Phantom

Palacio's body was discovered in the town's sewer system, and when he was found, he had been dead for several days. From the injuries on his body, it was evident that his death was not accidental.

With a murder happening in Verdanturf Town, Yuga naturally cooperated with Liliana's investigation. However, the clues Yuga could provide were limited, offering little help to Liliana's inquiry.

After seeing off Liliana, who came to inquire about the situation, Yuga began contemplating who could have killed Palacio.

Being an outsider, and as per information from the inn where he stayed, he hadn't been in Verdanturf Town for long—just a few days. Yuga pondered who he might have offended in such a short time.

Yet, information from Liliana indicated that Palacio kept a low profile during his stay at the inn. He didn't interact with strangers, making the possibility of him offending someone quite low.

If it wasn't an offense, then perhaps he had a reason to die.

Based on the known clues, Yuga inferred that the likelihood of the killer being an outsider was high.

Of course, nothing was certain. So, Yuga instructed the Pokémon patrolling the town to be vigilant, especially towards the stray Pokémon. Given their large numbers and broader range of movement, they could observe more subtle details in the area.

However, the killer was meticulous, and several days passed without any useful information from either Yuga or the police. Liliana even started suspecting if the killer had left Verdanturf Town.

With no knowledge about the killer, if they had left the town, investigating the case would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

On the fifth day after the incident, Yuga suddenly noticed that Chatot who returning from outside was behaving strangely.

Normally, it would have already started its clamorous sounds upon entering the shop, but today it was unusually quiet, even flying somewhat absentmindedly. Yuga observed it crashing into walls several times.

Seeing the strange behavior of Chatot, Yuga naturally went to check on it.

As Yuga approached, Chatot was hesitant at first, and looked like it wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Yuga impatiently knocked on its head, and saying, "Is there something you can't tell me?"

With a sigh, Chatot, in a dazed manner, replied, "I... I saw Phantom in the town today." It usually liked to wander around town, joking with people. Seeing Phantom was unexpected, as it thought Phantom had already died.

"Phantom?" Yuga was momentarily puzzled. The name sounded familiar, but it took him a while to recall it. If he remember it correctly Phantom was the former owner of Chatot.

"He's not dead?" Yuga asked.

Chatot shook its head. "No, not dead. In fact, he seems to be doing well. Compared to before, Phantom has gained some weight."

"How do you feel about it?" Yuga asked with a frown.

Phantom, the previous owner of Chatot, was once the leader of an adventure circus. He had separated from Chatot during the exploration of the People of the Water relic, which was the main reason for the Chatot's initial vitality exhaustion.

Thinking about it now, the term "separated" seemed to downplay what actually happened. Describing it as "abandonment" would be more appropriate.

Before seeing Phantom again, Chatot wasn't sure whether he was dead or had abandoned it and escaped. Now it was certain that he had abandoned it.

Back then, Phantom had used Chatot as a shield to fend off Crawdaunt in the ruins and had run away alone.

But the People of the Water relic? Thinking about Phantom and Chatot's past experiences, Yuga couldn't help but recall what Zinnian and the others had mentioned.

Given the recent events in the deep part of the Petalburg Woods, and Phantom, who related to the People of the Water relic also appearing in Verdanturf Town. Yuga couldn't believe it was a mere coincidence.

Upon hearing Yuga's words, Chatot fluttered onto his shoulder and said with a melancholic tone, "I don't know. Seeing him again made me feel uneasy, and I just ran back without much thinking."

Their relationship had been good back then, and Chatot was even a favorite in the circus. However, thinking about it now, how sincere was that "relationship"?

Yuga pondered and said, "If you don't want to see Phantom, just ignore him. I think his visit to Verdanturf Town is not simple." Yuga then shared the information about the incident at the People of the Water relic in the deep part of the Petalburg Woods.

Having just heard about it, Chatot was astonished. "He came for the People of the Water relic? After all this time, he still hasn't given up on finding them?"

To search for the People of the Water relic, their circus had almost been wiped out. Chatot had only seen Phantom and another member, Butler that still alive, and Butler had already died.

"It's highly likely. Leave this matter to me. You don't have to worry about it," Yuga reassured, patting the Chatot's back.

