Pokémon Detective Case Files.

Chapter 044 The End of the Research Institute Incident

Before becoming a researcher, Yamashita was a Pokémon trainer.

Fortunately, his hard work in the field of battles allowed him to witness the prowess of top trainers; however, unfortunately, his limited talent restricted his further development.

The world of trainers is cruel.

In other fields, hitting a bottleneck at most signifies confusion and bewilderment, representing a stagnation in personal growth. However, in the world of trainers, the meaning of a bottleneck is quite different—

For trainers, the bottleneck is failure, failure, failure, failure... a series of failures that accumulate and accumulate until they are pushed down from a higher rank to a lower rank by rising stars, their dignity is completely shattered, and they lose the right to compete with their juniors.

The competitive environment for Pokémon battles is constantly evolving. Stagnation in skill level not only means that trainers will lose more battles than they win in future matches, but it also means that the gap between them and other trainers of the same level is widening.

Moreover, regardless of the trainers' own wishes, countless young talents dedicate themselves to the battle arena every year, bringing with them more geniuses, more tactics, and more top-tier Pokémon in peak condition, eager to compete.

Bottlenecks are hell.

Even in defeat, it's far from the easy and carefree experience of a video game. Pokémon battles are definitely not the kind of simple fights where someone would happily and willingly admit defeat and give up.

As a trainer, you have to watch with wide eyes as those Pokémon you once spent every day with, played with, and trained with fall to their deaths on the field, covered in wounds. Just witnessing that scene once is enough to make your heart break and want to vomit.

Although the medical system accompanying battles is free in principle, the more desperate the battle, the more damage will be left on the Pokémon's bodies, especially for the losers, this phenomenon is particularly obvious.

Sometimes you can hear the grinding sound of the joints of your partner, the heart bat, flapping its wings; is your partner, the electric spider, moving slower during training? But seeing its slightly stiff hind leg, the same one that was severely damaged by flames in the last competition, who can scold it?

What kind of heartless person would have the heart to step onto the field again and again with such an unseemly determination as "please let me win this time"?

Oh, so you're a Pokémon trainer.

Impossible. You can't survive in the world of battles by just trying.

The trainers are a bunch of complete sadists, competitive armed thugs, and heartless terrorists. They are a group of charlatans who deserve to be scorned and condemned by thousands!

This can't go on any longer! We can't stay in this environment any longer! Not only that, we must take revenge! We must find a way to show the whole world the pathetic state of these once-glorious trainers, and let everyone know just how disgusting they are!

With that thought in mind, Yamashita gave up everything as a trainer and submitted his application to the research institute.

.

"This is what's called paranoid personality disorder."

On Highway 1 between Deertown and Tangcao Town, Hugo, on his way home, said to his assistant.

The two were walking towards the train station that led directly to Feiyun City. Touko had separated from the detective duo because he was going to compete in another place.

"Yamashita suffered a losing streak in battles, and his once high self-esteem was severely damaged. As a result, he not only gave up the battles, but also developed hatred and jealousy towards trainers and the like."

Hugo summarized the information he had obtained through various investigations and, combined with Yamashita's own confession, explained the details of the case to Aquamarine.

"After entering the research institute, he used the pretext of exploring the sound and moves of the Rolling Bat to obtain a large amount of high-grade Pokémon food. He secretly began psychological research on the mentality of trainers when choosing Pokémon. He placed Pokémon on the path that trainers had to take to enter the research institute to lure them, hoping to prove the shallowness and shortsightedness of the trainer group through experiments."

"By the way, the reason Yamashita chose Otter as the test subject seems to be because there isn't a suitable pond near Route 1. Although there is a river to the west of Route 1, it would be difficult to retrieve any wandering Pokémon if the Otters were placed directly on the riverbank," the detective added.

"It's amazing he could come up with such a crazy idea... Also, I only realized today how terrifying Dr. Yew can be when he gets angry." Azure recalled the elf doctor's furious outburst and the intense pressure he exuded, and sighed with a sense of unease.

"Actually, even if Yamashita had continued his experiment to the end, his paper would still have been nothing but academic garbage. I think that's the real reason why Dr. Yew got angry."

Hugo had already retrieved his personal spirit from Douzi's house, but he was still waving his wooden cane with every step, looking quite fond of it. The detective spoke in a relaxed tone.

"In the end, can those newbies who have just embarked on their journey be considered trainers? They haven't even received their Pokémon yet; they're just little brats who dream of becoming trainers. The experimental goal of 'proving the manipulability of trainers' is simply unattainable. At most, it can only prove the point that 'people like to collect all sorts of different Pokémon.'"

