In the cafe, Zhulan pointed to the files placed on the table in front of her.
"Last June, there was an attempted bombing incident in the subway. Some people saw the flower rock monster and the sea rabbit fighting against criminals, but the trainer who commanded them was not found. The criminal who finally installed the bomb inside the subway was rushed later. Captured by the subway manager, the criminal said he was stopped by two Pokémon that suddenly appeared during the crime. The two Pokémon were very powerful, but no one, including the prisoner, saw the trainer who commanded them."
Listening to the Sinnoh champion's narration, Hugo nodded thoughtfully.
"Flower Rock Monster and Sea Haremon. Not only are they the Pokemon you hold in your hands, but they are also rare Pokemon in the Unova region. Especially the former, which is very rare even in Sinnoh and can be said to be extremely recognizable. By the way, what color is the Aplysia in the photos taken by the surveillance camera?"
"The pink Saikai form is the same as the variety I cultivated. If even the color of Aplysia was different, I wouldn't be bothered by it."
Zhulan spoke concisely and pointed to the next document.
"Last July, there was a theft at the Dream Research Institute in Sanyao City. Dr. Masaru's stolen research tool, Dream Smoke, was returned by a Togekiss."
"I was also present at the time of this case." The detective responded quickly by patting his forehead.
"At that time, I received news in Feiyun City that an unknown organization wanted to use a certain technology to control the collective subconscious of wild Pokémon. I immediately thought of the dream world research being conducted by the Dream Research Institute, so I rushed to the research institute.
"The crime had just occurred at that time. Although the criminal was found, the key Dream Smoke had been taken away by the criminal's Pokémon. Thanks to the Togekiss for sending the prop back, otherwise the organization's purpose would have been achieved. . No matter what the imitator’s purpose was, the case was successfully solved thanks to that person’s help.”
"Togekiss is also my regular Pokémon." Zhulan sighed, "After this incident, someone connected me with this anonymous hero. This hero later saved three traffic accidents and arrested Two thieves and a kidnapper lived here. If there is such a person, he is well deserved to be awarded the Order of the Guardian of the United States."
"Wait a minute, we can't tell yet that the same person is using these Pokémon." Hugo immediately corrected, "The person who used Flower Rock Monster and Aplysia and the person who sent Togekiss to return the lost items are not the same person - —This possibility still exists, and the probability is not small."
"So, based on the information I told you, the detective has already made some inferences?" the Sinnoh champion teased.
"It can't be called an inference, but I have a very likely guess." Hugo crossed his fingers and began to elaborate with a sense of pressure.
"It is actually very difficult to travel around Hezhong to do justice. Generally speaking, even if a fake is determined to fight crime, he is unlikely to encounter so many incidents in a row within a year. But if you open your mind, Replace him with them and everything will make sense.”
"Is there a gang that pretends to be my identity?" Zhulan narrowed her eyes and her eyes became meaningful.
"You don't need all the members to fight to do justice. As long as one of the members of this gang uses one or two of the same elves as you have in your hand, they can complete an impersonation."
"But why did they do this? What's the motive?" The pretended champion was still confused.
Hugo wagged his fingers inexplicably: "We might as well do criminal profiling for these imposters. First, this is a group of people who have some special feelings for you, Zhulan. Second, they all know you in detail 's hand-held Pokémon. Three, judging from their actions of only doing good things, it seems they don't want to worsen your reputation."
"What does this mean?"
"I have a good guess." Hugo seemed to remember something interesting and asked, "I wonder, Zhulan, have you ever heard of a kind of non-governmental organization called a support club?"
"You mean the fan club?" Zhulan asked with a frown.
"Exactly." A clear snap of fingers sounded at the detective's fingertips.
"Since the birth of television and the Internet, the distance between regions has begun to shrink rapidly. A Sinnoh resident can watch the Kanto region's league games in real time through live TV. Similarly, in the Unova region, follow Zhulan every day in the League Challenge. There are also many spectators who performed wonderfully. Reina, the fruit breeder you met at the entrance of Yuqi Residence, is also one of your Hezhong fans."
Zhulan nodded, not surprised by this detailed reasoning, but still didn't know why. She is no stranger to electronic products, but what does this have to do with the counterfeiting incident?
"You must be wondering what this has to do with the impersonation incident, right?" the detective asked proudly.
"In this era where the world is connected by the Internet, a powerful and beautiful league champion should have a huge fan base all over the world. And these fans will spontaneously form online or offline groups through the Internet. A fan group that regularly carries out idol-related activities, such as purchasing peripherals, voting for certain ranking lists, distributing game videos, recording post-game interviews, etc.”
"I know that there are people like this in Sinnoh."
