Pokémon Detective Case Files.

“This is exactly what it means to catch someone off guard,” Hugo said with a mysterious smile as he walked to the wall that controlled the museum’s lighting effects.

In front of the detective, a row of light switches of varying sizes were arranged side by side, each switch controlling the lighting effect in a certain part of the exhibition hall.

“At first glance, each switch only controls the state of one light,” Hugo said as he pressed a button.

The lights in the exhibition hall gradually came on. Some had been damaged by the plasma clusters, flickering a few times before going out with a short circuit, while others simply wouldn't light up. But most of the lights were turned on normally as usual.

"My design with Mr. Muli is that when the lighting effects are turned on according to the state of the Stone of Founding of the Nation exhibition, a mechanism will be triggered..."

Hugo pressed the switch for the last light according to his memory. At this moment, the main light went out, and the firefly-like side lights highlighted the magnificent creation mural on the ceiling of the exhibition hall. The radiant creator god and the three dragon gods in black, white and gray complemented each other. Even though it was just a replica of the famous painting, it was still breathtaking. The light surrounding the ceiling mural was a lighting effect specially designed for the Stone of Founding exhibition.

"That...that is!" The sharp-eyed Azure pointed to the area above the display case where the Founding Stone was originally located. Above the blank area of ​​the mural and the empty ceiling, a blurry shadow appeared.

"This is the Founding Stone. Could it be that the real stone is here?" Curator Aloe looked enlightened and looked back at the floor where the display case had been.

Amidst the chaos, there was a small hole that was emitting light.

A small hole is projecting an image upwards.

"What a pity, the image would have been much clearer if refracted through the curved mirror hidden in the display case." Hugo sighed somewhat nitpickingly, but then rallied his spirits and continued to loudly introduce the image to everyone—

"Dear visitors, please look, the place where the fake Stone of the Founding of the Nation was originally placed is now shrouded in a strange phantom. That phantom is the image projected by the real Dark Stone after being refracted through a mirror. If you are fortunate enough to see this collection during the day, what you will see will not be a pure fake or a genuine item, but a collection of shadows that is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and is both real and illusory."

The police officers and dojo trainers stared blankly at the blurry image on the ceiling, and given the atmosphere, it actually looked quite convincing.

The detective's voice continued to echo in the hall: "This is also a great compromise made by Qibao Museum between the safety of cultural relics and the rights of visitors. It combines the dreamlike ideal with the hard reality. Even if Czechrom and Reshiram appeared here at the same time, they would admire the ingenuity and brilliance of this hiding trick."

Hugo bowed deeply to the crowd like a magician finishing a performance.

Chapter 053 Smearing and Taking the Blame

With the help of the police, Hugo used a steel bar he picked up as a crowbar to pry open a crack in the floor directly below the display case. Then the police elves dug up a whole block of cement from the floor.

The unearthed cement was a cube about half a person's height. The detective unplugged the wire connected to the cube, revealing its back to everyone.

"The stone inside this small hole is what we call the Founding Stone, which is also the real target of the Plasma Group's robbery. The reason it can project its image upwards is because this cube has a light source and a mirror. When the museum is on normal display, this device will project the real Founding Stone's texture onto the fake through the convex mirror."

"So, the person who went berserk and attacked the display stand didn't actually get the treasure's location wrong, but rather the projector's orientation was off?"

Azure suddenly realized and clapped her hands, saying, "That person dug out the projector used to project the explanatory text, and thought he had been tricked. Little did he know that there was actually another projector placed vertically in this position, and the Dark Stone he was so eager for was inside."

“Exactly, the logic is very clear.” Hugo nodded with satisfaction, as if praising a student who had performed well. “As the second principle of concealment says, you should hide the trees in the forest. If you want to hide a projector, you should at least prepare two projectors.”

"What a brilliant anti-theft design." Ms. Aloe paced around the wreckage of the display case. "So, when we were clearing out the Plasma Group's minions, it was these elaborate tricks that held off the strongest trio of ninjas?"

Hugo's face darkened, his expression turning grim: "No, even so, my anti-theft design still has flaws, and I myself almost fell for it."

The assistant was the first to find it unbelievable: "How is this possible? No matter what kind of thief comes, it's impossible for them to break through such security measures in just one night!"

"There is another fatal flaw."

