"Are you the client?"
Lumiere looked at the black-haired little girl in front of him, who seemed to be only about eight years old, and asked gently.
"Yes… yes." The girl seemed a little nervous, her face full of worry.
Ten minutes earlier, Lumiere had accepted the commission. After that, he was able to contact the client through the platform's messaging system.
Once the meeting place was confirmed, he followed the location on his phone, made his way to a residential area not far behind the Pokémon School, and met this little girl.
"You don't need to worry. I'll find your Glameow. First, could you tell me some of its features, or whether it showed any unusual behavior before it went missing?"
While soothing the girl, Lumiere began asking for clues. As for why he was so practiced at this—well, he'd probably watched too many detective shows as a kid.
"Thank you…" After thanking him, the girl began to explain.
Her name was Nabi, and her home was in this residential complex. Since it was the weekend, she didn't have to go to school and slept in, but her parents still had to go to work.
Glameow was a birthday present from her parents. It usually stayed by her side and was very well-behaved.
Last night, she and Glameow had played for a while in the community park. Suddenly it started raining, and they got completely soaked. They had no choice but to hide under the slide, waiting for her mother to come pick them up with an umbrella and take them home to wash up and sleep.
Before going to bed, Glameow had curled up beside her pillow, resting quietly. But when she woke up close to ten o'clock this morning, the Glameow beside her pillow was gone!
Lumiere recorded the information in his phone's notes and asked, "Have you contacted Officer Jenny?"
"I called, but they said a missing case can only be filed after ten hours. And my parents are still at work—they don't have time to come back…"
Seeing Nabi on the verge of tears again, Lumiere quickly comforted her. "Don't cry, don't cry. Maybe Glameow just went out to play on its own?"
"But all the windows in my room were locked, and my home is on the 11th floor! There's no way it could have gotten out at that height! And the living room security camera didn't capture it leaving the room either!"
"..."
Lumiere and Rowlet both stroked their chins, falling into thought at the same time. If it were a lower floor, it might be easier to explain, but the 11th floor—unless it was a Pokémon that could fly, that really was a problem.
And with the windows locked and no footage from the living room camera, it felt oddly like a locked-room mystery.
"Do you remember anything unusual when you and Glameow were playing in the park last night? Or did you hear any strange sounds?" Lumiere continued asking.
"I'm not sure…" Nabi thought for a moment, then suddenly froze, as if remembering something. She quickly said, "Oh, right! When it was raining and we were heading home, I saw something hiding in the grass over by the park. A yellow tail swayed for a moment before disappearing."
"A yellow tail? Can you take me to the spot where you saw it?"
"Yes!"
Soon, the two of them arrived at the community park. Since it was the weekend, there were children and Pokémon playing around.
Ignoring them, Nabi led Lumiere to a patch of grass beside a flowerbed and said, "It should be around here."
Lumiere nodded, gently parted the grass, and began searching for traces. His expression gradually turned serious.
Before long, he found strange, messy footprints in the damp soil left by the rain. It was clear that this Pokémon had four legs.
Its front paws had five short toes, while its hind paws had only three longer ones—easy to distinguish.
Judging from the depth of the footprints, it had likely been standing on its hind legs and remained here for some time, though it probably moved on all fours when traveling.
However, once it left the flowerbed, the footprints disappeared—likely washed away by the rain. Even within the flowerbed itself, there were no other traces besides the footprints.
"Based on the depth and size of the footprints, this Pokémon should be around forty centimeters tall and weigh about six kilograms. The reason it was hiding here is unclear—it might have just been passing by."
Lumiere noted this clue down, then asked, "Which direction is your home from the park?"
Nabi pointed to the northwest. "That way. You go around from the park, then take a small path."
"This direction…" Lumiere thought for a moment, then asked, "Where were you and Glameow playing in the park yesterday?"
"Over there, by the slide," Nabi said, pointing again.
Lumiere glanced over, then stepped onto the edge of the flowerbed and jumped to the other side. Following the direction from which the footprints had come, he walked straight ahead.
Nabi didn't quite understand what he was doing and looked puzzled.
The footprints disappeared halfway—it was likely where the Pokémon had entered the flowerbed. Looking forward along the direction it had been standing, the line of sight led directly to the park slide.
And since the footprints were left after it started raining, it meant that Pokémon was very likely watching Nabi and Glameow as they hid under the slide from the rain!
Afterward, the direction of the footprints matched the path Nabi took home. At the end, there were some messy tracks—probably where the Pokémon was about to leave the flowerbed.
Then it noticed Nabi suddenly turning back to look, panicked, and hurriedly retreated into the grass. But it was a bit too slow, and its tail was seen.
With these clues, a scene had already formed in Lumiere's mind: a Pokémon secretly observing Nabi and Glameow in the rain, confirming its target.
Then, after they left, it followed them home, found their address, and at night abducted Glameow…
After thinking for a moment, Lumiere climbed over the flowerbed and asked, "Nabi, which building is yours?"
"Well…"
"I won't go into your home. I'll just take a look around downstairs and see if I can find any clues about Glameow."
"…Okay."
After hesitating for a while, Nabi nodded and led Lumiere to the building where she lived.
Along the way, he carefully observed the surroundings, looking for footprints or other traces. Unfortunately, after being washed by the rain, there was nothing left.
Rowlet was also observing the entire time. It seemed very interested in this kind of thing—or perhaps it simply wanted to help Lumiere.
Once they reached the building, Lumiere looked up briefly. The building was over twenty floors tall, and Nabi's home was somewhere in the middle.
He could see some wild Starly and Pidgey flying with the wind, briefly resting on windowsills or air-conditioning units.
Their small size allowed them to use those as footholds. Larger Pokémon likely wouldn't be able to.
After thinking for a bit, Lumiere said, "Nabi, go back to your room now and take photos of all the windows and windowsills. Send them to me via private message on the platform. Be sure to take clear, detailed pictures!"
"Okay!"
This time, Nabi didn't hesitate at all and immediately left.
After she was gone, Lumiere began walking around the area with Rowlet, searching nearby flowerbeds. There were some here too—maybe he could find footprints.
"Rowlet."
Rowlet suddenly spoke, then put on its Snorlax outfit and took flight. Snorlax had a keen sense of smell, making it easier to detect unusual scents and track traces.
Seeing Rowlet dive headfirst into a flowerbed, Lumiere quickly followed and asked, "Did you find something?"
Pushing aside the grass, he saw Rowlet pick up a half-eaten Pecha Berry from the ground. Lumiere was momentarily speechless.
"Hey, don't pick up food someone already ate. No matter how poor we are, we can't—"
Before he could finish, Lumiere's gaze dropped to the soil below. His pupils shrank.
There, clearly imprinted in the mud, was a familiar pair of footprints.
At the same time, photos from Nabi arrived on his phone. After examining them closely, realization dawned on him instantly, and the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
"So it wasn't just one Pokémon… a group job, huh."