Studying the photos carefully, Lumiere noticed that the latch on one of the windows seemed to bear scorch marks.
Moreover, on that same window, there were two small handprints on the glass—each with only three fingers. It was obvious that this wasn't the same Pokémon as the one from the flowerbed.
That was why Lumiere suspected this was a group operation: one responsible for selecting the target and keeping watch, while the other flew in from above and acted in the middle of the night.
They even made use of the rain and wind direction to mask their scent, preventing Glameow from detecting anything unusual too quickly.
"Are Pokémon all this smart now? Still, they weren't careful enough—there are way too many traces left behind."
So the question was: how did that Pokémon manage to abduct Glameow from inside the room? First, he ruled out the possibility that Glameow opened the window on its own.
There were actually many ways to open a window from the outside without damaging it.
For example, a Ghost-type Pokémon could simply phase through. A Psychic-type could forcibly pry the latch open with telekinesis.
There was also another possibility—a Electric-type Pokémon. Since the latch was made of metal, electricity could induce magnetism and allow it to be forced open from the outside.
However, because electricity would need to be applied continuously to achieve this effect—and there would likely still be rainwater on the windowsill—it could easily cause overheating, leaving scorch marks on the latch!
Don't ask why it wasn't insulated glass—just assume a plasma bath was applied at point-blank range, wiping out the glass's insulating properties along with it.
"Electric-type, can fly, small-bodied, leaves handprints, uses a plasma bath… Could it be Emolga?"
That was definitely possible. Imagine it: an Emolga flies to the windowsill at night, uses Plasma Shower and electricity to suddenly force the latch open. The noise wakes the sleeping Glameow.
Curious about what happened, Glameow quietly approaches the window without waking Nabi.
Then it's ambushed by the Emolga lying in wait—paralyzed with Static or a move like Thunder Wave—and immediately carried off. After that, the window is closed again.
Everything happens so quickly that Nabi isn't disturbed at all. Only the next morning does she wake up to find Glameow missing, leading to everything that followed…
"There's a ninety percent chance Emolga was involved. As for the one keeping watch… I'm not sure yet. There are still a lot of details I haven't figured out."
After recording all his deductions in his notes, Lumiere looked at Rowlet, who had tossed away the leftover food and flown back onto his shoulder. A sudden idea popped into his head.
He wasn't sure, but it was worth a try.
He messaged Nabi, asking whether she had anything belonging to Glameow—like shed fur or something similar.
After receiving confirmation, he asked her to bring some down, saying it would help with the investigation.
Moments later, Nabi came running downstairs with a clump of cat fur and handed it to Lumiere, anxiously asking, "Will Glameow be okay?"
"Don't worry. I'll probably find it by tonight. Just stay home and wait for news."
"Okay… please."
Watching Nabi leave, Lumiere's expression turned slightly grave. To be honest, he wasn't fully confident himself. But since he'd already made a promise, he had to see it through—otherwise, Teacher Toma would come after him with a knife.
He tossed the fur into the clothing machine, and a brand-new Glameow outfit was produced. He then helped Rowlet put it on.
Looking at the now gray Rowlet, its tail coiled like a spring, Lumiere suddenly felt the urge to straighten it out—but he resisted and checked its stats instead.
〔Pokémon: Rowlet (Glameow form) ♀〕
〔Type: Grass + Flying (Normal)〕
〔Ability: Keen Eye (Stares them down hard—accuracy can't be lowered)〕
〔Moves: Feint Attack, Fake Out, Scratch, Tail Whip, Hypnosis, Aerial Ace, Fury Swipes, Charm〕
〔Status: Plush Given Life (Will not evolve, no additional abilities, cannot learn other moves)〕
〔Affinity: 100 (Your bond is practically overflowing)〕
"So it's not Limber after all. Then being paralyzed and carried off makes sense… but these moves…"
Lumiere frowned slightly. Judging by the number of moves, this Glameow's level shouldn't be low.
Not high, perhaps—but still, how could a Pokémon at this level be given as a gift to an eight-year-old child? What kind of parents would feel safe with that? Were they really not worried something might go wrong?
Don't talk about training it later—these parents clearly weren't managing it. And an eight-year-old kid definitely wouldn't understand Pokémon training.
Pokémon schools only accept students starting at age ten. Are you telling him an eight-year-old isn't playing in the mud but instead self-studying Pokémon mastery at home? That would be impressive, no doubt—but Nabi clearly didn't seem like that type.
So Lumiere suspected there might be something off about this Glameow as well.
After all, Glameow falls under the "pretending to be cute" category—they're extremely good at hiding their true nature…
Still, that had nothing to do with the commission. The main task right now was to get Glameow back. If he couldn't even complete his first commission, he might as well just go work in a factory.
Next, Lumiere wandered around the residential complex with Rowlet, paying extra attention to places with fewer people.
His plan was to have Rowlet disguise itself as Glameow and use it as bait, to see if it could lure out Emolga and the others.
If that didn't work, he'd have to think of something else. After all, the target had already been taken—it was entirely possible they'd fled far away.
However, two hours passed with nothing happening. Lumiere slumped onto a bench in the complex, taking out the unfinished egg roll from breakfast to restore Rowlet's energy.
He wasn't hungry yet, but Rowlet thoughtfully shared half of the egg roll with him. With no other choice, one man and one bird sat there eating lunch together.
What they didn't notice was that a gaze from a large tree behind them was locked firmly onto them—or rather, onto Rowlet.
Only after they finished eating and left did that gaze finally disappear. Leaves rustled softly as a dark figure flew out, heading off in another direction…
Another hour later, Lumiere had nearly circled every corner of the complex. He'd even almost been dragged away by security as a suspicious person.
Even so, he still hadn't found any new clues. It seemed he'd have to try a different approach.
Just as he was about to leave this corner, a bolt of electricity suddenly shot straight toward him—fierce and completely unexpected!
But Lumiere reacted quickly. The instant he heard it, he dropped into a crouch, narrowly dodging the attack. The electric current struck the wall ahead, leaving a scorched mark behind.
"I was just about ready to give up, and you guys really came knocking yourselves, huh!"
The corners of Lumiere's mouth curled upward as he burst out laughing and turned around. My commission is finally about to be done!
But the moment he clearly saw what was in front of him, his expression froze, and his laughter stopped abruptly.
Because standing there wasn't just one Emolga—but two, three… a full group of nine yellow, costumed rodents, forming what looked like a school idol unit!
That solved it. The owner of those footprints was Pikachu—but why were there so many of them?!
Seeing their cheeks begin to crackle with electricity, Lumiere instinctively took a step back and slowly raised his hands.
"Let's talk this out… no fighting, okay?"