Having failed her Terastal Training test with Grusha, Liko is feeling dejected as she, Roy, and Dot head back towards Naranja Academy, knowing that she'll never get to use Terastallization again now. Unnoticed by the group, Spinel's Beheeyem is spying on them from above, relaying what it sees to Spinel himself in a van nearby. He is in contact with Chalce, who tells him that Amethio has spotted him and his heading his way. Spinel smiles at this information, plotting to use this situation to his advantage.
Along their way down the mountain, the trio comes across a crossroads, with one path leading to Paldea's Highest Peak, the summit of Glaseado Mountain and one of the Ten Sights of Paldea. Feeling the view from the summit could cheer Liko up, Roy suggests they visit it. Dot hates the idea of going someplace even colder, but ultimately, Liko agrees with Roy's idea. As they head up the mountainside, exhaustion starts to set in, so when Roy spots a cabin where they could rest for a bit, he and Dot head towards it. However, once they've passed, a boulder moves to block the path they've taken. Liko, distracted by her thoughts about making her friends worry about her, fails to notice this and takes a different path, following which the boulder, telekinetically moved by Chalce's Medicham, moves to block the path behind her. Amethio, meanwhile, riding his Corviknight, spots Spinel exiting his van and descends down slowly to follow him on foot. Elsewhere, Roy and Dot have realized that Liko has gotten separated from them and set out to look for her.
With Liko, she finally comes to realize that her path isn't taking her upwards anymore and figures she must've taken a wrong turn. With Amethio also looking for Spinel nearby, the two of them end up hearing each other's footsteps and run into each other, shocked by the unexpected encounter. Recovering from his surprise, Amethio decides to fulfill what he vowed to do during their next meeting and steal Terapagos, sending out his Ceruledge. Refusing to hand Terapagos over, Liko places the bag containing it nearby before preparing to take on Ceruledge with Floragato, swearing to protect Terapagos. Liko remembers how badly their last confrontation on Roy's home island went for her, but feels confident that she and Floragato have much better chances this time.
Ceruledge uses a flurry of Psycho Cuts, but Floragato uses Quick Attack to avoid them all, before dodging and countering an incoming Shadow Claw with Acrobatics. Following a powerful blow from Magical Leaf, even Amethio is forced to admit that Floragato has gotten stronger after evolving. Ceruledge attacks with a flurry of Bitter Blades, but Floragato nimbly dodges all of them before counterattacking with Magical Leaf. Amethio recognizes that Liko's strategy involves avoiding Ceruledge's Fire-type moves and attacking from a distance, understanding that Liko has actually learned to strategize in-battle now. As such, before Floragato can attack again, Amethio reveals his Tera Orb and Terastallizes Ceruledge into a Ghost type. With its Terastallization boost, Ceruledge starts to quickly overwhelm Floragato with a series of Phantom Forces. Remembering how she got overwhelmed by Grusha's Terastallization as well, Liko begins to falter as Floragato continues to get beaten down. Amethio declares the battle is over and aims for a finishing blow with Bitter Blade. However, before the attack can land, Spinel's Umbreon suddenly jumps in the middle of the battle, followed by Spinel himself. Spinel pretends to be surprised by Amethio's presence, but Amethio quickly sees through his lies and understands he let him and Liko battle each other to tire them out. Liko quickly realizes that Spinel is after Terapagos as well, but instead of trying to grab it, Spinel reveals a container holding his sample of Eternal Blessing. The container fills with a pink mist, which Spinel releases at his Umbreon, causing it to cry out in pain and become completely feral, shocking both Liko and Amethio.
Sensing the presence of Eternal Blessing, Terapagos forces itself out if its bag and starts angrily crying out at Spinel. Amethio tries to have Ceruledge attack Umbreon, but Umbreon defeats Ceruledge with a single blow before the Terastallized Pokémon can do anything, shocking Amethio even more. Spinel shows the Eternal Blessing to Terapagos, waiting for its reaction. Its anger reaching a critical point, Terapagos lets out a loud cry of rage and suddenly transforms into its Terastal Form. Using its powers, Terapagos is able to make the Eternal Blessing shatter and Umbreon calm down, though it quickly reverts back to its Normal Form from exhaustion. Spinel smiles with satisfaction, having seen what he wanted to see. Recalling Umbreon, he thanks Liko for her cooperation and starts to leave, ignoring her and Amethio's questions about what just happened. Both Amethio and Liko give chase to Spinel, eventually leading them to a tunnel underneath the mountain. Amethio notices Liko following her and tells her to leave, but she refuses, wanting answers as well. The chase eventually leads both of them to a large underground cavern. However, Spinel is nowhere in sight, and Amethio realizes too late the chase was a trap when the entrance suddenly collapses shut behind them. Meanwhile, Spinel teleports outside the cave with his Beheeyem and meets up with Chalce, telling her about Terapagos's reaction to Laquium and its power to destroy it, concluding that the two are polar opposites. Chalce, meanwhile, informs Spinel that Coral and Sidian are taking care of things at the other end, which means that Liko and Amethio won't be getting help anytime soon. Knowing that Gibeon holds Amethio in high regard as his grandson, Spinel has decided to make Amethio disappear before he can get in the way of their plans.
In Levincia, Friede is contacted by Roy and Dot about how they've lost Liko and can't get in touch with her. Friede agrees to head to Glaseado Mountain right away, making a call to the Glaseado Gym as he does so. At the mountain hut, Roy and Dot decide to resume their search for Liko, but are suddenly confronted by a disguised Sidian and Coral. While Amethio's escape attempts fail to yield results and Terapagos wakes up and reemerges from its bag to angrily cry out at him, Sidian declares that they've kept up their masquerade for long enough. With that, he and Coral undo their disguises and send out Garganacl and Glalie to confront Roy and Dot.