Pokémon: Rainbow
By: Narak91
Part 1
Pokémon trainer, Samsara, is on vacation with her two twin Eevees on Cinnabar Island. She lets them wander the island alone to explore, and they stumble upon a part of the island labeled "Restricted" with some old rotted wooden barricades. The two Eevees decide to cross the barricade and explore what lies beyond. After scaling down the rocky shoreline, the duo discovers a cave at sea level, with a strange sonic noise coming from the opening. When they enter the cave, they see a most magnificent sight: a glitching bar of light and color that is emitting high-pitched sonic sounds. Its form is inconsistent and sounds like it is in pain. The twins approach it to get a closer look, and the creature cries out in agony. The two Eevees are blasted by waves of sound and light and the creature flies out of the cave and disappears into the horizon, leaving behind a rainbow. The two Pokémon now start to feel ill, and both pass out.
Later on, the two awaken in the Pokecenter with Samsara at their side. The two Pokémon have been infected with a rare, and deadly pokevirus only known to come from the cave they were in, which is known to house a mysterious Pokémon experiment nicknamed "Missing Number". One Eevee, Caelum, is beginning to glitch and its image shifting, similarly to Missing Number, barely able to hold its form. Images of itself are breaking apart and being sucked back to the center form. The other Eevee, Terra, is becoming transparent; its eyes are starting to darken, and slowly becoming more and more tired. The Nurse at the Pokecenter tells Samsara there is nothing she can do to help her Eevees, and the best thing she can try to do is take them back home, and treat them with potions until any new development arises.
Back home in the Country of Lux, they discover unrest on the way back home. Apparently, everyone's Pokémon are having issues since a mysterious rainbow appeared over the sky. They are all changing in ways never-before seen. While crossing a field to return to her hometown, Samsara is met with a wild Machop that has been affected by Missing Number's light. Only travelling with Terra and Caelum, the two Eevees step out to fight and protect Samsara, against her best wishes, and fight the wild Machop. During battle, Terra passes away from the sickness, and Caelum builds up enough fighting spirit to force it to evolve through the virus into a brand-new Pokémon the Pokedex can only register as Shifteon, and carry on the battle and defeat the glitching Machop. Samsara and Caelum carry Terra's body back to the home. As they spend time lamenting and preparing to bury Terra, a burst of light emits from the dead Eevee's body, leaving it void of hue, a black and white Pokémon with blackened eyes that can phase through walls. The Pokedex registers this new Pokémon as Phanteon.
Samsara gets to know her new Pokémon, Shifteon, who appears to be a glitching Poison-Type, and Phanteon who appears to be a phasing Ghost-Type. Upon further investigating and learning, she discovers that her new Phanteon has zero recollection of its past life of living as an Eevee, and seems to exist carefree, despite the existence of Samsara. Not much else is known about Shifteon, except that it appears to be tired a lot.
A knock on the door interrupts her session. At the door, her neighbor and childhood friend, Mortel, and his pet Eevee, Vis, are upset with her. Word on the street is that she disturbed a sleeping Pokémon which is now causing everyone's Pokémon to become sick, and now the entire country is on the look-out for her to get revenge. Samsara apologizes and says she is going to try to make things right, but Mortel tells her she has done enough, and he will be the one to find the cure for the Pokémon, and challenges Samsara to the first rival Pokémon battle. Samsara's new Ghost and Poison type Pokémon easily do away with the sick Eevee and Ralts, Sending Mortel off to continue his research.
