Chapter Fifty-Four: The Invitation

“So… the culprit is you!”
With the finger of “Sleeping Kogoro” pointed at him, the patient feigning a limp collapsed to the ground and confessed in a classic OTR pose.

…

Amu and Misty had just arrived at the hospital carrying a cake, only to witness this scene in the lobby on the first floor.
A crowd still surrounded the area, and after a few inquiries, Amu learned that a serious… murder had just occurred at the hospital!
The good news was that the case had already been solved.
Watching Kogoro sleep so soundly he was nearly snoring, Amu grew curious—what would happen if he gave Kogoro a Zero Berry in advance…
Of course, it was just a thought; nothing would really change.
After all, Kogoro wasn’t a Pokémon, and the berry’s effects weren’t so miraculous.
Even for Pokémon, to trigger the “Wake Up” effect of the Zero Berry later, it had to be made into a potion and ingested beforehand.

Soon, the culprit was taken away, and Kogoro awoke at just the right moment, basking in everyone’s praise… which he accepted without hesitation!
He wasn’t even puzzled; perhaps he’d already come to terms with having a “second personality.”
Ran, unable to stand her father’s behavior, quietly pulled Conan away from the swarm of reporters and happened upon Amu and Misty.

“Misty, Amu! You’re here to visit Sonoko too?” Ran quickly greeted them.

“Yes, but what’s going on here?” Misty asked, puzzled by the commotion in the registration hall.

Amu, meanwhile, eyed Conan with suspicion, prompting the latter to glare back—even without a word, Conan could guess Amu was silently criticizing him again!

“There was a really evil guy here just now,” Ran complained. “He not only killed a doctor but also tried to make it look like a Ghost-type Pokémon was to blame…”

“Ran, there’s no such thing as a Ghost-type Pokémon that kills on its own. It’s always humans behind it… ah, that’s what Uncle Kogoro said, hehe…” Conan quickly explained, worried he might slip up.

It was much like how Conan in his world would never believe in curses or the supernatural.
Even after two hundred years of the League, wild Pokémon—especially Ghost-types—were still often blamed, and some people still firmly believed certain Ghost-types were the souls of the dead.

Ran blushed, remembering she’d believed it too, and changed the subject. “Do you feel… like public safety has gotten worse lately?”

“Hmm? It seems fine to me,” Misty replied honestly. Aside from when they met Sonoko and the others, everything else had been normal.

“That’s why… sometimes, when you feel the environment is bad, you should reflect on whether you’re the one ruining it,” Amu said, looking at Conan as he spoke.

By now, they had reached Sonoko’s hospital room. As the heiress of the Suzuki Group, she naturally had the most luxurious suite—if Sonoko hadn’t insisted it wasn’t necessary, she could’ve had specialized care at a private hospital.

“Ran, why are you so late? Even Amu and Misty are here already,” Sonoko complained, noting their arrival was much later than the time she’d arranged with Ran.

“Sorry, we ran into another incident downstairs…”

Sonoko’s interest was immediately piqued. “What happened? I want to see! To be honest, last time at my sister’s villa, I nearly solved the case myself! Only Amu beat me to it because he speaks faster…”

“No, don’t go down. It’s over. My father just solved the case,” Ran hastily stopped Sonoko, who was about to hop out of bed on one leg.

“Let’s try this! I heard it’s from a new shop that’s famous in Recommendation City,” Misty said, producing the cake she’d bought earlier.

It seemed the shop’s reputation wasn’t just hype—the cake was a hit with everyone, even…

“It’s really delicious! Conan, you like matcha flavor, right? We can go again tomorrow!” Ran said, clearly enjoying herself.

“Mm!” Conan replied, looking adorably happy.

Amu felt Misty owed the shop owner an apology, but didn’t plan to visit himself—he’d be busy at the Battle Club for the next few days.

“You’re heading to Pewter City next, right?” Sonoko asked Amu and Misty.

“We should… but Amu wants to stay longer in Recommendation City, and also go to…”
Misty had just started when Sonoko, blushing, interrupted, “Stay longer? I’ll recover soon…”

“Hm? What was that?” Misty mumbled, mouth full of cake.

“Ah, nothing! You just said ‘stay longer’…” Sonoko quickly covered her tracks, though Ran seemed to notice something and looked at Sonoko with curiosity.

Misty glanced at Amu, who nodded. “Yes, I need to train some difficult skills; at least until my Pokémon are familiar with them before we hit the road.”

This time, the skills Amu needed to learn were ones none of his Pokémon had mastered yet, so they had to get the basics down before continuing their journey; otherwise, they’d be unable to train on the road.

Sonoko breathed a sigh of relief, though she was subtly annoyed, then quickly changed the subject. “It’s good you’re going to Pewter City! May fifth… May fifth, make sure you’re there!”

“May fifth? Is something happening?” Amu asked, noticing Sonoko’s emphasis.

“On May fifth, my uncle is holding an exhibition at Pewter City’s Fossil Museum… There’ll be a Mega Stone for Gyarados on display. I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of!” Sonoko extended the invitation.

“A Mega Stone for Gyarados?” Amu was surprised.
What’s so special about that?

Mega Stones are special evolutionary stones used to help Pokémon Mega Evolve.
Their formation and function are still under research, and Mega Evolution itself is a method of evolution that was lost to history and only recently revived.

There aren’t many trainers who can use Mega Evolution—probably about as many as Elite trainers!
It’s not just the scarcity of Mega Stones; more importantly, to trigger Mega Evolution, a Pokémon must reach a certain level of growth, and the trainer’s bond with the Pokémon must also be strong enough.

Most Elite trainers can manage it, but some can’t, and a few non-Elites can pull it off too.

Unlike the games, there’s no limit to Mega Evolutions in battles, but it’s true that Mega Evolving drains the trainer’s physical and mental stamina.
There have been cases where “Mega Evolved two or three times in one battle” or “Mega Evolved for a long time,” causing the trainer to faint mid-match.

Trainers who can Mega Evolve usually don’t own many Mega Stones—most have only one!

They really are rare, but…

Amu didn’t see much artistic value in displaying one.

“It’s not a Mega Evolution Stone, it’s a Mega Origin Stone! It can be processed into a Mega Evolution Stone, but it also has collectible value…”
Sonoko explained, showing Amu a picture from the Pokédex.

It was a transparent crystal, about ten centimeters in diameter, carved into the shape of a coiled Gyarados roaring at the sky. If you looked closely, you could see a three-dimensional blue-and-red swirling symbol inside…