Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 386 The World is a Real Absurdity

Chapter 388 The World is a Real Absurdity

When the girl left the Sanyo Dojo, it was already dusk outside.

Under the cover of night, Sanyo City looked much more peaceful than Feiyun City. The oppressive feeling brought by the steel and concrete skyscrapers was gone, and the simple and unadorned shopping streets appeared quiet and pleasant under the streetlights. There were no busy office workers on the streets. Instead, there were children playing with each other and elderly people taking leisurely walks with their Pokémon.

The atmosphere here is a bit like that of Rainbow City in the Kanto region—Azure thought to herself for no apparent reason.

Having completed her gym inspection mission, she didn't rush back like Shimi or Guscatian. Due to the director's instructions, she would stay in Sanyo City for a few more days to investigate the development of Team Plasma and the Pokémon Liberation Organization in the vicinity.

Given Hugo's current position as the champion of the United States League, while information such as the composition and operation of public organizations can be easily obtained through the League's online monitoring channels, the intelligence gathered will inevitably contain errors. Some things are better heard than seen. Without experiencing the atmosphere and emotional flow within those organizations firsthand, it is difficult to truly and accurately assess the Plasma Group's inflammatory nature among the public and the level of organization of its fanatics.

However, it's already so late. Even though Azure is still full of energy, the Plasma Group organizations around Sanyo City have already closed down. They probably won't be able to start work until tomorrow.

On the way to the hotel, Azure released Ditto and Archaeopteryx.

There was a reason why they weren't allowed out of the restaurant earlier—Although Archaeopteryx had gradually overcome its psychological trauma, it was still a bit timid in unfamiliar environments; as for Ditto, that guy had no limit to his appetite, and considering its mischievous nature, Azure thought it was best to be cautious, lest it be seen as a troublemaker.

Azure strolled along the riverside promenade, sharing the complimentary cookies with the elves.

Sigh, I still feel like I care a little.

Smelling the aroma of the sheep cheese biscuits and watching Archaeopteryx and Ditto happily eating, the girl couldn't help but recall the request Guscatian had made after dinner.

Is the owner of the Tian Tong Pavilion really able to fulfill the editor's wish?

Recalling the somewhat clumsy way the Grass-type expert gathered intelligence, Azure's doubts spread like ripples on a river.

Azure has been living in Unova for quite some time now. Naturally, she's also eaten that legendary potato and pork chop stew.

It's a warm and homely dish, usually served as a side dish with soft bread or crispy tortillas.

As a popular dish, its widespread popularity is undoubtedly due to its deliciousness. However, Bilan herself felt that this dish might be more to her liking if eaten with white rice from her hometown.

However, even the same dish will taste different when prepared by different people in different restaurants. This is especially true for Guscalf, a gourmet who makes his living by his taste buds. These subtle differences will be magnified infinitely—changes in the origin of ingredients, differences in the control of heat, or even a small, unintentional action by the chef can make the finished product taste very different from the taste he remembered when he was six years old.

The ideal way to perfectly recreate it would be to find the recipes that Guscalf's mother used back then.

The recipe might have been her mother's original creation, or it might have been learned from someone else, but that's not important today. The key point is that in an era when paper notes were common, if a housewife frequently made that dish for her children, she would likely have left behind culinary records in the kitchen.

However, the other person had passed away more than 20 years ago, and even her husband had died of illness after remarrying. In the meantime, the Guskaf family had also moved once, which greatly reduced the possibility that the recipe had survived.

The remaining clues might only be found among those who had encountered the recipe—for example, the teacher who taught his mother cooking, or an apprentice personally instructed by his mother. Fortunately, video websites didn't exist twenty years ago; otherwise, if the mother had learned to cook by watching videos, the origin of the recipe would be even more difficult to trace. However, television did exist in that era.

"The job of a food detective is really not easy," Azure sighed softly.

Fortunately, this case doesn't require her to investigate. Surely she wouldn't have to ask a psychic or superpowered spirit for help? But then she thought, they probably wouldn't be able to help with that kind of thing anyway.

Just then, Azure's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen; the caller was Hugo, the current Unova Champion—the girl couldn't help but grit her teeth at the mere thought of that setting.

She could understand that, under extremely difficult conditions, Hugo had a chance to beat former champion Adek.

Just as most substances in everyday life are made up of molecules, Pokémon battles are also composed of countless tiny details. And the most annoying skill of that detective in the white coat is that he disguises his meticulous calculations as casual actions, subtly adjusting every variable on the battlefield like playing chess, making the overall situation develop in his favor.

It's like having a cheat code in a turn-based game that lets you see everyone's attribute panel; it's as if, given enough time to deduce, all the battles will unfold as he expects.

In that sense, that guy could not only beat Aldeck, he could beat everyone in the world.

But this logic is also absurd, as if saying that a person can win all battles simply by being smart enough.

This is wrong; at the very least, it violates the most fundamental nature of Pokémon battles.

In battle, no one can completely predict all possibilities; anything can happen—from this perspective,

Hugo was just incredibly lucky.

He was lucky enough to turn a probability that didn't exist into a possibility, and he was lucky enough to seize it.

Absolute calculation or absolute luck?

Looking at the smartphone that was ringing, Bilan shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

She neither believed that Hugo possessed the former nor that he relied solely on the latter; it was more likely that he had a 50/50 split between scheming and luck.

As for the proportion of each, that's a matter of opinion, and it's not really a question that needs to be considered.

The girl fully understood this principle and had no dissatisfaction with Hugo becoming the champion, but she felt inexplicably annoyed, as if her value as a Pokémon trainer had been inadvertently denied.

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Azure pressed the call button on her phone fiercely, as if she wanted to pierce the screen.

After a one-second pause, Hugo's voice came from the other end of the phone. The champion was a little surprised that he had been left hanging for so long before the call was connected.

"Nothing much, just a sudden feeling of感慨 about the absurdity of this world." Azure, holding her phone, stopped and looked at the river flowing beside her under the streetlights. "The previous assessment results have already been submitted through the alliance process; you should have received them. What's the matter calling so late?"

"He probably has some new job again," the girl thought.

Recently, for some reason, even Wu Tianwang and the others at the Alliance headquarters seem to be in poor condition. As a result, Hugo has been under a lot of political pressure and has rarely returned to the detective agency in Feiyun City.

Just as she was thinking this, the champion from United Nations said something on the other end of the phone.

"..-.ha?""

The girl's emotional voice echoed along the promenade.

The night breeze suddenly calmed down, and even the streetlights seemed to dim for a moment.

Ditto and Archaeopteryx stopped eating their cookies, their two pairs of blank eyes blinking.

"What does it mean that 'the firm received an outsourcing commission from Mr. Tenji'?"