Chapter 106: The Search

Seeing Heiji’s flawless 360-degree spin landing, Gengar and Clefable, who had been poised to make some cheeky remarks, immediately snapped to attention.

Miya was thoroughly shaken by Shizuka’s stern “lesson” to Heiji.

Afterward, Shizuka and Ginji briefly outlined the task before departing once more.

Meanwhile, Kazu was helping Heiji to his feet, looking somewhat upset and deliberately avoiding eye contact with his mother and Aunt Shizuka.

Aamu pondered Aunt Shizuka’s intention and decided to offer some support: “The culprit’s target is obviously more than one person. They must be a very dangerous criminal. Aunt Shizuka didn’t want you to be in danger, which is why she acted that way.”

Upon hearing such a mature explanation from Aamu, everyone, previously caught in an awkward moment, immediately nodded in agreement.

Heiji himself seemed to believe it, and with renewed determination he declared, “What? You think you can scare me off that easily? Conan, Aamu, we have to solve this case and show them!”

Though one side of his face was swollen, his resolve only deepened.

“Huh? What does that have to do with me? I’m going treasure hunting afterward… Ran, you keep a close eye on Conan,” Aamu said matter-of-factly, taking the opportunity to promote Conan.

Then, donning his helmet, Aamu swung onto his Rookidee and, after giving a few instructions to Kasumi, set off along the river under the cover of night.

Regarding Conan and Heiji’s investigation progress, Aamu’s enthusiasm was lukewarm. While he didn’t doubt their ability to crack the case, if the culprit had already located the treasure, then either it was insignificant and they’d wasted their time, or it would have been seized by Kunsa as evidence, leaving no chance for Aamu.

Only if the culprit didn’t actually know the treasure’s location and was merely bluffing did Aamu have a chance to leverage his knowledge of the Namika Shrine to find it himself.

And only a treasure found this way would Aamu have rights to inherit!

Typically, relics left behind by legendary beasts belonged to whoever gained their recognition, so there was no worry about the League laying claim.

…

Following the Namika River, Aamu soon arrived at the Psychic-Type Gym.

“Gastly, merge into my shadow and try to sense underground anomalies. Alert me immediately if you detect anything unusual,” Aamu instructed Gengar.

“Are you sure that’s enough? Gastly can only sense so deep underground; they might not even detect below the surface. And just walking along the riverbank? After 800 years, the river course likely changed. Shouldn’t you search more thoroughly?” Clefable asked skeptically.

“You jerk! If you’re so good, you come find Gastly yourself!” Gengar, offended by Clefable’s critique, floated slightly from Aamu’s shadow, inadvertently scaring off two passersby.

In the dead of night, even knowing it was a ghost-type Pokémon, the sight was quite frightening.

“No need… In areas with tall buildings, foundations are dug deeply — if there were anything, it would have been discovered. We’ll focus on places without large structures and search those carefully later,” Aamu admitted he wasn’t entirely confident and was just testing his luck.

…

League Year 200, May 22, 11 p.m.

“The surroundings are getting more desolate… Are we already outside Golden City?” Clefable glanced around disdainfully.

“Not exactly. More like the city outskirts,” Aamu replied.

Now Aamu felt even less certain — after leaving the Psychic Gym and following the river, most areas were already bustling and developed.

If there had been any underground chambers along this route, they should have been discovered long ago.

Thus, in the busy districts, Aamu simply rode his Rookidee past without inspecting closely.

Only after leaving the urban area did the outskirts become less lively — lights sparse, buildings lower, roads narrow and worn.

“Not far now. At this pace, in about an hour we’ll reach End Park… the old site of Namika Shrine shouldn’t be farther than that!” Aamu resolved that if no clues appeared by midnight, he would call it a night.

As for End Valley…

There was no need to visit now.

Besides, it had been restored during the League era, and the original massive sculptures were destroyed long ago.

The restoration was not unrelated but merely a historical reconstruction.

There were even debates about the Pokémon on Uchiha’s side — whether it was Nine-Tails or the Great Fox Thief.

Currently, the sculptures likely depicted Nine-Tails, Arcanine, and Darkrai, while the Senju side featured Dracovish, Tsareena, and Rillaboom.

During the ninja era, it was common for each person to have three Pokémon.

Not only was there disagreement, but some claimed that their Pokémon should have “Ultra Gigantamax forms.”

However, many disagreed, since none of the Uchiha trio currently had known Ultra Gigantamax forms.

Even the regular Gigantamax forms required special energy zones in the Galar region to manifest.

“Hey? There’s a rundown old house over there… Ah! And a graveyard beside it.”

“Looks like a cozy place to live, Gastly.”

At that moment, Aamu’s group discovered another place that might hold clues — similar spots had been found several times over the past half-night.

“Wait, someone lives here.” Approaching closer, Aamu saw that though dilapidated, the building wasn’t abandoned.

He recalled Clefable to his Poké Ball to avoid startling any residents with its talkative nature.

The building was four stories tall, evidently dating back to the early League era, with likely shallow foundations.

Inside, a resident seemed disturbed; an elderly woman accompanied by a cat-like leader held a lantern and cautiously opened the door.

“Who’s there?”

“Oh! Sorry to disturb you. I’m a ghost-type Pokémon trainer,” Aamu explained, gesturing toward the nearby graveyard.

That excuse was solid!

Many ghost-type trainers frequented graveyards in search of Pokémon — after all, ghost-types preferred haunting burial grounds and abandoned buildings.

“No! Please respect the deceased!” The old woman, who also appeared responsible for the graveyard’s upkeep, admonished firmly.

“Uh, sorry… we’ll leave immediately,” Aamu said without surprise, understanding that customs varied. Some graveyards welcomed ghost trainers, believing it comforted the dead to have their Pokémon taken. Others strictly forbade capturing ghost Pokémon from the grounds.

Just as Aamu contemplated having Gastly sneak in to investigate further, the old woman’s expression softened.

“If you must go… well, you’ll need to volunteer here for three days. A donation would be appreciated as well.”

“Volunteer?” Aamu was taken aback.

The woman pointed to a plaque on the worn building — it was an orphanage!

Aamu’s expression turned curious — so the graveyard was a source of income supporting the orphanage?

“Wait, you’re a ghost-type trainer? That means… you probably don’t have Pokémon suitable for playing with children,” the woman eyed Aamu suspiciously.

Apparently, the “volunteering” was more about giving the children Pokémon contact.

Not just for fun but for their future — Pokémon represented the primary productivity, and orphans without Pokémon exposure faced disadvantages later in life.

After some thought, Aamu replied, “I have a Clefable!”

Generally, Clefable was well-suited to interact with kids… well, generally!