Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"If that's the case, why don't they move out on their own initiative?"

The assistant got carried away with solving the mystery and decided to keep pressing the detective for answers, relentlessly asking him questions.

"Well, there are many reasons why a person doesn't want to move out of an apartment, sometimes it may just be because of laziness."

Hugo sat on the armrest of the opposite sofa, looking around his apartment lobby—

"Moreover, there are six people crammed together in the apartment below Greta's. If one of them would rather kill someone once and for all than go through the trouble of moving, and had convinced all the other companions, then this murder would be quite reasonable."

Listening to the detective's somewhat perfunctory explanation, Azure remained skeptical, and then she asked another question—

"Even if all your previous reasoning is correct, I still have one question: Since Mr. Greta has been a Sandstorm Team specialist trainer for so many years, why would he choose to live in such a high-rise apartment? As a star trainer who uses Sandstorm Team, shouldn't he have been aware that his Pokémon would cause a lot of noise downstairs?"

"Very perceptive," Hugo praised. "This matter dates back to more than a month ago."

"What do you mean?" Faced with a time span of a whole month, Bilan was completely confused.

"I remember you and Touko beat that Sandstorm duo in a doubles match. Touko told me that the victory was almost entirely due to you, Azur Lane."

"Although the claim about the fight was a bit exaggerated, my performance at the time was indeed quite remarkable." Azure recalled the match from a month ago, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu—

"Back then, the opponent used a trading move to take down Eevee's Emboar, leaving only Eevee and Tyranitar on the field. Ultimately, Eevee, with its speed and agility, repeatedly struck the same weak spot on Tyranitar with Iron Tail, managing to defeat it with difficulty. By the way, the trainer using Tyranitar at that time was Greta."

"Was it difficult? But when you released Eevee at the Feathered Residence that day, it didn't seem to have a single obvious injury." The detective casually pointed out a crucial question.

"That's because it avoided most of the attack moves, so apart from the damage it took when blocking the sandstorm, Eevee was basically unharmed."

"That's a bit strange," the detective remarked, feigning ignorance.

"Tyranitar should have far superior attack power and durability compared to an unevolved Eevee, and its Iron Tail move isn't very accurate. I want to ask you, what does it mean that Eevee can repeatedly dodge the opponent's attacks and hit vital points with unparalleled accuracy?"

When the topic of combat came up, Azure immediately understood what the detective meant and replied, "This means that Tyranitar is not very proficient in using skills, and his movements are clumsy and slow compared to his peak condition."

"So, what do you think is slowing down Bangiras?"

Seeing that Azure was about to embark on another long period of contemplation, the detective took the initiative to reveal the answer to the mystery—

“I think it has something to do with the condition of that Tyranitar,” Hugo said, crossing his legs in a very enigmatic manner. “That Tyranitar may have just evolved before the match, so it’s not used to the new form and appears somewhat clumsy on the field.”

"I see!"

Miss Azure sat up straight, clapping her hands in sudden realization—"Mr. Greta must have honed his skills on his journey, with many of his Pokémon evolving during their travels. Greta's perception of his Pokémon's weight is still based on their pre-evolution state. Previously, these relatively small Pokémon's running around didn't cause noise downstairs, but after evolving, Tyranitar and Gigantamax increased in weight several times over, finally starting to bother the downstairs residents."

"He was murdered simply because he didn't notice the weight change after his Pokémon evolved," the detective sighed, reflecting on the tragedy.

"But what do you mean by 'interests' in the prompt?" Azure asked one question after another. "Killing someone because they couldn't stand the noise" doesn't really count as a conflict of interest.

"Speaking of this, Azure, don't you think there's something strange about the lifestyles of those six young people?"

"There's absolutely nothing suspicious about this case, okay?"

The girl couldn't help but complain: "The corpses in the locked room, the elves in the flowerpots, the suspicious administrator, the troublesome sandstorm team... now it's no big deal if six more unemployed people live together in one place."

"I think those six guys are definitely doing something shady in that shared apartment."

Hugo, with a playful expression, continued, "Just as our first piece of information revealed, that apartment building is an outrageously expensive high-end residential building. Even if the rent is split into six parts, it would still be a considerable expense for the unemployed. How exactly do they manage to pay the rent?"

