The next morning…
"Today is the last day of Pokémon Friendship Week." a reporter said on TV. "A variety of events are being held across the city to celebrate… And tonight, Mayor Myers will unveil what he calls a 'revolutionary device that will make Ryme City proud.' Expectations are high for this device, which is meant to bring people and Pokémon closer together.'"
"Not in the way that they're gonna be thinking, unfortunately…" David said.
"Agreed." Natyal said.
"Alright, what's the game plan? We going in loud, guns blazing?" Eddy asked.
"No…we need to go stealthy. This group has been getting on the mayor's good side. A full frontal assault would wind up getting us all stuffed in cells." Jexi said.
"Yeah, good point." Eddy admitted.
"Don't worry guys! We got back up!" a voice called out as the group saw Detective Pikachu approaching alongside Growlithe, Darmanitan, Luxray, and Pangoro. "So…like my entourage?"
"The Pokémon that helped us." Klonoa recognized.
"Well this will definitely make things easier to infiltrate the lab." Weisz said.
"Alright, let's get a move on! We don't have all day!" ZS said.
The group arrived at the abandoned lab and found a large hole on the side of the building and entered through there, seeing as there were no doors leading inside.
The group ended up in the main lobby, seeing the room showed extensive damage.
"Yeesh, they must pay their janitors scratch nothing." Emo remarked.
"So this is where it happened…" Rachel said in a sad, far-away voice.
"Hm? Rachel, are you okay?" Asia asked.
"It's just seeing all this…reminds me too much of the day I lost my mom." Rachel said.
"You know…you don't have to…" Aelita began.
"No…I need to learn the truth of what really happened here." Rachel said.
"We'll make it quick." Mark said as the group spread out to search the lobby.
"Hey, I found some footprints!" Tenko said as the group looked them over.
"Hmm…too big to be a human." Shuichi said as he looked over the info through a Pokédex. "Got a match. These belong to a Tangela. And there's no dust over them so this was recent."
"Grow!" Growlithe barked.
"What you looking at, girl?" Arven asked as he looked at the cupboard before pulling out a small key.
"Oh, good find! We'll definitely need that later on." Scarlet said.
"Hey, what's this note here?" Penny said, picking up a note left on the table. "It says 'From the Management Team - Regarding Search Procedures. Upon discovery of the object, collect it immediately. Once the object is collected…use concrete to seal off the first-floor hallway'?!"
"Okay, that's one way to keep people out…" Carmine said.
"Hmm…Pikachu…Have Darmanitan and Pangoro strike this wall." Jexi said standing near one of the walls. The two powerhouses punched the wall, crumbling it and revealing a hidden passageway.
"Nice! We have ourselves a way forward!" Moltar pointed down, before the group ventured down into the first sub-level of the lab.
"You know, I can't help but feel like we're gonna be here a while." SE remarked.
"Whoa…I'm feeling tingly…hey…I think we're getting closer to my body." Detective Pikachu said.
"Now you're talking! Let's go!" Eddy said.
"Uh…a slight problem has popped up, everyone…" Double D said in hushed whispers as there were three Unitas grunts around the corner.
"Hey, did you remember to turn in the Aurora Drop?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, wasn't easy though. Cramorant just refused to cough it up." another agent said before an elite agent joined.
"What are you all doing here? THe mayor is here to inspect the production line. No slacking off!" the elite said. "You! I need someone to help me set up on B5."
"Maam." the agent said.
"You two, stand guard until further notice." the elite said.
"Copy that!" the two grunts said.
"Hmm…looks like they're guarding the elevator." Shuichi said. "But from what they said…the mayor is here inspecting the production of Control Cubes. All on B5."
"I found a map of the facility. We're on B1: Management. B2 and B3 are Operations. And Research covers B4 and B5." David said.
"Looks like to get down…we can either take the elevator, or use the stairs." Shuichi said.
"Kinda prefer to take cardio on this one. We use the elevator, we'll be spotted." Akane said.
"Right, so let's just take the stairs and-!" ZS said, before noticing a number pad next to the staircase. "Oops…we need a passcode."
