At Lake Valor, the two Scientists holler that they must amend their error before boss Cyrus finds out, and say by letting intruders in, they are no different from having failed their job. With that, they order their Pokemon to attack, and Dia hurriedly shields himself in front of Lady Berlitz while telling her to stand back.

Dia hands over a boulder to Beh for defense, just as Kricketune swoops in to lash out its knifelike arms. Beh struggles to stand its ground with the boulder while the red cricket continues to deliver slash after slash. Charging up to unleash a power-up strike, it finally slices the tough piece of rock into multiple fragments, and causes the little Munchlax to jump back in shock.

The Scientists giggle evilly at their easy upper hand, and Dia calls forward Roo to defend. Roo uses the bony spikes on its back to clash against Kricketune's blades, and manages to lock it in its motions. Dia begins to cheer, but the tall Scientist suggests that he think twice if he really believes that the Torterra has stopped his Kricketune with its tough shell. He remarks that the knifelike arms of Kricketune serve more than just slicing, and says Kricketune isn't really attempting to slash through the bony spike, but rather, strike it as one would do with a musical instrument.

Hiding behind a tree, Lady Berlitz flips out her Pokedex, and bolts with shock when she reads that Kricketunes can compose melodies ad lib. She tries to warn Dia, but the tall Scientist grins that it is too late, as Kricketune has already complemented the melody with its Sing. As the tune resounds from the bony spike on Roo's back, Roo quickly falls victim to its hypnotic effect, and in no time falls asleep.

Dia cries out with a helpless tone, and tries to wake Roo up, but to no avail. The Lady sees that Drapion is now on Beh's tail, and shouts for Dia to pay attention. Beh dives behind a tree for shelter, but Drapion easily cuts it down with its sharp claws. Dia tells Beh to make use of its small size, and position itself at Drapion's blind spot, but just when Beh sneaks under Drapion and thinks it is out of its sight, the ogre scorpion Pokemon spins its head fully backwards, and delivers another powerful strike, which Beh narrowly escapes.

The short Scientist calls Dia a fool and says Drapion's head can rotate 180 degrees, meaning it has no blind spots at all. Lady Berlitz sees that both Kricketune and Drapion make use of sharp body parts as their weapons, and decides that a close-up combat is not to their advantage. Calling out her Ponyta to scoop Dia and Beh up, she tells him to quickly retrieve Roo, and says they must try to gain distance from their foe.

Dia does as he is told, and Ponyta begins to dash away with the Lady leading in front, while the two Scientists angrily give chase from behind. Dia remarks that while he is grateful for the Lady's timely rescue, it just feels wrong that he is riding on Ponyta when the Lady is running on foot. Lady Berlitz states that only one person can ride on Ponyta at a time, and says she knew Dia was intending to fight on his own when he told her to stand back from the enemy. Turning around to give Dia an appreciative smile, she thanks him for protecting her all the time, and Dia responds with a content grin.

As Dia and Lady Berlitz continue to run from the Scientists and their Pokemon, both parties moving as quick as they could, Dia believes that he can make use of their speed somehow, but is still in lack of a strategy since Roo is inflicted with the sleep status, and Beh alone will not have enough strength. He figures that the key will be timing, and thinks if there is some way to stun and halt their two opponents temporarily, they might be able to defeat them.

Dia motions to Beh, and the Munchlax turns around to position itself on the rear of Ponyta, before hurling out all the Berries it has kept under its long fur. Yet, Drapion and Kricketune are barely fazed by the barrage of items and easily slash them apart, and the Scientists can't believe that Munchlax is resorting to such an attack.

Clearly, Dia's plan to make their foes flinch has failed, and the boy puts on a disheartened look. As if things couldn't get worse, Ponyta trips on a stone in that instant, and tumbles over, throwing Dia and Beh off its back and onto the ground. The Scientists quickly grab the opportunity to close in on them, and decide to put an end to their pointless struggle. With evil grins, the short Scientist orders a Cross Poison from Drapion, while the tall one calls for an X-scissor from Kricketune.

It seems that all hope is gone, but suddenly, an intense light emanates from the little island in the center of Lake Valor, and temporarily blinds Drapion and Kricketune. Dia hollers that it is his chance, and orders a Rollout from Beh. Curling itself up into a fur ball, Beh charges forward in a rapid spinning motion, and knocks down the Scientists and their Pokemon, much like a bowling ball smashing down the pins, taking them all out in one hit.

A while later, after having tied up the two Scientists with strong ropes, Dia feels grateful that the powerful light from the lake's central island has helped them out. He soon notices Pearl and Dr. Footstep swimming over to them on a piece of log, and rushes over to help them get onshore.

