Sonic Frontiers is finally out, and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is around the corner! Good time to be alive!

Thanks to the assistance of Wes and Rui, the Cyber Sleuths learn that the Pokemon Rangers were taken to Orre by the crime syndicate Cipher. Now offered aid by those who defeated them in the past, our heroes set off for a labatory in Orre, hopping to save Lunick and Solana's Shadow Pokemon...

Soaring through the sky was…a motorcycle. Wes' motorcycle. Rui was in the sidecar. "I always wondered what it would feel like if this baby could fly." Wes grinned.

Rui nervously looked up. "I suppose this is the closest it'll ever get to doing so." She muttered looking at MegaGargomon. The Digimon carried the bike in his hands with Takumi, Kyoko, Rand, Sven and Luxray ridding on him. Omnimon carried Nokia, Yuuko and Yu, while Magnadramon gave Ami, Fei, and Yuugo a lift. HerculesKabuterimon was giving Keisuke, Erika and Chitose a ride while Kerpymon carried Date and Ryuji.

"I just hope this kid hero of yours can help us." Fei said. "What's he like anyway?"

"Beats me, we never met him." Wes replied.

"And yet you put a lot of faith in him." Kyoko noted.

"He defeated Cipher and gained the respect of my old friends who helped us in the past. We heard their stories. We were honestly thinking of meeting him for a while now. I'm curious about his battle ability."

Rui glanced at Wes. "Well, keep in mind Wes, Nett said he's been distancing himself with Pokemon battling and spending a lot of time with studying and research."

"Right. Said something about the kid's dad being and incredible professor and wanting to follow in his footsteps. But Nett also told us he has a good heart and doesn't want to see Pokemon suffer. If Cipher is back, he'll step up." Wes looked at the device in his hand. "But we need more than just his help. Professor Krane is the one who invented the Purify Chamber. We need to speak to him about your friends Pokemon. He might be able to tell us more about these changes to Shadow Pokemon Rui sensed."

Keisuke eyed the gadget. "What is that thing?"

"PDA. The Pokemon Digital Assistant. It has a number of handy functions." He put in away in his coat. "We're approaching the coordinates Nett sent me for the HQ Lab."

"Alright. Prepare for landing." Takumi said.

The Digimon started to descend into the clouds. The region came into view. "Here we are." Rui smiled. "The Orre region."

Solana groaned as she started to stir. It wasn't the first time she woke up in this cold dark cell. She leaned against the wall the best she could in her current position. Her ankles were cuffed together but attached to the cuff on her right ankle was another cuff that held her right wrist. Attached to the cuff on her left ankle was another cuff on her left wrist. The electronic restraints bound her hands to her feet making her tuck her slightly bent knees towards her chest with her upper body leaning forward a bit. She could barely twitch in this position let alone shift into a more comfortable one.

"Solana? Are you okay?" Solana looked next to her. Lunick sat right by her to her right. His hands and feet were bound in the same kind of restraints used on her, putting him in the same awkward position.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Solana sighed as she looked in front of them. Across the cell Kate, Kellyn and Keith were leaning on the wall, also trapped in cuffs on their wrists and ankles.

"Starly…" Kate whimpered.

"They said they did the same thing to our Pokemon that they did to Solana and Lunick's earlier." Keith sighed. "What did they do? Will they be alright?"

Kellyn started at his cuffed hands and feet sighing. "I don't know Keith. I just don't know…"

Solana looked down sadly. Their captors mentioned that Plusle and Minun were their first "successful experiments". Solana didn't know what they meant, and she was too afraid to ask.

