XY066

Confronting the Darkness! (Japanese: ミアレシティ捜査線！シトロイド対ブラック・シトロイド！！ The City Investigation!  VS !!) is the 66th episode of the, and the 865th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 2, 2015 and in the United States on June 6, 2015.

Blurb
Ash, Serena, and Bonnie have finally rejoined Clemont in Lumiose City. Ash can’t wait to get their Gym battle started, but it’s quickly interrupted by Officer Jenny...who places Clembot under arrest! Security footage shows a robot that looks just like Clembot vandalizing several businesses around the city. Clemont sets out to prove Clembot’s innocence with the help of the journalist Alexa, who’s been trying to track down a mysterious man in a Blaziken mask as a possible witness.

At Alexa’s advice, Clemont investigates the Prism Tower computer where Clembot’s blueprints are stored. Sure enough, a robotics researcher known as Doctor Belmondo has hacked into the computer and stolen the blueprints to create a Dark Clembot of his own! Our heroes catch the pair red-handed at the Lumiose Museum, where Clembot defeats Dark Clembot in a Pokémon battle and Belmondo confesses everything.

With Clembot’s good name restored, the stage is set for the Gym battle between Ash and Clemont!

Plot
,, and arrive in Lumiose City, ready for Ash's fifth Gym battle against. They run to the Lumiose Gym, where Clemont,, and Clembot greet them. Ash and Serena show Clemont their newly evolved and, respectively, and Bonnie happily reunites with her big brother.

Without wasting any time, Ash and Clemont prepare to have their Gym match while Serena and Bonnie watch from the stands in the Gym. However, before the battle can get underway, they are interrupted by Officer Jenny. Officer Jenny announces, much to everyone's surprise, that Clembot is under arrest. She locks Clembot in a prison cell and then shows footage of a robot that looks almost identical to Clembot committing several crimes. Although Clemont insists that Clembot is innocent by pointing out that the offending robot lacks a dent in its head, Jenny does not accept his claim as evidence enough to release Clembot.

Outside the police station, the group is greeted by Meyer, whom Bonnie is delighted to see after her extended absence from Lumiose City. Alexa arrives as well, and they discuss Clembot's alleged crimes. Alexa explains that she has been investigating the cases as well - and so, apparently, has Blaziken Mask. Not anticipating this particular topic, Meyer becomes very uncomfortable and pretends not to know about Blaziken Mask. After this brief discussion, Clemont leads his friends back to Prism Tower to check on Clembot's blueprints and see if they can determine whether or not someone copied them. Sure enough, Clemont soon discovers that his computer was externally hacked by a computer connected with a university in Lumiose City. Continuing his investigation, Clemont discovers blueprints for a nearly identical but slightly different robot called Dark Clembot. Additionally, Clemont discovers evidence of Dark Clembot's next likely targets - an electronics storage facility and the Lumiose Museum as well as the name "Belmondo", and proceeds to take the information to Officer Jenny.

Elsewhere in Lumiose City, Dark Clembot is using a to cause mayhem and destruction at the electronics warehouse. Not long after this event, Clemont, Ash, Serena, and Bonnie take the information to Officer Jenny, who confirms that the robot in the surveillance camera was, in fact, not Clembot. When Clemont mentions the name "Belmondo", Officer Jenny immediately recognizes him as a professor specializing in robotics. Clemont then shows Officer Jenny the map of the electronics warehouse, and she tells them that an incident occurred there recently. Officer Jenny agrees to release Clembot and they all head to the Lumiose Museum to apprehend Belmondo and Dark Clembot.

That night, Belmondo and Dak Clembot are about to break into the museum when Clembot attacks its imitation, startling Belmondo and causing Ash and his friends to run out and confront him. When Clemont demands to know Belmondo's reason for his actions, Belmondo relates his plan. He had seen Clembot and knew that he could add to it and make it better, so he created Dark Clembot with the design of using it to frame Clembot for several crimes and then continue committing said crimes without suspicion. Shaking with rage from Belmondo's abuse of scientific prowess, Clemont accepts his robot-against-robot challenge, determined to prove that Clembot is better than its counterpart. The battle begins without delay, with Dark Clembot pitting Belmondo's Magneton against Clembot and Clemont's Heliolisk. Because Clemont programmed Clembot to battle with the Pokémon's feelings in mind, Clembot gains the upper hand in the match due to Dark Clembot being programed to do nothing but attack. As Belmondo scorns Clemont's sentiments about caring for Pokémon and fighting together with them, both Clembot and Dark Clembot are magnetically drawn into the air by. The two robots are rescued by Blaziken Mask, but due to the damage they have both taken, Clemont and Belmondo agree to finish the battle themselves - Belmondo's against Clemont's Luxray. As with the battle between Clembot and Dark Clembot, Clemont easily defeats Belmondo due to the professor's apathy towards his Pokémon's feelings and abilities. With his Pokémon defeated and his scheme revealed, Belmondo is arrested by Officer Jenny.

As Alexa arrives to try and talk to Blaziken Mask, he flees and leaves her disappointed behind him, and Clemont and Ash prepare for their Gym battle the next day.

Major events

 * ,, and arrive back in Lumiose City and reunite with.
 * Clemont learns that Serena's and Ash's  have evolved into  and, respectively.
 * Ash and encounter Meyer and Alexa again.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Alexa
 * Officer Jenny
 * Meyer/Blaziken Mask
 * Belmondo
 * Alexa
 * Officer Jenny
 * Meyer/Blaziken Mask
 * Belmondo

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz:  (Japan)
 * (Alexa's)
 * (Blaziken Mask's; )
 * (Belmondo's)
 * (Belmondo's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)

Other

 * Clembot
 * Dark Clembot

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version, the title card segment focuses on, and is read by,.
 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * This time, accompanies  and his.
 * Jessie's Wobbuffet does not appear in this episode.
 * and narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * 's sequence uses what appears to be an early version of the usual stock animation, with different backgrounds and lighting, and no motion blur effects.
 * Music from the Secret Super Training levels of Super Training from the Generation VI is used as background music during the fight between Blaziken Mask and Team Rocket.
 * This episode's dub marks the last directed by Tom Wayland.

Errors

 * In one scene, 's tail is completely colored black instead of yellow.
 * During the first scene of Team Rocket's motto sequence, Jessie's midriff is colored entirely black, even though stock footage without a coloring mistake is used in most episodes.
 * In the English dub, when Officer Jenny asks Clemont whether he is the Lumiose City Gym Leader, she says "Luminose" instead of "Lumiose".

Dub edits

 * The dub's title card segment focuses on, and is read by, Ash instead of Clemont.

In other languages
Gegen die Finsternis! EP870 XY066 XY066 XY編第66話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第66集