Pokémon Detective Case Files.

As the body was completely exhumed, the gender and cause of death were confirmed—he was a well-dressed man around fifty years old with brown hair and black eyes—this was clear because his eyes were wide open when he was dug out.

Is this what they mean by dying with eyes wide open?

The man's death was clearly sudden; the confused and surprised expression on his face before he died remained frozen, as if he could not believe that his life had ended.

.

Fortunately, despite the horrific scene, all three people present remained calm, and no one screamed.

"The cause of death was a slash wound to the back of the neck. Judging from the force and shape, it was most likely caused by a Pokémon move."

Azure picked up Eevee, who had become nervous after digging up the corpse, and said to the old man Naoki beside her.

The old man nodded. Even though he was a man of great experience, he was clearly quite frightened by the “great discovery” before him. The lines on his old face seemed to deepen, and he looked even more gloomy.

The detective's assistant continued her analysis: "Judging from the angle of such a tricky attack, if the wound was inflicted by a Pokémon, I think the culprit most likely used the move 'Ambush to Critical Hit.' Only a critical hit from this move could possibly end the victim's life before they even had a chance to react."

"This wound is also a bit strange. It doesn't look like a simple claw mark. It must have been caused by something larger but harder." Azure examined the location of the tear in the wound. She really wanted to know what kind of Pokémon would dare to do such a cruel thing to a human.

“His Poké Balls have been stolen,” Naoki, who was hunched over, suddenly said. “The belt loop on this man’s pants has been cut open; that’s where he used to keep his Poké Balls.”

The girl nodded in agreement. Then, to the astonishment of the old man Naoki, Azure completely disregarded the principle of protecting the crime scene and reached out to rub the deceased's shoulder, then his neck, elbow, knee, and ankle.

What are you doing?

The old man couldn't understand the detective's assistant's actions, but Azure's eyes were burning with anticipation, as if she had made some significant discovery—

"The body died within 24 hours, or even less! This is because rigor mortis is still at its peak, with all joints completely stiff and no signs of relief. Moreover, pressing firmly on the body with your fingertips causes slight fading of color, which indicates that the livor mortis is in its spreading stage!"

The forensic knowledge she had painstakingly learned in the hospital morgue finally came in handy, and Bilan couldn't help but feel extremely grateful. Even the fear she usually felt when facing corpses had dissipated somewhat.

Wait, something's not right.

Something seems to be missing? Where is the detective who would usually throw cold water on himself at times like this?

Thinking of that embodiment of rationalism, Azure suddenly regained some of her composure.

She was touching the cold, stiff corpse—the thought of her transgression sent a chill down her spine. She quickly moved away from the body and looked around for Hugo.

Then, Azure saw that not far from where the body was found, Hugo was talking on his phone. He then hung up and returned to the body.

Seeing the blue-eyed boy's hands covered in sand and his somewhat uneasy expression, Hugo sighed and said earnestly to his assistant—

“I just explained to the police that since you were the first to discover the crime, and I and Mr. Naoki can be witnesses, you don’t need to worry about being detained for leaving fingerprints at the scene or disturbing the crime scene.”

"Thank you very much."

"Also, although I've told you before that forensic knowledge of identifying corpses is common sense for detectives, you shouldn't forget common sense as a human being, should you?"

"What is common sense as a human being?" Azure tilted her head slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Hugo said more sternly than ever before: "When a heinous crime is discovered, especially a corpse, it should be reported to the police immediately—this is common sense that every human being should abide by!"

"I understand." Azure bowed her head honestly, admitting her mistake. She realized her actions had been too rash, but the girl then looked at the detective—

"So, Hugo, do you have any clue as to why this person was murdered?"

"Not yet. Who knows why this geological prospector, who was so enthusiastic about wearing a suit to meet some important figure, would be suddenly killed?" Hugo said impatiently, pressing his palm to his forehead.

"What do you mean? Meeting someone important? A geological prospector?" Azure's eyes widened, then she suddenly understood—

"I see! Only professions like geological exploration could explain why that man, despite his calloused skin, was so impeccably dressed! And the only reason someone like that would wear such an expensive, inconvenient suit is because he's going to a meeting that's extremely important to him. I see!"

