vncnus Chapter 3 An Absurd Bet
Chapter 3 An Absurd Bet
Inside the red and white Poké Ball are three starter Pokémon from the Sinnoh region.
Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup.
"Ha, haha." The detective chuckled dryly, looking speechlessly at the Sinnoh Champion. "Your jokes are absolutely terrifying."
Zhu Lan tilted her head, not understanding Hugo's leaps of thought.
“You know that the person in front of you has no talent for raising Pokémon, and their performance in battles can only be described as atrocious. Cynthia, you are not the kind of person who would use Pokémon as currency to pay for something. Under these two conditions, your act of placing three Poké Balls in front of me is clearly a prank.”
Hugo said, counting on his fingers as if he were doing addition and subtraction within ten.
Zhu Lan blinked and smiled.
The Sinnoh champion finally revealed her long-prepared, cunning expression, as if the old score from the pomegranate smoothie had been completely wiped clean. She smiled and uttered something even more unbelievable:
“Choosing a Pokémon is a deposit for the case. If the case is solved, I will take the Pokémon back. But if you, the detective, cannot solve the case, then the Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup in this box are all yours, and you will be responsible for raising them.”
See the picture poorly.
Hugo was dumbfounded.
This is a gamble: whether Hugo can fulfill Cynthia's request. If Hugo succeeds, he gets nothing; if he fails, he gains three Sinnoh Beginner Pokémon.
What kind of commission is this? A free elf? Is there really such a good thing?
However, the person hired was Hugo, the detective who least wanted to keep elves in the world, and his pride would never allow him to deliberately ruin the case he was entrusted with.
"In this world, creatures called Pokémon live everywhere! Some people take care of them kindly, while others command them in battles. Young man, please choose. Which one will you embark on a journey of hope and dreams with?"
In the café, Cynthia spreads her arms out, striking the classic pose of Professor Pix guiding beginners on their path to becoming trainers, and delivers her signature lines in a beautiful voice.
The over-aged boy, on whom hopes and dreams were placed, couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head desperately.
"That's really difficult. This is a case that's giving the Sinnoh League a real headache. Only a great detective like you can handle it."
The blonde woman in front of the detective shook her head with feigned regret and shrugged dramatically, showing none of the dignified demeanor expected of a champion.
She picked up the pomegranate smoothie again; the crushed ice had all melted, and the drink had turned a beautiful peach-pink color.
The straw stirred the drink aimlessly, and Zhu Lan sighed softly, "Or does the detective feel that he cannot solve the case?"
Click. It sounded like a combination lock being unlocked.
What's before me is an obvious provocation, but as a detective, it would be a shame to miss out on such a mystery.
Why did the Sinnoh champion come straight to Unova to find me? Why did they set up such a strange trick to get me to accept their request? Why is the reward for the request to raise Pokémon?
No, this last point shouldn't be a mystery. Back in Sinnoh, Cynthia kept urging her to train Pokémon. So, this woman is convinced there's a case Hugo absolutely can't solve, and she thinks she can use this opportunity to get Pokémon into her own hands.
So, should one avoid the commission, or participate in this absurd gamble?
The answer is self-evident.
"I choose the grass turtle."
The Sinnoh Champion was surprised that her scheme had succeeded, and she couldn't help but ask the detective, "Is it because Torkoal is gentle and easy to take care of?"
Hugo shook his head: "Since I'll have to return it to you eventually, I'm thinking of just choosing one randomly. Turtwig is Pokémon number 001 in the Sinnoh Pokédex, so choosing it in order is the fairest method."
“You might also take them all away because you can’t resolve the request,” Zhu Lan immediately corrected.
Ignoring the words on the other end, the detective reached into the open box and picked up a Poké Ball. He moved very carefully, his arm even trembling slightly, as if he had done something taboo that challenged the gods.
"That's a Poké Ball for Piplup," Cynthia kindly reminded her.
Hugo quickly changed to another one, but this time he made a mistake; he had put on a little fire monkey instead.