"Alright, I won't bother about it then." With that, Chatot flew away. It didn't want to think about anything related to Phantom anymore.

Learning about Phantom's appearance from Chatot, Yuga immediately started inquiring about Phantom's whereabouts.

However, to his surprise, despite his control over Verdanturf Town, he couldn't find information about Phantom's residence immediately.

Even the patrolling Pokémon claimed not to have seen him in town. This was something worth contemplating.

The inability to locate Phantom meant he was intentionally hiding. Chatot accidentally seeing him was unexpected. Perhaps even Phantom hadn't anticipated encountering the Pokémon he had abandoned in Verdanturf Town.

But every person leaves traces wherever they go. So, Yuga, through meticulous investigation, eventually found Phantom's trail.

However, what he didn't expect was that Phantom's place of residence was the same inn where the victim, Palacio, stayed. Moreover, it was right next door.

So...

At this point, suspicion arose in Yuga's mind.

Finding Phantom's trail, Yuga started deploying Pokémon to watch him. He soon discovered that Phantom had been unnoticed in Verdanturf Town because someone was deliberately covering for him. Surprisingly, that person turned out to be the runner-up of the fishing contest.

The inn where Phantom resided was arranged by the white-bearded old man under his name. They stayed in the same room, and all of Phantom's activities were managed by the old man.

Yuga quickly learned from Liliana why Phantom was hiding.

Originally, Yuga intended to borrow personnel from the police station to monitor Phantom. However, as soon as Liliana saw Phantom, she immediately recognized him.

It turned out that Phantom, now going by the name of "Ghost," was the notorious leader of the Ghost Pirate Crew and a wanted criminal pursued by the League.

From a circus leader to a pirate crew leader, Yuga couldn't help but connect Phantom's that looking for the People of the Water relic with his criminal activities.

Learning that Phantom was the leader of a pirate crew, Yuga decided not to hold back and planned to bring people to apprehend him directly. However, before he could act, the person who keeping an eye on Phantom reported that he seemed to have noticed someone watching him and now he was planning to leave Verdanturf Town.

Without hesitation, Yuga led a team to pursue him.

However, one thing puzzled Yuga: If Phantom was truly connected to the events in the Petalburg Woods, why didn't he leave Verdanturf Town after arriving? Instead, he stayed here for several days.

Due to the constant surveillance on Phantom, Yuga quickly caught up with him at the eastern outskirts of Verdanturf Town. Based on the direction he was heading, it seemed like he intended to run toward the seaside.

Arriving in the east suburbs, Yuga saw not only Phantom but also the white-bearded man who had been covering for him, along with a group of people coming to assist him.

Facing Yuga and his group, Phantom remained calm and said, "I don't know why Gym Leader Shimizu is stopping us. Is entry and exit in Verdanturf Town restricted now?"

Yuga chuckled. "Now that you call me Gym Leader Shimizu, it's only natural for me to bring people to arrest a notorious pirate leader like you. Stop pretending to be clueless!"

Regardless, Yuga decided to apprehend Phantom first and then slowly question him about the events in the Petalburg Woods and the murder of Palacio.

Unfazed by Yuga revealing his identity, Phantom was not surprised. After all, he was not an unknown figure. However, he couldn't understand how he had attracted attention.

Since arriving in Verdanturf Town, he had almost never left his residence and had not met any outsiders. Could it be the guy he dealt with a few days ago?

Phantom assumed he knew why he was being watched. Regretfully, he wished he had been more thorough when dealing with that guy. If he had known, he would have destroyed the body, and no one would have found out, let alone attracted the attention from the Verdanturf Gym.

Not being an arrogant person, Phantom realized that facing the Gym Leader of the Verdanturf Gym might lead to a dire situation. Still, as someone who became a pirate crew leader, he wasn't the type to surrender willingly.

"Attack!" Phantom slightly turned his head and uttered a low command to his subordinates behind.

The pirates quickly released their own Pokémon. On Yuga's side, the officers immediately faced them, and Yuga confronted the pirate leader Phantom.

However, what surprised Yuga was that the first Pokémon Phantom released was a Chatot, and this Chatot could also speak, although not fluently like his Chatot.

