Dwayne/Johto Journey

Venturing through a foggy forest en route towards New Bark Town, Dwayne is startled after seeing a mysterious blue Pokémon on a formation in the middle of the lake. When the mysterious Pokémon notices him, it runs away. Right before it disappears, Dwayne manages to scan it with his Pokédex, which reveals the mysterious Pokémon to be Suicune, and Dwayne marvels at the sight of the Legendary Pokémon.

Upon reaching New Bark Town, Dwayne heads for the Pokémon Center to register for the Johto League. Nurse Joy officially completes the process and welcomes him to the tournament, and informs him that Violet City was where the nearest Gym was located. Dwayne thanks her and promptly heads off. Venturing from New Bark Town, Dwayne stumbles across a girl and her Chikorita in the midst of training. As a wild Wooper hops out of a bush, Chikorita is sent into battle. Chikorita's first Tackle misses its target, but the next attack knocks Wooper out. The young Trainer sees her opportunity and pulls out her bow and arrow, places a Poké Ball at the tip and shoots it towards the Wooper, successfully catching it, and this greatly impresses Dwayne.

When she turns around, she sees Dwayne and becomes flustered and falls flat on her back. Dwayne asks if she was alright, and the girl asks why he was watching her, and calls him a pervert. Dwayne becomes beet red, and apologizes, and says that he came across her battle and was simply curious as to whether she could catch the Wooper or not. However, the girl laughs and says she was only joking, much to Dwayne's relief. The girl introduces herself as Skyler, and says she was from Ecruteak City. When Dwayne praises her archery skills and inovative catching manner, Skyler explains that she was once groomed to become a Kimono Girl, but she never had any interest in it, and enjoyed archery instead, and begin practicing in secret in-between her Kimono Girl classes. However, when her parents discovered her secret, she was given an ultimatum: drop her archery fanatics and continue her Kimono Girl classes, or keep her archery training but be "exiled" from the family. Despite being heartbroken at the possibility of being disowned, Skyler chose the latter and abandoned her family and hometown to embark on her journey, wanting the freedom to do whatever she pleases.

Dwayne says he was sorry for Skyler's situation, but Skyler says that she had already gotten over it, and admits that she felt happier now than she ever did with her family. Skyler then asks whether Dwayne was challenging the Johto League, which he confirms, prompting Skyler to challenge him to a battle. Dwayne first asks her how long she's been on her journey, and Skyler says that she's been on her own for a month. Dwayne then warns her that his Pokémon might be a little too experienced for her, but Skyler says that she didn't care, she just wanted to battle.

Dwayne relents and accepts her challenge. Skyler asks for a two-on-two battle and sends out her newly-caught Wooper to battle against Kirlia. Wooper uses Water Gun, but Kirlia easily dodges. Skyler then orders Wooper to use Water Gun again, but this time, Kirlia responds with Psybeam, which easily overpowers Water Gun and scores a direct hit, knocking out Wooper. Skyler recalls Wooper and sends out her Chikorita, who quickly goes in the offensive with Razor Leaf, but Kirlia uses Teleport to dodge the attack. Chikorita then uses Vine Whip, wrapping it around Kirlia's arm. However, Kirlia reels Chikorita in with her sheer physical superiority and knocks out Chikorita with a single Shadow Ball.

Skyler recalls Chikorita and drops to her knees, astonished at her easy loss. Dwayne recalls Kirlia and apologizes to Skyler, but Skyler begins crying aloud, saying that Dwayne was a liar and he was too powerful for her, and Dwayne begins frantically apologizing, but Skyler immediately stops crying and sticks her tongue out, saying that she was only joking again, much to Dwayne's comical frustration. Skyler says that if she cried everytime she lost a battle, she should've never become a Pokémon Trainer to begin with. Skyler then shoots a inoffensive arrow at Dwayne, who questions her sudden antics, and Skyler jokes by saying that she "caught" a new friend. Dwayne laughs and says that Skyker was rather quirky, and Skyler chuckles, saying she would take it as a compliment. Both Trainers shake hands before heading off their separate ways, promising to battle again the next time they met.

While on his way to Violet City, Dwayne stops in the middle of a forest on Route 30 and notices several of the trees are missing their leaves without showing any other signs of damage. Suddenly, Dwayne spots a horde of Heracross clamped onto a healthy tree trunk, and thinking he can catch some new Pokémon and save the tree at the same time, Dwayne is about to throw a Poké Ball when a voice behind him tells him to stop. Dwayne turns around to see a man in a red uniform, who warns Dwayne that catching the Heracross will only cause more damage to the forest.

The man introduces himself as Woodruff, a forest ranger. After Dwayne introduces himself, Woodruff explains that the Heracross are important to the forest's natural balance. They share a symbiotic relationship with the local Butterfree population, who also feed on the tree sap but are too weak to break into the tree trunk to get to it. The more powerful Heracross dig into the trunk to start the sap flow, eat their fill, and then allow the Butterfree to come and feed. When Dwayne becomes worried about both the Heracross and Butterfree hurting the forest, Woodruff explains that the balance of nature in the forest was broken by invaders. Just then, a large herd of Pinsir stampede toward the tree. Woodruff identifies the Pinsir as the "invaders" as the Bug Pokémon leap onto the tree trunk and scare away the Butterfree. Dwayne yells at the Pinsir to leave the other Pokémon alone, while also demanding that the Heracross do something about it. In unison, the Heracross fly up and attack the Pinsir, while Dwayne cheers them on. However, the Heracross are easily scared off by the Pinsir's massive pincers, and fly away. Woodruff tells Dwayne that the Heracross are too peaceful to have any desire to take on the Pinsir; this worries Dwayne, who says that the forest will surely be destroyed if the Heracross don't do something to prevent it.

Dwayne notices a Butterfree still trapped in the branches of the tree. A single Heracross pops up in front of the Pinsir to defend the Butterfree, and is quickly attacked by their giant, spiked pincers. Dwayne, upset that Heracross is being ganged up on, sends out Kirlia to help it. One Dazzling Gleam attack takes out all of the Pinsir, and Butterfree soon flies away, but Heracross is too tired to follow. The Pinsir regroup and ascend the tree trunk, which Dwayne thwarts by having Kirlia use Psybeam. Heracross looks on while Dwayne defends it, watching as Kirlia defeats the Pinsir with Psybeam.

Once the Pinsir flee, Heracross flies down and approaches Kirlia and Dwayne. Dwayne thinks that it wants to thank Kirlia, but instead, Heracross attacks Kirlia with Megahorn, sending Kirlia rolling back, and Dwayne questions Heracross's sudden attack. Kirlia knocks Heracross off with a strong Psybeam attack, sending him sprawling on his back in the grass. Dwayne then assumes that Heracross was simply looking for a good fight, and deemed Kirlia a good opponent, and Woodruff is worried about the Pinsir returning. He explains that the Pinsir live on the opposite side of a river and that something has been causing them to uncharacteristically cross the river and invade the Heracross's territory. Dwayne agrees to help Woodruff save the forest, and Woodruff begins to lead him towards the Pinsir territory, and Dwayne notices Heracross following them.

Once they are out of the woods, Dwayne and Woodruff approach a deep gorge that the river is running through. Woodruff points out a rope bridge that he uses to cross, only to find that the bridge is down. Looking into the gorge, Dwayne sees the Pinsir getting across by jumping along the branches of trees. Dwayne accuses the Pinsir of having cut the bridge ropes, but when Woodruff inspects the severed ends of the rope, he points out that the cut is suspicious and that it could have only been done by a human. Angered by this, Dwayne then ponders how to cross the gorge. They hear a sound and turn to find Heracross pushing on a tree. Dwayne realizes that Heracross is trying to push the tree over. Dwayne and Woodruff jump out of the way as the tree comes crashing down, landing neatly across the gorge. Dwayne and Woodruff successfully cross the river with it and enter the Pinsir forest, with Heracross still following at a distance.

As they enter the Pinsir territory, they notice a tree with a single gigantic Pinsir up in the branches. As the giant Pinsir drops down, it is accompanied by a group of poachers, who explain their plan to drain the forest of all of its sap and sell it, and hopefully lure the Heracross and sell them as well. When Dwayne and Woodruff berate them for upsetting the balance of nature for selfish needs, the poachers order the giant Pinsir to attack. Dwayne sends out Kirlia and commands her to use Shadow Ball, but the giant Pinsir negates the attack with its giant pincers. Kirlia then uses Shadow Ball again. However, the giant Pinsir easily absorbs the attacks and retaliates with Rock Tomb, pinning them down. To everyone's surprise, Heracross intervenes and begins to push against the robot.

The giant Pinsir pushes Heracross for some distance. In response, Heracross gathers up its strength and begins pushing back, while Dwayne cheers him on. The giant Pinsir tries to use Vise Grip, but Heracross uses Counter, and after being grasped by Vise Grip, Heracross's Counter activates, and he returns the damage many times over, and Pinsir drops down to one knee. Unable to move, the giant Pinsir cannot fight back, allowing Heracross to retaliate with a flurry of Fury Attacks. Once that is accomplished, Heracross shoves its horn under the giant Pinsir and lifts it up onto its shoulders by using Strength. With a mighty heave, Heracross tosses the giant Pinsir high up into the air. The giant Pinsir lands next to the poachers, and the impact causes them to lose balance and fall flat on their faces, and they get surrounded by Dwayne, Woodruff, Kirlia, and Heracross, and they promptly surrender.

Heracross strikes a victory pose as Dwayne congratulates it. They then notice a crowd of Pinsir approaching them from the surrounding forest, signaling that the Pinsir population has returned to its own territory, thus leaving the Heracross and Butterfree in peace. Back on the Heracross's side of the river, Dwayne and Woodruff watch the Heracross and Butterfree feeding on a tree. The Heracross who battled the giant Pinsir approaches Dwayne, and he commends Heracross's efforts and congratulates him on helping to save the forest. Saying goodbye to Heracross and Woodruff, Dwayne continues on his path to Violet City. However, upon leaving the forest, Dwayne finds out that Heracross is still following him. He realizes that Heracross wants to leave the forest behind and come with him. Heracross agrees, so Dwayne tosses a Poké Ball and Heracross willfully enters. Dwayne thanks Heracross for choosing him as his Trainer and promises that he'll find several good opponents to become stronger, before continuing on his journey.

Not too long afterwards, Dwayne finally arrives in Violet City, and after healing Kirlia and Heracross at the Pokémon Center, he heads towards the Violet Gym to challenge the Gym Leader, where he meets Falkner, where Falkner agrees to battle Dwayne. As the two enter the main area of the Gym, Falkner asks Dwayne if he has any Badges. Upon Dwayne confirming that he has none yet, Falkner goes over to a wall, which opens up, revealing a tray containing six Poké Balls. He takes two of them, and tells Dwayne that he will battle him using two Pokémon.

Falkner then throws one of the Poké Balls, explaining that his specialty is battling with Flying-type Pokémon as a Pidgeotto comes out. Dwayne responds by sending out Kirlia, and the battle begins. However, Kirlia's Psybeam and Dazzling Gleam attacks do next to nothing to Pidgeotto who, to Dwayne's confusion, has yet to fight back. He decides to wait to see what Pidgeotto may do, which proves to be a mistake, as Pidgeotto's Wing Attack causes major damage. Dwayne orders several Psybeam attacks, all of which do almost nothing to Pidgeotto, and Falkner claims that his Pidgeotto was far stronger than Kirlia. Dwayne says that he knows Kirlia still wants to fight, and Kirlia nods in agreement, but Falkner says that while he's happy to see that Dwayne and Kirlia shared a strong bond, their stubborness would cause their downfall as Kirlia was far inferior in power compared to Pidgeotto. Dwayne sighs and agrees, and promises Kirlia they'll have another chance, and promptly withdraws Kirlia and sends out Heracross, who knocks out Pidgeotto with Fury Attack.

Falkner withdraws Pidgeotto, and sends out his second Pokémon, a Pidgeot. Dwayne orders a Megahorn, and Falkner calls for Roost. He then explains that Roost heals Pidgeot whenever it suffers damage. Dwayne grits his teeth in frustration, and orders Heracross to use Strength, and Pidgeot suffers yet another attack, but quickly uses Roost to recover. The battle continues, with Heracross and Pidgeot exchanging attacks, and with both Pokémon growing tired, Falkner orders Pidgeot to use Aerial Ace, having saved the attack until the last minute, aware that it cannot be evaded. Dwayne becomes worried as Heracross was exhausted, but at the last second, Heracross demonstrates having learned Endure, which allows him to withstand Aerial Ace, and quickly retaliates with Counter, causing severe damage, although Pidgeot quickly returns with Wing Attack, which finally knocks out Heracross.

Dwayne withdraws Heracross and sends Kirlia back out. By this point, both Dwayne and Falkner are starting to pant, and Falkner asks Dwayne if he understands what battling is about. Dwayne thinks about this, noticing that he is getting exhausted despite not physically battling himself, and notes that he was just as invested into the battle as his Pokémon, and the pressure and excitement of battles made him feel as if he were battling himself. Falkner gives a small smile as Dwayne answers him, and then points out that Pidgeot is almost out of battle, and that the next attack would decide the battle. He orders Pidgeot to use Aerial Ace, and Dwayne tells Kirlia to use Teleport. This catches Falkner off-guard, who admits he did not expect Kirlia to use Teleport, and upon re-appearing behind Pidgeot, Kirlia knocks it out with a point-blank Dazzling Gleam, and Pidgeot faints, giving Dwayne the victory.

After Falkner recalls Pidgeot, he praises Dwayne's strategy and quick thinking, and awards him with the Zephyr Badge. Outside of the Gym, Dwayne and Falkner shake hands, and Falkner says that Dwayne's potential could be seen from miles away, and was certain that he would make it far as a Pokémon Trainer. Falkner then directs Dwayne towards Azalea Town, and Dwayne realizes that's where Kurt lived, and would finally be able to hand him the GS Ball.

After healing his Pokémon, Dwayne continues on his journey and passes by Route 32. While there, Dwayne decides to take a mountainous trail. Just then, he notices a wild Chikorita sunbathing nearby. Remarking on how rare a wild Chikorita was, Dwayne decides to try and capture it, and promptly sets out Heracross. Seeing this, Chikorita immediately kicks up, and charges towards Heracross with Tackle, but Heracross counters with Fury Attack, but Chikorita surprisingly manages to dodge all of Heracross's attacks. Chikorita then uses Razor Leaf, but Heracross shoots them down with Megahorn, then hits Chikorita with it. Dwayne throws a Poké Ball, but Chikorita simply swats it back, which surprises Dwayne, as Chikorita was clearly still able to fight. Chikorita then uses her Vine Whip attack to hit a nearby tree and cause sap to leak out, which causes Heracross to discard the battle and treat himself to the sap, and Dwayne recalls him as a result.

Dwayne sends Roselia out, though Chikorita remains steadfast. She charges at Roselia, who holds her off with Power Whip. Then, Dwayne orders a Petal Dance, but Chikorita uses Vine Whip to trip Roselia, who inadvertently hits Dwayne with the attack. Chikorita then fires another Razor Leaf, but Roselia dodges and flies in for another Power Whip. Chikorita counters by charging up an Energy Ball, and just as Roselia is inches away from Chikorita, Chikorita fires off Energy Ball, which explodes on both Pokémon's faces. Dwayne runs over, and recalls Roselia. Chikorita struggles to stand and collapses again from exhaustion, and Dwayne decides to take Chikorita to the nearest Pokémon Center.

Later, Dwayne is approaching the Pokémon Center when Chikorita awakens. Dwayne reassures her, but Chikorita bites his arm. Later, Nurse Joy announces that Chikorita will be fine after some rest. She then asks if Dwayne is okay, noticing the bite mark on his arm, and Dwayne assures that he is alright. Nurse Joy goes on to explain that the Chikorita in the area are stubborn and relentless in battle, qualities that Dwayne admires. Suddenly, Chikorita comes running out of the hallway and back outside, and Nurse Joy says that Chikorita hasn't properly healed yet, and would be dangerous for her, and Dwayne decides to chase after Chikorita, not wanting to her to risk her well-being. Dwayne chases Chikorita into the mountains, where he finally loses track of the Grass-type Pokémon.

Disheartened, Dwayne reluctantly decides to return to the Pokémon Center, and begins trailing back when Chikorita suddenly runs by. Dwayne attempts to stop her, but ends up slipping and falling as Chikorita disappears. Realizing it was starting to snow, Dwayne makes his way to a cave and sits around a small fire he started. However, Dwayne impulsively runs out in search of Chikorita after thinking about Chikorita being out in the cold, and he eventually falls down a tunnel, where he finds Chikorita shivering from the cold. Upon seeing Dwayne, Chikorita jumps into his arms. Dwayne then makes his way back to the cave and ends up bundling together with Chikorita to wait out the weather.

The next day, the snowstorm stops, and Dwayne and Chikorita try make it back to the Pokémon Center. However, they are intercepted by an Ursaring, who is ready to attack them. Chikorita uses Razor Leaf on the Ursaring, and under Dwayne's orders, she Vine Whips the Hibernator Pokémon, causing it to become even angrier. Ursaring unleashes a Hyper Beam, but Chikorita uses Vine Whip to push Dwayne out of the way before dodging the attack herself, and subsequently puts Ursaring to sleep with Grass Whistle, and Dwayne and Chikorita quickly run off afterwards.

They successfully return to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy completely manages to finish Chikorita's treatment, and Chikorita's health and strength is fully recovered, and Dwayne expresses his relief that Chikorita is alright, and soon prepares to leave and continue his journey. However, Chikorita follows him as she begins to depart and waves her scent in Dwayne's face. Nurse Joy explains that Chikorita has taken quite a liking to him, and wants to join him. Asking Chikorita if she truly wanted to join his team, Chikorita replies by giving Dwayne a kiss on the cheek. Dwayne thanks Chikorita and throws a Poké Ball, capturing the Leaf Pokémon.

Arriving in Azalea Town, Dwayne decides to look for Kurt to hand him the GS Ball, but upon his arrival, the town seems strange, as Dwayne comments on the many signs depicting Slowpoke plus the multiple Slowpoke lying everywhere. While walking, Dwayne accidentally steps on a Slowpoke's tail. Slowpoke has a delayed response to the pain, but a local happened to witness Dwayne step on Slowpoke and soon a mob of angry townspeople arrive to chase him out of town. He manages to lose the crowd temporarily in a park, then a man wearing a Slowpoke costume catches Dwayne's attention. He then tells him to put on a Slowpoke costume and sit still. The people reach the park and give up their search after only seeing four Slowpoke sitting by a fountain. Dwayne then asks the stranger why Slowpoke are so important, and the man explains that 400 years ago, there was a drought just like this in Azalea Town. One day, a Slowpoke came to the town, and when it yawned, it started to rain and the town was saved. Since then, Slowpoke have been treated with respect. He then asks the man why he is wearing a Slowpoke costume, and he explains that it is to avoid scaring the Slowpoke away. Suddenly, the man remembers that he has an errand to run and quickly leaves.

In town, Dwayne tries to find Kurt, and he meets a little girl named Maizie, who asks Dwayne for help, as her grandfather went to check out something at the Slowpoke Well and hasn't returned yet. Dwayne goes to the well and enters the cave, and finds the man from before lying on the ground. He tells Dwayne about how a group of wild Pokémon took over the cave and were scaring the Slowpoke away. Dwayne helps the man to his feet, before heading deeper into the cave, where he sees a gang of Machop and Machoke scaring the Slowpoke away under the orders of a Machamp. Dwayne confronts the Fighting-type Pokémon. The Machop and Machoke dig a tunnel and escape, not wanting to battle Dwayne.

Unexpectedly, one Slowpoke lets out a large cry and the remaining Slowpoke all stand up and begin to walk out of the cave. Dwayne, carrying the man on his back, follows the Slowpoke outside, and they watch them line up on the edge of a cliff that surrounds the well. One by one they yawn causing storm clouds gather and it starts to rain. Dwayne and the man are forced to climb up onto the roof of the well as the area begins to flood. Water also pours into the cave and down into the tunnel that the Fighting-type Pokémon dug. The Machop and Machoke are washed into the surface, and so is Machamp, and upon seeing Dwayne staring at them, they all run away, and Dwayne comments how cowardly they were. Back in Azalea Town, the river is running again and the crops are recovering. Dwayne returns to the park from earlier and watch as several Slowpoke enjoy a dip in the now filled fountain. The man adds that he managed to calm the townspeople and explained that Dwayne accidentally stepped on the Slowpoke’s tail. He then offers to take Dwayne on a tour of the town, but Dwayne says he has to find Kurt. Then, Dwayne is left in shock after the man takes off his costume head and reveals that he is Kurt.

Dwayne talks with Kurt and his granddaughter Maizie over some drinks. Maizie thanks Dwayne for helping to save the Slowpoke Well and her grandfather. Dwayne brings up Professor Oak's errand, the GS Ball, and hands it to Kurt, but Dwayne is left dumbfounded when Kurt declares that the GS Ball is some kind of Poké Ball, and Dwayne sarcastically thanks Kurt, while referring to him as "Captain Obvious". Kurt apologizes for not knowing much about it but reassures him that he will look at it closer. Dwayne then makes a video call to Professor Oak and informs him that Kurt is now inspecting the GS Ball. Professor Oak is pleased and urges him to report any new findings as soon as possible. Dwayne then asks about Kurt's expertise, and Professor Oak explains that Kurt is a famous craftsman who makes special Poké Balls using Apricorns. Dwayne then asks about Apricorns, and Oak adds that the trees grow around Kurt's home. From his screen, Oak then alerts Dwayne to a White Apricorn tree growing in the backyard behind him. Dwayne then runs off to find Kurt to get himself an Apricorn Poké Ball, leaving the Professor still on the phone.

Dwayne calls out to Kurt, but Maizie tells him to be quiet as it is hard work making Poké Balls. Maizie and Dwayne watch Kurt perform more work on an Apricorn Ball before placing it back into the kiln. Dwayne then repeats his request, and Kurt happily gives him a Fast Ball as a thank you gift for his earlier assistance at the Slowpoke Well. Maizie adds that the Fast Balls are from White Apricorns and are used to catch Pokemon that run away. She then explains that there are seven different Apricorn types, each making a different Poké Ball. Dwayne is eager to get an Apricorn Ball of each color and Kurt agrees provided Dwayne retrieves the Apricorns himself. Maizie then offers to take Dwayne up into the mountains to locate the other varieties, and he happily agrees.

