Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 58 The Sandstorm Team Murder Case

"When you think of cone-shaped rocks, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the moves used by Rock-type Pokémon, right?"

Hugo counted on his fingers, recalling the thick Pokédex in his mind, reciting: "Rockfall, Rock Slide, Rock Blast, Ancient Power, Rock Tomb, Rock Cannon, Stone Edge—these moves can summon rocks out of thin air to attack. Ancient Power is slightly different; it only summons a phantom of an ancient rock, which disappears after the attack. 69ᔕᕼᑌ᙭.ᑕOᗰ"

"The murder weapon didn't disappear; it was taken from the body and taken back by the forensic department. It's currently in the police station's evidence storage room."

At the same time, Sera, the deputy, handed Blue and Hugo a thumbnail of the crime scene and a close-up photo of the murder weapon.

Officer Jenny pursed her lips, then continued, "Speaking of which, we also have a colleague in our department who's good at using Rock-type Pokémon. He also examined that rock spike, and what did he say... what was it again?"

"That senior colleague said the size and shape of this stone were a bit strange." It was Miss Sera who spoke; she had taken notes of what she said in her notebook.

"The stone cone used as a weapon has a smooth cross-section, characteristic of 'Rock Tomb' and 'Stone Edge,' but its size is too small, more similar in size to the less powerful 'Rockfall' and 'Rock Slide.' However, ultimately, Pokémon can significantly alter the final effect of moves through their intentional manipulation. Therefore, this stone could be either a sharpened 'Rock Slide' or a 'Stone Edge' with its power deliberately reduced."

"Yes, yes, that's the kind of reasoning that has no basis in reality. I probably thought it was too boring at the time, so I didn't remember it."

Officer Jenny glanced gratefully at her junior, pleased with her quick thinking: "Anyway, the police are currently clueless about what move caused the stone spikes, but we all tend to believe that a Pokémon caused the incident. 👹💗 6➈𝓼Ⓗυ𝔁.𝓒𝓸๓ 😝ൠ"

"Because it's unlikely that humans would kill someone with a cone-shaped stone?" Azure asked, raising her hand like a student speaking in class.

Officer Jenny nodded and then shook her head: "Not only that, but also because we caught six suspects in that secret room."

"Six suspects?" The assistant looked puzzled.

The detective immediately provided the answer: "Officer Jenny refers to the six Pokémon that the deceased Greta always carried with him. Remember his initial introduction? Male, 27 years old at the time of death, single and living alone, skilled in using Rock-type Pokémon."

"Krocopter, Crabcrab, Mudfish, Giant Rock, Tyranitar, Excadrill—each of them uses this ability to create rocks," Officer Jenny added.

"So it's not just a Rock type after all." With this new information, Hugo continued to take notes in his notebook. "This Greta is more like a battle expert specializing in sandstorm weather than a Rock type master."

A terrifying line of reasoning flashed through Azure's mind: "Does the police believe that one of these elves killed its master?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Officer Jenny shrugged. "When the bodies were found, these Pokémon were in a Pokémon recovery device in the apartment, all of them in a sleeping state. But that recovery device allows Pokémon to come and go freely, so if one of the Pokémon committed the crime and then ran back into the device pretending to be asleep, we wouldn't be able to tell."

Hugo took a sip of his now-cold tea and asked the policewoman, "It seems your main purpose in coming here is to have me identify the culprit among these Pokémon, right, Officer Jenny?"

Officer Jenny smiled wryly: "I can't hide anything from you. But if I put it that way, it wouldn't be the locked-room mystery you prefer."

Even though the case was already crystal clear, the detective was still struggling with the question: "Hasn't the police considered the possibility that the perpetrator was using a Pokémon?"

"As we discussed before, we've covered almost every possibility of entering the enclosed room. 👻💥 🐼🐠" Officer Jenny looked apologetically at the detective. "We even brought in psychics and psychics to check the scene and see if any Pokémon used skills like 'passing through walls' or 'teleportation'."

"What was the result?" This was the first time Bilan had heard of such a novel investigative method.

"Nothing found." The policewoman shook her head. "The psychics checked every wall in the house, swearing that no Ghost-type Pokémon had passed through the walls of the apartment in the past month, while the psychics signed a statement testifying that no Pokémon had used Teleport to enter the room recently, or used Psychic or similar psychic abilities outside to kill the victim."

