Domino could not get any sleep that night. So there she sat, on the roof, under the starlit midnight sky dressed in a blue sweater and pink pajama pants with fuzzy slippers shaped like Buneary, contemplating the day's events while Snivy's ball sat beside her. Running their latest battle through her mind, she knitted her brows in frustration. She just couldn't make sense of it. She'd seen hundreds of trainers battle alongside their Pokémon, and from what she saw, it was fairly straightforward.

Issue a command and the Pokémon follows without complaint or delay. It all seemed so easy. But apparently, it was far more complex than she had ever imagined. Losing was a difficult pill to swallow. She wasn't used to it. So there she sat, brooding with her knees pulled to her chest. It had been a week and she still couldn't get Snivy to cooperate!

"Still awake I see..."

Domino turned around at the sound of Terry's voice. Exhaling, she looked back up at the sky and sighed.

"Can't sleep," she replied. "Ever been so tired you can't sleep?"

Terry pulled himself out of the window of his sister's room and crawled onto the roof to take a seat beside Domino. The blond took note that Trapinch was clipped to his belt still.

"All the time. My brain seems to not want to shut off sometimes. It can get rather annoying," Terry shrugged.

Domino nodded and shifted her eyes toward Terry. For whatever reason, he intrigued her. She was a convict and a feared one at that, and there he was, sitting next to her as though that fact didn't even scare him. She was used to the fear she instilled in her foes-relished it even. But he didn't seem to care. He demonstrated that much by easily trouncing her in a battle, granted it was her first, the experience gap was evident. Shaking her head, she turned her focus to a different topic. The suit and the Snag Machine.

"So... a tulip motif huh?" Domino began.

"It's fitting isn't it?" was Terry's quick reply.

"Exactly how much time did you put into it?" Domino asked with a raised brow.

"The suit, or the Snag Machine?"

"Both ya nerd," Domino replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Let's see... I began putting it together about three months ago. But I had been drawing the blueprints for about a year, going through several redesigns before it met the specifications I set for it. As for the Snag Machine, I built it a year ago. The tulip design was added a month before I put my plan into action..."

"So let me get this straight... you planned my escape roughly three months ago, but before that... made a suit tailored to fit me. And to top it all off, put tulip designs into the work. I'm not sure if I find it flattering or creepy because it fits so well."

"The suit is more than what it appears to be. I haven't fully explained the features of it, but I will tomorrow, after we work on your battling with Snivy."

Domino furrowed her brows at the mention of the little hellian. As far as Domino was concerned, Snivy's only redeemed quality was that she was cute. She was not looking forward to training again. In two days they would officially begin their journey, and Terry was adamant about getting Snivy and Domino to at least tolerate each other. Steering away from the topic, Domino ventured forth with a different query.

"So, earlier in the week you mentioned something about a group calling themselves Team Plasma. And if I were a betting girl, I'd say that they are the main suspects here, am I right?"

Terry took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Do you want the short explanation or the long one?"

"Depends, how long's the long version?"

"You'll be here until sunrise..."

Domino winced. "Short version for now, and fill in the blanks tomorrow?"

Terry shrugged and leaned back, resting his head against the roof tiles before beginning the tale.

"To put this plainly, they were a group of people who were bent on world domination while masquerading as individuals who were concerned about the well being of Pokémon."

"So they put up a facade to distract from their initial goal," Domino inputted.

Terry nodded and continued on.

"The front was actually pretty well thought out. The main message was that Pokémon should be revered and respected, not confined in tiny spherical devices as playthings for our amusement. Making trainers out to be the bad guys was pretty clever. It got a lot of people thinking about how they treated their Pokémon. And that was just the start of Ghetsis' plan."

"This guy sounds like a master of deception," Domino mused.

"Oh, he was. He had a gifted tongue that could take any lie and make it sound believable. He even got some gym leaders to ponder his words. Even more intriguing than that, his influence spread so far that even the champion at the time had considered some of what he had to say."

Domino let out a long whistle. "Daaaamn," she said with a wide-eyed look.

"Ghetsis was determined to pursuade the masses to join his "good cause" so that Pokémon could be free to realize their full potential and live without fear. What he preached, however, was highly contradictory to what professors have researched. Pokémon reach their full potential by cooperating with humans. Of course... he knew all this, which led him to the main phase of his plan," Terry continued on.

Domino listened intently as Terry introduced N into the picture. When she asked what the N stood for, she found herself having a new appreciation for the codenames Terry and Vince possessed. As he prattle on about how Ghetsis had set him up as king, confusion began to set in, until the topic of Zekrom was brought up.

"So... wait, he actually was chosen by Zekrom? That's enough to give anyone a power trip. So he basically became unstoppable..."

"For the most part, yes. N had essentially acquired the power to destroy all of Unova if he so chose. Ghetsis now had everything he needed to accomplish his goal, and after N defeated the Elite Four and Alder, it was looking like he was going to have his way. The castle walls were up, and the reign of Ghetsis was at hand. All N had to do now, was get everyone to release their Pokémon, just as Ghetsis planned."

"I'm going to to go out on a limb here and say that something got in the way... right?" Domino interjected.

Terry nodded and kept going.

"N may have been in possession of Zekrom, but there was another chosen individual out there. And she had the power of Zekrom's other half... Reshiram. With it, she stormed the castle and charged straight into the throne room where N sat, waiting for her. She was the only person he took any interest in and could see no better way for the fate of Unova and the world in general, to be decided."

"A battle between legendary Pokémon huh? Truth versus Ideals... so what was the result? I mean, I have a pretty good guess, but I am curious..."

"Hilda won and Ghetsis was furious. He ended up lashing out at Hilda with her own Pokémon, but when faced with Reshiram, it was a futile effort. In the end, all he could do was watch his plans crumble to dust as he was led away to prison. At least, that's where he should have been had the Shadow Triad not intervened."

"Which means that, since he got away, he had time to lay out a new plan. And based on what you told me, it sounds like he took a trip to Orre. Otherwise he wouldn't have known about Shadow Pokémon."

"Correct. And now he's more dangerous than he ever was. Now he's not putting up a front. And with Hilda and N's disappearance, he can exact his vengeance upon Unova with very little resistance. But we have one thing he didn't count on..."

"Yours truly, right?" Domino grinned, earning a chuckle out of Terry.

"Once we get you and Snivy in sync, yes. As you are, the only threat you pose is how dangerous you are without a Pokémon. And if this operation did not require the aide of a Pokémon, I'm sure you would be able to pull this off. But since that isn't the case, we need to make sure you and Snivy are on the same page."

Domino heaved a deep sigh and stood up on the roof, her eyes lifted up toward the star-spangled sky. Looking down at Terry, she placed her hands on her hips and fixed him with a determined stare.

"I know that. So instead of talking about it, why don't we goo somewhere quiet and go a few rounds?"

Terry thought for a moment before walking to the edge of the roof and sliding reaching out for the branch nearest to him. As he did this, Domino took the short way by leaping off the roof, somersaulting once before landing.

"Showoff..." Terry said with a smirk as he touched down.

"Hey, I take that as a compliment you know," Domino replied grinning.

Terry rolled his eyes.

"So are we gonna do this here or...?

"Not unless you want to wake my parents up. I've got a better place in mind. We'll have a nice view of the landscape while we battle."

"Sounds like you're taking me on a date."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Terry, I know I've been in prison for nine years, but we just met," Domino laughed.

Terry shrugged. "Suit yourself..."

"Wait, were you serious?"

"Relax Domino, I was just messing with you," Terry replied with a half smile.

Domino nudged him playfully.

"Terry?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an asshat..."