Samsara and her two Poke's leave the house to their local research lab to show the professor the new Eeveelution she discovered. On the way there, she is met with many angry villagers and townsfolk who challenge her to battle for causing this terrible tragedy across their country. Upon finally arriving at the laboratory of Professor Machineel, Samsara informs Machineel of what transpired back at Cinnabar Island. Machineel informs her that he is already aware, and it was he who registered the transformations into the Pokedex as soon as she sent the new data over. Machineel goes on to tell Samsara of the grave danger her Eevees have unlocked on the country. The creature, Missing Number, is really only known amongst those who were in the "need-to-know" group, due to its effect it had on Pokémon. Missing Number was a creation of the late Team Rocket's after the experiment to clone the mythical Pokémon, Mew, went wrong. Unable to capture its form correctly and emitting all of its DNA outward, it causes a pokevirus that can lead to mutations, or be lead fatal. Samsara's two Pokémon were lucky in being able to evolve their way out of sickness, but not all Pokémon are lucky. Many Pokémon have permanently died due to this "Poke-demic", and the country is furious, with her at the center of the blame. Samsara is then tasked with the mission of collecting all the data from the old Team Rocket's experiment to discover a secret within the creation of Missing Number to find a cure and bring balance back to the country. The first location he suggests that she look is an old Team Rocket base in the city of Rubrum.
Part 2
After battling many different trainers along her path, all bearing Pokémon affected by Missing Number's light, Samsara arrives in the City of Rubrum. She begins to ask around about the old Team Rocket base, but is met with nothing but unwanted glares and nasty responses. Eventually, she is met with someone who shares some compassion for her. His name is Mono, and he explains that since the defeat of Team Rocket years ago, this country has been wiped clean of any remanence of Team Rocket. The old building has been converted into a videogame arcade. No one in the city either speaks about, or remembers when Team Rocket ruled the streets, so even if she was not the most hated person in the country at the moment, chances are people wouldn't have answers for her anyway. Mono offers his help to find the Team Rocket clues in the building that might lead to the next place they must go. Upon reaching the front door of the arcade, they discover it is closed, and the owner happens to be a leader at the local gym.
The Gym Leader, Spark, tells the duo that the Arcade is closed for the day while he tends to the poke-gym, and if he is defeated, he may consider reopening tomorrow. Mono agrees to battle alongside Samsara, and reveals he is a Pokémon Trainer, as well. Spark is an Electric-Type user who uses a set of 6 Pokémon to start, and Mono surprises you with using an Espeon first. The two defeat Spark, who agrees to open the gym, and even help them on their journey by showing them something in the arcade that could prove useful, and agrees to meet at the arcade the next day. After leaving the gym, Mono hands you a mysterious shining ball, and tells you its best to hold onto it for now.
The next day, they arrive at the arcade, which is open as promised, and full of people. Samsara and Mono begin to explore the arcade, looking for the for main office to meet Spark. Virtual Pokémon matches are being held by amateur trainers who just started on their journey when their Pokémon fell ill. Samsara is challenged by a few trainers before finally she is approached by team of the arcade's security that guides them to the office to meet Spark. Spark welcomes the two, and brings them into the basement of the arcade through a private elevator located only in his office. He informs the two that during the renovation of this building, some parts were left untouched, as it wasn't seeing the light of day, and the average consumer won't see it, disrupting the sanctity of their day. Spark leads them to a locked door, which can only be opened by a certain amount of volts provided by his Raichu. Inside the locked room, is an old office space, the back wall has a dilapidated Team Rocket logo on it, the paint has faded and the brick exposed. In front of that, an executives desk topped with old files and paperwork. Spark explained this basement was completely untouched, and he found it cool that such an old relic was left into his possession. Samsara begins to look through the files, and in them, all old data reports of the beginning stages to replicate the cloning of Mew.
She learns that during the attacks on Team Rocket from the rogue Pokémon, Mewtwo, lots of the research data was lost in the fires on the cloning island, and many of the lead scientists on the project were lost. The research had to begin anew. In the folder is an old faded picture of a silhouette of Mew, and what appears to be a strain of the Pokémon's hair in lamination. Samsara widely smiles, happy of her first steps towards her goal of righting the wrongs that happened back on Cinnabar Island. Mono asks to look over the files, and she happily hands them over to her new friend. With stars in her eyes, she watches as he runs through the documents in his hands, and begins to smile with her… then laughs. A wave of confusion overcomes Samsara, as Mono reveals a watch on his wrists, and he presses a Red button on the side.
