A Conspiracy to Conquer!

**A Conspiracy to Conquer!** (マダムＸの陰謀！恐怖のカラマネロ！！, *Madame X's Plot! The Scary Calamanero!!*?) is the (TBA) episode of the 9th season of *Guardians of Harmony* and the (TBA) episode of the series overall.

## Summary

*As Jessie, James, and Meowth are plotting yet again to steal Thunders and Kyubey, they are interrupted by two mysterious figures: a hooded woman known only as Madame X, and Malamar, a Pokémon with incredible hypnotic powers. Jessie and James quickly fall under its spell, but Meowth manages to escape—and runs right into our heroes!*

*The Guardians help get the injured Meowth back on his feet, and he warns them that Madame X and Malamar are coming for Thunders and Kyubey, and Melody freaks out. They soon show up along with the mind-controlled Jessie and James, swoop the Incubator and everyone's Pokémon (except Kestin) up with Malamar’s Psychic, and take off toward their hideout.*

*Clemont has a new invention, a Pikachu-shaped robot designed to track down Thunders' energy signature, and they follow it to an observatory...where it gets stuck in the fence and explodes. Clemont makes some quick repairs, and then Bonnie and Baelz both spot Officer Jenny’s motorcycle parked outside the building. When our heroes investigate, they find Madame X inside—along with Thunders, their other Pokémon and even Kyubey, who’ve all fallen under Malamar’s spell! Malamar quickly puts everyone else under hypnosis as well, but Meowth attacks Melody, Nina and Glorysia to keep them focused.*

*Just when Madame X, after a fight with our heroines, attempts to control Melody, and right after Fireshine manages to free herself thanks to Kestin, the spirits of Victoria, Aaron, Liam and Emilia help Melody prevent herself from being controlled and even free their descendants! Jim also manages to break himself free from the brainwashing, and because the kind of bond Melody has is stronger than any hypnotic power, she, Nina, Glorysia and the freed heroes manage to gain Elemaximum again. Then the Pikabot, which has resumed its tracking, bursts onto the scene. It, along with a powerful Elemax Convergence, slams into Malamar, disrupting its powers, and everyone is returned to normal—including Madame X, who throws off her hood to reveal that she’s really Officer Jenny!*

*Malamar does some gloating, and Melody realizes what it means. Apparently Malamar had a master plan to use a mind-control device to take over the world. Controlling Officer Jenny to turn her into its accomplice was only the first step, but now that its plan has been discovered, it’s decided to destroy the device. Everyone runs for it as the entire building explodes, but Malamar escapes! What will become of its master plan?*

## Plot

In a dark cave, Team Rocket reviews their footage of the Guardians' Pokémon performing several moves and they grow even more determined to capture Thunders and Kyubey. They then review the info about Calem, who was a member of Team Flare which Team Rocket had heard about. Suddenly, they are interrupted by a sharp laugh, and turn around to see a hooded figure known as Madame X, accompanied by a Malamar. Malamar shines a bright light to hypnotize Jessie, James, and Meowth.

The Guardians continue heading to Cyllage City and notice a radio observatory. Suddenly, a scratched-up Meowth, who the group instantly recognize, stumbles from the bushes and collapses in front of the group, and Clemont takes a Potion out of his backpack to help him recover. When Meowth comes to, he thanks them graciously and tells the group, who is skeptical of his intentions, that he came to warn them about danger. He tells the story, beginning with the bright light Malamar used on Team Rocket. Jessie and James shook it off, sent out Ink and Cinderella, and commanded them to use Psybeam and Shadow Ball respectively. However, the Pokémon were stopped by Malamar's bright light, which turned their eyes blank and brainwashed them, Jessie, and James. Meowth realized that he could remain conscious only by enduring intense physical pain, so he used Fury Swipes on himself and escaped. Meowth warns the group that they must run because Madame X is also targeting Thunders, Kyubey, and even Calem, but while most of the Guardians remain skeptical, Melody goes into a state of panic, confusing Fireshine. Just then, a brainwashed Jessie, James, and Wobber appear behind Meowth, telling him to hurry up and capture the Pokémon, Kyubey and Calem. The group runs away only to immediately run into Madame X and Malamar. Malamar uses its Hypnosis, and Meowth warns the children not to look into it.

Ash tells Thunders to use Electro Ball, and the group uses the opportunity to flee, but are stopped by Jessie and James, who look to make the Guardians' Pokémon part of Madame X's Pokémon Corps and make Calem come with them, saying that Madame X wants to meets a member of Team Flare. Calem suddenly wonders how they knew his secret and his friends begin to wonder what the secret is, but Melody freaks out even more. Suddenly, Calem, Kyubey and all the Pokémon (sans Kestin due to Glorysia hiding him) are lifted into the air by Malamar's Psychic, and they and their captor disappear into the distant sky.

