The two Pokémon, along with their trainers, scaled up the cliffs of the Coronet Highlands as night began to fall. With their newly evolved forms, they were very confident and climbed up with little effort, despite carrying the extra weight of their trainers on their backs. The trek upwards continued until they finally reached the top of the cliffs long after the sun had gone down. The trainers dismounted their Pokemon and recalled them to their pokeballs before looking around the land and spotting flags nearby showing Lord Electrode's picture.

"There it is. That must be Moonview Arena." Akari pointed out.

"Sure looks like it." Ash nodded. "Now we need to find out the foods Lord Electrode likes so that we can make balms as soon as possible."

"Well, the Warden should know. And I'm sure he's over at the arena now." She reminded him.

"Probably. But I doubt he'll tell us. Especially if he's really ok with Lord Electrode being frenzied like everyone says he is." He countered.

"Well, we have to at least try. We're on a mission." She added, earning a sigh from Ash.

"You're right. Let's go." He agreed. Akari nodded in response and they both headed toward the arena gate. As they got closer, however, they saw a tall man in a Diamond Clan uniform and with long purple hair standing in the opening and blocking their path. Ash was stunned when they got closer to him. Had the man's hair been just a slightly darker shade of purple, he would've been a dead ringer for Harley.

"Hold it right there Galaxy Team grunts!" the man yelled at them, putting out his hand in a stop motion, surprising Ash and Akari to the point that they did in fact stop walking.

"What?! Did you just call us grunts?!" Ash growled slightly.

"You must be Lord Electrode's Warden..." Akari realized.

"Excellent detective work little girl. The Great Melli watches over Lord Electrode with all his skill and love for his Lord." The man proudly boasted with a slight flip of his hair. Ash stared at him with deadpan eyes, stunned that someone this egotistical was a Warden. The others had all been kind and concerned for their charges, but this Melli guy seemed more interested in the status that came with being a Warden. He was looking more like Harley with every minute they interacted.

"You can't be serious..." he mumbled.

"I will not allow you two to go any further towards my dear Lord Electrode." He declared.

"Warden Melli please…" Akari pleaded, taking a step forward. "We only want to help Lord Electrode out of this frenzy. Surely you've seen how much pain he's in?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous." Melli waved off her concern dismissively. "This frenzy energy is obviously a gift bestowed on my dear Lord Electrode from Almighty Sinnoh. It's something we simply must see through to the end."

"You can't be serious…surely you see the pain on his face…?" Akari asked in near disbelief.

"All greatness must come from at least some pain." Melli dismissed her again.

"This is getting us nowhere." Ash growled, unable to tolerate the delays any longer. "We're going in there and we're going to help Lord Electrode."

"You'll have to go through me first." Melli smirked as he snapped his fingers. "Skuntank! You and your friends go get them!"

"Tank!" a Skuntank suddenly called out as he charged in with a Zubat and Skorupi coming in as well, facing down Ash and Akari for a battle.

"What the?! That's cheating using more than one Pokémon to fight me!" Ash yelled.

"Forget it, Ash! You just take Skuntank! I got the other two!" Akari assured him as she grabbed one of her pokeballs. Ash nodded in agreement, but Melli took the opportunity to call out an attack.

"Use Flamethrower Skuntank!" The Poison Pokemon suddenly launched a Flamethrower at Ash and Pikachu, giving them barely enough time to jump out of the way and avoid the attack. Ash growled angrily as Pikachu took the field to face off with Skuntank.

"Thunderbolt Pikachu let's go!" he called out. Pikachu jumped up into the air and fired off a Thunderbolt at Skuntank.

"Stop them with another Flamethrower!" Melli ordered his partner, who was quick to obey the command and launch another Flamethrower, causing the two attacks to collide in midair and fight for dominance. They remained at a stalemate for several moments before Thunderbolt started to overpower Flamethrower. Skuntank's eyes widened when the Thunderbolt broke through the Flamethrower and headed straight for him, earning a clean and powerful hit.