"Then why was he suddenly killed? Why would this dead man have arranged to meet someone important on this remote beach?" A dry voice interrupted Azure's sighs. Old Man Naoki looked directly into Hugo's eyes and asked a sharp question.

"I don't know yet, but it should be related to this." The detective waved the evidence bag containing the Mega Evolution Stone of the Doll in front of the old man. Sometime later, the detective had put on transparent gloves used for evidence collection. Then he squatted down and touched the pocket of the deceased's suit.

"Ha, it's here after all." Hugo let out a sigh of relief. "I think this is at least good news, Mr. Administrator. Our mission is complete, and this deceased gentleman is the owner of this Mega Evolution Stone."

The detective opened his gloved hand, revealing a black box the size of a baby's fist.

Gently pull the lever to open the lid, and you'll see a pink velvet lining inside.

It matches perfectly with the pink doll.

Chapter 92 The Detective's Thought Process

Having learned from the bank robbery that occurred more than a month ago, the police in Feiyun City have become significantly faster at responding to calls.

Not long after Hugo called the police, the local police officer arrived at the scene with lightning speed to maintain order.

Then, almost in the blink of an eye, the desolate beach was surrounded by a swarm of police cars. As far as the eye could see, there were only black and white patches of color.

The area around the deep pit dug by Ibu and the long-haired dog was now filled with police officers wearing protective caps and forensic doctors in white coats. Yellow police tape had been put up around the area, and the detective trio were politely asked by the officers to provide their first-hand testimony.

Perhaps because Hugo had explained everything clearly on the phone, or perhaps because the detective's identification, which he always carried, came in handy, the police didn't question them for too long. After a brief interrogation, they released the three men. It was as if these three nosy fellows hadn't dug up the body.

Despite the police's polite treatment, the detective still lied to them. In order to keep the almost-doll super stone, which had become important evidence, on his person, he lied and said that the valuable gem was still in the hands of the tree fruit grower, Sister Reina.

After all, once unclaimed evidence enters the police station, it can never leave again. Hugo was unwilling to see the items his client found go to waste, so he cleverly tampered with them.

This Mega Stone, which contains magical power, is currently being carried by Piplup and hidden inside a Poké Ball.

"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen Officer Jenny and Sera?"

On the way away from where the body was found, Bilan stared at the police officers coming and going for a long time, but still couldn't find the familiar couple, which made her wonder.

Hugo answered without hesitation, "I informed the police pair about the progress of the investigation beforehand. They are now doing everything they can to identify the deceased. There are only a handful of scholars in the United States specializing in geological research, so it's only a matter of time before they find out the body's identity."

"Does that mean the case is about to have a major breakthrough?" the girl asked expectantly. "Once we find out the identity of the deceased, we'll know who harbored hatred towards him. Then, by eliminating the alibis of those people on the list, we can identify the most likely suspect."

"Heh." A sneer came from the old man Naoki, who had been observing coldly all along. "Using this method, I'm afraid that in the end, they won't be able to find a single suspect, right? Don't forget the Poké Ball that was stolen from the body. A premeditated murderer wouldn't do something so superfluous."

Mr. Naoki seemed to believe this was a simple case of spirit robbery, and his reasoning did have some merit. However, the detective's assistant didn't see it that way—

"Why do you say that? The murderer could also have deliberately created the evidence of a robbery and murder to mislead the police investigation. Moreover, if the murderer didn't dispose of the victim's Pokémon, the Pokémon would become eyewitnesses to the crime, so the Pokémon would also be a target that the murderer had to get rid of."

Azure's thinking was very clear, and she refuted the old man's arguments with precision.

"Furthermore, I suspect that the cause of death is related to the Mega Stone of the Almost Doll, otherwise the box on the body cannot be explained."

"Then tell me, why did that incredibly important pink glass ball end up rolling down the drain onto the main road?"

The gaunt, gloomy old man sneered at Bilan. Perhaps he couldn't deduce, but he was certainly good at arguing.

Perhaps it's the same-sex repulsion among retired trainers, but Naoki and his detective assistant are particularly at odds, and right now they're almost arguing about the reasoning behind this murder case.

Hugo seemed oblivious to the sarcasm and taunts from the two people behind him, and walked at the very front of the group.

The detective simply wanted to find a quiet place to think; he originally planned to go straight back to the Feather Residence.