Just then the door opened, and Ben and Summer were marched into the cell by four Cipher Peons. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs. They pushed the two Rangers to wall at the far end of the cell and turned around. One peon went behind each of them and unlocked their electronic handcuffs, but their hands were immediately grabbed by the two in front of them. Their handcuffs were put on their ankles, and they were forced to sit down. They attached two open electronic cuffs to the cuffs around their ankles and forced Ben and Summer's wrists into the cuffs and they clamped shut, putting them in the same uncomfortable position as the other Rangers. Solana and Lunick sat leaning against the wall at their left, Kellyn, Kate and Keith sat at the wall to their right. After Ben and Summer were wrestled to the ground in Terminus Cave in Kalos, they were hogtied before they were gagged and blindfolded. Then they were hoisted over a big guy's shoulders and carried outside. Their ears were all that could help them figure out what was going as they were carried onboard a helicopter and brought to Orre. After being taken to this facility in the middle of the desert their rope binds were replaced with these more secure electronic ones and they were locked in the small cell. Their Stylers, Key Stones, and Ben's Weaver of Light were confiscated when they were captured. Sometime later, Kellyn, Kate, Solana, Lunick, and Keith were brought into their cell. Their Stylers and Partner Pokemon were taken from them.

The four peons went over to the door where a woman in a white and pink dress stood. "Thank you both so much for your cooperation. You two showed quite some resistance. But it was only a matter of time before we got what we wanted from you."

"What did you do?" Lunick asked glaring at the woman.

"Oh, I just made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Since the five of you can't use Guardian Signs, we really have no need for any of you. I told little Ben and Summer that."

"Wait, what offer?" Keith asked before glancing at his friends. "Ben, Summer, what did you do?!" Both Rangers looked down.

"They summoned all the legendary Pokemon they could for us. Soon they will be made into the strongest Shadow Pokemon ever."

"What?!" Kellyn turned to Ben and Summer. "How could you two do that?!"

"Oh, don't be so hard on them boy. I meant it really is your fault if anything."

"What do you mean?" Solna asked.

The woman laughed. "Like I said, we have no use for you five. So, I considered…disposing of you. So, I made a deal with Ben and Summer. Your safety in exchange for their legendary Pokemon."

"What?!"

Kate glanced at them. "Ben…Summer…"

Ben scowled. The woman put her fingers on his chin and tilted his head to look at her. "Oh, don't get all grumpy Ben. We'll take very good care of your Pokemon. Besides, a Pokemon Ranger's duty is to look after the wellbeing of people not just Pokemon. You were just doing your job."

Summer glared at her. "You people won't get away with this!"

The woman petted Summer's head, annoying the young Ranger. "Very cute, and just who is there left to stop us? All of the finest Rangers are in our custody."

"Well, Lady Venus…" one of the Cipher Peons said. "There is that kid who took out Cipher a year ago. Also, we do need to keep in mind that the team in Kalos isn't responding for some reason."

Ben looked at him. "What did you say?"

The woman glared at him. "Keep your mouth shut you fool! Don't give our prisoners information!"

"Epp!" The grunt saluted. "Y-yes Lady Venus! Please forgive me!"

The woman sighed. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Even if something did happen to the team in Kalos, there's no way you kids will be rescued. Not only is this lab hidden in the dessert, but it's guarded at all times by myself and a hefty number of troops. Including our most elite unit."

"Riiiight." Kate smirked. "And by "elite unit" I'm assuming you mean your figuratively and quite literally colorful little circus act?"

Venus sighed in exasperation. "They are "colorful" I won't deny that. But thanks to your friends, I will soon have an improved Shadow Pokemon of my very own. And then we will have an army of ultimate Pokemon. And nothing will stand in the way of Cipher." She and her troop left the cell, slamming the door behind them and locking it.

Everyone went quiet as they were left alone in the cell. "What have I done?" Ben murmured. "Latios…Raikou…all of them trusted me and I…"

"Ben, it's not your fault!" Kellyn said. "It's ours. If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have been forced to do that…"

Summer whimpered. "I saw them suffering…I couldn't do anything…"

Solana scooted over to Summer and let her lean on her shoulder. "They'll be okay Summer…Evreything will be okay…"

"So, someone took out those creeps who ambushed us in Kalos?" Keith asked.

"But who could it be?" Lunick asked. "I doubt it was just backup from the Union. Is there somebody out there with a bone to pick with these guys?"

Wes and the team descended toward a big building with a giant Pokeball on the roof. "This must be the place." Wes said. "I grew up in Orre but had no idea there was such a big facility in it."

One by one they landed and the Pokemon reverted to Rookie form. "What a nice-looking place." Ami said.

