"The other half was captured?"
As Hoshino came over with the heated Moo Moo milk, he saw Gengar waving his hands, continuously calling out, and telling him about Tandemaus's situation.
He didn't know why, but in such a short time, these guys had become good friends, even taking on a commission for him and arranging the work.
"Hmm… Let's eat first. I'll ask about the rest."
Hoshino had also prepared a portion for Tandemaus. Gengar was at a stage where he was growing (questionable), so Hoshino always made extra every day. Eating Pokémon food and energy cubes was too unnutritious.
He sat on the sofa, looking at Tandemaus sitting opposite him, and introduced himself first: "I am the Boss of this Yorozuya. Can you tell me the details of the commission? Who captured your companion?"
"…"
Tandemaus didn't respond immediately. Instead, after glancing at Gengar, he waved his small hand and called out. Hoshino carefully observed and understood the meaning.
"A bunch of very, very bad people… brought you to this place, and then…"
A moment later, Hoshino had pretty much understood Tandemaus's meaning. Someone had brought Tandemaus from another place, likely from the Paldea Region, as there were too few sightings of Tandemaus in other places.
After being brought to the Alola Region, they were confined in a cage in an unknown location for about two or three days.
Then, a sudden explosion destroyed that place. Tandemaus was caught in the explosion and separated. He fell into the sewer and was washed away by the current. After much difficulty, he managed to escape the sewer, only to encounter Meowth.
"Roughly, it should be like this…"
While understanding, Hoshino used his phone to take notes, then cross-referenced the translated words with Tandemaus twice, finally arriving at these conclusions.
Although he flunked his school exams, he still had something he could excel at. Talent gave him an opportunity, so he naturally had to work hard to use it.
However, no more information could be extracted. Tandemaus was captured and confined to a cage, completely unaware of the outside situation. But if it was an explosion, he could just search for it online.
"Estimating the time, it should have been when I got out of school. I'll look for news of an explosion somewhere…"
Hoshino couldn't even bother to eat now. If what Tandemaus said was true, then what came to mind when connecting it to the usual situation of Pokémon being kept in cages? Pokémon Hunters!
Although these guys were rare, and some people might only see them in the news their entire lives, it didn't mean they didn't exist. There were always those who sold their souls to the devil for profit and took risks.
"Let me see… Good heavens, it just popped up on the Hau'oli evening news."
He had just clicked on the homepage when he saw news about a warehouse explosion in the port area two hours ago.
The content was briefly explained, and the outcome was that no casualties had been found so far, with the specific cause still under further investigation. It was a standard perfunctory response, likely to be forgotten in a couple of days.
"Port area? That's still a bit far."
Hoshino pondered for a moment, then stood up, telling Cyclizar and the others to eat well, as he was going out for a bit and would be back soon.
…
Arriving at the Izakaya downstairs, he went straight to Slowking, preparing to inquire about some matters.
Business wasn't great today. Only Braixen and Ceruledge could be seen chatting in the Izakaya. Seeing him enter, Slowking slowly asked, "Coming for food again? Didn't Cyclizar carry the Moo Moo milk upstairs already?"
"Not for food, just to ask about something."
Saying that, Hoshino sat at the bar and showed the other party the news on his phone.
"Port area explosion, so what?"
"It's like this…"
He told Slowking about finding Tandemaus, but after listening, the other party shook his head, picked up another lollipop, and slowly said, "There are no such creatures as Pokémon Hunters in Alola. The advantage of small island areas is that although the ecological environment here is good and there are many rare Pokémon, it's actually a version trap. If you catch them, you can't escape."
"Is that so?"
This was the first time Hoshino had heard this, but thinking about it, it made sense. Alola was composed of archipelagos, surrounded by the sea, making escape very difficult. So his guess was wrong? But it should still be related!
"Tandemaus was captured from the Paldea Region and then kept in a warehouse in the port area. Could it be a Pokémon Hunter…"
Before he could finish, Slowking suddenly said, "Can't you think of something serious? What era is this? The Pokémon Hunter profession is long past its prime. It's tiring, high-risk, and there's no business."
"A few years ago, there was an international criminal organization that also did this, called Team Rockets, right? Ever since they were destroyed by that Red… what was his name, then a bunch of Pokémon Hunters felt their prospects were bleak and switched to working at construction sites, or reselling card toys, models, figures, and so on."
Hoshino listened to all this with a face full of question marks, feeling as if he had missed a lot of useful information. But after listening, he tilted his head and subconsciously complained, "Scalpers seem even more despicable…"
"No, no!"
He shook his head, only then realizing the topic had drifted. Then he coughed twice and continued, "What I wanted to ask is, Boss Slowking, what do you think?"
"What do I think? I'll lie down and think! Don't keep bothering me with your own work, alright? If you don't have the ability, don't take on this commission. So what if there really are Pokémon Hunters? It's not like I was captured."
"Uh…"
"But if you really want to know something, actually, just four months ago, there was also an explosion on that artificial island. At that time, the specific cause was also not determined. As for whether the two incidents are related, I don't know."
"…"
Hearing Slowking suddenly blurt out that sentence, Hoshino narrowed his eyes. The artificial island should be the Aether Paradise, right? How could that be related?
He couldn't figure it out, but since it was said, it was better to pay a little attention. However, overall, he didn't get much useful information.
Back upstairs, the guys had already finished dinner, but they had saved a portion for him. However, he didn't eat immediately. Instead, he said to Tandemaus, "Let's go. We'll go to the port area to take a look. Although I don't have high hopes, it's good to check."
It had only been less than three hours since the incident. Even if the police were involved, perhaps some clues could still be found.
Hearing him say that, Tandemaus immediately nodded excitedly, then sprang from the sofa and jumped onto him, ready to go along. Gengar and Cyclizar also immediately sprang into action.
…
The port area was a long distance from Kabukicho. Even riding Cyclizar and taking shortcuts while being limited by speed, it took nearly 20 minutes.
This was the port of Hau'oli City used for traveling to other islands and regions. Normally, people and ships came and went in a continuous stream. Even though it was already evening, it was still very lively here.
However, the warehouse area, due to the explosion in the afternoon, was still under lockdown and investigation in some parts. It was estimated that it would only be unlocked and operate normally by tomorrow morning. But it was still very easy to sneak in.
Based on the photos in the news, Hoshino quickly confirmed the location of the exploded warehouse. Then he directly used his phone map to mark the shortest distance that avoided all surveillance equipment and went there.
He temporarily kept Cyclizar in his Poké Ball to avoid being discovered. After a while, he stopped and leaned against the wall, looking towards the not-so-distant area.
He saw a warehouse, estimated to be the size of two basketball courts, that had turned into ruins. The area was already cordoned off, and Jenny and Gumshoos were investigating.
"There are too many people. This is difficult."
Hoshino couldn't do anything. He had originally wanted to rush over to take advantage of dinner time, when there weren't many people, to sneak in and look for clues.
Gengar floated nearby, knowing that being anxious was useless and he could only wait a little longer. But at this moment, he suddenly noticed that Tandemaus, sitting on someone's shoulder, seemed to have an unusual expression.
"Gengar?"
"Maus!"
"Hmm?"
Seeing that Tandemaus seemed to have discovered something, Hoshino subconsciously looked in the direction he pointed.
He found that in a corner on the other side, there was a man with an unclear face, also looking at the scene. And on the man's waist, there was a skull that looked like an "S"!
"Team Skull?!"
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