Although the old man Naoki looked unwilling, even though the two-hour time limit had long been over, he still followed the detective like a piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of a shoe, clearly enjoying himself.

Having just witnessed the stubbornness of the elderly, Hugo didn't want to directly shoo them away, so he simply changed his route and started strolling along the coastline of Flying Cloud City.

Sure enough, if I quickened my pace a little, the arguing behind me subsided considerably. If I quickened my pace even a little more, the whole world fell silent.

At midday, the harbor was bustling with ships, and many Fighting-type Pokémon, such as the old repairman, were busy moving goods up and down the side of the ships—but this was only the case for small vessels.

In the distance, a large seaport is anchored with real cargo ships weighing tens of thousands of tons. Containers are piled up on the ships like small mountains of high-rise buildings. Unloading the cargo is beyond the capabilities of the elves. Only the pairs of giant tower cranes that resemble a forest on both sides of the port can handle this task.

Hugo took a deep breath of the slightly salty sea breeze and continued his reasoning—

No one commits suicide by cutting open the back of their neck, and no one buries their own body after death. Therefore, the death must have been a homicide.

Based on the condition of the wound, the tool used to make the incision must have been some kind of hard, keratinous object. From this perspective, the fatal blow was most likely delivered by a Pokémon. For a human to carry out such an attack, they would have needed to silently approach the victim from behind with a heavy object with a sharp cross-section and then launch a sudden attack.

However, the crime scene was near a beach, where the sand would make a rustling sound underfoot, so it was impossible for the deceased not to notice the person behind him.

Similarly, the possibility of wild Pokémon attacking the victim can also be ruled out, as that would also attract the victim's attention.

Of course, some wild Pokémon with the "Levitate" ability could kill under the above conditions. But the detective had lived in Castelia City for over a year and had long since become one with the wild Pokémon around him. As far as he knew, there were no wild Pokémon in the vicinity that could both "levitate" and leave such wounds.

Therefore, there must be a human criminal who can use Pokémon.

After this reasoning, the circumstances of the victim's death become crystal clear—

At the time, the victim was distracted by something or someone, and then the murderer secretly released a Pokémon behind the victim. The Pokémon used a move like "Ambush the Vital Point," which hit a vital point, and the victim was instantly injured and collapsed.

At this point, we can begin to reconstruct the scene of the incident.

Hugo took into account the deceased's suit, the discovered Mega Stone of the Doll, and the box containing the Mega Stone, and added in the currently unconfirmed speculative information, thus arriving at a relatively reasonable death scenario.

The deceased was a geological prospector who spent most of his time traveling through remote mountains and wilderness. He had almost no friends and even fewer enemies. This monotonous work destined him to be a recluse. There were traces of a wedding ring on his left hand, but the ring was no longer there, suggesting that he was probably divorced.

But this geologist paid special attention to the day he was about to die, and even dug out his expensive suit that he hadn't worn in a long time—this could be seen from the ratio of creases to iron marks on the suit, and the smell of dust on the inside.

He was going to meet someone he greatly respected. That person couldn't be a woman; it had to be a man. The deceased's tie with his suit was a plain, understated gray—not the kind of style that women would like. And he wasn't wearing cologne—which was very unusual, because he regularly used a deodorant made from a certain lily-of-the-valley fragrance. Someone who cared about his scent would definitely switch to men's cologne when meeting important women, but he didn't.

The man he met, the one whom a geologist held in the highest esteem, killed him without mercy.

Chapter 93 The Grass Turtle Calls

Cold, cunning, and utterly immoral.

This is Hugo's immediate impression of the criminal killer.

After all, this is a ruthless character who can chat and laugh with people while simultaneously sending out Pokémon to kill. Only an extremely hypocritical and shameless soul could drive a human to act in this way.

But in this particular crime, the way the murderer disposed of the body seems far too hasty…

Even a female thug committing murder for the first time knows to char the body to conceal the victim's identity and buy herself some leeway in escaping punishment. A criminal who kills so swiftly and decisively has no reason not to do the same.

Slashing faces, cutting off hands and feet, pulling out teeth to prevent dental examinations, stripping naked, separating the victim from items that could identify them, or even directly binding the body with heavy objects and sinking it to the bottom of the sea—a ruthless murderer is fully capable of doing all of these things.