Maizie first shows Dwayne a Pink Apricorn tree, explaining that they are used to make Love Balls, which are helpful when catching Pokémon of a different gender. Dwayne spots some Apricorns that are growing on a tree and runs for them, but Maizie tells him they are not ready to be picked yet. The next tree they find grows Yellow Apricorns, which are used to make Moon Balls, and Maizie explains that these make catching Pokémon who evolve via Moon Stones easier. Dwayne tries to pick one, but once again, Maizie stops him. A mysterious group of Pokémon appear from the tree, and Dwayne's Pokédex confirms that they are Pineco.

Next, Dwayne finds a tree full of Red Apricorns, which are used to make Level Balls. However, when Dwayne and Maizie approach the tree, they fall into a hole. When Dwayne looks up and sees two figures standing above him, Dwayne can't help but let a frustrated sigh and Adrian and Adriana laugh at his misfortune and declare they would get the specialized Poké Balls. Dwayne asks if they have nothing better to do other than follow him around, and the twins admit they don't, and attempt to pick some Apricorns, but Dwayne and Maizie manage to crawl out of the hole and face the twins. Before the twins can send out any Pokémon, the group of Pineco from before charge at them, and each begin using Self-Destruct and upon seeing this, the twins run away, while Dwayne and Maizie thank the Pineco, who responds by exploding with their Self-Destruct, and Maizie explains this was the Pineco's way to say thanks.

After the distraction has been dealt with, Dwayne finally gets to collect some Apricorns, as he picks a Blue Apricorn to get a Lure Ball made out of it. Maizie directs Dwayne's attention to a nearby Black Apricorn tree, telling him that they're used to make Heavy Balls. After collecting it, Dwayne collects the other remaining Apricorns, before he and Maizie returns to Kurt's house. Once there, Dwayne hands Kurt each available Apricorn to be turned into Poké Balls. After Kurt says that he was impressed with Dwayne collecting every Apricorn in the forest, Dwayne asks if Kurt has learned anything new about the GS Ball, but Kurt remains clueless about the mysterious item. Kurt adds that the GS Ball is sealed by a powerful lock and asks if he can inspect it a little while longer, to which Dwayne agrees. Kurt then informs Dwayne that the Azalea Gym would be open, so Dwayne sets off to the Gym.

Dwayne soon enters the Gym, which resembles a forest garden. Dwayne comments that the inside of the Gym was very unique, and his comment is overheard by a boy sitting in a tree. The boy asks who Dwayne is, and he announces that he wishes to challenge the Azalea Gym Leader. The boy reveals that he is Bugsy, the Gym Leader, and a Bug-type specialist. Bugsy accepts Dwayne's challenge, and tells Dwayne to follow him towards the battlefield. Dwayne arrives at the battlefield, which appears flat and surrounded by trees. The Battle judge announces the battle's conditions; each Trainer may use up to three Pokémon each. Bugsy then starts the match and sends out his Spinarak, while Dwayne sends out Roselia with the obvious type advantage. Bugsy has Spinarak use String Shot to cover the field, ensnaring Roselia in the sticky thread. Dwayne orders Roselia to attack with Solar Beam, but Spinarak dodges and attacks with Poison Sting, landing a direct hit on Roselia. Dwayne then decides to recall Roselia to her Poké Ball before another Poison Sting hits.

Dwayne is aware of the type disadvantage but sends out Chikorita anyway, remarking that her battling spirit might be of good use. Chikorita appears from her Poké Ball, and immediately jumps onto Dwayne, giving her a hug. Bugsy questions Dwayne's decision to use a Grass-type, but Dwayne retorts that unconventional strategies are worth the risk sometimes. The battle resumes, and Spinarak makes the first move, a String Shot attack. Chikorita manages to dodge it and replies with a Vine Whip. Spinarak, however, uses its threads to evade the attack and reach a nearby tree. Spinarak then swings from tree to tree using it String Shot. Dwayne orders Chikorita to focus in and use Vine Whip, though Spinarak continues to dodge. Spinarak uses Poison Sting, but Valeria has Chikorita counter the attack with Razor Leaf. Chikorita then catches Spinarak off guard with her Grass Whistle and follows up with an Energy Ball, winning Dwayne the round. Bugsy is surprised, while Chikorita is overjoyed with her victory and hugs Dwayne as a result.

Bugsy then sends out Metapod, much to Dwayne's surprise, but he nonetheless remains cautious and notes that Metapod must be strong otherwise Bugsy wouldn't use it in a Gym battle. Dwayne has Chikorita use Vine Whip. Metapod uses Harden to increase its defenses and blocks the attack. Chikorita tries a Razor Leaf, but no avail with another Harden. Bugsy tells his Metapod to jump and use Tackle, surprising Dwayne and knocking out Chikorita. Dwayne then chooses Heracross as his next Pokémon. Metapod uses Tackle and Heracross avoids it which causes the Tackle to stir up a cloud of dust. Heracross avoids another Tackle from Metapod, causing it to land into a tree. The resulting falling leaves allows Metapod to camouflage itself and seemingly vanish. Heracross listens for Metapod and he dodges its Tackle. Metapod jumps and uses Tackle again, which Heracross avoids by flying upward. Heracross then waits for Metapod's next Tackle, and quickly retaliates with a Fury Attack, which manages to knock out Metapod.

Before Bugsy sends out his third and final Pokémon, he informs Dwayne that no Trainer has reached the last round in a while. Bugsy then sends out his Scyther. Dwayne has Heracross use Megahorn, though Scyther remains standing on the spot, and dodges it using a Double Team. Bugsy then tells Scyther to use Slash. Heracross unleashes a flurry of Fury Attacks to blast Scyther's Double Team, but they all disappear much to Heracross's surprise. The real Scyther then appears behind Heracross and unleashes an onslaught of Fury Cutter attacks. Dwayne attempts to order Heracross to use Counter, but Heracross finds no window to charge the attack, and gets knocked out as a result.

Dwayne is now forced to send out Roselia. Scyther uses Fury Cutter while Roselia dodges. Scyther tries Double Team while it uses another Fury Cutter, this time faster than the other Fury Cutter, while Roselia is still able to dodge. This gets Roselia really fired up and Roselia uses Petal Dance, which gets rid of Scyther's Double Team, but the real Scyther deflects it by using Swords Dance and hits Roselia. Bugsy explains that he developed strategies like Scyther's Swords Dance to combat its weaknesses. Dwayne considers his next move before the battle resumes. Scyther approaches with another Fury Cutter, but as soon as Dwayne commands Roselia to attack, Bugsy has Scyther perform Swords Dance. Dwayne replies with his strategy: He has Roselia jump into the air and go into a spin above Scyther. Dwayne commands Roselia to use Petal Dance, but her newfound burst of energy, Roselia instead unleashes Petal Blizzard, which engulfs Scyther. The damage stops Scyther's Swords Dance and Roselia then uses Power Whip. The referee says Scyther is unable to battle and declares Dwayne victorious. Bugsy congratulates Dwayne on overcoming his strategies and gives him the Hive Badge to commemorate the win. The pair shake hands before Dwayne leaves for the Pokémon Center to heal his Pokémon.

When Dwayne is about to leave Azalea Town, he realizes that he forgot something and is quick to remember the Apricorns that he had left with Kurt. As if on cue, Maizie runs towards them with all seven Apricorn Poké Balls made by her grandfather from the Apricorns that they had picked earlier. Maizie thanks Dwayne for delivering the GS Ball to Kurt, who will continue to investigate it, before waving goodbye to him.

While at Ilex Forest, Dwayne sets up for lunch. After setting a cloth for him to sit on, Dwayne goes to grab his sandwiches, but but notices his bag has vanished. He then spots several three-toed footprints in the ground, and decides to follow them. Back in Azalea Town, Nurse Joy and her Chansey have finished their groceries and decide to get some ice cream from a waiting truck. Joy quickly spots her ham bag completely empty and inspects it. Dwayne then shows up and notices Nurse Joy seems to have a problem. She reveals her ham was mysteriously stolen and Dwayne replies that his bag was also taken. Noticing more of the same footprints, Dwayne runs off to find the mystery thief and Joy wishes him luck and stays behind. In the alley.

Dwayne soon find themselves in the middle of the dense Ilex Forest again, and decides to end his chase. The clearing’s good wind direction gives Dwayne an idea, so he decides to set up camp. After cooking some sausages – one of which happens to be made of carved wood – Dwayne places his decoy on a plate and waits for the Pokémon to be drawn by the scent. As night falls, Dwayne waits behind some shrubs and watches as the wood sausage is whisked away by a black shadow. Knowing that since it was fake food, the mysterious creature will return for the real thing if it is hungry. Dwayne waits patiently, but fearfully for the return of the yet unknown Pokémon. Eventually the scary red eyes appear in the bushes once again, this time as a pack. As the menacing Pokémon surround the grou, Dwayne's Pokédex reveals the Pokémon to be a pack of Houndour. Dwayne then spots the Alpha Houndour on a cliff above him. Dwayne is determined to get his backpack, so he calls on some assistance. Dwayne sends out Kirlia, Roselia, Heracross, and Chikorita to battle the pack of Houndour. The tough battle appears to end after Chikorita's Energy Ball startles the Houndour, but the Alpha Houndour jumps down to challenge Dwayne in a one-on-one match. Dwayne ponders on his choice, until Roselia steps up to battle, and despite the type disadvantage, Dwayne accepts Roselia's offer. Roselia starts off with Power Whip, but her attack misses, and she is forced to dodge a Flamethrower. Houndour narrowly evades Roselia's Bullet Seed attack, but is left clearly exhausted. The Houndour overhear some distant cries and they use Smog to escape. Everyone shields their eyes and mouths from the fumes before chasing after the pack.

At the Houndour's den, a wild Golem has left one of the Houndour injured. Houndour's friends leap into the squabble, but their fire attacks prove useless against Golem's tough exterior. Dwayne watches the scene unfold from a cliff and quickly realizes that the stolen belongings were to help feed the Houndour's sick member. Assessing the situation, Dwayne jumps in the way to protect the leader who was about to be knocked out by Golem. The troublesome Golem runs away after Chikorita uses a single Razor Leaf attack. Dwayne soon turns his attention to the injured Houndour. Dwayne manages to spray some Super Potion on Houndour's leg, but it is still in a dire situation. Dwayne soon realizes that the wounded Houndour must get to a Pokémon Center, and Dwayne is adamant that he can carry it all the way there. However, Dwayne soon tires, though the pack shows up to carry the wounded Houndour.

At the Center, Nurse Joy rushes the Pokémon to emergency and eventually returns stating that it will be fine. The Houndour pack are grateful and overwhelm Dwayne with their continuous licking. The following day, Dwayne is glad to see that Houndour is now feeling better, with only a bandaged leg. He offers it a sausage to helps its recovery, which Houndour happily accepts. As Dwayne prepares to depart, the Houndour pack gives him a resounding howl to thank him. Then, the Houndour that was injured climbs down the cliff and stares at Dwayne, who asks whether Houndour wanted to join him, and Houndour nods in agreement. Dwayne asks the pack whether they were okay with it, and the Alpha Houndour nods to confirm that he had permission to catch it, which Dwayne does so. Dwayne bids the Houndour pack goodbye as they give him a second resounding howl.

Continuing through Ilex Forest, Dwayne notices a bird house up in a tree. He wonders which Pokémon could go there when a Noctowl appears, and they hide so that it won't be scared off. A man then shoos the Noctowl away by using a branch from where he is hiding on the tree, saying that this Noctowl isn't the one he wants. The Noctowl flies away. A rare, Shiny Noctowl then appears outside the bird house. The man takes out a stick with berries and moves them up at the Shiny Noctowl. However, the Noctowl kicks the berries away; hits the tree, causing the man to barely hang onto a branch; and pecks at the man's fingers, causing him to fall to the ground.

Dwayne approaches the man and asks if he is alright. The man then introduces himself as Dr. Wiseman and says that he wants to catch the Shiny Noctowl but it keeps outsmarting him. The Shiny Noctowl is smaller and cleverer than the average Noctowl, making it even rarer, which is why Dr. Wiseman wants it. Dwayne decides that he wants to catch that Noctowl, and throws a Poké Ball at it, but it kicks the Poké Ball right back at Dwayne. The Noctowl uses Hypnosis on Dwayne, putting Dwayne to sleep, although Dr. Wiseman quickly wakes him up, and Noctowl flies away. In Dr. Wiseman's cabin in the forest, Dr. Wiseman tells Dwayne that he is only interested in catching the rarest and most unusual Pokémon. Dr. Wiseman vows that he will outsmart the Noctowl, as does Dwayne. Dr. Wiseman has a secret trap to catch the Noctowl. Dwayne wants to see it, but Dr. Wiseman doesn't let him. Dwayne says that he won't use traps and will catch the Noctowl fair and square.

Dr. Wiseman is seen sitting on a branch and setting his trap, while Dwayne watches him behind bushes. Dr. Wiseman joins him as Noctowl lands on the branch. Dr. Wiseman pulls a rope which reveals a mirror next to where the Noctowl stands. Noctowl sees its reflection and uses Hypnosis on its reflection which makes the Noctowl hypnotize itself as the mirror reflects the move back. The now-asleep Noctowl falls off the tree and hits the ground, although the impact causes him to wake up, albeit dizzy. Noctowl wobbles away, and Dwayne asks Noctowl whether it is okay. Noctowl turns around and Dr. Wiseman warns Dwayne that Noctowl might feel threatened by him. The wind turns out to be caused by a regular-colored Noctowl whom Wiseman recognizes as having a heated rivalry with the Shiny Noctowl. The regular Noctowl attacks the Shiny Noctowl with Swift, but the Shiny Noctowl blocks the attack with Light Screen, decreasing Swift's damage in half, before following up with Wing Attack, and the regular Noctowl gets sent flying back as a result. Then, the regular Noctowl lets out a howl and several other normal-colored Noctowl emerge from the trees, and they outnumber the Shiny Noctowl, and Dwayne decides to step in and help.

Dwayne summons Heracross, and orders him to use Rock Tomb to attack the gang of Noctowl, but the attack bounces back at Heracross after the Noctowl band together and use Hyper Voice. Dr. Wiseman decides to catch the Shiny Noctowl while everyone is distracted by the wind. Dwayne, not giving up, orders Heracross to use Double Team to create several copies to disorientate the Noctowl. Dwayne climbs a tree to get to the Shiny Noctowl, who's slightly injured, and Dwayne gives it an Oran Berry to restore it's strength. However, Dwayne then falls through the trees and the Shiny Noctowl talks to Heracross, deciding to work together. The Shiny Noctowl uses Flash to blind the other Noctowl, allowing Heracross to land a direct hit with Rock Tomb, and this manages to scare them off.

Afterwards, the Shiny Noctowl challenges Dwayne to a battle. Dr. Wiseman decides that it's too smart for him so Dwayne should try to catch it. Dwayne uses Heracross to fight against Noctowl. Heracross uses Megahorn while Noctowl uses Hypnosis. Heracross falls asleep and Noctowl responds by using Wing Attack, and the pain causes Heracross to wake up. Heracross runs away as Noctowl flies close behind him. Heracross listens to Noctowl's wings instead of looking at its eyes so that he won't get hypnotized. Heracross successfully hits Noctowl with Horn Attack just as Noctowl was closing in for a Wing Attack, and Dwayne throws a Poké Ball at Noctowl, catching it. Dwayne retrieves the Poké Ball and celebrating at having caught the Shiny Noctowl. Dr. Wiseman congratulates Dwayne on his capture, and says that he's earned the Noctowl, and wishes him luck on his future endeavors, and Dwayne returns the act, as he continues his path, and hours later, finally reaches the edge of Ilex Forest, and prepares to arrive in Goldenrod City.

Dwayne immediately heads to the Goldenrod Gym. There, Dwayne is dismayed to see a sign on the front declaring the Gym is closed today but will reopen tomorrow. With nothing else to do, Dwayne decides to explore the city. Dwayne decides to visit the Goldenrod Galleria, but ultimately gets lost in the big city. While looking for any signs for directions, Dwayne runs straight into a Clefairy. As Dwayne apologizes to the Clefairy, a girl runs down the street, asking if Dwayne is okay. The girl introduces herself as Whitney and offers to take him to the Galleria, which she says is far easier to get to if they take an Underground Path that doubles as a shopping arcade. However, Whitney winds up leading Dwayne further away from the Galleria. Eventually, Dwayne gives up on finding the Galleria and decides to head back to a hamburger stand he'd found earlier. Instead, Whitney inadvertently leads him to the Galleria. Whitney apologizes for the trouble and prepares to depart when she notices that her Clefairy is missing, and Dwayne offers to help search for Clefairy, which Whitney thanks him for.

They ultimately find Clefairy stuck in a tight alleyway, and Dwayne pulls Clefairy from the alley, and Whitney thanks Dwane for the help, and tells him that she would love to have a battle against him. Dwayne thanks her, but tells her that he is busy getting ready for a battle at the Gym the next day. At that moment, Whitney reveals herself as the Goldenrod Gym Leader, guides Dwayne back to the Gym, and reopens it. There, the referee announces that it will be a three-on-three battle, with a Plain Badge at stake. Whitney starts off with Nidorina, and Dwayne responds by sending out Noctowl. Whitney orders a Poison Sting, but Noctowl counters with an Twister, easily knocking Nidorina out. Whitney is shocked by the quick defeat and sends in Clefairy, who uses Metronome, but it winds up pulling out Splash. Noctowl uses Wing Attack, and Clefairy gets struck by the attack and gets slammed into the wall, and Whitney cannot bear to see Clefairy get hurt and withdraws it from the match. Whitney then sends out a Miltank. Whitney orders Miltank to use Rollout, and Miltank slams straight into Noctowl, sending him flying. Dwayne orders another Wing Attack, and Noctowl attempts to hit Miltank but is unsuccessful. Miltank turns around and repeatedly strikes Noctowl with Rollout, until Noctowl gets knocked out.

Dwayne then sends out Heracross. Whitney orders another Rollout, which heads straight for Heracross. Heracross orders a Fury Attack, but it doesn't slow Miltank down and the Milk Cow Pokémon pushes Heracross back. Dwayne tells Heracross to get out of the way, but it is too late and Miltank hits Heracross with Rollout, knocking Heracross out. As Dwayne recalls Heracross, Miltank is still spinning around the battlefield, constantly gaining more and more power. Dwayne tries to think of a way to defeat Miltank, and ultimately chooses to send in Chikorita, and commands her to use Razor Leaf. Chikorita hits it, but it has no effect on the still-spinning Miltank. Whitney tells Dwayne that Miltank is spinning so fast, Chikorita's attacks had zero effect. Dwayne decides to switch strategies and has Chikorita use Grass Whistle to try and put Miltank to sleep, but Miltank is too fast and gets a direct hit before Chikorita can use her attack. Chikorita tries to get up but is hit again gets knocked out, giving Whitney the victory.

Whitney tells Dwayne that he can have the rematch whenever he wants, then walks away. Dwayne realizes that while Whitney's other Pokémon weren't very strong, her Miltank's power was too great for his Pokémon to handle, and ponders on how to defeat it. At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy tells Dwayne that his Pokémon need rest and will be okay. Joy thinks he is lucky, since Noctowl, Heracross, and Chikorita are feeling better than her other patients that come after the match with Whitney. Dwayne is not happy about Whitney's Miltank, as it seems unbeatable when it rolls. Joy knows that Trainers also need rest, so Joy believes that after dinner and sleeping, Dwayne should feel different tomorrow. In the morning, Chikorita, Heracross, and Noctowl come to Dwayne, who is happy they are healthy, and Chikorita immediately jumps into Dwayne's arms. Whitney also appears to see how they are doing and goes to show Dwayne somewhere he'd enjoy. At the outskirts of the city, Whitney goes to show Dwayne her uncle's Miltank dairy, which produces creme, which can power Valeria's Pokémon up.

At the dairy, Dwayne sees many Miltank. Whitney greets her uncle, Milton. At the farm, Dwayne is offered some Miltank drinks and go to drink them. Whitney tells Dwayne he could have his Pokémon drink it some, so Dwayne hands his Pokémon some of the Moomoo Milk. They all drink the Moomoo Milk and are amazed by its taste. Whitney promises they can taste cheese and other products, so goes to get them. Later, Dwayne expresses wanting to help care for the Miltank, so Whitney gives him jobs to brush Miltank, thinking he could learn more from that.

Milton shows Dwayne that they got Miltank by wiring them on machines to get milk from them. Dwayne thinks it is gentle, since Miltank do not mind that. Whitney goes to train with her Miltank, so Dwayne goes with her. Whitney's Miltank rolls down the hill and up. Dwayne thinks what weakness does Miltank have, and ponders whether Whitney's Miltank even had any weaknesses. Then, Dwayne suddenly has an idea, and challenges Whitney to a rematch right there and then. Whitney grants him a rematch, and Milton notes that Dwayne most likely had a trick up her sleeve. Dwayne tells his plan to Noctowl, Chikorita, and Heracross. Dwayne sends Heracross, who battles Miltank, who immediately uses Rollout. Heracross charges at Miltank with Megahorn, but gets bounced off instead. Heracross repeats the move, but fails to do damage to Miltank. Dwayne calls Heracross back and sends Chikorita out. Chikorita uses Vine Whip to make ditches. Chikorita goes on Miltank, but Miltank rolls out on the side to get Chikorita off and hits her. Dwayne calls Chikorita back and sends Noctowl, who uses Agility.

Miltank rolls out, but gets in a drift and goes up. Noctowl goes in a ditch and when Miltank goes above him, Noctowl pushes her from under the ditch and uses a quick Wing Attack to defeat her. Milton sees that Dwayne's strategy was for Heracross to tire out Miltank, Chikorita to dig the ditches to slow her down and go off course, and Noctowl to actually defeat her. Dwayne wonders if Miltank will be all right, and Whitney responds she will be fine and gives Dwayne the Plain Badge. Dwayne asks shouldn't he compete in a Gym to win a badge, but Milton knows well that his niece knows the Gym is a building, while defeating a tough Pokémon yields a badge he can win. Dwayne accepts the Badge and celebrates his victory. Whitney then informs Dwayne that the next Gym he should challenge is the Ecruteak Gym, and Dwayen thanks her for the information, and after healing his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, Dwayne sets out towards Ecruteak City.

Passing by the National Park, Dwayne stumbles across a Bug-Catching Contest. They learn from the event announcer the rules of the contest. Each participant is given a special Sport Ball. They are to enter the National Park and, using only one Pokémon, catch the strongest Bug-type Pokémon they can find. Whoever gets the strongest one wins the competition and, in addition to keeping the Pokémon they catch, they also win a secondary prize of their choice. Dwayne decides to enter the contest to get a new Pokémon. While registering, he encounters Skyler, who tells him that she is entering the contest as well, and that she intends to beat Dwayne no matter what the cost.

