From: Martin/RCPD.email

To: Leo/RCPD.email

Email sent 9 hours ago

Dear Leo,

I'm emailing this to inform you that you are going to get a promotion, you will be taking my position as captain of the Downtown Ryme City Police Department. Immediately, I already know what you are going to ask, why? So to answer, it simply involves some circumstances outside my control. You will most likely find my body somewhere out at sea or wherever.

Ampharos and Ampharet will be gone when you read this too. Don't go looking for them.

— Ex-Captain Martin

(Martin's Apartment)

Leo stands in Martin's Apartment, blood stains on the couch and carpet; he walks over to the window to see Martin's baby being put into a hearse downstairs. Grace walks in to check on him holding 2 cups of OJ.

Leo: "I don't think I'm in the mood for orange juice."

She places one of the coffees down next to them as she turns her attention to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Grace: "What are you planning on doing now?"

Leo: "I have to meet up with Simon at Rocket Lab, he said that there's something I need to know before becoming a captain."

Grace: "How would you know that they aren't planning to kill you too?"

Leo: "Because, either I go and they use me in their plan or kill me; or I don't, then get hunted down and killed by the same people who killed Martin."

Grace: "So you don't have a choice in the matter."

He shakes his head softly, taking out a blue Pokéball and handing it to her. She takes it and sees that there's an L mark on it.

Leo: "If I don't come back, please take care of her."

Grace: "Are you sure?"

Leo: "Yes"

Grace: "I'll promise, but please be careful and come back."

(The Sanctuary)

Francisco and Snivy look around the remains of the library, ashes, and dust everywhere as they look through the burned books; Eclipsa and Goodra are in the small room, a room filled with evidence now completely looted, a mess. Eclipsa booted up a computer only to find that the screens were all cracked to the point of being unusable, Goodra however finds a list of phone numbers in a notebook and shows it to her. She looked through the pages before one caught her eye, 'Zeek' The name sounded similar, but the multiple numbers under him were what grabbed her attention. Eclipsa takes her phone and calls the top number that isn't crossed off, it rings several times before someone answers; she sets it to speaker in case Goodra needs to write something down.

Phone: "Thank you for calling Meowscarada's Pizza, how may I take your order."

She looks at the number she's calling then on the notebook, they match up perfectly. However Goodra's slimy hands reveal a weird line; she turns up the phone's brightness and holds it under the page, revealing some invisible ink. She goes over to a UV lamp and holds the page next to it.

Phone: "Hello?"

Eclipsa: "Hi… I want a pepperoni, without the cheese?"

Phone: "You said that like it was a question."

Eclipsa: "Well, it's just that, I prefer to not say, like, I just don't like cheese."

Phone: "Okay. When do you want it delivered?"

Eclipsa: "Within 30 minutes."

Phone: "Be more specific, the exact time you want it to arrive; realistically of course."

She looks at the time, 8 pm.

Eclipsa: "2 o'clock"

Phone: "AM?"

Eclipsa: "Yes"

Phone: "It'll be delivered at bus stop number 57. Be there."

He hangs up as Goodra writes down the number. In the rubble of the library, Snivy with her vines pulls open a damaged secret door on the second floor; she leaves some vines through the floor for Francisco to climb up. The lights come on to a room full of weapons, some for people, some for Pokémon, and some specifically designed for Shadow Pokémon. Francisco climbs up into the room and looks over the weapons, he picks up an unfinished prototype and begins to study the blueprint that was under it. Snivy finds a blanket over a tank with a Shadow Ditto inside; as she pulls it off, the Shadow Ditto wakes and upon seeing her, lunges forward and startles Snivy. Francisco looks over to see it banging on the glass of the tank as she backs away from it; Snivy climbs onto Francisco's shoulder and he grabs the prototype and the blueprint; he also grabs a small gun before leaving. Snivy uses Grassy Terrain to cover up the entrance, trapping Ditto inside. Francisco ran to the small room as Eclipsa and Goodra gathered the UV lamp and the book, along with anything else that seemed useful.

Eclipsa: "I hope you 2 are ready, we have a bus to catch at 2."

Francisco: "Cool. Anyway, look at what I found."