"Let's get this over with! Use Quick Attack!" Ash followed up. With a burst of speed energy, Pikachu charged towards Skuntank as the Pokemon struggled to shake off the earlier Thunderbolt.

"Not so fast!" Melli growled. "Use Night Slash!"

"Skun!" Skuntank responded as he regained his senses and managed to take a swing at Pikachu with his claws glowing with an energy that was black as night. The attack landed on Pikachu, forcing him backward by a few feet and stopping his Iron Tail cold.

"Are you ok buddy?!" Ash gasped. Pikachu got back up onto his paws and shook out his fur before nodding to Ash. "They won't be able to stop this! Use Iron Tail!"

"Take this!" Pikachu yelled as he charged towards Skuntank again, this time with his tail glowing brightly. He jumped into the air and brought his Iron Tail down right onto Skuntank's head before he could even attempt to move away. Skuntank let out a cry of pain and collapsed, swirls of defeat evident in his eyes.

"Yes! Down for the count!" Ash smirked.

"Impossible!" Melli gasped as Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

"Finish with Razor Leaf Petilil!" Akari called to her partner nearby.

"Pet!" Petilil yelled as she fired a Razor Leaf from the leaves on her head, hitting Skorupi and causing him to faint, landing right next to the already-fainted Zubat.

"Way to go!" Akari cheered.

"How dare you do that to my precious Pokemon!" Melli gasped.

"It's your own fault!" Ash fired back. "You're the one letting your Lord suffer for no good reason!"

"Warden Melli, please. We need to know what food Lord Electrode likes so we can help him get back to normal." Akari tried pleading once again.

"Even if I wanted to help you I can't. Because I've completely forgotten what Lord Electrode likes to eat!" Melli declared, almost with a sense of pride.

"What?!" Akari gasped in disbelief.

"You're unbelievable! You're the worst Warden I have ever met! Lord Electrode deserves far better than you!" Ash yelled angrily.

"You're quite right Ash. Perhaps it's time to consider a change to this post." A voice suddenly agreed with him. Everyone turned around in surprise and saw Adaman walking over to join them.

"Adaman?!" Melli gasped.

"Adaman we're not getting anywhere with this guy…Please tell me you know what Lord Electrode likes to eat..." Ash begged, so sick and tired of Melli's antics.

"I do." Adaman nodded as he pulled a basket of balms out of his bag that he then handed over to Ash and Akari. "And Professor Laventon and I already put together balms for the two of you."

"Adamaaannn!" Melli complained.

"Thanks, Adaman you're a lifesaver." Akari smiled as she divided the balms between Ash and herself.

"I beg of you Adaman, please really consider a change in leadership up here…" Ash sighed.

"I'll take it under advisement." Adaman promised. Melli grumbled some expletives under his breath before stepping aside and opening the path to the Moonview Arena.

"Alright. Let's do this Ash." Akari said, turning towards him.

"Right." He nodded. After each taking a deep breath, the two trainers headed into the arena slowly and carefully. They both cautiously looked around the open area, surrounded on almost all sides by tall and steep cliffs. Near the back was a very large tree, obviously as old and sturdy as they come. Yet even still, the air was far too still for their tastes. "Where is he...?"

"No idea..." Akari answered as they both moved closer to the massive tree.

"This Lord Electrode...what do you know about him…" Ash asked as his eyes continued to dart around the arena.

"All I know for sure is that he's dangerous…I've heard he can use all kinds of Electric and Grass-type attacks…and when that doesn't work he'll sometimes get so angry that he'll just…explode…" she explained, vividly catching Ash's attention.

"Just great…" he muttered under his breath. All of a sudden, the tree's leaves started shaking above them as if they were waiting for their cue.

"Uh oh..." she gulped.