Newcomers who have just embarked on their journey may have the qualifications to become trainers, but they are not true trainers. Only through adventures shared with their partners can newcomers truly become trainers. Yamashita made a huge mistake from the very beginning of the experiment—the selection of the test group—and the conclusions he drew were naturally unconvincing—this is the consequence of not showing your thesis proposal to your advisor.

Therefore, it seems that Yamashita has neither the talent to be a trainer nor the talent to be a scholar.

"But now the matter is finally resolved perfectly. Yamashita got a good scolding from the professor, and he and Furuya, who was caught in the crossfire, will be receiving academic re-education from the Yew Research Institute," Azure said with a smile.

The detective scoffed, "Who told that guy to drag out his research topic until now? Listen to me, the best way to treat mild mental illnesses like paranoia and delusions is to force them to throw themselves into heavy academic or physical labor. Once people start keeping busy, their mental anxieties and suffering will disappear without a trace."

"Of course, this only applies to short-term mood changes. In the long run, a balance between work and rest is most beneficial to physical and mental health." Perhaps feeling that his statement was not precise enough, Hugo added another sentence.

The assistant nodded in agreement and continued—

"Actually, there are similar opinions among trainers. I've heard that some trainers become anxious due to a series of crushing defeats, and then recklessly increase the intensity of their Pokémon's training. This, in turn, leads to the decline of the Pokémon's stamina, resulting in a vicious cycle of failure leading to more failures."

"Actually, the solution to this impasse is quite simple: trainers should train themselves while training their Pokémon. This way, trainers can set reasonable training amounts for their Pokémon, instead of letting trainers arbitrarily make their Pokémon train excessively. In addition, this approach can also help trainers relieve stress and improve their physical fitness."

"It seems that Yamashita-kun hasn't heard of this trick before." Hugo shook his head, shrugged, and felt a little disappointed.

The detective continued, "From a macro perspective, both Pokémon battles and the trainers themselves are meaningful for maintaining social stability. The league system allows top trainers to gain sufficient exposure, and then the league can legitimately transfer more social responsibility to these trainers by establishing gyms and other means. This compromise policy is much more sophisticated than simply buying them off, and the trainers are happy to accept it."

Azure pretended to be absent-minded as she looked at the scenery. Here was a typical trainer representative who had received a lot of media exposure but neglected social responsibility.

"Trainers are actually very significant because they are living examples of the peaceful coexistence of humans and Pokémon. As two species living on this planet, humans and Pokémon should have existed in opposition, and there should have been a situation of mutual competition and ebb and flow."

"But the emergence of the profession of trainer changed all of this. Pokémon species that should have disappeared with the expansion of cities were largely preserved by handheld Pokémon. Now, there are two intermediate zones between humans and Pokémon that mitigate the conflict—trainers and handheld Pokémon. Therefore, as long as trainers are still showing off on the stage, the kind of world war between Pokémon and humans in science fiction movies will never break out."

Azure was surprised and couldn't help but applaud: "A wonderful speech, a very novel perspective! I never expected that Mr. Hugo, who has such a bad relationship with Pokémon, would be so objective in his views."

Hugo raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat displeased, and then asked, "Speaking of which, Azure, the case at the Taxus chinensis Research Institute isn't actually completely closed yet."

"Oh?" The assistant looked at the detective, puzzled.

"Azure, you have indeed figured out why the sixty-three trainers chose Otter as their initial partner, but it seems you've forgotten to explain why the sixty-fourth trainer made the same choice, haven't you?"

Azure's face, which had been beaming just moments before, stiffened slightly.

The detective continued, "It's said that Yamashita checked the research institute's application records beforehand, and after seeing that your name wasn't on them, he cleverly abandoned his plan to manipulate the receiving ceremony. When Touko herded the Tepig and Snivy into the research institute just now, he didn't find any trace of the Pokémon's excursion. So here's the problem."

Hugo looked at his assistant with a half-smile: "The sixty-fourth trainer, Ms. Azure from the Kanto region, why did she choose Otter without saying a word?"

Under the detective's questioning, Azure avoided his gaze and stammered, "Well... it's because I've always liked water-type creatures. When I embarked on my adventure in the Kanto region, I chose Squirtle as my partner, and ever since then I've become interested in these creatures that can manipulate water currents and waves. Besides, Otter is quite cute; its arrogant and haughty expression sometimes makes you want to pinch and rub it."

"I think you might have been influenced by something and made the same choice as the sixty-three rookies," the detective persisted, his words dripping with malice.

"Okay, I confess!" Azure shouted, "It's a newborn baby!"

.

