Chapter 6: Chapter 6: The Pignite Incident
Hugo eventually managed to escape the café.
While Cynthia, the Champion, was decisive and unyielding, she ultimately held back her Garchomp, refraining from giving an order to harm her younger brother.
In the heat of the moment, Hugo made his move. Grabbing the backrest of his chair, he flipped over it, breaking free of the encirclement formed by Cynthia, Garchomp, and the walls. Sprinting out of the café like a Pokémon with the "Run Away" ability, he fled in disarray.
Cynthia, calm and collected, watched his retreat in silence. She merely picked up her glass of shaved ice, finished it expressionlessly, and tipped the stunned waiter handsomely before leaving.
She opened her briefcase again, gazing at the three Pokémon within.
These were the gentlest ones she had carefully selected from the research lab. How could she get Hugo to accept them?
Garchomp tilted its head, utterly clueless about the complex dynamics between these siblings. Even after so many years, it still couldn't understand their peculiar relationship.
Outside the café.
After weaving through alleys, Hugo stopped in a secluded corner, catching his breath.
At that moment, his phone vibrated in his pocket, playing a peculiar and melodic ringtone.
He unlocked the screen—it was Officer Jenny from the Castelia Police Department.
"Hello," he coughed. "This is Hugo."
"This is Jenny. A body has been found near Sewer Exit No. 3. It was burned beyond recognition, and there are no significant leads at the scene. Are you available to come by? You sound out of breath—are you okay?"
Hugo glanced at the subway schedule nearby and replied, "Perfectly fine. I'll be there in 18 minutes. The panting is because I just sprinted out to grab a time-limited ice cream deal."
"Ice cream? Castelia Ice Cream? But it's not Tuesday."
Jenny's voice sounded intrigued, momentarily distracted by the mention of ice cream.
Castelia Ice Cream, a local specialty, was so popular it was only sold on Tuesdays. The shop also closed in winter, making it a rare commodity.
"No, just a regular brand. Want me to bring you one?" Hugo offered out of courtesy and to maintain good relations with this valuable police contact.
"..."
A long silence stretched over the line.
After twenty seconds of deliberation, Jenny let out an annoyed "tsk." "No need. Eating ice cream at a murder scene wouldn't look great."
That took way too long, Hugo silently noted.
Eighteen minutes later, Hugo arrived at the scene via Castelia's subway system, his shabby white suit making him stand out. He spotted Officer Jenny in her tan uniform from the Unova region and the charred corpse behind the crime scene tape.
"There was an injured Liepard here originally," Jenny explained while Hugo donned white rubber gloves. "It also had burn injuries, though they were minor, and it's already been sent to the Pokémon Center for treatment."
Jenny, a senior officer in the Castelia Police Department, typically handled public safety cases. Yet today, she was presiding over a homicide scene.
"The city's unusually chaotic today," she explained, preempting Hugo's question. "We've had forced battles, retaliatory fights, capture disputes, and the use of high-powered moves in public spaces. Trainers keep clashing over trivial matters."
She sighed, gesturing at the scene. "Initially, we thought this was just another violent Pokémon battle. When we arrived, we found a body. Forensics isn't here yet, and the victim's identity is still unknown. We believe the culprit fled, so we called you to assist with the investigation."
Hugo nodded, his sharp eyes scanning the area.
The murder had occurred near a sewer entrance surrounded by barren land. Burn marks from a fire were evident, along with claw marks, impact craters, and scorched ground from Pokémon attacks.
The charred male corpse lay at the base of the stairs, blackened and unrecognizable.
Examining the body closely, Hugo asked, "Burned postmortem?"
Jenny nodded. "The outer eye corners lack crow's feet, and the eyelashes are evenly scorched inside and out. This is classic evidence of postmortem burning."
Burning a living person would cause them to tightly close their eyes, creating crow's feet-like wrinkles at the corners. Eyelash damage would also be uneven. Since this corpse lacked such signs, it was clear the victim had been burned after death.
"How was the body discovered?"
"Two hours ago, we received a call from a public payphone. The caller reported a heated Pokémon battle between a thug and a university student using Liepard and Pignite, respectively. The student allegedly became emotional and commanded Pignite to attack the trainer directly. The caller felt something was wrong and reported it after leaving the area."
Jenny adjusted her dark green hair under her police cap as she recalled the details.
"The caller didn't provide a name. They sounded urgent but not panicked, so it's unlikely they were directly involved in the murder."
"Two hours is plenty of time for the suspect to hide anywhere in Castelia..." Hugo murmured, then asked, "Aside from the Liepard, has anything been disturbed at the scene?"
"No, but there's nothing here to identify the victim, and without forensics, the cause of death is unknown. We're currently focusing on locating the student with Pignite to prevent them from fleeing the city."
Hugo crouched near the corpse, noting its resemblance to a human-shaped lump of coal. Fingerprints, clothing—everything had been burned beyond recognition.
"Where's forensics?"
"They're on their way. The department didn't anticipate a homicide..." Jenny trailed off, noticing Hugo lying face-down near the corpse.
"What are you doing?!"
Before she could scold him, Hugo stood, dusting off his suit. A pleased look crossed his face, like a predator catching the scent of prey.
Jenny sighed. "Now I see why your suit always looks so shabby."
"Priorities, Officer," Hugo replied, locking eyes with her.
"This wasn't some accidental overreaction during a battle. This was murder."
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