It was common knowledge that the laboratory in Sandgem Town was often a fairly busy place. Experiments would run from sunup to sundown, occasionally through the night, on all manner of subject matter, headed by their all too eager professor, who always seemed to have an endless list of questions that had never had a satisfying answer. Even if they was out in the field, or away on some expedition or other, there would usually be a plethora of aides and assistants continuing the lab's work, ever striving toward a better understanding of the world, its inhabitants, and the forces that flowed through, between, and sometimes even beyond them.

But when Roisin was pushed through the doorway held open by the officer clutching her still-restrained wrists, she was met with a scene of almost complete carnage.

"Oh my gosh..." Skye gasped as they entered. The whole place was abuzz not just with scientists, but police officers as well, at least a dozen near-identical Arcanine scouring the place to try and figure out exactly what had happened here, from the shattered glass on the floor beneath the now vacant window frame, to the table broken clean in half, the cordoned off area with what looked like an awful lot of smashed and ruined equipment, the toppled bookshelves with papers strewn in every direction, and finally a lone Officer Barkley talking to a woman who was familiar to almost everyone who passed through the doors of the facility.

"Professor Piper," the first Officer Barkley called, catching their attention as they strode forward with suspect in tow. "Is this the thief?"

The elderly Roserade peered up at the Staraptor from behind her tinted spectacles, cocking an eyebrow. "Oh goodness, no," she replied bluntly, "she's much too tall."

"Are you positive?" pressed that same Barkley.

The professor gave a nod. "Absolutely. The thief was near enough the same height I am, and nowhere near as bulky as this one."

Roisin somehow managed an even deeper scowl than usual.

"You're saying your aide was mistaken in their description?" the second Barkley deduced.

"They must be," Piper said with a slight shrug. "It was awfully tricky to see clearly what was going on at the time."

The first Barkley's brow furrowed a little at that piece of information. "And why would that be?"

"I might be able to answer that," came another voice, as yet another Officer Barkley walked up to the group. "We've just discovered this among the debris," they explained, holding up a small, cloudy purple sphere.

"A Smoke Ball?" asked the second Barkley.

"The whole place was filled with it," Piper stated, "You could barely see your own hand in front of your face."

"At best they would have only been able to make out a rough silhouette of the perpetrator," the third Barkley continued, "plus the smoke would compromise any attempts to track the perpetrator with Odor Sleuth."

"So that's why they got the wrong person!" Skye jumped in as the realization landed.

"Also," the third Barkley went on, "we've managed to find evidence of a Rock-type Pokémon here during the incident, and the lab's records don't show any Rock-type Pokémon on shift at the time, so it's likely that would have come from the perpetrator."

"That means they can let Roisin go, right?" Skye asked insistently, taking the Flying-type's powerful arm in one hand. "She's not Rock-type at all!"

"Well, it's their decision," Piper concluded with a gesture toward the three officers in the group. "Although I certainly don't believe she's done anything wrong."

The Arcanine exchanged looks with one another for a moment.

The latecomer then looked to Roisin, staring into her scarlet eyes if deep in thought.

Roisin glared back impatiently, eager for this to be done with.

A brief pause fell across them all.

Then the officer nodded firmly.

A faint click came from behind the Staraptor, as the Arcanine that had brought her in unlocked those same handcuffs they had latched onto her earlier, releasing Roisin from their steely grip.

"At least that's one matter cleared up now," the first Barkley commented, before turning toward Roisin. "And I offer our apologies for the misunderstanding, ma'am. You're free to go."

The bird could only manage a harsh glare in response, as she took a second to roll her shoulders and flex her wrists, shaking off the stiffness from their previous confines. "...whatever," she huffed, folding her arms across her broad chest in her usual stance. "Let's get out of here, Skye."

The Lanturn, however, couldn't help her concern getting the better of her. "What was it that got stolen, anyhow?" she asked the group.

"Research," the professor piped up, drawing an electronic tablet from one of the large pockets in her lab coat. "A whole raft of papers about our studies into Mu energy here, all of our most recent ones."

"Mu energy?" Skye asked, peering over the professor's shoulder at the files flashing up on the tablet screen as it buzzed into life.

"It's a field that seems to encompass the whole world," Piper elaborated, flicking from one document to another in rapid succession. "We harness it individually for evolution, battle attacks, healing ourselves, you name it. I've been working alongside professors in a number of other regions for decades now to try and discover what it is that generates this energy. We've known about it for centuries, but its origins are still one of the biggest unsolved mysteries out there."

The data on screen scrolled by faster than the Lanturn could keep up with it. Even if she could, it was packed with such dense technical jargon, she doubted she could understand even a single sentence of it. But even so, while she had known the professor was studying the same energies she had been sensing, even stumbling into one another at Lake Verity on occasion in the past, Skye had no idea Piper had been this focused on them for this long! "And they stole your research on that?"

Piper sadly nodded, scanning intently through one more indistinguishably incomprehensible document displayed on her tablet. "Heaven knows what they wanted it for. I'm just glad nobody got hurt too badly."

"Well, good luck getting it back," Roisin chipped in, gently nudging Skye on the shoulder and making for the doorway once again. "Come on, Bulby, we're running late."

The Lanturn was abruptly snapped out of her musings, and saw that her Staraptor companion was already heading off. "Oh! Sorry, Professor," she quickly apologized, turning to catch up with her friend. "Thank you for clearing things up with Roisin, though!" Skye said with a quick wave goodbye. "See you later!"

The Roserade gave a small smile and wave of her own, as the pair disappeared into the normally quiet streets of Sandgem, currently bustling with much more activity after the incident. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked the gathered officers, stowing her tablet back in her pocket.

"I think that's all that we need for now," the third Barkley said, similarly returning their notebook to the front pouch of their vest. "If you want to finish up the investigation," they suggested, gesturing to the two other Barkleys with them, "I could report back to the station with what we've found."

A quick nod from the pair of them was all the confirmation that was needed, and as the two others rejoined the rest of the officers in recording and clearing up the scene, the third Barkley took their leave.

Heading out of the lab, deftly weaving through the flock of pedestrians passing by, the Arcanine, too, disappeared into the Sandgem streets.

---

000 - New Arrival
001 - Mistaken Identity, Pt. 1
003 - Ambushed