This episode is dedicated to the release of the Detective Pikachu movie.

Episode 104: Connective Pikachu

Someone screams. Suddenly, everyone's screaming. A mob of people run down a city street, attempting to get away from something. A roar is heard in the distance. Off in the distance, a lamp post collapses. Once the running people are out of sight and no longer block the view, the source of the commotion is a massive Pokémon at least eight feet tall. The Pokémon is made entirely of rocks and boulders. A giant, angular, asymmetrical boulder makes up its main torso, while a line of smaller boulders and rocks on either side form two large arms. Beneath its main torso, even smaller boulders and rocks form two relatively subby legs. On top of the main boulder is a small dome-shaped rock with two eye-like marks that must be the head. The entire thing is covered in large amounts of moss, which almost seems to hold the various stones and boulders together. The moss, combined with the weathered shape of the rocks give it an ancient and worn appearance. Its eyes glow an eerie red and it rampages across the city streets. It roars again and flails its arm into a building, shattering windows. The Pokémon, while enraged, also seems to be in pain. It continues to destroy everything it can.

The next day, Ash, Brock, and Brenda enter the same city. Their progress is stopped by a police barricade. They look with shock at the damage caused.

What could have caused that Pokémon to rampage in such a fit of rage? If our heroes are going to solve this case, they're going to need some help.

Ash notices an Officer Jenny and asks, "Officer, what happened here?"

She answers, "It was horrible. A local trainer's Pokémon went on a sudden rampage, destroying everything it touched. It was not a pretty sight."

Brock takes the opportunity to chime in, "You know what is a pretty sight? You."

Completely ignoring Brock, Brenda asks, "A trainer's Pokémon? What made it do that?"

Jenny shakes her head. "We don't know. The trainer swears that her Pokémon is well-trained and would never do anything like this. But given this sight, I don't know if I can believe that."

Brock interjects, "What I can't believe is how gorgeous you are."

Ash asks, "Did something startle it?"

"Not that we know of. It just attacked out of nowhere."

Brock exclaims, "Just as your beauty attacked me out of-"

He's cut off when Meteorfight appears to uppercut him. "Meteor."

When Brock lands, he mutters, "Just like that…"

Their conversation is interrupted by a nearby commotion. An officer is holding a Pikachu up by the skin of its neck and says to it, "Sorry little guy, but no one is allowed past this barricade."

The Pikachu shouts with a deep voice, "Pika pi pika chu!" It swings several punches at the officer, which miss due to the Pikachu's stubby arms.

The officer chuckles. "Well, aren't you a feisty one?"

A boy runs up to the officer. He has light brown hair, and wears jeans and a red hoodie. The boy apologies, "I'm so sorry about that, officer."

The officer chuckles. "This is your Pokémon?"

The boy hesitates, and responds, "He's my partner." He looks to the Pikachu and says, "Please, will you calm down, Pikachu?"

The Pikachu reluctantly stops punching air. It grumbles, "Pika pika." The officer sets it down. Once on the ground, the Pikachu picks up a hat that seems to have fallen and puts it on its head.

The boy stresses, "Pikachu, you can't just cross police barricades without special permission."

Pikachu seems to disagree.

Ash's Pikachu excitedly jumps off of Ash's shoulder and runs over to the other Pikachu. It greets happily, "Pik pika pi!"

The boy asks, "Pikachu, do you know this Pikachu?"

Surprisingly, the Pikachu answers with a gruff voice, "Yeah, I actually do. We met once in Ryme City! Don't you remember, Tim, you mistook it for me?" He turns back to Ash's Pikachu and greets, "How are you doing, buddy? How's that friend of yours that wants to be the very best?"

Ash's Pikachu happily answers, "Pika pikachu!" It points over to Ash, who is now running over.

The other Pikachu nods. "I see. What an odd coincidence that we would meet again."

Ash has now made it over to them. He says, "Sorry about my Pikachu."

The boy smiles. "It's no big deal. It seems like your Pikachu knows my Pikachu. They met in Ryme City."

Ash nods. "Really? Yeah, we were in Ryme City for a little while."

Brenda bends down to look at the Pikachu up close. "Wow, you're such a little cutie with that hat. Do you like to pretend to be a detective?"

The Pikachu, with annoyance, answers, "I don't pretend to be a detective, I am a detective. Strike that, I'm not just a detective, I'm a great detective."

But all Brenda hears is, "Pika pi chu pikachu, chu pika pi pika. Pi pikachu chu."

Brenda grins as she stands back up. "So cute."

Ash introduces, "Well, I'm Ash, and you already met Pikachu."

Brenda adds, "And I'm Brenda."

Brock says, "My name is Brock."

The boy smiles. "Nice to meet you. My name is Tim Goodman."

