At the Castelia Gym, Black's Tula and Burgh's Leavanny keep a keen eye on each other as they get ready to attack. Swinging its blade-like forearms, Leavanny unleashes a splash of highly viscous silk while Tula spits out a jet of electrically charged ones from its mouth. The electric silk narrowly misses Leavanny, but Tula, on the other hand, gets hit right on the spot by the viscous ones, and is instantly jammed against the floor and rendered immobile.

Blacks gasps in shock, and Burgh grins that they have some exciting silk-work going on, with sticky threads versus sparkling threads. He believes that Galvantula must feel surprised that its foe is attacking with strings as well, a technique that it uses frequently itself, and remarks that Leavanny is a Pokemon who is adept in using the cutters on its arms and sticky silk to weave clothes from leaves, making it a specialist on silk-work just like Galvantula.

The Castelia Gymleader observes that Galvantula seems unable to move now, and tells Leavanny not to hit so hard. The humanoid bug grins with a nod, and gracefully dances forward as it delivers a not so powerful Leaf Blade on Tula. Still, the direct hit is strong enough to hurt Tula significantly, and after wiggling under the sticky web for a few seconds, the electric spider passes out.

Yet, soon enough, Leavanny topples over as well, which causes Burgh to bolt with shock. He notices the purple hue on Leavanny's face, and realizes with a start that it has been poisoned. On a closer look, he sees a thread on its forehead, and exclaims that Galvantula has hit it with a venom-soaked silk during the close-up contact. The Castelia Gymleader is bewildered that silk can be used in that manner, and Black reveals that he pulled off that strategy because he knew Tula would not be able to overcome Leavanny's sticky silk. With Tula jammed immobile against the ground, he anticipated a close-up attack from Leavanny, and thus bet his chance with the poisonous thread, even though he knew it would cause Tula to faint.

Burgh is impressed how Black makes sacrifices for greater gains, and proceeds to send out his final remaining Pokemon, Dwebble. Black holds up the Pokeball of Tep, and apologizes for his hesitancy in using it, partly because White doesn't want it to evolve. However, the main reason is that, he isn't sure how its appearance and powers will change with evolution, and whether its typing and ability are going to change. Lacking this knowledge, he fears that he will not be able to give the right commands to it in a battle, and all these worries are making him unsure of whether to send it out or not.

At that moment, White arrives at the Gym with Gigi, and from the audience stand, sees Black's hesitation in sending out Tep. Black, putting his current situation into consideration, knows that he cannot perform well against a powerful opponent like Burgh if he is hindered by these little things. Besides, ever since they met, Tep has always tried to convince him that it is strong whether it evolves or not, and after a brief moment of thought, he decides that it is something which he is willing to trust and bet on.

With that, the boy sends Tep out from its Pokeball, and tells it to give its best. Burgh reminds Black that determination doesn't always mean victory, and orders a barrage of Smack Down from Dwebble. Tep adeptly hops around to evade the flying rocks, and Burgh compliments it on its agility. However, just as Tep gets ready to unleash an Ember, Burgh grabs the chance of its momentary slowness while charging to have Dwebble fire another Smack Down, which hits Tep on its cheek and sends it crashing against the ground, halting its attack in the process.

White gasps in horror at the scene, and Gigi covers its own eyes, refusing to watch Tep suffer. Black grunts in frustration as Tep struggles to get up, and Burgh wonders if it will take one or two more hits to finish his opponent. Dwebble wastes no time to hurling out another Smack Down, which smashes right into Tep with a loud bang.

Burgh rejoices that Black has lost, and both Black and White cringe in disbelief. However, the rock that hit Tep remains suspended in midair without falling, and in a flash of light, Tep evolves into a Pignite, smashing the rock into pieces and tossing them back to Dwebble. Burgh, Black and White all watch in bewilderment as the rock shards knock Dwebble out of its rock shell and hit its fragile body underneath.

Black hollers that he has done it, and suddenly hears White's inquiry from behind, asking whether it means he has won. Black bolts in shock at White's presence, and wonders how long she has been there. Burgh then states that his Dwebble has fainted, and although he is reluctant to admit it, he has no choice but to declare Black the winner and offer him the proof of his victory, the Insect Badge.