The competitors are informed of the rules and each receives a Park Ball. A crowd watches the contest unfold on a screen in an amphitheater. Dwayne quickly spots a Weedle. He orders Kirlia to attack it, but before she can engage it, Skyler appears and attacks it with her Chikorita. She easily catches it and continues on her way, ignoring Dwayne's protest that he saw it first. Skyler orders Chikorita to start attacking trees and manages to knock some wild Pineco out of their hiding spots. After a short battle, Chikorita manages to defeat them and the two continue on their way.

Elsewhere, Skyler notices Chikorita lagging behind, still tired from its previous battles. Still wanting to win she tells it not to give up, and the pair continues their hunt. They soon encounter a Scyther. Despite Chikorita's obvious exhaustion, Skyler orders it to attack and the tired Pokémon soon finds itself in a battle it can't win. At the last moment, Dwayne appears with Kirlia and saves Chikorita. He yells at Skyler for being an irresponsible Trainer then lures the Scyther away so that she and Chikorita can rest. Not wanting to listen to him, Skyler tries to encourage Chikorita, only to realize that it has run away. Chikorita hides in a bush, and tries to cheer it up, and Skyler stumbles upon it a moment later. She calls Chikorita over to her but is surprised to find that it refuses to listen to her. Skyler then realizes Chikorita is refusing to obey because she'd ignored Chikorita's feelings, and made it fight until it collapsed. Realizing her mistake, Skyler tearfully apologizes to Chikorita, who joyfully jumps into her arms.

Meanwhile, Dwayne and Kirlia continue their pursuit of the Scyther. Dwayne then tells Scyther to fight him to prove its worth as a warrior, and this stops Scyther on its tracks, who turns around and faces Dwayne, unwilling to allow its honor and pride to be insulted. Back in the stands, the announcer praises Dwayne's strategy to taunt Scyther into fighting him to make sure it wouldn't run away. Scyther starts by using Fury Cutter, but Kirlia manages to dodge. Scyther then uses Swords Dance before using Double Hit continuously, but Kirlia narrowly manages to dodge the barrage of attacks, until Scyther suddenly switches up with Bug Bite, which catches Kirlia by surprise and lands a perfect hit. Dwayne then tells Kirlia to use Psybeam, but Scyther manages to dodge and lands a direct hit with Fury Cutter before further increasing its attack power with another Swords Dance.

Kirlia gets back up, just as Scyther closes in for another Bug Bite, but Kirlia counters with Dazzling Gleam, and Scyther is unable to stop itself in time, and gets damaged by Kirlia's attack. Kirlia quickly follows up with a barrage of Shadow Balls, and Scyther gets thrashed by the attacks. Dwayne then throws the Sport Ball, but Scyther easily manages to break free before fleeing, but Dwayne and Kirlia quickly get into pursuit. Scyther jumps through the trees as Dwayne and Kirlia chase it from the ground. Scyther then lands in the ground, and meets with another Trainer, who attempts to capture it by ordering his Stantler to attack with Tackle, but Scyther easily defeats the Normal-type Pokémon with a single Double Hit, just as Dwayne and Kirlia catch up. Scyther smirks and gestures for Kirlia to attack, and Dwayne orders Kirlia to use Psybeam, and Scyther lets the attack land, but surprisingly manages to withstand. Then, Scyther's body glows, and Scyther returns with an even powerful attack that sends Kirlia crashing into a nearby tree, and Dwayne recognizes the attack as Counter, and Dwayne notices that Scyther was learning new attacks with each battle, and smiles at seeing this, and becomes even more determined to capture it.

Scyther smirks at them and decides to flee again, with Dwayne recognizing that Scyther wants them to earn its capture, and they give chase. Finding themselves deeper within the forest, Scyther stops running and waits for Dwayne and Kirlia. Dwayne and Kirlia quickly arrive and prepare for their third battle against Scyther. Scyther starts off with its newly-learned X-Scissor, but Dwayne narrowly dodges, but Scyther quickly responds with a follow-up Double Hit. Scyther then also demonstrates having learned Agility and uses the attack to increase its Speed, before attacking Kirlia with X-Scissor again. Kirlia struggles to get back up. Scyther then lets out a roar, and seemingly charges up, and Dwayne theorises that Scyther had yet again, learned a new attack. Scyther nods to confirm Dwayne's suspicions, and unleashes Wing Attack and Air Slash, both of which Incineroar narrowly dodges, but Scyther successfully hits him with Double Hit and X-Scissor. Kirlia struggles to get back up, and as Scyther prepares for another attack, they hear loud cries not too far from their location, and Scyther runs off to check it out, and once Kirlia recovers, she and Dwayne also decide to see what was happening.

Once they arrive, Dwayne and Kirlia see a large forest fire, caused by a participant's Charmeleon using Flamethrower recklessly, and many Bug-type Pokémon are running away, while some are trapped within the burning trees. Taking a closer look, Dwayne sees Skyler and Chikorita trapped within the fire, and decides to help them. Scyther attempts to save them, but some trees are falling, and block its path. Scyther then uses X-Scissor to cut up some of the trees, but Scyther can't do anything as more trees are burning and falling. Skyler sees a falling, flaming, branch, and grabs Chikorita and jumps out of the way, although Skyler's leg gets burned as she wasn't able to move away in time. Seeing this, Chikorita frantically tries to help its Trainer, but Skyler's burn proves too much for her to handle and she can't walk properly because of the pain. As Kirlia and Scyther struggle with the fire, Skyler's Chikorita suddenly evolves into Bayleef and uses Body Slam to cause sand to erupt and put out the fire, and Skyler marvels at seeing her Bayleef saving her. Seeing how Bayleef was handling itself, Kirlia and Scyther then decide to work together to save the Bug-type Pokémon, and they successfully manage to rescue a group of Caterpie, Pineco, Venonat, Ledyba, and Spinarak from the fire, and Bayleef successfully manages to take Skyler away from the fire, just as the Bug-Catching Contest's officials come with several Water-type Pokémon to put out the fire.

After checking to see if the area was clear, the contest gets resumed, and Scyther and Kirlia decide to settle their battle once and for all. Skyler sits down with Bayleef, aware that her injury would prevent her from continuing and simply decides to cheer Dwayne and Kirlia on. Scyther starts off by using Wing Attack, but Kirlia counters with Dazzling Gleam, and their attacks clash. However, Kirlia uses Teleport, causing her to suddenly disappear and re-appear behind Scyther, attacking it with a point-blank Psybeam, which sends Scyther flying, but it manages to fire off an Air Slash mid-air, striking Kirlia. As both Pokémon struggle to get back up, they each slowly get back to their feet, and a staredown begins. Ultimately, however, Scyther collapes, and Dwayne throws the Sport Ball, and after shaking for a few seconds, Scyther is successfully captured, and Dwayne celebrates with Kirlia. The Contest comes to an end shortly thereafter, and with his capture of Scyther, Dwayne wins the Contest, and also the option to select between three prizes: a Sun Stone, a Metal Coat, and a Moon Stone. Dwayne chooses the Metal Coat, and asks Scyther if it wanted to evolve, and Scyther nods in agreement. Skyler pouts as she had finished in last place.

At the Pokémon Center, Dwayne had Scyther hold the Metal Coat before using the Trade machine to transfer Scyther, resulting in it evolving into Scizor. After the evolution, Dwayne checks Scizor with his Pokédex in order to see if Scizor learned new moves, and sees that Scizor learned Bullet Punch and Hyper Beam, while also retaining its knowledge of Double Hit and X-Scissor. Dwayne also discovered Scizor's gender to be female, which Scizor responds by blushing and turning away in shame, and Dwayne simply laughs, saying that Scizor was a tough girl, as Scizor simply blushes even harder. Kirlia then pats Scizor in the back, but Scizor responds by unleashing all of her attacks on Kirlia, who narrowly manages to dodge them all, but once Dwayne calms her down, Scizor apologizes and she gets recalled, as Dwayne chuckles, saying that Scizor really liked them, but refused to show affection.

Skyler then shows up and congratulates Dwayne on his victory, and Dwayne also congratulates Skyler on her Chikorita's evolution, but Skyler says that she shouldn't get any credit, because she ignored Chikorita's feelings, and she was an awful Trainer. Dwayne says that she wasn't a bad Trainer, and says that all Trainers make mistakes, and all that matters is to learn from them. Skyler holds back tears as she thanks Dwayne for his words of encouragement, and Dwayne tells her it was a pleasure. Outside the Pokémon Center, Dwayne and Skyler part ways, with Dwayne continuing towards Ecruteak City.

Dwayne reads a map that says Ecruteak City is on the other side of the upcoming mountain, and the news instantly gets him hyped for his next Gym match. Going through the mountain, Dwayne hears a voice calling out to a group of Aipom running off with his watering can and Berries. Some of the Aipom jump on Dwayne's head, including one who snatches Dwayne's Badge case. Dwayne heads back to a farmhouse, where the man introduces himself as Taylor and treats Dwayne to hot beverages. Taylor says that he grows Berries and makes them into Pokéblocks to sell. Dwayne questions the man about the Aipom, who Taylor says are part of a group of Pokémon that live in the mountains and would only eat from his trees when they were hungry. Lately, however, they have been taking all of his produce. He then tells a story about a traveler who became lost on the mountain roads and came across a giant monster. Taylor does not know if the monster is involved with the Pokémon taking his Berries, but Dwayne agrees to head up to the mountain, uncover the mysteries, and regain his Ribbon Case.

Dwayne and Taylor head towards the area of the disturbance as a group of Mankey scurry across his path with more Berries. The other mountain Pokémon, some Vigoroth and Slaking, present Berries to smaller Pokémon such as Oddish and Caterpie. Dwayne and Taylor observe from a bush and see the Aipom carrying his Badge Case. Then, the monster Pokémon shows up from the bushes, frightening the mountain Pokémon away. The monster comes forth and reveals itself to be an enormous Slaking. The sight frightens Dwayne as the creature causes tremors by stomping. The giant Slaking roars, which the Pokémon interpret as a command to get rid of Dwayne and Taylor. The Pokémon obey, chase him away, and eventually encircle him on the road. Dwayne has Kirlia warn them with a Psybeam aimed at the ground. Taylor suggests they split up, so he goes down the road while Dwayne and Kirlia head in the opposite direction. The Aipom pursue the latter while the rest go after Taylor. As they flee, Dwayne releases some Pokémon food to occupy the Aipom. The Aipom with Dwayne's Badge Case keeps chasing him and jumps on Dwayne's head, knocking him down a hill. As they both tumble and slide, Dwayne grabs a small tree growing from the side and saves Aipom from the fall. After a few moments, the branch begins to break and they fall again, but are cushioned by a thick bush. Noticing that the Aipom has lost his Badge Case, Dwayne goes after it, but Aipom beats him to it and places it atop its head once more. Meanwhile, Taylor has managed to lose his pursuers by hiding in a bush.

After cleaning himself in a nearby river, Dwayne tells the now-friendly Aipom that stealing was wrong and should be ashamed of itself. Heeding Dwayne's advice, Aipom rejoins its comrades as they eat Dwayne's food. Aipom begins to talk as the other mountain Pokémon show up. The gigantic Slaking finishes devouring the food and begins moving forward defiantly, so Dwayne calls upon Kirlia to stop it with Psybeam. Slaking merely blows a gust of wind to dissipate the flames, tears down the wooden wall, and continues down the path. The other group arrives and Kirlia blasts a Dazzling Gleam at Slaking's feet. Dwayne then sees that the giant Slaking has possession of his Badge Case, along with other items, such as Berries and Potions.

Dwayne gets his revenge by directing Kirlia to attack with Psybeam, but the giant Slaking simply blocks the attack with ease. The giant Slaking then pursues Dwayne, Kirlia, and Taylor as they run towards a cliff, and find themselves at a dead end. Dwayne then tells Taylor to hide within the bushes, and tells Kirlia to do the same, but she refuses to leave him alone. Dwayne continues to order to hide, but she adamantly refuses, and upon seeing the giant Slaking approaching them, Dwayne grabs Kirlia and throws her onto the nearby woods, as Kirlia cries out. Dwayne then turns the Slaking's attention towards him, and Slaking unleashes a vicious Focus Punch, and although Dwayne dodges, the sheer impact causes the ground to crumble and Dwayne falls off the cliff, but manages to hang onto a small branch off the cliff. The giant Slaking then decides to charge up its Hyper Beam, and Kirlia attempts to stop it, but Taylor holds her back, telling her that Dwayne wouldn't want her to get herself in danger, and Kirlia attempts to fight him off, but to no avail. As Dwayne grits his teeth as he sees Slaking charging the attack, he looks down and sees a giant forest underneath the cliff, and decides to take a massive risk, and lets go of the branch, and Kirlia lets out a heart-wrenching scream as she and Taylor see Dwayne fall off the cliff and into the woods, although they lose sight of him once Dwayne falls through the trees.

The sight of Dwayne's fall causes Kirlia's Psychic powers to overload, and she forces Taylor off her with her Psybeam, and she jumps off the cliff after Dwayne, and she uses Psybeam to safely land on the ground. She then panickingly runs around the woods, frantically searching for Dwayne, and after several minutes, Kirlia sees a glimpse of Dwayne's shoes, and she becomes ecstatic, but once she approaches him, she becomes utterly horrified to see Dwayne severely injured. She starts bawling her eyes out and runs over to Dwayne's side, as she sees that Dwayne has broken his arm, suffered a deep cut on his forehead that was bleeding heavily, and fractured his ankle. Kirlia starts to desperately trying to wake him up, but Dwayne is unresponsive, and Kirlia then buries her face onto his chest and starts crying uncontrollably, and through this, she evolves into Gardevoir whilst continuing to cry.

However, Gardevoir then notices Dwayne is still breathing and realizes he was still alive, and decides to use every inch of her power to heal him. She places her hands atop of him and begins using Life Dew to heal his injuries, although while healing his superficial injuries such as the cuts and scratches, his broken bones weren't healed regardless of her efforts. Gardevoir then summons more of her power, and begins using Wish, and after a few moments, Dwayne's body begins glowing, and his injuries are completely healed, and Dwayne soon regains consciousness. Upon seeing this, Gardevoir becomes overjoyed and glomps Dwayne and hugs him with so much force that Dwayne starts to run out of air, but Gardevoir doesn't relent, completely and extremely relieved to see that her beloved Trainer was alive and well, and Dwayne finally manages to calm her down enough to breathe.

Dwayne notices his injuries were gone, and apologizes to Gardevoir for causing her so much emotional pain and stress, but Gardevoir uses her telepathy to speak directly with him, and says that she was more than alright, and says that she was overcome with happiness over seeing him well, and hugs him again, and Dwayne says that she forced herself to evolve to save him, but Gardevoir says that she didn't even noticed her own evolution until after she'd healed him, and Dwayne theorises that her grief was the trigger for her evolution.

Dwayne and Gardevoir then hear Slaking's roars, and Gardevoir's mood changes from elated happiness to pure and instantaneous rage, as she displays an intense and wrathful look on her face, and she uses her Psychic powers to levitate herself and Dwayne back up towards the cliff and they land safely, where Taylor reunites with them, and becomes shocked to see Gardevoir, and expresses his surprise at her sudden evolution. The giant Slaking notices them again, and prepares to attack, but Gardevoir demonstrates an overwhelming speed and hits Slaking with a powerful Focus Blast, which causes the giant Slaking to lose his balance and fall on his back. Gardevoir then unleashes a barrage of Moonblasts onto the defenseless Slaking until it faints. Gardevoir, however, was not done and climbs onto Slaking's chest and aims another Focus Blast directly to his face at point-blank distance, ready to finish it off once and for all, but Dwayne stops her, telling her that it was over, but Gardevoir nods in disagreement, with her rage over nearly losing Dwayne due to Slaking having not subsided, but Dwayne tells her that she was letting her anger cloud her judgement, and she couldn't let herself take another Pokémon's life, and pleads with Gardevoir.

Upon regaining her senses, Gardevoir becomes mortified at nearly killing the giant Slaking and breaks down in tears, but Dwayne runs over to hear and consoles her, telling her that it was alright, and Gardevoir again buries her face onto his chest and she cries herself to sleep, having exhausted herself by healing him. Dwayne decides to carry Gardevoir to the nearest Pokémon Center by himself rather than return her to her Poké Ball, but asks Taylor about the giant Slaking, and Taylor says that he would inform Officer Jenny and have her take the giant Slaking away onto another location. The Aipom that stole Dwayne's Badge Case appears again and returns him his Case, and expresses remorse on its involvement on the day's incident, but Dwayne tells Aipom that it wasn't its fault, as the Slaking was using its strength to force them into obeying him, and bids both Aipom and Taylor farewell as he carries Gardevoir on his arms towards the nearest Pokémon Center.

Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Dwayne calls for Nurse Joy urgently and asks her to heal his Gardevoir, and Joy and her Chansey prepare a stretcher to take Gardevoir away, and Dwayne attempts to follow, but Joy tells him to wait in the lobby, and Dwayne spends the next thirty minutes pacing around, nervous about the outcome of the check-up. After a long and agonizing half hour, Joy returns with Chansey and informs Dwayne that Gardevoir would be okay, and simply needed a good night's rest, and Dwayne sighs in relief. Dwayne then asks if he could see Gardevoir, and Joy says that she's placed Gardevoir into a room, and directs Dwayne towards it, where Ryder sees Gardevoir laying on a bed, sleeping soundly, to which Dwayne becomes relieved about. Dwayne then sits by her bed, and stays by her side all night, and falls asleep shortly thereafter, dreaming about Gardevoir's well-being. The next morning, Dwayne wakes up to see Gardevoir gazing at him, and he expresses his happiness at seeing she was okay, and Gardevoir responds with a happy cheer, as the Embrace Pokémon and Trainer share a hug.

As they walk out of the Pokémon Center, Joy says that she was happy to see that Gardevoir was okay and tells them to be careful on their journey, and Dwayne thanks her for helping Gardevoir. Outside the Center, Dwayne tells Gardevoir that he promises never to take another reckless risk like that and make her worry ever again, and stretches out her Poké Ball, and promises they would dominate the Johto League together. Gardevoir nods and touches the Poké Ball's mechanism, and she is returned inside the Ball, and Dwayne remarks on how he would make sure Gardevoir would never have to exhaust herself over him like that ever again.

Arriving in Ecruteak City after a five-day travel, Dwayne immediately makes his way to the Gym to challenge its Leader for his next Badge. Arriving at the gates of the supposed "Gym", Dwayne speculates that the Gym isn't like any others that he has seen before. As he ventures through this "Gym" for a few moments, Dwayne is forced to flee from a sudden fire inside the building. Dwayne attempts to flee, but the inferno follows him. Dwayne watches in shock as the flames touch him, although nothing happens, and he then realizes that it must be an illusion. Dwayne orders Noctowl to use Foresight, which reveals the flames to actually be illusions created by a group of Gastly. The Ghost-type Pokémon proceed to attack Dwayne with Night Shade. The Gastly are soon warded off and Dwayne gives a sigh of relief only to be on edge again by the Gastly coming back, and with several Haunter accompanying them. Dwayne commands Noctowl to use Wing Attack on the Ghost Pokémon, but he find himself overwhelmed. Soon, a Gengar appears and all the other Ghost-type Pokémon seem to be weary of its presence. Dwayne is about to command another attack, before an unknown voice orders him to stop.

Turning his attention toward where the voice came from, a blond man is revealed, standing atop of the staircase. At the initial sight of the man, all the Ghost Pokémon instantly hover over before him. He informs Dwayne that the Pokémon were not trying to harm him, but merely trying to protect their home after feeling threatened. Dwayne is quick to demand answers and mystery man is revealed to be Morty, Leader of the Ecruteak City Gym. Dwayne seems surprised at the mention, though he quickly regains his bearings and claims to Morty that he wants to compete for the Gym Badge that he holds. Merely smiling to Dwayne, Morty explains that he would love to battle him in an official Gym battle, but not where they are now. Morty explains that they are actually at the Burned Tower, a place that was once filled with brightness but has since come to be the home of many Ghost types.

The next day, Dwayne prepares for his fourth Gym battle against Morty and his powerful team of Ghost-type Pokémon by listening to his Pokédex's entry about Gengar. As Dwayne muses over battle strategies, Nurse Joy arrives with his Pokémon after healing them in the Pokémon Center. They talk about the difficulty of facing Morty's Ghost-type Pokémon and Nurse Joy suggests that Dwayne should use Noctowl as a secret weapon. Dwayne thinks back to yesterday’s events, where Noctowl used Foresight to reveal the Gastly in the Burned Tower. At the Gym, Morty has his Gengar demonstrate Confuse Ray to a group of young Trainers as an example of how to fight without using brute force. Dwayne interrupts the lecture to challenge the Gym, and Morty suggests that his students be allowed to watch and Dwayne agrees.

The Battle judge explains the rules of the match before the battle begins. Morty starts things off with his Gastly and Dwayne calls out Noctowl. Dwayne has Noctowl begin with Twister. Gastly dodges, disappearing in the process. Dwayne has Noctowl use Foresight, and it soon finds Gastly. Noctowl then attempts to use Wing Attack on Gastly, but Gastly easily dodges the attack continuously. After failing to attack Gastly, Noctowl tries to use Hypnosis; however, Morty orders Gastly to close its eyes to avoid being hypnotized and to use a Smog attack, which whips Noctowl out of the air. Dwayne returns Noctowl to his Poké Ball.

With Foresight keeping Gastly in view, Dwayne chooses Chikorita to replace Noctowl. Chikorita begins by using Energy Ball, which knocks Gastly backwards. Gastly lies on the ground for a moment before recovering itself. Chikorita then uses Vine Whip, but Gastly dodges and counters with Night Shade, and Chikorita gets struck, and is declared knocked out and unable to battle any further. After thanking Chikorita for her hard work, Dwayne chooses Houndour as his next choice.

Dwayne has Houndour start things off with a Flamethrower attack. Gastly dodges, countering with Night Shade, which Houndour dodges. Gastly uses Lick, but Houndour just runs up Gastly's tongue and uses Flamethrower on it, finally defeating Gastly. Morty then chooses Haunter as his second Pokémon. Houndour tries to hit it with Flamethrower, but Haunter disappears and then uses Mean Look, which forces Dwayne to use Houndour until the end of the round. Dwayne orders Houndour to fire back up and use Bite, which hurts Haunter. Haunter uses Hypnosis, which nearly works; but Houndour counters with Smog. Through the Smog, Haunter grabs Houndour and then Licks it, ending Houndour's ability to battle. Dwayne is now down to only his Noctowl.