Covered in blood and with disheveled hair, Hugo slowly pointed his index finger at himself: "That's me."

Everyone was puzzled, except for Azure and Aloe, who recalled the detective's disheveled appearance when he appeared outside the window, and asked almost in unison—

"They want to capture you directly?"

"They want you to hand over the stone directly?"

"Isn't it ironic?" The detective shrugged. "I arranged for the defenseless Deputy Director Kidate to go on a long journey to seek refuge, but I never expected to become the target myself."

"But outsiders don't know that you designed the anti-theft plan for our museum! How could they be targeting you?" Aloe stared intently at the detective, a vague answer in her mind, yet unwilling and unable to believe it.

"Sigh." Hugo sighed. This was precisely the moment when the detective should have disregarded the situation and consequences, and single-mindedly pursued the truth.

"When the operation began tonight, I was ambushed in the curator's office by a group that called themselves the Dark Iron Triangle. They are top assassins trained by Team Plasma. This morning, they defeated Aloe Vera and King Cranberry by overwhelming numbers."

"Although I managed to escape the ambush by all means, I still have doubts about how they were able to find me."

Hugo glossed over his own escape from trouble and raised a crucial question.

"I think their timing of the intrusion was too precise, and they rushed straight to the curator's office as if they knew our entire plan. It's almost like..."

“It’s like the enemy planted an inside agent.” Upon hearing the detective’s statement, Officer Jenny made the judgment without hesitation.

Hugo nodded, but his face showed no sign of relief, and asked the crowd:

"Haven't you all noticed that one person is missing from tonight's operation?"

Azure had already discerned the truth that the detective was about to reveal.

Was that man she had met once before actually an undercover agent for the Plasma Group? She suddenly felt how cold the night air was, and how distant the people present were from each other.

"You mean, that person was... supposed to be... Mr. Blueberry, the last resort?"

A dry, hoarse voice came from Ms. Aloe's throat. For the first time in all the years since she became the leader of the dojo, she was experiencing a collapse of her understanding.

"During the breakout, I used the location of the Founding Stone as leverage and asked those people the same question as Ms. Aloe."

Hugo's voice remained calm as always, but at this moment it only sent chills down one's spine.

"The other side's answer was affirmative—which means that King Cranberry betrayed us and leaked the museum's battle plan to Team Plasma. As a gambler, he chose to bet against the United States, that is, on Team Plasma's side."

"Hugo, please at least don't do it in front of so many people... Sigh!"

Officer Jenny had intended for Hugo to keep the matter a secret for the time being, but she eventually gave up. All her unspoken words turned into a heavy sigh, because she could already see the bewildered and helpless faces of her colleagues around her.

What's done is done, there's no going back.

Moreover, that elusive evil king still hasn't shown up, and his indifferent silence is confirming his betrayal, making him increasingly suspicious.

"Could Lady Yueju really be... from over there?"

"I heard he used to be a ruthless gambler...that's why he's good at befriending evil Pokémon."

"I've heard that gamblers are best at betting on both sides..."

—The officers began to whisper amongst themselves.

The betrayal of a Champion Trainer is a fatal blow to the League's prestige, and civil servants within the system are particularly acutely aware of this. To Hugo, the police officers' anxiety at this moment was like a Bug-type Pokémon trembling before a typhoon due to its "Danger Sense" ability.

"shut up!"

A clear, girlish voice pierced through the murmurs and resounded throughout the hall.

"Mr. Lanju is definitely not that kind of person, Detective Hugo. What you're saying is all one-sided. Why should we believe you? Mr. Lanju must have been delayed at the museum by other important matters. Perhaps right now, while you, Detective, are relentlessly slandering him, Mr. Lanju is still fighting the enemy. How dare you slander our King of Men without any evidence?"

The girl who angrily rebuked the detective was the high school girl Hugo had met on the train. This girl from Fukiyori High School had now joined the operation as the Gym Leader of Shippo Gym.

Of everyone present, besides Hugo and Aloe, she was the only one who knew Bilberry well. On the train, Bilberry had even kindly accompanied the little girl in a doubles match to earn travel expenses. If you were to ask who among those present was least willing to believe that Bilberry was a traitor, it would undoubtedly be her.

“Although I am a detective, I don’t want to only arrive at the scene after a case has occurred,” Hugo explained, looking into the girl’s eyes.

