Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 271 The Secret of the Forest Mansion

Chapter 273 The Secret of the Forest Mansion

"The champion of bamboo orchids is this Western-style mansion."

Sinnoh region, Eternia City, Eternia Forest

Officer Jenny, dressed in a blue police uniform, put down the map, pointed to a lush forest, and said to the Sinnoh Champion beside her.

Zhu Lan stared intently at the forest before her for a long while, and finally managed to discern a trace of human creation among the towering treetops—a black spire that was clearly taller than all the other trees, but it was so dilapidated that it looked like half a slender, withered branch.

Looking down from the spire, one could vaguely make out the outline of an old-fashioned mansion from the dark woods.

"Are people actually living here?"

It was late winter and the weather was warming up. The champion, dressed casually, looked at Officer Jenny with a puzzled expression.

Not to mention the long and arduous journey the two had taken since entering the Hundred Generations Forest, the dense trees surrounding the mansion left no gaps for anyone to pass through.

No matter what, no normal person would live in such an abandoned house, right?

"Hmm, this place must be inhabited—"

Miss Officer Jenny looked on with a disbelief that even she herself couldn't quite believe it, repeatedly comparing the mansion in the woods with the tattered old map in her hand.

Finally, she made up her mind and asserted, "It is indeed this building. According to the housing records in the Alliance database, although this mansion does not have a clear registration file, it was reported for pipe renovation two years ago and has been occupied ever since. Moreover, during this period, people have been paying their water, electricity, and gas bills on time."

"Is that so? That's truly incredible."

A gray teardrop pendant swayed on her chest. Zhu Lan looked up at the mansion and returned to the topic they had been discussing on the way: "So, the police and the Alliance's security department both believe that this mysterious building surrounded by trees is related to the missing leader of Team Galactic, Akatsuki?"

"Yes, that's exactly right."

The policewoman nodded hurriedly. "Thanks to your brother, after the Spear Pillar incident, all the mid-to-high-level executives of Team Galactic were arrested, and the police obtained a complete list of this illegal organization's members. As a result, it didn't take much effort to almost completely eradicate the organization's influence in the Sinnoh region. And just a few days ago, Pluton, a former Team Galactic executive who was imprisoned, finally revealed some new information about Red Sun during interrogation."

That Pluto once headed the research department under Team Galactic, but the organization's chief scientist was not him, but the leader, the Japanese man named Akatsuki, a rational to the point of being ruthless super genius and the most dangerous person in the Sinnoh region.

Perhaps due to his character, Hades did not seem to be fully trusted by Akagi. Therefore, his research focused more on auxiliary aspects and he did not get to the most core and crucial content, which deviated from the final plan of the Galactic Group.

Nevertheless, during his time working for the Galactic Group, the mad scientist of this evil organization managed to obtain a copy of the Red Sun's research notes in an attempt to peek into the inner world of his stern-faced superior.

"The original manuscript of the notes was lost in the chaos of Team Galactic's destruction. However, according to that Hades' confession, when he was young, Sun encountered Rotom, an Electric-type Pokémon that had not yet been registered in the Pokédex, in a mansion. At that time, he began to have a strong interest in this Pokémon that could move between various electronic devices."

At this point, Officer Jenny glanced meaningfully at the dark mansion in front of the two, and continued her narration, "After peeking at Red Sun's manuscript, Hades made up his mind to try to make this secret of Rotom his own. With Red Sun's permission, he mobilized the resources of the Galactic Group to continue advancing research on Rotom."

Seemingly because it heard its own name appear repeatedly, a red cell phone became restless and secretly poked its camera out of the champion Zhu Lan's pocket.

"Yes, I remember that secret research institute. It's in Baidai City, the building where the bicycle shop owner was kidnapped, right? It was quite a close call. I never imagined that I would be besieged by dozens of elite members of Team Galactic in such an unassuming research institution. But it was thanks to that experience that I encountered this Rotom."

