bookbashuk Chapter 146 The Real Rock and Roll
Chapter 146 The Real Rock and Roll
Chapter 147 The Real Rock and Roll
"The 'highly poisonous' trick is too un-rock and roll; I wouldn't stoop to using it. 🎉👑 6➈รⓗ𝔲ˣ.CoⓂ 🍬🍓"
The rock musician, his white hair flying wildly, spoke with a very tough attitude.
However, the way she delivered those words was so awkward that it made the lines, which should have had the air of a master, seem completely unconvincing.
"Kneeling on the floor and acting like a spoiled child is even less rock and roll, isn't it?"
The detective, crouching in front of Homiga and facing her, shook his head, pointing out the obvious contradiction—
"As a Poison-type Gym Leader, the 'Toxic' move is a fundamental skill, something you should be able to master to the point of instinct. But you deliberately sealed this move during the battle; there must be another reason."
"You're surprisingly smart. You're just a suspicious person wandering around the gym with a trash bag, so why do you always act like you know everything?"
The owner was too lazy to act cute anymore. She changed her posture, sat cross-legged on the ground, and propped her chin up with one hand, looking very impatient.
"The origin of this garbage bag is a bit complicated, please don't worry about it... But Gym Leader Homiga, you still haven't answered my question directly. Why did you hold back during the battle? Between 6-0 and 6-1, the latter would definitely have allowed you to salvage some dignity, right?"
Hugo blinked and stared at the person in front of him—
"It couldn't have been due to obsession or interest, nor was it due to negligence. What exactly made you give up this opportunity?"
"Oh, that's the reason." The shop owner scratched her hair, cornered by the detective, and turned her head towards the soundproof wall beside her, saying awkwardly and indecisively—
"It's a bit inappropriate for someone like me, who was utterly defeated, to say this... However, after seeing the child's eyes, I realized that this battle couldn't be won with moves like 'poison'; that would be pointless."
"Is it meaningful?" Hugo nodded thoughtfully. "You don't want to undermine Archaeopteryx's confidence, and you hope that the child can gain something from the battle?"
"That little guy must have fallen into a slump for some reason, right? You can tell at a glance. We occasionally encounter audience members like that at performances. They are mostly unlucky guys who have encountered something sad or broken up. They always have a look of despair on their faces. They see a flyer while wandering aimlessly on the streets late at night and end up at the concert. Such people are actually surprisingly common."
"When I encounter such people, I reduce the number of gloomy and depressing pieces and instead use passionate and exciting melodies to inspire their enthusiasm. Our band is called the Poison Gas Band, but our philosophy is not to suffocate the audience in poison gas, but to ignite, detonate, and explode the dull gray haze in the sky, let the bright purple poisonous smoke sweep across the earth, and let the world hear our voice."
Hugo thought the blue Piccolo would be a good fit for Homiga's band, but he didn't say much, only remarking casually, "Using evenly matched battles to energize the Archaeopteryx is certainly a good attempt, but looking at it now, it seems no different from before. 🍔💛 6999.1999 🐺💲"
"No one will have a complete epiphany after listening to a song," the white-haired girl said, waving her hand. "As long as it can make the listeners a little happier and give them a little courage to continue living their lives, even if it's just a little bit, my goal is achieved."
"You're more like a psychologist than a band's lead singer," the detective said with genuine admiration.
"I'm the dojo leader, after all; it's only right that I do this!"
Homiga spoke with conviction, displaying the imposing presence befitting a powerful trainer—
"Just as a band chooses different songs depending on the occasion, as the owner of Liyong Dojo, you have to treat different opponents in different ways."
"When facing a powerful enemy, we must bring out our strongest lineup for a desperate battle, making them remember this venomous gym with the most perilous fight; when facing a weaker challenger, we must choose a matching lineup, showing them that in addition to the efforts of the Pokémon, the trainer's own strength is the key to victory or defeat; and if a person or Pokémon who is lost comes to challenge us, we must of course find a way to help them out of their predicament."
However, after hearing the gym leader's words, Detective Hugo still wouldn't give up: "But there's still something wrong with your words and actions. When Azure and I first entered the gym, we heard you say that you've never been defeated since it opened. Can a battle where you only win and never lose really benefit all challengers? Doesn't this fact contradict the hospitality principles you mentioned earlier?"
