Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 186 Interlude - An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 196 Interlude - An Unexpected Encounter

"Eevee and Archaeopteryx haven't evolved yet, and Ditto should stay in Unova to gain more experience in 'Transform' into different Pokémon. We should keep these three as our handheld Pokémon... Blastoise and the others can't get effective training in Castelia City, so we should put them back in Pallet Town's backyard for foster care..."

At the Pokémon Center in Flying Cloud City, a chestnut-haired girl wearing a white sun hat muttered to herself as she placed three Poké Balls into the Pokémon Transfer Device in front of a public computer.

As a red light, resembling the opening and closing of a Poké Ball, illuminated, the three Poké Balls placed inside the device suddenly disappeared.

The girl stared at the computer screen for a while longer, making sure her Poké Ball had appeared in the Kanto region, thousands of miles away, and had been successfully received by the staff at the research institute. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Many people believe that having six Pokémon with you will help them all become stronger, but in my opinion, this approach is actually somewhat inappropriate.

In daily life, especially in cities, battles that trainers encounter usually don't escalate into full-scale battles; at most, a winner is decided among three Pokémon.

Having six Pokémon on your person means that the other three Pokémon are stuck in their Poké Balls all day, unable to train or relax properly, just like a company employee forced to work overtime to meet their work hours, only able to kill time idly.

Moreover, the stronger a Pokémon is, the more it needs to hone its skills in an environment full of formidable opponents. Otherwise, if it relaxes, its years of hard work will betray it mercilessly, and it will not be so easy to return to its peak state.

Therefore, despite her reluctance, Azure still had to send Blastoise, Gengar, and Clefairy, the three Pokémon that had already been trained, back to the backyard of Professor Oak's lab.

—After all, that's where the Crimson and Blue-Green Pokémon are stored.

.

Having just completed the registration process for transferring a Pokémon to a handheld Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, on her way back to the agency, Azure witnessed an incredible figure.

Having served as the detective's assistant for so long, conducting countless background and marital investigations, the girl has certainly not been without growth; at the very least, her insight has sharpened considerably.

Therefore, although the person was wearing large sunglasses and his body was completely covered by winter clothes, Bilan still recognized him the moment she saw his distinctive dark blue hair.

"Is that Sabrina from the Goldenrod Gym? I didn't expect to meet you here!"

"Hmm?" When her name was called, Miss Sabrina looked up in the direction of the azure sky, stared at the girl waving and greeting her for a moment, and then realized what was happening—

"You are... Azure, right?"

The psychic gym owner, whose identity had been exposed one after another, sighed and helplessly took off his sunglasses, revealing his ruby-like eyes.

"Azur Lane from Pallet Town, who once challenged the Goldenrod Gym with Wartortle and Gastly, and later made it to the top four at the famous Indigo League. It's quite a coincidence that we meet again in the Unova region today—although I had a feeling it was going to happen."

"Did I have a premonition? Miss Nazja really hasn't changed."

Hearing the familiar lines, Bilan smiled nostalgically, feeling a sense of reunion with an old friend in a foreign land.

Unlike when she first arrived in Unova, now, even if people bring up her past as one of the Indigo League's top four, Azur Lane will no longer feel lost or melancholic. She has found what she wants to do.

“However, Azure, you seem to have changed quite a bit.” As if she could see through the girl’s thoughts, Sabrina said this meaningfully.

"I guess I've found something like a goal. It's much easier than back in Kanto. Unova really is a place that broadens one's mind." Azure smiled and answered frankly.

"Indeed, the United States is full of self-assertive individuals, which makes one's nerves thicker as well—that's probably the feeling."

As if touched by Azure's thoughts, Naz recalled what had happened not long ago and couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly.

"I'm working in this city right now. Miss Nazi, where are you? Are you here for tourism in United States?"

"Looks like I'm not famous enough."

The museum owner idly fiddled with her sunglasses. Under the influence of her superpowers, the sunglasses magically floated up and flew back and forth in the direction her fingers moved.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a famous actor in Pokémon Hollywood in Unova, and I even had a new movie released recently."

If it were Douzi here, he would probably be shouting with excitement, but Bilan doesn't watch movies much, so his reaction was rather muted.

"You're making a movie too? But are things alright with the gyms in the Kanto region?"

“My Goldenrod Gym is still running smoothly,” Sabrina said, resting her index finger on her chin.

"Although I leave Kanto for a few months every year, the former Fighting-type Gym Leader next door helps guard the city when I'm not there. He may lack some skill in Pokémon battles, but he's quite good at teaching newcomers."

"That karate master, huh..."

Azure recalled the people she had met during her travels, remembering how he had once competed with Sabrina for the Gym Leader position in Goldenrod City, only to be defeated and dejected. She never imagined he would become Gym Leader again in this way…

However, the Goldenrod Gym is known throughout Kanto for its Psychic-type abilities, so is it really appropriate to appoint a Fighting-type user as its governor...?

"No problem." Seeing the hesitant look on the blue-haired woman's face, Naz added, "No problem."

"That karate king recently trained a Medicham. As long as there is one Psychic Pokémon, the gym will still be a Psychic-type gym."

What kind of unreasonable one-drop-of-blood principle is this... It seems that this lady doesn't even need to come to the Unova region; her nerves are already thick enough.

Facing the psychic gym owner who was playing with his sunglasses, Azure maintained a polite smile while silently grumbling to herself.

Oh right, the girl realized she hadn't asked Sabrina's purpose yet, so she casually asked—

"However, speaking of filming movies, the shooting location should be in Raven City, which is further north, right? There aren't any film crews shooting on location nearby. Miss Nazja must have come here for something else today, right?"

Judging from Naza's sunglasses, it seems she was there for some private purpose. However, the fact that she was willing to stop and chat with me suggests that the matter at hand wasn't that urgent...

Azure didn't reveal the second half of her reasoning; even as a detective, there was no need to disclose all her thoughts.

Naz nodded: "In that case, I do have something I'd like to ask Miss Azure. Azure, you said you work in Flying Cloud City, so you should be quite familiar with this city, right?"

"More than familiar, I know it inside and out," the girl said confidently.

They investigated not only the surface urban road conditions, but also the underground sewer system layout.

"That's perfect. Have you ever heard of a detective agency called Hugo Detective Agency in Feiyun City?"

Naz's calm face was full of sincerity as she casually inquired about Azure.

"I originally wanted to use the pendulum method to find the way to the detective agency, but for some reason the pendulum malfunctioned and led me to the city center instead."

Ignoring the stunned Azure, the museum owner continued speaking to herself—

“Look, aren’t private organizations like detective agencies always struggling to make a profit? Opening one in the city center, where land is incredibly expensive, is practically suicidal. They should be located in old, rented buildings in cheap neighborhoods, right? Like in TV dramas and comics, a small, run-down office piled high with files, the detective and his Pokémon assistant huddled together pitifully. That’s what it should be like…”

Are all people in the film industry this photogenic and imaginative? The image of the Psychic Pavilion Master in Azur Lane's mind began to waver.

Just in case, let me double-check.

Azure took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down—

"You don't know everything, do you? And you're just saying these things to me on purpose, don't you?"

"I don't know everything; at most, I have a vague premonition."

Naz, puzzled, stared at the girl with curiosity.

Hmm, it seems she doesn't know anything.

So, Azure decided to be honest—

"Ahem... In fact, Miss Naz, reality is a little different from what you imagine..."