"Looks like a reliable facility." Takumi took out the Pokeball he kept in his pouch. "I hope they can do something for Plusle and Minun."

"We'll find out soon enough." Erika replied. "If they can't, we'll think of something else."

They walked up the stairs, to the front of the building and the automatic doors opened for them. They walked in and here greeted by a woman at a counter. "Hello. Welcome to the Pokemon HQ Lab. How may we help you?"

Wes walked over to the counter. "My pal Nett arranged and appointment for us with Professor Krane. It's rather urgent."

"Ah yes, Wes Leo right? Just a moment, I'll page him." The woman pressed a button. "Professor, Wes Leo and his friends have arrived."

"Ah, excellent." A voice from a speaker replied. "Please show them to the Purify Chamber. We're ready for them."

The woman pointed to a door behind her. "It's right in there."

"Thank you very much." Rui bowed. Wes walked over to the door, and it opened. Inside the room were a few researchers including a woman in pink outfit with her hair in a bun and a man with glasses and brown spiky hair.

"Are you Professor Krane?" Rand asked.

"I am indeed. Welcome everyone. We heard everything from Nett. This is Lily. She played a big part in the completion of the Purify Chamber."

"Nice to meet you." The woman looked down. "To think Cipher is still up to no good…"

"We obtained two of the Shadow Pokemon they created." Wes said taking out a Pokeball. "We think something might be different about them. They're far more violent for one thing. We thought you can look into it. I was also hopping to meet the kid who defeated Cipher a year ago."

"Ah, that would be my son. I understand you may want his help, but he hasn't been battling as much as he used to. After he purified the last of the Shadow Pokemon he snagged he wanted to honor his father's legacy and continue his work."

"His father?" Ami asked. "Is he…"

"He passed away in and accident while Michael and his sister Jovi were young."

"Oh…my condolences. My brother and I also lost our dad when we were young, we know how it feels."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. In any case he's currently-

The door opened again. "Mom, Professor, I got the notes you wanted." Everyone looked to the door. A young man with red hair wearing brown pants, black shoes and a lab coat walked in with a stack of papers. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Ah, Michael! Good timing, we were just talking about you." Professor Krane smiled. "I suppose some introductions are in order. Everyone, this is Michael Ryuto. He defeated Cipher a year ago and since then has been studying hard to continue to help Pokemon."

The boy put the papers down. "Hi. You must be the people the Professor told me about. The ones who ran into Cipher. I can't believe those jerks are still doing twisted things to Pokemon like that."

Wes smiled and walked up to him. "So, you're the guy I've been hearing so much about. Heh. People are telling me you don't battle Pokemon so much anymore, but I can still feel a powerful aura from you. Good to finally meet you kid."

Rui walked over. "We heard you took down Cipher for us. Thank you, Michael. Wes and I were about to hurry back to Orre when we saw you beat that weird guy on TV. You were amazing."

"Oh, are you Wes and Rui?" Michael asked. "The Grid kids, Duking, Eagun and so many other people in Orre told me a lot about you two. They said six years ago you crushed Cipher."

"Not thoroughly enough it seems." Wes replied. "Even now they still lurk in Orre."

"I know. To think beating them twice wasn't enough…Well that aside it's nice to meet you two at last. I hope I can help you."

The lady out front came in. "Sir, I have a Wendy and Rythmi from Ranger Union here to see you."

"Wendy got from Kalos back to Ranger Union and here already?" Yuugo asked. "That was fast."

"Flying's her specialty." Sven replied.

Wendy and Rythmi entered the room. "Hey guys." Wendy waved.

"You sure were fast Wendy, we just got here." Rui smiled. "And you must be Rythmi."

"Yes, I'm a navigator of Ranger Union. And you two must be Rui and Wes."

"That's right. Pleased to meet you."

Rand gestured to the group. "Rythmi, Wendy, this is Lily, Professor Krane, and Michael."

"I've read about the Pokemon Rangers." Michael said. "They befriend Pokemon without Pokeballs right?"

"We use something different." Sven said showing the gadget on his wrist. "They're called Capture Stylers. They're used to convey feelings of trust and friendship to Pokemon."