Ash asks, "Why did your Pikachu want to get past the barricade?"

"Oh, you see, we're actually detectives, and we think that this incident was related to a case we're working on." With that, Tim turns to the officer and pulls out an ID card. "My Pikachu and I are with the Baker Detective Agency. We'd like to investigate the scene, if that's okay."

The officer nods. "Oh yeah, I've heard of you. You're that kid and Pikachu duo that saved the Ryme City Pokémon Carnival. Sure, we'd welcome your help figuring this out."

Ash marvels, "Wow, real detectives. That's really cool. Do you think we could help?"

Detective Pikachu shakes his head "I'm sorry pal, but Tim and I are a pair. A duo. A twosome. We work alone."

Tim grins, and almost as if to spite Pikachu, he says, "Sure, we'd love the help."

Pikachu sarcastically mocks, "'Sure, we'd love the help.' You're killing me, Tim."

The officer allows all of them to pass. Detective Pikachu pounds a fist into his opposite hand. "Okay Tim, you know the drill. We need to gather testimony and find evidence. You talk to the people, and I'll talk to the Pokémon. And always keep your eyes peeled. You never know what might turn out to be the evidence that will crack the case."

Tim relays to the others, "There's several witnesses we need to interview and gather testimony from, do you think you guys could help us out with that?"

Ash nods. "Yeah, we can do that."

And so everyone spreads out. Tim asks a woman, "Okay ma'am, did you see how the incident started?"

The woman shakes her head. "I'm afraid not. I only noticed what was going on after the Pokémon began its rampage."

Time nods. "I see."

Ash is speaking a man. He asks, "We're investigating the recent Pokémon attack. Did you notice the Pokémon behaving in any particular odd way?"

The man nods. "As a matter of fact, yes. The poor thing seemed to be in so much pain and anger that it had no choice but to destroy everything in its path. I've never seen anything like it."

Brenda is leaning down to talk with a young girl. "Is there anything that stood out to you about the attack?"

The girl thinks for a moment, and then hands Brenda what looks to be an empty paper bag with an image of a plant on it. "I found this crushed by the big mean Pokémon. It a pretty picture so I grabbed it, but mommy says it's garbage. You can keep it."

Brenda, unsure of how to respond, pockets the bag. "Um… thanks…"

Brock is speaking with an old man. "So, you think you know what caused it? Really?"

The man nods. "Yes, aliens."

Brock is taken aback. "What?"

"The Pokémon had glowing red eyes. It was clearly the result of alien experimentation."

Brock slowly nods. "Right…"

Finally, Detective Pikachu is questioning an Apprentichick. "Okay, you saw the entire thing from above. There must be something you've seen from your bird's-eye view."

The Apprentichick thinks for a moment and answers, "Apprentiiii, apprentichick!"
Pikachu nods. "I see. The Pokémon was acting completely normal one moment, and then started rampaging the next. That's exactly what I was expecting. Thank you for your cooperation."

Everyone regathers, and Detective Pikachu says, "Alright team, what dirt did you dig up?" He waits for several moments, and then groans as he realizes his mistake. "Tim, this is why I don't like working with other people."

Tim says instead, "Did anyone find out anything of interest?"

Before anyone responds, an officer walks over and says, "Excuse me, Detective Goodman-"

Showing some embarrassment, Tim interrupts, "Please, just call me Tim. Detective Goodman was my father."

The officer nods. "Of course. Anyways, that Pokémon's trainer is here. You said you wanted to interview her."

Tim nods. "Yes, of course. Thank you."

They're led over to a young woman sitting on a bench. She's fairly plain in appearance with long brown hair and simple clothing. She wears an elegant diamond ring on her finger. She looks up to the group and says, "Oh, you must be the detectives. What can I do for you?"

Tim responds, "Yes, and thank you for agreeing to speaking to us. Is Mossolith with you?"

The woman shakes her head. "I'm afraid not. Until they can figure out what happened, and make sure it won't happen again, the police have confiscated its Pokéball." She hangs her head slightly, showing sorrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

Ash asks, "Did you say the Pokémon is called Mossolith?" He pulls out his Pokédex and searches for the name.

The Pokédex says, "Mossolith, the Zen Pokémon, and Rock and Grass Combo-Type. It is known as the gentle giant. It has tremendous strength and power but prefers to spend its time meditating and contemplating while standing completely still. Evolves from Bryolith at level 40."

Ash asks, "Wait, this is the Pokémon that attacked?"

The woman nods. "Unfortunately, it is."

Brock shakes his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Mossolith are renowned for how peaceful they are. It would be a challenge to get one to move, let alone go on a destructive rampage like this."

Tim says, "Which is exactly why this is a mystery." He looks back to the woman and asks, "Would you mind us asking you a few questions?"