Moments later, a swarm of trainers from the arcade come running into the room, surrounding them. They are all the trainers who Samsara fought before in the virtual battles, who reveal the true costumes underneath their clothing. Mono reveals himself as the leader of Neo-Team Rocket, a group of radicals who seek to restore the might of the old team rocket by using the information gained to bring might back to the organization- and also the grandson to the late Giovanni. Mono gives Samsara the option of joining her, and using the steroid he previously gave her to help take over Rubrum City with him. She firmly denies his request, as her mission is to help restore the world back to a state of peace. Samsara battles Mono with Spark at her side to gain the papers back before it's too late, but his Espeon and Kadabra prove too strong. Neo-Team Rocket escape the Arcade, and Spark helps Samsara to a Pokecenter.
On the way there, Spark informs her that the next city over, in Cucurbita, his friend Candela also runs a gym, and knows of some of the issues surrounding the old TR bases in her area. He is going to give her a call and let her know that she will be arriving, while he stays in Rubrum to help hold off the Neo-Team Rocket presence in his city. As Samsara leaves the city, she is approached by many more angry trainers, who are blaming her for no longer just the Poke-demic, but also the resurgence of Team Rocket.
Part 3
Black smoke steams from the tall towers of Cucurbita City. A black banner with a large red "R+" hangs from the tallest building in the city, distracting you from the enormous mountain range behind. A strong wave of fear flows over Samsara, questioning if she will be able to meet this Candela at all. While searching the city streets, she finds a group of kids getting their Pokémon stolen by a group of Neo-Rocket Grunts. The kids cry as the thugs spray their Pokémon with concentrated gas from Missing Number's rainbow, causing them to get sick, and tossing them into the back of their truck. Inside the truck are more Grunts who are force feeding shining balls to the Pokémon, causing them to beef up, their shifting form starts to turn dark, and their eyes begin to glow red. A Rattatta belonging to one of the boys on the street appears to be up next, until one of Samsara's Eevees jumps to action. Terra leaps to the side of the truck and phases into the box car, and scares the Grunts out the back. The Phanteon then goes to speak to the captive Pokémon who are still sane, and explains to them how to evolve out of sickness. In the middle of its lecture, the shadow Pokémon attacks Terra, and they are lead to battle. Caelum joins to back them up, and Samsara and the Neo-Rocket Grunts get into a hectic street battle. The heroicism of Samsara and her Eevees inspire the kids, who decide to assist her in her efforts, and win valiantly.
After the Neo-Team Rocket Grunts run off leaving their shadow Pokémon behind, the kids explain to Samsara what has been going on, that Neo-Team Rocket has been kidnapping everyone's Pokémon, forcing them to become sick and giving them steroids to boost their new strength. Spilled from the battle is a jar of the steroids next to the box car of the Neo-Rocket's truck, which are exactly identical to the ball that was given to her by Mono, previously. Samsara looks at the steroid given to her, then to her two Pokémon, clutches the steroid, and places it back into her pocket. After commending the kids, she asks them to join her on her mission, and at first they agree, until their parents come by, worried sick about the Neo-Team Rocket invasion. The kids explain to their parents that they were saved by Samsara, but quickly get shut down once their parents explain that she was the cause of this entire event. The kids plead their parents to allow them to help her, but Samsara tells them it is best to go with their parents in a situation like this, and the kids leave with their parents, watching her as they are pulled away.