"Interesting. I bet such technology can further help people bond with Pokemon."

"Now that everyone is here, let us get to the matter at hand." Professor Krane. "You mentioned these Shadow Pokemon seem…different?"

"That's right." Wes replied.

Michael blinked. "Different? What do you mean?"

"Rui here can see Shadow Pokemon. But she see's something odd with these ones."

"Michael, do you still have the Aura Reader?" Lily asked.

"Uh, yeah, it's in the other room. Haven't touched it since I took off the Snag Machine."

Chitose looked at him in surprise. "Oh yeah. We heard you have one of those things too."

"Yup. It's how I rescued those Shadow Pokemon from Cipher. Anyway, I'll go get the Aura Reader." He darted out of the room.

Yuuko turned to Lily. "What's an Aura Reader?"

"It enables one to see the black aura around Shadow Pokemon. We made it so Michael can identify Shadow Pokemon."

"So, it's a device that replicates Rui's abilities." Wes said. "Interesting."

Michael ran back in with a gadget on the side of his head. "Okay, I'm back. So where are these Shadow Pokemon?"

Wes turned to one of the otherworldly tamers. "Takumi." The teen took out the Pokeball holding Plusle at the same time Wes took out the one for Minun.

Takumi looked at it. "Um…how do you use these?"

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You never used a Pokeball before? You must have come from a faraway place."

Arata chuckled. "You have no idea kid."

"Just press the button in the center and throw it." Wes instructed.

Takumi pressed the button with his thumb and the Pokeball grew in size, surprising him. He felt it vibrate and threw it to the ground. Plusle came out. Wes brought out Minun as well.

Michael's device slid a screen over his eye. Through it he saw a black aura around both Pokemon. "Yup, they're Shadow Pokemon alright. Huh?" He saw a strange white glow. "What is that?"

"Do you see anything Michael?" Krane asked.

"Yeah. Some weird light."

"That's what I saw too." Rui nodded.

"Wait, you can see Shadow Pokemon with your naked eyes? How'd you get such a skill?"

"I honestly don't know myself…"

"This does make you a mystery indeed." Kyoko smiled. "Very interesting…"

Plusle and Minun growled. Without warning they shot electricity at Wes and Takumi. "Look out!" Sven and Rand tackled them out of the way and the bolt burnt a mark in the door behind them.

"What's going on?!" Michael asked. "They just attacked their own Trainers!"

Both of them prepared to fire again. "Oh no you don't!" Terriermon rammed into Minun and Palmon tackled Plusle. "Uh, a little help?!" Terirermon asked as they wrestled.

"I got you buddy!" Tentomon flew into Minun and Terriemron as FanBeemon charged at Plusle and Palmon.

"Chaaaarge!" Agumon yelled as he and Gabumon joined. One by one, Lopmon, Armadillomon, Patamon, and Wormmon rushed in. Dust engulfed them as they got into a wild struggle. Shouts and bashings were heard as they tussled like kids in a schoolyard fight. Agumon and Patamon flew out of the dust cloud and started punching what they were standing on. "Wait, you're not Plusle." Agumon said getting off Armadillomon and running back into the cloud.

"Wait, you're not Minun." Patamon said before getting off Gabumon and running back into the cloud.

"I have a horn on my head, how do you miss that?!" Gabumon groaned before he and Armadillomon got back into the fight.

Takumi turned to Wes. "Quick, how do I put them back in?!"

"Just push the button again." Wes said demonstrating by pressing the button on the Pokeball. Minun turned into a light that returned to the Pokeball.

Takumi did the same and withdrew Plusle to his Pokeball, but noticed the Digimon were still tumbling around fighting in a dust cloud. "Guys! GUYS! It's okay, we got them back in their Pokeballs now!"

The dust cloud settled down and the Digimon laid in a messy pile dazed. "Thanks for telling us, buddy." Worrmon groaned from the bottom of said pile.

Lily, Krane and Michael were shocked. "I don't believe it…" Krane murmured.

"I know, right?" Rui said. "They're way more aggressive than normal Shadow Pokemon. Which is saying a lot."