"Incoming!" Ash yelled as he dove away from the trunk. Akari dove out of the way as well and a large circular Pokémon suddenly fell from the tree branches above. The Pokemon was glowing the same eerie yellow color as the others Lords were before, but it was still obvious to Ash that it was still an Electrode. The only real difference he could see was that this one seemed to be made of wood instead of metal and plastic like the ones in his time seemed to be. "Speak of the devil…"

"Lord Electrode…" Akari whispered as she took in a nervous breath. Electrode turned around and glared at them. Letting out a battle cry, he started shaking his entire body and sending out electric shockwaves toward the two trainers.

"Look out!" Ash warned her. Akari gasped and dove over the shockwave in one direction as Ash dove in the other direction. Once she was a safe distance away, Akari started throwing balms into Electrode while Ash did the same from another direction.

"Trode!" Electrode cried out in anger. He suddenly jumped up into the air and started spinning as he headed back toward the ground.

"Another shockwave is incoming! Move!" Ash instructed Akari quickly. Akari nodded and ran away from the impact zone while Ash jumped out of the way as Electrode landed on the ground and sent out another shockwave, missing them both. While he was still stunned from the landing, both trainers started throwing more balms and nailing Electrode over and over again. However, Ash suddenly noticed that they were no longer alone with Electrode in the arena. The impact from Electrode's jump had shaken several Voltorb free from the giant tree and they were raining down on the field like little bombs. Akari was so focused on throwing balms that she didn't see the Voltorb falling right toward her. "Akari! Look out!"

"Huh?!" she looked up just in time to see the Voltorb hurtling towards her and gasping in fear.

"Iron Tail Pikachu quick!" Ask yelled.

"On it!" Pikachu answered as he leaped off Ash's shoulder. He swung his tail in and hit the Voltorb hard, sending him off to the other side of the field where he exploded harmlessly.

"Whoa…Ash thank you…" Akari said as she slowly looked back at him and blushed gently.

"Uhh...y-you're welcome…" he stammered, fighting off a blush of his own. However before things could get any more awkward, Akari noticed Electrode jumping into the air once again, this time aiming to land on Ash.

"Look out!" she warned him. Ash looked up and gasped, quickly rolling out of the way and ending up back at Akari's side.

"Thanks…! Quick we need to throw!" he reminded her as he took out more balms and threw them, Akari quickly doing the same. One of them, neither was really sure which, managed to hit Lord Electrode in the face with a balm, making him dizzy and start to sway, stopping his offensive onslaught. Seeing the opportunity, Ash quickly grabbed a pokeball from his bag and threw it. "Growlithe use Flamethrower!"

"Growl!" Growlithe howled as he fires Flamethrower at Electrode. Akari quickly grabbed her pokéball and threw it out as well.

"Sneasler use Poison Jab!" she called. Her Sneasler appeared on the field and leaped towards Electrode, hitting him in the face with Poison Jab just as Growlithe's Flamethrower ended.

"Trode elec!" the large Pokemon cried out in pain.

"Now!" Ash yelled as he threw as many balms as he could at Electrode just as Akari started doing the same. They both pelted Lord Electrode with balms until they both threw their last balms at the same time. The balms hit Electrode all at once he let out a cry of pain as his body lit up the entire area. Ash and May shielded their eyes as the energy within Electrode began to be released from his body. Everyone remained still until the light from his release began to fade. As Ash and Akari lowered their arms, they saw Lord Electrode slowly open his eyes and look around in confusion.

"Elec...?" he wondered in confusion.

"Hey Electrode..." Ash greeted him as he slowly approached. "How are you feeling now?"

"Electrode! Elec!" Electrode smiled at them, earning smiles from them as well.

"Oh, that's wonderful. We're glad you're feeling better." Akari added. Ash nodded in agreement as he gently rubbed Electrode's side.

"Your Warden was terrible to have kept you in that Frenzy. I can't imagine how much it hurt."

"Trode elec elec."

"Let's go report this to the Commander." Akari suggested.

"Right." Ash nodded as he recalled Growlithe and she recalled Sneasler.

