Kaminari wakes in her tent to the sound of bickering Pidove squawking at each other outside. By her legs, Tsunami rests with his head resting on Zest, whose tail waves around cutely when he sleeps. The Ultra Ball sits in the opposite end of the tent, untouched since the night before. Just before they parted ways, N made Kaminari promise to give the Blitzle a chance and "perhaps even take her out of her ball." The girl smacks herself in the forehead. "Why do I keep making promises I know I can't keep?" She moans and wiggles out from her Cinccino-patterned sleeping bag before snatching the Ultra Ball from the ground. A surge of disappointment and nervousness swims through her veins. "Really? Nothing? I was expecting to at least be electrocuted." She laughs at her own sarcasm for a solid minute before hanging her head. "I'm talking to a ball. Great start to the day."

Next to her shriveled up sleeping bag, Zest rolls onto his side, letting Tsunami's round head bump on the rough earth. Wide awake now, the otter whips out his shell and proceeds to beat his teammate awake with the flat side of it. Kaminari grins and breaks up the fight with one hand while digging for her partner's Poké Balls with the other. "Alright, Tsunami, that's enough." The Oshawott turns away and crosses his stubby arms with a huff just before the white beam of energy zaps him into his ball.

As she kneels outside and hastily mushes her tent into a tight, disorganized ball, Kaminari hears a voice wailing her name from the beginning of Route Three. She rolls her eyes and stuffs the mess into her bag as a pair of green pumps skid through the dirt behind her. "What do you want, Bianca?"

That signature gasp that Bianca always does before extensive stories are to be told happens again. "It's horrible!" she shrieks. "This little girl from Striaton got her Roggenrola stolen from her- in broad daylight, too!"

Kaminari glances up at the sky and shields her eyes from the rising sun. "Doesn't look like it's been 'broad daylight' for too long."

"Okay," the blonde admits, "so maybe I stretched the truth just a bit. Don't act like you haven't done it, too. What about that time you took Cheren's wallet, hm?" She taps her chin in thought. "What was it that you told him… oh yeah. 'A Lampent snuck up behind you and tried to steal your soul, but he missed and just got your wallet instead.'"

Kaminari couldn't mask the sly smile that enveloped her face. "Hey, at least he believed it."

"'He believed it?'" Bianca cries, "He wouldn't come out of his house for a week, Nari!"

"Daw, your just mad because there wasn't anyone there to pay for your little Emolga dollies." Kaminari peers down the road. "Speaking of ol' Four-Eyes, why don't you ask him for help? I'm not exactly a morning person, you know."

Bianca throws her hands up in the air impatiently as her eyes grow wide. "I did ask Cheren! He's heading down to Wellspring Cave right now to teach those people a lesson, but…" She glances around nervously before whispering, "But I don't think he can handle them all on his own. And… and… we both know I'm not the strongest trainer, Nari…" Her gaze falls sadly to the ground before flicking hopefully back up to her friend.

The brunette, who took a few moments toying with the idea of Bianca's knight-in-shining-skinny-jeans going off to save the day for her, snaps back to reality at the sudden soundlessness in the area. Bianca, tapping her foot, hurriedly asks, "Well?"

"Hold up a second. Who are 'those people' that took the Pokémon?"

"Oh," she giggles, "did I forget to say? I guess I just talk so fast and I get ahead of myself and-"

"Spill it, Bianca."

"Sorry. It's those Team Plasma people. You know, that team from the Dream..yard…" The girl trails off, remembering what the Musharna had shown Kaminari about her dream from the night before. She attempts to apologize for it, but her quiet voice is no match for the sound of her friend's boots furiously ripping down the dusty road. She should have known that the mention of those Pokémon abusers would trigger her rage.

Not much later, the short-tempered teen encounters a Team Plasma grunt guarding the mouth of the cave. "Halt! Team Plasma is taking care of business within this cavern," she declares, "so you must turn around before you, too, fall under the category of 'business.'"

Kaminari crosses her arms. "Look, I didn't catch like half of what you said because I was thinking of ways I can wreck you, but I need to get in there."

In response, the guard laughs and says, "I highly doubt your team can even compete with my six Patrat."