"All I know is that Mr. Yueju disappeared after our strategic meeting, and then the enemy predicted our actions and told me that the king was a traitor—but they had no reason to lie."

"I don't believe it!" the girl said firmly. "Mr. Blueberry is a good person, there must be a reason for what he did..."

However, at that moment, another girl's voice suddenly rang out: "Eevee, 'Iron Tail'!"

Eevee's tail, which had been perched on Azure's shoulder, transformed into a sharp steel blade and slammed into the air above Detective's head.

With a clang, an unpleasant metallic scraping sound erupted, and Ibu screamed as he was sent flying a great distance.

Only then did everyone see a Pokémon covered in armor and resembling a samurai fall from the ceiling through a large hole.

"It's Commander Cleave, that Dark Triangle Iron is back again." Aloe, who had experience fighting him, immediately warned everyone and sent out Longhair Dog.

However, the dojo leader immediately changed his mind: "No, no, it's not that one, it's..."

Seeing the Seven Treasures Gym Leader waver, Officer Jenny immediately understood the meaning behind his words. She gritted her teeth, turned to her subordinates, and roared, "That's the Elite Four member's main Pokémon! He's come to steal the Founding Stone himself! Protect Hugo now!"

Mr. Dark Knight began his operation. This wasn't supposed to be part of the plan. What a dramatic man... Hugo silently watched everything unfold before him, letting the police surround him, still clutching the cube containing the Founding Stone in his arms.

In contrast to the detective, the gym leader girl stared blankly at the ferocious Bisharp, her despairing expression shattered, tears welling in her eyes.

Who on earth came up with such a despicable plan...? Looking at the tearful girl, Hugo tried his best to appear cheerful, but he failed.

In the darkness, where no one knew, the detective, with a strange expression that was neither a smile nor a cry, shouted at the police officers—

"Lingju is on the ceiling! He's been hiding on the roof eavesdropping on our conversation! Quickly, send a team to capture him!"

The first bucket of mud has been thrown; now it remains to be seen how things will develop.

Chapter 054 The End of the Museum Incident

The train sped from Qibao City to Feiyun City. Amidst the slight swaying, Detective Hugo was curled up in a spacious seat in the first-class carriage, catching up on sleep, with a large pile of cultural relics and souvenirs he had obtained from the Qibao Museum beside him.

"I have an older sister who really likes these things," the detective explained at the museum's souvenir shop...

Suddenly, the detective, who was catching up on sleep, frowned, then raised his hand to rub his neck and painfully opened his eyes.

"I really shouldn't have slept on public transport..."

Hugo grimaced and looked around. He noticed that Azure, sitting opposite him, was silently closing her eyes, deep in thought and seemingly lost in thought.

The girl didn't notice Hugo getting up; instead, Eevee, half-asleep beside her, gently wagged its tail and greeted the detective on behalf of its owner.

"Good morning, Eevee! Have you decided which form you want to evolve into?" Hugo was very welcoming, yawning as he chatted with Eevee face to face.

“Buyi…”

Upon hearing the detective mention this, Eevee looked conflicted, and its cries became hesitant. After thinking for a long time, the little guy finally gave up and pointed with its tiny paw at the blue creature beside it.

“That won’t do, little Eevee. How can you let others decide your life?” Hugo, acting like a life coach, took the initiative to enlighten Eevee. “What truly controls your life is not others, but your own heart.”

"By the way, you probably don't understand the differences between the various evolutionary forms, right? I have a documentary here that studies the mystery of Eevee's evolution..." The detective fiddled with his smartphone, pulled up the video file, and placed the phone in front of Eevee.

Unfortunately, Eevee wasn't interested in Professor Yamanashi, who had a big beard, in the video. After glancing at him twice, it turned its head away, curled up its tail, and continued sleeping.

Instead, Hugo's Piplup in his Poké Ball moved, jumped out of the ball, turned the phone in front of Eevee around, and started watching a documentary with great interest.

.

"Hugo." Sometime later, Azure finished her endless contemplation, opened her eyes, and cast her clear gaze upon the detective.

"Oh? Is there something you need?"

“I’ve figured it out.” The girl pressed her ten fingers together, standing like a model of an iron tower on the small table in front of her seat. “I understand what that lingering sense of unease was during the Qibao Museum incident.”