He places the prototype onto the table along with the blueprint and they look over it; Eclipsa notices 2 canisters attached to the gun-like thing, 1 with sugary water and the other with stardust. "Snivy"

Eclipsa: "There was a Ditto?"

Francisco: "Well, not a normal one."

"Snivy"

Eclipsa: "So this thing must have been for the Shadow Ditto then. Goodra put this in your backpack; it might be useful for when we get to Team Plasma."

(Team Rocket Laboratories)

Lucario enters Simon's office, raising a paw for his attention. Simon gestures to him to wait a moment as he's on the phone.

Simon: "What do you mean he refuses to stay inside the Pokéball?... Get that Lizardon under control and bring it to the facility, or you're fired… glad we could reach an agreement."

He hangs up and rubs the side of his head, before looking at Lucario.

Simon: "What is it?"

"Lucario" He answered about the meeting appointment with Leo.

Simon: "Send him in."

Lucario walks over to the door and ushers Leo in, he sits across the desk, face to face with Simon. Noticing that Leo was nervous about the situation, Simon snapped his fingers and pointed to the wine cabinet; Lucario poured 2 glasses and gave them to them.

Simon: "So glad you can come, and we're sorry about what happened to the PD and for Martin's death."

Leo: "Sure you are… I mean… like… it's funny how people say that when it is not their doing… if that makes sense?"

Simon: "Well, I guess it is a bit odd, to say the least. Anyways, I brought you here because, with no building for the police to use, Rocket is willing to step in."

Leo: "How so? Are you guys going to work with us?"

Simon: "Actually, when I say step in, I meant replacing the entire police force. We know Martin promoted you as captain right before he died, but we're not asking you to join forces, we're asking you to step down, you and what's left of the force."

Leo: "May I ask why?"

Simon: "Well, we already control the Ryme City Prison and the judicial system, why not the enforcement."

Leo: "Well, because of your resources, it'll be easier for the both of us to work together."

Simon: "Don't worry, we have the resources. Take a vacation, go to Alola and relax; I bet Lapras will enjoy it there."

Leo: "I'll think about it. So what's going to happen to my units?"

Simon: "Probably retire or…"

Leo: "NO! RCPD has been serving this city to protect their family, friends, and loved ones. They are not the type to retire from that; if they were, they wouldn't have joined the police department."

Simon: "Perhaps I wasn't clear. As I said, we're not asking; Team Rocket Laboratories will take the RCPD's place as the Enforcement of this city."

Leo: "So that's it, no more RCPD?"

Simon: "Almost like it never existed."

Leo looks down at his wine glass as Simon takes a sip. He clenches his fist in anger, wanting to do something about it; he then shakes his head and puts the glass down.

Leo: "I guess I should go now."

Simon: "Thank you for your time. Also, Leave the badge, you won't need it anymore"

Leo puts the badge on the table, gets up, and leaves, almost in a hurry; downstairs he gets to his car and enters it. He hesitates on turning the car on, thinking that they may have rigged it to explode; he takes a deep breath in and slowly puts his finger on the start button, he pushes it and the car starts like normal. He sighs with relief as he drives the car out of there.

(Bus Station 57)

The gang waits as the bus arrives, there is no one else but them. An old man was driving the bus looking over to them as they got on and took their seats along the window; a familiar Meowscarada came down the bus's staircase, holding a pizza box, and opened it to reveal 2 blindfolds and 2 Pokéballs. Eclipsa and Francisco put the blindfolds on and Meowscarada captures Goodra and Snivy with the Pokéballs. Eclipsa and Francisco hold each other's hands. They enter a bus depo and once they get off, Meowscarada leads them to a small room and handcrafts them to a table; she also takes their blindfolds off as Zeek enters the room with the prototype in his hands.

Zeek: "Why are you here?"

Eclipsa: "I was sent here by Lieutenant Martin."

Zeek: "And why would he do that? He never sends people to us."

Francisco: "Well he is dead, and Ampharos left the city completely."

Zeek: "Oh, I see."

Eclipsa: "We also need your help to save Max."

Zeek: "You do realize that he's in Prison right? That place is under Team Explorers, they'll kill us on site."

Francisco: "I thought you guys were friends?"

Zeek: "Max has no friends, all you guys did was provide him a place to stay, it's just how he survives."