“Unemployed people who stay at home must have very limited means of making a living, right?” After thinking hard for a while, Azure honestly surrendered to the detective, “Hugo, I can’t think of anything.”

The detective wagged his finger, offering a further clue: "These six unemployed people have also been complained about by their neighbors for making noise before. When their complaints went unanswered, those neighbors even moved out because of the noise."

"What does that prove? Group living is usually quite noisy, isn't it?"

"There is another way to make money, which is to make the apartment incredibly noisy immediately."

Hugo reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell phone he had retrieved from the duty room when the incident ended.

The detective pressed a button on the touchscreen, and dial tones played in sequence. Before the call connected, he spoke to Azure in a loud voice, as if answering a phone call—

"When six people are making phone calls in an apartment at the same time, the noise they create is enough to make the downstairs residents move out overnight."

"Making phone calls?" The assistant didn't react for a moment. "How can these people profit from making phone calls? Do they think people will willingly send them money after they make a call?"

Hugo couldn't help but chuckle: "Such things really do exist in the world."

At the same time, the detective's call went through, and Officer Jenny answered. Her voice was loud and clear when she said "hello," indicating that the interrogation had made a breakthrough.

“Yes, I want to know how the suspect explained his motives,” Hugo asked the policewoman as he switched the call to speakerphone.

“You’ve come to the right person, Hugo. You’d never guess what those guys do all day holed up in their apartment.” Officer Jenny’s tone was very smug, wanting to use this rare opportunity to whet the detective’s appetite.

Hugo, holding up his phone and suppressing a laugh, deliberately sighed: "Please tell me, Azure and I are both waiting."

"I really can't do anything with you guys." An even more smug voice came from the other end of the phone. "Since you're so sincerely asking for advice, then I'll mercifully tell you—"

“Those people are a gang of phone scammers. They can get personal information, including phone numbers, from the nearby Pokémon Center registration office. Then they hide in their apartments all day dialing numbers in the phone book, impersonating various identities to trick people into transferring money to their bank accounts!”

The detective put his hand to his forehead and winked smugly at his assistant.

Azure was completely stunned. After a long pause, she stammered and asked Officer Jenny on the other end of the phone, "Then... then, Miss Officer Jenny, the reason these people killed Mr. Greta was because..."

"They hated the upstairs residents who let the elves roam freely in their homes every day. The constant noise from upstairs made it impossible for them to continue their so-called work. So these people ordered potted plants containing Galar Sun Corals from the Unified Dark Web and delivered them to the dead person's home, pretending to be friendly neighbors."

The police officer's summary was clear and fluent, and Bilan felt that the whole incident was suddenly connected.

"Furthermore, the reason they moved to this apartment was because they heard that the occupancy rate of high-end buildings in western Feiyun City is generally very low, so it would be less likely to arouse suspicion if they committed crimes while renting here. Moreover, the area is a well-known wealthy neighborhood, where rich people always live, and the phone numbers of rich people are more valuable for fraud."

“A complete struggle for interests…” Azure murmured to herself, recalling the last clue the detective had given her.

Hugo also sighed: "Mr. Greta is truly unfortunate..."

.

"Hey? Why did the atmosphere suddenly become so heavy? Hugo, did you already know the truth all along?"

In the silent Feather Residence, only Miss Officer Jenny's voice, filled with electronic static, echoed continuously.

Chapter 072 Weekend at Yuxi Residence

The day after the locked-room mystery was solved... well, actually, the mystery wasn't really solved by then.

Detectives can see through the fog of mystery at a glance, but behind every case, there are countless wounds waiting to be healed.

The Feiyun City Police Department is still overwhelmed with the follow-up work of the case. Although the case has been transferred from the police department to the prosecution department of the procuratorate, the police department still has countless coordination tasks to complete.

It will take at least six months, until all six perpetrators have been tried in court and imprisoned, before this matter can be considered truly closed.

In addition, the telephone fraud cases that were linked to the murder case were also numerous and complex.

