin with a question.

Pachira, sitting opposite him, looked up from her phone screen, which was in airplane mode, adjusted her glasses, and spoke with a hint of professional curiosity.

"You mean the victim of that poisoning incident? I've heard of him. He's supposedly a traveling Pokémon scholar, quite famous in his field. When I was in the Kalos region, I heard he was involved in research on Mega Evolution."

Her voice echoed in the cramped cabin, carrying the distinct tone of a news anchor.

"Is his reputation outside of Unova really like this?"

Upon hearing this, Cinnamon, sitting next to the Fire-type Elite Four member, sneered and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"That guy is more than just famous. Long before Akromar left university, he was already the kind of mad scientist you'd find in fantasy novels. Twenty years ago, he tried to implant chips in Pokémon's brainstem, for which he was warned and protested by the Science Ethics Committee. After being ostracized from the Unova scientific community, he secretly accepted funding from Team Plasma and continues to conduct taboo research that runs counter to humanity."

Detective Hugo nodded: "I had a brief video call with Akromma a while ago, and he told me in person about the research topic I'm currently working on."

"Oh?" Pachira put down her phone, leaned forward slightly, and moved closer to the detective opposite her. "What's the topic?"

Hugo's tone carried a hint of solemnity—

"How to maximize the hidden power and talent of Pokémon—this has been the research direction of Acromorium all along. Whether it is the legend of Sinnoh and Johto, the Mega Evolution of the Kalos region, or the dominant aura of the Alola region, he has visited various places, consulted various ancient and modern documents, and conducted countless studies, all for this purpose."

Champion Karuni sat next to Hugo, listening silently, when she suddenly spoke—

"Do you think his research is related to the poisoning incident we are investigating? Could the poison that killed Voodoo and Servilik actually be a new weapon developed by Akromma?"

"In a sense, this might be considered the truth of the matter."

Hugo gently shook his head.

"But the full story has to be told from the beginning—I initially linked Akromma to the two poisoning incidents not because of his near-poisoned state, but because of his initiative to come to the Alliance headquarters to meet with me."

"To be honest, it does feel a little unnatural." Sitting opposite Karuni, Yueju nodded.

Champion Carlos frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his chair, as if in thought—

"Could it be that he realized the danger of his poison and contacted the United States Alliance to try to make amends for his mistake? Like those mad scientists in science fiction who discover they've made an irreparable error?"

"Given Akromar's ethical standards, I doubt he entered that building with any regret in mind. Surveillance footage from in front of the Alliance headquarters also shows him queuing to fill out forms without any sign of tension."

The detective shrugged, his tone tinged with helplessness—

"But one thing is certain: the reason he came to the league alone was because he wanted me, the champion, to know some information, and the evidence was the draft paper he left behind."

The evil king raised his long, narrow eyebrows: "It seems you've already deciphered the contents of that piece of paper?"

"In fact, it wasn't some kind of cipher or code that needed to be cracked."

Hugo explained—

"The reason it's hard to understand is simply because of that scholar's quirk of not specifying units of measurement. He might have done this for secrecy, or it might have been to express his disdain for the senior scientists who named units of measurement—in any case, once you figure out what he was trying to calculate, the purpose of those formulas becomes clear."

Listening to Hugo's evasive explanation, the fire elemental king, who also served as a news anchor, seized the opportunity to ask questions, urging the detective to explain the whole story as soon as possible—

"If that's the case, how did you come to the conclusion of Akromar's calculations? And what was Mr. Akromar trying to show you, the Unicron Champion, when he brought his calculations into the League building?"

"Information doesn't come out of thin air. As mentioned earlier, I had just been in communication with Akromma not long ago, and at that time, he had absolutely no intention of sharing any intelligence he knew with me—undoubtedly, some subsequent events changed his mind."

Hugo cast his gaze toward the drifting clouds outside the porthole—

“Akromar is a meticulous scholar. Although he dislikes trouble and trivial matters, he lives a life completely devoid of procrastination. Therefore, that incident is unlikely to have happened in the past. It is most likely that it occurred within a few days before Akromar entered the Alliance headquarters.”

"Before Akroma fell into a coma from poisoning... wasn't that the day Servilik was murdered in Flying Cloud City?"

The gambling king narrowed his eyes, keenly noticing the overlap in time between the two events—

"Could it be that he was the one who told Akromma about the poison? But that can't be right. According to the Feiyun City Police Department's report, the poisoner should have started poisoning the area around Feiyun City three days before that, right?"

"Don't forget, this is the age of radio. With a mobile phone, two people separated by thousands of miles can contact each other instantly." The detective shook his head.

"There is indeed an overlap between Acroma and Selvik – the Pokémon Daewoo that Acroma carries contains salt sand with the same composition as the salt sand found in the seams of Selvik's suitcase. This indicates that Acroma and Selvik visited the same place before returning to the Unova region."

"They may have worked together on a research project that was most likely related to the poison that caused the deaths of Servik and Vudu."

Pachira deduced first.

"That's a valid guess, but the reasoning still needs to be corroborated step by step."