Francisco: "What do you mean by that?"

Zeek: "I mean that he's always been on survival most, he never rests, never stays long enough to get to know, he was never social enough with anyone or any Pokémon; except for the few that he knew from Team Rocket. To him, that's his family."

Eclipsa: "That's why he rescued all those Pokémon, including Lugia. He knew them personally."

Francisco: "Wait a minute, isn't that more of a reason to save him? You and him might not have been friends, but you both are fighting the same people."

Zeek: "You seriously want us to go to that place, risking all our lives for just one Charizard?"

Eclipsa: "Don't you want to hit them back for Brianna? I've been researching you guys for the past few days now and what I noticed is that Team Plasma is almost extinct. Surely you knew that they aren't going to stop until every one of you is dead; and for your Pokémon, turned into mindless slaves to do their bidding."

Zeek: "We just don't have the numbers, it's a losing battle. Not to mention, we have this prototype."

Francisco: "There is the RCPD."

Zeek: "Aren't they divided on what happened yesterday, like who's actually responsible for the arson? Sorry, it's just not happening."

Zeek leaves them there and Meowscarada catches up to him outside the room, tapping on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Meowscarada."

Zeek: "I'm not changing my mind, we just can't."

"Meowscarada"

Zeek: "Fine, but N would agree with me."

N: "Actually, I don't. I listened to the whole thing through the intercoms and having the PD join forces with us is our best option. Meowscarada, come with me."

N and Meowscarada go into the room again as Zeek listens from the other side. He then gestures to her to take their handcuffs off and to give them their Pokéballs.

N: "Sorry for the restraints and blindfolds."

Eclipsa: "I understand, it was necessary for your safety."

N: "I've heard the whole conversation you had with Zeek, and let me just say I'm interested in the offer. Team Plasma and the RCPD can help each other by combining forces. However, Zeek's right about the Charizard."

Eclipsa: "So there's nothing we can do."

N: "No, there's nothing that Team Plasma can do. But the RCPD, they're still somewhat working with Team Rocket and their allies; you have a better chance than us."

Francisco: "But how though?"

N: "Figure it out, he's your Charizard. Also thanks for bringing in the prototype."

Francisco: "You're welcome."

N: "Now then, you 2 should come with me. You guys can stay here for the night."

(Grace's Motel room)

Grace lays on her bed looking at the blue pokéball and the gun on the small table; she turns her head to a corner of the room, towards Eva's dog bed, realizing that it's eerily quiet without her. She hits the bed in anger and decides to give up sleeping, getting up and taking out a map to lay out on the bed. She marks the RCPD building with an arrow pointing east when suddenly, someone knocks on the door; she grabs her gun and the pokéball and stands behind the door.

Leo: "Don't worry, it's me."

Grace: "Give me a second."

She walks over to the table and puts her gun down, then grabs a robe to cover herself before opening the door to let him in.

Grace: "You were this close to becoming the first person to die from his own Lapras."

Leo: "You're not the only one who is on edge. I've been checking on every surviving cop in the city, and pretty much everyone is scared."

Grace: "How did the meeting go?"

Leo: "They want us to stand down and retire."

Grace: "Are you going to retire?"

Leo: "Never."

Grace: "Good. I have something to show you, so I tried the street cameras you did back at the Dunkin Robbins and apparently, every camera was wiped clean; no trace of the fire engine that took them. Which reminds me, why does the PD not have access to the street camera system?"

Leo: "Well, the cameras were set up by Rocket."

Grace: "Of course they did."

Leo: "Yeah. There is another thing that we can do, though it will require us calling a lot of people."

Grace: "What type of people?"

Leo then looks over the map and uses his phone to look up an online phone book. He then shows the website to Grace and she picks up the idea he has.

Leo: "Wanna take the first call?"

Grace: "Sure."

They both started calling phone numbers during the night and started drawing an arrow for each turn that the fire engine took, according to the people who told them. After 5 hours, 6 cups of coffee, and thousands of calls made by them and members of the PD, their path finally ended with a main road heading across a river and out into a dense forest.

Grace: "Well, that's that."

Leo: "At least we know where they come from. I was told that they were the first to show up when the sanctuary exploded."

