"Please present your IDs and explain the entire incident in detail!"
Officer Jenny arrived late, but the first thing she did was seal off the entire scene. She also kept Sato and the others in place, checking the four's identifications while sternly questioning them.
"We only arrived in Helvetia Town today... three Piloswine suddenly went berserk and attacked pedestrians… I had Garchomp step in to stop them..."
Cynthia gave a concise account of everything that had happened. Meanwhile, Garchomp stood quietly by her side, but even so, its aura exerted an immense deterrence on Officer Jenny and her team.
"Thank you, Miss Cynthia, for your bravery. Everyone's identity has also been confirmed, there are no issues. However, as procedure, we'll need you to accompany us to the station to file a report."
Officer Jenny maintained a professional smile as she returned their IDs, but her next instructions caused Cynthia to frown slightly.
"What about the Piloswine? As the direct victims of this incident, we have the right to know how it's being handled. Besides, we're not weak, we can help."
Cynthia's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a clear confidence and assertiveness.
After spending the past few days together, Sato had come to realize that Cynthia was a Trainer who upheld justice. Whenever she witnessed something she couldn't tolerate, she would step in without hesitation.
Of course, Cynthia had both high emotional intelligence and great strength, so it was never a case of meddling inappropriately, because whenever she did step in, she always resolved the issue.
Just like now, Officer Jenny glanced at Garchomp beside Cynthia, then looked at Cynthia… and finally glanced at the three male "bodyguards" behind her. In the end, she nodded in agreement.
It was never unusual for Trainers to assist law enforcement in handling cases out of a sense of justice.
Or maybe it was simply because Sato, who naturally clashed with Officer Jenny, hadn't stepped in this time… so the four of them followed Jenny naturally as they began inspecting the scene.
"The Piloswine smell strongly, and all four limbs show severe marks of restraint. Aside from the injuries caused by Garchomp's attacks, there are also varying degrees of bruising and trauma on other parts of their bodies."
A forensic investigator examined the unconscious Piloswine and quickly identified numerous issues.
"Could the restraint marks be from poachers using iron chains to limit their movement, while the bruises were caused by rough handling during transport -Pokémon packed together- colliding during the journey?"
Joseph immediately made the connection to poachers. Throughout their travels, they'd encountered more than a few, and with his Viridian Power, Joseph never showed them any mercy.
"Most poachers nowadays use electric nets and trace amounts of Paralysis toxins. It's actually rare to see iron chains used anymore. This doesn't look like that," Officer Jenny shook her head. With her vast experience, she could pick up on subtle details.
Meanwhile, Sato had crouched down beside one of the Piloswine, completely ignoring the foul stench coming off its body, as he slowly touched the substance coagulated beneath its paw.
"Did you find anything?" Cynthia also crouched down, seemingly unbothered by the stench, which caused Sato to look at her with newfound respect.
"…Why are you staring at me? I asked if you found anything!" Cynthia frowned slightly, snapping the dazed Sato back to attention.
"Ahem! This black stuff should be blood. It just coagulated recently, there's still a hint of red deeper inside. I also checked the parts where the Piloswine's limbs were bound. The restraint marks are deep, but there's no bleeding."
Cynthia blinked. What Sato had just said vaguely reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite figure it out yet.
"That's not right! These bloodstains have congealed at different times; some of them are at least three days old," the forensic "expert" disagreed with Sato's assessment, not fully convinced. After all, when it came to "body" examination, he was the professional.
Of course, whether this plain-looking forensic "expert" was deliberately trying to show off in front of Cynthia… only he himself would know.
"Then it makes even more sense." Sato ignored the forensic "expert", smiled slightly at Cynthia, then turned to Joseph.
"Joseph, has pork price fluctuated much lately?"
"Pork? Prices have tripled at least recently. Are you saying… no way!"
Joseph was first puzzled by why Sato would suddenly bring up pork prices, but he quickly guessed the reason.
"There's nothing impossible about it. Piloswine aren't rare, and maybe there's always been a group of people eating them. With regular pork prices going up, those people probably multiplied."
Sato spoke calmly, but his words made everyone's expressions change dramatically.
Eating illegal Pokémon meat was a serious crime strictly forbidden by the League. Once discovered, it would be dealt with harshly.
"The fresh meat market is less than two hundred meters from here. Team One, Team Two, take your squads over there and lock down the area! SEARCH EVERY STORE THOROUGHLY!"
Officer Jenny's reaction was swift. She immediately connected the dots and acted decisively.
"I'm going to help too." Cynthia said, and without another word, she took off. Joseph and Mark followed her without hesitation.
Sato didn't rush to the meat market. Instead, he looked in the direction the Piloswine had come from. It seemed to be separated from Officer Jenny's route by a road.
When the Piloswine had attacked people earlier, they had come directly onto the sidewalk. At that time, traffic hadn't been disrupted at all.
Which meant… the Piloswine hadn't crossed the road!
Thinking that, Sato lightly shook his head and turned to look at the long row of restaurants along the sidewalk.
'You go trace the distribution route of the meat. I'll go find the original crime scene.' With that thought, Sato decisively walked quickly along the sidewalk.
The forensic expert looked at Officer Jenny and the others, who had all run off, then at the growing crowd of onlookers, and felt miserable.
'I'm just here to examine things, I'm not trained to disperse a crowd! And these three Piloswine aren't dead either. If they suddenly wake up… who's going to protect me!'
Forensic "Expert": I'm having a really hard time here!
---
The group could barely be considered to have split into two teams. Cynthia quickly realized Sato hadn't followed them.
She didn't get angry. Instead, she calmly began to reflect: maybe Sato had discovered something else that they hadn't noticed.
"Boss definitely found something new, that's why he didn't come along. But we've got enough people here," Mark said with full confidence. Joseph also nodded earnestly beside him.
They knew Sato well…
At the same time, they were deliberately saying this for Cynthia's sake, hoping she wouldn't misunderstand him.
"Mhm, I know." Cynthia nodded at the two of them, and by then the group had already arrived at the fresh meat market.
The large-scale search officially began!
Meanwhile, Sato had sent out Houndoom and Umbreon, beginning a rapid sweep of the restaurants along the sidewalk one by one.