Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 37: Four Suspects in the Research Institute

"Madam, these are the infidelity investigation reports you requested. I'm glad there's no actual infidelity involved. The indecent photos used to blackmail this lady's husband have been confirmed as computer-generated forgeries; there are obvious signs of splicing in these two locations. The rumors about that lady's fiancé having an affair are untrue; he has a definite alibi from his company during the alleged time they were supposedly together. As for this gentleman and lady, they only had normal social contact; this scanned document proves they only had business dealings. On the night the gentleman didn't come home, the lady had already flown to another town..."

In Touko Town, at Touko's house, Touko, the daughter, was left out in the cold while the detective and his wife whispered suspiciously to each other.

"...And this one you specifically asked me to speak to, I swear on my career, he has absolutely not done anything to betray you while he's out of town. This is his recent timeline and a list of women he's been in contact with... Rest assured, all this evidence was obtained legally, and the investigation will not be discovered by anyone..."

“Detective, you’re really reliable. When Touko just spent money recklessly to buy that mansion in Yuxi, I thought she had acquired some bad assets. But now that a detective with exceptional abilities has chosen that place as the location for his office, I don’t have to worry about not being able to collect rent or anything like that.” Touko’s mother covered her mouth and laughed happily.

The daughter complained loudly, clearly unhappy: "Mom, when did you become so close to Hugo? Did you secretly hire him to investigate some shady business again? Hey! Don't blatantly take out your wallet to pay the commission in front of me!"

Since Douzi made a lot of money through competitions, her mother naturally entered the social circles of wealthy women in the Unova region. Having been adept at navigating the Pokémon trainer community since her youth, she quickly accumulated considerable connections in the upper echelons of the wealthy society.

Since meeting Hugo, this lady has taken it upon herself to assume the role of the social expert on relationships, with her catchphrase being, "Leave this to me, I know some very capable detectives," and she has indeed brought Hugo quite a few cases.

As the middleman, the lady herself naturally received a substantial cut.

In Douzi's living room, Hugo counted his money with satisfaction, not bothering to hide it from Douzi, and boasted, "Leave all similar infidelity investigations to me. Some say that women in love are the best detectives, but intuitive guesses can never compare to solid evidence. Hiring a professional detective is definitely the best way to put ladies at ease. And I am the best detective in the United States. Please trust me completely! Hugo Detective Agency can definitely uncover the truth about infidelity in the fastest, most accurate, and most discreet way within the legal framework."

"Please don't get too cocky about your tracking and eavesdropping skills," Douzi reminded him irritably. "I remember you're going to the Yew Research Institute to investigate early tomorrow morning, so why don't you go and rest in our rarely occupied guest room?"

Douzi's mother suddenly became interested and blinked as she interjected, "Dr. Yew is an old friend of mine, and I know everything about the area around Deer Town. What do you want to investigate? Maybe I can help you."

Hugo and Douzi exchanged a glance, and the latter sighed helplessly, having no choice but to tell his mother about the strange thing that sixty trainers in a row had chosen water otters as their initial partners.

“I think this is perfectly normal.” Douzi’s mother was completely unaware of the strangeness of the situation and instead said something surprising: “Look how cute the water otter is! I really like the water otter’s self-righteous yet somewhat clumsy manner.”

“But that’s over sixty people in a row! Hugo and I both think this isn’t a matter of preference; someone is definitely pulling strings behind the scenes!”

"I see. But if it weren't for a coincidence, I couldn't think of any way to make people choose the otter." The mother shook her head regretfully.

The detective suddenly spoke up: "Madam, do you know all the staff at the Yew Research Institute?"

Douzi pricked up his ears. Had Hugo already narrowed down the suspects to members of the research institute?

"Yes, I know them. Besides her, Dr. Yew's research institute has three resident graduate student assistants and another scholar who studies elf ecology. Almost everyone in Deer Town knows them."

What impressions do you have of the four of them?

"Let me think... That scholar uncle is a bit reclusive, I don't run into him often, but I'm quite familiar with the other three student assistants."

Douzi's mother said happily, probably feeling that she had been useful in the investigation.

"These three students are all boys. One of them is named Matsubara, the second son of a wealthy family. He seems to treat his work at the research institute as a hobby and is somewhat cynical. Another is named Yamashita, who is the most cheerful of the assistants and is very good at raising Pokémon. The third is named Furuya, who is the worst student in the research institute and is often scolded by Yew for his carelessness, but he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do bad things."

"Then, Madam, if the water otters are taken in large quantities by the trainers, is it possible that any of these four people could profit?" Hugo asked while taking notes.

The lady shook her head instinctively, but then felt that it would be unfair to the detective, so she racked her brains for a while before saying, "Speaking of which, the Matsubara family seems to be involved in some water conservancy project. Maybe there are water otters living there, so they could come into contact with quite a few water otters? Could it be that Matsubara deliberately gave the water otters to the trainers to help his family's business?"

Hugo listened attentively to the information provided by Douzi's mother, nodding his head like a pheasant pecking at rice, but in his heart, he already had a huge question mark over this guess.

As the second son in his family, Matsubara was not the direct heir to the family business. Given his circumstances, he shouldn't have had the ambition to risk developing the otter market.

“This guy from Yamashita might also be the culprit behind this strange case.” Douzi, who was listening in while eating snacks at home, suddenly interjected, “He must really like raising Pokémon, right? He probably didn’t want to hand over his starter Pokémon to those novice trainers of unknown origin, so he used some kind of trick to make all the newbies choose Oshawott.”

"That doesn't make sense, does it? Weren't the water otters also bred by him? Why would he let the water otters leave with people?" the detective immediately retorted.

Toko was speechless, while her mother continued to analyze the possibility that the old house was the ultimate beneficiary—

"The old man must have found common ground with Oshawott in his carelessness, thus becoming a devoted follower of Oshawott. He probably often promotes the benefits of Oshawott to every trainer who comes to the city. Under the influence of this behavior, it's natural that people who come to this city to get Pokémon tend to choose Oshawott, right?"

“Uh…” Hugo asked awkwardly, “You just said that the old man often tries to sell the benefits of Otter to trainers, right? But those novice trainers don’t have any obvious identifying marks, so he should be talking to all the unfamiliar faces he hasn’t seen before. Have you ever witnessed such a scene?”

“Never,” Toko and her mother answered in unison.

Hugo looked on with a headache as the mother and daughter made wild and whimsical guesses. In many ways, the two were remarkably alike.