Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 20 The Legendary Plasma Cluster

"Is this the mastermind behind the evil organization in the Unova region?" Azure asked, somewhat puzzled, as she had just arrived in Unova and had not yet experienced the formidable reputation of Team Plasma.

"Yes, that person calls himself N. He travels throughout Unova and always acts like a lost prince. He often has cryptic conversations with Pokémon. Strangely, whenever he passes through a town, Team Plasma's influence grows like weeds after a rain..."

Before Hugo could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the landlady of Yuxi Residence. Douzi pointed to his long black hair under his baseball cap with a serious expression: "Hugo... is his thing green?"

The detective hesitated before nodding: "It's supposedly green. There have been photos circulating online, but I can't confirm their authenticity yet."

Although he noticed Douzi's thoughtful expression, Hugo didn't mind and casually began to comment on this so-called "dangerous person"—

"He possesses the ability to communicate with Pokémon and can use them as an intelligence network; he is exceptionally intelligent, especially skilled in mathematics and physics; he is the spiritual leader of Team Plasma, with a large number of loyal followers; he is ambitious and determined to change the world... I believe that even the most clichéd screenwriter in Pokémon Hollywood could not have depicted a more dangerous criminal boss."

Douzi seemed to know something about the green-haired man, and she took the initiative to defend him: "You seem to have some misunderstandings. I have met that man before. He is not an evil person. We fought together against unscrupulous hunters who poached rare Pokémon."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't negate the intricate connections between him and the Plasma Cluster." Hugo didn't retaliate after being refuted; he simply laid out the known facts before everyone.

"He may be a kind-hearted person, as you say, but you must remember that his position in Team Plasma is at least nominal, and every activity his group is engaged in seriously endangers the social stability of the Unova region."

"According to reports from the police's low-level informants within Team Plasma, most of the newly recruited Team Plasma members were inspired by this prince. Among the extremist Team Plasma members arrested by the police, four-fifths claimed that they committed their illegal acts because they were guided by Lord N, and one-third of them said they were willing to die for Lord N's ideals."

Douzi was speechless.

"Never in the history of the Unova League has there been such a united and powerful illegal organization as Team Plasma. They are cruel and cunning, ruthless and insane, committing all sorts of evil deeds while maintaining a sanctimonious facade. They establish cults based on legends, tricking trainers into abandoning their Pokémon; they organize illegal marches, vandalize and loot, causing immense suffering to countless innocent residents; they corrupt high-ranking League officials, usurp media control, and incite social conflicts. Rumors suggest they are also conducting secret biological research, and the destination of numerous Pokémon robberies is related to this. I suspect there is an unspeakable tragedy and ulterior motive behind them."

Hugo spoke seriously to the two girls in front of him.

"Their ambitions cannot be limited to money or fame. Team Plasma has now begun remotely controlling bank robberies to test the security level of the Unova Federation, and the Federation's performance in this test can only be described as a complete mess. Their actions will only become more blatant and reckless in the future. If they are not thwarted in time, an unprecedented catastrophe awaits the Unova region."

Listening to the detective's words, Azure couldn't help but recall Team Rocket's rampage in Kanto two years ago, the three legendary birds soaring above the Silver Tower in Goldenrod City, and the man as unshakeable as the earth itself. If it weren't for her and Red's actions, what terrible things would Giovanni, having achieved his goal of wielding the power of legendary Pokémon, have done?

"So what are you planning to do?" Azure asked the detective.

Hugo shrugged and sighed, "I'm going to compile a report and give it to trustworthy police officers and capable trainers. But at this stage, we still lack conclusive evidence, and even if we send it out, not many people will believe it."

Incidentally, the Sinnoh Champion, taking advantage of the opportunity to be awarded the medal, sent a report personally compiled by Hugo to the Pokémon League headquarters.

While the headquarters took the champion's opinion very seriously, the United States Alliance itself, as the party involved, was furious and suppressed the warning with words like "Don't believe rumors" and "Don't interfere in regional affairs."

"What can we do?" Douzi asked with great interest. "I'm very interested in the leader's affairs, and I want to get more concrete evidence to see if he's a good person or a bad person."

“There is no pure good or evil in the world, dear landlady,” Hugo poured cold water on the situation. “I can analyze right and wrong, distinguish truth from falsehood, and see through the truth, but I am completely helpless when it comes to distinguishing between good and evil.”

Azure, who was standing nearby, chimed in, saying incisively, "Those who use elves as tools to wantonly harm them are evil people. You can't deny that."