"Fighting! Fighting!" The Chatot began shouting as soon as it was released, making a racket similar to Yuga's own Chatot.

Although the ability to speak human language is a talent some Pokémon have, it varies among individuals. Apparently, the one Phantom currently owned didn't have the high language proficiency like the previous one.

Yuga stared at the Chatot flapping its wings rapidly in front of Phantom, feeling somewhat strange. Could this person be hypocritically reminiscing about the Pokémon he once used as a shield against Yuga?

Phantom's second and third Pokémon were more fitting for a pirate leader – an Octillery and a Crawdaunt.

After the Chatot made noise for a while, it immediately used a Chatter move against Yuga's side. Chaotic sound waves turned into substantial attacks, and flooding towards them.

While the Chatter move wasn't powerful, it induced a state of confusion in the target. Combined with the fact that sound wave moves are challenging to defend against, dealing with it was not simple.

Yuga released Kartana and Sawsbuck on his side.

"Sawsbuck, use Round!" Yuga commanded the Sawsbuck.

While Round move wasn't a powerful move on its own, but if several Pokémon used it together, it would become a formidable move. However, at this moment, having Sawsbuck use it alone to defend against Chatter was sufficient.

Chatot's Chatter move and Sawsbuck's Rounding move mingled in the air, then canceled each other out.

Phantom's Octillery took the opportunity to use Acid Spray to sneak attack Sawsbuck, but its attacks were split in two by Kartana, turning into purple liquid and falling on the ground, corroding the ground into small holes.

The steel-type Kartana is not afraid of poison-type moves!

After Chatter move was defended, Chatot on the other side launched another attack. The sound column formed by Boomburst rushed towards them. However, Sawsbuck, now clad in a golden armor, and charged towards the Crawdaunt.

Boom!

The ground was blasted into a huge pit by the Chatot's Boomburst, while Sawsbuck with Wild Charge move rushed towards the Crawdaunt and knock it out.

Yuga's Sawsbuck was a Pokémon with exceptionally high speed. In a speed contest, except for the Kartana, none of Yuga's other main Pokémon could catch up to it. Even Serperior, who excelled in speed, couldn't compete.

Sawsbuck is an Elite level Pokémon, and had formidable attack power. Unfortunately for the Crawdaunt, it hadn't even made any moves before being forced to retreat.

After sending the Crawdaunt flying, Sawsbuck didn't stop. It agilely landed on the ground and, with a forceful push, effortlessly leaped over the Chatot in mid-air. Its hooves aimed at the Chatot, kicking towards it.

Sawsbuck did not stop when it hit Crawdaunt. Its strong and slender limbs landed on the ground and then exerted force. It easily passed over Chatot in the air, and aimed at Chatot with its limbs and hooves and kicked it.

The series of actions from Sawsbuck hitting the flying crayfish to jumping and kicking towards Chatot are so smooth and fast! Chatot failed to react just like Crawdaunt. Its jumping power greatly exceeded Chatot's expectations.

"Gah!" A pitiful cry rang out.

Just like the Crawdaunt, Chatot who is only a pseudo-Elite level Pokémon, couldn't withstand Sawsbuck's attack. After being kicked, it crashed into a tree trunk and fell to the ground.

Not long after winning the one-on-two battle, the Octillery was sneak attacked by the Kartana, which had somehow circled behind it, using a Sacred Sword to cleave its head. With rolled-back eyes, the Octillery collapsed, unable to get up.

Seeing his three Pokémon defeated by Yuga, Phantom felt a chill all over. He knew he couldn't escape today.

As expected, there's no empty talk beneath a big reputation!

Thinking about the various deeds he had committed at sea over the years, Phantom could imagine what fate awaited him once captured by the League.

After Phantom was knocked down by Yuga, the pirates' morale crumbled. Facing a downturn, the police took advantage of the situation and quickly subdued the group.

"Alright, get up and come with us!" Yuga kicked Phantom, who was sitting on the ground. Seeing this, the officers quickly took out handcuffs and restrained Phantom's hands.

After being handcuffed, Phantom was thoroughly searched by the officers. Although most of the items were irrelevant to Yuga, two Poké Balls discovered during the search caught his attention.