Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 239 Daylight - The Little Flame Monkey's Opening Solo Dance

The stairs of the Tower of Heaven are made of long, narrow stones, one step at a time, forming a serpentine spiral structure that connects to the next floor.

Although the surface of the steps shows signs of age, they are generally well-maintained and have all been polished to a basically flat shape. The height difference between the stones is moderate, and to facilitate citizens climbing the tower to pay homage to the Pokémon buried inside, railings and handrails that match the architectural style have been specially installed on both sides of the stairs.

Recently, there have even been rumors that Fukiyo City is preparing to further renovate the Tower of Paradise, adding an accessible elevator for disabled people to this century-old building...

At this moment, Adek, Alice, Wanlong, and Bictini, who was the referee of the match, were walking up the not-too-difficult-to-climb stairs to the second-to-last floor of the Tower of Heaven.

If the Tower of Heaven is a building that guides the souls of Pokémon to heaven, then those who walk with their backs to the top of the tower are as if they are walking towards a dark and deep hell.

The robust, elderly champion spearheaded the way, a vibrant young girl peeked out beside him, the Ghost-type Elite Four member frowned with worry, and Victini, bringing up the rear, radiated golden flames, guiding the three ahead...

The three people and one Pokémon were like an adventurer party venturing into a dungeon in a tabletop role-playing game—a seasoned red-haired warrior, a rash young ranger, a bespectacled female mage, and a Pokémon priest. The diverse and balanced class composition was enough to handle the complex terrain and all sorts of unexpected situations in the dungeon...

But in this real-world game called "The Challenge of Champions," the only one in the squad who truly needs to fight is Champion Adeike, who is at the very front.

However, despite being a witness who couldn't interfere in the battle, the girl's casual conversation with the Ghost King still drifted into Alder's ears—

"I really didn't expect this battle to turn out like this. That detective is really too reckless."

"Yes, Hugo has been breaking our expectations since he appeared. He's even more cunning than the gambler Yueju, and he's the complete opposite of his always upright sister... However, considering Hugo's seemingly innate special constitution, it's somewhat understandable that he would fight with this attitude."

What kind of new information is this that has no clear meaning?

Aldak, who had been listening quietly in front of the two men, was puzzled.

He wasn't surprised by the familial relationship between Hugo and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. Although the black hair on her head served as a perfect deception, Garchomp's true identity was revealed the moment it met Hugo's calm gray eyes during the battle.

His identity as a detective was entirely unsurprising. His competitive spirit was practically nonexistent; he couldn't possibly be a professional Pokémon trainer.

To be honest, although Hugo held his own against the champions' main players, it was precisely through these actual matches that Adek was able to realize that Hugo's on-the-spot command ability wasn't as superb as it seemed on the surface.

Whether it was Garchomp bursting out of the ball, or Turtwig and Chimchar combining two basic moves to escape from the top of the tower, Hugo's complex maneuvers with his Pokémon during the match were numerous and clearly well-thought-out.

The reason they were able to withstand the fierce attacks of Volcarona and the others was mainly because the opponents had already prepared the tactics they were going to use with the Pokémon before the battle began.

First, shock the opponent with impactful facts, causing them to subconsciously make predictable reactions. Hugo had already prepared contingency plans for all such reactions.

In this way, one can skip the step of commanding the Pokémon and let the Pokémon launch attacks according to the plan. One can take the lead in each round and even control the rhythm and direction of the challenge in front of the champion.

Given the opponent's terrifying predictive and deductive abilities, Alice's statement that he was a professional detective gave Aldak a sudden realization.

However, what exactly is this so-called "special constitution"?

Could it be that Hugo, being human, possesses a special ability similar to an "Ability" from birth, like a Pokémon?

Judging from Wanlong's tone, it didn't seem to be a characteristic that only brought simple positive benefits.

It should be similar to Iron Ant's hidden trait "laziness", some Claydol's innate "clumsiness", and Archaeopteryx's regrettable "weakness", which is a useless talent in most cases, or even harmful.

Adek couldn't help but stroke his stubble-covered chin, wondering if he needed to be a little more careful in the upcoming match.

Although it's impossible to be a detective and devise a flawless scheme before the game even begins, as people get older, they tend to think things through more carefully before acting.