"Forget the Shadow Pokemon!" Michael said, taking off the Aura Reader. "You're Pokemon can talk?! How did you teach them that!?"

"Oh, that." Takumi muttered. "Proooobably should have put them back in the Digivices when we landed."

Keisuke scratched his cheek. "Yeah…probably."

Michael noticed neither Wes nor Rui seemed surprised. "Did you know about this?"

Wes turned away. "They gave us the rundown."

"What rundown?" Lily asked.

"Sorry but part of their terms for us working together was that Rui and I keep what they told us to ourselves. If you want to know, you'll need to get it from them."

The group looked at each other. "Should we tell them?" Ami asked. "I mean, we might have too now…"

"Well, if Michael does decide to fight alongside us, it's probably better that he knows." Wendy replied.

"I suppose we have no choice." Rand sighed.

"Whoa, okay, slow down." Michael said. "So, most of you are from some other world. And there's this other, OTHER world where these "Digimon" come from?"

Yuuko nodded. "It's called the Digital World."

"Amazing…" Lily murmured. "I guess there's more out there then we realize."

"It's rather exciting to think about really." Krane smiled. "So much to learn, to research…"

"Well since we told you about Digimon there's something else you should know." Kyoko said. "We suspect a Digimon calling themselves "The Malevolent Fist" is working with Cipher."

"Interesting…" Michael replied. "I wonder if they have something to do with the changes with these Shadow Pokemon."

"They both belong to two of my fellow Pokemon Rangers who were captured and taken to Cipher's hideout in Orre." Rand said. "Please, if you can do anything to help them…"

"Let's put them into the Purify Chamber." Lily said.

Takumi and Wes gave Michael the Pokeballs. Michael then put them into e nearby PC and stepped onto the circular pad in the center of the room. It glowed and everything around him changed, as he stood in a virtual reality space. Some monitors appeared in front of him, and he moved a few things. Fists a virtual 3D image of Minun appeared above him. Behind it a Poliwrath appeared. Then a Swinub. Followed by a Spearow. And finally, a Exeguttor. Michael's four Pokemon circled around Minun as music played. He swiped the screen to the side and the 3D models faded as he opened a new set. He put in Plusle, then a Butterfree, a Tangela, a Lunatone, and finally a Magmar. "How's it looking?"

In the lab, Professor Krane was at a monitor. "Tempo and flow are reading high."

"Purification rate?"

"Uh…I'm not picking one up. Maybe the difference with these Shadow Pokemon might be making it hard to calculate?"

"Hold on." Michael exited the virtual space. "I think we better get a professional's opinion on these Shadow Pokemon."

"Ah yes! Excellent idea! Please bring them in."

"Right away!" Michael ran off.

"Uh, where's he goin' now?" Fei asked.

Lily scratched the back of her head. "Well, this may be a shock but…recently we hired two people who used to work for Cipher."

"Are you serious?" Ryuji asked.

"Yes. A former Admin and her brother. Don't worry, they both turned over a new leaf after Cipher was defeated. They've been helping Michael with his studies and us on our research."

"Can we trust them?" Chitose asked.

"I'm positive."

Michel hurried back in. "Okay, I'm back." Two people followed him in. One was a girl with long pink pigtails, the other was a man in a lab coat with pink, neatly combed hair. "Everyone, this is Lovrina and her older brother Naps."

The young lady waved. "Hello, hello! So, you guys are the ones who brough in these new Shadow Pokemon?"

"That's right. You two used to work for Cipher?" Rand asked.

"Used to, yes." Naps replied. "I used to think it was either submit to Cipher or face the consequences. They frightened me. Professor Krane convinced me that Cipher was doing horrible things, but I still feared what would happen to me and my sister if I resisted. Then when Cipher was defeated, I truly begin to understand how cowardly and foolish I was. Lovrina was stuck with what to do after that and I remember when the Professor offered me to join them. I thought there was no way they were going to let former Cipher members in but…"

The professor put a hand on Naps' shoulder. "I believe those who wish to atone for what they did in the past deserve a chance to do so."

Keisuke smiled at Takumi and Ami. "Wise words."

"I guess you're right." Ami softly replied.