"No, of course not. My name is Marline, by the way."

"I'm Tim, and this is Ash, Brock, and Brenda."

Detective Pikachu complains, "What, you get some human friends, and suddenly I'm not worth introducing anymore? What am I? Chopped liver?"

Ignoring him, Tim asks, "According to reports, your Mossolith went on a sudden rampage without warning. Is this in anyway characteristic of Mossolith?"

Marline shakes her head. "Not at all. I mean, all Mossolith have the strength and power to do this sort of thing, but mine is no different from any other. It wouldn't hurt a Beautifly."

Tim nods. "I see. This is going to sound a little specific, but did you notice any balloons popping before your Mossolith lost control?"

This confuses Marline. "No, I don't remember any balloons."

Tim nods. "Okay, how about food? Did Mossolith eat anything right before?"

"Not since breakfast a few hours earlier."

Tim looks down to Detective Pikachu, who looks back up. Pikachu prompts, "What about the capsules? Ask her about the capsules."

Tim asks, "Okay, what about any strange machines? Anything at all that would release a gas?"

Marline shakes her head once more. "No, not that I can think of."

Detective Pikachu strokes its chin. "Fascinating."

Tim asks, "Is there any way at all that you can think of that a substance could have been introduced to your Mossolith?"

Marline asks, "Are you suggesting that some outside influence caused my Mossolith to rampage?"

Tim nods. "We haven't found any supporting evidence yet, but there's a chance that your Mossolith was under the influence of drug known as R. It increases the power of Pokémon, but also forces them into an uncharacteristic and destructive rage."

Marline seems very interested by this. After a moment of silence, she asks, "So you're telling me this wasn't Mossolith's fault?"

"I can't make any promises, but it's possible." He pauses, then says, "Well, I think that's all we have to ask you for now. We would appreciate it if you contacted us if you remember anything, or if you get Mossolith back."

Marline nods. "I'll be sure to do that." She gets up and leaves.

Detective Pikachu says, "Very interesting… so if this really was R, then they must have developed a new application method…"

Tim nods. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

Ash asks, "So what's this R stuff you're talking about?"

Tim explains, "It's actually the entire reason that Pikachu and I are here. We cracked a case revolving around it back and Ryme City. Right now we're working on tracking down some of the last shipments of R left unaccounted for, so when we heard reports of the Mossolith attack, we got here as soon as possible."

Brenda asks, "Is there any way to confirm if it's R or not?"

"Aside from the anger and destruction, the defining characteristic of a Pokémon infected by R is glowing red eyes.

Brock exclaims, "Red eyes! The old man I spoke with said it had glowing red eyes. He thought it was because of aliens, and I thought he was crazy, but that can't be a coincidence."

Detective Pikachu exclaims, "Bingo! This must have been R, then!"

Tim relays, "So this was R after all. Now we just need to figure out how it infected Mossolith, and who was the cause." He pulls out a notebook and shows them some notes. "Traditionally, we've found R in three different forms. There's liquid R, which is normally given to a Pokémon on its food. There's gaseous R, which is typically put in a balloon, which is popped near the target Pokémon. Finally, there's capsule R, which is the gas form of R placed in a special distribution capsule."

Detective Pikachu concludes, "And Marline nixed all of those possibilities."

Brenda notices a trash can to their side and moves to throw away the paper bag she was given by the girl earlier.

Detective Pikachu notices the item and shouts, "Tim, don't let her throw that away! It's evidence!"

Tim speaks up, "Brenda, could I see that?"

Brenda is a little surprised by the request but shrugs and hands it over. Tim then hands it down to Pikachu, who begins to study it with a magnifying glass. He remarks, "Wow, you really did dig up some dirt, literally."

Brock says, "Hey, that's the sort of bag that they put mulch in. By the looks of it, Damp Mulch specifically."

Detective Pikachu agrees, "Exactly, and what kind of Pokémon do you give Damp Mulch to?"

Tim exclaims, "Mossolith!"

Not having understood Detective Pikachu, Ash asks, "What?"

"Sorry, what I meant to say is that Damp Mulch is healthy for the moss that grows on Mossolith."

Ash realizes, "So if Marline spread that Damp Mulch on Mossolith, it could have been the source of the R!"

Detective Pikachu chides, "That kid isn't as dumb as he looks."

Tim says, "I think that's it." He pauses, and looks to Pikachu, "The mulch, I mean."

Detective Pikachu holds up the mulch bag, bottom side up, and announces, "And we know exactly where this mulch came from." A logo is painted on the bottom, which is a stylized rocket ship.

Tim says, "Good find, Pikachu! We just need to find the people selling that brand."

Benda grins. "Wow, that little Pikachu actually could be a detective."

Detective Pikachu crosses his arms in resentment. "Can we drop her from the team? I'm starting to get really tired of her." Tim laughs silently but doesn't answer.