"That's because those challengers are too weak. Even if I used a lightweight team to fight them, they would still lose miserably." Homiga's face stiffened, and then he raised his voice to answer.
Hugo's expression remained calm, like a mirror reflecting the inner turmoil of his speaker. He gently asked—
"There are some suspicious points about your battle with Azure. You weren't satisfied with losing three times and insisted on a full battle. You seem to have some kind of obsession with winning. Judging from your battle with Archaeopteryx, you're not a trainer who can't accept defeat. What could be causing such an unusual contrast? I'm sorry to pry so deeply, but there must be a more important reason for your inconsistent words and actions."
Homika offered an awkward explanation, her expression remaining stiff; Hugo could tell at a glance she was lying.
"Oh dear, people are actually very complex creatures. Their personalities and actions fluctuate with their moods, so it's not surprising that sometimes their words and deeds don't match... In the end, this has nothing to do with you, so stop asking questions like an extreme fan. ✊💚 ඏ☆"
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Hugo watched as the white-haired girl made a jumbled mess of sign language, desperately trying to cover it up, and finally even adopted a posture of refusing to answer. He couldn't help but sigh, stand up, and beckon Bilan, who had been watching the show from a distance, over.
"Gym Leader Homiga, now that my partner has won the gym battle, shouldn't the gym hold a corresponding ceremony?"
The detective, still carrying the black garbage bag in one hand, crossed his arms and spoke to the curator.
"Of course, of course." Seeing the blue figure approaching, Homiga quickly got up from the ground, dusted off his legs, and looked completely panicked.
The assistant, sporting an Archaeopteryx atop her head, approached, first glaring disapprovingly at the detective who had been whispering with the curator for quite some time, then asking, "What were you discussing? Was it related to the case investigation?"
"It seems to be unrelated at the moment, and should fall into the category of everyday mysteries." Hugo shrugged.
"Miss Azure." The Poison-type Gym Leader, oblivious to the detective's conversation with his assistant, cleared her throat, trying to appear serious—
"Your strength completely surpasses mine as the gym leader. Whether it's tactical command or Pokémon training, you possess talent comparable to the Elite Four members—I don't even know why you came here to challenge the gym... Regardless, you have undoubtedly won this gym battle, and on behalf of the Poison-type Gym of Ritsuki City, I acknowledge your strength!"
"Oh, um, thank you."
Azure's reaction was unremarkable; she was past the age of celebrating a gym victory. She simply didn't understand why the gym leader was speaking so formally; something seemed to be missing.
Witnessing this, Detective Hugo, with an "I knew it" expression, interjected without hesitation, "Master Homiga, then where is Miss Azure's proof of victory?"
"Of course...it does exist."
The white-haired rock musician stammered, "I'll send you an electronic code for the gym's certification via email later. That barcode is valid throughout the entire league, and it's easy to save—just put it in your phone's photo album..."
Azure finally realized something was wrong. She nudged Detective and whispered, "Has the Unova region become so advanced that they don't even use physical gym badges anymore?"
The detective shrugged and replied, "I think there is such a thing as an electronic credential. But physical badges haven't been phased out yet; I saw one at Mr. Yati's place in Feiyun City a while ago."
"I see." The assistant nodded, extending her hand to Homiga without hesitation, and said—
"In that case, I still think a physical gym badge is more convenient and has more commemorative value. Please give me a Toxic badge that represents the prestige of the Liyong Gym. Gym Leader Homiga, although the previous battle was a complete victory for my side, it was a very enjoyable match with you, and Archaeopteryx learned a lot from it."
Above the girl's head, the little feathered dinosaur opened its eyes for once and gently flapped its wings in response.
It seems the battle left a deep impression on this dejected Pokémon. The punk-style yet intense battle certainly had an effect.
"This...that...that..."
The white-haired gym leader, who was supposed to be handing out gym badges at this moment, completely panicked and began to ramble incoherently.
At this time-
"Homiga, isn't the battle over yet? When are we going to practice the new piece together?"
Guitarist Lu came out from backstage and greeted the band's lead singer and bassist.