Just as one must consider the amplification of psychic abilities when facing Cattleya, in battles, whether human or Pokémon, even purely negative abilities can be cleverly utilized and transformed into power through various tactics.

Given his opponent's cunning and scheming nature, Hugo would never let go of this opportunity to seize victory.

As for how his opponent would make a move, Adek had no clue at all. After all, he and Hugo had only met for the first time, and the brief exchange was not enough to reveal the opponent's fighting habits or true tactical intentions.

At this point, we can only make some mental preparations—if any unexpected events occur during the battle that defy common sense, it's probably the detective's special constitution at work.

The girl and the Heavenly King continued their conversation, and they seemed to finally consider Adele's presence in front of them, gradually lowering their voices. But the ancient tower was completely silent in the dead of night, and the elderly man, though old, still had keen senses and could hear what they were saying.

"...Speaking of which, why didn't Volcarona come downstairs with us? If it had led the way, we wouldn't have had to walk down in the dark like this. Does Mr. Alder think that we don't need to send out his old partner Volcarona to fight Hugo's beginner Pokémon?"

"No, I think it must be for other reasons."

Wanlong paused for a moment and then pointed to the stair railing beside him.

“If we let Volcarona lead the way, the railings here will have to be rebuilt tomorrow. And unlike the top five floors of the tower, the lower four floors of the Tower of Heaven are filled with graves of Pokémon. If Volcarona were to exert its full power there, it would definitely disturb the peace of these dead Pokémon.”

"Ah, that's true. But in that case, Mr. Alder could have just put Volcarona back into the Poké Ball, why did you have to split up with Volcarona?"

"Perhaps Mr. Adek has some other plans."

Wanlong answered softly, her gaze inadvertently drifting back to the square window on the opposite side of the tower wall.

“Miss Alice, as a novelist, I understand readers’ psychology very well. When watching a battle where the strength difference is huge, people often focus on the weaker side, secretly cheering them on, hoping to see a wonderful show of a dark horse making a comeback... But please don’t forget that the strength of the strong is not without reason. While Detective Hugo is full of clever schemes, Champion Adek is also secretly carrying out his own plans. If you underestimate your opponent’s wisdom in the battle, you may suffer an irreparable defeat.”

"Sigh, I don't remember Pokémon battles being this complicated..."

As she spoke, Alice suddenly seemed to recall something, and immediately lowered her head dejectedly, muttering indistinctly—

"No, now that I think about it, if I could have considered things more complexly like Grandpa Champion and Detective, I wouldn't have been defeated by those three guys... Thinking further, wasn't I already stepping into the trap of 'underestimating my opponent' when I came to challenge Grandpa Aldera with my Haxorus? It doesn't seem so unfair that I was defeated in a wild battle..."

“Uh, Alice, actually your intuition is not wrong. Even in the long history of elf battles, this battle can be considered a rare case among rare cases.”

Perhaps noticing the girl's low spirits, Wanlong comforted Alice in her own way.

"A full-scale battle with six Pokémon from each side is already incredibly complex, but a battle of this difficulty is as rare as encountering a Shiny Pokémon in the wild. In the current Tower of Heaven, the arena for the two battlers is not a flat training ground, but a three-dimensional space with five nested layers. There are no restrictions on how the two sides switch Pokémon. They can engage in one-on-one duels or it could evolve into a free-for-all team battle... Just thinking about the possibilities is enough to make one's scalp tingle."

"For example, after we climb this flight of stairs, what will appear before us is Hugo himself, a Garchomp hiding in the shadows, or a pair of beginner Pokémon. We have absolutely no idea what will happen. And when it comes to a battle, the opponent may be determined to settle the score here and now, or they may turn around and run away under the cover of night, just like before—in this five-story Tower of Heaven, the detective has four opportunities to retreat like this."

"Don't worry, I won't let that young man do something so unpleasant."

A cheerful voice suddenly came from in front of him.

Unbeknownst to them, the "adventure team" of three people and one beast had already reached the end of the stairs—the fourth floor of the Tower of Heaven was right in front of them.

"Despite making so many assumptions, it seems that Detective Hugo's tactics still exceeded the novelist king's expectations."

Adek said jokingly.

In the darkness before the three, a small fire monkey with flames burning on its rear end stood alone in a cemetery arranged like classroom desks.

Like a lonely ghost or a wandering spirit.