Before we leave Castelia City, we find Dr. Colress at the Central Plaza. He says, "Hello to you again! If it's not an inconvenience, may I have a look at your Pokémon?"

I say, "Sure, Pikachu, Absol." Then the two Pokemon move forward as Colress says, "I appreciate your cooperation."

After seeing the two Pokemon and even scanning them, he says, "Oh! How interesting! Your Pikachu and Absol seem to display more self-confidence than others of the same species. Fantastic! I'm not sure how you're doing it, but you're bringing out the power of your Pokémon!"

"What does that mean?" Golly asks, and I say, "Right, Golly. You have no idea what Dr. Colress' research is about."

Alice says, "The theme of his research is: "Bringing out the power of Pokémon."

Cilan asks, "Bringing out the power of Pokemon?"

Colress explains, "Is it possible to bring out their maximum power through the bond they share with their Trainers? Or is there some other, different method? I'd like to test my theory by battling with you. Do you find this acceptable?"

I'm surprised that Dr. Colress wants to battle me, and I say, "Sure. I can have a battle with you."

"Great, I'll be waiting on Route 4. It's just beyond here!" Then Colress leaves as he wants us to prepare. And just when we arrive at Route 4, we find Colress standing in front of some rocks that are blocking the way.

"I've been waiting for you! What's the matter? Interested in what's behind me? These are not mere rocks, but the Pokémon known as Crustle."

"Crustle is the evolution of Dwebble after all." I say. "But what about it?"

"Observe. With this device I created to energize Pokémon, I'll..." He presses a button and much to our surprise, the Crustle start to move and now they're gone. But what intrigues me is the glowing red eyes that they have there.

"Those Crustle... Were they just lying here, out of energy, with their boulders on their backs?" Colress says, "Team Plasma said we should recognize the potential in Pokémon and liberate them from humans. I disagree. Conversely, it should be humans who bring out the hidden potential in Pokémon!"

We stare at Colress with slight confusion. Is Colress also in Team Plasma as well? I know for sure that we used to stay in Team Plasma as I was the king, but...

"Well then, I will test you to see if you're a Trainer who can bring out the hidden potential of Pokémon, Ash!" Colress says as we have a battle.

Colress uses a Magnemite and a Klink, I know that he is fond of Steel Types according to Lillie and the experiences that we saw through the battles. I go for Timburr to battle, and both Pokemon are defeated by Arm Thrust.

"I see! Just like the Gym Leaders in each area or the Elite Four and Champion in the Pokémon League, you bring out the power in Pokémon by being kind to them! That's the kind of person you are. I'm extremely grateful for your help. This is a token of my gratitude." He gives me a Protein, and he then says, "It's so frustrating! Even if we could talk to Pokémon in order to bring out their power, there's still something that needs to be done to do more! Well then, I hope to see you again sometime."

After Colress leaves, Iris asks, "Are you sure we can trust him? I mean... he doesn't seem like a nice guy..."

"But he is a nice guy." Eve says. "I actually have his help for me to become a Professor. And he's also an aura user like us."

"Anyway, let's continue traveling. I wonder what's up with this Route 4..." I say, "It basically splits into two parts."

Cilan says, "Allow me to explain. Because of Reshiram and Zekrom's appearance, a lot of the Unova parts have been named after their colors, black and white. In the Black District, thanks to the progress of technology, many buildings have been constructed since then. However, in the White District, the discovery of ancient ruins halted any further construction plans."

Golly says, "No wonder they look different..."

We meet up with Bianca again, we decide to have lunch together. Bianca says, "That was a gourmet meal, both of you working together sure can open a five star restaurant!"

"It was worth it." Cilan says.

"I agree." Then Iris wants to prepare fresh apples for dessert, and when Axew miss-catches an apple, they encounter an Emolga.

"An Emolga!" I say with surprise.

Bianca immediately hugs the Emolga, making it uncomfortable. Bianca wants to capture the Pokemon, but I don't think Emolga is thrilled. But vowing to catch Emolga at all costs, Bianca attempts to battle it using her Minccino, but Emolga uses Discharge and it shocks all of us as well. Good thing that Golly and I have the Earth Plate...

Then much to our surprise, this Emolga can use Attract as well. What's with the Pokemon getting hit by the attract? And why the hell that Dewott push Minccino away to get infatuated instead?

"Dewott... return for now..." I say as I return the Pokemon, and Emolga also flies away. But much to our surprise, Iris and Bianca are trying to chase Emolga, for Iris, because Axew wants to give the apple to Emolga to thank her.

"Well, I guess we're coming too." Alice says.

"You're right." When we manage to chase Bianca, she's already tired. "Just give up already, will you?" Eve asks.

"No! Emolga's mine for sure!" Bianca says. "I will never give up!"

Once we chase after them, we find that Bianca's Minccino is already beaten once more by the Emolga. And then to our surprise, we are separated from Iris.

"Looks like they've fallen down the cliff..." Cilan says.

"Wow... that forest is super thick..." I say.

"So should we wait here?" Alice asks.

"No! That's not fair! We can't leave them! And I'm going to catch Emolga no matter what!" Bianca says as she tries to slide down, and once we get there, we see rustling grass, it turns out to be a Scolipede and it's angry.

"Woobat! Use Psychic to stop it!" I yell, and Woobat manages to stop the Scolipede so we can get away, and Woobat also evolves into a Swoobat.

Swoobat: The Courting Pokemon: Psychic and Flying Type. Evolve from Woobat with High Friendship. Anyone who comes into contact with the ultrasonic waves emitted by courting males experiences a positive mood shift.