"There's two other rooms on this floor. Odds are one of them has to have the passcode." Shuichi said.
"Yeah, but those Unitas guys are still lurking around, and we gotta be all sneaky." Eddy pointed out. "How're we supposed to know where they are?"
"We can scope things out with Luxray vision." Scorpia said. "He can see through walls, right? I'm sure one of the rooms on the other floors has the passcode in it."
"That's actually not a bad idea." Shuichi said.
Detective Pikachu went and got Luxray, who used his vision to see into the two rooms, conversing with the detective.
"Well? Which one has the code?" Lancer asked.
"It's the one on the right…but problem is there's an Electrode inside." Detective Pikachu said.
"Great…. Soon as it sees us get in there, hes gonna blow the whole room to bits." Mermista said.
"Not necessarily." Kieran said smiling as he walked out of the other room. "Ta-Da!" he said, holding a Wooper.
"A Wooper?" Ash K asked.
"Wooper has the ability Damp. It makes explosion based moves completely ineffective." Kieran said.
"Kieran, you genius! This is why you're champion level!" ZS said. "But what about the two goons in the room with it?"
"Oh, I got me an idea." Eddy said, pointing to an intercom in the other room. "Observe." he said as he pressed the button and cleared his throat, before yelling out. "HELP! Everybody! There's a rampaging Pokémon on the first floor!"
Ed yelled in the background, taking the computer on a nearby desk and smashing it.
"Uh…w-we were told not to leave our posts…" a voice replied.
"Forget that! It's gonna eat us!" Eddy yelled. "Please! I don't know if we - what?! No, no! AAAUUUGGGHH-!" Eddy yelled dramatically as he pretended to fall to the ground.
"Holy Darumaka droppings…! Emergency! Mobilize and move out!" the voice yelled in a panic.
"Nice job. Now…" Kieran said as he sent Wooper into the room before following after. It was quiet for a few moments before he and Wooper came running out. "The code is 7020!"
"Excellent." Shuichi said as they started moving to the stairway as Kieran looked at the Wooper.
"Hmm…would be a shame if they caught onto you again…" Kieran said as he tapped an empty Pokéball against Wooper as it went inside before it clicked.
"You caught that thing?" Mermista asked.
"I've got a soft spot for Pokémon from Kitakami." Kieran said.
When the group accessed the stairs and reached the next door, they found themselves on the second sub-level, B2. It consisted of an open research area with a machine that analyzes meteorites, followed by two large storage areas.
"Whoa…freaky." Odd said.
"This must be where they analyze the meteorites they took from the ruins and extract the energy." Hatsume said. "Would explain why they were there. They needed an energy source."
"But we knew most of this already. We should focus on getting the next door code. Let's…" Shuichi began.
"Wait…" Korekiyo said, stopping him before pointing ahead as a ghostly reaper like Pokémon phased through the floor and patrolled the storage area ahead.
"A Dusknoir. It must be acting as a sentry." Kieran said.
"Not willingly though." Hermit said.
"True…hmm…you know…if we could get the controller, we might be able to free the big guy. But we'll need to get past him first." Weisz said.
"Right. We gotta be all quiet like." ZS said.
A splinter group slowly and carefully sneaked past the Dusknoir and reached a small room at the end.
"Alright, controller, controller, control…ah-ha!" Amethyst picked up a remote device on the table. "That looks like a controller!"
"And look, there's a passcode here too!" Tenko said. "2806…Got it!"
Inputting the code for the stairs, the group soon descended down to floor B3. On this floor, they found a storage area as well as detainment rooms holding a number of Pokémon.
"Sheesh, look at all of this." David said.
"Unitas must have dozens of Pokémon here, all to use for any situation with their control cubes." Titanica said. "We have to shut this down."
"Hopefully that key Arven and Growlithe found will do the trick." Double D said as he started using the key to unlock the doors.
"And one of these rooms should have the code for the next…uh…" Arven said, looking into a room to see an Excadrill going wild. "Well…that's gonna be a problem."
"We'll need the controller for that. Just need to figure out where it…" Mermista said as she looked to the storage area to hear squawking as they saw Cramorant being chased by two Unitas agents as it swallowed said controller. "Of…course." she groaned.