Seeing Hugo and Azure surrounding Homiga, she exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? You haven't left yet?"
The black-haired guitarist then saw the group of elves swaggering behind Azure, and a vague guess formed in his mind, but the words already slipped out: "Miss Azure, you didn't actually beat Homiga, did you?"
"Uh...yes."
Completely baffled by the unusual situation, Azure continued, "The Gym Leader seems unwilling to give me the Gym Badge. Is there some hidden reason behind this?"
"Hehe... Pfft."
Miss Lu quickly covered her mouth and stifled a laugh, her body trembling uncontrollably, as if she was enduring great discomfort.
Then she retreated back to the backstage room and slammed the door shut.
The backstage room was soundproofed, but it couldn't stop the joyful atmosphere from spreading. Unrestrained laughter erupted from inside, and it sounded like it was coming from more than one person...
"What exactly is going on?" Azure couldn't hold back any longer and took another step closer to Homiga, almost forcing him to ask—
"What happened to your dojo's badge? Explain yourself!"
The white-haired girl kept her lips tightly closed and remained silent, pretending to be a stone statue of the Bodhidharma baboon. She simply opened her pitiful eyes, as if pleading with the two to be lenient and let the matter drop.
Azure wasn't as easy to deal with as a detective. Her curiosity piqued, she simply stared at Homiga, the curator, as if she wouldn't leave until she got the badge.
The backstage room door opened again, and Miss Lu, her hair disheveled from laughing, came out once more.
"Mr. Detective and Ms. Challenger, you probably don't know what's going on yet, right? You can't keep something this interesting to yourself..."
Homiga stared wide-eyed in horror, shaking his head frantically at the guitarist, his eyes brimming with tears as he begged his companion not to continue.
But her companion betrayed her without hesitation.
"Homiga threw a wild concert on the first night of the Rikyu Dojo's opening, inviting all of our band's fans. The performance lasted until late at night, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. Everyone was screaming and singing, almost lifting the ceiling off the place. So, this bassist, caught up in the excitement, did something stupid, pfft..."
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The guitarist couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter again, taking a long time to calm down before continuing her story—
"She scattered all the dojo badges at the audience like wedding candy... When we were cleaning up after the show, she looked at us with an expression of utter despair and told us that those shiny things she had just thrown away were our dojo badges. We rushed to look for them on the ground, only to find that they had all been picked up by someone else..."
Despite having traveled to many places, the assistant had never seen such an unreliable gym leader. Staring dumbfounded, she pointed at the white-haired girl and cautiously asked, "So, that's why Gym Leader Homiga is so desperate to have an all-out battle with me?"
The guitarist nodded with a smile: "From that day until now, she has fought every challenger like a mortal enemy, and she doesn't care about fair competition at all. Even if she sends out a weaker Pokémon to fight at the beginning, she will send out the strongest Scolipede as the final general in the end, just to avoid losing in the battle and falling into a situation where she has no badges to give out... It's really funny, this is real punk rock."
"So that's why no one has succeeded in challenging the Ritsuyong Dojo since it opened."
The detective nodded with satisfaction; this everyday mystery had now been completely solved.
"But didn't Gym Leader Homiga show a little mercy during the final battle against Archangel Bird?"
Azure, as expected of a top-tier trainer, noticed this detail. She didn't shy away from asking about the bird on her head. Even if the Gym Leader was holding back, it was still something to be proud of that Archangel Bird could defeat him.
At the same time, it's a good thing to let it recognize its true strength. No matter how sweet the venom of vanity is, it cannot cultivate the fruit of strength.
The detective pursed his lips and answered his assistant's puzzled question: "That's because the Pokémon before you were too strong. The Gym Leader saw that the outcome was already decided, so she thought it would be better to lose gracefully and do a favor..."
"It's all because of that power plant explosion!" Homiga suddenly exclaimed. "The blackout shut down the badge-making factory for several weeks, otherwise our gym would have received our new badges long ago... Ouch!"
A light chop to the head landed on the white-haired girl; the guitarist had somehow moved behind the brothel owner.
"Homiga, you can't blame your mistakes on others. You need to apologize to the challenger properly."