The crime scene was a deserted beach where no one would notice the process of disposing of the body, and the surging tides day after day would erase the footprints and blood. The murderer had plenty of time and resources, but still chose to abandon the body on the shore—even burying it in less than a meter of sand.

According to Hugo's calculations, even if the three of them did not find the body this time, the tide would still surge onto the beach and bring the dead back to light in a few days.

Why did the murderer dispose of the body so boldly and carelessly?

Hugo's brow furrowed again: Could the murderer simply be an idiot too lazy to dispose of a body? But that was impossible; an idiot couldn't possibly gain the geologist's trust. Besides, no matter what kind of idiot he was, after committing a heinous crime like murder, there should have been traces of him trying to cover up the evidence, but there was absolutely no such trace at the scene—

No, there was something else: the murderer stole the victim's Pokémon. But that's all.

The more the detective analyzed, the more he felt that the murderer seemed to be laughing at him with glee... The other party possessed power that he could not reach. He appeared like a ghost, killing people without reason, and then disappeared without fear.

.

Before he knew it, Hugo had arrived at another seaside. Unlike the previous desolate beach, which was full of potholes and covered in silt, this was a tourist pier specifically for people to relax and play. The blue sky and the sea were clear and the sand was white. There were already quite a few tourists playing here.

Aquatic Pokémon such as baby ducks and tadpoles frequently appear on the beach, and many tourists are feeding them with great interest.

Further out in the sea, you can even see chubby and wild bass. Lifeguards sitting on high chairs on the shore are watching them closely. If these Pokémon, which may attack humans, get close to the tourist area, the lifeguards will send out Pokémon to drive them away.

Huh? The silhouette of a Pokémon on the beach caught Hugo's attention.

Before the detective could observe further, Azure shouted excitedly from behind, "Ah, it's Starmie! I didn't expect to see a Kanto Pokémon in Unova!"

"This Pokémon is more likely from Alola or Hoenn than Kanto." The indifferent voice was followed by a sharp retort; old man Naoki was still playing the game of talking back—

“Every summer, warm currents from the south bring a batch of rare water-type Pokémon from other regions, with Magikarp being the most common. Occasionally, Staryu, Tentacruel, and Pummel will also appear, all of which are wild Pokémon from the southern ocean regions. In lucky years, there may even be a spectacular sight of a group of giant Wailords passing by. This is common knowledge among our trainers here.”

Naoki was right, because before he finished speaking, a trainer wearing a baseball cap and carrying a fishing rod, looking like a fisherman, rushed forward.

The fisherman threw out his Poké Ball, and out emerged a giant blue-white ice cream cone with eyes, radiating a chilling aura.

"More ice! Use freeze-drying!"

A battle to capture the starfish broke out. Perhaps the fisherman was not good enough. Even though Dodo Ice's "freeze-dry" had a restraining effect on water-type creatures, it still could not suppress the gem starfish from another place.

The trainer tried several times to throw the net, but it was all bounced away by the starfish's spinning ten-pointed body.

"Ah, that guy failed."

Starmie broke free from the battle and jumped back into the sea, while the trainer who used Ice Beam knelt dejectedly on the beach, pounding the ground in agony.

Seeing this, the old gatekeeper grinned maliciously.

"What is the Air Force?" the detective's assistant asked curiously. There were just too many strange terms in the Unova region, and the girl from the simple town of Pallet Town couldn't understand them at all.

"This is a common saying among fishermen by the sea—if you can't catch any Water-type Pokémon, and your fish basket is empty, and you go home empty-handed, that's called 'air force'; if it's like this for several days in a row, that's called 'air force commander', isn't that interesting?"

On the distant sea, a starfish, perhaps celebrating its victory, spewed a jet of water into the sky, the droplets falling and refracting the sunlight into a vibrant rainbow.

Azure rolled her eyes; she didn't find it funny at all.

Hugo, however, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and then spoke abruptly to his assistant and the elderly Naoki—

"The difference between the crime scene and other ports in Feiyun City is that it's a place where you can secretly contact Pokémon from other places, right? And when you say 'other places,' you usually mean the Alola Islands in the south and the Hoenn continent, right?"

"Yes... but what are you trying to say?"

Naoki's old, withered mind couldn't keep up with the detective's train of thought, but Azure reacted first—