The red part of the Poké Ball is made of a semi-transparent material, which makes it easier for trainers to identify the Pokémon inside. However, even so, many inexperienced trainers still mistake the Pokémon inside.
Unfortunately, Detective Hugo is precisely such a seasoned but inept trainer.
"Pokémon all look the same when they're locked in Poké Balls," the detective awkwardly explained, picking up the last red and white Poké Ball containing Turtwig.
Cynthia nodded as if it were commonplace, and sighed with an expression that said, "I knew it would happen." She clearly knew all along that detectives and Pokémon were incompatible—it was no surprise that Hugo would only guess correctly on the last of the three selections.
Through the red, semi-transparent Poké Ball, Hugo saw the Turtwig inside.
Unlike the lazy impression that turtle-type Pokémon usually give, this was a very energetic little guy, with round black eyes staring straight at the detective, and the tender shoot on his head throbbing with vitality.
Sensing Hugo's gaze, the grass turtle became active, raising its green head as if it wanted to jump out of the ball immediately.
Suppressing the human instinct to throw the Poké Ball and release the Pokémon, the detective placed the ball on the side of the table and asked Cynthia the question that concerned him most: "What is the request?"
"Why don't you talk to Turtwig? It's not crowded in the shop, you can release your Pokémon."
"It will be back in your hands soon," the detective said confidently.
"If you can't solve the problem, you'll have to accept all the starter Pokémon in the box."
"It's really hard for you, the Sinnoh champion, to pull off such fancy tricks. Take them all? Ha, only someone with decision-making difficulties would think of such an option."
Hugo pushed the Poké Ball containing the Turtwig further away, then changed the subject with a sarcastic remark—he didn't want to make any definitive statements; the woman opposite him had clearly been planning this for a long time and needed to leave herself an escape route of denying everything.
"Well, that's part of the reason." The detective's guess hit the nail on the head, and Zhu Lan frankly and honestly admitted it.
"In that case, please explain the situation quickly. I will do my best to return this baby turtle to your suitcase!"
“Very good.” Zhu Lan said slowly, “Then I will talk about the incident that happened this time. Although this matter has only recently received attention, it actually happened a year ago.”
The detective nodded: "An incident from a year ago. Bringing up an old case again, that's interesting."
“Someone is impersonating me,” said the champion lady, who was high above the Sinnoh League pyramid.
"Oh, impersonation... Wait, impersonating you? Impersonating you?"
Hugo's expression became quite interesting.
"Yes, a trainer with a similar team composition to mine has emerged and is frequently active in the Unova region. This has attracted great attention from the leagues in both regions and has had a huge impact on my personal reputation," Cynthia said seriously.
"This isn't a big deal, is it? It's quite common for Pokémon decks to overlap in the competitive scene, so it can't really be considered plagiarism. Besides, even if someone completely copied your Pokémon combination, they couldn't possibly pass for your appearance, could they?"
"That person did not imitate my appearance. The intelligence said that this person never appeared in person, but only controlled the same Pokémon as me and frequently caused trouble in the Unova region."
The champion placed several documents on the table, which included blurry photos taken at the scene.
Although blurry, upon closer inspection, the figures of Cyndaquil's commonly used Pokémon, such as Garchomp, Rockruff, Togekiss, and Roserade, are all clearly visible.
“Besides, you’re wrong about one thing,” Zhu Lan added. “That person didn’t damage my reputation.”
"Huh? Didn't you say your reputation was affected? And I remember you saying at the clinic that this incident involved the League's reputation. Your statements are contradictory. What exactly happened?"
"It is indeed very strange." After taking a sip of the pomegranate smoothie, which had turned into pure fruit juice, Zhu Lan smoothed her golden hair on her forehead with a headache.
"This person has damaged my reputation, but for the better—he's turned me into an anonymous hero who travels between Sinnoh and Unova, constantly fighting for justice. The Unova League even wants to award me a Unova Guardian Medal because of it!"