"I'd like to hear more details." The detective rubbed his shoulder with one hand and gestured with the other, indicating that he was willing to listen attentively.

"You and King Lantana are actually in cahoots. He deliberately sided with Team Plasma to cooperate with your plan."

The girl's tone was firm. Meanwhile, despite the excellent soundproofing of the first-class carriage and the lack of concern about eavesdropping, Bilan still kept her voice very low.

Hugo neither confirmed nor denied this, but simply shrugged as if instructing a student, and asked the question that would be obvious to any criminal investigator: "So, what about the evidence? Is the information you have sufficient to support the entire logical chain of deductions?"

"The call inviting you to the Qibao Museum was made by Yueju. The information you gave me from the beginning is enough to explain everything," the girl said to Hugo with a wry smile. "You didn't hide anything from me from the beginning, and I only found out this fact just now after I boarded the train!"

"Although the evidence is a bit weak, you don't need to blame yourself for it, Azure."

Hugo, in a very mentor-like manner, comforted his assistant: "The defection of a top-tier trainer is big news in itself, and everyone will be surprised. It is a common phenomenon that the brain temporarily stops working due to shock."

“What I didn’t expect was that you could actually convince a Champion Trainer to do something like that!” Azure said. “To become an undercover agent, infiltrate the enemy, lie low, and save everything at the crucial moment! Just like a character in a spy movie.”

“If it were Touko who wrote the script, Yueju would definitely have made a heroic sacrifice in the penultimate act.” The detective said sarcastically. “All I did was give him a push when he made his decision. Whether he was misunderstood or ultimately gained honor, it was all his own choice.”

The detective, with an expression that suggested he had "done something insignificant," asked Azure again, "I'm more interested in how you used logical reasoning to arrive at this conclusion."

Without hesitation, the assistant explained clearly: "If Lantachi really intends to betray us, she can simply use her status to get Director Kidate to entrust the stone to her for safekeeping. In this way, Team Plasma can obtain the target without paying any price, and Lantachi can easily find an excuse to fool everyone by saying something like being attacked."

But he agreed to your plan, and even induced most of the Plasma Team members to act according to the original plan. This shows that he is not on the side of Plasma Team, but rather colluded with you, Hugo, who devised the plan.

"No, this only shows that Blueberry is not entirely on Team Plasma's side, and it does not rule out the possibility that he is an opportunistic gambler who changes sides with the wind."

Despite being the person in the world who knew the details of the case best, Hugo calmly questioned it logically.

"Ha! If he is that kind of person, then his act of revealing his identity at the end is inexplicable."

The assistant astutely pointed out the flaw: "If Blueberry wasn't entirely on Team Plasma's side and was just a fence-sitter, then his decision to deliberately charge into the police encirclement to seize the Dark Stone wouldn't make sense. There's a significant contradiction here, and the only explanation is the phone call Blueberry made to you on the way here!"

"So it really is that matter?" Hugo clicked his tongue unhappily, referring to Lantana's unauthorized appearance and the ensuing brawl with the police. "Unauthorized collaborators are a real headache. Hopefully, Team Plasma hasn't noticed this problem yet."

On the day of the museum operation, Blueberry's attack from the sky ultimately failed. The police formed a human wall to separate Hugo from Blueberry's Bisharp, and the two sides later engaged in a fierce Pokémon battle.

In the end, the Dark-type Elite Four member of the Unova region fought his way out and escaped unscathed. According to Azure's assessment, Cranberry's command skills during the final breakout surpassed the level of most Elite Four-level trainers.

It's easy to imagine that after this battle, this gambler king who betrayed the alliance will be forced to flee into the underworld. Even if the United Alliance might temporarily refrain from stripping Yueju of his title to preserve its reputation, there will be no turning back between him and the alliance. Apart from a handful of people who know the inside story, Yueju will become a thorn in the side of all his righteous comrades; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he has been betrayed and abandoned by everyone.

"To me, the most suspicious thing about the whole incident is actually the media coverage of it today."

Hugo tapped the newspaper beside him with his fingertip and continued, "Given the efficiency of United Media, last night's police operation should have been a front-page story in today's morning paper, but..."

Hugo turned the newspaper to the front, where the headline read, “President of the German company Zvocchi visits United States and has cordial talks with the president of the alliance”, and below it was a photo of the gray-haired old man walking down from the cabin of the giant cruise ship.