After Dwayne brings it back out, Noctowl uses Foresight to keep Haunter from disappearing. Noctowl follows this with a Wing Attack, but Haunter forces Noctowl to dodge its hands to avoid being grabbed instead. Haunter then tries its Sludge Bomb attack, which Noctowl dodges. The two Pokémon then each use Hypnosis and Confuse Ray, respectively, which become locked against each other; but Noctowl's Hypnosis loses the struggle and gets blown away, allowing Confuse Ray to hit Noctowl. Haunter then uses Sludge Bomb, but the confused Noctowl still Wing Attacks through the attack. The two collide and Noctowl is not confused any further. Dwayne notices Noctowl’s eyes are now glowing. Morty remarks that Noctowl must have learned Extrasensory, which Dwayne confirms with his Pokédex. Noctowl uses its new move on Haunter and easily wins the round.

Morty finally sends out Gengar. Noctowl uses Extrasensory while Gengar tries a Shadow Ball; the Extrasensory attack hits the Shadow Ball, making it explode, showering everyone with dark energy. Gengar disappears and begins attack Noctowl with Poison Jab. While Noctowl manages to evade the attacks, its attempts to use Foresight fail. Dwayne thinks for a moment and then tells Noctowl to send Extrasensory through the building. This reveals Gengar and Noctowl is able to use Foresight on it. Gengar attempts to use Poison Jab again, but Noctowl stops it with a Wing Attack. After hitting the ceiling and falling to the floor, Gengar is now unable to battle, giving Dwayne the victory. Morty then congratulates Dwayne on his victory and intelligent strategy, and hands over the Fog Badge.

Elsewhere, Meanwhile, a helicopter enters a large base hidden under a mountain range. A man and woman emerge from the aircraft and introduce themselves as Fabius and Harlynn towards the scientist. The scientist reads their resume aloud, and comments on their impeccable record as Pokémon hunters, while also commenting on their side-jobs as mercenaries and for their reputation within the black market, and hopes that they live up to their reputation as the "Chaotic Couple". The scientist assigns them to a highly dangerous and profitable mission, and escorts the duo to his latest weapon, the Miracle Crystal, which is capable of controlling electricity. He demonstrates its power with a lightning show, and reveals that the Miracle Crystal both stores and attracts electricity.

Meanwhile, after winning the Fog Badge, Dwayne makes a stop at a Pokémon Center in Route 38, where Nurse Joy heals all his Pokémon. He stays in the Center to groom Roselia, complimenting her on keeping herself tidy. Meanwhile, Jade is seen talking to a boy, although she seems incredibly annoyed and gradually impatient with his romantic advances towards her, despite her continuous rejections. As Jade looks around to distract herself, she instantly lights up when she sees Dwayne sitting in the corner, and walks away from the boy, who seems annoyed, and Dwayne gets approached by Jade, who greets him rather enthusiastically, which leaves Dwayne confused since Jade was never this happy to see him.

Just then, the boy whom Jade was talking to interjects himself into the conversation by putting his arm around Jade and smugly asks who Dwayne was. Jade coldly slaps his arm away and puts her arm around Dwayne and introduces him as her boyfriend, which angers the boy, and leaves Dwayne utterly shocked, and even more confused than before. The boy then arrogantly walks up to Dwayne, clearly trying to intimidate him, and introduces himself as Dwight, and claims that Jade was his girl, but Jade angrily rebuffs him, and explains that they were both competing in the Johto League, and Dwight became attracted to her, despite Jade's continuous rejections, but Dwight never stopped trying to seduce her. Dwight continues to try and intimidate Dwayne, who finally catches on that Jade was merely using him to have Dwight leave her alone, and when Dwayne looks over to Jade, her facial expression is clearly asking him for help. Dwight tries to create conflict by asking if Dwayne and Jade were together, why was Dwayne traveling aline, and asks him if he was having an affair with other women without Jade knowing, but Dwayne sarcastically replies that Dwight was rather pathetic for trying to seduce someone who was already in a relationship. A fuming Dwight vows to make Dwayne pay and challenges him to a three-on-three battle, which Dwayne gladly accepts.

Outside in the battlefield, Dwight smugly claims he would obliterate Dwayne and make Jade realize he was nothing but a loser, but Jade exclaims that Dwayne was a far more talented Trainer than him, and Dwight says that she was wrong and sends out his Haxorus, whom Dwight exclaims was his strongest Pokémon. Dwayne then sends out Scizor. Dwight starts the battle by ordering Dragon Pulse while Scizor counters with Hyper Beam, and both attacks cancel each other out. Haxorus then follows up with Dual Chop, and although Scizor was unable to move due to Hyper Beam's after-effects, Scizor easily withstands the attacks. Dwayne then commands Scizor to use Double Hit, but Haxorus counters with Strength. Haxorus then follows up with Dragon Rage, and Scizor gets sent crashing onto the floor, but quickly gets back up with little to no damage.

Dwight then orders Haxorus to use Dragon Pulse again, but Scizor flies up to dodge the attacks and follows up with X-Scissor, which Haxorus takes head-on, and suffers great damage. However, Haxorus then uses Strength, and the attack causes great damage onto Scizor, and Dwayne seems confused about the sudden boost of power, and Dwight smugly explains that Haxorus's Ability was Rivalry, which meant that since both Haxorus and Scizor were of the same gender, Haxorus's attack power was increased by 25%. Scizor struggles to get back up, and Dwight mocks Scizor by calling her a weakling, and this triggers Scizor's rage, and Jade curses Dwight for his insults, and calls him a pathetic excuse for a Trainer, and Jade urges Scizor to keep battling.

Dwayne then thanks Scizor for continue to battle, and tells her to use X-Scissor, but Dwight quickly orders Haxorus to use Dual Chop, and despite her best efforts, Scizor is unable to dodge and gets hit with the attack, and gets sent crashing back onto the floor. Dwight and Haxorus laugh at their dominance, and Haxorus goes for the finishing blow with Strength, and Dwayne simply forfeits the round, and Haxorus stops dead on her tracks, and Dwayne rushes over to Scizor and asks if she was okay, and Scizor seems rather upset about Dwayne calling off the match, but Dwayne tells Scizor that he cared about her well-being, and they would have other battles, and promises to let Scizor have a full-on battle next time, but begs her to let him take care of her health. Scizor blushes but accepts, and touches her head against Dwayne's as he recalls Scizor back to her Poké Ball.

Dwight simply scoffs at this, saying that Dwayne was a sorry excuse of a Trainer, by coddling his Pokémon and treating them like babies, and is surprised that Scizor still trusted him, and laughs as he proclaims that he was sorry for his parents for having such a weak-willed child. Suddenly, Gardevoir pops out of her Poké Ball, and she expresses her rage towards Dwight. Jade smiles upon seeing Gardevoir, happy that she had evolved, and mumbles that Dwight was done for since Gardevoir cared deeply about Dwayne, and wouldn't allow anyone to badmouth him. The second round starts as Dwight commands Haxorus to use Strength, but Gardevoir retaliates with a point-blank Moonblast, which knocks Haxorus out of battle. Dwight stares shocked at the result, and Gardevoir simply gestures for him to send his next Pokémon. Dwight grits his teeth and recalls Haxorus before sending out his Gengar.

Gengar starts off by using Night Shade, but Gardevoir dodges and uses Shadow Ball, which connects, causing severe damage. Dwight then orders Gengar to use Shadow Punch, and Gardevoir gets hit by the attack, but she quickly recovers and uses Psychic, although Gengar counters with Sludge Bomb and both attacks collide, creating an explosion. As the smoke clears, Gengar is nowhere to be seen, and Dwight then orders Gengar to use Giga Drain, and Gengar emerges from under Gardevoir's feet as a shadow and begins draining her energy, but Gardevoir escapes by using Teleport. As Gardevoir pants in exhaustion, Dwight orders Gengar to end the battle with Shadow Punch, and Dwayne tells Gardevoir to use Psychic. Gardevoir struggles to charge the attack because of her exhaustion as Gengar closes in on her, but when she finally does so, Gengar is inches away from her, and Gardevoir blocks herself with the charging Psychic, which connects with Gengar's Shadow Punch, creating a point-blank explosion that knocks both Pokémon out, leaving both Trainers with only one Pokémon remaining.

Dwayne and Dwight call out Roselia and Quagsire, respectively. The battle starts with Quagsire using Water Gun, but Roselia dodges the attack, and retaliates with Petal Blizzard, but Quagsire defends itself by using Stockpike, increasing his defenses in the process. Dwight then orders Quagsire to use Amnesia to further increase his defenses before ordering a Mud Shot, but Roselia dodges, and follows up with Power Whip, and Quagsire uses Stockpile again to defend itself. Quagsire then grabs ahold of Roselia and hits her with a point-blank Water Gun and Mud Shot combo, causing considerable damage. Dwight orders another Water Gun, but Roselia dodges and strikes Quagsire afterwards with Bullet Seed. As Roselia starts to pant from exhaustion, Quagsire simply remains still, without any visible exhaustion, and Dwayne orders Roselia to use Solar Beam. Dwight frantically orders Quagsire to use Amnesia and Stockpile to increase his Defenses, and it does so just as Draco Meteor connects. As the smoke clears, Quagsire remains standing still, and Dwight assumes that Quagsire withstood the attacks, but as Dwight commands another Water Gun, Quagsire doesn't respond and subsequently falls down, knocked out, and Dwayne wins the battle.

Dwight recalls Quagsire and says that the victory was a fluke, but Jade simply tells Dwight to take the loss with dignity and congratulates Dwayne on his victory. As Dwayne and Jade keep chatting, a thunderbolt strikes the ground nearby. With the bad weather, Dwayne orders everyone to go back to the Pokémon Center. However, Roselia starts running towards the opposite direction, and Dwayne and Jade begin chasing after it as Dwight doesn't remains still and unaware of his surroundings due to the shock of his loss still affecting him. As Dwayne and Jade chase after Roselia, the source of the thunderstorm is revealed to be the Miracle Crystal. Under the control of Fabius, Harlynn, and a mecha, it is now attracting Pokémon from all over the area. There is no sign of Raikou yet, but Fabius assumes that making trouble with the Pokémon will make it more likely for Raikou to turn up. A Raichu tries to stop them, but an electric blast from the crystal quickly defeats it and the other Pokémon.

Harlynn continues to grab the attracted Pokémon with the mecha's robotic claws. Roselia, Dwayne, and Jade come upon the scene as a different, yellow-colored thundercloud appears in the distance. The legendary Raikou appears from the yellow thundercloud in a burst of lightning, and its arrival is welcomed by Fabius and Harlynn. Dwayne checks his Pokédex for details, and he is surprised to see a living legend. Raikou leaps down from a mountain summit and rescues the Pokémon with grace. Harlynn tries to grab Raikou, but it leaps into the air. Raikou retaliates with a Thunderbolt that is sucked into the crystal. Though it keeps attacking, the powerful Electric attacks are just sent right back at Raikou. As Fabius points out, the more Raikou fights, the stronger the crystal will get. Raikou collapses, but before Harlynn can capture it, Dwayne runs forward, telling them to stop. Roselia jumps in front of him, ready to battle, while Harlynn sends out Magnezone and Fabius sends out his Shiny Onix. Fabius warns Dwayne to leave or be destroyed. Jade calls out to Dwayne, but Dwayne ignores it. Dwayne sternly warns them to let Raikou go or they’ll have to deal with him.

The tense exchange of words between Fabius and Harlynn against Dwayne erupts into a battle. Magnezone begins with a Flash Cannon while Roselia responds with Solar Beam. Onix counters with Dragon Breath, stopping the Flash Cannon as well as inflicting damage on Roselia. After Dwayne gives some words of encouragement, Roselia endures the Dragon Breath and starts making her way over to Onix, but is hit by Magnezone's Gyro Ball. With Roselia struggling to get back up, Fabius uses the crystal to further weaken Raikou. After seeing Raikou in even more excruciating pain, Jade enters the battle with her Kangaskhan. Onix goes to use Slam, but Kangaskhan dodges and retaliates with Water Pulse, and follows up by using Return on Magnezone. While Magnezone and Onix are incapacitated by Kangaskhan, Fabius returns his attention to Raikou. Roselia then recovers and destroys the mecha's claws with Petal Blizzard. With no means to capture Raikou, Fabius orders a retreat. Harlynn creates a smokescreen, and they successfully manage to escape. Raikou turns to leave, but Dwayne calls after it and offers help. Raikou hits Dwayne with an electric bolt, throwing him back. Dwayne gets back up again, narrowly missing another attack. The two stare each other down, until Dwayne makes a step forward. Raikou goes to shock him again, but is countered by a blast from Roselia. Dwayne assures Raikou that they want to help it, promising that it can trust him. Raikou then collapses.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Professor Elm calls them via a videophone and tells Dwayne and Jade that there is a danger that Raikou will become withdrawn, depressed and not heal properly because it is in captivity. Dwayne decides that singing it a song may help, and while Professor Elm admits that that isn't a bad idea, he tells them that the important thing is to set it free as soon as it is healed. News of Raikou spreads, but Chansey guards the door to the operation ward so that only Dwayne is allowed to watch Nurse Joy treat the Legendary Pokémon. Meanwhile, Fabius and Harlynn work on repairing their machine.

That evening, as Raikou sleeps, Jade tries to cheer Dwayne up. She hands Dwayne a drink while he continues to watch Raikou’s progress. Suddenly, a man barges in and demands to see Raikou. Jade becomes angered with him and asks his name, but then Officer Jenny leads another man to them. The first man is Eusine and the second is Kudo, and they appear to know each other. Eusine explains that since Raikou can control thunderstorms and lightning, men have always hunted it to capture it and harness its power; because of this, Raikou does not trust humans. Kudo says that Raikou thinks that all humans are the same, but Dwayne believes that it can sense who its friends and enemies are. Officer Jenny reveals that the notorious Chaotic Couple are behind the latest attack on Raikou, and Eusine personally assigns himself the role of protecting it. The following morning, Raikou wakes up and is strong enough to break the glass in the Pokémon Center with electricity. Dwayne introduces himself, but Raikou just sends more electricity his way. As the others appear, Raikou blows a hole in the wall and runs off. The clouds that the crystal created have returned, and Raikou runs right back into the couple's trap. Eusine tells Dwayne and Jade to get into his car so that they can follow it.

Raikou soon appears in front of Fabius and Harlynn, who introduce themselves as its new masters. Raikou replies with another lightning bolt to the crystal, which just powers it up even more. Fabius sends out Onix to agitate Raikou into inadvertently giving more electricity to the crystal, which then sends out electricity everywhere. Next, Onix uses Dig and causes serious damage to Raikou. Suddenly, Eusine's car appears and Dwayne gets out. After Dwayne demands that they stop attacking Raikou, Fabius explains to him that they aren't doing anything that he didn't do with his Roselia. Dwayne disagrees, telling them to fight Raikou fairly. Fabius tells Dwayne that one doesn't profit by fighting fairly. Dwayne tells them that what they're doing is wrong, but they respond that they're simply acting like all Pokémon Trainers. Dwayne tells them that they don't understand Pokémon Trainers at all. He declares that battling is about self-improvement and the love of the contest, and not to steal the powers of a legendary creature for criminal motives, and tells the duo that he'll either save Raikou from them, or die trying, and Fabius says that it'll most likely be the latter.

As the Raikou jumps into battle, it is hit by the crystal's electricity. But before anyone can release a Pokémon, Onix uses Rock Throw on Dwayne and Jade. One large rock is heading straight for them, yet before they are hit, a beam from somewhere destroys it. Looking to where the beam came from, they see Dwight and his Haxorus, who says that he was there to save them, and mostly protect Jade. Dwight orders Haxorus to use Dragon Pulse, but it barely leaves a mark on Onix. Fabius orders Onix to retaliate with Slam, which Haxorus and Dwight narrowly avoid. Onix lashes at the trio with another Slam and follows up with a Rock Throw. Eusine goes to save them, but the falling Rock Throw prevents him from doing so.

Meanwhile, Raikou has collapsed from Miracle Crystal’s rebounded electric attacks. Harlynn then activates the capture bubble. The wall of purple energy slowly swells and causes extreme pain to Raikou as soon as it is trapped inside. Roselia blasts the bubble with a Power Whip, which concerns Fabius, who explains that the system is only designed to absorb electricity—it doesn't know how to handle any other form of energy. As Roselia begins to push the bubble back, Jade's Kangaskhan and Dwight's Haxorus join in with Power-Up Punch and Strength, respectively. Onix tries to use Dragon Breath to knock everyone out of the way, but the capture bubble explodes. Harlynn quickly grabs Raikou with her mecha’s claws and puts it into the cargo hold. The duo quickly fly off, but with Jade and Kangaskhan trapped inside with Raikou.

Raikou tries to blow its way out, but the walls are non-conductive. It then tries tackling the walls, but they are too strong for that to work either. Jade tries to calm Raikou down and promises to find a way out. During its rampage, Raikou scrapes away a piece of the floor. Jade sees some wires and yanks them apart, which makes the door open. They are too high up for Jade to be able to safely escape, but since Raikou can make the jump, she encourages it to free itself. Fabius activates the emergency override, but Raikou escapes before the door closes. The engines of the aircraft begin to fail as well, causing it to lose altitude. As the couple prepare to get Raikou back, it watches as they move away with Jade still trapped. Dwight panics while Dwayne tries to think of a new plan. Eusine tells him that the first rule of any rescue operation is to remain calm and urges him to remain calm like Dwayne. Dwayne decides to try contacting Jade using his Pokégear. They call her and have a brief but frantic exchange of words before Harlynn crushes Jade's Pokégear in her hand. Eusine suggests that they use the call log data to locate Jade.

Fabius and Harlynn land their aircraft once again and reactivate the Miracle Crystal in a bid to lure Raikou. Having seen the dark clouds reappear, Eusine, Dwayne, and Dwight drive cross-country towards the crystal. When they arrive, Dwight demands to see Jade, who is tied up but otherwise okay. Dwayne tells them to let Jade and Raikou go, but Eusine realizes that since Fabius and Harlynn has activated the crystal, they must not have Raikou. Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning hits the crystal, and it seems that Raikou is planning to attack from outside of the crystal's range. Raikou is stronger than ever, but the group is right in the line of fire.

As electricity reflects off of the crystal and fires everywhere, Jade falls from the cliff she was on, but is rescued by Roselia. Harlynn releases Magnezone to attack Roselia with Tri Attack, which causes it to drop Jade. Both Dwayne and Dwight run to catch her, but Dwight trips and lands on his face, with Jade landing on top of him. Dwayne ensures that Jade is okay, but Dwight interrupts their private moment to remind them that he is the one that Jade fell on. Fabius then cuts in by ordering Onix to use Slam. Just as Eusine is about to send in his own Pokemon to save them, Raikou leaps in and attacks Onix head-on. Raikou then attacks Harlynn's mecha, tearing the control panel apart. Harlynn jumps out of the way and she has Magnezone swoop down with an Electro Ball. Raikou chews through a final wire before running away as the control panel explodes, blasting Magnezone back. The purple glow around the Miracle Crystal disappears.

The group wonders why Raikou risked battling face-to-face when it had initially been attacking from above. Dwayne realizes that Raikou does not just protect Electric-type Pokémon; it protects its friends, and considers the group to be so. Although they cannot control the crystal anymore, Fabius and Harlynn are still around. The reason for this appears when Raikou attacks them—the electricity is still drawn to the crystal, which sends a powerful blast back. Fabius explains that if the control panel is destroyed, the crystal will run on "auto-destruct," which means that its power is now twice as focused. The crystal hones in on Raikou, and then turns black. Its electric hooks sink into Raikou and pull it inwards. Fabius explains that it is impossible for Raikou to escape now. Fabius taunts that their legend will last forever as they have brains and science on their side, but Dwayne, Dwight, and Felicia will not let that happen. They send out Roselia, Kangaskhan, and Haxorus. Roselia uses Solar Beam, but the field now surrounding Raikou stops it. Dwayne suggests using combined forces again. Eusine interjects and he warns that if the field explodes with Raikou trapped inside, then the blast would be so powerful that it would destroy even Raikou.

With Raikou drained of its electricity, Eusine says that their only hope is the "all or nothing" plan. They would have to break the field open, grab Raikou, and then get out before the explosion, but whoever goes in might never come out. After a moment of deep consideration, Roselia volunteers herself. As Roselia runs forward, so do Kangaskhan and Haxorus. Magnezone and Onix attack, but Eusine sends out Alakazam to provide enough of a distraction to let the other Pokémon pass through. Roselia uses Power Whip on the field, while Haxorus uses Dual Chop. Fabius then sends his Muk into the battle to use Sludge Bomb. Kangaskhan counters with Rock Slide, but is hit by Magnezone's Gyro Ball. Magnezone then flies up to avoid Alakazam's Psybeam. While this is going on, Haxorus and Roselia begin to drain energy from the crystal's force field. Raikou wakes up, allowing it to flee on its own if they are successful, giving the other Pokémon enough time to get away.

Fabius orders Onix to use Dragon Breath on the Trainers, but Dwayne tells the Pokémon to concentrate on saving Raikou. As Muk bombards Kangaskhan with Sludge Bomb and Magnezone jabs Roselia with Gyro Ball, Onix goes after Dwayne, who has run to the edge of a cliff. Dwayne provokes Onix by saying that it couldn't crack a potato chip and is rescued from the attack by Alakazam, leaving Onix to fall into the river below. With Kangaskhan and Alakazam now keeping Magnezone and Muk in check with their attacks, Roselia and Haxorus have nearly broken the field, but they still don't have enough power. Suddenly, Roselia has an idea and yells out while looking at Dwayne, who questions what Roselia wanted. Roselia looks at his bag, Dwayne immediately realizes her intentions. He retrieves the Shiny Stone from his bag and throws it to Roselia, who upon contact with it, evolves into Roserade, allowing her to gain a power boost against the field. Onix suddenly bursts from the ground and prepares to attack Roserade and Haxorus, but Dwayne, Jade, and Dwight stand to defend their Pokémon. Eusine tells them to get out of the way, but Raikou breaks the field with a powerful electric attack that knocks Onix back. As the crystal cracks, Fabius and Harlynn realize that the ultimate system has met the ultimate Pokémon. They then run away, leaving becoming legends for another day.