Pearl exclaims that it has truly been a close call, and is relieved that they managed to land on the central island after all. He then notices the Scientists, and wonders what has happened. Dia beams with a big grin, and explains that he has taught them a good lesson, but Pearl sweatdrops at his companion's proud answer, and queries if it is alright to just randomly beat up people like that. Dr. Footstep assures Pearl that Dia didn't punish the wrong people, as he can see from the footprints of their Pokemon that they have evil minds.

Crouching down to study the footprints of Drapion, the chubby man states that the ogre scorpion feels greatly abused all the time, and would rather go back to the wild. Back in its Pokeball now, Drapion frantically nods to Dr. Footstep's words, and feels grateful that someone is able to read its mind. The man proceeds to explain Kricketune's footprints as well, but Pearl gets impatient and hollers that it is good enough.

Dia then asks if Pearl knew what the intense light from the lake's central island was, since he and Dr. Footstep were on it when the light emanated, but the question causes Pearl to pause all of a sudden, and carry a blank look on his face. Trying hard to remember, Pearl eventually states that though strange, he really has no idea at all.

Afterwards, Pearl walks over to Lady Berlitz, who is leaning against a giant boulder, and says she seems to have worked very hard this time as well. He compliments her efforts and asks if she is exhausted, and the Lady grins with a tired look that although she finds it inappropriate to praise oneself, she did work hard, and is truly exhausted. Before she could finish her sentence, fatigue takes over her, and she falls asleep slumping against the boulder.

The next morning, Lady Berlitz slowly wakes from her sleep, and bolts with horror when she finds herself still on Lake Valor's shore. She is even more terrified when she sees that she is in a sleeping bag next to Empoleon, and can't believe that she has spent the night camping in the wild. She puts on a disheartened look as she thinks of her suite room at Sinnoh's most luxurious Hotel Grand Lake, and its famous full-window sunrise view of Lake Valor, both being far from her reach now.

She then feels Empoleon tugging at her arm, and follows it gaze towards the lake. As the rays of the morning sun gradually light the entire sky from behind the mountains, the fog on the lake surface slowly disperses, and the morning dew gently glitters on the green tree leaves, creating a picture of complete calmness and harmony.

Lady Berlitz closes her eyes to feel her surroundings, and breathes in the fresh air as she listens to the chirping of the bird Pokemon mixed with the sound of the waves. Letting out a content sigh, she muses that perhaps it is better this way, as she probably wouldn't have been able to experience nature in its true glory behind a glass window, and it is always better to be closer to the real thing.

She soon hears the familiar beeping sound from her Pokedex, and sees Dia and Pearl gleefully running towards her while greeting her good morning. Dia grins that she seems to have slept well, and offers her a bowl of his special soup, which tastes superb during the morning hours. Pearl says it goes even better with some entertainment, and starts a Manzai verse with Dia.

Pearl: We certainly had quite a few close moments at Lake Valor~
Dia: Quite a few close moments~ But after another night has come and gone, everything has suddenly returned back to peaceful again~
Pearl: Indeed. We can sit by the lake quietly now.
Dia: (takes out a piece of cake) And eat our cake quietly... or hurriedly!! (starts gobbling down cake)
Pearl: (collapses)

Sipping on her soup, Lady Berlitz wonders where Dr. Footstep is, and Pearl grins that she must be sleeping really deeply to not have noticed what happened. He explains that the man has decided to bring the evil Scientists to the police, and departed last night. However, he has given them a souvenir before he left. Pearl reaches into his pocket to dig out the Footstep Ribbon, and says it is a symbol to prove the close bonds they share with their Pokemon, since Dr. Footstep has seen a very deep loyalty in every single one of their Pokemon's footprints.

Lady Berlitz responds with a grin to that, and the trio decides to resume their journey. While the Lady climbs back on Ponyta, Pearl flips out the Town Map and checks on the upcoming routes. Before the lake gets completely out of sight, the boy turns his head around, and steals a glance at the central island with a pensive look on his face.

Meanwhile, Dr. Footstep still has yet to bring the two Scientists to the police, as he has incidentally come across many Pokemon on the way, all being species that he is in dire need to collect footprints from. Spotting a Weavile ahead, the man exclaims, and begins to chase after it with another white cardboard in hand. Behind him, the tied up Scientists are covered in bruises after being tossed around mindlessly. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, they wish that they are with the police already...

(Original Japanese Jokes)

1. In the Manzai verse at the end of the chapter, Dia and Pearl comment on the aftermaths of the battle at Lake Valor, and Pearl says the scene has now returned to 'Shizuka na kohan', which means 'Quiet lake shore'. Dia then replies 'Shizuka na gohan... nigiyaka gohan!', which means 'To eat rice slowly... eat rice quickly!'. The pun is on the similarity between 'kohan' (lake shore) and 'gohan' (rice).