"Lovrina wasn't only an Admin for Cipher." Michael added. "She was one of their best scientists. She's had a lot of involvement with the production of Shadow Pokemon, so I'm sure she can figure something out."

"Of course!" Lovrina strode over to the PC. "Not let's see what we got here. A Plusle and a Minun. Huh, what are the odds. We should show your sister this! Actually, on second thought, maybe seeing them like this would upset her."

"Pichu…"

Naps looked at the Pichu in the room. "Aww, is that a ukulele? Cute. Can it play?"

"Ukulele Pichu and Staraptor are the partners of Ben and Summer who were abducted by Cipher." Nokia replied. "What's wrong you two? You seem depressed."

"I think they're scared." Palmon said. "If they didn't escape like Ben and Summer told them to, they'd have ended up just like Plusle and Minun."

Nokia picked up Pichu and petted Staraptor. "It's okay you two, nobody is doing that to either of you. We'll beat up the baddies and save Ben and Summer!"

Lovrina had stopped working to stare at Palmon. "Did that Pokemon just talk?!"

"It's called a Digimon, I'll explain later." The Professor replied. "So, about the Shadow Pokemon?"

"Right, right. It's like you said, something is definitely odd about these two. I'm picking up a strange energy wave from them."

"Think it's anything like XD001?" Naps asked.

"No. This is something else entirely. Weird. As they are, I don't think the Purification Chamber will have any effect on theme."

"That's not good." Lily sighed.

"So, they can't be purified?" Michael asked.

"Not at this rate. If I could just figure out the secret to this energy, I should be able to crack the mystery on how to fix them."

"Sounds like we have another reason to hit this Cipher Lab then just saving our friends." Arata said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Date asked. "Wes, you know where it is, right? Let's go stomp these clowns!"

"Not yet." Wes replied. "They must have noticed their pals in Kalos have vanished by now, they'll be on their guard. We need to play our cards carefully."

"Maybe we should ask Nett and the others what they think." Rui said.

"I'll e-mail Nett." Michael replied. "I'll see if we can arrange an appointment."

"So, we just wait for this guy to reply?" Yu asked. "What do we do in the meantime?"

"Well, if nobody has any plans, I was thinking of visiting my grandma and grandpa in Agate Village." Rui said. "It's been a while since I last saw them."

"Not a bad idea…" Wes said. "Maybe we should check out the Relic Stone while we're there."

"Relic Stone?" Yuugo asked.

"The Purify Chamber wasn't a thing when Rui and I first confronted Cipher. So, we used the power of the Relic Stone to purify them. Maybe we'll get a reaction if we bring your friends' Pokemon there."

"But the Relic Stone is nowhere near as powerful as the Purify Chamber." Michael replied. "Do you really think it will do anything?"

"It's worth investigating." Kyoko replied.

"Agreed. Beats standing around waiting for this Nett guy to clear space on his calendar." Keremon said.

Rythmi faced the group. "If it is alright with Professor Krane, I would like to do my duty as the team Operator from here."

"Certainty. Use this place as you see fit. We're all in this together after all."

Lovrina started working on the computer. "Naps and I will stay here and see what we can learn about that weird energy."

Michael took Plusle and Minun's Pokeballs from the PC. "Okay. I'll go with Wes and his friends. It's been a while since I saw Egaun."

"So, will you help us fight Cipher?" Takumi asked. "Having someone who defeated them before there would really help."

"Huh? I dunno, I mean you guys got Wes and Rui for that right? Besides, my skills aren't what they used to be…"

Wes smiled. "You say that, but some things don't change so easily. We'll talk about that later. Come on. Let's go."

"Uh, right!" Michael hurried after the others as they left.

I should have brought this up last chapter, but this story is in no way connected to Fall to Darkness, my other Pokemon XD story. Also, to answer the question in your review Ed, the closest thing we'll have to Biomerge in this story is Erika and Wormmon becoming Hudiemon, I see no reason to give that to anyone now, considering they all achieved the strongest forms for their Digimon without it in the previous arcs. Anyhow, we'll be meeting more familiar faces before the battle with Cipher continues. Next stop: Agate Village!