While the Trainers celebrate, Raikou breaks the crystal once and for all. Sunlight begins to filter through the dark clouds. Eusine, Dwayne, Jade, and Dwight all thank Raikou for saving them before it runs off, safe again at last. As they see Raikou take off, Roserade loses balance due to exhaustion and begins to fall, but Dwayne catches her, and after expressing that he was proud of her, asks if she was okay, and Roserade responds with a hug.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Dwayne heals his Pokémon and asks Jade about her journey, and Jade says she already won four Badges, and shows off her Hive Badge, Glacier Badge, Rising Badge, and Plain Badge. Dwayne then challenges Jade to a battle, and she accepts, wanting to see Dwayne's progress, and Dwight decides to watch the battle.

At the battlefield, Jade sends out her Scyther while Ryder chooses Roserade. Jade starts off by ordering a Slash, but Roserade dodges by jumping, and follows up with a Bullet Seed, but Scyther swiftly dodges the attack. Dwayne then orders Roserade to use Poison Sting, and Scyther gets hit, but quickly recovers and uses Air Slash, and Roserade gets hit. Jade tells Scyther to use Psycho Cut, but Roserade counters with Petal Blizzard, and Roserade strikes directly against Scyther, who gets knocked out as a result. Jade recalls Scyther and praises Roserade's power and says that she had truly become an incredible source of power, and Roserade smiles at her compliment.

Dwight then says that Dwayne was truly very talented, and apologizes for his earlier comments, but continues to say that he wouldn't give up on trying to win over Jade, and Jade tells him that he'll have to wait an entire lifetime, but nonetheless, thanked him for helping not only save Raikou, but herself, too. Dwight blushes and says that he was only trying to act cool, but Dwayne remarks that Dwight was genuinely a good person, but Dwight tells him to keep quiet and walks off, and Jade does admit that despite Dwight being quite annoying and arrogant, he's a truly kind person at heart. Jade then asks where would Dwayne head next, and Dwayne says he was going to Olivine City. Jade wishes him luck, and says that she knows Dwayne would win his next Badge. Dwayne thanks her and departs as Jade waves him goodbye.

As Dwayne reaches Olivine City, he makes his way into the Olivine Gym, hoping to just breeze though the battle. When he approaches the Trainer box, a girl comes out, claiming herself to be the Gym Leader, Jasmine. Dwayne seems to believe her and challenges "Jasmine" to a fight. "Jasmine" declares that the match will a three-on-three and she selects an Onix which seems to be coated with something. On impulse, Dwayne calls out Chikorita to make short work of the Rock-type. Dwayne commands Chikorita to use Razor Leaf. The attack is effective at first but somehow, the Onix breaks through and knocks Chikorita out with a single Tackle. A voice calls for the match to stop, and it is revealed to be the real Jasmine, much to Dwayne's surprise. Jasmine reveals that the girl is her apprentice, Janina, and calls for her young apprentice to pay a visit to her office immediately. Janina apologizes to Dwayne for the false match before explaining her conduct to Jasmine. Janina admits that she covered her Onix in repellent wax. Jasmine is deeply disappointed and expels her young apprentice to allow her time to learn to truly communicate with her Pokemon. Janina leaves the Gym feeling upset, and Jasmine offers Dwayne her sincerest apologies. She admits that she would gladly battle him, though she is too exhausted from being concerned about Amphy. Jasmine suddenly receives a call and leaves the Gym to immediately attend to the urgent matter.

Dwayne ventures over to a park to decide on what he should do next, and expresses confusion on who Amphy is or when Jasmine might battle him. Dwayne spots Janina in a sandbox, and she admits that she is scrubbing off the repellent wax that she used on Onix. The revelation explains why Chikorita lost earlier. Dwayne is initially disappointed, but he informs Janina that she has to focus on building up her Pokemon’s natural strengths. Janina is encouraged by the advice, admitting that Jasmine said something similar before. Dwayne is suddenly reminded about Jasmine and asks where she might be, and Janina explains that Jasmine has been up to something at the Glitter Lighthouse, and Dwayne decides to check it out.

Dwayne heads to the pier, and spots two lighthouses. Dwayne reads his guidebook which reveals that the smaller lighthouse is the oldest of the pair, and is known as the Glitter Lighthouse. Upon reaching the top, Dwayne finds Jasmine, her grandfather Myron, and an Ampharos that seems to be ill. Dwayne questions the Ampharos's sickness, and Myron explains that this Ampharos is the light source for the lighthouse because its tail creates quite a glow. The Glitter Lighthouse used to be the main lighthouse, but an electric lighthouse has since taken over. He says that he ordered a cure from the pharmacy in Cianwood City, but neither he nor Jasmine has any time to get it, and Dwayne offers to go get the medicine. Myron informs her that Cianwood City has a Gym, so Dwayne accompanies Janina on the ship bound for Cianwood City.

After Dwayne and Janina arrive in Cianwood City, they make a stop at the local pharmacy where Janina picks up the medicine to help Amphy back in Olivine City. The pharmacist informs them that an express ferry to Olivine City will get back before nightfall. Later, Dwayne watches from a pier as Janina leaves aboard the express ferry. Sudden noises catch Dwayne's attention, and it turns out to be Anthony training alongside a man, with a Machoke and a Machamp. When Dwayne sees them, the Machamp suddenly sprints towards him and tackles him to the ground, and begins playfully battering him with his arms. Dwayne then realizes that this Machamp was his Machoke, and Anthony confirms, saying that he had evolved during their training together.

Upon hearing this, Dwayne asks Anthony why didn't he bring Machamp to him during the Indigo League as promised, and Anthony sheepishly replies that he and Machamp had traveled to Mt. Mortar for training and lost the passage of time, and once they realized the Indigo League was over, they decided to train with Chuck to further enhance their strength before sending Machamp back to him. When Dwayne questions who Chuck is, the man whom Anthony was training with responds by claiming he was Chuck, the Cianwood City Gym Leader. Chuck deduces that Dwayne is a Trainer wanting a Gym battle, to which Dwayne confirms. With a twinkle in his eye, Chuck has Dwayne march double time over to the Cianwood Gym. Once there, all of Chuck's students and Fighting-type Pokémon come running out of the entrance to meet their master. Soon, everyone sits around a dining table for some nutrient rich food. Chuck's wife, who is busy bring out more dishes, approaches Dwayne and asks her if he is here to battle for a Storm Badge. When Dwayne says yes, Chuck's wife says that he should have no problem beating her flabby husband, though Chuck retorts the insults.

Later, Chuck leaves the dinner table, ready to have the Gym match for the Storm Badge. Everyone makes their way to the Gym floor, where the referee announces the conditions of the Gym match. Chuck declares that he is using his Machoke and Poliwrath before calling on Poliwrath first. Dwayne selects Chikorita for her type advantage, and orders an Energy Ball attack, which Poliwrath dodges. After two miss, the third Energy Ball hits Poliwrath. Dwayne orders Chikorita into a Vine Whip while Chuck tells Poliwrath to focus its energy. The Vine Whip has no effect on Poliwrath and Chikorita ricochets onto the ground when Poliwrath pulls Chikorita through her vines. Chuck then orders a Double Slap attack which knocks Chikorita out of the battle. Chuck starts to cry and acknowledge that even tough guys do the same. Dwayne thanks Chikorita for doing a good job and tells her to get a little rest.

After some thought, Dwayne calls for Machamp, who was watching the battle from the stands, and asks if he wanted to battle alongside him. Without a second thought, Machamp leaps into the battlefield, ready to battle together with Dwayne. Poliwrath attacks with Ice Punch, but Machamp dodges and knocks out Poliwrath with a single Bullet Punch. Chuck turns his attention to Machoke and says that the time has come to battle. He orders his Machoke to attack him with a Karate Chop to psyche both himself and Machoke for the round ahead.

Machoke attempts to attack Machamp with many Karate Chops, with Machamp avoiding them as best as he can until he is struck onto the ground. Chuck then crosses his arms and orders Machoke to do a Cross Chop attack. Dwayne then orders Machamp to use Bullet Punch, preventing the Cross Chop attack. Dwayne then orders Machamp to use his own Cross Chop attack, and Machamp strikes Machoke head-on. Chuck then orders Machoke to use Mega Punch, but Machamp manages to grab hold of both of Machoke's arms. With his two extra arms remanining, Machamp strikes Machoke with a devastating Dynamic Punch, which leaves Machoke confused. As Chuck pleads for Machoke to get ahold of himself, Dwayne tells Machamp to finish it off with a Dual Chop, which knocks out Machoke, giving Dwayne and Machamp the victory, and the two celebrate with a dance. Afterwards, Chuck compliments Dwayne's strength and gifts him the Storm Badge as proof of his victory. Outside the Gym, Dwayne thanks Chuck for the battle, and Anthony says that it was clear that Machamp's training was fulfilled and tells Machamp to return to Dwayne's side. Machamp and Anthony shake hands, before walking away with Dwayne. At the Pokémon Center, Dwayne sends Machamp to Professor Oak's Laboratory, telling him to get some well-earned rest and promises to bring him back to compete at the Johto League.

At night, Dwayne contacts Janina on the videophone. Janina informs him that while Amphy is feeling much better thanks to the medicine, Jasmine still needs some time before she resumes her Gym Leader duties. Dwayne fully understands the situation and thanks Janina before hanging up. Chuck and his wife overhear the news, and they suggest him travel to the Whirl Islands. Dwayne decides to travel to the Whirl Islands after learning that the archipelago has mysterious Pokémon. Chuck's wife then gifts Dwayne a card that will pay for his ferry passage. The next day, Dwayne boards the ship bound for the Whirl Islands. Chuck, his wife and Machoke wave goodbye to him as the ship sails away from Cianwood City.

Dwayne's ferry soon approaches several large whirlpools, instantly alarming him. However, two attendants on the ferry offer him drinks and assure them that it's all right, as they pass through the sea of whirlpools harmlessly. Dwayne looks overboard and gazes at the ocean, and suddenly, he watches as a mysterious silhouette swims underneath the ferry and hears a peculiar call. Then, Dwayne hears someone calling out to him, and turns around to see Professor Elm. Professor Elm and Dwayne spend some time catching up, and Captain Marius then enters the room and introduces himself. Soon Marius drives his ship to Blue Point Isle's Inland City, the entry way to the Whirl Islands. Dwayne notices the city is particularly colorful, and Marius and Elm informs him that it is all for the upcoming Whirl Cup, a Water battle tournament held every three years. Dwayne is instantly keen to compete, and Professor Elm explains that the event is more than a month away.

After arriving on the island, Dwayne decides to go to the Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy hands him an official Whirl Cup guidebook and registers him for the competition. Dwayne then hears a familiar voice and turns around to see Martinez waving at him, and greets him. Dwayne asks what Martinez was doing there, and Martinez reveals that he was also competing in the Whirl Cup, much to Dwayne's surprise. Martinez asks what Water-type Pokémon would Dwayne be using, and Dwayne says he would transfer his Wartortle to his team. However, Martinez asks about his second one, Dwayne freezes up, and Martinez explains that during the Whirl Cup, Trainers require more than one Water-type Pokémon and Dwayne admits having only Wartortle, and Martinez urges Dwayne to catch a second Water-type, otherwise he wouldn't even be eligible to compete. Elm shows Dwayne a map of the Whirl Islands and says that the Whirl Cup will be held on Red Rock Isle.

Later, Marius and Elm are busy preparing a submersible machine for their next expedition. Dwayne approaches them about the mysterious creature he saw earlier. Captain Marius is unsurprised and hints that local legends of such a creature do exist. Elm admits that the world of Pokémon is full of mysteries and admits that these mysteries have motivated his research and clarifies that he is currently investigating the ocean because it thought to be the origin of all life. Elm then reminds Dwayne to catch a Water-type Pokémon for the tournament, and also informs him he needs to travel to Bluefinland to catch a ferry. Dwayne thanks him, and bids him, Marcius, and Martinez goodbye, going by foot to Bluefinland, hoping to catch a Water-type Pokémon en route.

Arriving at the city of Blue Lagoon, Dwayne sees the giant lake, and decides to explore in hopes to catch a Water-type Pokémon. Heading into the nearby forest, Dwayne grabs a fishing rod and begins fishing for a Water-type Pokémon. Suddenly, Dwayne gets something on his line and begins to reel it in, only for it to be revealed as a tea kettle. A frustrated Dwayne groans in disappointment. Suddenly, a Totodile reveals itself to him, dancing on a rock in the stream. Before Dwayne can throw his Poké Ball, however, a lure speeds besides him towards Totodile, who chomps down on it. Dwayne turns around to see a blonde girl, whose lure belongs to, and Dwayne complains that he saw Totodile first, and Totodile spits the lure out. Dwayne uses this as an opportunity to have Roserade attack it, using Power Whip. Now stunned, Dwayne throws a Poké Ball. Dwayne and the girl begin to argue, but the Poké Ball does not hold, and Totodile pops out of it on their side of the riverbank. Dwayne complains and tells Roserade to attack again, but the girl interrupts, throwing her own Poké Ball. This time, Totodile dodges it completely and uses Water Gun to blast the Poké Ball, as well as Roserade and the two Trainers into the grass. The three climb out, but Totodile is gone. Dwayne and the girl both express their goal to catch it. Dwayne asks for her name, and she introduces herself as Sydney from Goldenrod City.

Dwayne and Sydney finally locate Totodile, and both prepare to catch it. Sydney decides to use her Lure Ball because of its better chance of catching Water-types, and Dwayne pulls out his own Lure Ball in anticipation. The two throw the Lure Balls at the same time, and Totodile jumps as it is hit by both at the same time. The two Balls land behind a bush and Totodile is successfully caught, unseen by anyone. Due to the fact that both of them used a Lure Ball, no one can tell who threw it. Dwayne and Sydney begin arguing again, but they ultimately decide whose Totodile it is through the only way they know how: a Pokémon battle. The pair agree to a two-on-two match.

Dwayne decides to use start with Scizor while Sydney chooses her Staryu. Dwayne opens the fight with an X-Scissor, but Staryu avoids it and uses Swift. Scizor responds with a Metal Claw. Sydney commands a Water Gun, but Scizor withstands the attack with ease. Dwayne then tells Scizor to use X-Scissor again, but it misses as Staryu jumps again to use Tackle. With a quick move, however, Scizor evades the Tackle and hits it with a devastating Hyper Beam. Staryu's central core begins to flicker and Dwayne wins the first round.

Sydney brings out her Skiploom and Dwayne decides to choose Heracross as his next Pokémon. Skiploom and Heracross clash with their Aerial Ace and Megahorn, respectively. Heracross follows up with Fury Attack and lands a direct hit, before Skiploom uses Aerial Ace again, which Dwayne allows to land, much to Sydney's confusion. Then, Dwayne orders Heracross to use Reversal, and Heracross strikes Skiploom with the attack, causing massive damage. With the battle near its end, Sydney assumes defeat, but Skiploom is soon enveloped in a white light and evolves into a Jumpluff. Dwayne expresses surprise, but nonetheless commands a Megahorn from Heracross. Jumpluff uses Cotton Guard to increate its defenses, allowing it to withstand the attack, before using Dazzling Gleam, badly hurting Heracross. Sydney then orders Jumpluff to use Solar Beam, and the attack begins charging. Knowing that Heracross couldn't withstand the attack, Dwayne tells Heracross to use try and use Fury Attack. However, Heracross insteads charging an attack on his arms, and Sydney recognizes it as Focus Punch, and Heracross charges towards Jumpluff. Just as Jumpluff's attack gets fully charged, Heracross successfully manages to hit with Focus Punch, and Jumpluff gets knocked down the ground, unable to continue, giving Dwayne the victory.

Sydney recalls Jumpluff, thanking it for the effort, and congratulates Dwayne on defeating her, and hands him the Lure Ball that contains Totodile, saying he earned it. Dwayne thanks her, and Sydney asks if Dwayne was collecting Badges, which Dwayne confirms. Sydney then shows off her four Badges, and says she's also looking to compete in the Johto League, and hopes to meet him there. Both Trainers shake hands, having forged a new rivalry with each other, and Sydney runs off, looking for more Pokémon to capture.

After catching the ferry, Dwayne travels to Red Rock Isle to prepare for the Whirl Cup. Finally arriving in Scarlet City, Dwayne registers for the preliminaries at the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy hands him a map of the tournament grounds, and explains that Dwayne will be competing in Stadium A. Joy runs through her database and reveals that two wins will be required to enter the actual Whirl Cup event, as only 64 competitors can qualify. The next day, the preliminary matches begin. Dwayne has Totodile go up against a Trainer and his Seel. Totodlie's fancy footwork helps it avoid the several Ice Beam, and it knocks Seel out with a single Water Gun attack. In Stadium B, Martinez's first round goes well, and his Feraligatr Brick Breaks a Magikarp out of the competition. Dwayne breezes through his second round defeating a Shellder with Totodile. In Martinez's second round, Feraligatr easily knocks out a Seaking with Dragon Claw to give his second win, allowing him to advance into the Whirl Cup tournament.

The next day, the finalist Trainers await at a cliff to watch the Whirl Cup Stadium, partially flooded, rise from the swirling seas. The announcer explains the history of the event and brings everyone's attention to the Sea Priestess, Maya. She congratulates them as well as wishing them a little luck. Maya shines her Great Sea Spirit Sapphire towards the sun and evokes the Sea Spirit Union, and a blue light washes over the entire stadium complex to bring forth the energy of all Water Pokémon. The announcer declares that prize given to the crowned Alpha Omega will be is a Mystic Water pendant.

Dwayne and Martinez breeze through the tournament, easily defeating each of their opponents before ultimately meeting each other in the finals. When the finals begin, Dwayne chooses Totodile while Martinez chooses his Kingdra. Dwayne takes the lead and commands Totodile to dive under the water, but Kingdra counters with a Twister. Martinez orders Kingdra to stop the Twister causing Totodile to freefall. Kingdra aims a Dragon Breath, but Totodile lands on one of the platforms. Martinez decides a Hydro Pump is in order, but Totodile simply walks along the attack and gets close enough to do a Slash attack. Kingdra dives to evade and Totodile does the same. Kingdra releases a Smokescreen to cloud the water. With no other option, Dwayne tells Totodile to jump out of the water. The battle comes to a standstill as Dwayne anticipates Kingdra's next move. Totodile begins to dance around, and this sign reassures Dwayne that everything will be fine. Fed up, Martinez has Kingdra resurface and try another Hydro Pump. Though Totodile Crunches onto Kingdra's snout, effectively stopping the Hydro Pump. With Kingdra being unable to release the water, it swells to enormous proportions as a result. After a while, Totodile releases its jaw and Kingdra goes flying across the stadium. It hits the water field hard and floats to the surface, knocked out.

Martinez recalls Kingdra and chooses Feraligatr as his final choice. Feraligatr starts off with a Water Gun, but Totodile dodges and shoots a Hydro Pump, and both attacks clash, but Totodile's Hydro Pump proves stronger, although Feraligatr dives underwater at the last second to dodge the attack. When Totodile dives in after him, Martinez tells Feraligatr to use Ice Punch, and the attack freezes Totodile as when underwater, it was easier to freeze him due to the water surrounding them. As Totodile remains unable to move, Feraligatr knocks it out with a barrage of Brick Break and Dragon Claw.

Dwayne recalls Totodile and chooses Wartortle as his second Pokémon. Feraligatr begins the second round by shooting a Water Gun, but Wartortle dissipates the attack with a Rapid Spin. Seeing that this tactic won't work, Martinez orders use Brick Break. Feraligatr charges foward with the attack, and Dwayne orders Wartortle to use Skull Bash. The two attacks explode after a brief clash, knocking Wartortle back, but Feraligatr took refuge in the waters just before the attacks exploded. Taking advantage of this, Feraligatr strikes Wartortle with a Dragon Claw attack. Martinez then orders Feraligatr to use Water Gun again, just as Wartortle has recovered. Dwayne tells Wartortle to dive underwater to dodge, but Feraligatr cancels the Water Gun and switches to Ice Punch on the water, which freezes Wartortle underwater. Dwayne tells Wartortle to try and break the ice, but Wartortle is unable to, and Martinez orders Feraligatr to end the battle by using Dragon Claw, and Feraligatr easily cuts through the ice, and lands a direct hit onto Wartortle's head, and Wartortle resurfaces, knocked out from the attack, and Martinez is the declared not only the winner of the battle, but of the Whirl Cup.

Martinez is awarded the Mystic Water pendant, and everyone applauds him for his performance. Maya once again raises her staff up towards the setting sun and it starts to glow. The next day, Dwayne and Martinez watch the Colosseum once again flood as they marvel at the sight before them. Afterwards, Dwayne and Martinez part ways, but before leaving, however, Martinez gifts Dwayne with a Silver Wing, and explains that it was made on Silver Rock Isle, and he informs Dwayne that a ferry from Transit Town will help him reach the island. Dwayne is keen to go and admits that Silver Rock Isle may reveal more about the mysterious Pokémon he encountered earlier. Later, Dwayne boards a boat and it speeds towards his next destination, Silver Rock Isle.

When Dwayne arrives at the island, he is greeted by a Pikachu, and seconds later, Dwayne sees Lagi walking up behind him, and both Trainers greet each other. Dwayne asks what Lagi is doing here. Lagi explains that after the Indigo Plateau Conference, he heard about a mysterious Pokémon in the Whirl Islands. His extensive research has lead him to Ogi Isle, and Dwayne recalls his own encounter with something near Blue Rock Isle. Lagi points out a nearby island, and soon he and Dwayne row over to it.

Meanwhile, on the island, a local boy, Oliver plays with his Lanturn and good friend Silver, who remains only a shadow silhouette underwater. He soon spots the group's rowboat and calls for Silver to hide in the meantime. Dwayne and Lagi make land and introduce themselves to Oliver. Dwayne declares that they are looking for a mysterious Pokémon. Oliver seems nervous, almost as if he was faking his uncertainty before swimming off to avoid more questions. Lagi is suspicious, but with no answer, he and Dwayne go off to comb the island. When the coast is clear, something pulls Oliver under the water, his friend Silver, a young Lugia.

Oliver thinks the coast is clear, but two scientists stream the footage of Silver back to another scientist, who is watching his operation closely from his underwater lab facility. Inside the base, the head scientist orders his hired guns to move forward and retrieve "mysterious Pokémon X", the code name for Silver. A submarine soon jets off from the base to complete the task. The two agents quickly net Silver. Oliver orders Lanturn to attack them, while he and Silver dive underwater to escape. As the three swim away, they are forced to change course when a submarine surfaces. The pursuit continues, and Oliver swims pass Dwayne and Lagi, with Silver instantly catching their attention.