Who's that Pokémon!?

This Pokémon is a master of pantomime. Its gestures and motions convince watchers that something unseeable actually exists. Once it is believed, it will exist as if it were a real thing.

Ash and the others have made their way to a stand selling various pieces of Pokémon care items. A sign on its front shows the same logo as the Damp Mulch. Manning the stand is a woman with long red hair, a man with blue hair, and a shorter guy. They all appear nervous. Detective Pikachu is observing them closely.

The man nods. "Yes, we do sell that product, what about it?"

Tim asks, "Did you sell it to a woman with a Mossolith?"

The woman answers, "We sell mulch to many people. It's a very popular item."

Ash prompts, "Surely you must have remembered if one of them had a Mossolith. You just don't forget a giant Pokémon like that."

The short one shrugs. "Can't help it. Sorry."

Detective Pikachu prompts, "Psst! Hey, Tim!" Tim looks down to him. "Tim, these guys aren't who they claim to be."

The short one, apparently understanding this, gasps.

Detective Pikachu explains, "They all wear clothing designed specifically to hide various key features. Specifically, their use of sunglasses on a cloudy day like today is highly suspicious. The way blue-hair over there is constantly sweating, once again in cool, cloudy weather, implies he's hiding something, while red-hair here is constantly checking that clock on the other side of the street, imply she's counting the time before we leave."

The short one chuckles and whispers, "It's too bad no one here will understand you."

Pikachu continues, "And don't even get me started on shorty here. He's actually a Pokémon."

Tim exclaims, "Okay, it's time you tell us who you really are!"

The short one's jaw drops. "What!?"

Ash, Brock, and are surprised too. Ash asks, "Tim, what do you mean?"

The blue-haired one agrees, "I'm with the Twerp – I mean kid – what are you talking about?"

Tim says accusingly, "Pikachu figured it all out. You're wearing disguises and actively hiding something."

The one with red hair chuckles. "I guess the gig is up then." Abruptly, she pulls out a sack and swipes it across the counter to capture both Pikachu inside of it.

Pikachu shouts, "Pikaaaaa!"

Detective Pikachu demands, "Hey! What ae you doing!? Tim! I've been Pika-napped!"

The blue-haired one grins. "Two for the price of one. We may be the merchants, but today we're the ones shopping smart!"

The short one declares, "It's a steal!"

Tim demands, "What are you doing!?"

The three merchants cast aside their costumes, revealing them to actually be Team Rocket. Jessie announces, "Prepare for trouble that we've detected!"

James picks up, "Make it double for we're perfected!"

Jessie, now wearing the trench coat and hat of a detective, looks around with magnifying glass and continues, "To investigate the world for devastation!"

James wears a similar get-up and scribbles something in a notebook. "To question all people within our nation!"

"To deduce the connection of truth and love!"

"To find evidence in the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"It's elementary at the speed of light!"

"Deduction has prepared us for this fight!"

Meowth, also wearing detective clothes, leaps down to conclude, "Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Ash is already ready with a Pokéball out. He asks, "Tim, do you have any other Pokémon you can battle with?"

Tim shakes his head. "No, I'm not a Pokémon trainer."

Brenda steps forward, holding her own Pokéball. "Don't worry, we'll get back your Pikachu for you."

Detective Pikachu shouts from the sack, "Get me out of here already! And would somebody get me a coffee!?"

Ash and Brenda throw their Pokéballs, sending out Arborrior and Wispirit.

Likewise, Team Rocket sends out Ivine and Buzzsaw. Ivine immediately leaps back and embraces James' face. James wrestles it off as he shouts, "The real mystery here is what you find so attractive about my face!" As he scratches his face, he realizes, "That didn't come out the way I meant."

Meowth shouts, "Deploy the secret weapon!"

Jessie throws two berries into the air, which Buzzsaw and Ivine promptly eat. Moments later, their eyes begin to glow red and growl with a feral rage.

Tim shouts, "They've given their Pokémon R!"

Brock comments, "I guess that solves that mystery."

Jessie laughs, "R, it's a perfect fit for Team Rocket, wouldn't you say?"

James agrees, "When we got the offer to use it, we couldn't say no. Now Ivine, show them your new power! Use Ivy Whip!"

Without any regards for its surroundings, Ivine lashes outwards with two massive whips.

Ash and Brenda both shout, "Dodge!" Wispirit floats and Arborrior jumps up to get above the incoming whips.

While they avoid the attack, Buzzsaw quickly follows the attack with a massively powerful Flash Cannon. Neither Pokémon is able to avoid this one.

Ash comments, "That R stuff is no joke. Team Rocket is never this powerful!"