To find them, Clemont brings out the "Automatic Pikachu Retrieving Device", that can sense Thunders' Electric energy and track him down. The group follows after the machine, which brings them to the radio observatory, where it gets stuck in the wire fence and electrocutes the group after suffering a malfunction. Bonnie and Baelz both two notices Officer Jenny's motor bike were parked outside the observatory and assumes that the observatory is Madame X's hideout and Officer Jenny came to investigate. The group goes inside, watched by a security camera. Inside the observatory, Malamar brainwashes Kyubey and the Pokémon while Calem gets tied up. Madame X wants to know about Team Flare's plans in Kalos, which she and Malamar heard about, but Calem refuses to say anything. Team Rocket notify Madame X that the Guardians are on the property.

In the observatory halls, the group splits up, the boys with each other, most of the girls with each other, Sana, Clemont with his sister Bonnie, and Mumei, Fauna, Melody, Nina and Glorysia along with Meowth and Kestin. While searching for the victims, Nina remembers what Team Rocket said about Calem: he was a member of Team Flare, a group that they never heard of. Glorysia thinks Calem knew about it and realizes that he kept a secret from everyone, and Melody agrees while thinking to herself it may be related to something about her. Meanwhile, Clemont and Bonnie are met with Malamar, who brainwashes them, making Sana angered.

On the other hand, the others regroup after failing to find the victims, but the villainous quartet is also following them, having teamed up with Malamar. They soon meet up with Clemont and Bonnie, only to realize that the siblings but Sana are being manipulated. Malamar appears behind them and uses Psychic on the boys, and Ash yells (after they did what they knew they had to do, especially Jim giving his sword to Melody and even kissing Nanette) to get out before it's too late. After the boys (including Ash) are brainwashed, Malamar shines the brainwashing light over the girls, and they are unable to run, being blocked by the brainwashed Guardians.

Melody asks Meowth to use Fury Swipes on her, to which Meowth complies, using the attack on himself, Melody, Nina and Glorysia. However, the others, not wanting their face to be scratched up (although Nanette wants to scratch her face, she strangely thinks otherwise), are brainwashed, but not before Nanette gives Melody her Believix Charm. Meowth cuts down a hanging planet model from the ceiling, which stalls Malamar, allowing him, the holoCouncil and the remaining heroines to escape.

The trio arrives at an observation chamber and are greeted by Madame X and the villainous quartet (who are not brainwashed), who make the Pokémon use their moves on the girls and the Guardians use their spells, and they attack them repeatedly. The trio is determined to get through to their friends, but the situation grows more dire as a wild Pokémon corps is revealed, consisting of a Beedrill, Noivern, Pangoro, Scolipede, and Exploud.

Jim electrocutes and shoots the girls continuously while Malamar and the villains laugh, but the trio, in the midst of the electricity, tries to communicate with everycreature. They tell them that they believe in them, but Event Horizon taunts Melody that it's never going to work, while Demencia explains that Malamar agreed to help them eventually conquer and rule the Multiverse and defeat the Guardians, and Black Hat mocks her about her deceased mother. As if on cue, the spirit of Victoria shows up and gives a death glare at him, shocking the others. Madame X then tries to control Melody, but thanks to the help of Victoria and the spirits of Liam, Emilia and Aaron, she refuses to give in, and Will, Emily, Nanette, Ash and even Jim manage to free themselves from the brainwashing.

Outside the observatory, Clemont's machine awakens and rushes off towards the observatory. It comes into the observation chamber and crashes into Malamar before bursting into flames, along with a powerful Elemax Convergence, and Madame X screams and falls at her defeat while the villains flee. All the other hypnotized Guardians and Pokémon, along with Kyubey, return to normal, including the wild Pokémon corps. However, as a result of using Elemaximum, the transformations run out of time and while most of them don't sange due to using equal power to make sure nobody gets a strain, Melody still sanges her legs due to using *way* too much willpower. Madame X's cloak falls off, and reveals her to be Officer Jenny, who had been brainwashed by Malamar, who appears behind her. The Guardians realize that Malamar tricked them into believing that Madame X was a real person by using Officer Jenny as its pawn. They also learned that everything Malamar said about Madame X's goal of taking over the world was a lie. According to Malamar, it hopes to restructure the world under its command using a weapon. Angered at Malamar's lies and dishonesty, James and the Guardians send Ink and their Pokémon to attack Malamar, but it escapes.

The group (except Melody, who is being carried by a furious Jim) and their Pokémon flies/runs after Malamar, finding it in a room full of strange vines and spikes; the weaponized machine. All of a sudden, the Elite Beast Screaming Psychic appears out of nowhere by using Teleport. Everycreature remembers the beast from Lumiose where he and the other 3 Elite Beasts were trying to capture Prof.Sycamore's Garchomp. Serena says she saw them too on TV as her house, and even Calem remembers him from Team Flare's base. Nanette, on the other hand, gets exteremly furious, but is quickly calmed down by Marina before she can go berserk.

Everycreature wonders why the Beast is here, but Calem didn't say anything since he knows those Beasts from a few months ago. Screaming Psychic uses some kind of hallucination on Melody, and it is at that moment that she uncovers another piece of *her* secret. After the hallucination ends, Nina tries to ask what's wrong with Calem and Melody, but both of them say nothing, and the latter passes out. After the Beast disappears, Malamar decides to destroy its grand machine as its plan has been discovered, which causes everycreature to abandon the chase and flee outside. The Guardians, their Pokémon, and the wild Pokémon corps escape outside as the observatory explodes behind them. They watch as Malamar flies off into the sky, but while most of them are left wondering about its grand plan for global domination, Will looks at Calem and tried to say something to him, only for him to run away.

