As the saying goes, any problem that can be solved with money isn't really a problem.
For Looker, an International Police officer whose monthly salary was barely over a hundred thousand Pokédollars, whose annual income hovered around a million, whose job was dangerous, and who struggled to raise Pokémon… no matter how many League benefits, privileges, or support programs existed, nothing was as practical as cold, hard cash.
Otherwise, why did he only have a single Croagunk?
The living and food expenses for just himself and his Pokémon already consumed most of his monthly salary. As for high-quality Pokéblocks, the monthly cost would easily start at a hundred thousand.
Looker had it rough.
Fortunately, this mission came with a special bonus from Shiro, the Champion of the Galar League.
"One million Pokédollars. Use it to buy some Pokéblocks. One million Pokédollars. You can start looking for another Pokémon you like. One million Pokédollars. For Anna's living expenses, find her a good family…"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Looker held the money in his hands. Real Pokédollars. And all of it was cash.
To be honest, he had never seen this much cash before. The League always deposited salaries directly into accounts. Sometimes delays happened for various reasons, which inevitably made people anxious.
Cash was much more reassuring.
"Boss Shiro, this way please..." Looker's attitude immediately became extremely respectful.
Shiro patted his shoulder. "Just tell them what I taught you. The League people should be arriving soon."
"Of course!"
* * *
"I am Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite Four. Sorry for arriving a little late. By order of Chairman Goodshow, I am here to investigate the details of the incident and submit a report based on my findings."
Walking along a small road in Twinleaf Town, Bertha adjusted her scarf and coughed lightly. She seemed to have caught a cold.
Looker immediately stepped forward and began speaking without pause, "Elite Bertha, we encountered Hunter A around noon yesterday..."
A while later.
"Hunter A and his Ditto disguised themselves as a married couple? They even went to the Jubilife City orphanage and adopted a little girl?" Bertha found it hard to believe.
"That's right. Otherwise, how could they have fooled everyone?" Looker scratched the back of his head helplessly. "That Ditto's disguise was unbelievably convincing."
Bertha looked suspicious. "Hunter A is a quasi-Champion level trainer. According to reports, he isn't far from becoming a true Champion-level trainer. As for the battle afterward..."
"It was all thanks to... Champion Shiro!" Looker nearly slipped up. "He was the first to discover Hunter A's true identity. Then the battle broke out north of Twinleaf Town. Former Sinnoh Champion Jan arrived to provide support..."
"I see." Bertha nodded while writing notes into her notebook.
"And after that?"
Looker concealed everything related to the Unown and explained the general sequence of events.
Bertha nodded repeatedly. "The opponent had four Champion-level Pokémon… Shiro and Jan were there. Later they met Lance as well..."
As she spoke, she glanced at Looker. There was obvious doubt in her eyes. Could those three even gather three Champion-level Pokémon between them?
Two were newly appointed Champion and Elite Four members. The other was an aging former Champion whose current combat ability was difficult to judge.
Could they really defeat four Champion-level Pokémon?
"Are you leaving out some important details?" Bertha's expression grew serious. "Looker, this report is being submitted directly to Chairman Goodshow. You work under his authority as well. You'll be reporting to him personally."
"I understand."
Looker sighed helplessly before asking carefully, "Elite Bertha, do you know about Mega Evolution?"
Bertha froze briefly before quickly understanding. "You mean that boy from the Dragon Clan used Mega Evolution?"
"No, no." Looker hurriedly waved his hands.
Bertha frowned, disbelief filling her face. "The Galar Champion used Mega Evolution? But doesn't he only have one Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, that Haunter? And Mega Evolution requires both a Key Stone and a Mega Stone. As a League Professor, obtaining a Mega Stone is understandable, but where did he get a Key Stone?"
Faced with the barrage of questions, Looker could only smile awkwardly. "That's personal privacy, isn't it? I'm just a small police officer. How would I know where a Champion gets his items?"
Bertha stared at him silently for several moments. Then she closed her notebook and left.
Looker waved after her. "I handled all the communications in the middle! And I've been taking great care of that little girl too! Make sure to give me plenty of credit!"
* * *
"Mr. Jan, could you tell me the details of what happened?"
Bertha asked while covering her mouth with her scarf and coughing lightly.
A trace of difficulty appeared on Jan's upright face. After thinking for a while, he slowly replied, "I'm getting old. My memory isn't what it used to be. I vaguely remember getting into a fight with some wanted criminal..."
"..."
Bertha closed her notebook and said goodbye before leaving the house.
Taking a deep breath, she could only head toward the central figure of the incident. The one person who definitely knew every detail… Shiro.
Bertha really didn't want to speak with him.
Part of the reason was that Shiro seemed to be very close to Professor Oak, the man her sister Agatha hated the most. The other reason was that both Goodshow and Sinnoh's upper management had repeatedly warned her.
The Galar Champion had an extremely powerful background, and he was notoriously difficult to deal with.
* * *
"Oh, you're asking about the operation to capture the wanted criminal?" Shiro spoke with visible regret. "I'm sorry we let him get away."
Then he frowned and asked in return, "If one more person had arrived, none of this would've happened. The Kanto Elite Four member Lance got here early. You received the notice at nearly the same time, didn't you, Elite Bertha? So where were the other Sinnoh Elite Four members and the Champion? What happened to them?"
After the series of questions, the atmosphere became noticeably tense.
Bertha hadn't expected to be the one put on the spot. She could only answer honestly, "On my way here, I encountered two seated hunters."
"Who were they?" Shiro pressed immediately.
"Hunter M and Hunter R," Bertha took a deep breath before replying.
"M and R..."
Shiro began thinking about the two names.
He didn't recall seeing either of them at the Hunters Guild headquarters before.
Ever since arriving in Twinleaf Town, he had been puzzled by something. Normally, Hunters Guild missions involving Legendary Pokémon were group operations requiring multiple highest-seat hunters.
This time, no mission had been publicly posted, likely to avoid alerting him. Yet Hunter A had secretly brought two additional hunters with him… and Bertha had run into them?
"This is Hunter M's identification card. I captured him, but Hunter R escaped."
To prove she was telling the truth, Bertha took the confiscated ID card out of her pocket and handed it over.
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