Samsara continues her search when she stumbles upon another Pokémon battle inside a department store. Upon investigation, she discovers the battle is between Neo-Team Rocket and what appears to be a group of rebel forces. Blazing flames emerge from an infected Growlith, accompanied by Zubats and Koffings in the army of Neo-Team Rocket, combatted by the might and force of the resistance's Politoed, Quagsire, Gengar, Blaziken and Lunatone. Caelum the Shifteon unleashes a wave of infectious distortion among the Neo-Rocket's Pokémon, which causes the effects of the steroids to weaken, giving the resistance the edge they need to shake off the invading Grunts. A dark-skinned brunette women dressed in revolutionary armor climbs down the top of the balcony with the help of her Blaziken and grants Samsara thanks. She introduces herself as Candela, leader of the Cucurbita City Resistance, and Gym Leader. As soon as Samsara introduces herself, she informs her that she has been waiting since Spark called. Neo-Team Rocket has started a war in the great City of Cucurbita, and they refuse to let them rule. She honors the mission Samsara is on to finding a cure for the effects of Missing Number, and will help on her mission. As they are leaving the mall, the infected Growlith speaks with Caelum, and follows them out.
Candela guides Samsara back to the base of the resistance for mission briefing. Back in the old days of Team Rocket's rule over the country, they had a head quarters for research and development in Cucurbita, but it wasn't located directly within the city, but in the mountain range behind. Informants in the resistance have already told Candela of Neo-Team Rocket's attempts to find this hidden location, but the people of the city have been effortlessly fighting them back, keeping them at bay and locked within the confines of the city. The current plan is to navigate the city and find their way to the R&D lab in the mountainside. As soon as they are preparing to leave, Candela gives Samsara a couple of potions to help treat the Growlith who is tailing them. Candela directs them towards an entry way to a series of underground tunnels, but the underground tunnel system in the city is not all connected, so there will be moments where they will resurface, and have to connect to other tunnels.
The team maneuvers through the first passage successfully, and hops into the second passage before stumbling upon a group of Neo-Rocket Grunts who are also trying to find their way to the research lab. The Grunts are hopelessly overpowered, but manage to radio to the rest of the invaders that the resistance is maneuvering through the tunnels. The resistance takes the Grunts as hostage, take the transmitters from them, and continue their journey through the city. When they resurface from the second tunnel system, they are met with a army of Grunts, who are quickly defeated by Caelum's Poison Gas, Terra's Confusion, Blazikens's inferno, and Growlith's flamethrower. The combination of the gas and fire causes a large incineration among the field, and with all the enemy Pokémon left rendered confused, could not put up much of a defense. The resistance's Gengar uses a hypnosis spell to put them all to sleep as they carry on through their mission. Moments later, a shadowy figure appears to the late battle scene, kicking one of the Grunts awake, who reveals what happened, and what direction to move towards, all while addressing the figure as "General".
At the end of the final tunnel, Candela leaves some of her men at the exit of the tunnel, in case they were followed, and begin to hike up into the mountains. At last, they reach their destination, the hidden R&D lab from the old Team Rocket occupation. They make it inside base and discover what appears to be a list of chemicals used for the Missing Number experiment. These additives were injected into the base zygote to try to recreate Mewtwo. But more questions still remain. Candela tells Samsara the study of Pokémon growth happens in Flavum Village, and it is a good place to go to next for her quest- but just as momentary celebration is had, it comes to a brief halt.
Outside the research lab is a large army of Neo-Team Rocket Grunts, lead by a Neo-Rocket General by the name of Griseo. General Griseo brings out the men that were left at the gate down the mountain, who were defeated and forced to reveal the location of the R&D lab. He warns them that the resurgence of Team Rocket will not be stopped, and that they are now outnumbered, and trapped between the army, and the building. Our heroes are instructed to turn over any information leading to the creation of Missing Number immediately, and surrender to Neo-Team Rocket. As the resistance prepares for battle, the infected Growlith steps out in front, staring Griseo in the eyes with a hot intense fury. Memories of chemical experimentation on the fire pup surge through his mind, and forces a miraculous evolution that helps him recover from the pokevirus, and transform into a brand-new breed of Arcanine. Its fur is Gray and white, its eyes blackened. Smoke blows where its tail used to be. The Pokedex renders this as an Arcanine, but where the element type says Fire, next to it says "Ghost".