Oliver swims towards the shore and Dwayne and Lagi. Suddenly, Fabius and Harlynn emerge from their submarine, and the duo and Dwayne instantly recognize each other. As Fabius casts a net out to catch Silver, Dwayne calls out Totodile, and he slashes the net. Fabius and Harlynn call out their Loudred and Nosepass, respectively. Totodile is struck down by Loudred's Uproar and Nosepass's Rock Blast. Lagi's Pupitar uses Take Down on Loudred. Loudred unleashes a Stomp, but it proves useless against Pupitar's hard shell. Nosepass approaches with a Zap Cannon, but Totodile and sends Nosepass flying back at Loudred with Hydro Pump, so Harlynn and Fabius quickly recall their Pokémon. Harlynn calls for a full steam ahead approach, but Pupitar whips up a Sandstorm, forcing Harlynn and Fabius to retreat, as Harlynn slowly starts to become angrier.

Dwayne pats Silver and Oliver admits that Silver cannot fly yet, making it vulnerable to being stolen and apologizes for lying earlier. With the child Lugia no longer a secret, they ask Oliver about it. Oliver explains that a week ago, he and Lanturn were caught in a storm while swimming. The waves were too rough and sent him under the water. Later, he found himself back on land with Silver by his side. Suddenly, the parent Lugia soon shows up in a rage. Dwayne notices a red light coming from his bag, and inside, his Silver Wing is beaming. Oliver and the others plead their cases, and Lugia settles down. Dwayne watches as his Silver Wing also settles and considers if it has some connection to Lugia. The parent nudges its child affectionately, and soon the pair dive into the water. Underwater, the parent Lugia is feeding the child, who then goes towards Dwayne, who joined them underwater, and gives him a playful headbutt.

As everyone rests an odd Lugia appears in the distance and calls Silver over. Lagi is quick to spot rivets on the Lugia's body and realizes everything is a ploy. Though it't too late as the Lugia robot cages Silver in time for Fabius and Harlynn to collect their catch. As Oliver swims closer on his Lanturn, and Dwayne and Lagi aboard a rowboat behind him, Fabius sends out a mechanical arm to collect Silver's cage. Dwayne sends out Totodile and he slices the claw with his Slash attack. Fabius sends out his Loudred, but Totodile uses a Crunch attack to make quick work of it. Harlynn orders her Nosepass to use Sandstorm to create a cover. Harlynn and Fabius grab Silver in its cage and begin their escape. Their large submarine knocks Oliver and the others into the ocean. Dwayne and the others stare hopelessly at the open waters as both the mercenaries and Silver are out of sight.

With the child Lugia now captured, the head scientist proudly stands in front of the new catch as it cries. Fabius and Harlynn show up and suggest they use the child Lugia as a lure to capture its parent. Later that night, the parent Lugia suddenly emerges from the sea as it frantically searches for its child. Oliver tries to calm Lugia down, but he is too upset by the situation and begins tearing up. The parent becomes enraged and releases a gigantic storm that wreaks havoc across the island and the neighboring one. The dreadful conditions forces everyone to seek shelter in a cave. The head scientist watches the scene from the safety of his underwater base.

Dwayne's Silver Wing continues to beam a frightening red light as Lugia continues its destruction. After a while in the cave, Dwayne decides that he is going to face Lugia and try to get it to believe them. Lagi agrees, and goes with Dwayne. However Lugia fires a beam at them, which they all dodge easily. This continues for a while until finally it's a now-or-never situation. Eventually, Lugia calms down and believes Dwayne and Lagi when they promise to find its child. Lugia stops the storm and flies away. With that, now they have a new objective, finding the enemy's base. Their Pokémon do a scout of the area but cannot find anything. Lagi notices the Silver Wing hadn't responded whatsoever, and considers that Fabius and Harlynn are likely still in the area hoping to catch the parent as well. Everyone decides an underwater search is in order. Soon enough, Oliver's Lanturn seems to have found something, so everyone puts on scuba gears and dives into the ocean. They don't find much, until they notice a small submarine and they follow it directly to the enemy's operational base.

The head scientist authorizes the next plan, and so the underwater base ascends to the surface. After the base had emerged, they place the child Lugia still in its cage and with some contraption onto the shore and wait for its parent to arrive. Oliver is keen to go as well, but Dwayne demands he wait as he could assist them from a distance. Dwayne and Lagi notice the parent zeroing in on its child and they try to warn it, though Fabius and Harlynn stand in their way. They send out Loudred and Nosepass, and Harlynn activates a special headband that powers up the two Pokémon. Dwayne and Lagi have Totodile and Pupitar use Water Gun and Dark Pulse to stop Lugia from falling for their trap. But Harlynn has Loudred aim an Echoed Voice at the pair. Dwayne and Lagi send out their own Fire power, Houndour and Charmeleon, respectively. The duo tries to keep Lugia at bay, but Harlynn and Fabius counter each of their attempts. Loudred knocks Houndour with its enraged Hyper Voice, while Charmeleon is recalled after being hit by a powerful Stone Edge. Dwayne and Lagi try to warn the parent again, but this time Lugia lashes out at them with an Aeroblast. Lugia reaches its child and the trap activates, holding Lugia captive in a field of energy.

The base soon returns to underwater. Dwayne wakes up later, only to find himself and Lagi in a cage. The head scientist, Fabius, and Harlynn gaze at their captured parent Lugia, and so they whisk the child off to another room. Dwayne and Lagi are determined to fulfill their promise to Lugia, but with their Poké Balls separated from them the situation looks dire. The lights suddenly come on and the head scientist greets his captives. He declares that Pokémon are designed to serve humanity, but Dwayne and Lagi refute these claims. The head scientist brags about his headband devices used by Fabius and Harlynn earlier, which harnesses the power of rage to make a Pokémon more powerful. He plans to do the same to Lugia, but he decides to demonstrate the technology on their Pokémon first.

Later, Oliver leaves to rescue Dwayne and Lagi. He and Lanturn locate their underwater base and Oliver slips inside through an opening. Oliver emerges from the ventilation system, but he is immediately spring by a guard. Oliver continues to struggle to free himself, but ultimately does so after kicking the guard in the groin. As the head scientist begins to choose which Pokémon to experiment on, Dwayne and Lagi distract him with their pleas. Oliver breaks in through a ventilation shaft and punches in the lock code, opening the door from the cage. Dwayne tackles the head scientist into a wall. He then breaks the mechanism and smashes the claw directly into the control console. Lagi also gathers his and Dwayne's Poké Balls. Dwayne and Lagi thank Oliver, but the head scientist presses an alert button, and as the group tries to leave the facility they find themselves surrounded by guards. Fabius and Harlynn call on their Pokémon with the power headbands on them. Nosepass starts off with a Zap Cannon and Loudred uses Stomp, but Totodile and Charmeleon easily dodge both attacks. Dwayne and Lagi have a plan though, they have their Pokémon aim their attacks at the gadgets. Totodile's Water Gun and Charmeleon's Flamethrower destroy the headbands as planned. With the Pokémon powerless, both Totodile and Charmeleon do a head on Slash attack and knock them out. The battle is cut short when the head scientist alerts Fabius and Harlynn to some activity in Lugia’s area.

Fabius and Harlynn arrive and are disturbed to see Lugia almost freeing itself, which it quickly does so. With that, the parent Lugia goes berserk on the base, firing a beam at random locations. The beam also causes a breach of the base's protective walls, which causes the base to rise to the surface. Dwayne and the others soon reach Silver, but the head scientist is standing in their way. He sends out an Electabuzz with the provoker headband device. Dwayne and Lagi send out their Houndour and Charmeleon to do the job. Electabuzz goes for a Thunder Punch, leaving a crater in the floor, but Houndour and Charmeleon manage to dodge the attack. They retaliate with a Flamethrower each, but Electabuzz uses Light Screen to the attack's power in half. Electabuzz unleashes a powerful Thunderbolt, hitting both Houndour and Charmeleon easily. The head scientist continues to dial up the rage level of his Electabuzz, making Houndour's and Charmeleon's attempts useless. Lagi suggests they aim for the controller in the head scientist's hands, and Dwayne agrees to the idea. Houndour acts a distraction, and while the head scientist focuses on the battle, Charmeleon delivers a direct hit with Flamethrower and breaks the controller. The Electabuzz snaps out of its rage, and the two Fire-type Pokémon perform a double Flamethrower attack to then knock it out. Afterwards, the group works on opening the Silver’s cage. Houndour and Charmeleon use Flamethrower to heat up the metal cage. Totodile follows up with a Water Gun attack to cool it down. The sudden changes in temperature causes the metal to become brittle. Pupitar bashes its way through the bars to free Silver. Oliver is glad to see his friend again, and the pair exchange a hug.

The parent Lugia continues to Aeroblast its way through the base, causing incredible damage. Dwayne and his friends wheel Silver through the hallways and stop when they spot its parent. Dwayne attempts to reason with Lugia, but it is too berserk to listen. Silver calls out to its parent, and this instantly calms Lugia down. Lagi looks above him and notices debris is about to hit everyone. They shield themselves in anticipation, but Lugia protects them from harm with its Protect. The group realizes Lugia now trusts them and they thank it. Soon they start to make their way out of the base and dive for the ocean. The base finally explodes, but the mighty ocean drags the debris down to the seafloor, although Harlynn and Fabius managed to escape.

By evening, everyone is back on shore. The two Lugia prepare to leave and soon swim out into the ocean depths. Oliver tears up as he watches his friend leave. Dwayne offers Oliver some comfort, and Oliver accepts that Silver may visit again sometime. The Lugia call out to Dwayne and the others and receive a wave goodbye in return. The next day, Lagi decides to explore the Whirl Islands further and promises to battle Dwayne the next time they meet. Oliver remains on Ogi Isle as well, while Dwayne continues towards Transit Town.

Taking the ferry off of Transit Town, Dwayne finally arrives back in Olivine City and immediately heads towards the Olvine Gym for his anticipated Gym battle with Jasmine. She greets Dwayne and accepts his challenge, warning him that she won't be going easy on him. Janina assumes the role of referee and declares the rules of the match, a two-on-two battle with no time limit. Jasmine calls out her Magnemite and Dwayne sends out Heracross. Heracross starts it off with a Megahorn, but Magnemite simply evades. Magnemite throws down a Thunder Wave back at Heracross, with Heracross dodging as well. Magnemite is worryingly fast and evades several Thunderbolt attacks with ease. Heracross also dodges Magnemite's Thunder Waves. Dwayne decides to take a direct hit from Magnemite. The tactic works as Magnemite is too exhausted to evade Heracross's Fury Attack. Magnemite floats back up but is clearly injured. It tries another Thunder Wave, but Heracross knocks it out with a Focus Punch, giving Dwayne the first round. Next up is Steelix; however, it has the advantage with Heracross fatigued from the last round. Heracross uses Horn Attack, but it has no effect on Steelix's hardened body. Steelix soon finishes Heracross off with Iron Tail.

Dwayne hopes a type advantage will give him the victory, so he calls Houndour onto the battlefield. He tells Houndour to use Flamethrower, but before Houndour's attack hits, Steelix whips up a Sandstorm to defend itself. When the Sandstorm has subsided, Dwayne realizes that Steelix has used Dig to go underground. Steelix pops out from under and uses Iron Tail, which Houndour easily dodges. After being busy with dodging, Houndour finally uses another Flamethrower on Steelix, but Steelix uses a Sandstorm defense and disappears underground. Steelix emerges soon after and tries to knock Houndour out with several Iron Tails. Dwayne has Houndour aim a Flamethrower at the wall, and it narrowly dodges an oncoming Iron Tail. Jasmine is impressed by the tactic, so she decides to step things up a notch. Steelix dives underground once again and it emerges in front of Houndour. As Steelix approaches with an Iron Tail, Houndour tries a Crunch attack. Steelix uses Sandstorm to blow him away. However, when Steelix stops for a moment, Houndour isn't there. Houndour soon appears from a hole behind Steelix and shoots out a Flamethrower at an advantage. Steelix gets hit, but it isn't quite down from the blow, getting mad instead. Houndour heads underground again, and Steelix strikes the ground with an Iron Tail. Dwayne is forced to retire his dive in the hole tactic and orders Houndour to resurface. Houndour tries to dodge an Iron Tail, though it gets smacked out of the ring.

Everyone thinks that Houndour is knocked out, but Houndour struggles back onto the field. Houndour collapses and Janina is about to make the final call, but Houndour recovers enough and upon regaining his footing, begins evolving into Houndoom. Steelix dives in for a Crunch attack and Houndoom evades. Houndoom tries another Flamethrower, and Steelix spins into its Sandstorm defense. This time, however, Houndoom switches from Flamethrower to Fire Blast. The Sandstorm eventually changes to a brazen red color, and the swirling vortex turns into a deadly and inescapable firestorm. Steelix stops twirling around, and a few anxious moments pass before it finally collapses from the searing heat. Janina officially calls the match and awards Dwayne the victory. Jasmine is impressed by Dwayne's skill and gives him the Mineral Badge in recognition of his efforts.

After leaving the Gym, Dwayne wonders where to go next, and Janina suggests him head over to Mahogany Town, and adds that cutting through Ecruteak City would be a shortcut. By sunset, Dwayne reaches the outskirts of Olivine City and his well on his way towards his next destination, Mahogany Town.

Continuing through a winding valley, Dwayne notices a small town up ahead. He reads his guidebook and declares that it is the township of Eggseter. Suddenly, Jade on a pulled skateboard by her Tauros passes by. Dwayne calls out to his rival and challenges her to a battle. Jade, however, declines. She explains that she and Tauros are entering the Extreme Pokémon Race before rushing off to continue her training. Dwayne gives chase, and watches in amazement as other Trainers also practice.

Later, Dwayne stops off in a restaurant and mumbles that he is worried about the collar around Tauros's neck. A man, Mr. Shellby, overhears the conversation and explains that Extreme Pokémon is a popular sport. With the mention of competition, Dwayne is determined to beat Jade in the upcoming Extreme Pokémon competition. Mr. Shellby offers to assist. During a Tauros cart ride, Mr. Shellby explains that he operates a local Pokémon Day Care Center, responsible for raising young Pokémon from Eggs. Dwayne soon arrives at Mr. Shellby's home and meets his wife Kimie. Dwayne looks around the home and see shelves full of Pokémon Eggs, and also meets some of the new hatchlings. Mr. Shellby then shows Dwayne to his old skateboard and lends it to him for the upcoming race. Dwayne rides down the sloping hills on the property and admits that he used to mountainboard back in Pallet Town.

During his practice, Dwayne hits a rock in his path, though Tauros comes to his rescue. Jade spots the skateboard and realizes that Dwayne is also entering the race. Dwayne is confident that he will win, and the rivals vow to do their best. Later, Dwayne considers which Pokémon to choose, and ultimately selects Houndoom.

Mr. Shellby interrupts Dwayne's practice to alert him to another condition of the race. He hands Dwayne a dummy Egg, which will be needed for the final leg of the race. The new addition takes Dwayne by surprise. Dwayne then returns to his training session, now with the dummy Egg in hand. On the day of the Eggseter Extreme Pokémon Race, the announcer explains that the competitors will make their way through the winding Eggseter Valley however they like, where the Shellby Ranch marks the first stop. Participants must then pick up a dummy Egg and race back to the starting line, concluding the event. The race begins at a rapid pace. Soon, a Trainer's Scyther soars into the air, knocking several contestants off their boards. Several competitors including Jade and Dwayne emerge from the subsequent dust cloud and continue racing ahead. Jade and Tauros take the lead during the mountainous section, and soon Dwayne catches up.

Dwayne and Jade are still in the lead, but the rest of the competitors are catching up. They are given their dummy Eggs by Mr. Shellby and continue the race. Jade is slightly ahead of Dwayne on the return. Dwayne then spots an overhanging cliff, and he uses it as a ramp to catch up to Jade. With the finish line in sight, Jade has Tauros speed up. Dwayne orders Houndoom to do the same, and once they cross the finish line, Houndoom's head is narrowly ahead, making for a photo finish victory for Dwayne. Jade is at first annoyed but takes it in good faith. Dwayne stands proudly on the winner's podium with the Golden Poké Ball trophy in hand, and Houndoom next to him with his own medal. Jade later congratulates Dwayne on the victory before waving goodbye.

Mr. Shellby and his wife then approache Dwayne and give him a Pokémon Egg as a present. Dwayne is curious about what is inside, but Kimie whispers that it is a secret. Mr. Shellby explains that the Friend Ball on top of the Egg case should be used to catch the new hatchling. The Day Care couple waves as Dwayne sets off towards Mahogany Town once again. While camping out for the night, Dwayne notices a light coming out of his backpack. He gets out the Egg case because the Egg is starting to hatch. He wonders what might hatch out of the Egg. By morning, the Egg hatches into a Misdreavus. Dwayne checks Misdreavus out with his Pokédex and takes the Friend Ball and tries to return Misdreavus, who moves out of the way. Dwayne tries again, but Misdreavus continues to dodge the beam. Dwayne thinks that some food might convince Misdreavus to listen. He gets out some food, and Misdreavus hesitates at first, but ultimately decides to trust Dwayne, and she happily enjoys the food that was presented. Misdreavus flies around in circles, clearly happy, and uses Confuse Ray on Dwayne, who becomes dizzy, as Misdreavus laughs, before using Shock Wave, which shocks Dwayne out of his dizziness. Despite Misdreavus's mischievousness, Dwayne is overly happy and holds his Misdreavus high in the air, who happily laughs and shows her affection towards Dwayne by nuzzling against his cheeks.

The next day, Dwayne arrives in Mahogany Town, and walks over to the Mahogany Gym, and walks inside, and immediately begins shaking, as the Gym's temperature was incredibly cold. Just then, a woman named Sheila gives him a winter coat, and welcomes him to the Gym. As Sheila leads him into the Gym, Dwayne meets Pryce, the Gym Leader, who was contained into a wheelchair, and Sheila explains that Pryce was extremely old, and wasn't capable of using his legs, and mentions that Pryce was nearly 100 years old, and Pryce shushes her, not liking to talk about his old age. Pryce and Dwayne soon take their positions on the field. The two-on-two match begins, with Pryce calling out his Dewgong, and it dives into the pool. Dwayne sends out Houndoom and orders a Flamethrower, but Dewgong ducks underwater to evade the attack. Dewgong retaliates with an Ice Beam, freezing Houndoom in solid ice after he loses his footing. Dwayne has Houndoom turn up the heat, and he breaks free of the ice to dodge an incoming Aurora Beam. The unconventional strategy takes Pryce by surprise. He orders another Aurora Beam, but Houndoom moves out of the way and fires a Fire Blast at it. Dewgong dives underwater once again to escape. Houndoom spots an opportunity and has Houndoom also enter the water, much to Pryce and Sheila's shock. Dewgong approaches with a Headbutt, though Dwayne bides his time before hitting Dewgong out of the water with a Crunch attack. Houndoom follows up with a Thunder Fang to knock Dewgong out of the battle. Next, Pryce sends out his trusty Piloswine.

Piloswine immediately unleashes a Blizzard attack. The snow cover helps Piloswine disappear into its surroundings, it then takes Houndoom out with a Take Down. With one victory each, the round enters a sudden deathmatch. Dwayne selects his next Pokémon, his recently-hatched Misdreavus against Pryce's Piloswine. Things start out rough as Piloswine releases a barrage of Blizzard attacks on Misdreavus, who struggles to stand against the ice. Dwayne notices that Piloswine's Blizzard attack form ice pillars on the battlefield, and so, she commands Misdreavus to slide on the ice underneath Piloswine. This confuses Piloswine as well as Pryce. Then, Misdreavus slides and ricochets off of the pillars, easily dodging the Blizzards. When Pryce tells Piloswine to use Blizzard on the whole battlefield, Misdreavus slides under it and unleashes a powerful Hex. Almost out of energy, Piloswine uses Rest. Dwayne tells Misdreavus to use Astonish before it heals, but she's too late. With its newfound energy, Piloswine uses Ice Fang to severely damage Misdreavus.

Pryce tells Dwayne to throw in the towel, but Dwayne refuses, so the battle then continues on. Dwayne commands Misdreavus to counter Piloswine's Ice Fang with an Astonish. Piloswine is hit directly on the nose and slides backward. Misdreavus unleashes a massive Hex, which Piloswine dodges, before using Blizzard, and Misdreavus jumps on its face and uses Confuse Ray. This leaves Piloswine confused, which causes Piloswine to fall into the water. Misdreavus then uses Shock Wave on the pool, which causes massive damage because Piloswine was underwater despite its immunity to Electric-type attacks, which surprises Pryce as he never expected Dwayne to bypass Piloswine's immunity. Piloswine shakes it off, leaving Dwayne and Misdreavus astounded. It retaliates with Ice Fang, but Misdreavus doesn't have enough strength to dodge.

Misdreavus looks exhausted, but flies back up, ready to keep fighting. In a surprising turn of events, Pryce then forfeits, which gives Dwayne the victory under a T.K.O. and Dwayne isn't pleased at first, saying he didn't actually win. Pryce admits that Dwayne's strength was impressive and explains he just didn't want his Piloswine to get more hurt than it already was. With this in mind, Dwayne gladly accepts the Glacier Badge. Pryce thanks Dwayne for gifting him with an amazing battle, and remarks that it's been many years since he'd last battled with this much excitement. Outside of the Gym, Dwayne waves Pryce and Sheila goodbye and heads towards his next destination, Blackthorn City.

Having nearly arrived at Blackthorn City, Dwayne finds a Dratini curled up and sleeping underneath a tree. However, when he tries to get a closer look, a Gyarados appears and keeps him at bay using Hydro Pump. A blue-haired woman appears, threatening Dwayne if he tries to harm the Dratini. She then introduces herself as Clair and explains that her Gyarados was simply trying to protect her Dratini. However, when Dratini begins swimming away, Clair and Gyarados leave in pursuit. Dwayne then runs into her elderly assistant, Kaburagi, who informs her that Clair is the Blackthorn Gym Leader, and must perform a ritual with the Dragon Fang. As they follow Clair and her Dratini upstream, Kaburagi reveals the local history: an unidentified Dragon Pokémon had terrorized local residents until it was defeated by the first Blackthorn Gym Leader, who took one of its fangs as a sign of victory. Since then, the Dragon Fang has been handed down through generations, and today is the day that they must perform a purification ritual.

Knowing that pursuing Dratini may take the entire day, Clair takes a break for lunch. This gives an opportunity for Dwayne to challenge Clair, which Clair accepts. Just then, Clair's Dratini returns and proceeds to evolve into Dragonair, something that Clair was already expecting due to Dratini growing stronger each day. By nightfall, they all reach Riverhead Falls, the source of the water that leads into Blackthorn City, and the perfect place for the ritual. Dwayne and Kaburagi are witnesses to the purification ritual, in which Clair says a prayer and proceeds to drench the Dragon Fang in the lake water. The Dragon Fang reacts and sends a dragon-shaped beam of light into the sky. Kaburagi explains that after a Dragon Pokémon dies, its body becomes a star in the sky.