Black accepts the Badge, and flips out his Pokedex to check on Tep's new appearance. He learns that it is now a Pignite, who turns its food into fuel for flame in its stomach, whose flames also intensifies with its anger, and exclaims that it certainly sounds powerful. The boy then remembers that White is still there, who is awfully quiet and is wearing no emotions on her face. He knows that she must be upset about Tep's evolution, and walks over sheepishly, wondering what to say. Just then, Iris barges into the Gym and calls out to Burgh with an urgent tone. She cries that a young lady has been attacked and knocked unconscious, and everyone sees that her Fraxure is carrying a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing an orange and white attire. Black exclaims that it is Bianca, his childhood companion, and hurriedly rushes over to check on her Burgh finds it fateful that it is an acquaintance of Black's, and Tep suddenly sneezes as its gets close to Bianca.

Iris explains that she found the girl on Narrow Street, and Burgh wonders if there is any reason why she was attacked. Iris tells everyone to look at the half-open empty Pokeball in Bianca's hand, which signifies that she has sent out the Pokemon inside. However, there was no sight of any Pokemon on Narrow Street where she was found, which implies that her attack has something to do with Pokemon, and it immediately made her think of the missing Pokemon incidents lately.

White wonders what Iris means, and Burgh reveals that recently there has been numerous incidents of Pokemon disappearing in the area. Iris is convinced that someone must be kidnapping the Pokemon, but Burgh says there is no proof of that. Iris mocks that Burgh certainly lacks the ability to observe and deduce of an artist, a comment which the Castelia Gymleader finds hurtful.

Black interrupts the bickering, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He gets Musha to chomp on his head, and Iris immediately freaks out that the Munna is trying to eat him. Burgh assures her that it is alright, and explains that it is Black's way of entering his highly skillful detective mode.

With his vision turning hexagonal, Black's mind becomes pure white, and he looks around for clues that could lead him to where Bianca's attacker and the kidnapped Pokemon are. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Tep repeatedly sneezing, and things start to congregate into solid black in his head.

Black pulls Musha off his head, and asks Burgh if the honey he coated the Gym with has a strong sweet flavor. Burgh admits that it does, and says only the sweetest honey could match his highly artistic creations. Black then says because of this strongly flavored honey, their noses cannot pick up the obscure scents in the air. However, it is different for Pokemon. He points out that Tep has not stopped sneezing since Bianca entered the room, and Burgh wonders if it has caught a cold. Black doesn't think so, because when Tep catches a cold, it sneezes black smoke out of its snout, which is a trait it has had since a Tepig. Burgh sees that the Pignite is now sneezing flames out from its nostrils, and Black believes that it means it does not have a cold, but is reacting to a certain smell or dust on Bianca.

Black walks up to Tep, and wants to know if it can trace the source of the allergen that is causing it to sneeze, which will likely lead them to the culprit of the current incidents. The Pignite responds with a confident nod, and starts sniffing the air around him. It beckons them to the streets outside, and everyone quickly follow. Making their way through the crowd, they soon find themselves at the tall building which is just opposite the Gym.

Black tries the door but finds it locked, and Burgh tells the boy to stand aside. He then calls out his Dwebble to blow it back with Smack Down, and White, wearing an astonished look, wonders if it is alright that they destroy public property like that. As Black, White, Burgh and Iris step in the building, they feel something tingling in their nose, and one by one, starts to sneeze. White believes that they must be at the right place, and notices that there seems to be some fine spores floating in the air.

Black tells everyone to stay cautious as this spore has managed to put Bianca to sleep, and soon enough, they see the silhouette of a mushroom shaped creature on the far end of the room. The creature reveals itself to be an Amoonguss, and Iris spots a Litwick being held captive in the mushroom Pokemon's Pokeball-like arms. The Litwick starts to cry upon seeing Bianca, who is still unconscious on Fraxure's back, and Iris rationalizes that it must be the Pokemon which was snatched from Bianca.

In that instant, Amoonguss blows out a gust of spores, and everyone quickly jumps aside to dodge. Black tells Tep that it is time to showcase its new strength now, and the Pignite starts to charge towards Amoonguss, jumping and somersaulting swiftly to evade all of its spore attacks. As it gets close enough, Tep raises its arm and delivers a heavy punch on Amoonguss, fainting it in one hit.

Iris gasps at Tep's agility, and Burgh exclaims that evolution has made it faster and more powerful. Black looks around, trying to locate Amoonguss's trainer, and wonders where he or she could be. Tep points upwards, and Black sees that the building has an internal hollow which leads all the way up to the rooftop. Sending out Brav, Black has it bring Burgh and Iris airborne on its back while he himself gets lifted in its claws. White, on the other hand, gets carried by Tep, who bounces against the wall to climb up.