"Save the birdie!" Ed declared as he charged.
"Ed, wait, you'll be spotted you idiot-!" Eddy said as he followed behind.
"Make sure you get Cramorant to cough up that controller!" Carmine called out.
Cramorant found itself backed up against the wall as the Unitas agents cornered him.
"Alright little guy, we're just gonna make you spit up the controller, nice and easy-" one of them tried to calm the Pokémon, only for him and his partner to get bowled over and knocked out by Ed, who picked up Cramorant.
"Save the birdie!" he yelled as he ran back to the group with the squawking Gulping Pokémon in his arms.
"...I'm not sure how that all worked out, but I'm glad it did." Eddy stated.
"How do we get the controller, Eddy?" Ed asked.
"I dunno, we scared him last time…" Eddy said.
"Stand back, boys." Mermista said as she cracked her fingers before stuffing her hand down Cramorant's throat and started pulling things out. "Let's see….rock….oyster with pearl….a keychain of Ariel from the Little Mermaid, which I will be keeping….aha!" she said getting the controller out.
"I'll never understand how you're so used to stuffing your hand in Cramorant's mouth…." Eddy said.
"How do you think I'm used to it? My Cramorant does the same thing all the time when he eats stuff on the Galaxy King, so… i'm constantly fishing things outta his stomach." Mermista said.
"…You know what, that's fair." Eddy shrugged. "And I'm taking the pearl."
"Fair enough." Mermista said.
They headed to the room where Excadrill was and managed to shut down the cube controlling it, calming it down. Upon calming down, they explored the work space.
"Hey…looks like I found some list. Let's see….Luxray, Liepard, Impidimp, Pangoro, Sableye…" Ash K said.
"Those were the same Pokemon that were being detained." Detective Pikachu said.
"Wooper, Corviknight, Poliwrath, Hariyama, Excadrill, Dusknoir…I see…these are Pokémon they tested the cubes on. Seems they were wanting to test the cubes on multiple Pokémon species to perfect them." Miu said, reading the list over.
"So that's why they were trying to take away some of our Pokemon." David said.
"Oh…and look what I found." Frosta said. "Official orders from Unitas to abduct Ice Pokémon from the Galar Region…well now we know how Darmanitan and his friends ended up here."
"Still to drag them here all the way from Galar…" Penny said.
"Yeah, they gotta pay for that." Emo stated.
"I looked around, I didn't see any doors that would lead down." Hyde said.
"Well there is one way." Weisz said, pointing somewhere. "Look at the floor of the room that Hariyama is in."
"He's right! The floor's partially destroyed." Ajna said.
"So if we have Excadrill burrow into the floor, we can move down! Brilliant!" Double D said.
It wasn't long before Excadrill bore into the damaged floor upon the heroes' request. The group then dropped down it leading them to B4 as it was another open research space, along with the left side containing large storage areas as they looked at a floor plan of the area.
"Strange…" Hermit said, bringing up a holo projection of the floor plan. "It's not shown on the floor plan, but there's another room that the lab on this floor leads into. It also looks like the elevator is out of service, so we'll need to use the stairs, but in order to open the doors on this floor, we need a keycard this time."
"Guess we'd better start looking for it." Scarlet said as the group spread out.
The group looked all around B4, looking for the Keycard Hermit mentioned.
"Hmm…not having much luck. We're finding lots of research notes but no keycard." Jexi said. "Well….no choice about it…we're gonna have to take it from someone."
"But where would…" Vector said.
"Why is there a hole here?" a voice called out as they looked above to see a large hole in the ceiling and a Unitas agent looking down it.
"Crap! Excadrill must have made that hole when it was going wild." Penny said.
"What the?" the agent said before stumbling and dropping their keycard before them.
"Well…that was easy." Detective Pikachu said as he picked it up.
"Don't celebrate. Unitas knows we're here now. Our quiet infiltration just turned into a race against time." Shuichi said.
The doors opened as two agents appeared.
"Run for it!" Ruby said as everyone started running down the hall. But as they reached it, Growlithe came to a halt.
"Hey…what…" Detective Pikachu said.