The next day, Dwayne finally makes it to the entry gates of Blackthorn City, as the Blackthorn Gym awaits. Kaburagi takes his position as the battle judge, and announces that Dwayne will face Clair in a three-on-three battle. Clair leads with Kingdra, which Dwayne responds with Chikorita. Chikorita tries to use Razor Leaf on Kingdra, and despite a direct hit, Kingdra easily shakes the attack off. Kingdra responds with Twister, which catches Chikorita. However, Chikorita manages to recover, and launches an Energy Ball, only for Kingdra to shake it off as well. Kingdra continues the battle with Hydro Pump, which Chikorita returns fire with Energy Ball.

Dwayne decides to switch out Chikorita after a Vine Whip also fails to faze Kingdra. Sending in Noctowl instead, Dwayne tries to use its Extrasensory to try and land a blow against Kingdra. Elsewhere, a criminal named Hunk manages to sneak in and steal the Dragon Fang from the Gym's treasure room without setting off its infrared alarms. However, once he removes the Dragon Fang off it's display, the alarms are set off. As Dwayne's match wages on, Noctowl temporarily immobilizes Kingdra with a Extrasensory attack. However, Kingdra aims a Hydro Pump at the wall to break the attack. Noctowl's Sky Attack also misses its mark thanks to Kingdra's Agility, and Kingdra lands a Hydro Pump on Noctowl, about to knock it out just as the burglar alarm sounded.

Everyone abandons the battle and rushes outside to see Hunk fleeing the crime scene with the Dragon Fang in hand. Hunk commandeers a nearby boat and speeds off into the Dragon's Den, a cave filled with a confusing network of tunnels in the middle of the water. Clair and the others call out a flotilla of Pokémon and swim after the thieves. Her Dragonair's light and ability to sense changes in water currents help them to track the criminal, who finds himself in the Dragon Holy Land. Hunk is saved from falling down from the waterfall into the Holy Land by a Dragonite, whom he convinces that he's trying to protect the Dragon Fang from Clair and the others. As Dwayne and the others also manage to reach the Holy Land, they split up to look for the criminal. Upon arrival, the Dragonite fires a Hyper Beam as a warning shot at the group. Everyone is surprised by the odd partnership. Dragonite goes onto pick Hunk up and flies off with him. Kaburagi explains that the Dragonite had once belonged to the first Gym Leader of Blackthorn City, and had never felt the same since her Trainer had passed away.

Kaburagi then summons his own Dragonite, Altaria, and Noivern, and they all fly on them to chase after Dragonite and the criminal. Meanwhile, Hunk is having a very uncomfortable flight in Dragonite's arms, and wonders where the Dragon Pokémon is taking him to. Dragonite finally drops him off by a large lake, before going into the woods and collecting fruit for Hunk to eat. In the air, Clair and company have spotted the same lake, prompting Kaburagi to wonder if Dragonite would take Hunk to the Dragon Shrine. When Dwayne questions Kaburagi about the Dragon Shrine, the old man explains that it was built long ago to represent hope for harmony between humans and Pokémon. Within the shrine lies the Prayer Flame, a symbol of the eventual peace between humans and Pokémon; despite being lit over 500 years ago, it remains strong to this day. Unbeknownst to them, Hunk is sneaking into the shrine while Dragonite sleeps, planning to raid it of its valuables. He comes upon the golden bowl containing the Prayer Flame and resolves to steal it. However, the bowl's heat burns right through his gloves, causing him to hurl the flame out of the shrine. The fallen flame has set the landscape ablaze. Dragonite notices this, and turns on Hunk with a Hyper Beam, even as the flame burns out of control.

After dodging several attacks, Hunk brings out his Wobbuffet to use Mirror Coat and reflect one of Dragonite's Hyper Beams back at it – however, this only seems to make the Dragon Pokémon even angrier. Luckily, Dwayne and his allies arrive on the scene, with Gardevoir's Moonblast saving Hunk from another Hyper Beam. Clair sends out Dragonair to put out the raging fire by making it rain, while Kaburagi's Dragonite, Altaria, and Noivern save the Pokémon trapped in the fires. Gardevoir glares at Dragonite, but Dwayne reins her in, intent on trying to reason with Dragonite first.

Clair begs Dragonite to recognize her and stop its attack but to no avail. Dragonite fires a Hyper Beam at her, which is only partially deflected by Gardevoir's Shadow Ball. Although Clair is unharmed, Kaburagi finally realizes why the Pokémon is so unreasonable; he warns Clair that Dragonite is suffering from Outrage. As the guardian of the Holy Land unleashes a powerful Twister that forces Dragonair to dispel its rain clouds, Dwayne asks Clair about Kaburagi's statement. The Blackthorn Gym Leader explains that Dragonite has become confused after performing too many consecutive attacks, causing it to attack everything it sees in a berserk fury.

Realizing that they need to battle Dragonite to snap it out of confusion, Dwayne has Gardevoir try a Shadow Ball; unfortunately, Dragonite dashes up and knocks her down before she can attack. Dwayne catches Gardevoir and is in turn saved from Dragonite's attack by Clair's Dragonair. Clair tries to talk Dragonite down, asking it to listen to the cries of the wild Pokémon around it, but the maddened Dragon-type is unmoved, and she becomes disheartened over not being able to control the Dragon-type Pokémon. Kaburagi declares that Dragonite entered the attack rage in response to something terrible, forcing Hunk to admit his attempt to steal the Prayer Flame. As Clair's Dragonair puts out the flames around the Dragon Shrine, Clair leaves Kaburagi in charge of restoring the shrine, while she tries to think of a way to stop Dragonite's rampage.

Meanwhile, Gardevoir and Dragonite face off over the lake. Gardevoir opens with a Moonblast, knocking Dragonite into the water. Dragonite emerges unharmed and fires a Hyper Beam at Dwayne, but Gardevoir quickly Teleports Dwayne and herself away from the range of fire. Clair arrives and asks Dwayne to work with her in order to stop Dragonite. When Dwayne agrees, Clair has Dragonair use Wrap to cut Dragonite off; when the fully-evolved dragon breaks free, Gardevoir and Dragonair blast it with Shadow Ball and Hyper Beam, respectively. Even this combination attack fails to slow Dragonite down, and it quickly evades and counters Dragonair's second attempt at a Hyper Beam. Dwayne has Gardevoir use Psychic, but Dragonite dodges and hurls Gardevoir into the woods. As Gardevoir returns to the fight, ready for another round, Clair realizes that Dragonite is too powerful for anyone's attack to work.

Trying a different approach, Clair orders Dragonair to summon thunder clouds while Gardevoir keeps Dragonite busy. After a moment, lightning begins striking Dragonite, and Gardevoir soon adds a Moonblast attack to pin the Dragon Pokémon down. Despite the devastating assault, Dragonite tries to break free with Hyper Beam. In response, Dwayne has Gardevoir use Psychic to contain the attack. The energy of the Hyper Beam is thus reflected and turned back on Dragonite itself; nonetheless, the furious Pokémon attempts another Hyper Beam. This time, the combined attacks explode in Dragonite's face, sending it plummeting into the water.

As everyone regroups and holds their breath, Dragonite emerges from the water in a flash. Assuming the worst, Dwayne prepares to have Gardevoir launch another Moonblast attack, but Clair tells her to wait and shortly after Dragonite's attack rage finally subsides. Having regained its conscious state, Dragonite weeps over the damage it caused to its beloved Holy Land. As it is consoled by the other Pokémon living in the area, Hunk manages to sneak away, albeit without any treasure and despite Clair's attempts to stop him, Hunk manages to successfully escape. Dwayne recovers the Dragon Fang, and places the Prayer Flame back in the Dragon Shrine.

Back in Blackthorn City, Clair thanks Dwayne for his assistance in stopping Dragonite, and promises to battle him again the next day. The next day, Dwayne and Clair are standing inside the Blackthorn Gym, preparing to start their rematch, which will be a three-on-three battle. Clair chooses her Kingdra, while Dwayne leads off with Heracross. Dwayne starts the match with Heracross's Megahorn, though Kingdra dodges the attack with Agility. Kingdra tries to hit Heracross but Heracross uses Arm Thrust to block Kingdra's attack. Clair has Kingdra follow up with Swift, but the attack once again harmlessly bounces off Heracross's Arm Thrust. Dwayne tries to use Heracross's Fury Attack, but Kingdra dodges it with Agility. Kingdra hits Heracross again, but Heracross is barely affected. Clair has Kingdra use Hydro Pump. Dwayne tells Heracross to dodge the attack, but it is unable to and is hit. Clair orders a Hyper Beam, which Heracross narrowly avoids by diving into the battlefield’s pool. Dwayne congratulates Heracross on its quick thinking before ordering a Double-Edge. The attack lands, causing both Pokémon to sink underwater. However, Heracross begins to weigh less, allowing Kingdra to float back to the surface unharmed. Clair tells Kingdra to use Hydro Pump once Heracross comes up for air, but Dwayne tells Heracross to jump out of the water. As Heracross leaps into the air and Kingdra fires a Hydro Pump, Dwayne orders Heracross to lean back, and it manages to successfully dodge the attack without sustaining any damage. Clair orders Kingdra to use Swift, but Dwayne tells Heracross to just take it. Clair orders another Hydro Pump, but it only Heracross dodges the attack by spinning around it. Kingdra is starting to look tired, and Clair realizes that Dwayne's plan must be to just wear Kingdra out. She orders another Hyper Beam, but Heracross dodges it once again by going underwater. With Kingdra's stamina starting to run low, Heracross uses Megahorn, which knocks Kingdra out of the match.

Clair sends out Gyarados as her second Pokémon. Clair orders Gyarados to use Hydro Pump, while Heracross uses Arm Thrust to block the attack. However, Heracross is starting to tire out, causing Gyarados's Hydro Pump to overpower its Arm Thrust block. Gyarados then uses Dragon Breath, and as Heracross is tired out, he is unable to counter the attack. As such, the Dragon Breath lands a direct hit on Heracross, paralyzing him and preventing Heracross from moving. After taking a Hyper Beam, Heracross finally faints. Dwayne decides to use Chikorita next in the hopes that her Grass-type attacks will overcome Gyarados. Clair has Gyarados use Hyper Beam, but Chikorita avoids the attack before blasting Gyarados with Energy Ball. Clair is momentarily surprised by Chikorita's speed but quickly orders Gyarados to use Bite. Chikorita avoids the attack before retaliating with a Razor Leaf. However, Gyarados uses Dragon Breath to form a barrier that blocks the incoming attack. Gyarados follows up with a Hydro Pump, which Chikorita tries to dodge, but gets grazed by it and is knocked down to the ground, and the blast causes a hole in the Gym's roof, letting the sunlight shine in. In a surprising maneuver, Gyarados leaps out of the water and starts squeezing Chikorita in a tight wrap. However, Chikorita's leaf atop of her head begins glowing with the sunlight, and Dwayne realizes that Chikorita had learned a new attack, and commands her to use Solar Beam, and the attack lands at a point-blank distance, dealing notable damage on the Atrocious Pokémon before it can move away. Gyarados tries to use Bite, but Chikorita dodges the large jaws before finding herself trapped in a corner. Gyarados attempts to finish Chikorita off with a Hydro Pump, but Chikorita's fear of the Atrocious Pokémon causes her to let out a loud cry, before spinning her leaf around in a crazily rapid manner, and she unleashes Leaf Storm, which engulfs Gyarados and causes him to faint, while Chikorita quickly regains her composure upon realizing that Gyarados was defeated.

Dwayne and Clair's match continues as Clair sends out her final and strongest Pokémon: Dragonair. Chikorita repeatedly uses Leaf Storm, but Dragonair keeps dodging them all. Clair wonders what Dwayne is up to, as Grass moves don't work well against Dragon Pokémon. However, Dwayne's intentions suddenly become apparent as Dragonair dives close to the ground as it dodges the attacks, giving Chikorita a chance to use Vine Whip. Dragonair once again evades the attack and knocks Chikorita out with a Hyper Beam. After recalling Chikorita, Dwayne sends out Gardevoir as his final Pokémon.

Gardevoir attacks with Moonblast, but Dragonair dives underwater to avoid the attack before countering with Hyper Beam. Gardevoir uses Moonblast again, but once again, Dragonair dives into the water. Clair then has Dragonair use Thunderbolt, engulfing Gardevoir in a lightning bolt that smashes her down to the ground. Dwayne urges Gardevoir to stand up, and she does so, before attacking with yet another Moonblast, which is yet again avoided by Dragonair diving underwater. Dragonair attacks with Hyper Beam, while Dwayne has Gardevoir use Shadow Ball to block the attack. Dwayne issues yet another command for a Shadow Ball, promoting Clair to repeat the now common order for Dragonair to dive underwater. However, Dwayne then changes his attack order into a full-power Psychic. Dwayne's intentions are finally revealed when the Psychic waves lift the water off the pool and splashes it through the hole in the roof, leaving Dragonair without a place to hide.

Gardevoir attacks with Moonblast, but Dragonair blocks it with Protect before striking Gardevoir with Iron Tail. Clair orders another Iron Tail, but this time, Gardevoir intercepts the attack and grabs Dragonair, preparing to use a point-blank Moonblast, and this causes an explosion that engulfs both Pokémon. As the smokescreen dies down, Dragonair faints and Dwayne is declared the winner of the match. Clair recalls Dragonair and congratulates Dwayne on his victory before handing him the Rising Badge. Dwayne, ecstatic of having just won his eighth Badge, performs a victory pose with Gardevoir.

Dwayne and Kaburagi enjoy a hearty breakfast with Clair from her Blackthorn City balcony. Attention quickly turns to Dwayne's Badges. Clair informs him that the Silver Conference will take place in three months in Silver Town, and she recommends that Dwayne should register in New Bark Town. In the outskirts of the city, Clair prepares to see Dwayne off, but before she leaves, Clair gives gifts Dwayne with an Egg, and Clair explains that it would hatch into a Dratini. Dwayne thanks Clair for the gift and waves her goodbye as he departs from New Bark Town.

Two months after winning his Rising Badge, Dwayne enjoys a vacation in the city of Alto Mare, and joins up with Rosita and Miguel, both of whom were also enjoying a vacation in the same city. Meanwhile, Tyra and Moira, two Template:Wp, are determined to gain control of the Soul Dew, a special jewel with immense power. Their overnight library heist proves successful, with Moira quickly locating her target, an ancient book. Tyra is particularly focused on the final chapter, informing Moira that a special machine known as the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, or DMA for short, requires the Soul Dew to work. They leave their kiss-printed calling card and a rose to be discovered by the security guard while they escape. Tyra and Moira zip line into their waiting rocket-propelled vehicle, heading for their next destination, the canal city of Alto Mare, Johto.

Dwayne, Miguel, and Rosita begin sightseeing the city, and taking several pictures across the city's landmarks. Then, Dwayne hears about the annual Tour de Alto Mare water race, and decides to sign in his name to participate, as does Rosita, who decides to borrow Miguel's Politoed for the race. Once the race kicks off, Dwayne and Rosita quickly outclass the other racers, with Dwayne's Totodile and Politoed's speed being too much for them. The race quickly becomes a tied event between Dwayne and Rosita. At one point, Dwayne falls off his chariot while making a bend, and he quickly loses his lead when other contestants race past him. The help of a mysterious invisible Pokémon, a Latias, helps Dwayne and Totodile make a speedy comeback into a top-three position. Dwayne cannot understand Totodile's sudden boost of energy. However, Dwayne's chances of winning are dashed when Latias's older brother, a Latios, intervenes and pulls Dwayne and Latias off-track. Latios eventually pulls Latias away from the water chariot, sending Dwayne and Totodile crashing in the process. Nevertheless, Dwayne and Totodile quickly overtake the other competitors, but are unable to catch up with Rosita, who reaches the finish line, giving Rosita the title of the year's Tour de Alto Mare winner, while Dwayne finishes in second place.

After the race, Dwayne, Rosita, and Miguel are given a proper tour of Alto Mare by a local gondolier. Rosita admires her glass medallion prize, which the gondolier says depicts the guardians of Alto Mare, Latias, and Latios. Dwayne then spots the two guardians on a pair of stone columns in the main city square. The gondolier adds that people never see the guardians anymore, namely because Alto Mare is now peaceful, and Dwayne wonders if he would ever get to meet them.

Meanwhile, Tyra and Moira are scanning the main plaza for any signs of Latias or Latios. Moira reveals that the Eon duo has the ability to transform into anything, even people, to remain undiscovered. Their special camera soon spots Latias disguised as a girl, so Tyra and Moira turn on their speedboat and zero-in on their target. After the tour ends, Dwayne becomes side-tracked after spotting a local water pump, and he decides to have a drink. A girl turns on the water and Dwayne promptly takes a sip, and the girl suddenly stares intensely at him, much to his surprise. As she runs off down an alleyway, Dwayne simply shrugs off the odd encounter. Tyra and Moira trail the girl, which their special glasses confirming it is Latias in disguise, before ambushing her with their Girafarig and Yanma, respectively. The commotion piques Dwayne's interest, and he heads towards the confrontation. Dwayne intervenes and breaks the "girl" free of Yanma's String Shot. Tyra orders her Girafarig to teach Dwayne a lesson, and injures him with a Psybeam. Suddenly, Gardevoir pops out of her Poké Ball, having sensed him in danger, and lets out a furious roar, and retaliates with Shadow Ball and Moonblast. Moira subsequently falls into the canal, and frustrated about her outfit being ruined, she orders the Pokémon to go after Latias, Gardevoir, and Dwayne. Girafarig and Yanma pursue their targets through Alto Mare's laneways, though Dwayne, Gardevoir, and the “girl” manage to outrun them. The girl then grabs Dwayne by the hand, which bothers Gardevoir, guiding him back to where they started, the plaza with the drinking fountain. Miguel and Rosita call out to Dwayne, asking where he has been. Dwayne then turns around, only to find the girl has disappeared, and asks Gardevoir if she seen where she went, but Gardevoir shakes her head negatively in response.

Dwayne reunites with his friends, where they decide to visit the Alto Mare Museum. Inside, Dwayne notices the skeletal remains of a Pokémon embedded in the tiled floor. The curator, Quentin, introduces himself and reveals that there are actually two Pokémon, a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl, which are reminders of Alto Mare's past. He guides the group through to the DMA, or Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, which was built to protect Alto Mare. History tells that an evil Pokémon Trainer and their Pokémon terrorized the town. He explains that the original Latios came to the city, using his powers to drown the evil Pokémon and turning the streets into canals. Dwayne then spots the girl from before, accidentally touching the DMA in his moment of distraction. Dwayne hurriedly leaves his friends and Quentin to follow after the girl, all while Tyra and Moira spy on him with their flying surveillance camera. Dwayne confronts the girl, however, she denies knowing him at all, much to his confusion. He soon loses track of her after running through some laneways, only for "her" to gesture for him to follow. The "girl" leads Dwayne through more laneways and through a brick wall to a hidden location.

Dwayne steps out from the darkness to find himself now standing in the Secret Garden, incredibly landscaped and bursting with wild Pokémon. The "girl" appears again, leading Dwayne to find her swinging by herself on a swing. Dwayne is then attacked by an invisible force, Latios who is determined to keep outsiders away. Gardevoir, who again comes out of her Poké Ball by her own accord, fails to land an attack and is knocked backward by Latios's speed. The "girl" then stands in Latios's path, preventing him from knocking Dwayne over as well. Dwayne instantly recognizes Latios from the statues that he saw earlier. More confusingly, an identical-looking girl appears. As the girl orders Latios to attack the intruder, Quentin from the museum arrives to stop the confrontation. The "girl" who protected Dwayne decides to play with him, pushing him onto the rope swing before revealing herself to actually be a Latias in disguise, causing a surprised Dwayne to fall off the swing. Latios meanwhile apologizes to Dwayne and Gardevoir, before Latios and Gardevoir start playing around together. The real girl, named Brenda, apologizes to Dwayne, while her grandfather Quentin offers clarity of the situation.

Brenda reveals that Latias has the rare ability to shape-shift, and she often disguises herself as her, as they are best friends. Latias and Latios then show off one of their other abilities, sight-sharing which enables them to show each other exactly what they are seeing. Afterward, Quentin explains that he has taken care of Latias and Latios ever since they were babies. The pair were left orphaned by their father, Latios, who sacrificed his life to protect Alto Mare from the evil Trainer. A collage of stone tiles tells the story in more detail while Quentin shows Dwayne the precious Soul Dew, said to contain Latios's soul as well as the power to destroy Alto Mare, housed in a pool of pure water. Quentin asks Dwayne to keep the secret garden and location of the Soul Dew a secret, and he agrees. With it getting late, Dwayne and Gardevoir decide to leave the Secret Garden, much to Latias's dismay as she still wants to keep playing. Quentin takes Dwayne through a shortcut via his gondola workshop, while Brenda takes Dwayne the rest of the way by boat. Dwayne takes the opportunity to ask Brenda about the two girls who were chasing her before. Brenda is confused at first but realizes that it must have been Latias that was being pursued, which proves more concerning for her.

Overnight, Tyra and Moira leap across the rooftops of Alto Mare to remain undetected. Tyra sends her Girafarig to subdue Quentin, who is busily carving a gondola in his workshop. Tyra and Moira then pass through to the Secret Garden. Latios quickly detects the threat and tries to attack the girls, but they simply cartwheel out of the way. Latias and Latios then become invisible, a surprising technique for Tyra and Moira to witness. However, the two sisters are fully prepared and don their special glasses to keep track of their targets. Girafarig zeroes in on Latias, attacking her with a Hyper Voice attack. Yanma follows on with Sonic Boom, striking Latias first then Latios who tries to intercept. Moira goes on to capture Latios in a sticky net, delivering a painful shock to Latios. Latias tries to ambush Girafarig, only to be knocked down by a Psybeam attack. Tyra calls for a follow-up Tackle, but Latios manages to slides in its path. To subdue Latios, Girafarig and Yanma use Psychic and Wing Attack, respectively, on him. Latios orders Latias to getaway, and Latias heeds her brother's warning and flees into the canals. Moira isn't bothered by Latias's escape, adding that Latios's power plus the Soul Dew should be enough. She manages to grab the Soul Dew from the pool, allowing Tyra to examine it for a moment. Moira then turns her attention to the etched mismatched tiles nearby, and using a computer program to analyze and decipher it, she discovers that it is actually an operational manual for the DMA.