After we get away, we're delighted with the evolution, and we also find another rustling, which turns out to be a Galvantula and we also have Swoobat chase it away. Then we find another Discharge, and Bianca says, "It's probably Galvantula's Discharge again... let's go."

"Wait, is that Emolga?" I ask.

We rush to find Iris dealing with the Swoobat with Lapras and Emolga. But there are too many of them, so I also have Swoobat use Supersonic to defeat them.

After we're back, we decide to prepare a celebratory feast, Emolga approaches the group again, apparently willing to be caught this time...but much to Bianca's dismay, the adorable Pokémon seems to want Iris for its Trainer instead.

The next day, Bianca wants to challenge Iris to a battle, and Iris decides to try out Emolga. Emolga quickly neutralizes Bianca's Pignite with its powerful Attract, forcing Bianca to send out Minccino. But Emolga quickly grows tired of the battle and uses Volt Switch to escape, sending out a confused Archeops instead.

"Is that a Volt Switch?" I ask.

"I don't remember having her use that..." Iris says.

And Emolga is not staying in the Pokeball, much to our surprise. Iris tries to tell Emolga that she must not use Volt Switch against her command. Emolga flashes a cute face at Iris who forgives Emolga and places her back into the battle, much to Emolga's disappointment. Iris and Bianca try to restart their battle, but Emolga isn't interested and keeps using Volt Switch to get away. This time using Pansage and then Servine.

"I guess Emolga really doesn't like to battle." I say with a sigh.

Then we decide to have lunch, and while everyone is eating, Emolga sneakily uses Attract on several of the male Pokémon in order to steal their food. But once again, the cute Pokémon turns on the charm to defuse the situation, so we have to prepare another lunch for our male Pokemon.

Then we have a nap, but when we wake up again, we find that Axew, Emolga, Dewott, and Servine are missing. We find that they are ambushed by an angry Simisear. It is thanks to Emolga who is finally willing to fight that they manage to chase Simisear off.

Before we bid farewell to Bianca, I say, "Now I can't wait to get my fourth gym badge in Nimbasa City."

Bianca says, "Wait, when did you get three Gym badges?"

"In Aspertia, Virbank, and Castelia." I say while showing her the badges. She gasps and says, "I better be in gear, I'm going to the Castelia Gym and challenge it now!"

Then she bids farewell to us as we all continue moving forward.

While we're training, both Pikachu and I suddenly fall into an underground tunnel and we find that the one who's doing it is a Sandile who wears sunglasses.

"That sure hurts..." I mutter before facing the Sandile. "I've been waiting for you!"

"I know you... you dug that hole, didn't you? Why did you do that?" I ask.

"Simple. I want to challenge Pikachu to a battle." Sandile says.

"What do you say, Pikachu?" I ask, and the Pikachu nods.

However, our battle is quickly interrupted by a mischievous Ducklett who wanders out of the bushes. It turns out this Ducklett is part of a thieving trio and one by one, they steal Sandile's sunglasses and my hat.

Sandile is now sad because the sunglasses were stolen, he reminds me a lot of my Blastoise. "Sandile, I'll get your sunglasses back. You can count on me." Without the sunglasses, Sandile is actually scared, and we then find the three Ducklett. I also sent out Blitzle to deal with them because of the Electric Type's effectiveness. And it is while dealing with them that Blitzle evolves into a Zebstrika.

Zebstrika: The Electrified Pokemon: Electric Type. Evolve from Blitzle at LV:27. Its mane shines when it discharges electricity. They use their flashing manes to communicate with one another.

After defeating them, we also meet up with Alice and the others. Eve says, "This Sandile?"

"Yeah, he's the same Sandile from the Hot sand spa." I say.

"But what's it doing here?" Alice asks.

"He wants to battle Pikachu, but Ducklett has to interrupt." Pikachu then brings the Sunglasses back to Sandile, and Golly says, "So they took Sandile's Sunglasses..."

After healing the Pokemon in the Pokemon Center, we decide to finish the battle that Sandile and Pikachu haven't finished. Much to our surprise, Sandile evolves into a Krokorok in the middle of the battle, but when it uses Stone Edge, Pikachu's Electro Ball causes it to backfire and defeat Krokorok in the end. I also use the chance to capture the Krokorok.

Sandile: The Desert Croc Pokemon: Ground and Dark Type. They live buried in the sands of the desert. The sun-warmed sands prevent their body temperature from dropping.

Krokorok: The Desert Croc Pokemon: Ground and Dark Type. Evolve from Sandile at LV:29. The special membrane covering its eyes can sense the heat of objects, so it can see its surroundings, even in darkness.

After sending it back out, Krokorok admits Pikachu's strength and he's delighted to join our team.

Here is a new chapter, both Ash and Iris capture a new Pokemon each and we also see the Colress Machine for the first time. I hope you like this chapter.

Ash and Alice's Pokemon:

Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Victini, Servine, Pignite, Dewott, Watchog, Herdier, Liepard, Musharna, Tranquill, Zebstrika, Swoobat, Audino, Timburr, Tympole, Swadloon, Whirlipede, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Krokorok, Tirtouga, Archen, Zekrom, Egg

Golly's Pokemon:

Gastly, Liepard, Yamask

Eve's Pokemon:

Houndoom, Mightyena, Liepard

Iris' Pokemon:

Lapras, Aggron, Excadrill, Archeops, Emolga, Axew, Druddigon, Hydreigon

Cilan's Pokemon:

Pansage, Maractus, Dwebble, Ferrothorn