Brenda asserts, "It doesn't matter how much their power has been boosted, they're still Team Rocket, and we'll beat them like always! Wispirit, use Pyromancy!" Wispirit recovers from the attack and generates a stream of fire that it hurls at Buzzsaw and Ivine.

Ash adds, "Arborrior, add your Razor Leaf!" Both attacks hit their marks, but this only seems to make the Pokémon angrier.

Without any orders, Ivine sprawls out several its vines to grab ahold of Wispirit with Wring Out, while Buzzsaw lunges at Arborrior to attack with X-Scissor.

Ash orders, "Arborrior, stop it with Fire Punch!" Arborrior prepares to punch away the incoming Buzzsaw.

Jessie orders, "Buzzsaw, abort! Stop the attack!" Buzzsaw ignores Jessie entirely and continues to attack Arborrior, only to be smacked away by a fiery punch. Once again, this only makes it angrier.

Meanwhile Brenda orders, "Wispirit, shake it off with Illusory Flames!" The tangled Wispirit summons a wall of blue flames around Ivine. Though non-damaging, these flames startle the feral Pokémon enough to cause it to loosen its grip and allow Wispirit to escape its grasp. "Now use Flame Burst!" Wispirit launches a ball of sparking flames, which hits Ivine, and explodes so as to also hit Buzzsaw. With both Pokémon temporarily down, Brenda quickly follows up, "And now let's trap them in another Illusory Flames!" Wispirit conjures up another wall of phantasmal flames, this time encircling the two enraged Pokémon.

Ash compliments, "Great job, Brenda!"

However, the R-infected Pokémon stand right back up and charge through the flames with no hesitation or caution. This surprises Ash and Brenda.

Tim shouts, "It's no good! A Pokémon infected with R has no rational thought! It doesn't care that it might get burned!"

Jessie and James are cackling in enjoyment. Jessie shouts, "We should have gotten ourselves some of this R ages ago!"

James adds, "It's made us unstoppable!"

Meowth, on the other hand, seems extremely disturbed and distraught. "If you guys could understand what those two were saying, you wouldn't be so happy about this stuff…"

From inside the sack, Detective Pikachu shouts, "Tim! We have to put a stop to all this! They can't win in a battle against R-fueled Pokémon! I say we stick it to 'em!"

Tim, understanding his meaning, looks up to the building under construction that's just behind Team Rocket. Conveniently positioned above them is a vat of gooey tar. Tim says to Ash and Brenda, "I need you to get the Pokémon as close to their trainers as you can, I've got a plan."

Ash and Brenda nod in response. Ash orders, "Wood Hammer!"

Brenda orders, "Pyromancy!" The Pokémon use their attacks to attempt to drive Ivine and Buzzsaw back.

Meanwhile, Tim runs to the scaffolding of the building and, with a well-timed leap, jumps onto it. He pauses for a moment, and then grabs ahold of a cable that swings by at just the right time. This carries him to another section of scaffolding. Once he climbs a ladder, he's made it to the vat of tar. He looks down to see that Team Rocket and their Pokémon are just below, and Ash and Brenda's Pokémon are a safe distance. He begins to push the vat with the side of his body. It's struggle, but Tim slowly causes the vat to move forward. Finally, it tips, pouring its contents down on Jessie, James, Meowth, Ivine, and Buzzsaw. The tar immobilizes them all.

Buzzsaw and Ivine are pulling with all their R-enhanced might, but don't budge. This seems to make them angrier.

James comments as he fails to escape, "Well… this is a sticky situation…"

Jessie is stuck to the ground by hair. She shouts in rage, "You've ruined my hair! You'll pay for this!"

Wobbuffet appears. "Wobbuffet!" It is promptly stuck in the tar as well.

Tim climbs down from the building and Ash shouts, "Great idea, Tim!"

Tim bashfully responds, "It wasn't exactly my idea…"

The bag with the Pikachu now lies on the ground, its bottom stuck in the tar. Both Pikachu manage to climb out and hop over the tar to safety.

Jessie shouts, "Hey! Get back here!" She tries to lunge for them, but this causes her to pull her hair. "Ouch!" She rubs her scalp and complains, "No amount of pay is worth this…"

Meowth shouts at Detective Pikachu, "This is all your fault! How does your trainer even understand you!?"

Ash steps forward and says, "Okay Pikachu, I say it's time we send these three blasting off." Pikachu prepares to attack.

Tim holds up an arm. "Stop, we need to question them. Learn how they got the R."

Ash and Pikachu step back. "Right, sorry."

James crosses his arms, "We won't tell you anything."

Tim says, "Please, R is extremely dangerous. We have to make sure it's stopped. We can't let any stay out there."

Detective Pikachu, playing the bad cop, says, "What my partner here is trying to say, is that we need information, and if you don't give it to us, there's going to be trouble."