Wonder how many bite marks she has under that stupid outfit, then. Kaminari stretches her legs like she's about to run a marathon. "Actually, I just put my Poké Balls in my bag," she hisses, "but I don't really need Pokémon to win a fight. That's what my parole officer said, anyway."

The woman looks Kaminari up and down, taking note of her completely serious eyes. She then laughs stiffly and steps aside without a word.

Confidently, Kaminari stomps through the entrance of the cave, light pouring in from behind her. She finds Cheren flicking his thumb with his index finger; something he always does when he's agitated. In front of him stands a pair of Team Plasma grunts, and behind them is a quivering Roggenrola. Cheren greets her by snorting, "What are you doing here?"

"Dang, Cheren, what's with all this hostility?" Kaminari sneers, "Did your room service come a whole minute after they said they would?" The grunts start to shout something at her, but the teen dismissively waves her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with you two in a second. Don't be in a such a rush to get your butts kicked, ya fruitcakes." She turns back to Cheren as the grunts grumble something about non-followers. "Bianca said you could use my help."

"I can handle this."

"Bianca doesn't seem to think so."

Cheren's cheeks turn bright red. "You're only going to make this worse, okay?"

Kaminari snickers at his embarrassment. "You're just mad that Bianca thinks I'm the better battler."

"She does not." He raises his chin indignantly. "She's just looking out for me. You know, that thing nice people do?"

"Yeah, mhm. Do you want my help or not?"

Cheren sighs and looks back at the Plasma grunts. "I suppose I'm the only one in the place that listens to reason."

"This Pokémon was being misused and held back by its trainer," one grunt snaps, "and now that it has been liberated by Team Plasma, it can reach perfection."

"Yeah, well, I hate to tell you this," the brunette says, "but he's about to be liberated again by Kaminari and Cheren."

The redheaded grunts whip out their shiny red spheres. "Team Plasma will free all Pokémon, no matter who stands in our way!"

"I suppose that means we're battling," Cheren sighs and pushes his glasses up his nose before snatching his Purrloin's ball from his pocket. "How narcissistic must you be to think you can steal another's partner and speak in third person?" He tosses the ball out while his friend unleashes Zest.

The Team Plasma grunts throw out a couple of Patrat, causing Kaminari to moan. "Why do you all have these stupid little rats?"

"You're one to talk," Cheren reminds her.

"Cheren, I just lied about having been arrested for assault. But if you keep on sassing me, it might not qualify as a lie anymore."

The boy shakes his head. "Always a barbarian."

Despite one of their partners being fireless, the two friends easily pummel the normal-types. "Not bad, Four-eyes. Maybe you did learn something in that school."

"Don't think this battle has been won." Two more grunts emerge from the shadows of the cave as the beaten ones step aside without question. "You'll soon learn the true power of Team Plasma."

"How irritating. You are quite righteous for Pokémon thieves." Cheren turns to the girl beside him. "Nari, you are what these city folk might refer to as a 'meat-headed loudmouth-'"

"Thanks, Cheren."

"-but we have been friends for all our lives, and we have each other's backs when it counts. Let's show these fools how it's done."

"Nicely said, Cheren," Kaminari replies as their opponents send out two bats, "I didn't know you had a drop of emotion in that stone-cold heart of yours. You're really a big softy."

The boy pinches the bridge of his nose. "This is why I don't say nice things to you often. Purrloin, use Growl!"

"Wait, what are these things?" Kaminari yanks out her Pokédex and scans her strange, blue opponents. "Woobat? Gross. Go for Lick, Zest."

"Not so fast. Our Woobat have far more speed." Both grunts command their partners to use Gust. Immediately, the round bats beat their frail wings, whipping up a miniature storm that buffers their opponents around the cave.

"Alright," Cheren smugly proclaims, "our turn."

Purrloin wags his tail cutely and meows with a hint of sassiness while Zest leaps into the air and Licks a Woobat. The Pansear finds himself more disgusted than his paralyzed enemy, as he walks away wiping clumps of blue fur from his tongue. "Pan…"

"Heh," Kaminari giggles, "nice job, buddy."

"You have the audacity to call a higher being 'buddy'?" The left grunt huffs disapprovingly.

"I just can't believe you have the audacity to talk to me, gasbag. Zest, use Fury Swipes!"

"Purrloin, you too!"