Grace: "Now then, how did you come up with this amazing idea?"

Leo: "I didn't, it was passed down from Martin, and he got it from Harry Goodman. It was during a time when Team Skull started abducting children somewhere around 7 or 8."

Grace: "Are they alright?"

Leo: "Yes, apparently they released the kids throughout different parts of the city. But it wasn't the kids they wanted, it was their pokémon, young and first evolution pokémon. Team Rocket helped with the search for the missing kids but they didn't with the pokémon, and the media didn't help either, saying that there were no abductions; so Harry did this, calling people who would've seen the vans and next thing you know, they started busting down every location where they were holding them."

Grace: "Sounds like a great day in RCPD history."

Leo: "I wished; they only rescued 366, 12% of the total missing. As for the other 2,684 pokémon, they're still missing. And because Lapras were among them, I sometimes wondered what happened to the other kids and their pokémon."

Grace: "Must've been scary, going through such a traumatic experience at that age."

Leo: "This is going to sound stupid, but me and Lapras promised to rescue the others; it's why I became a cop."

Grace: "That's not stupid. That's concern, brave and right; but not stupid. You're a good person because of it, which is why we will be going to find out where they're hiding and bring them justice."

Leo: "I'll wait in the car as you get dressed, I hope you don't mind me calling up a small team."

Grace: "We'll need all the help we can get."

Leo takes the blue pokéball and goes outside, Grace takes off the robe and gets into her PIA uniform; She also equips her gun and small knife, then puts on a leather jacket for the cold morning as she goes out and to the car. She enters as Leo hangs up.

Leo: "You ready?"

Grace: "Yes."

(The Facility)

Eva wakes up in a cage next to another cage containing the other Eevee, she tries to get up but loses balance due to movement; she then looks around and sees that they are on a cart headed somewhere. She squinted her eyes as her vision got clearer and saw 2 people walking in the opposite direction, both in uniform but with one very distinct feature, one that made her cowardly in fear, a single pin that had a red R as its logo. They then entered a large control room, fitted with 3 Shadow Pokémon in cryogenic status and a large TV monitor showing their purpose. A Regieleki seemingly to provide power to the entire facility, a Porygon-Z acting as some sort of supercomputer, and a Mr. Mime for creating an invisible wall around the complex, and an active containment system for the prisoners. Eva turns, realizing that her friend woke up, breathing heavily and shaking, seemingly having a panic attack.

Lawrence: "Welcome home subject 2648, we thought we lost you to the police, but we need to turn you back onto our side."

She snapped her fingers and gestured to someone to take the cage as Eevee tried every move possible to get out, not thinking straight. A nearby Shadow Raichu used Charge, forcing Eevee to remain still. "Eevee!" Eva shouted as the cage unlocked and she jumped out at full speed towards him, only to run into an invisible box; she rubbed her and saw that she was labeled as a threat on the monitor above Mr. Mime. The woman in charge bursts out, laughing at her.

Lawrence: "I love it when they try to run, though not a single one could beat Lugia's attempts; the poor guy just kept fighting until the box field shrunk to the point that his bones broke, so I'll advise you to not resist. Anyway, be sure to say hi to my friends down there."

The box starts to move, going over the railings and down a dark hole to the bottom of the facility, eventually turning into pitch black. Normally she'll turn into an Umbreon, but without the necklace, she is stuck, unable to see anything but the top. She felt her ears folded down and tried to push out of the invisible box, but like Lugia and maybe every pokémon who was in her position, it got smaller.

(Ryme City Bus Depo.)

Eclipsa gets woken up by Meowscarada, who hands her a bowl of cereal in bed.

Eclipsa: "Thank you, Meowscarada."

Meowscarada then places a bag in front of her; Eclipsa looks in it and pulls out a shirt and pants, the blackest she has ever seen. She then pulls out a ski mask as Meowscarada left a note with 20 minutes written on it before leaving. She rushes to finish at least half the cereal and tries them on. She goes out and down to the garage to find Francisco dressed in similar attire, Goodra and Snivy are waiting there also. Zeek walks over to them, displaying negativity toward the plan; he hands them the keys to a food truck.

Zeek: "I've heard that you've broken into places before."