The front line of enemy Grunts and their 'mons are now in fear. The Arcanine's hollow eyes show nothing put pain and sorrow. He grows to an exponential size and blows a chilly, ghastly wind that shivers down the spines of all the Neo-Rockets, sending a good portion running from the hills. Griseo spits at the ghost pup, and throws out his Pokémon, Phantump, who has been exposed to the steroid already. The two supersized Ghost-Pokémon duke it out, with Arcanine inevitably winning over the Ghost/Grass type. The Ghost Arcanine once again stares down Griseo, and places a paralyzing hex on him, removing him of most movement and speech. The Arcanine returns to normal size, and returns to Samsara, who is amazed at the feat she just witnessed. The resistance chases off and defeats the remaining standing Grunts who are shaking in fear or were too stupid to run and decided to fight.
Candela congratulates and thanks Samsara for liberating Neo-Team Rocket from Cucurbita City. Samsara explains that she wasn't the one who defeated Griseo, but the Ghost Arcanine. 'If It were not for your Phanteon and Shifteon's encouragement, this Arcanine would have never evolved into what it is now.' Candela explains, and offers the opportunity for a Pokémon battle before she leaves, now the Neo-Rocket's zone general has been defeated. Samsara agrees, and the two test the might of the Blaziken against the might the newly transformed Ghost Arcanine.
Part 4
Samsara walks through a forest with her new team, bound for the Town of Flavum. In her hand, she holds the gym badge from Cucurbita City in her hand, reflecting it against the light of the full moon. The rainbow of Missing Number still shines bright in the sky like an auroras. The team takes a break from travelling and sits on a series of rocks next to a nearby river. Samsara takes out her communicator to call Professor Machineel and update him on her recent developments. She tells him of the steroid Neo-Team Rocket has been using to turn the infected Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon, and how more of Missing Number's light will weaken the Pokémon, but not cause full recovery from the steroid. They briefly discuss the change of the Ghost Arcanine before Machineel requests that she provide him a sample of the Neo-Team Rocket steroid if she possibly can. Samsara pulls the steroid given to her by Mono back in Rubrum City out of her pocket and holds it up to the camera, showing Professor Machineel the product. Machineel requests that she sends the ball over to him immediately. A ray of light emits out the back of the communicator, scanning the ball in her hand until it eventually disappears. Now in the possession of Machineel, he kindly thanks her for her efforts in the restoration project, and signs off.
As Samsara and her 'mons begin to pick back up to continue their search for Flavum, they are approached by sounds of snapping and growling in the dark of the forest. As Terra and Caelum jump into defensive positions, knees trembling, they are backed into a clearing, where a field is bathed in undisrupted moonlight. Moments later, out of the shadows, steps out a group of two infected Houndour lead by a Houndoom of the same nature. The only issue is they seem to be acting extremely feral, ready to pounce on the group and attack at any minute. The Houndour run out towards Samsara, and Terra and Caelum jump to her defense. While the 2x2 battle is underway, the Houndoom slowly steps towards Samsara, eyes glowing a bright silver with smoke emitting from the orifices. As it gets close, Arcanine wisps in front of Samsara to take down the Houndoom. As the horizon gets lit with red flames of the battle, the two Houndour go down, but Arcanine loses its battle to the Houndoom. Terra and Caelum, both exhausted from nearly getting taken out by the wild Houndours, watch as the infected feral Houndoom slowly steps towards Samsara. She fumbles through her bag, grabs an empty Pokeball, places the unconscious Arcanine inside, and runs with her Phanteon and Shifteon. The feral sick Houndoom cries out to the moon, and all around her in the darkness of the forest, she can hear responses of other dogs calling back.