Meowth, the only one of Team Rocket to understand him, laughs. "More trouble then we're already in?"

Jessie comments, "It doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time before we blast off. The rules of this show demand it."

Pikachu cocks his head. "What in the world is that supposed to-"

Suddenly, from the construction site next door, a wrecking ball swings in and plows into Team Rocket, ripping them from the tar and sending them flying off. They all shout, "See!? Told you so!" as they disappear.

Detective Pikachu is the first to speak up. "Okay, now I really need some coffee."

It's Mr. Mime!

The group is sitting at the counter of a coffee shop. A waitress comes by places two cups of coffee down, one in front of Brock, and the other Detective Pikachu. She asks, "So your Pikachu really likes coffee? That's a first by me."

Detective Pikachu places a shoulder on the counter and looks at the waitress. With as much suave as he can manage, he says, "Gorgeous, I like a whole lot more than coffee. How about I order you a cup, and we can talk about what else I like."

Brock suddenly leans in between the two and says in a similar manner, "Hey, I like coffee too, but gorgeous, I like a whole lot more than coffee. How about I order you a cup, and we can talk about what else I like."

Detective Pikachu shoves him out of the way, mumbling complaints, then says, "You strike me as the type of girls who likes sugar in her coffee. You are sweet, after all."

Brock pushes Detective Pikachu out of the way and says, "You strike me as the type of girls who likes sugar in her coffee. You are sweet, after all."

Both shoving at each other now, Detective Pikachu and Brock both say at once, "Of course, we'll have to drink that coffee fast, because coffee, like you, is best served-"

They're both interrupted by Meteorfight appearing to uppercut both of them, one with each fist.

The waitress leaves, appearing extremely confused.

Tim shouts, "Hey, Pikachu, your coffee is getting cold."

This instantly gets Detective Pikachu off the ground, and back to his chair, where he sips at the drink. He praises, "Oh sweet elixir of life, how I do love you."

Ash's Pikachu walks across the counter and looks at Detective Pikachu's coffee with interest.

Detective Pikachu grins. "You want to try it, pal? Go ahead!"

Pikachu cautiously steps up to the mug and lowers its tongue into the cup for a quick drink but recoils the moment it does. "Pika!"

Detective Pikachu shakes his head in mock disapproval. "Detective Tip Number 50: A detective is only as strong as the coffee he drinks. If you want to be a detective, you best keep that in mind."

Ash, Brenda, and Tim laugh Pikachu's reaction to the drink.

Ash turns to Tim and says, "Alright Tim, you've got to tell me, what was it Meowth meant before about you understanding Pikachu?"

Tim looks down at the soda in his hands. "I don't normally tell people this, but the truth is, I can understand Pikachu. Nobody else can, but I hear him as if he were talking."

Detective Pikachu corrects, "Excuse me, I am talking."

Tim continues, "But I don't really know why." He pauses, waiting for the laughs or disbelief, but gets none. He looks over to Ash. "Do you believe me?"

Ash nods. "Of course I believe you. And I know exactly why. Pikachu and I didn't get along to well at first, but since then we've become closer and closer. Now I can understand it as if it were actually speaking, but no one else can."

Tim shakes his head. "No, it's different than that. Besides, I could understand Pikachu when we only first met."

Ash suggests, "Then maybe you knew your Pikachu a whole lot better than you think, even at the beginning."

Tim takes a sip of his drink as he contemplates this.

The waitress returns with their bill and places it down on the table. Tim takes it and says, "I'll pay."

Detective Pikachu suddenly declares, "Pay! That's it! This case isn't closed yet!"

Tim asks, "What do you mean?"

"Those Team Rocket guys, remember what one of them said? 'No pay is worth this.' They're being paid for a job! They aren't the culprits! Just middlemen! Come on, Tim!" He hops down from his chair. "We've got to return to the scene of the crime!"

Tim rushes after him. Ash, Brock, and Brenda do too. Brenda asks, "What's going on?"

Tim says, "I'll explain on the way."

They're back at the site of the rampage. Brenda asks, "So what are we looking for now? We did a pretty thorough sweep of this place last time."

Despite her not understanding, Detective Pikachu answers, "We must search high and low. Somewhere amongst this rubble is the clue we need."

Tim translates, "We're just looking for anything we might have missed the first time."

Everyone splits up to search. Detective Pikachu has pulled out a magnifying glass to look around with, and Tim is taking notes of the area in his notebook.