Later, Team Rocket, embarrassed at the day's events, relax on some forest rocks. Meowth remembers that Malamar is the evolved form of Inkay, and as the rest of the team look at it with fear, Ink winks and laughs nervously. Meanwhile, while having dinner at the Pokémon Center while Melody rests, the Guardians conclude that Malamar is an inherently evil Pokémon species, and despite Madoka, Bonnie, and Elizabeth protesting it's wrong to stereotype an entire species like that and that they don't think all Malamar are evil, the others except them decide to watch out for any more Malamar and defeat them. As the episode ends, however, Nina tells everyone to be quiet and not bring up the topic again.

## Major Events

* The Guardians and Team Rocket encounter an evil, psychopathic Malamar.
* Melody uncovers (and exposes) another piece of the truth about the reason why she is always targeted by evil.
	+ It is also revealed in the process that Calem is hiding something about Team Flare.
* Mumei discovers and learns what "Hypnosis" means.

## Characters

### Guardians of Harmony

* Nanette Daisy
* Marina Daisy
* Julia Dreamwalker
* Jim Porter
* Mikey Evoli
* Glorysia Melody
* Elizabeth Storybook
* Nina Aarden
* Ash Ketchum
* Will Brennan
* Emily
* Melody Harmadale
* Madoka Kamane
* Sayaka Miki
* Mami Tomoe
* Homura Akemi
* Kyoko Sakura
* Nagisa Momoe
* Natasha Flowerton
* Maya Aquaheart
* Hilary Lightfield
* Alison Garfield

### Pokémon

* The Guardians' Pokémon
* Pumpkaboo (Jessie's; Cinderella; Super Size)
* Inkay (James'; Ink)
* Beedrill
* Noivern
* Scolipede
* Exploud
* Pangoro

### Villains

* Jessie
* James
* Malamar
* Event Horizon
* Black Hat
* Necrosis
* Demencia
* Madame X
* Screaming Psychic

### Secondary Characters

* Officer Jenny
* Sana Tsukumo
* Fauna Ceres
* Kronii Ouro
* Mumei Nanashi
* Baelz Hakos
* Victoria Daisy (spirit)
* Liam Brennan (spirit)
* Emilia (spirit)
* Aaron Ketchum (spirit)

## Trivia

* Team Rocket doesn't recite their motto in this episode.
* Music from *Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice* is used in this episode.
* At the end of this episode, the Guardians come to the conclusion that all Malamar are evil Pokémon. However, many episodes later, they realize their error of their judgment.
* This is the first episode since the Season 2 episode *Unresolved Conflicts* to...
	+ Have a scene where a HoloCouncil member (Baelz) makes a dumb choice
	+ Show Melody unable to transform if she is afraid or in doubt
* Unlike the canon episode...
	+ Meowth doesn't need to translate what Malamar is saying to the Guardians since Chosen Ones can hear Pokémon talk.
	+ The villainous quartet and Team Rocket both team up with Malamar in this episode, though the latter team happened to do so against their own will.
	+ Excluding Melody, Nina and Glorysia, the only three who manage to avoid being brainwashed, and Calem, who is revealed to have been a former member of Team Flare, all the Guardians (who are not transformed), Kyubey and the Pokémon (except Kestin) are temporarily brainwashed by Malamar. It is unknown why the Dark-Types were also affected, but it may be because the type vulnerability was mysteriously removed.
* This is one of the rare times where Nanette and Jim share a kiss despite being close (platonic) friends. In this case, Jim kisses Nanette after throwing the Polaris Sword to Melody and before succumbing to the brainwashing.

### Dub Edits

* In the original, Black Hat taunts to Akami that "[her] mother died after [she was] born AND [she] NEVER GOT TO MEET HER! HAHAHAHA!" In the English dub, Black Hat instead mockingly tells Melody, in a mocking baby-talk Elmer Fudd-like voice, that "[her] mommy isn't hewe to pwotect [her]!"

### Easter Eggs

* When Balez breaks the 4th wall by saying (Glory, need help!), Melody puts a finger on her mouth to keep her concentrating. Unlike the next time she'll do that, Melody doesn't say anything, implying she is hiding something.
* At one point, Nina becomes scared, like that one time when, in her origin Nuzlocke comic, Asahi, a Hyderion owned by her world's Ghestis, tells her (in the Ancient Unovian language) if she is afraid of death. Since she misintercepted Glorysia's words as that moment, her Trauma Button is activated, and she nearly gets herself into trouble.
* The scene of Madame X teasing a tied-up Baelz was inspired from this card illustration.

## Gallery

### Fanart

Jim kisses Nanette ("A Conspiracy to Conquer!").png"Stay strong for me, okay?" (Note that the scene resembles *platonic* love.)"WHY YOU LITTLE...!!!"Mumei learns new way from Baelz.png"The Hypnosis..."