"Trode!" Lord Electrode called as he rolled over to Ash before they could go. The Electric type handed him another plate before rolling back to his tree. Ash and Akari looked down at the Zap Plate in surprise.

"Another plate?" she wondered.

"Yeah…" he nodded.

"You've received so many of them already…I wonder how many there are." She wondered aloud.

"I don't know…" he lied as he put the plate away with the others. He had collected eight of them now, and he knew there were eighteen in total. Maybe the reason they were being given to him was because the Lords and the Nobles knew that he had been sent by Arceus. And if that was the case, then he probably had to collect them all for his mission.

"Well, the Nobel Pokémon and the Lords of Hisui obviously see something special in you." Akari commented, bringing him back to the conversation.

"Seems like it…tell me, how many more Nobles and Lords are there in Hisui?" he wondered.

"There is one more of each. Both of them live in the Alabaster Icelands up north." She explained.

"I see…" he said, retreating back into his thoughts. That was only ten of the eighteen plates. So where were the other eight? The only pattern he'd seen so far was plates being watched over by the Lords and Nobles. If they didn't have the other eight then where were they? His thoughts left him silent for a while and Akari stood awkwardly beside him.

"Um…Ash, we really should go…" she eventually spoke up.

"Sorry you're right…let's go…" he nodded with a sigh as he started heading back to the base camp. Akari sighed to herself as she followed him. She hated when she felt like he was hiding things from her.

Later on, the two arrived back at headquarters just as the sun was rising on a new day. Neither one had realized just how tired they were until after all the excitement was over. But they had been up all day and all night working and it was finally starting to show. Nevertheless, they both headed into headquarters and straight up to Commander Kamado's office, who turned to face them once he saw them approaching.

"Good to see you both still in one piece. So has Electrode been saved?" he asked.

"Yes, Commander." Akari nodded.

"Despite the Warden's beset efforts…" Ash grumbled sleepily under his breath.

"Good." The Commander nodded. "Well done you two."

"Thank you, Commander." Akari said with a tired smile.

"You both have put in a lot of hours on this. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. Get yourselves rested and ready for your next mission.

"We have a next mission already…?" Akari asked with surprise.

"It's possible. Given what's happened with all the other Lords, Irida has agreed to check on the Lord of the Alabaster Icelands and report back to us in a few days about his condition. If there's a problem, I'll be sending you two." Kamado explained.

"Wow…what's that Lord like?" Ash wondered aloud.

"I really don't know much about the Lord of the Alabaster Icelands...but I've heard he's the most dangerous of them all...I really hope he's not frenzied..." Akari said with a bit of a shaky voice.

"How dangerous is he?" Ash asked her, but it was Kamado that answered for her.

"The Lord of Alabaster Iceland is the biggest and strongest of all the Lords. If he's in a frenzy it could have effects on all of Hisui if he got loose."

"Whoa…then yeah we better hope he's not frenzied..." Ash agreed.

"Indeed. That's why you two spend the rest of the day getting yourselves rested and ready. I'll see you back here first thing tomorrow morning." The Commander finished his instructions.

"Yes sir. Thank you." Ash nodded.

"Pika." Pikachu agreed.

"Well, for now, I'm really hungry. Beni's probably serving breakfast as we speak if you'd like to go with me, Ash." Akari offered him with a hopeful smile. Ash flinched slightly at the invitation. He was hungry and breakfast sounded great, but he really didn't want to risk doing something stupid with her again. Especially since he still hadn't fully recovered from the first stupid thing yet.

"Uh…actually I think I'm just going to turn in for some shut-eye…sorry." He tried to decline as politely as he could.

"Oh…a-alright sure." She said, trying not to let her disappointment show. "Sleep well…"

"Thanks…" he gave her a small and curt nod before heading off with a bit of speed behind him, eager to get away before things got any more awkward. Akari sighed to herself as she rubbed her arm sadly. She waited a few moments until she was sure that he had enough of a lead on her that they wouldn't meet again in the hallway and then left the Commander's office herself.

To be Continued...