The fire-type jumps in the air again right as the Team Plasma grunts give their orders. Right before he strikes, his target uses Assurance, smacking him hard with his wing. Despite the hit, Zest easily fights through and swipes at the bat three times before skipping giddily back to his trainer. Purrloin, following his lead, leaps up and claws his opponent four times before walking back with sassy eyes, proud at achieving more hits than the monkey. However, on his walk back to Cheren, the Woobat sends another Gust his way. The cat attempts to steady himself by digging his claws into the earth, but is still sent flying. "Loin," he snarls.

"Woah, that Assurance didn't do much at all…" Kaminari says, hoping she won't get a taste of the Cheren superiority complex for his partner's higher number of hits. "You guys must be wimpier than I thought."

"Actually," Cheren corrects her in a very matter-of-fact-tone, "I suspect these Pokémon have the Simple ability, meaning the Growl lowered their attack by twice as much."

"That is correct," admits a grunt, "for Team Plasma has taken these Pokémon one step closer to perfection by granting them their hidden ability through genetic enhancement." The grunt raises an eyebrow at Cheren while Kaminari tries to comprehend what both of them have just said with a blank stare. "But how did you figure that out so easily?"

"It wasn't all that difficult." Cheren grins deviously. "Both of them just looked as Simple-minded as their trainers."

As soon as she figures out his statement, Kaminari bursts out of her minor trance and points a finger at the redheads. "Ooooooh," she yells, "You just got burned by a nerd!"

"I suppose we've inflicted two status conditions on them now," declares Cheren in a snarky tone, causing Kaminari to almost fall over laughing at her red-faced opponents.

"Enough!" the left grunt screams, "Woobat, use Assurance and Gust once more!" Oddly, the right grunt stays silent as his partner gives orders to his Pokémon.

"Zest, use Fury Swipes on the paralyzed one."

Cheren turns to her. "Are you sure about that?"

"Don't complain, Four-eyes. I called 'em first."

The boy sighs uneasily. "Okay. Purrloin, attack the other Woobat, then."

As one bat uses Gust on the poor Purrloin, Zest, who is hesitant after Cheren's warning, slashes the paralyzed Woobat twice on his big nose. The cat, who looks extra fluffy after all the "blow drying," shakes his purple coat and scratches other bat twice. Finally, the paralyzed Woobat flaps over to the Pansear and smacks him with his wing, infinitely harder than before. Zest cries in pain and faints.

"What?" shouts Kaminari, done laughing now. She grabs Cheren by his jacket collar and shakes him violently. "I thought you said you halved his attack!"

The boy, now used to Kaminari handling him gruffly, nonchalantly states, "This is what I was trying to warn you about, fool. Assurance does twice as much is the user has already been hit."

She points a finger at her fainted fire-type, keeping one hand on his blue jacket. "He's passed out!"

Cheren shrugs. "Perhaps the hit was critical."

Kaminari releases the black-haired boy and moans, "Sorry, Zest. My fault." She returns him to his ball before unleashing her excited Oshawott. "You're going to get it now, pal. Go for Water Gun…" she glances at Cheren, "…not on the paralyzed one."

"Ah, so you're not as stupid as I thought," remarks the left grunt. "It'll take you more than an IQ of 100 to win this battle, though." Cheren grabs his friend by the black vest before she can race across the battle and plant her fist in the man's face. The grunt snorts at her rage and commands, "Gust and Heart Stamp." The right grunt raises a finger in protest, yet quickly lowers it.

The boy, still struggling to restrain his aggressive friend, yells, "Purrloin! Assist!"

"I swear to Arceus if he gets Vine Whip again…"

Just as Tsunami prepares to shoot his opponent out of the air with a blast of water, the left bat swoops down at him and bumps him with his heart-pattered nose. "Woo! B-Bat!" Tsunami flinches and finds himself unable to move because of it.

Kaminari slaps her forehead. "You've got to be kidding me."

"At least he's not the only one who can't move." Cheren points at the second Woobat, who is also rendered immobile. "It's about time your strategy came in handy, to be honest."

The brunette sourly responds, "Shut up."

The Purrloin, eager to destroy his opponent with one of Snivy's strong moves, is incredibly disappointed when the blue beam from the other ball gives him Growth. He looks back at his trainer as his body suddenly becomes a bit larger. "Loin?"