Hugo pressed his hands down, signaling to calm down.

"At least for now, it's not surprising that a doctor specializing in toxicology and a mad scientist pursuing the limits of Pokémon would exchange phone numbers. And we now have more direct evidence."

A hint of surprise flashed in the Fire King's eyes: "Is this new evidence?"

“Yes. Just this morning, the Feiyun City police arrested Segawa, the thief who had tampered with the scene of Servik’s death, and found electronic devices used by the ‘Plague Scholar’ at his hideout—including his cell phone, of course.”

The detective in the white coat brought up the information he had received from Officer Jenny before takeoff—

"That phone was clearly purchased by the victim through illegal channels after arriving in Unova, so there weren't many call records saved on it. Acromar's communication device had also been modified by Team Plasma, which made it impossible for us to confirm whether any of the calls Selvik made were to the scholar—fortunately, the addresses of those calls were not hidden, and we saw that one of the calls was made to a location near the Unova League Pokémon Center."

Pachira carefully chose her words, her tone tinged with doubt: "So, the poisoner who was poisoned in Feiyun City really did make a phone call with Akromma?"

“Yes.” Hugo nodded, his gray eyes as deep as a mist. “And, just as he was about to be poisoned to death.”

"But what's the point of that?"

The Fire-type Elite Four member of the Kalos region frowned once again—

"Was he close to Akroma? Did he want to say his last words to his old friend before he died? Also, I wanted to ask this as soon as I saw the news: why did Servić inject so much poison into the discarded medical supplies before he died? This behavior is completely irrational and without any motivation."

"If Akromar hadn't been killed, this problem could have been easily and simply resolved. Unfortunately, he got caught up in the internal strife of the Plasma Group and hasn't woken up yet."

The detective shrugged.

"For various reasons, I went through a long and winding road on this issue, and the death of another poison expert made the whole picture even more confusing. However, the death of Voodoo reminded me and made me re-examine the scale of these poisoning incidents. Finally, inspired by another strange event, I came up with a theory that could help clarify Servić's motivations."

"I won't ask any more questions about those strange, unexpected events, or the source of your information about the other poisoning case."

Lanju looked the new Unova Champion up and down, as if to check if he was doing his job well, and then asked—

"The problem now is, why would the poisoner leave a last message for Akromar? His act of poisoning and killing Akromar is clearly contradictory to Akromar's attempt to report to the Alliance."

“So,” Hugo said calmly, “the only explanation I can think of is that Servić never intended to poison anyone.”

"what?"

Lingju, Pachira, and Karuni exchanged glances, none of them understanding the detective's meaning.

"This is not difficult to understand. Just think about the poisoning methods of that 'Plague Scholar' Servilik."

Hugo's gaze swept over the crowd—

"Within three days of arriving in Unova, Servilik captured a large number of wild centipedes to use as manpower. He added a small amount of insect repellent spray extract to every discarded medicine bottle around Castelia City. Because of the presence of Pokémon energy inhibitors in the extract, when the extract content in the medicine reaches a certain level, the medicine will cause infection when it comes into direct contact with a Pokémon's wound. In other words, if the concentration is not up to standard, or if the medicine is not applied directly to the Pokémon's wound, those Pokémon that come into contact with the extract will almost certainly be fine."

Upon hearing the detective's analysis, a look of surprise flashed across Pachira's eyes—

"So you believe that the poisoner... no, that Servilik, who was adding strange drugs to discarded medicines, wasn't doing it for sadistic or murderous purposes, but for some other purpose? And those incidents of Pokémon being seriously injured because of the medicine were just accidents that happened during his operation?"

"Yes, for people who are not trainers, they may not know that there are people who collect discarded medicines in the wild and mix them together for their own Pokémon to use. In this way, the reasoning process is a bit disjointed, but from this reversed perspective, all the previous anomalies become much more reasonable."

Hugo nodded again—

"Why did that person carry out such a large-scale 'poisoning' activity around Flying Cloud City? Why was the toxicity in each medicine set to be so mild? Why did he insist on coming to Flying Cloud City in the Unova region to carry out his operation despite being poisoned by an unknown toxin? Why did Akromar, who received his phone call before his death, go to the Unova headquarters to inform the Champion of the situation... All of this now has a seemingly reasonable explanation."

“This sounds…” Champion Karuni’s voice held a hint of realization, “It’s almost like… some kind of medical procedure.”

"'Poison' and 'medicine' are both antonyms and sometimes synonyms."

The detective in the white coat raised his hands, as if he were holding poison and antidote in his left and right hands respectively—

"The most typical example is the vaccine used to combat a large-scale epidemic. If what Selvilik released into Flying Cloud City was not poison for a trainer's Pokémon, but a large-scale vaccine to combat a disease... then all of this makes sense."

"So that's how it is..."

Connecting this information with what she had learned through her connections in the press, Pachira felt her beliefs were beginning to waver.

"Although Servić has committed heinous crimes, he was, after all, a doctor in the past. Moreover, his nickname in the underworld was 'Plague Scholar,' and dealing with epidemics was within his area of ​​expertise."