Very quickly, swarms of Houndours appear from the shadows, chasing the group down. Caelum fires poison shots rapidly, only to have very little effect on the Houndours. They just won't stop coming. All seems hopeless, until they stumble upon a large wooden wall at the edge of the forest. Samsara cries out for help at the top of her lungs, when suddenly, a powerful jetstream of water fires out towards the feral pups. As soon as the water disperses, Samsara looks to the wall, and a team of cloaked water Pokémon all wearing reflective glasses stand atop the wall, ready to keep the swarm at bay. A shadowy figure leaps over the wall past the moonlight, and lands in the battlefield, low-sweeping the pups off their paws, and sending blasts of water at them, sending them back into the forest in what seems to be a classic kung-fu film casted only with Pokémon. As the last Houndour runs, the eyes of the Houndoom glare through the darkness of the trees before he disappears. A voice is heard behind Samsara, "You did a good job, Swampert."
Samsara turns back to her cloaked kung-fu savior, who in fact is a Swampert. The man on top of the wall calls on the group to follow them to the wall's entrance to be let in. Inside the fortress is a small village, the townsfolk all gather towards the general area of the main gate to see the wayward travelers. inside the homes, you can see the villages Pokémon hidden inside the homes of their masters. Those who are outside are covered in cloaks and wearing special glasses. The man introduces himself as Kaio, Second in Power to the Chief of Flavum Village. Kaio explains that since the world has changed, word reached out of the sickness the Pokémon were going through due to the light. The village made the unanimous decision to keep them all indoors until the situation ended when the first Pokémon in the village went ill. A couple days after, a Pokémon left to help its master who had been hurt in a construction project, and took its master's rainy weather gear to get help. The Pokémon returned perfectly healthy, and since then they made the discovery if you keep them from having direct contact with the light, it could potentially keep them from getting sick. This technique is still very risky, and is no way a solution to the problem, so all Pokémon stay inside unless absolutely necessary for the time being.
Samsara brings the conversation back to the pack of wild dogs who seemed to want her dead. Kaio mentions that due to the number of wild Pokémon they could not protect from the light, and how infectious the virus is, they were forced to build the wall to keep those infected out to protect their own. Samsara mentioned the glow in the eyes of the dogs she encountered, and no other infected Pokémon seems to have those traits. Once a month during the full moon, the dogs of the forest pull power from the moonlight, giving them an incredible temporary strength boost; but in turn, also brings out their animal instincts 10-fold. Kaio tells her that may have been what she experienced out in the woods, along with the new virus infection, those dogs may pose to be unstoppable under the full moon. Kaio finally pops the question of why she was wandering the forest at night during a full moon alone.
Samsara informs him of her mission, that she is here to learn more about laboratory pokegrowth, and the effects the zygotes have when certain chemicals interact. She asks to be pointed towards the old Team Rocket research lab. Kaio laughs, tells her that she cannot just walk in, making demands. Strangers must prove themselves in this village before being granted requests. She must first help protect the village through the night from the dogs, as they will return, and in greater numbers. Not a second later after Kaio's final words spill out of his mouth, a rogue set of fingers thwicks across the back of his head, rendering him numb. A small, blonde woman with hazel eyes steps in front of him and assures Samsara that the village will comply and help her on her journey. After all, the wall is doing its job, and she seems like someone who knows what she is doing in terms of bringing the world back to a state of normalcy- at least more-so than the previous hothead who wandered through. This small blonde woman is Sydney, Chief of Flavum Village, and former gym leader.
Sydney notices the two gym badges on the side of her backpack from Rubrum and Cucurbita City, and tells her there was a time she also used to collect gym badges, but the gym was destroyed in a recent match, so until the gym can be rebuilt, there can be no more matches. And of course, for construction to begin, lumber is needed, but the forest is swarming with infected beasts, so until the Poke-demic is solved, the gym cannot be rebuilt.
