Cheren seemed off.

He greeted Bianca and me as the crowd dispersed. Officer Jenny was talking with Lenora.

She took the plasma man into custody. Kenya was speaking with Hawes. Bianca hugged Cheren.

"How are you two doing?" Cheren asked. Bianca shrugged.

"I'm doing fine," she said.

"Yeah. Same." I agreed. I wondered if Cheren was just now arriving in Nacrene city.

"Did you just get here?" Bianca spoke my mind. Cheren nodded.

"Yeah, I came from Castelia."

"We should get something to eat!" Bianca grabbed both of our arms. "There's a great restaurant!" Cheren thought about it.

"Sure. Why not." I looked over at Kenya while the two of them made their plan. She was still talking with Hawes.

Cheren and Bianca had already started walking off to the restaurant down the street.

"Andrew!" Bianca called out. "We'll wait for you two at the restaurant!" I crossed my arms, watching Kenya.

Hawes patted her shoulder before walking over to Lenora. Kenya waved at me and headed over.

"So, what happens now?" Kenya asked. The question threw me off.

"Well, I was thinking we could go to this restaurant."

"I mean, us." I ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm going to Opelucid. What are you going to do?" She looked down.

"I don't know."

"Didn't you say you were going to Pinwheel forest?"

"Oh, yeah. That was a lie."

I was at a loss.

"Well, why don't you come to the restaurant. We'll figure out everything else later." She nodded.

"How did you know?" Kenya asked as we started making our way to the restaurant. "About Druddigon." I scratched my head, thinking of an answer.

"It was obvious," I said. "You two are more similar than you think." Kenya smiled at Druddigon's Pokeball.

We arrived at the restaurant. Bianca and Cheren had found a table.

Other than the two of them, the restaurant was nearly empty. I sat down next to Cheren. Kenya paused for a moment before sitting next to Bianca.

"Arent you… Kenya?" Cheren asked.

"Yeah," Kenya said. "That's me." Cheren frowned. Bianca nudged Kenya and whispered something to her. Kenya snickered.

"The waitress will be back in a bit," Cheren said. "You two should get something to eat."

"Have you beaten the Castelia gym?" I asked. Cheren nodded.

"Yup." He showed me his badge case. He had four badges.

"You beat the Nimbasa gym too?" Bianca leaned over the table. "Wow!" Cheren shrugged.

"What have you two been doing?" Cheren put up his case. "Aside from blowing up museums."

"That wasn't us!" Bianca insisted. Cheren chuckled dryly. The waitress showed up a few minutes later. She took our orders and went into the back. Someone else showed up at the restaurant after a while. An old man wearing a purple coat. He noticed us and walked over. The man stopped by our table, staring at us.

"Hi." Kenya was the first to speak. The man plucked at his mustache.

"The incident at the museum." His voice was low. "Was not associated with team plasma."

"That's not what that guy said," I spoke up.

"No," Kenya said. "He said Neo plasma."

"What's the difference?"

"They do not follow our code."

"Who are you?" Bianca asked.

"I am Bronius, one of the seven sages of team plasma." He scratched his chin. "I suppose there are only five of us now." The waitress returned. Bronius stepped out of her way as she placed our plates on the table.

"How can I help you?" The waitress asked. Bronius didn't reply; he just walked out. I glanced over at Cheren. He was staring down at his plate, silent. He hadn't spoken in a few minutes.

"Hey, Cheren." I nudged him. He blinked slowly before looking at me.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." I didn't think much about Bronius. We left the restaurant around noon, heading to the pokemon center.

"Where are you headed?" Bianca asked Cheren.

"I think I'm going to Accumula," Cheren said.

"Why?" I asked. He shrugged. Bianca gave me a concerned look.

"I'll see you guys later," Cheren said when we arrived at the pokemon center. He walked away.

"Somethings wrong," Bianca said.

"I know." I crossed my arms.

We went into the pokemon center. I got my Pokemon healed. Bianca waited outside.

"Have you decided what you want to do yet?" I asked Kenya. I asked her again as we walked out of the pokemon center. Bianca was holding her Snivy.

"You ready?" Bianca fed her Snivy some food.

"Yeah," I struggled with my bag for a moment. It was heavier than normal. I looked at Kenya. She smiled.

"Andrew, can I come with you?" She folded her arms, avoiding our eyes. "Can I go with you to Opelucid?"

"Sure. It's up to you, not me." She grinned.

"Wait for me!" She ran back into the pokemon center. Bianca nudged me.

"I think I know."

"What's that?"

"I don't want to be left behind. I won't fall behind." Snivy nuzzled Bianca. She punched me in the arm. "Y-you know what I mean?" I nodded, unsure what to say. "I remember when I met Cheren."

"Yeah?"

"He was out in the woods, messing with a Durant. He was trying to catch it without a pokemon of his own!" She chuckled at the thought. "He got all beat up. I had to drag him home. His mom was so mad."

"I wonder what he's doing." Why would he go back to Accumula? I thought hard about it. Bianca adjusted her hat, sighing.

"He'd get upset if we tried to ask him about it." I nodded. Kenya appeared in the pokemon center door.

"I'm ready!"

"Don't you want to say bye to Lenora?" I suggested. Kenya scoffed.

"No way, let's get out of here." I noticed the team plasma members standing beside the poke mart as we followed the road out of Nacrene. Bronius was standing among them. He met my eyes, frowning.

Our trip into Pinwheel forest was uneventful. Bianca talked about how she caught Audino.

I noticed a blonde man standing by a tree. He was wearing a lab coat. He seemed to be poking it with a knife; he peeled a piece of the bark off the tree.

He looked over at us as we walked by.

"Hey. Do you three have pokemon?"

"Let's ignore him," Kenya whispered.

"Maybe he's crazy," Bianca said without a thought.

"Would you mind handing them over?"