The police have a variety of troublesome tasks to handle, including recovering stolen funds, searching for victims, and shutting down illegal profit-making organizations upstream and downstream... Ms. Jenny probably won't be able to sit in the office drinking tea and chatting every day this month.

In matters unrelated to the case, the adoption of Mr. Greta's remaining Pokémon has also been progressing poorly.

Everyone has their own opinion on the ultimate fate of the Sandstorm team. It's not that anyone is greedy and wants to profit from the situation; it's just that everyone has their own thoughts.

The deceased's family wants them to stay in their hometown, serving as a source of solace for those mourning their loved one; the deceased's battle companions believe that returning them to the arena would better heal their trauma; while the spirits themselves seem to want to spend their entire lives in the room where their master died. The debate continues unresolved, with no consensus reached.

Moreover, it's not just those six Sandstorm Team members that this star trainer keeps; he also keeps a lot of Pokémon in his backyard and breeding house. Finding suitable new owners for each of them would be a time-consuming and laborious task, not to mention that most of the Pokémon are quite emotionally unstable and will likely remain unadoptable for a long time.

However, these matters are handled by the all-powerful Elf League. They have a bureaucracy so intricate that it can handle any situation. Pushing these troublesome tasks onto them is a case of fighting fire with fire.

In short, the aftermath of these unpleasant cases has nothing to do with Hugo and Azure anymore, and Hugo Detective Agency has already started its weekend break.

A sign is posted outside the courtyard of Yuxi Mansion that it is closed on weekends. For urgent matters, appointments can only be made by contacting the property via emergency phone or email.

The firm's director strongly recommended the latter.

.

As a port city, Feiyun City in autumn lacks the sweltering heat and humidity of summer. The temperature is very similar to that of spring, but it is drier and clearer.

Just after noon, Azure and Eevee finished their weekly physical training at the Battle Club, took a nice shower in the club's bathroom, and returned to Feather Residence feeling refreshed.

The detective's assistant, who was on vacation, witnessed an astonishing scene upon opening the agency's doors, almost thinking he had stumbled into another world—

On weekends, he usually either drinks tea and reads books or tinkers with some random research on Hugo. He found a game console somewhere, connected it to the largest LCD TV in the office, and started playing games with the little fire monkey next to him.

The giant screen was split in two, showing the control perspectives of Hugo and Chimchar. It was clearly a racing game, except the vehicles weren't cars, but rather Pokémon running at full speed.

In the game, the little fire monkey rides the classic Rapidash, its fiery mane billowing behind its pale yellow, majestic body, leaving a cool trail. However, it has already been left almost half a lap behind by the detective on the other side of the screen.

Over at Hugo's place... Azure glanced at the other end of the screen and immediately couldn't hold back anymore—

The detective controls a Mareep with only four short legs, a style completely different from the Rapidash next to it. Moreover, the sheep in the game runs by hopping and skipping, and if you ignore the rapidly receding background on both sides, it seems that the Mareep is not even as fast as a disabled person's wheelchair.

"Oh, it's azure."

Mare the sheep ran onto a straight road. Hugo glanced back at the doorway briefly, then turned back to continue the game while explaining what he was doing.

"I'm conducting an experiment to study the problem of my Pokémon always malfunctioning. I've never done this kind of research before because I didn't have a Pokémon in my possession."

"Cool," Azure exclaimed.

So it was still a research experiment, she suddenly felt as if the upside-down world had returned to normal.

The girl quietly whistled, but failed, and made a comical pout. Although it looked a little embarrassing, Hugo had already entered the bend and was focused on drifting with Mare the Sheep, so he didn't notice her.

The detective's ears twitched: "I heard a short, sharp sound. Azure, are you trying to whistle? Judging from the sound, the reason you couldn't make a sound is probably because you didn't keep the airway between your lips, and the air pressure wasn't enough. You can try pressing the tip of your tongue against your jaw while opening your mouth."

Azure responded with a displeased whistle of success, her face pale. Detectives on holiday, having lost their jobs, often indulge in using obscure, largely useless knowledge to educate others.

The detective continued to explain: "Pokémon always make a fool of themselves around me, so I wanted to test whether their luck had run out or whether they had experienced a comprehensive decline in intelligence and coordination in a short period of time."