"(Bye Bye!)" Growlithe said as she breathed fire to cut off the path as she chose to face the agents all alone.
"She's buying us time! We need to go!" Arven said as he grabbed the detective.
"I'll come back for you! I swear!" Detective Pikachu called out as the group was now on the run, their strongest smashing down crates and blockades as they continued to run.
"Hurry up! They're coming!" Lucy called out as Unitas agents were running down the hall with a Houndoom.
The group reached a door that was sealed shut.
"It won't open…what do we do?" Pit asked.
"We need to overload the switchboard." Miu said.
"(I guess it's my turn.)" Luxray said as he fired electricity at it, overloading it as the door opened. "(Go! Now!)"
"Got it. Thank you, Luxray." David said.
Houndoom was closing in as it tried to bite them only for Luxray to intercept as the doors sealed shut as the group continued on.
"Okay…almost there…just need to ride the elevator down and then it's smooth sailing." Hermit said.
The group quickly reached said elevator and boarded it, but not before Darmanitan and Pangoro went and shoved in the slower ones.
"Why did…oh don't tell me…" Detective Pikachu said.
"(It's been fun.)" Darmanitan said.
"(More than I've had in a while.)" Pangoro replied as the two stood to face the incoming Unitas agents.
"I can't believe…all of them just stayed behind so we could go on." Detective Pikachu said.
"I think it just comes to show how much faith they have in you, and how they value the bonds that they share with you." David said.
"As long as we end this, they'll turn out fine." Mark added. "It's time to put an end to this."
The elevator reached floor B5 as it opened to show a large machine which they saw Merloch tinkering with as well as a few capsules, one of them holding Harry's body.
"Hey! That's my body!" Detective Pikachu said.
"We can probably smash the glass…but first, we gotta stop that guy." Eddy pointed to Merloch.
"Yeah." Hope said as they approached Merloch and the machines. "The game is up!"
"Silence! I need to continue with the finishing touches!" Merloch said, not paying the group any mind at all.
"Does he…not even realize what is happening right now?" Nemona asked.
"I don't think so." Shuichi said.
"Forget this nonsense! We'll drag him away!" Vegeta said, stepping towards Merloch, only to be stopped in his tracks by an invisible wall, the group turning to see a Mr. Mime with a Control Cube on its back.
"A Mr. Mime. And he's using Barrier to keep us from getting to him." Tsumugi said.
"Look buddy, we already know what your evil plan is, so let's just skip to the part where we turn you over to the cops, huh?" Eddy said. "Use that big brain of yours to have some common sense."
"Oh I have more than just them." Merloch said pushing a button as they saw Growlithe, Darmanitan, Luxray and Pangoro arriving in the elevator, all four fitted with control cubes. "Plus I can't stop since you brought me the final component."
"What're you talking about?" Glimmer asked.
"Use your minds. I needed someone who has experienced the joining of minds with man and Pokemon….so…" Merloch said as Detective Pikachu was snatched up. "I needed him."
"Oh boy…." some of the group said as Detective Pikachu was quickly loaded into the machine as it activated, pouring energy into the Aurora Drop, reviving it as the DNA Pokémon, Deoxys.
"And now!" Merloch said as he sat in a chair with a device on his head before he suddenly went limp.
"Oh great, the movie didn't prepare me for this! It was Mewtwo in the movie!" ZS said.
"C'mon, it's just a Dexyos! David beat one back in his early days!" Eddy said. "We got this!"
The Deoxys then flinched as a purple energy overtook its core, before it settled down. "Sorry, but Deoxys isn't here right now!" it spoke with Merloch's voice as he emerged. "Behold, the perfect form of human and Pokemon coexistence!"
"Holy crap…" Miu said.
"He actually did it… he perfected the Synchronisation technology! His mind is now in Deoxys' body!" Entrapta said.
The merged being slowly emerged, its foot smashing the controller, freeing the cube controlled Pokémon.
"What now, guys?" Bow asked.
"Seems like we're gonna have to fight." Mark answered.
"Against him? But…" Emo started.
"No…do it. It may be a long shot, but I think I can undo his synchonization." Entrapta said.