"Then you can imagine that there is such a group of people with different identities, male or female, who gather in the screening room every day off and watch Zhulan in the video together. There are pictures on their desktops. With a lot of snacks and peripherals related to you, whenever the magazine launches an activity such as 'Vote for the Strongest League Champion', they will gather together feverishly to convince everyone to vote for your ranking... something special Yes, these people are not in Sinnoh, but in the Hezhu area, which is thousands of miles away from Sinnoh. They may never see you in person in this life."
Hugo fiddled with his mobile phone, and then turned the screen towards Zhulan. What was displayed was the communication community of the Hezhong District Zhulan Support Club, which was full of close-ups and ravings from enthusiastic fans.
"Isn't it a bit ridiculous?" Hugo said teasingly.
Zhulan shook her head, and then pointedly pointed out: "They are no different from the audience who cheer for me during the game, but because the distance is too far, they act more willfully without scruples."
“There are also many fan novels in serialization in the discussion forum. The titles and content of the books are very impactful..."
"shut up!"
"Okay, let's get down to business." Hugo shrugged.
"It is conceivable that some of them were influenced by you, Zhulan, and acquired elves from Sinnoh such as Aplysia, Togekiss, and Flower Rock Monster. But they who had been admiring the Sinnoh champion for a long time finally couldn't Control your inner emotions, hoping to see you in person in this Unova area one day - so they launched a plan."
"Is this part also a highly likely guess?" Zhulan asked casually, seeming to be still worried about things related to the impact.
"It's hard to imagine any other motive that would cause this situation. If I pretend to be your fan and sneak into these people's private communication groups, I might find relevant clues. If I'm lucky, I won't even have to do this step at all... "
The detective answered equally absentmindedly while scrolling through his phone.
"I found it, Lotto!"
Rotom, the mobile phone that had just been dormant for a while, flew out of Zhulan's pocket again, and a post was displayed on its blue screen. The title clearly read "Zhulan's Same Pokémon Collection - Overseas Heroes" Birth Plan".
"Well, it's quite popular in real time. It seems like it's more than just an unpopular section." Hugo said with a smirk.
"A ghost, the ghost of a Sinnoh champion, is lingering over Unova. Your fans in Unova have organized some kind of event, hoping to make you pay attention to Unova across the ocean."
"They are too whimsical." The blond champion smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Shenhe Town holds a festival every year." Hugo talked about a topic that had nothing to do with the case.
“Whenever the anniversary comes when the legendary Arceus comes to the world to save the common people, the townspeople will put on traditional clothes, hold a ceremony in the center of the town, offer sacrifices, sing and dance to the shrine, and pray for the blessing of Arceus, the god who created the world. Of course, you and I are both familiar with this scene.”
"Yes." Zhulan from Shenhe Town nodded and admitted. “Lively festivals bring ancient gods and towns to life, and everyone enjoys them.”
Hugo sneered: "Why don't your fans want to hold a festival like this?"
"You want to say that these Hezhong escort members worship me as an idol. Regardless of whether I come to Hezhong or not, they at least got a carnival?"
The detective said that was exactly what he meant——
"Only this kind of answer can explain why imitative actions have taken place all over the United States. These actions will not damage your reputation as the champion of Bamboo Lan at all, but will also award you with a Medal of Guardians of the United States - this post is ironclad. Proof, you can screenshot it to the league and they’ll understand in a flash.”
Hugo looked directly at the Bamboo Lan champion opposite: "And you did come to Hezhong in accordance with their wishes. In a sense, they succeeded."
...
The detective reached for the Poke Ball containing the Turtle, and was about to put the ball back into the suitcase handsomely, but Zhu Lan raised his hand to block it.
"But that's not the truth."
Seeing that the detective had pointed out the real culprit at length, Zhulan simply rejected all the reasoning.
"There are a total of eight recorded copycat incidents, and each one is accompanied by justice being done. The last one, a month ago, was a kidnapping incident by a plasma group near the Yakari Forest. My signature Pokémon even appeared. Bite the land shark fiercely.”
"It's only natural. It would be weird if there wasn't even a biting land shark in your group."
"No, Hugo, please stop making excuses." Zhulan raised her index finger to signal Hugo to shut up.
"On the day this incident occurred, my opponent in the league match withdrew due to some reasons, and the match was canceled, so I took the time to return to my hometown in Shenhe Town."
呲——
The detective gasped, closing his eyes in despair. He realized a huge flaw made by the impostor, and this flaw was slowly spitting out from Zhulan's lips.
"The first biting land shark I bred, the biting land shark that accompanied me into the league and won the championship and then retired - it is not in the backyard."