Samsara confirms to her that the collection of gym badges, to her, is completely secondary, and her primary is just getting the necessary information from the research lab. Sydney tells her she will accompany her to the Research Lab, but as soon as they begin to leave, a townsperson runs to Sydney, out of breath, informing her of the return of the infected dogs at the wall. With their new feral strength, they are attempting to burn down the wall and get inside, and since the walls are also made from wood, there is great worry of their success. Sydney turns towards Samsara and tells her that it appears she will need to prove herself after all. Samsara tells her that her Pokémon are in no shape to battle, as they were nearly defeated out in the woods. An irritated scoff comes out of Kaio's mouth, as he mocks her for having too few Pokémon, and all of similar type. Sydney agrees with him, but is surprised that she made it all the way from Album Town with only 3 Pokémon. She decides to give her a chance, will care for her defeated Pokémon, in turn, she must command her Swampert for her instead, and really show her strength as a Pokémon trainer, and a possible hero of the world.
Concern comes to Samsara as she is worried about sending Swampert out into the moonlight to fight the army of dogs by itself. Normally, Sydney would never let someone else command her Pokémon, but after seeing Terra and Caelum, one look at them confirmed to her that she has seen sick Pokémon, and that they are fighters. She concludes by letting her know that her Swampert is also a fighter. At that moment, Swampert climbs to the top of the wall, and removes his cloak. Underneath is the body of a refined hunched over martial artist with a belt across its waist. Samsara pulls out her Pokedex and it still reads as a Swampert, but the element type is reading as Water/Fighting. Samsara is once again encouraged to take the helm, so Sydney can watch and see if she is the one she can entrust with this information. There will be a team of the cloaked water Pokémon on the wall to back her up incase things go south.
Samsara takes to the wall next to Swampert, and commands him to jump down the wall to face the army lead by the infected feral Houndoom. The army of Water-Types stand by for back up as the battle begins. Wave after wave, infected pups run towards the Swampert, as Samsara commands it to use a fusion fury of water/fighting attacks. Sights you'd think would only appear out of the water benders of The Last Airbender, Swampert is pulling off beautifully. At a moment, it all seems like they were beginning to prove too much for the lone Swampert, when all the water Pokémon on the wall begin to prepare their attacks, Swampert lets out a yell, halting the Pokémon on the wall. Samsara tells Swampert to let it loose, and soon enough, a torrential flood comes roaring through the forest from the direction of the river. Swimming though the newly formed terrain, Swampert effortlessly wrestles the already drowning dogs into submission, and inevitably fainting.
The water begins to level, and most the dogs have been taken care of. Samsara lets out a series of commands to Swampert that lets him get close enough to the lead Houndoom, and grabbing him by its throat. The Houndoom seems to be too powerful for the hold to be fully successful, when a shadow is casted down over them. The moonlight that was once providing the Houndoom with such strength has been blocked. Terra has learned from watching the battle with the Arcanine, that resizing its astral form is possible when becoming a Ghost-Type, and blocks the moonlight out. Hex flames line the new fighting ring, and Houndoom loses its feral ability. Swampert's grip tightens to the point Houndoom's mouth is forced open, and Swampert lets loose a powerful Hydro Cannon down the throat of the infected Houndoom.
Bodies of the passed out Infected pups lay on the ground. Swampert and Phanteon return inside the village. Sydney is sure, after that display of dominance, the dogs will not attempt another siege anytime soon. Yet Samsara's flood idea gave the Village Chief an idea. Swampert goes to move the dogs back into the forest, and gets digging around the wall, and other villagers go out to help him. While that is happening, Sydney once again congratulates Samsara for her victory over the feral dogs, and leads her towards the research lab as promised.
A slightly raised circle in the ground in the center of the Village with the imprint of the Team Rocket's famous "R" marks the sign of Samsara's next destination. there is a stairwell that winds around the circumference of the lab that takes you underground. Inside the lab, towers of old glass housing tubes, which could have possibly at one point been the home to many clone zygotes. The floor is stained from the liquid that has poured out from housings after the glass walls had been broken and shattered. There is not much to be found here, except the way that they went about the cloning process. Samsara wishes she can bring something along with her, to add to her collection of samples that she can provide to the Professor to bring an end to this nightmare. Sydney tells her she may stay all night if she wishes, as her Pokémon will need the time to fully recover. Samsara is left alone sitting on the floor, staring at the broken research lab, thinking what her next steps should be.