Eclipsa: "Yeah yeah, standard procedure."

Zeek: "This is not anything you've guys seen, we're talking about a prison run by Team Explorers under Team Rocket."

Francisco: "But at least we'll have help."

Zeek: "Not entirely, there's an ex-Team Galactic in there that's been helping us with the prison situation. Meowscarada and he will help you."

Francisco: "How would a prisoner help us?"

Zeek: "Don't worry about it, just find Charizard and get him out."

Eclipsa: "Ok, and thank you."

(Ryme City Prison)

Within the Pokémon Sector of the prison, Max was stuck in a containment unit designed for fire-type Pokémon; the room was filled with water and sprinklers were set on every corner. The metal door opens and a few members of Team Rocket enter with a Pokéball and a Shadow Keldeo. Max looks up at them, rage in his eyes despite the rest of him being in a weak state, completely wet from previous attempts.

"Boss doesn't want to make you a Shadow Charizard so you should consider yourself lucky. Yet, you keep resisting; so either you let yourself be in the Pokéball or Keldeo here will force you to."

Shadow Keldeo uses Chilling Water on him, causing him to shiver and whimper. A Pokéball gets dropped on him, capturing him, but he breaks free from it again. Keldeo uses Low Kick several times, making the Charizard cough some blood out. The Pokéball gets used again but Max continues to break free, repeating the torture once again. However, a man from Team Explorers entered the room, carrying with him a briefcase.

"Professor, what are you doing here?"

Professor: "Simple, you guys need him to get into the pokéball, but beating it like this isn't going anywhere."

"What are you gonna do?"

Professor: "Torture it until it no longer has the will to fight."

Keldeo backs up as the man kneels to Max's head and tightly grabs the Charizard's horn-like appendage, lifting Max's head out of the water to eye level with him.

Professor: "You, my friend, have 2 choices. You could either suffer; or, you could just go inside this pokéball and cooperate with them."

Max growls, showing his teeth. The man looks down in a mix of disappointment and enthusiasm.

Professor: "This is going to be fun."

Meanwhile, a Durant climbs up on the side of the wall and into the vents, carrying a note in its mandibles then dropping it down. Outside, the truck comes to the gate and a Nidoqueen and a guard go to the back to check it as another guard stays at the front.

Guard: "Authorization please."

"Meowscarada" She hands him the paper and realizes that there's no one with her there.

Guard: "Are you the only one here?"

She nods her head to him, the guy looks at the paper carefully and Meowscarada starts cleaning herself to make him uncomfortable. Nidoqueen opens the door and walks on as the guard holds up a flashlight, Francisco and Eclipsa remain still and under the pile as; Nidoqueen gets close but only sees the boxes of food. The guard out front glances upward and sees Meowscarada's leg up, and just authorizes her to enter.

Guard: "She's good! She's good."

The Nidoqueen moves out quickly and the 2 sigh with relief as the guard closes down the truck's door, the gate opens and Meowscarada looks up, bowing her head to the guards. As they move in, Francisco and Eclipsa jump off and run to the Pokémon wing of the building. A metallic door blocks the entrance, Eclipsa takes out a card from the backpack and slides it through a scanner; it takes a moment for the scanner to respond, but it beats and unlocks the door. In the human sector, Meowscarada parks the truck at the loading dock, allowing a group to open up the truck and find an army of Durants; the Durants all use Iron Defense as the workers run, Meowscarada hides in the small bed compartment behind the seat, opening a window to peek into the back. While in the locker room next to the showers, the man with the note goes up to one of his friends, and the two nod before "fighting" each other; this prompts a Sceptile to go in to break up the fight but it gets jumped on by multiple prisoners, the door was quickly held open allowing the inmates to get out. The alarm blares out throughout the prison; in Max's cell, the Rocket members and even Shadow Keldeo become uneasy.

Professor: "Don't worry, it sounds like it's just happening in the human sector. As long as it doesn't spread to here, we should be fine."

"And what if it doesn't stay on that side?"

Professor: "Then guard the door and make sure no one gets in."

They leave the room as the Professor turns a knob on some instrument, a device attached to Max's tail fogs up as the flames die down and the tip of the tail freezes. Max growls in anger despite tears running down his face.