Detective Pikachu says to himself, "If Team Rocket were being paid simply to distribute the R, that must mean that whoever is behind this couldn't risk being seen with the R themselves. But what reason could there even be to send a Mossolith on the rampage in the first place? Hmm…" He looks around. "Nothing seemed to be targeted in the destruction… Nothing of importance was destroyed… But what about something seemingly unimportant…?" He looks up and notices that there's a broken security camera across street. "Yes... there's conveniently no footage of the attack or the events leading up to it…" He keeps on looking around. "What about opportunities of the attack? Did it allow for anything else?" He hones in a nearby jewelry store, which almost seems more smashed up then the surrounding buildings. "Interesting… that would provide a motive… and we already have the means… and this would certainly be the perfect opportunity…"

Detective Pikachu walks over to the wrecked jewelry shop and notices a ripped flyer hanging from the smashed door. He gasps and pulls it down. The flyer advertises a diamond ring. "That's it!" He suddenly thrusts the flyer into the air as he strikes a dramatic pose and shouts, "A bolt of brilliance!" As he strikes his pose, the clouds clear just enough to allow rays of the Sun to shine down and shimmer across the broken glass and scattered jewelry of the ruined storefront, giving Pikachu a spectacular backdrop to his theatrical pose.

Tim, having heard this, runs over and asks, "Pikachu, did you solve it?"

Detective Pikachu, looking very pleased with himself, nods. "Like I always do. Was there ever any doubt? Let's call everyone in, we have a culprit to unveil!"

Gathered around Ash, Brock, Brenda, Tim, and Detective Pikachu is a group of people, including Officer Jenny, the other officer, Marline, several of the people that were interviewed, and others. Marline asks, "Did you do it, detectives? Did you figure out who caused my Mossolith to go crazy?"

Tim pulls out the crushed mulch bag and asks, "Marline, is this familiar to you?"

She looks at it closely and nods. "Yeah, that was the Damp Mulch I applied to Mossolith earlier today. Right before it…" She trails off as she realizes the meaning. "The mulch caused it? Is that what you're saying?"

Ash answers, "Yes, it turns out that the mulch was sold to you by a group of criminals, and they mixed a chemical called R into it."

Marline grins. "So it wasn't Mossolith's fault. Thank you so much for solving this, detectives."

Tim suddenly declares, "But that's not it!"

Everyone gasps. Marline, seeming confused, tilts her head. "Oh?"

Detective Pikachu crosses his arms and grins. "Alright Tim, you have all the evidence you need. Tell them who the real culprit is."

Tim looks across everyone, and then centers his focus and points accusingly, "It was you! You're the one supplied Team Rocket with the R!"

The person he's pointing at is Marline. An angered look crosses her face. "Why I never! I'm the victim here! How dare you!?"

Ash, Brock, and Brenda seem surprised too. Brenda asks, "Tim, what are you talking about?"

Brock agrees, "Yeah, we're trying to help Marline."

Detective Pikachu shakes his head in disapproval. "Goes to show not everyone's cut out to be a detective. Tim, tell them everything."

Tim nods. He explains, "We learned from Team Rocket that they were being paid by a third party to distribute the R. Clearly it was a third party that had a vested interest in finding a scapegoat. We weren't able to out anything else from them, so that's when we returned here to find more clues." He points to the broken security camera. "Upon closer inspection we discovered that all the cameras in the immediate area were destroyed in the rampage. This suggests a deliberate attempt at sabotage to cover tracks."

Marline sneers, "That doesn't prove anything! It's a coincidence!"

Detective Pikachu retorts, "That's not all though!"

Tim continues, "The cameras weren't the only thing that seemed intentionally smashed! A single jewelry store was more smashed than any other building!"

Marline demands, "So what!?"

Detective Pikachu says with an almost giddy excitement, "It's time Tim, show them the smoking gun!"

Tim pulls out the partially torn flyer that Pikachu found and holds it out for all to see. Marline sees the image of the diamond ring and freezes up. Tim explains, "It just so happened that this store was having a sale on a specific ring the day of the accident. All things considered, it wasn't anything too special. However, this ring is advertised as being completely unique, and yet we've seen before." He points to Marline who is slowly backing away.

Everyone sees that she's wearing the exact same ring on her finger as on the poster.

Tim explains, "And with that, it's all obvious. The Mossolith attack was only a cover-up for the actual crime, jewelry robbery. She thought by only taking one piece of moderately valuable jewelry, no one would notice and think it was simply lost in the attack. And maybe we wouldn't have noticed, if she hadn't picked the one piece we can definitively say was in the store on that day. Very likely this was just a test run for what would become a chain of unnoticeable robberies."

Detective Pikachu declares, "Book her!"

The police may not understand him, but at that moment they run at the fleeing Marline to arrest her. She turns around and throws a Pokéball. "Mossolith!" Her Mossolith appears and roars. This intimidates the officers enough to cause them to pause. Marline pulls something out of a pocket and tosses it up at Mossolith. It's a berry.

Mossolith bites down on the berry, and almost immediately its eyes begin to glow red. It roars in rage. "Mooooooss!"