"Great job," Kaminari groans, "now he can hit the wall a little harder when he catches a Gust."

"Will you please focus on the battle?" he asks, disappointed.

"I've been focusing on the battle… mildly." She winks at the black-haired boy. "If you ask me, that paralyzed one has been in for way too long."

"I agree." His glasses glint as he commands, "Fury Swipes on the right Woobat, Purrloin!"

"Water Gun on the same one, Tsunami!"

"I don't think so," sneers the left grunt. "Assurance and Confusion. Now!"

Grinning like the Simple-minded Woobat he is, the opposing Pokémon on the left emits pink circles from his head and extends them towards Tsunami, who takes a hit and stumbles around in confusion. "Wott?"

Kaminari closes her eyes. "This cannot be happening."

Cheren's partner, glancing worriedly at Tsunami, leaps up and claws the paralyzed opponent twice, leaving with just enough health to continue battling. All eyes go to the Oshawott, who struggles to find his target. Wobbling around, he tries to remember what order he was given. Instead of using Water Gun, though, he removes his scallop and beats himself in the head with it.

"How is that remotely similar to what I said?" Kaminari screams, causing Tsunami to stare back at the five versions that he sees of her shamefully.

"Well, according to Bianca, you basically asked him to hurt himself with the move Water Gun last night."

"Cheren, I'm about to hurt you with something much worse than water."

The Woobat on the right, to Cheren's dismay, fight's through paralysis and brutally strikes his partner with a boosted Assurance. Purrloin hisses something at his Oshawott teammate before falling over, defeated.

"How'd that critical hit feel, Cheren?"

"Nari, we've lost two Pokémon to a pair of blind bats. I don't think this is a time for joking."

"You forgot to mention the part where my starter is being completely wrecked and all you have left is a grass-type."

"Well, I have a Panpour, too. Some child in the Dreamyard gave her to me."

"Really?" Kaminari laughs a bit. "She gave me Zest. Dang, that kid must've been lucky to find-"

"Quit stalling!" snaps the right grunt, to his fellow Team Plasma member's surprise. "W-We're going to win the battle no matter what, so you might as well lose quickly and stop wasting our precious time."

"…Hey, Cheren, guess what?"

"What?"

"I just realized that the initials for Team Plasma are the same initials for toilet paper."

The right grunt shrieks, "SHUT YOUR BRATTY MOUTH AND FIGHT!"

Cheren smirks and tosses out Panpour. "Alright, time to shine, Panpour." She nods self-assuredly at him. "Lick the right Woobat." With a smile most joyous, the blue monkey jumps in the air with an open mouth.

"Quickly," the left grunt yells, "use Confusion!"

Mid-jump, the Panpour is struck with those awful psychic rings, making her confused as well. Just like Tsunami, she hits herself.

"I believe they have a word for this kind of luck." Cheren cleans his glasses on the hem of his shirt, attempting to hide his anger. "I read in a book once that it is referred to as 'hax'."

"Tsunami, attack the paralyzed Woobat!" Kaminari shouts furiously. "And don't you dare hit yourself this time!"

Under immense pressure and ashamed to have let his trainer down, Tsunami wildly shakes his head and unleashes a stream of water on the Woobat. "O-sha-wooooooott!" The bat finally drops to the ground, defeated. Tsunami waddles back to his trainer gleefully. "Shaa!"

"It's about time…" Cheren mutters.

Ignoring her friend's sly comment, Kaminari smiles and cheers, "Awesome, Tsunami!"

The left grunt, watching his teammate return his fallen Pokémon to his ball with disapproval, shouts, "Don't rejoice yet! Use Heart Stamp on the Panpour!"

The bat plainly swoops down on the Panpour and slams into her with his nose. She is knocked back, but unflinching. Both teenagers let relieved smiles take over their faces. "Would you like to finish this?" Kaminari asks.

Cheren grabs his glasses by the rim and properly settles them on his face. "Gladly. Use Leer." Both his partner and his friend stare at him with wide eyes. "I'm simply joking, calm down. Fury Swipes."