Professor: "Oh stop it, this isn't even the worst thing I can do."

Eclipsa and Francisco turn a corner, hiding now and then from passer-byers; they reach an entry point where a guard remains in a window-tight room. Eclipsa throws her Pokéball to summon Snivy, Snivy climbs into a vent and with her vines, she uses Petal Blizzard to obscure the guard's vision; she lowers a vine down to the control panel and unlocks the door. They run past the doors and Snivy exits the vents on Elipsa's shoulder while running upstairs to the Fire-Type floor; they go down the hall, Eclipsa checking the left side and Francisco, on the right. Eventually the hallway curves slightly and they see the 2 Team Rocket members guarding the door, who also saw them. Keldeo runs after them prompting Francisco to summon Goodra, Keldeo uses Focus Blast, pointing its horn directly at Goodra, who dodges and grabs Keldeo's mane, its horn pierces into the wall. Goodra uses Take Down but Keldeo uses Close Combat, Francisco and Eclipsa go around them as they go at it. The 2 Rocket members held up their guns at them, one of them fired but the bullet hit a Durant that used Iron Defense, causing it to ricochet. The members look at the vent where Durant came from and Snivy uses Vine Whip, making them fall to the floor as Francisco pulls his gun out at them.

Francisco: "Stay down, don't even think about getting back up."

Eclipsa opens the door to find Max and the Professor inside, Max seemed pale and was shivering, the man backed up and Snivy pulled the device off of the Charizard's tail, revealing that the flame was gone and the tip was reddish purple.

Professor: "I swear, I was trying to turn it off. It malfunctioned or something, I'm just an intern."

Eclipsa: "Honestly I don't care, we just need to go. Come on big guy, let's get you out of here."

Professor: "There's a fire exit left from here, you can probably break the metal bars to get out."

Eclipsa: "Thanks, Francisco, help me out here. Snivy, start warming up that tail of his."

They help Max out of the room while Goodra uses Body Slam, knocking Keldeo away from them and Durant uses Metal Sound to get its attention. Goodra rushes over to them to help Max walk as Keldeo uses Water Pulse, Durant leaps onto the walls escaping into the vents. Outside, Meowscarada waits as someone tries to open the door, she looks out only for a Granbull to grab her fur and drag her out. She uses Scratch on Granbull, forcing him to let go; She also uses Leafage against him. Granbull uses Dazzling Gleam and Meowscarada jumps out of the way before using Copycat, Granbull gets pushed back and Meowscarada runs back to the truck. Before she could get in, the Granbull ran but stopped as a prisoner held him at gunpoint.

Dan: "Hey Meowscarada, did you send this?"

He holds up the note to her as Granbull backs away.

"Meowscarada"

Dan: "Okay, where's my Durant by the way?"

"Meowscarada" She points to Eclipsa and Francisco, holding Max up. Durant, who was with them, runs to Dan, chittering happily.

Durant: "Aww, I miss you too."

Eclipsa: "No time for reunions, get in."

They all quickly get in moments before the guards start shooting at them; however, the army of Durants climbs onto the truck's frame and uses Iron Defense, essentially making the truck bulletproof. Meowscarada steps on the forward pedal and drives out of there, ramming through the gate as well. In the back, Snivy desperately tries to start a fire

Ad Dan watches through the small window. He then opens the window and offers them a lighter.

Dan: "Hey, use this."

Eclipsa takes it and lights it among the leaves that Snivy made around the tail, Max winces as the fire burns the frostbitten flesh; they then huddle together, using their body heat to keep him warm.

(Across the bridge)

Leo and Grace have parked their car just across the river, waiting for a fire engine to go past them; the radio activates and an operator notifies about the prison break going on. Leo grins hearing about what Rocket has to deal with now.

Leo: "Normally we'll be the one to respond to that."

Grace: "I say let them handle it. Their problem now."

Leo: "Yeah."

Leo then gets a text from one of the groups, letting them know of an incoming fire engine. Leo texted in the group chat to let everyone know to follow their vehicle from a safe distance, before starting the car as the fire engine goes by.

Grace: "Alright, let's see what Team Rocket has been up to."

Leo drives off, following the fire truck from afar; they then look up to a Noivern who is helping them along the way.