Liko, Roy, Dot, Friede, and Perrin are heading up Tengu Mountain on the search for Lucius's Kleavor, with Dot struggling as per usual due to her lack of stamina. When the group takes a brief break from climbing to talk about Perrin's photo of Kleavor, Perrin tells the others how she has had passion and talent for Pokémon photography since she was a child, which helped to inspire her to become a world-travelling professional photographer as a career. Perrin mentions how Friede's map app has actually helped her in tracking down various Pokémon for photographing in her career, much to Frides's delight. Perrin tells the group that unfortunately she doesn't remember exactly where on Tengu Mountain she encountered Kleavor, as it immediately attacked her and sent her fleeing. Liko and Roy suggest they explore the mountain to track down Kleavor's location anyway, so the group continues on their way. Perrin tells Friede if it's okay for school kids like Liko, Roy, and Dot to be on such a dangerous quest, to which Friede replies that they are evolving and getting stronger, just like their Pokémon, and that they can handle themselves.
The group heads into a nearby rocky clearing, where Crocalor gets hungry and reaches out for a Sitrus Berry resting on the ground, only for him and Roy to fall into a sinkhole, leaving them trapped at the bottom of a small fissure. While both of the survive the fall just fine, they have no way of climbing back up. Spotting a cave entrance, Roy tells the others above that he and Crocalor will find another way out. While Roy and Crocalor enter the cave, aboveground, the others are suddenly surrounded by a vicious pack of Houndoom and Houndour, who start attacking them for entering their territory. Friede sends forth Captain Pikachu and his Charizard to fend the pack off. Liko and Floragato briefly fend off some of the Dark Pokémon chasing after them as well, leaving Dot and Perrin to run on ahead. When Liko runs after them, she unknowingly ends up running down a different path than they did.
When Dot and Perrin stop to notice that Liko isn't with them, Perrin gets the feeling she's been to this part of the woods before. Before she can remember more, though, a Trevenant appears before them and uses Confuse Ray, leaving them hypnotized and walking in a circle, unable to answer when Liko tries to call them. Fortunately for them, Quaxwell stumbles on a pebble and is released from his trance, proceeding then to slap the others to snap them awake too. Perrin suddenly remembers what happened to her earlier, spotting Trevenant and realizing she had fallen for its Confuse Ray before as well. Trevenant blocks their escape routes by controlling the surrounding trees, leaving the duo with no choice but to battle. After closing their eyes to avoid another Confuse Ray, Dot tells Perrin to have her Growlithe use Ember on her mark. Combined with Quaxwell's Water Gun, this combination creates a cloud of steam that blocks Trevenant's field of vision and leaves it open for an Air Cutter from Quaxwell. Overwhelmed, the Ghost/Grass type flees in panic. Meanwhile, Roy and Crocalor discover an underwater stream with Berries floating down on its surface. Realizing the Berries must be coming from outside, they head upstream and find themselves in a grove filled with Berry trees.
Elsewhere, Friede and his Pokémon have just managed to send the pack of Houndoom and Houndour fleeing in defeat, so they head out to find the others. Meanwhile, Liko and Floragato keep finding slash marks left behind by Kleavor, some fresher than the others. Unsure whether Kleavor is leaving them behind as leads or a warning, Liko sends out Hattrem and asks her to use her emotion sensing powers to see if she can sense any strong negative emotions on the mountain. Hattrem does so and remains calm, which means Kleavor must be calm too. Elsewhere, thanks to Dot identifying a specific plant in Perrin's photo of Kleavor, she's able to direct the group towards the place where it is known to grow, located near a rock formation that resembles a Dugtrio. Watching Dot, Perrin can't help but notice how Friede's statement of the children evolving is really showing in the growth of Liko and her friends as Trainers. Meanwhile, Roy and Crocalor proceed to climb a cliff face using some vines, only to be attacked by a territorial wild duo of Shiftry and Mandibuzz midway through. Roy sends out Kilowattrel and has Crocalor ride on it to even the odds. Shiftry attacks with Whirlwind, but this only end up powering up Kilowattrel, who uses Spark to attack the duo, though unintentionally also paralyzing Crocalor in the process. Roy doesn't give up, however, and has Kilowattrel dodge Shiftry and Mandibuzz's attacks and circle back around them, allowing Crocalor to use a supereffective Disarming Voice to finish their opponents off and send the two Pokémon fleeing.
Perrin and Dot reach the correct location first, with Dot reflecting on how she never really liked going outdoors to explore the world until now, and that meeting new people and Pokémon has changed her outlook on life for the better. Perrin also reflects on her own slump in taking simple photographs, and how catching a glimpse of Kleavor had inspired her to take more creative photos in her career. She then encourages Dot by stating how her adventures with her Pokémon are something worth cherishing. The rest of the group soon reaches the area as well, surrounded by trees and rocks covered in slash marks, including the Dugtrio Rock. Friede points out to Perrin how the children managed to forge their own paths up the mountain to reunite with each other, showcasing their "evolution" as a group. As the group moves on ahead, Kleavor appears behind them, looking at them from atop the Dugtrio Rock. Terapagos senses its presence and peaks out of Liko's bag, only for Kleavor to have already disappeared.
