Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 80 The Detective's Gift

Sinnoh region, Canal City.

The ancient book storage room of the Water Vein Library was deserted. In the quiet lending area, Rotom's red cell phone jingled restlessly in his pocket. Zhulan Champion received an unexpected call.

"Hugo? It's quite unusual that you would take the initiative to call and contact me."

This remark stems entirely from prejudice. The detective does use a cell phone frequently, but out of a strange sense of pride, he rarely calls to contact his family.

The detective on the other end of the loudspeaker kept talking, and Zhu Lan listened for a long time but was still puzzled.

She gathered a few strands of golden hair that had unconsciously fallen onto the table while she was reading, and softly asked the floating phone a question—

"I understand that you have to duel the Hoenn Ironwhirl Gym Leader, but why are you asking me how to comfort your Pokémon?"

More explanations followed—

Hugo replaced himself with the little fire monkey in the game, the old man Iron Spin used a game script to gain an advantage, how everyone almost won by using strategies, and how that old rascal finally won by being unreasonable and forcibly. All these random details were explained to the champion.

Then--

"The little fire monkey actually cried? That child was so upset?" Zhu Lan rubbed her forehead, both amused and exasperated as she confirmed with the other person.

She still remembered the scene when she first adopted this little Flame Monkey and entrusted it to the Fire-type Elite Four member, Big Leaf, for basic training. The child practiced its moves rain or shine, and its perseverance was truly touching... How did it turn into a crybaby in Hugo's hands?

"Hmm, why don't you try giving it a battle item?" The Sinnoh Champion came up with a good idea. "Pokémon are usually happy to receive gifts. But we can't favor one over the other; we should also find an opportunity to give Piplup and Turtwig gifts later."

A voice on the other end of the phone suddenly realized that Hugo seemed to have a suitable elf item on hand.

Zhu Lan felt relieved and decided to let the reliable detective handle the rest.

She was actually directing Chimchar to play games… A smile appeared on the blonde woman's face. It seemed those guys were having quite a good time in Unova.

.

"No need for you to make a special trip to the United States. If there's another surprise attack like last time, I might move the detective agency to the Padia region overnight."

The detective "politely and amicably" ended the fairy tale with his family, then turned his attention to the teary-eyed little fire monkey on the sofa.

Unlike the previous "narrow defeat" against the Dark-type Elite Four member, this time the little monkey really broke through its defenses. It's a bitter pill to swallow when a hard-earned battle is ended by someone using advanced technology and ruthless moves.

The only lesson the detectives and their team could learn from this was that when you pin your hopes for victory solely on your opponent's morals, you've already stepped one foot into the door of defeat.

While Officer Jenny and Miss Sera were still at Featherwood Residence, the little fire monkey was able to force a smile and barely manage to stay cheerful. But once the two guests had left, it began to secretly feel sad.

Actually, it was the two little guys, the Bogarman and the little tortoise, who first noticed the monkey's strange behavior. 🎈🐧 ☺💛

Beside the sofa, Azure was still frantically comforting the little Chimchar.

"Little Chimchar, you've done your best. Reaching this point in the match is practically the same as winning. And that old man agreed to help us investigate the dark web. We've achieved everything we wanted! This incident was resolved smoothly thanks to you, so there's no need to be so sad. Also, Hugo said that that shameless old man's game account was banned shortly after the match. From a moral standpoint, he's the one who lost miserably."

Eevee wagged its big tail and gently patted its companion's back, comforting its companion who had lost to the power of science with body language.

Eevee, who watched the entire competition, felt a deep connection with Chimchar. Anyone would feel their blood pressure spike if they saw their opponent, whom they had chased for so long, suddenly fly up and teleport to the finish line like a Psychic-type Pokémon.

Even when Ibrahimovic comes, it cries.

Just then, the little fire monkey, unable to stop its tears, suddenly noticed a familiar shadow blocking the light in front of it.

It looked up and saw the detective in his usual white suit jacket.

Just as the little monkey began to worry that its weakness would be witnessed by its owner and cause it to be disliked, Hugo, seemingly oblivious to the tear stains on the elf's face, nonchalantly patted the little fire monkey's head with its flame-shaped ahoge (cowlick).

"You did a good job this time, so here's something for you."

As he spoke, Hugo tossed a palm-sized purple stone to the little fire monkey. It was round and shaped like a flat egg.

That was the evolution stone that the old gatekeeper insisted on giving to the detective when solving the locked-room mystery.

"Could this be an evolution stone?"

Even though she recognized the item at a glance, Azure made a big fuss and exclaimed, "Could it be that item that greatly increases a Pokémon's defenses before evolution? I remember it being quite valuable."

The little fire monkey was even more moved after hearing this, and looked at the detective with teary eyes.

"This item was passed down from a veteran trainer who has been competing for many years. I think it's more of a souvenir than a practical item."

Hugo nodded to Azure, thanking his assistant for her support, and then continued earnestly to the little monkey—

"Anyway, this item is yours from now on. Considering that I am your trainer, and you can probably use this item, which can only be used before final evolution, for a very long time, it seems quite appropriate to give it to you."

The little fire monkey's eyes reddened even more, and it almost turned into a crybaby again, tightly hugging the gadget the detective had given it.

The moment the little guy touched the prop, he felt a surge of energy flow into his body.

That's the boost from the Evolution Stone, which prematurely activates the evolutionary energy within the Pokémon. It was precisely because of this power that the old gatekeeper's Hayok was able to play a crucial role in a match where he was ranked higher than himself.

If a favorability system existed in reality, the detective and assistant would definitely see the number skyrocketing above the little monkey's head.

Then, Hugo went to the Bogarman and the grass turtle, who hadn't received any gifts, and encouraged them, saying, "Work hard in the future, and I'll try my best to find some other interesting things to give you."

Although the trainer's explanation was rather perfunctory, the two Pokémon still showed expectant expressions.

After all, it was Hugo who made the promise, and both Pokémon understood that this great detective had exceptionally high standards for interesting things, so he would not show favoritism.

The elves, having received gifts and promises, returned to their usual lounge to play, occasionally glancing back at Hugo with expectant eyes.

However, the detective seemed to fall into an awkward mood after delivering the gift.

He looked restless, as if he was very uncomfortable with this scene. He walked to the window furthest from the Pokémon, turned his face away, and refused to look at the Pokémon whose eyes were burning with gratitude and satisfaction.

Noticing Hugo's unusual behavior, Azure couldn't help but feel curious: Based on recent observations, the detective and the elf are actually quite frank when they are together, so why did he suddenly become awkward after giving the gift?

Just as she was about to ask, the assistant suddenly felt an unusually resentful gaze on her back.

Looking cautiously to her side, Azure saw that Eevee was also staring at her fiercely, its little face puffed out, looking resentful as if it wouldn't give up until it got some fleecing.

The assistant was a little troubled: "All my props were used by the elves before. If you really want them, we can go shopping together another day. We can also buy some delicious food together then."

Eevee nodded in satisfaction, feeling much better. As it turned to leave, Azure noticed its partner's fluffy tail swaying unconsciously from side to side, a sign that Eevee was in a good mood.

He's really an easy guy to deal with.