That next morning, Sydney accompanies the newly healed Pokémon to the research lab, where Samsara is rummaging through old file cabinets a few floors below. She tells Sydney that the if this is a base that Team Rocket used for cloning back in the day, there must be a roster of all the cloned Pokémon in the building, somewhere. If she can find that, it may lead her to some research developments of interactions with the chemicals, and if mew is a combination of all the collected Pokémon's DNA, then this may be the next step she's looking for… but she is now on the fifth sub-level, and has yet to find anything. As Sydney is about to tell her to give up, Samsara finds what she is looking for. A folder of old polaroids of when the lab was still active, and in the photographs, are cloned Pokémon inside the housing vats.
Back on the surface, Sydney praises Samsara for her work, and she has one last piece of information to give her, but to gain that, she must defeat her in battle. She needs to show her why her team is weak, and needs work. The Swampert arrives on the field, taking off its robe and prepares to fight. At first, it seems the newly healed Pokémon must fight Sydney's Swampert, until she pulls out a Pokeball and throws out the Houndoom from the previous night. Fear strikes the hearts of Terra, Caelum and the Arcanine, and Samsara asks why she let an infected Pokémon into the sanctuary. Sydney tells her that they will all be infected soon enough, so why fight it. Disgust creeps over Samsara's face until Sydney lets out a laugh and explains to her that she was only joking, and to take a closer look at the Houndoom. It appears to be able to hold its form perfectly, and the Pokedex now registers Houndoom as a Psychic/Fire-Type Pokémon. It's starting to appear that evolving through the virus is possible for all sick Pokémon that can survive the virus, but there are still many who cannot survive. Sydney informs Samsara that her Pokémon are strong, but are all weak towards the same type, and having that type would completely sink her team. This is why having a type to back up her other Pokémon's weakness is a smart idea, and the way she handled Swampert last night was very admirable. Sydney tells Samsara that she is giving Swampert to her as a gift to join her along her journey to save the world, along with the badge from her gym, but as a loner. She expects her to return once the world is back to normal, and her gym rebuilt, to come back and rightfully earn that badge.
Just as Samsara is about to leave the village, Sydney stops her to tell her once more that there is information she needs before she leaves. There was a boy who arrived the day before she did, asking for access to the research lab, but he did not have the control and love for his Pokémon like she did, so he was sent away. He returned that night with a new Pokémon she had never seen that took flight in the night, destroyed the Pokémon Gym and set off the wild dogs in the forest. She was told this as a fair warning to be on the lookout for this boy. As they make for the exit, they find Kaio with the rest of the villagers who have completed digging a moat around the village. Accompanied with the villagers are a team of transformed Growliths, no longer sick. Kaio asks the Swampert for one final favor, and Swampert brings the water from the river once more to fill the moat, creating a new line of defense for Flavum Village.
Samsara and her new team leave Flavum Village on the lookout for the next research lab, when they come across a boy in a black jacket, and a strange new Pokémon. The boy tells her that it seems she could help the village out pretty well during her stay, but he has already beaten her to the punch, and her journey is no longer necessary. As Samsara gets closer to see who this mysterious person is, he turns around to reveal himself as Mortel, and next to him, his old Eevee, now something new. Mortel tells Samsara that he's been wise to the solution for some time now, and pulls out a vile of chemical spray he claims to have used on his Eevee to heal her, which transformed her into a new evolution that was registered as a Scaleon. Samsara pulls her Pokedex out and it tells her that this new Pokémon is a Dragon-Type. Mortel once again tells her to stop her journey, as the victory and fame for his efforts will be his. Thanks to this new discovery, any and every Pokémon with the Missing Number pokevirus will be healed and healthy again, and stronger than ever. Samsara refuses, as she does not believe his solution is complete, and the two prepare for battle.