Soon, the gang arrives at the rooftop, and sees a man in a robe accompanied by two Team Plasma Grunts. The Grunts, addressing the robed man as Master Bronius, tells him to take shelter to leave it to them, but Bronius says the boy is too strong for them to handle. Black is furious that these medieval-knight dressed people are the culprits again, and Bronius proudly states that Team Plasma is an organization who carries the mission of liberating Pokemon for the mindless public. They deliberately built their hideout, which is dedicated to Pokemon liberation, right next to a Pokemon Gym, which to them is the root of the human evil perception that takes the freedom away from Pokemon.

Bronius sighs that their plan has been going so well, but a stupid Grunt carelessly left behind a trail. He points an angry finger at one of the Grunts next to him, and accuses him of ruining their mission and causing them to lose an opportunity to free Pokemon. Black is outraged by the nonsense Bronius said, and demands to know what good it does to Pokemon if they are freed by such evil manners. Bronius relents that Black may not be smart enough to comprehend what he says after all, but points out that heroes throughout the ages have always been misunderstood, for instance the ones in the legend that speaks of the founding of Unova.

The Sage reveals that Team Plasma will bring back the hero and the black lightning Pokemon to unite the minds of people in Unova, but doubts that Black really understands the significance. With that, Bronius bids goodbye to the gang, and sends out a Smoke Ball to flee the scene.

That night, following Team Plasma's departure, Iris, Burgh, Black and White manage to find all the missing Pokemon inside the building which has been used as the organization's hideout. With their help, the Pokemon are returned one by one to their original owners.

The next morning, Black sits on a bench with Tep, and feels relieved that they have accomplished their mission. However, he holds the working schedule which White gave him prior to his Gym challenge, and feels a sense of dread washing over him as he sees the long list of jobs that are meant for Tep and Gigi as a pair. He realizes that they will have to cancel all these jobs, and in that instant, White appears in front him, calling out his name with an angry tone.

Then, without warning, the girl picks him up by the collar, and demands to know what he was thinking letting his Pokemon evolve. She hollers that as an employee of the BW Agency, he should have known better than to change an actor's appearance without notice, and says he has no idea how much income they will lose by cancelling all those jobs she took for the Tepig couple.

Just when Black thinks White is going to strangle him, White suddenly let goes, and giggles that she is only kidding. She remarks that she would never really say such mean things, and reveals that she has figured out a way to market Tep as a Pignite with Gigi. She shows him a concept art she designed which has Tep carry Gigi on its shoulders like a protector, and says she has actually landed jobs with this idea already.

Black's jaw drops in utter shock at what he hears, and White states that they have to hurry as they have three filming appointments that day. Black feels relieved about the turn of events, and shares a hug with his Pignite, whom he now calls Nite. White raises an eyebrow upon hearing the new nickname, and asks if Black has changed it. Black grins that Tep is now Nite, as it is a Pignite, since it will be weird to still call it Tep if it is no longer a Tepig. White continues to feel baffled, and wonders if that is how it is supposed to work.

Meanwhile, at the Central Plaza in the northern side of the city, Cheren is contacted over the Xtransceiver and informed that Bianca has been taken to the local hospital. He is glad to learn that she has not suffered from anything serious, and promises to come see her as soon as he can. Next to him, his Snivy and Pidove sit on the edge of the giant fountain and watch as three Dancers perform for the crowd.

Cheren expresses his gratitude for the notification, and hangs up the call, knowing that Bianca must have been caught up in the Pokemon kidnapping incidents in the city recently. He begins to think they should not have split up after all, and decides to go see her. However, just as he is about to leave the Central Plaza, he gets approached by a man and a lady who claim to be statisticians from the Passerby Analytics HQ. They two enthusiastically enlist Cheren's help in completing a survey, and Cheren tries to refuse by saying he is in a hurry. However, the statisticians start bombarding him with questions, and being the nice guy he is, Cheren could only comply and answer them all.

While Cheren is being occupied, Snivy looks around, and soon spots another Snivy which has stopped to stare at them. It tries to wave at it but the other grass snake puts on a cold demeanor without giving a response. A Zorua which is accompanying the strange Snivy turns around to usher it, and the two resume walking after the grass snake shoots a final look at Cheren and his Snivy. At that moment, Cheren manages to finish his survey, and apologizes to Snivy for keeping it waiting. He reveals with embarrassment that he has been recruited as a statistician himself, and in that instant notices the other Snivy that just passed by. He comments that it seems to belong to the young boy who it tags along with, and his remark causes Snivy to widen its eyes in shock, since it was clearly a Zorua that it saw.

Snivy quickly turns around to take another look, and indeed sees a young boy this time. Feeling baffled, it wonders if it has been hallucinating. Cheren states that they should really get going, and heads off with Pidove and Snivy, the latter having a sense of uneasiness about what just happened…