Zhu Lan calmed herself down and took the Rotom phone out of her pocket to show it to Officer Jenny.

The Galactic Group is undoubtedly a heinous extremist organization. Both their goals and methods have crossed the line of moral and legal tolerance.

However, it is equally undeniable that in the study of Rotom's ecology, the mad scientists of Team Galactic still demonstrated their pioneering spirit, taking a giant leap forward for the stagnant Pokémon research community.

When Cynthia led Garchomp to blast open the laboratory's iron door, Hades and his companions had already independently discovered Rotom's heating, cleaning, cutting, rotating, and freezing forms.

If the champion had arrived even a moment later, the Rotom currently residing in the Zhulan phone would have been stuffed into the supercomputer's integrated mainframe.

It was after this incident was exposed that research on Rotom Pokémon made explosive progress—Rotom Pokédex, Rotom phones, Rotom bicycles, Rotom drones, and even Pokémon communication devices specifically developed with Rotom as the main body, all kinds of "Rotom" products appeared all over the world like mushrooms after rain.

Zhu Lan then asked Officer Jenny, "So, what is the connection between the Red Sun's Secret Notebook and this mysterious mansion?"

"This is the new intelligence that compels us to take action."

Officer Jenny rolled up the old map in her hand and said, "According to Hades in prison, after analyzing the contents of the notes, he is more than 90% certain that the mansion that Akari saw in his youth is the Forest Mansion in front of us."

"I see."

Zhu Lan nodded, not at all surprised.

Even in the Sinnoh region, Rotom isn't a common Pokémon. The reason Pluton conducts Rotom research at his secret base in Eternal City might be because a sufficient number of Rotom colonies can be found nearby. And since this is also a place where Rotom once existed, this Forest Mansion might actually be the location where Red Sun witnessed Rotom in the past.

"If it's a place where that scorching sun once lived, perhaps we can find traces of that person's past there."

This will clarify why a rational genius could degenerate into such a mad, antisocial individual.

"Yes, that's one of the reasons, and it's also the original intention of the police getting involved in this matter."

1》

Seeing the champion of Bamboo Orchids pondering, Officer Jenny replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"On another note, some in the Alliance believe that this mansion may hold clues to legends and myths. They feel that there must be something special here that inspired Crimson Sun to forge the Crimson Chains and attempt to manipulate Dialga and Palkia."

"I see. So that's why the Alliance invited me to participate in this mission."

The champion tossed his long golden hair, wearing an expression that said, "I knew it."

As a renowned mythologist in the field of Pokémon research, Cynthia is definitely one of the most suitable candidates to participate in the investigation, and her status as the League Champion makes her entry into the mansion much more legitimate.

"We originally planned to ask Ms. Nagisa from the Hyakudai Dojo to come along, but the dojo master seems to have other urgent matters to attend to and doesn't have time to show us the way."

"Oh, Nagisa, she seems to have no clue about ghost stories and the like, so it's understandable that she's unwilling to explore this supposedly haunted mansion in the forest," Takeran said understandingly.

"Oh, and one more thing. It's not related to today's mission, it's about your brother Hugo—"

Perhaps the previous conversation had opened up the topic, and Officer Jenny finally mustered up the courage to talk about what she had wanted to tell Champion Bamboo from the beginning.

Unfortunately, Officer Jenny lost all courage before she could finish her sentence, her tone becoming hesitant and revealing an embarrassed and awkward expression.

"Regarding what happened to him, we all feel very sorry. Even though the detective bore no responsibility, that still happened—"

The champion of Bamboo Orchid competition remained calm.

"That's not a responsibility you need to bear either, Miss Officer Jenny. You don't need to take it to heart. It's just a change of residence, and Hugo himself seems to be quite enjoying it."

Then, as if remembering something else, she mentioned to Officer Jenny, "Speaking of which, when we were getting ready to leave at the Pokémon Center, that guy called me once and asked me to lend him my Garchomp. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I wonder what he wanted to do."