What the girl saw deep in the grass were two tiny Woolpigs and a Snivy.

Due to the manipulation of a certain student, the same group of starter Pokémon stayed together for a long time, and some things naturally happened.

The unusual egg-laying phenomenon of Pokémon seems to be more easily triggered in the wild. After half a year, a new generation of Snivy and Tepig are now active in the grass near Route 1.

"It seems Mr. Eric needs to revise and update the ecological atlas of Route 1," the detective commented.

Chapter 045 The Qibao Museum Robbery

In Tangcao Town, Hugo and Azure, with the mood of a picnic, happily hurried on their way.

Solving the case is the happiest moment for the detective and his assistant. Especially since Azure single-handedly uncovered the culprit's scheme, this joy was amplified to an even higher level.

However, the detective next to the assistant was suddenly disturbed by a ringing phone.

The ringtone was grating, like metal scraping together, and carried a mysterious, ethereal quality, like the roar of some unknown creature. But no matter how you looked at it, it wasn't pleasant to hear. It was unclear why the detective would use such a strange sound as a call alert.

Upon seeing the caller's name in the contact list, Hugo asked Azure to leave for a moment, so the assistant could only watch from a distance as the detective whispered into the phone.

When the detective returned after finishing his call, Azure suddenly noticed that his demeanor was completely different from before. He looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy, as imposing as a Politoed after using "Bellis Drum".

Hugo, his expression serious, stared into the girl's eyes and said, "The Qibao City Museum has been robbed, and a large number of ancient artifacts are missing. It's clearly the work of Group Plasma. For various reasons, I must immediately go to Qibao City to assist the local police—"

"I want to go! Don't worry, I definitely won't hold you back," Azure immediately volunteered, raising her arm high. "Do you need a Pokémon that knows 'Fly'? I can have someone teleport it over right away."

When the overly enthusiastic assistant mentioned "flying," the detective's serious face twitched slightly, and he decisively refused: "No need, it's faster to go by train, and I can rest a bit on the train."

Before boarding the train with his black ticket, Hugo casually bought a newspaper at the station. Since it was a morning paper, it mostly contained yesterday's news.

Hugo quickly flipped to the culture section of the newspaper and immediately found the information he needed. A striking headline occupied a large portion of the page: "First Exhibition in Twenty Years! The Founding Stone of the United States!"

"Is the newspaper saying that the national treasure is the same one that was stolen this time?" Azure asked the detective as she sat down on the train.

The Founding Stone in the newspaper was dark and oddly shaped, barely round, and lacked any mythological significance. It just looked like an ordinary spherical stone.

"To be precise, it was one of the stolen artifacts. Also stolen were many ancient Pokémon fossils, some ancient stone tablets whose reliefs have not yet been deciphered, and an alien meteorite that the Hoenn League gave as a gift to the Shippo Museum... Each of these items is worth as much as a national treasure."

Hugo rubbed his forehead, looking like he had a terrible headache.

"The newspaper said that the stone is the remains left behind by Zekrom, the black dragon who founded the kingdom, after his death. Could it be some kind of item that can summon legendary Pokémon?"

Bilan pointed to an article in the morning paper and asked, her tone suggesting she was already used to the possibility of such a terrible event.

“That prop is irrelevant,” Hugo said without hesitation. “Because I thought that stone might become a target of the Plasma Group, I had it secured with the relevant personnel.”

"Safety procedures?"

"It's the anti-theft system. I think that stone should be absolutely safe based on the anti-theft plan I provided to Qibao Museum. But I can't guarantee the safety of the other exhibits."

"So," the girl continued, "was it Team Plasma who robbed the Shippo City Museum this time? But museums usually have security personnel, right? How did they manage to do it?"

"They didn't tell me the details over the phone; they said they'd have to get to the scene to find out. But I have a feeling that this case is going to be very difficult to resolve."

"How to say?"

"At the time, the Qibao City Museum had at least one Gym Leader and one Unova Elite Four member stationed there, but it was still robbed."

"Huh?" Azure stared in disbelief. "You're not kidding, are you?"

Hugo shook his head, his expression serious, not at all like he was joking.

"You may not know the details since you're new to the Unova region, but actually, Aloe, the Gym Leader of Shippo City, also serves as the curator of the local museum. Therefore, the Shippo City Museum and the Shippo Gym are connected. During periods when valuable artifacts are on display, Aloe is always stationed there."

The detective pointed to the photo of the owner of Qibao Pavilion in the newspaper to support his claim.

"The gym leader has an almost endless supply of Pokémon in the gym, it's like having a personal arsenal. An opponent who can defeat Aloe in that kind of place is definitely not to be underestimated."