Happy to oblige, the Panpour fights through her confusion and leaps up with a raised paw before attacking with a flurry of claws. As she struts away, the bat falls to the earth behind her. While the last grunt returns his fainted Pokémon to his ball, Kaminari casually walks up to her opponents and says, "Alright, I want two-thousand Pokémon dollars."

Cheren returns Panpour to her ball, adding, "And the Roggenrola."

"Yeah, that too."

The right grunt reluctantly slaps the money in the girl's hand while his partner hands the startled little rock-type over to the boy, righteously yelling, "Understand this; for every Pokémon you claim to save, Team Plasma shall liberate a hundred more!" Before Kaminari can retort with a wisecrack, they throw out some kind of thick smoke and disappear into the shadows.

"Wow," she coughs, "they're faster than their own Woobat. Y'know, when they're retreating." The brunette turns to face Cheren, who has his eyes narrowed at her. "What?"

"I want at least half of the money," he declares. "In fact, I deserve more than half, since I was here longer than you and my partner's put in more effort than yours."

Tsunami growls in an unintentionally adorable way and slashes his scallop at Cheren. "Oshaaa…"

"Tsunami's right," Kaminari agrees. "Besides, I asked for the cash and you asked for the Roggenrola. We both got what we wanted."

Her friend sends her a stern look. "Kaminari."

The teen rolls her eyes and folds half of the dollars out of her small stack. "Fine. Just for the love of Arceus don't start counting to three, Mom." After taking the money, Cheren hoists the heavy Pokémon up into his arms and soothes it by stroking its smooth outer layer. "Aww, you really are motherly material."

Cheren ignores her and places the rock back in his ball once the yellow pebble on top of his head quits wavering. "I'm going to take him back to his trainer. Go tell Bianca he's alright. I know she's worried…"

"What, are you jealous that she's more worried about that rock than she is about you?"

Cheren charges out of the cave without a word. Kaminari puts Tsunami on her shoulder and stares down at the Ultra Ball in her bag, thinking how much quicker she could have ended that battle if she wasn't so fearful. She forcefully shakes the thought out of her head and scratches her partner's chin. "At least you got some experience, right, buddy?" Tsunami stares back at her in delightful confusion, wondering why his trainer sounds so unconvinced, but not quite caring enough to interrupt her display of affection.

The brunette finds her flighty friend pacing the area where her slanted tent stood not an hour ago, looking as though her parent is in the middle of an operation; her quivering hands are clasped over her mouth and her eyes possess a nervous crinkle. She sits on a log only to jump to her feet a moment later when she sees Kaminari sauntering down the road. "Did everything go alright? I've been worried sick!"

"Everything was fine," Kaminari says in an unusually aggravated tone, "Cheren took the Pokémon back to Striaton." The girl doesn't even meet Bianca's genuine gaze.

"Nari…" The blonde's green eyes dart around the route as she tries to find the right words to say. How am I supposed to justify showing her something like that? Without thinking, she takes Kaminari by surprise by entangling her in her loving arms, repeatedly apologizing.

The brunette teen closes her eyes, recalling the day following that horrible incident Bianca showed her. Her door was locked, and she was curled up on her bed with her head in her hands. The soft sound of Kaminari's mother knocking and pleading crept into her mind, followed by the hopeless sobs. With tears rolling across her nose and onto her pink sheets, she pondered her situation, but came up without a thought to think. That was when she first stood on the beach of the sea of madness.

The sound of waves washing over sand had drowned out her mother's sad words, but it wasn't like the gentle waves that lined the shore of Nuvema Town; those waves were comforting and constant, never straying from their pleasant pattern. The waters of this foreign sea were wild and unpredictable, with a tide that could rise enough to engulf her at any second. The sea fed on the thunderous sound that echoed in her head, gradually nearing her toes until a little voice disrupted its ascension. Reluctantly sweeping her silky curtains aside, the young girl saw her two best friends standing on the grass outside, calling her name.

Bianca still had those same bright green eyes as she loudly announced her sorrow into Kaminari's shirt, passionate about her friend's forgiveness. It was at this moment that the brunette thought of Archeops comforting N the night before. This was a pain the girls and even Cheren shared through friendship, and so they each had to be strong for the others' sake.

Easing her muscles, Kaminari releases all of her frustration with a calm exhale and returns the embrace, rubbing Bianca's back as her tears dampen the black vest.