บท 16: Chapter 16: Visitor
Green, who was traveling to the Unova region, first encountered Hugo at a café near Feather Roost Manor. She was leisurely sipping coffee, with the manor's two-story building in plain view through the bright floor-to-ceiling windows.
At that moment, Feather Roost Manor looked like it was about to catch fire. Thick smoke billowed from its windows as a young man in a white coat emerged, carrying three soot-covered starter Pokémon. He gently placed them in the garden before braving the smoke again and disappearing inside. Soon, the smoke began to subside, and the man came out with two spent dry ice fire extinguishers, which he deposited in the garbage collection point outside the garden.
It seemed the fire crisis had been successfully averted. Green sighed in relief and put down the fire department emergency number she had been dialing.
Chimchar, Piplup, Turtwig... The brunette girl with shoulder-length hair identified the Pokémon one by one. They were, astonishingly, a complete set of Sinnoh starter Pokémon.
The three Pokémon looked pitiful but, upon seeing each other's soot-covered appearances, burst into laughter together. Their camaraderie seemed strong. Meanwhile, the white-coated man, having extinguished the smoke, watched them with a helpless expression.
Green's eyes sparkled. She had never encountered these three Pokémon before, not even at Professor Oak's lab.
Speaking of Sinnoh, she recalled the Unova news she had seen earlier. The front page featured a photo of Champion Cynthia receiving the Guardian of Unova medal. Cynthia had reportedly resolved a local incident while visiting a friend but firmly denied involvement in a series of heroic deeds in Unova. Many speculated that the champion was on a secret mission, dismissing her comments as an attempt to maintain her cover.
It must be exhausting to be a champion... Red was like that too. He claimed to be training in seclusion at Mt. Silver, but he was really off running around the world, playing firefighter. She could never catch him whenever she tried to visit.
Green sighed and continued sipping her black coffee, sweetened with just a sugar cube. She had come here today to meet a friend, who, according to rumors, had a lovely place where Green could stay during her travels.
After finishing her coffee, her awaited guest arrived.
A tall girl with a cap appeared at the café's entrance, drawing attention like a celebrity. Her high ponytail flowed from the back of her cap, and her white tank top, black jacket, and denim shorts exuded youthful energy.
"Green, I can't believe you're in Unova!"
The taller girl, Hilda, half a head taller than Green, eagerly slid into the seat beside her. Green smiled warmly. "Long time no see, Hilda."
After some friendly banter, Hilda moved to the seat across from Green and ordered an iced fruit tea from the server.
"So," Hilda asked casually while sipping her drink, "what do you think of Feather Roost Manor? Like it?"
Green looked surprised. "Feather Roost Manor? Is that the place you're recommending? It's around here? This is downtown Castelia!"
Hilda laughed heartily, pointing to the two-story building that had nearly caught fire ten minutes ago. "It's not just any place; Feather Roost is an amazing city-center Manor!"
Green was taken aback. She had expected something modest, like a budget inn. She hadn't imagined it would be a manor, let alone one in the heart of the city.
"But someone lives there, right? There's even a sign for some kind of office on the second floor."
In the sunlight, the "Hugo Detective Agency" sign gleamed like a giant business card. The manor's tenant, along with his Pokémon, seemed to have returned inside, likely dealing with the aftermath of the fire.
"That's just the tenant," Hilda said nonchalantly. "He complained about the rent last month. I can ask him to vacate the second floor for you."
Green raised an eyebrow. "The tenant? You mean the guy who almost burned the place down?"
Hilda grinned. "That's Hugo, a very reliable detective. Just don't let him handle Pokémon in emergencies—he's catastrophically bad at it."
Green, recalling the smoke pouring from the windows, couldn't help but confirm, "A very reliable detective?"
"Unova doesn't have anyone better," Hilda replied confidently.
As she sipped her fruit tea, Hilda began recounting her first meeting with Hugo. "It was during a kidnapping case. I had gone to a wealthy man's countryside manor to negotiate buying Feather Roost. Turns out, Hugo was already there, solving a case for the manor's owner. I walked right into a classic mystery movie scene—the detective revealing the culprit!"
Intrigued, Green ordered another coffee and leaned in to listen as Hilda enthusiastically launched into the tale.
The story unfolded ten months prior when Hugo had no office, Hilda was a naïve girl with a fortune from League tournaments burning a hole in her pocket, and Feather Roost was owned by a famous real estate tycoon in Castelia.
The tycoon's prized Pokémon had been kidnapped. The thieves left a note demanding a ransom of one million Pokédollars, to be placed under a specific park bench. They promised to return the Pokémon once the ransom was paid.
The demand was hardly fair. There was no guarantee the kidnappers wouldn't keep the money without returning the Pokémon, or worse, demand more. But the tycoon adored his Pokémon, and one million was a trivial sum to him. He decided to comply.
However, he also hired Hugo to monitor the drop site and track the kidnappers to their hideout. If they reneged, the tycoon planned to send his security team to recover the Pokémon.
Hugo had suggested hiding a tracker in the ransom box, but the tycoon, worried the kidnappers might harm the Pokémon if they detected it, refused.
So Hugo hid near the park bench, watching the ransom day and night.
"And then the reliable detective tracked them to their lair?" Green asked, finding the story rather ordinary. Hugo seemed like a run-of-the-mill hireling—neither impressive nor charming.
"Quite the opposite," Hilda said mysteriously. "On the day of the exchange, the ransom box vanished before Hugo's eyes, leaving behind only a shallow hole in the ground."
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