"Sister Xiaolan is right!" Douzi chimed in.

“We can’t be so hasty…” The detective changed the subject, seemingly too lazy to argue. “In short, I don’t have any information on Team Plasma’s next move. I’m just a powerless private detective who’s recently been in financial trouble because I adopted three kids. I’m currently waiting for a wealthy client to come to me.”

As Hugo spoke, he pointed to the three Sinnoh beginner Pokémon outside.

Douzi seemed to have thought of something, and his eyebrows under his baseball cap rose sharply: "Speaking of which, I have a strange request to make..."

Upon hearing the word "commission," the detective immediately became restless: "Please be sure to submit this commission to the Hugo Detective Agency!"

He stood imposingly in front of the two girls, expertly announcing his services—

"Our firm undertakes all detective work, including but not limited to infidelity investigations, missing persons and pet searches, crime evidence collection, presumption of death, cause of death investigations, motive analysis, apprehension of criminals, hostage rescue, and legal consultation; we excel at solving inexplicable mysteries, locked-room mysteries, ice and snow tricks, mirror tricks, mechanical tricks, psychological tricks, physical tricks, narrative tricks, color blindness tricks, Pokémon tricks, crime predictions, murder predictions, word puzzles, deathbed messages, and handwritten notes." The mysteries include: identity swapping, faked suicide, nursery rhyme murders, exchange murders, serial killings, long-distance murders, assassinations, slashing, poisoning, burning, strangulation, drowning, blunt force trauma, trap killings, trap poisonings, explosions, poisoning, arson, dismemberment, cremation, beheading, body swapping, alibis, the faceless corpse puzzle, the timetable puzzle, the twins puzzle, the mystery of the disappearing murder weapon, the mystery of the body decoration, the snowstorm and mountain lodge murder, the scarecrow fallacy, late-stage detective problems, and large-scale crimes…

Detective Hugo, having activated the strange switch, immediately launched into a long-winded introduction of his agency's services, leaving Little Blue, who was standing nearby, dumbfounded.

Seemingly sensing the host's enthusiasm, the three starter Pokémon left behind by the Sinnoh champion immediately emerged from behind the door, eagerly offering to pour two cups of tea for the agency's customers.

The grass-fed tortoise that emerged from under the sofa manipulated its vine whip, first taking a glass from the cupboard, then carefully scooping out the right amount from an expensive tea canister with a small spoon.

Bogaman waited by the kitchen bar, crossed two small blue fins in front of his chest, and miraculously conjured up a stream of "hot water" that was steadily poured into a cup.

Not far away, the little Flame Monkey carrying a tea tray took two cups of brewed hot tea from the Grass Turtle, skillfully tumbled over the cupboard, bar, and sofa, and hopped and skipped to serve tea to Hugo's client.

Douzi and Bilan then realized that the tea trays were filled to the brim, almost to the point of overflowing if shaken, yet the little fire monkey had nimbly carried them all the way over, demonstrating its terrifying coordination!

"...So please be sure to submit your request to this detective agency." Hugo finished his long chanting, only to see the elves gathered excitedly in front of him.

"Did you bring the tea? You learned how to make tea from watching me, didn't you? Well done." Hugo praised his subordinates briefly, patted the little ones on the head, but then noticed Douzi's incredulous face and Bilan tilting her head, looking confused.

"So Hugo is really good at training Pokémon!" Douzi's expression was priceless. She asked in a trembling voice, "Weren't you born unable to use Pokémon?"

"I still can't use it." Hugo said, puzzled. "Small fire... never mind, Bogarman, use the water gun."

After some deliberation, the detective decided to let Bogarman use his skill.

The little blue penguin puffed out its cheeks and crossed its arms again, trying to use the "water gun" skill. Unfortunately, after two minutes of trying, and even though its face turned purple, Piplup still couldn't use the skill.

"Forget it, Bogarman, forget it," Hugo advised.

Bogarman then stopped trying to condense energy. However, this was disastrous. The moment Bogarman lowered his fins, water vapor condensed from somewhere and poured down on Hugo, soaking him completely.

"Looks like it's still the same Hugo." Douzi shook his head, arms crossed, unsure whether to express relief or helplessness.

Azure remained silent, scrutinizing Hugo from head to toe, as if he were some rare and exotic creature. Suddenly, she grabbed the dejected Pogaman from the ground, staring at it with wide eyes: "You didn't do that on purpose, did you?"

"Po...Poga." The little penguin looked aggrieved and shook its head repeatedly.