"Then what about that Elite Four member?" Azure looked at the detective, puzzled. "How did you know there was an Elite Four level trainer in Shippo City at the time?"

After a moment's thought, Hugo decided to reveal part of the truth to his assistant—

"When Touko and I were on the train to Karakusa Town, we met Unova's Dark-type Elite Four member, Cranberry, in the first-class carriage. He seemed to be on some kind of mission, and his destination was Shippo City, where this case happened. Ah, I should have known. He was going to be a guard for those ancient artifacts."

"So, Team Plasma has the combat power to rival a Champion-level trainer?" the assistant made a logical deduction.

Hugo's face showed a momentary embarrassment: "No, for some reason, that superstar is temporarily unable to go all out. In fact, the call just now was from Yueju asking me for help. He hopes that a detective can help the police recover the artifacts."

After all, that person was trying to infiltrate the enemy as an undercover agent. If they were to teach the Plasma Group's robbers a lesson right now, it would be difficult to carry out the subsequent plan.

However, they couldn't just let Group Plasma run rampant. In desperation, Blueberry remembered the business card she had put in her pocket earlier, which had the contact information for the Hugo Detective Agency written on it.

.

The distance between Tangcao Town and Qibao City is only two stops, and the travel time is indeed about the same as that of "flying".

After getting off the bus, Hugo went straight to the Qibao Museum, and sure enough, he saw a large group of police officers pacing around like ants on a hot plate.

The detective found Officer Jenny, who was leading the crowd, and stepped forward to introduce himself: "Excuse me for being so bold, but I am Hugo from Feiyun City. I am a detective invited by the deputy curator, Mr. Muli. Please allow me to enter the museum to meet the client."

The policewoman in front of him, who looked almost exactly like Officer Jenny from Flying Cloud City but seemed a bit older, looked surprised: "Hugo... I think I've heard of you, but do you have anything to prove your identity?"

"This is a photo of the detective agency's business license, and this is the Alliance ID card... You can also call Mr. Muli or Officer Jenny in Feiyun City. But time is of the essence right now, could you let me into the museum first?"

As an amateur detective, Hugo seemed quite self-aware, skillfully listing various documents to prove his identity, as if he had repeated this action countless times.

"By the way, this is my assistant, Azure. I can vouch for her identity, and please allow her to travel with me."

Officer Jenny was impressed by Hugo's professionalism. After briefly communicating with the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie, she let the two of them into the museum.

"Do you always carry those documents with you?" Bilan asked curiously.

"It doesn't take up much space if I keep it in a folder, so I usually carry a set of photocopies with me when I go out. Oh, by the way, what I said earlier was actually a lie." Hugo remained nonchalant, but his assistant was quite startled.

"Although I know the deputy curator, Muli, he has not entrusted me with any tasks. I just made it up for convenience. But this little lie can be corrected immediately."

The detective went straight to the museum curator's office, opened the door, and saw a middle-aged man who looked like he was sitting on pins and needles. He wore glasses and had a dangerously high hairline. Compared to the researchers at the Yew Research Institute, this man had a much stronger scholarly air about him.

However, the scholar was in a state of unease at the moment, and when he saw the detective open the door, he immediately showed an expression as if he had seen a savior.

"Detective Hugo, it's you! It's so good to see you again at a time like this!"

Upon seeing the detective, the middle-aged man was startled, then jumped up excitedly from his chair and strode forward to shake Hugo's hand tightly—

"You must have seen the robbery today! It was a terrible day. The aloe vera plant was attacked by strangers, the museum's warehouse was ransacked, and the dojo was smashed... I didn't know what to do. I'm only a little relieved to see you here. Please, you must save the collections that were stolen by the robbers! Those are important cultural relics!"

Hugo patted the man on the back, trying to calm him down, and introduced him to Bilan: "This is Mr. Muli, the deputy curator of the Qibao Museum and husband of Aloe, the dojo leader. Mr. Muli, this is my assistant, Bilan. Enough of that. May I ask if the original Founding Stone is still there?"

Muli lifted his glasses, rubbing his eyes and wiping away tears, and said, "It's still there, it's still there. I listened to your advice and replaced the stones on display with highly realistic fakes. Although it's a bit unfair to the tourists who came to visit, it has really come in handy now. Damn it, I should have been more careful back then, otherwise this wouldn't have happened."

“You’ve done a great job. Now all we need to do is recover the stolen artifacts. Please let me see the curator and Mr. Yueju.”

"The detective said, rolling up the sleeves of his white coat, looking ready to get down to business," he said.