Someone shouts, "Not again!"

The old man Brock questioned shouts, "The aliens! They want our brains!" He runs away in a panic.

Marline shouts, "You got it all right, detectives! You've ruined my plans again!"

Tim questions, "Again?"

"You wouldn't recognize me, because last time we met, I wore a mask."

Detective Pikachu exclaims, "The S.S. Prime Treasure! She must have been one of the ones bidding for the R at the black-market auction!"

Marline continues, "If you hadn't stopped the auction, I would have been able to buy a much larger supply of R at a fraction of the cost! But because of your meddling, R has all but left the black-market! And now you've foiled my plans using what little I could get! I'm going to take pleasure in this! Go, Mossolith! Crush them!"

Mossolith roars, and lunges forward.

Ash, instead of running, steps forward with Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaaa chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes a continuous stream of electricity at Mossolith. It seems to have little effect, and Mossolith keeps moving forward, but Pikachu keeps on attacking anyways.

Tim looks down to Detective Pikachu and urges, "Pikachu, we have to help them!"

He objects, "But Tim, you know I don't like doing that."

Tim stresses, "Pikachu."

Pikachu grumbles, "Fine, just don't say I never do anything for you." He turns to face the Mossolith and readies himself by taking a couple of quick hops from one foot to the other, throwing a couple of punches into the air, and taking several quick deep breaths. "Alright! Thuuuuuuuuunderbooooooooolt!" Detective Pikachu adds its own Thunderbolt to Ash's Pikachu's.

Together, the combined power of the Thunderbolts significantly slows Mossolith. It roars in both anger and pain. But, with a complete disregard to its own health, it keeps moving forward.

Ash encourages, "Come on Pikachu! You can do it!"

Tim cheers, "Pikachu, you're doing great!"

Detective Pikachu, sounding exhausted, shouts, "Tim! I can't keep this up much longer!"

Ash, almost as if he understood Detective Pikachu, shouts, "We're almost there! R or not, there's no way it can take much more of this!"

And, after only moments more, the R-enhanced Mossolith falls to the ground. Marline can't believe it. "No! Not possible!"

Ash declares, "The strength your Pokémon gets from R is artificial! It's nothing compared to the strength that comes from a bond between human and Pokémon!"

Tim adds, "And now you're through! You'll never use R on a Pokémon ever again!"

Marline begins to move to flee, but Officer Jenny and the other officer are already behind her, placing her in handcuffs. After struggling against them for a moment, she looks to Tim and Detective Pikachu and shouts, "Detectives! Mark my words! This isn't the last you've seen of me!"

Detective Pikachu shouts back, "You better hope it's the last of you we see! Because if we see you again, it will all end the same!"

Tim and Detective Pikachu stand outside a train, while Ash, Brock, and Brenda stand across from them. Ash asks, "So where are you off to now?"

Tim answers, "We'll be heading back to Ryme City. Detective Baker wants a full report from us in person. After that, I imagine it will be back to searching the news for evidence of the last of the R that's out there."

Detective Pikachu tilts his hat and claims, "A detective's work is never done."

Brock says, "Best of luck in that. How much R do you think is left?"

Tim shrugs. "It's impossible to know. It was being sold on the black market for several weeks, at least."

Brenda leans down to Detective Pikachu and pokes him in the nose. "You never stop playing detective, you little cutie."

Detective Pikachu looks up at her and shakes his head in disapproval. "Have you not learned anything?"

Tim speaks up, "Pikachu doesn't just play detective. He is a detective. No, he's not just a detective, he's a great detective."

Detective Pikachu looks up to Tim. With emotion in his voice, he says, "Tim, that means a lot to me. Thanks."

Tim grins and nods in response.

A voice announces, "All aboard!"

Tim says, "Okay, we better be off."

Ash and Tim shake hands. Tim says, "Ash, you and your friends show promise as detectives. If we ever meet again, I hope it's to work together on another case."

Ash nods. "It was fun. I'd be up for that."

Detective Pikachu and Pikachu also say their goodbyes. Detective Pikachu says, "Now that I've met him for myself, I know that you and your buddy really do have what it takes to become the very best, like no one ever was. Keep at it, and never give up on your goals."

Pikachu responds, "Pi pika pikachu!"

With that, Tim and Detective Pikachu run into the train just as the doors close. Everyone waves bye as the train leaves sight.

Today our heroes got the chance to become real detectives and solve a mystery alongside two legendary detectives of cinematic proportions. And just like our heroes, these detectives surely have great things ahead of them. See you all at the movies!

To Be Continued…

Autor's Note: Just in case it wasn't clear, this episode is a cross-over with the Detective Pikachu game, not movie. Because of that, there will likely be points of this episode that do not line up with the movie.