"Right…but can we…" Jexi said before they heard a crash as something broke through the ceiling above. This something being Mewtwo. "Oh, nevermind."
"Hey Mewtwo!" Entrapta called to Mewtwo as he looked to the alliance. "You see the Deoxys? The guy who was chasing you is inside it!"
"I see…." Mewtwo said. "Not only is he misusing my power, but he is using a Pokémon for his-"
Mewtwo was cut off when Deoxys!Merloch hit Mewtwo with a Psycho Boost attack as the two quickly engaged in a psychic energy shootout, which caused the room the shake and rubble to rain down.
"Uh…anyone else think they should've taken this outside?" Emo asked.
"We have to shut this machine down!" Steven said.
"No, Merloch and Deoxys already fused together, that won't work!" Penny said.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?!" Carmine asked.
Double D thought, before an idea struck him. "Wait a moment…that Unitas grunt said they took the meteors to stabilize the Aurora Drop. Perhaps, if we can unstabilize it, Deoxys will return to an inanimate state!"
"Double D, you're a genius!" Adora said. "Everyone, let's figure out a way to implement Double D's idea! Entrapta, you've got the Synchro Machine!"
"You got it!" Entrapta said as she rushed to the machine and quickly went to work with her hands and hair.
"Well, now the big question is, how are we gonna destabilize Deoxys?" Weisz asked.
"The energy. Merloch wrote that it's critical that the energy is balanced. Instead of trying to drain it from him…we should expose him to more of it." 9S said.
"Of course! Overload Deoxys' physical form, and disrupt their union!" Double D said. "But how is the question? Would Ki attacks work, or do we need a specific kind of energy?"
"We can use the energy capsules Merloch used for the fusion and overload him with that. Problem is we need to get in close to expose him to it." Hatsume said holding the two capsules.
After Tim got Detective Pikachu out, he and Ash's Pikachu looked at each other before shaking their heads as each of them took a capsule and ran to the elevator.
"Pikachu, what are you and Ash's pikachu doing?!" Glimmer said.
"Don't worry, we got this!" Detective Pikachu assured, before turning to Ash's Pikachu. "Hey, listen. If this doesn't work out, and something goes wrong…"
"Pika pika!" Ash's Pikachu said in assurance.
"Yeah…I hear ya!" Detective Pikachu said as he smacked his cheek pouches as electricity surged around him as he and Ash's Pikachu started running.
"Awesome! The detective is using Volt Tackle alongside Ash's Pikachu as it speeds up with Quick Attack!" Nemona said.
Both Pikachu kept running until they jumped at the same time Mewtwo and Deoxys were about to collide, the energies being thrown into the mix, creating a blast that knocked all four back.
"No! How could such an insignificant…." Merloch called out as Deoxys reverted back to being just a jewel.
"Entrapta, hit it!" Hope said.
"Back in your body, Merloch! Playtime's over!" Entrapta said, finishing the calculations on the Synchro machine. But just as she did, the machine behind her was quickly overloading. "No!" she said as the Synchro Machine was destroyed. "No! The completed thing!"
"Forget that! This whole building is about to come down! We need to move, now!" David said.
As the group started to retreat, Ash's Pikachu looked at the detective.
"I'm afraid…I used up all my strength…you all gotta…get out of here." Detective Pikachu said.
"Pika? Pika pika!" Ash's Pikachu said.
"Heh…don't worry…about me. You all…just need to keep going. And tell Tim…take care of Irene and Sophia. Tell him…he's grown into a fine young man…and one…heck of a great detective." Detective Pikachu said before Ash's Pikachu ran off with tears streaming down his face.
The group managed to make it up topside as the building was burning and crumbling behind them.
"In the end…we…we couldn't save them." Tim said.
"Tim…" Hope said.
"I hate sad endings with a big-time sacrifice…" DW typed.
They felt the ground shake before something shot out of the building and landed on the ground.
"It's…" Entrapta said. "One of the pods from the machine!"
They heard shaking from inside the pod before the glass was kicked out, showing Harry, now fully conscious, carrying a sleeping Pikachu with Merloch, also unconscious, laying inside of the pod.