"These con artists can only sense traces of superpowers used in confined spaces. They can't communicate with the dead, predict the future, or see the past—otherwise, the two policemen in front of you would be out of a job," Hugo warned sarcastically.

Officer Jenny wasn't angry. Instead, she slumped into the sofa, looking completely nonchalant, and replied, "Only the criminal investigation department, responsible for solving cases, loses its job. I've wanted to go back to the public security department for a long time. I'm already tired of seeing dead people this past month."

"Senior, this is the only murder case you've personally handled this month, right? Aren't you usually just drinking tea in your office the rest of the time?" Sera whispered a reminder.

Officer Jenny waved her hand weakly: "This one incident is enough to make me suffer. When I saw that bloody corpse lying face up with a stone stuck in its chest, I had already vomited up every drop of tea I had drunk this month, with interest..."

.

While the police officers were busy bickering, Detective Hugo got up on his own, put on his signature white coat, and instructed his employee, "Azure, please watch the house. I need to go to a crime scene."

The assistant, who was packing her things, was taken aback: "Huh? Can't I come along?"

"Police work is subject to confidentiality restrictions. I, as a private investigator, was only allowed into the crime scene at Officer Jenny's personal invitation. It would have been incredibly inconsiderate of me to bring someone unrelated to the case into the scene."

The detective said to Bilan with a guilty look, "I will tell you everything I saw at the scene when I get back. I won't exclude my capable detective assistant from the case."

Seeing Azure's regretful expression, Hugo added, "While you're guarding the house, you can practice lock picking and prying open doors. This knowledge is very useful for solving locked-room mysteries. I'll leave Chimchar at home; you can ask it if you have any questions."

"What skills did you teach those kids?!" Azure stared in disbelief.

Having witnessed everything, Officer Jenny sighed heavily and decided to ignore it and erase the detective's dangerous conversation from her memory.

Just then, Ms. Sera, who had been hiding behind Officer Jenny, suddenly spoke up. She pointed to the little Eevee playing with Piplup: "Ms. Azure, are you that Eevee's trainer?"

The assistant, somewhat puzzled, nodded: "Yes, that child is my partner."

Sera turned to her superior: "Senior, I think it's okay to bring Miss Azure into the scene."

"What's going on?" Officer Jenny, as the superior officer, seemed even more confused than Azure. "Isn't she an unrelated person?"

"No." The deputy, with long black hair, pushed up her glasses and said, word by word, "Miss Azure is involved in this case."

Hugo, who was behind him, pondered for a moment, then showed an expression of sudden realization, looking back and forth between Azure and Eevee with a playful expression.

"What exactly happened?" the person involved, Bilan, asked Sera urgently.

"After the incident, the police investigated a lot of the deceased's personal information. One month ago, Mr. Greta posted an update on his social media account, describing his experience in a doubles match. 'My partner and I were defeated by an Eevee solo, and the Eevee's trainer was a beautiful girl. It was so embarrassing,' Mr. Greta described in his post."

The deputy lady said to Azure in a very serious tone.

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the trainer of that Eevee. In that case, you're someone involved in the case who saw the victim before the incident, so Officer Jenny could easily bring you to the scene..."

Azure didn't notice what Sera said next. She first realized what was going on, and then felt a strong sense of nausea.

He's dead. The doubles player I met briefly a month ago is now gone. The man I barely remember can no longer compete, speak, act, or think. Everything suddenly feels so heavy, yet utterly unreal. Death is like a dark, monstrous beast, ready to devour its prey; even its mere presence sends shivers down my spine. If death is so terrifying, what of the endless nothingness that follows?

"Hey, assistant! What are you spacing out for!"

Azure felt a sudden pat on the back. Turning around, she saw the detective, who was already wearing a white coat.

The detective yelled in Azure's ear—

"How can we just let something like someone we know die go unpunished? Police departments all over the world are equally incompetent, always letting the real culprits get away with it! Right now, there's a genuine locked-room murder case, and the entire Feiyun City Police Department is completely baffled. The cunning killer is smugly lurking in the crowd. Azure, are you going to keep staring blankly?"

The familiar sound vibrated in the girl's eardrums, and the gloom in her heart seemed to vanish with it.

Azure jumped up from her chair, patted her cheeks, put on her most carefree smile, and replied to Hugo, "Yes, sir!"