Azure glanced at Chimchar's record, which was almost a full circle behind, and then bluntly said, "I guess it's probably the latter."

After spending more than a month with the detective, she had exhausted all the words to complain about his constitution. By now, the assistant had completely come to realize that "Hugo and Pokémon don't get along" is an ironclad rule, as natural as the law of nature.

It rains, apples fall to the ground, people have two legs, Magikarp lives in water, Pokémon use moves, and Hugo's command for a Pokémon to use a move will fail. That's how it is.

“I’m not sure yet.” The detective’s Mare the Sheep reached the finish line, put down the handle, and stretched his wrists. “Could you take my place as a control group?”

"You mean you want me to play with the little fire monkey once more and see if its performance is any different?"

“That’s right,” Hugo said sincerely, handing the controller to Azure. “This game is called Pokémon Rush 8. It’s a game that Officer Jenny strongly recommended. I seriously suspect that this is the root of all her evil when she’s drifting around while driving.”

Seeing the little fire monkey staring defiantly at the TV screen, the assistant nodded: "Sure, it's possible. But I've never played this game before, and my skills are probably terrible. Will that affect the experiment results?"

“No, I only care about the time taken and the luck when acquiring the items.” Hugo said, picking up a form from the small table next to him and filling in the information from the previous round. “Of course, if any of you can break the record, I hope you can do me a favor.”

"What is it..." Just as Bilan was about to ask, she suddenly felt a commotion on her shoulder.

"Bu-i-bu-i!"

The Eevee on the girl's shoulder started to throw a tantrum—

Why can other kids play video games on weekends, while it can only accompany Azure to the training ground to run? It also wants to be a control group and play video games too.

"There's also an old controller in the box. If Eevee wants to use it, you can give it to him. The game can be split into up to four view panels." The detective filled out the form without looking up.

Azure then took the old handle out of the box and put it into Eevee's two little paws.

"Buyi!"

Touching the controller, the little guy seemed to have discovered some kind of truth about the world, and immediately broke down emotionally. His ears drooped, and his spirits visibly withered.

It turns out that Eevee's little paws simply cannot control the complex buttons on the controller. Game controllers based on ergonomics do not support play by creatures other than primates.

Little Eevee looked enviously at Chimchar's ten healthy fingers on both hands, then looked at its own—it only had six fingers in total, all shriveled into fluffy little balls.

Under the strange gazes of the detective and his assistant, Eevee, with tears welling in his eyes, put the handle back in the box with his mouth, then hid in a corner of the Feathered Residence, curling up alone and falling into a state of self-isolation.

Hugo and Azure's gazes became even more peculiar.

Eevee, who had fallen into a state of withdrawal, suddenly felt something was wrong, as if there was something around him, and he could feel the body temperature of some kind of creature.

It looked up and saw two figures, one blue and one green, in the darkness.

It turned out that the grass turtle and the Bogarman had also huddled together and hidden in this corner.

Chapter 073 "Pokémon Horse Racing"

To test the detective's strange aura, the assistant will have a friendly match with the little fire monkey.

Because Hugo's choice of Mareep in the game was too jarring, Azure changed its mount before the match started, replacing the bouncy little sheep with a Jolteon that looked like it could run very fast.

"Bu-i-bu-i!"

In the corner, a little guy looked quite proud, munching on Pokémon food while waving his arms and legs and wagging his tail incessantly, cheering wildly for his owner.

Logically speaking, Reeve, at 0.8 meters tall, shouldn't be able to ride a person, but it's just a video game, so there's no need to worry too much. Hugo's Mare was even lighter and smaller than the Mare that he rode before.

Perhaps influenced by their trainers' personalities, unlike Eevee, Turtwig and Piplup simply sat quietly on their owners' laps, watching the LCD screen together with Hugo, who was observing through binoculars, appearing very composed.

The detective crouched in the corner with the Pokémon to keep Chimchar away from the Chimchar, so it wouldn't be affected by the "disastrous aura." According to Hugo's previous calculations, without commanding a Pokémon to use a move, the area he could directly influence a Pokémon with wouldn't exceed a two-meter radius centered on his own weight; therefore, this distance was more than sufficient.