Chapter Forty-Seven: Lord of Sand

“If the person didn’t come in through the window, then… it’s actually very likely that Chikako went out herself… Let’s check the back door!” Conan’s young mind raced rapidly.

“There’s no need. Actually, after Sonoko was attacked, I had Boom standing guard in the second-floor corridor. Chikako definitely didn’t leave the house,” Amu replied, unmoving.

Conan frowned at first, but then his eyes lit up. He immediately went to inspect the shattered window, and sure enough… it wasn’t locked at all!

“That’s it! Chikako must have gone out herself, and through the window at that. Then… hmm? If that’s the case…” Conan suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t strange for someone to leave from a second-floor window. Chikako might look delicate, but people in this world were inherently resilient, and there was a canopy below to break her fall.

“She must have done it to avoid us! I bet she used the evidence of her theft of Atsuko’s work to force her into a transaction,” Amu said matter-of-factly.

“That’s not what I’m wondering about… and could you not jump to conclusions so quickly?” Conan retorted, rolling his eyes.

Saying this, Conan left Chikako’s room, carefully making his way to the window at the end of the second-floor corridor, avoiding the living room downstairs.

“This was where Ryoichi saw a shadow moving downstairs, which prompted him to shout. Then, when he realized it was the bandaged figure holding Chikako hostage, he was startled…” Conan seemed to have recalled something.

“Conan, if you’re done, hurry up and come downstairs,” Ran called from below.

Conan quickly responded and went down to the living room with Amu, where the others were still watching the video Hiroki had accidentally recorded earlier.

“What’s wrong? Did you find something?” Conan asked, puzzled by the scene.

“Ran and Sonoko just said that this person’s build… it’s very similar to the person they saw before, and to the one who attacked Sonoko in the forest!” Ayako said worriedly.

“So it wasn’t a wild Cofagrigus after all, but… is there a Ghost-type Trainer attacking us?” Shokatsu’s voice trembled slightly.

Sonoko, resting one foot on a chair, twisted her lips in disdain—she’d thought this guy seemed cool before, but he was just all show and no substance, such a coward.

Thinking so, Sonoko couldn’t help but glance at Amu, then quickly looked away, shaking her head.

“Sonoko, what’s wrong? Did you remember something?” Ran asked, noticing Sonoko’s odd expression.

“Of course not!” Sonoko replied, her tone decisive.

“Huh?” Ran looked at Sonoko, confused.

“Hiroki, Ryoichi… what Pokémon do you have?” Conan piped up again with childlike innocence.

“Little guy, you’re not suspecting us, are you?” Asei looked helplessly at Conan.

“Ah! Sorry, he’s always saying things like that,” Ran apologized hastily.

They’d just been suspecting a Ghost-type Trainer, and now Conan was asking about everyone’s Pokémon. If they were all adults, there probably would have been an argument by now.

At this moment, Hiroki spoke up: “But that’s impossible, you know… When this guy appeared here, all of us were in the house, right?” As he spoke, he pointed at the small screen playing the video.

“But it’s fine if you want to see,” Ryoichi said, releasing his Ambipom.

“Tch…” Asei, though displeased, also released his Raticate.

“There’s no harm in showing,” Hiroki said, sounding reluctant but with a hint of pride in his voice.

And then…

“Huh?” Conan and Amu were both surprised to see that it was a golden Fearow!

“Hahaha, what do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?” Hiroki said with pride.

So the Fearow he mentioned earlier—he’d actually managed to catch it?

Indeed, a shiny Fearow suited a photographer perfectly…

“See, kid, there’s no Cofagrigus here… Ghost-type Trainers are usually gloomy types,” Hiroki whispered conspiratorially.

Speaking of Ghost-type Trainers… Conan glanced at Amu, only to find Amu looking at him as well!

“Ayako, what Pokémon do you have?” Conan asked, still in his innocent tone.

“Hey, brat…” Sonoko shot him a displeased glare.

But Ayako actually hesitated for a moment, then looked at Amu. “My Pokémon…”

Conan, noticing this, followed her gaze, puzzled.

Amu felt there was no need to keep it secret any longer and began, “Earlier, I asked Ayako to…”

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door!

It was pouring outside, and it was the middle of the night; the suspension bridge outside had been destroyed…

Everyone was startled, but soon a voice called out, “Did someone here call the police? I’m Officer Junsha, open the door!”

“Huh? The police?” Hiroki and the others exchanged surprised glances.

The phone line had clearly been cut earlier.

“It was Corvisquire… Chikako must have sensed something was wrong and left her Corvisquire with me for safekeeping,” Ayako explained.

Corvisquire was a common Flying-type Pokémon in the Galar region, and if it evolved again, it would become a Corviknight.

Chikako’s play was called “The Sky of Corvisquire,” so it wasn’t strange for her to have one.

“Corvisquire? In this weather?” Hiroki exclaimed.

Flying-type Pokémon usually wouldn’t brave such heavy rain—their feathers would get soaked, draining their energy, not to mention the danger of being struck by lightning.

“It was Amu’s idea… My Marowak went with it,” Ayako said as she went to open the door.

“Marowak?” Hiroki and the others hadn’t caught on yet.

“Ayako’s Marowak has the ‘Lightning Rod’ ability, and that Corvisquire has ‘Big Pecks,’” Amu explained.

From the Pokémon food Ayako had prepared, Amu had deduced she had a Marowak, and after confirming its ability, he’d made the suggestion.

‘Big Pecks’ allowed Corvisquire to fly even in the rain, and with Marowak’s ‘Lightning Rod,’ any lightning would be drawn to Marowak.

This wasn’t a literal lightning rod that diverted the strike; instead, Marowak would simply absorb the electricity itself.

Amu had told Ayako to keep this a secret, just in case the culprit became desperate.

What surprised Amu, however, was that only one Officer Junsha had arrived—and her identity was unmistakable, her features clearly bearing the Junsha family traits. She was definitely an authentic Officer Junsha!

As soon as she entered, she hurriedly confirmed, “This is where the call came from, right? Someone here is seriously injured?”

“That’s right, Chikako is over here… Officer Junsha, did you come alone?” Ayako couldn’t help but ask.

“There was a small mudslide down the mountain, and the road is gone. I flew up ahead of the others… Now, let me see the injured, is that alright?” Officer Junsha seemed a bit frazzled.

As for “flying up”…

Officer Junsha herself couldn’t fly, of course. She must have her own Flying-type Pokémon capable of carrying people. Corvisquire wouldn’t be able to carry a person in this weather.

“If you don’t mind, you should change into some dry clothes first,” Ayako said worriedly, noticing Junsha’s uniform was soaked through.

At the mention, Officer Junsha realized just how wet she was, and nodded, “Ah… thank you!”

“Well… can she really handle this?” Conan muttered quietly.

Indeed, this Officer Junsha seemed a bit clumsy.