"Hey…Tim. Sorry for being so…" Harry said before Tim ran up and hugged him. "Hey, easy there! You're gonna break my ribs!"
"Uh, does anyone wanna explain…?" Kaito asked.
"No need for an explanation. We did what we promised Tim we'd do, after all." Hope said. "Reunite him with his father."
"As for how…I got a good idea who was involved." Ash K said looking into the sky as Mewtwo was looking down before flying off.
And that was how the Control Cube/Unitas case ended. Merloch was separated from Deoxys and ended up being arrested for being the mastermind behind it all. The Aurora Drop was returned to the mansion where it was later donated to the people of Ryme City. The four Pokemon returned to their lives as usual. And Tim and his family were of course happily reunited. As it appears…the story of Detective Pikachu had finally drawn to a close. However, another case was about to open up for these heroes.
On the Galaxy King, the others were just hanging around.
"You know…we never quite did figure out what Meowth was doing in Ryme City to start with." Rarity said.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it was weird," Bow said. "He was probably on Universal Villain business, but with their Emblem Jewel stuff, what would they be even after?"
"I can't believe it didn't collapse cause of that demo thing or losing their sponsor." Hope said.
"Unfortunately, that is not how business works in the real world." Lan said. "As long as they got supporters, Flux Industries isn't going away anytime soon."
"Stupid Flux…hope he and his descendant die horribly." Aria said.
"Whoa…little harsh there." Makoto said.
"Yeah, as much as I wish it myself, even I think that's a bit over-the-top." David said.
"Well I mean it. He just literally dumped me, Adagio and Sonata after the Battle of the Bands after we lost our powers and he couldn't use us to hypnotize the worlds." Aria said.
"Which is what lead you to try and ruin his other thing…those Shadow Pokémon projects." Sabo said.
"Yeah…how I wish I could…" Aria said as the TV screen started to fizzle a bit. "What the hell is up with the TV?"
"Hey, we paid the cable bill, didn't we?" DW typed.
"Now is not the time for stupid jokes. This is….ah!" Hatsume said as the screen changed to a large room where a number of faces were shadowed out, except for a few that some of the group recognized.
"What the? Archie and Maxie?" David said.
"Cyrus?" Mayumi said.
"Giovanni…" Dan said.
"Guzma? Lusamine?" Twilight said.
"Chairman Rose!" Titanica said.
"Ghetsis…." Leia said.
"Lysandre?" Jude said.
"Giacomo? What…what the heck is going on here?" Penny said.
"Greetings and salutations…no, there is nothing wrong with your viewing platforms…we have hijacked all of them to broadcast this message. As of now…we will be taking over the entire world. As for who we are….we…are Cipher!" the shadowed figure in the middle said.
"Cipher?!" Aria said in both shock and surprise.
"Cipher? Isn't that the group you took down way back when?" Emo pointed out.
"Yeah but I thought they were gone after we trounced their boss back in the Miraculous Redux…" Aria said. "Looks like they were just in hiding."
"But did you see that lineup? Cipher's new Admin Board is a who's who of all the major Evil Team leaders we've encountered." Hope said.
"This doesn't make any sense. Giacomo would never side with people like them." Penny said.
"Neither would Lusamine or Guzma." Twilight said. "What is…." she said before they saw a floating figure as a flash showed a familiar face in that background.
"Pecharunt…" Himiko said.
"As you can see, we have joined and subjugated all of the so-called evil teams of a number of regions. This is proof enough that we mean business. Try to oppose us if you dare. But know this…we are coming and the world is just one big stepping stone for us." the main figure said as the footage stopped.
Aria was breathing heavily for a moment before she started laughing.
"Uh… Ari? What's so funny, I don't think that was a joke." Sonata said.
"You all just don't get how perfect this all is for me." Aria said. "Flux…Cipher…doesn't matter which. Now…I can finally begin what I started so long ago." she said remembering those long thought forgotten days. "I'll crush this Shadow Pokémon Plan…and this time…it'll stay dead and buried!" she said. "Now things are getting interesting."
To be continued in…
Dimensional Heroes: The Cipher Saga