Hearing Lu Chen's words, Gabite gritted his teeth too.
He clenched his two finlike forelimbs tightly, his teeth grinding audibly, wishing he could tear that damned thief to pieces right now.
If his poor watch led to him being driven away, Gabite would regret it for the rest of his life.
This was an opportunity he had fought so hard to seize.
Just then, Gengar emerged from Lu Chen's shadow on his own.
Grinning widely, he rubbed his two stubby hands together excitedly, showing that he was very interested in this matter.
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.
Gengar gestured and chattered for quite a while before Lu Chen finally understood.
This fellow had been interested in becoming a detective for a long time.
Especially after recently watching a movie called "Pokémon Detective" with Lu Chen, Gengar could no longer suppress his desire to become a detective.
Then he exchanged a glance with Gabite, and the two Pokémon solemnly shook claws.
They would join forces.
Gengar rummaged around inside his mouth for ages before pulling out a classic Holmes-style brown plaid coat.
Then he produced a magnifying glass, slipped the coat on, and stood beside the field ridge, looking the part.
The corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched as he looked at the outfit.
He really could not figure out where Gengar had gotten all this stuff.
"All right, let's see what you two can find."
Lu Chen did not really expect them to uncover any clues.
But he was also reflecting on his own actions.
Perhaps it was a habit he had developed in the super-ancient era: whenever he went on a mission back then, all his Pokémon moved together.
After all, even a rabbit fighting a lion would give it everything it had.
On top of that, life had been so comfortable lately that Lu Chen had subconsciously assumed the farm was safe, giving that damned thief an opening.
But Lu Chen also knew there was no use blaming himself now.
The most important thing was to get the Starf Berry sapling back.
The good news was that there were no Starf Berry remains at the scene. The entire sapling had been taken away rather than eaten on the spot.
As long as they found it and replanted it soon, there should still be time.
Lu Chen looked at Gengar and Gabite. "Have you found anything?"
Gengar pushed up a nonexistent pair of glasses and crouched on the ground with a serious expression, sniffing here and looking there.
Then he straightened up and let out a string of "Gengar, gengar" cries, gesturing as he spoke.
Lu Chen understood.
First, there were no human footprints at the scene.
Their preliminary conclusion was that a human had not committed the theft.
If it had been a human thief, they would definitely have packed up all the Starf Berry saplings instead of taking just one.
Second, it was most likely not the work of Bug Pokémon eating it, either.
Bug Pokémon only liked eating tender leaves. They would not dig up the trunk and roots along with them.
Pleasantly surprised, Lu Chen patted Gengar's round body.
"I didn't know you had such a knack for analysis."
Gengar smiled a little awkwardly, then explained with gestures and cries that quite a few of these deductions had come from Gabite.
Lu Chen glanced at Gabite, who was also working hard to search for clues, and felt pleasantly surprised. He had not expected Gabite to have this kind of talent.
Gabite was lying on the ground, sniffing inch by inch with his nose against the soil, carefully parting the weeds with his finlike forelimbs, his gaze utterly focused.
Lu Chen silently made plans.
In the future, he would have to leave Gabite at home to guard the place whenever he went out.
And he would have to improve Gabite's strength.
Gym Leader level was decent, but in Lu Chen's eyes, it was nowhere near enough.
He would need to be at least Elite Four level to ensure the farm remained safe and truly become a qualified Farmer Number One.
There was one small problem at the moment, though.
Without any special ability to help him, Lu Chen could not actually understand what Gabite was saying.
Lu Chen could only roughly understand what Gengar, Lapras, and Aerodactyl said. With other Pokémon, he could only guess.
So Lu Chen looked at Gengar. "You translate. Let Gabite keep working through the clues."
Gengar nodded, then turned and spoke with Gabite for a while.
"Gengar, gengar-"
The gist of Gengar's translation was that although there were no human footprints at the scene, there were no footprints from other Pokémon either.
So either the thief had the psychic ability to use Teleport, or the thief was a flying Pokémon.
Lu Chen nodded.
That made sense.
Considering how rare Psychic-type Pokémon were, the culprit was most likely among the Pokémon capable of flight.
Just then, Gengar's eyes suddenly lit up.
He crouched on the ground a short distance away, his two stubby hands rapidly scrabbling at something.
"Gengar, gengar!"
Gengar cried out excitedly.
Lu Chen walked over to take a look.
There was a small pile of black soil on the ground.
It was completely different from the ordinary soil around it.
Lu Chen crouched down and rubbed some between his fingers.
This black soil was rich in nutrients, with a glossy sheen and a distinctive earthy smell.
He recognized it.
This was soil the Dugtrio had enriched, not ordinary dirt.
Gengar realized it too and excitedly gestured as he spoke.
"If a Psychic-type Pokémon had stolen it and teleported back, it wouldn't have dropped this black soil along the way."
"So the culprit must be a Flying-type Pokémon. No doubt about it!"
Looking at the black soil in his hand, Lu Chen's lips curved upward slightly.
He patted Gengar and Gabite on the head.
"Your deductions make a lot of sense, and with this black soil marking the trail, finding the thief will be much easier."
At that moment, Gabite volunteered.
He patted his nose with a finlike forelimb, indicating that his sense of smell was excellent and he could handle the tracking.
Lu Chen nodded.
"All right, lead the way."
Gabite lay low, his nose against the ground, and followed the trail in the direction the black soil had scattered.
Lu Chen and Gengar followed behind, moving swiftly through the forest.
The trail of black soil was intermittent, but Gabite had a keen nose.
Whenever the black soil disappeared, he could pick up that faint trace of scent in the air and keep his bearings.
Gengar floated in midair, holding the magnifying glass before his eyes and looking around with the air of a professional detective.
At this rate, they would soon find the culprit.
Meanwhile.
Deep in the forest, beneath an enormous ancient tree.
A Pokémon resembling a little fox was crouching on the ground, carefully holding the freshly stolen Starf Berry sapling in its front paws and planting it in a hole it had dug beforehand.
At that moment, unwiped drool still clung to the corners of its mouth.
Its eyes stared fixedly at the tender green Starf Berry sapling before it, full of anticipation.
Soon... soon I'll have more Berries than I can eat...
It extended a paw and gently patted the soil around the sapling, then leaned closer to sniff it.
The distinctive fresh fragrance of tender shoots drifted into its nose, making it swallow a large mouthful of saliva.
No.
I can't eat it.
It desperately restrained itself.
Once this Starf Berry tree grew, it would produce even more Berries.
Then it would no longer have to run all over the forest searching for food every day.
At that thought, the little fox grinned.
Its smile was guileless, with a hint of shrewdness.
Then it lowered its head and continued heaping soil around the sapling, completely unaware that three figures were rapidly approaching his location.