Quentin and Brenda rush over to the sacred pool, discovering the Soul Dew is now missing. Fearing something bad is about to unfold, they rush over to the museum to confront the culprits. Just ahead, Tyra and Moira reach the DMA inside the museum. Yanma tosses the exhausted Latios into a circular-marked area. A swirling cage then appears and carries Latios high into the air and begins to activate the DMA with his absorbed power. The protective gates around the mechanism disappear into the ground, with the control panel clearly in sight. Quentin and Brenda arrive but are quickly subdued by another of Girafarig's Psychic attacks. Moira proceeds to place the Soul Dew into the designated holder, and the DMA swings into life.

Latias, meanwhile, has fled to the local Pokémon Center to ask for Dwayne's help, quickly transforming herself into Brenda. Dwayne's Pokémon are eating after receiving a check-up from Nurse Joy, and Gardevoir alerts everyone to Latias's arrival, and Dwayne explains the peculiar situation to Miguel and Rosita. At Dwayne's request, Latias reveals her true form, stunning both Miguel and Rosita. Latias soon receives a sight-sharing transmission from Latios at the museum, alerting the group to some of Tyra and Moira's evil schemes. Dwayne sees that Quentin and Brenda have been subdued, while the Soul Dew has been taken. Moira greedily steps into the control pod by herself and ignoring Quentin's protests as she resurrects the Aerodactyl and Kabutops that once threatened Alto Mare. The two evil Fossil Pokémon are ordered to capture Latias. The sight sharing comes to an abrupt end, and the group realizes they will have to act quickly. Moira begins a city-wide lockdown, using the DMA to effectively seal Alto Mare up with gates. Metal gates spring from seemingly nowhere, closing off the laneways and balconies. Dwayne leaps into the canal below, while Latias manages to escape just in time. Dwayne, determined to save Alto Mare and Latios, soon finds a gondola and orders Latias to help guide him to the museum. They are soon ambushed by the resurrected Aerodactyl, who grabs Latias with its feet. Dwayne leaps onto it before ordering Gardevoir to use Moonblast, which works in freeing Latias and Dwayne. Aerodactyl fires off a Hyper Beam, destroying the gondola and nearly drowning Dwayne, until Latias's interventions. As Latias begins carrying Dwayne through the canals, Dwayne notices a water chariot lying nearby. Hitching Latias to the pulley, Dwayne is pulled through the canals with ease, even managing to lose Aerodactyl after making a turn down a narrow waterway.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Miguel and Rosita have scaled some of the obstacles, but remain trapped by the metal gates. Noting that it would take too long, Miguel sends out Sudowoodo and Politoed, while Rosita sends out Meganium and Hitmonchan, to assist with the obstacles. Dwayne's Gardevoir, Roserade, and Scizor save Dwayne from the resurrected Kabutops and its sharp scythes. As Dwayne and Latias near the museum, Moira sends a wall of water their way. Latias uses Safeguard, saving herself and Dwayne from drowning. This consequently causes the DMA to go haywire, trapping Moira inside as its controls are overwhelmed. The crystal blue-colored Soul Dew transforms into a murky orb and the machine begins to demand more power from Latios. Dwayne and Latias soon arrive, with Quentin and Brenda quickly freed from Girafarig's Psychic from Scizor attacking it with X-Scissor, while Latias tries to help her brother Latios. After trying to charge at the spherical cage holding Latios several times, Latias is eventually able to overpower it while Dwayne and the others pull Latios free. The DMA stops swinging around wildly, while Moira comes to her senses from being overcome by the controls. Tyra decides they should make their getaway, and Moira simply agrees. Tyra goes to retrieve the Soul Dew from the DMA, however, this causes the special jewel to break and she is thrown into the control pod by the resulting wave of energy. The hatch seals shut, trapping Tyra and Moira inside while DMA reactivates, now pulsing with red energy. Rosita and Miguel reach the museum as this all unfolds. Quentin proclaims that the prophecy is coming true, declaring that the Soul Dew has been out of the water for far too long, so the waterways across Alto Mare will be consequently drained.

As warned, the waters all recede from Alto Mare. Quentin, however, warns that a far worse event is ahead. Latias and Latios sense the next threat, a tsunami wave that is due to hit the city. The Eon siblings rush directly into the wake and disperse it with their immense powers, appearing like a giant blue orb. The now fast-moving currents begin replenishing the canals and waterways. Latios, however, is exhausted and has expended all of his power. Like his father before him, he sacrifices himself to save the city of Alto Mare. A bright blue beam of light appears towards the sky. The effects of the DMA begin to settle, with the resurrected Pokémon returning to their places at the museum, and the barricades across the city now disappearing. As day breaks, Quentin takes Brenda, Dwayne and the others out to sea to search for Latios and Latias. A wild Mantine and a pair of Chinchou carry the exhausted Latias directly to their gondola. Brenda is glad to be reunited with one of them, but cannot help but wonder about Latios’s whereabouts. Latias gestures up at the sky, and Brenda realizes that the blue light up to the sky was Latios. Quentin reveals that Latios, like his father, gave his life to save Alto Mare. The gesture leaves everyone feeling somber and cold. Latias then receives a sight-sharing transmission, allowing everyone to see from Latios's perspective; the world from space, and finally complete darkness. Brenda then receives a new Soul Dew, a final gift from Latios, before everyone is returned to the gondola. Afterwards, the new Soul Dew is placed back in the Secret Garden pool, with Quentin and Brenda thanking Latios for his great sacrifice.

Back within the city, Dwayne ties up Tyra and Moira, and expresses his utter wrath at them, and subsequently curses them out for their actions. The sisters, however, are nonchalant about it, claiming they didn't know about the full extent of their researches and ignorantly claim that they did nothing irreparable. Dwayne clutches his fist, which catches the attention of the sisters. Dwayne then prepares to strike her, with the sisters becoming afraid, but Dwayne's punch is stopped by Latias herself, who silently shakes her heads, signifying that the sister aren't worth it. Instead, Dwayne angrily informs them about Latios's sacrifice, and the sisters's eyes widen in shock, and Moira stutters as she asks if Latios perished, to which Dwayne angrily confirms, and blames them for his death. Tyra and Moira become stunned, and Moira begins crying, saying she never meant to cause this, but Dwayne angrily remarks that it was too late for regrets, and says they would be placed in prison for directly causing Latios's death, and Moira continues to cry, but admits they deserve it, while Tyra exclaims they were sorry, but Dwayne again lashes out, saying that their apologies wouldn't bring Latios back, and Tyra simply looks down in shame. Latias gently pulls Dwayne away, and Dwayne cries in frustration, and shares a hug with Latias, who also begins crying in mourning for her brother. The authorities take the sisters away, with Dwayne, Quentin, and Brenda testifying against their actions.

Three days later, Dwayne, Rosita, and Miguel prepare to leave Alto Mare. The boat passes Quentin's workshop to thank him and say goodbye. Quentin calls out to Brenda, who runs over to the pier to give Dwayne a parting gift, a sketch, and kisses him on the cheek. Just then, the real Brenda shows up, and the Brenda that kissed him was none other than Latias. Dwayne then says goodbye, but Latias begins crying, and starts wanting to play with Dwayne, and Brenda says that Latias gained a very powerful attachment towards him, and Quentin assumes that Latias didn't want to become separated from him, and suggests that Dwayne capture Latias. Upon hearing this, Latias instantly stops crying and happily starts flying around in circles, and Dwayne takes this as an affirmative, and throws a Poké Ball, and Latias happily taps onto the Poké Ball's mechanism and joins Dwayne's team. Brenda and Quentin remark that they know Latias will be happier and safer with Dwayne than in Alto Mare, also implying that with Latios gone, Latias would only have negative memories, and with the new Soul Dew, Alto Mare would remain safe, and urge Dwayne to take good care of Latias, but also tell Latias to take good care of her new Trainer. Dwayne then unwraps the drawing to see that it is of him, Latias, Latios, and Gardevoir together at Secret Garden. Miguel soon spots something up in the sky, sees a reflection of Latios flying overhead in formation, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, and Latias waves him goodbye as the reflection fades away. Dwayne returns to the boat, and the trio waves Brenda and Quentin goodbye.

Whilst making a stop in Goldenrod City, Dwayne remarks that while the trip was troublesome, he enjoyed it, and unlike his regular traveling for training, he enjoyed simply vacationing. Miguel and Rosita then start discussing their next plans, and Dwayne challenges them to a Double Battle, and they accept, already knowing Dwayne's reasoning. At the Pokémon Center's battlefield, Miguel and Rosita summon Politoed and Cubone while Dwayne chooses Latias and Gardevoir.

Dwayne starts the battle off by ordering Gardevoir to use Shadow Ball on Politoed, but Cubone intercepts it with Bone Club, batting the attack away, and Ryder instead orders Latias to use Psywave on Cubone while ordering Gardevoir to use Moonblast on Politoed. However, Cubone deflects the Psywave with Bone Club while Politoed dodges Moonblast by jumping. Miguel then commands Politoed to use Mist, which covers the battlefield in a thick white cloud. Knowing that they can't see the next attack, Rosita commands Cubone to use Fissure, a guaranteed one-hit KO attack, but Dwayne orders Gardevoir to use Teleport and teleport herself onto Latias's back, which she does so, saving herself from defeat, as Latias was safe by flying in the air.

Dwayne then tells Latias to fly around in circles around the field in high speed, which she does so, creating a gust of wind that clears the Mist off the battlefield. Miguel then decides to spice things up in the battle, and orders Politoed to use Metronome, and Politoed does so, and Ryder tells his Pokémon to remain on guard as they can't predict which attack would come out through Metronome. Through Metronome, Politoed uses Thunder Wave, but Latias quickly uses Safeguard, which prevents herself and Gardevoir from getting paralyzed. Rosita then orders Cubone to use Skull Bash, and Gardevoir retaliates with Psychic, but Cubone pushes through the attack. At the last second, however, Gardevoir uses Teleport and causes Cubone to hit the wall head-first, hurting himself in the process. Politoed uses Metronome again, and unleashes a Jump Kick from it, and hits Latias, who was distracted by Gardevoir and Cubone's exchange. Latias gets sent crashing onto the floor, but Dwayne tells her to use Recover to heal her injuries.

Rosita then orders Cubone to use Skull Bash again, but Latias and Gardevoir dodge the attack. Miguel and Rosita then decide to combine attacks, and Miguel starts by ordering another Metronome, and Cubone prepares another Skull Bash. Dwayne then also decides to combine attacks and tells Latias and Gardevoir to use Dragon Breath and Moonblast, and both attacks then head straight towards their opponents side-by-side, and Politoed's Metronome gets charged, but unfortunately, Politoed uses Splash, an useless attack, and they get struck by Dragon Breath and Moonblast, which knocks both Pokémon out simultaneously, giving Dwayne the victory.

Rosita and Miguel recall their Pokémon, thanking them for their effort, and congratulate Dwayne on his victory. Dwayne then says that Latias and Gardevoir worked well together, but Miguel comments on Latias's power, saying that despite being a Legendary Pokémon, she was fairly weak, commenting on the damage she suffered from Tyra and Moira's Pokémon's attacks, and how Jump Kick, a Fighting-type attack caused Latias, a Psychic-type, considerable damage, and Latias becomes visibly saddened and depressed by the comments, and Rosita responds by slapping Miguel on the back of his head, while Gardevoir comically threatens Miguel by charging up an attack, and Miguel frantically apologizes, saying he didn't mean to hurt Latias's feelings. However, Rosita does note the fact that Latias's power was weaker than most Legendary Pokémon and attributes to the fact that Latias rarely engaged in battles whilst living in Alto Mare, but Dwayne says that Latias's power was of no concern to him, as he only cared about having Latias around him, and this instantly cheers Latias up, and she nuzzles against Dwayne as gratitude for his praise.

Dwayne then decides to start heading towards Silver Town for the Johto League, and bids them farewell, as Rosita and Miguel wave him goodbye, before Miguel abruptly freezes in fear as Gardevoir turns her head and does a cut-throat gesture towards him, still angry and bitter over his comments about Latias, and Miguel's fear causes Rosita to chuckle, as she jokes about Gardevoir marking Miguel as an enemy, and how close of a friendship she developed with Latias.

While stopping for lunch near Tohjo Falls, a wild Elekid emerges from the shrubbery and promptly eats some of Dwayne's food. It prepares to attack him, though Chikorita responds with a Razor Leaf attack. Dwayne tries to stop the conflict from escalating but gets shocked as a result. Elekid turns its attention to Misdreavus, and begins flirting with her, though Misdreavus doesn't seem to be enjoying the attention. Unexpectedly, a group of Ursaring storm in and glare at Elekid, and Dwayne correctly assumes that Elekid must have stolen some of their food as well. The Ursaring attack with Hyper Beam, and everyone clears off, though Dwayne and his Pokémon become separated from Elekid and Misdreavus. After escaping from the wild Ursaring, Dwayne recalls his Pokémon and begins searching for Misdreavus.

As he continues to search for Misdreavus, Dwayne runs into Skyler and learns that Skyler is after the same Elekid that he saw earlier, so Skyler joins Dwayne in his search, but professes that she wants to catch Elekid, and Dwayne assures her that he has no intention of trying to capture it. During their walk, Elekid overhears Misdreavus's stomach grumbling. It promptly fetches some apples from a nearby tree and hands one to Misdreavus. As Misdreavus goes to nibble gently, Elekid shows it how to take a real bite. The small gesture instantly makes Misdreavus feel at ease. However, the two are discovered by the angry pack of Ursaring. Elekid tries to defend them with Thunder Shock, but the strategy fails as Ursaring easily shake off the attack. Misdreavus resorts to Screeching, and the ear-splitting noise alerts Dwayne and Skyler to their location, where they witness Elekid and Misdreavus being attacked. Skyler has her Meganium use Solar Beam on the Ursaring, who finally feel some level of damage. The Ursaring are infuriated and begin charging up an Earthquake. Skyler orders Meganium to use Vine Whip, and sends the Ursaring flying off. Dwayne and Skyler rush towards Elekid and Misdreavus, and the latter happily jumps into Dwayne's arms, happy to be reunited with her Trainer.

After the two reunite with Elekid and Misdreavus, Skyler battles Elekid with her Meganium. Elekid uses its Thunder Punch attack to fend off Meganium's Razor Leaf attack. Meganium then Body Slams Elekid before landing a direct Solar Beam on it. Elekid falls backwards and Skyler pitches a Poké Ball at her target. Elekid enters the Ball, and after a few sways, Elekid is officially caught. As Skyler holds up her newly caught Pokémon, Misdreavus is feeling sad. Skyler assures Misdreavus that she will look after Elekid, which instantly cheers up the Screech Pokémon. Skyler then asks Dwayne whether he's already obtained eight Badges, which Dwayne confirms, and Skyler says that she, too, earned eight Badges and says that they'll meet again at the Johto League before waving Dwayne goodbye, and Dwayne continues on his path.

Dwayne passes by Mt. Silver and reads a sign, informing all travelers that Mt. Silver was strictly out of bounds for any and all Trainers without official permission from the Pokémon League Competition Committee, as the Pokémon living in the mountains were overwhelmingly powerful, some of which were stronger than some Elite Four's Pokémon, and many Trainers have perished whilst venturing through the area. This rightfully terrifies Dwayne, who quickly departs from the area, not wanting anything to do with Mt. Silver and the danger it presented.

Dwayne continues towards Silver Town, and along the way, he notices a bunch of people gathered at a large closed gate. When he gets there, Dwayne asks a pair of bystanders what's going on. The men explain that everyone is waiting at the Ho-Oh Shrine to see the official Johto League Silver Conference torch. Dwayne decides to wait with the growing crowd. A shrine attendant finally opens the gate and explains that the torch runner is currently delayed. Two Trainers suddenly rush down from the shrine. and they tell the guard they cannot train at the shrine and rush off to the Pokémon Center to treat their injured Pokémon. The attendant is deflated, admitting that all the Trainers so far have been running away in fear. As he goes to ask Dwayne for a favor, another Trainer with her Duraludon steps forward and offers her assistance. The girl introduces herself as Raven from the city of Wyndon in the Galar region. With Raven now on board, Dwayne and Raven follow the attendant to the shrine building. The attendant explains that the torch runners are all ready to go, but they cannot reach the flame. He details that the Ho-Oh Shrine was where a terrible war was fought. People ravaged the place so badly that the Pokémon suffered because of it and the vegetation was wiped out. Ho-Oh appeared after a battle and unleashed a rose-colored flame that set the area alight and destroyed the weapons of war. From the ashes came new life and the area was restored to nature. But a bit of a tree was left burning for the longest of times. And they placed the fire in a shrine declaring the Sacred Flame that is now housed in the Ho-Oh Shrine.

The attendant adds that recently there have been reports of a Sneasel, a Machop, and a Machoke preventing people from getting near the Sacred Flame. Every Trainer who volunteered to try to stop the offending Pokémon ended up coming back with hurt Pokémon, broken bones, and other serious injuries. The attendant is really worried, because, without the Sacred Fire, the ceremony for the Silver Tournament can't start, and thus, no tournament this year. Dwayne says he'll make sure he can get the Sacred Fire secure from the Sneasel, mainly because he wants to go compete. Raven, on the other hand, wants to capture the Sneasel and will help Dwayne out if she can get her hands on it. Dwayne agrees, and asks where the shrine is and the attendant points the way up to a fleet of stone steps.

Dwayne and Raven are almost at the shrine. However, they almost get battered by Machoke's Rock Smash, but they lean back to avoid it. They spot the Machop and the Machoke that the attendant was talking about. Dwayne then brings out his Totodile to battle. Raven orders Duraludon to use Stone Edge on Machop while Dwayne orders Totodile to use Water Gun on Machoke. With the Fighting duo occupied, Raven orders Dwayne to enter the shrine. He opens the doors and gazes at the magnificent Sacred Flame for a moment before Sneasel tries to take a swing at him, but Dwayne jumps out of the way. Dwayne sends out Misdreavus for a Shadow Ball attack, but Sneasel leaps and avoids it. Sneasel strikes back with Ice Beam and knocks Misdreavus down, but not out. Totodile and Duraludon finally knock out Machoke and Machop with a Slash and Steel Beam, respectively, and along with Raven, rush towards Dwayne. Misdreavus tries to weaken Sneasel's Defenses with Screech, but Sneasel dodges it again. Finally, Sneasel gives Misdreavus a Poison Jab that throws Misdreavus right into Dwayne. Both get sent right back down the hill, and their descent ends when they collide into a tree. Raven and the other Pokémon rush towards their side, asking if they were alright, and Dwayne assures them that they were fine. Dwayne picks himself up and declares that Sneasel is more powerful than he expected, and they decide to retreat for the time being.

Later, Dwayne and Raven return to the shrine, but Machoke and Machop have recovered. Dwayne sends out Noctowl and Raven uses Duraludon. Noctowl takes Machop down with a Sky Attack, and Duraludon hits Machoke with Dragon Pulse. This knocks the fighters back, but Sneasel orders them forward again. Noctowl uses Extrasensory while Duraludon simply uses its sheer physical strength to lift them up and throw them down the hill. The duo crashes through a tree and hit the ground hard, much to the surprise of the shrine attendant. Raven turns her attention to the Sneasel, and decides to battle with her strongest Pokémon, and brings out her Cinderace. The first attack Cinderace uses is Mega Kick, which Sneasel has no chance of dodging. Sneasel tries to counter with Throat Chop, but Cinderace dodges and counters with Flamethrower. Cinderace gives Sneasel Blaze Kick, knocking it down. Raven throws an Ultra Ball at Sneasel, and successfully catches the Pokémon. Dwayne congratulates Raven on her latest catch before turning his attention to the Sacred Flame.

With the obstacles now clear, the torch runners can finally begin the long-awaited relay to the Silver Conference stadium. The shrine attendant thanks everyone for their efforts and reveals that he has decided to hire the Machoke and Machop to permanently protect the shrine. Raven reveals that she'll be competing at the tournament and she's looking forward to seeing Dwayne there. Dwayne, on the other hand, is left stunned but declares that he is confident that he's going to win.

After arriving at the stadium's Pokémon Center, Dwayne's backpack begins to glow, and Nurse Joy notices the Pokémon Egg that Dwayne was carrying was about to hatch, and quickly orders her Chansey to prepare a soft pillow to put the Egg on. As a large crowd gathers to watch the hatching of the Egg, Dwayne marvels at the occasion as Dratini hatches from the Egg, and the crowd gasps in surprise, as Dratini's species are very rare, and very few Trainers actually own any of them. Dwayne is then greeted by Jade, who announces that she is also entering the tournament. Dwayne remarks that he is going to do well and Jade retorts that she will set the record straight this time around before walking off.

Later, Dwayne heads to the Athlete's Village. While looking around, Dwayne notices Mr. Goodshow, president of the Pokémon League, handing out balloons to children. Dwayne soon arrives at the Silver Conference Athlete's Village and enters his accommodation, a hotel room complete with a view of a lake and a computer for analyzing other the other competitors. Now pumped up, Dwayne heads off for the screening rounds, designed to trim the field of 200 Trainers down to 48. Nurse Joy explains that the screening rounds are a series of one-on-one battles, with match-ups entirely computer-determined, with no Trainer having to battle more than three times. Dwayne, though, is confident he can pass the screening round.

An announcement calls for Dwayne and his first opponent, Salvador from Cherrygrove City, to make their way over to the Block C court. The computer randomly selects Dwayne to select his Pokémon first. Dwayne chooses his newly-hatched Dratini, while Salvador chooses Furret. Dwayne orders a Dragon Rage, which Furret evades with a Double Team attack. Dratini soon finds herself surrounded and confused by Furret and its duplicates. Salvador orders a Swift attack, and the move hits its mark. Dratini holds her ground and sprints into a Headbutt. However, Furret Digs underground and follows up with a direct Headbutt on Dratini. Salvador continues to use the Dig and Headbutt combination, and each time Dratini is struck down. As Furret prepares to land another Headbutt, Dwayne has Dratini leap onto Furret’s back. Furret attempts to shake Dratini off, but it is unable to. It soon dives into one of the dug holes. This allows Dratini to use Twister on a trapped Furret, and a final Dragon Tail seals the match for Dwayne. Dwayne has no further troubles in the screening process, as Dratini helps him earn another two victories.

Back in the Pokémon Center, Dwayne discovers that Jade, Sydney, Skyler, and Raven all have passed the screening round as well. Though Dwayne is confident that he can beat 47 other Trainers to the championship, Mr. Goodshow shows up and tells him that it wouldn't be as easy, as the 48 Trainers are placed into groups of three in the semi-final round, where only one Trainer from each group will advance to the Victory Tournament. Dwayne, nevertheless, is fired up.

That night, Dwayne can't sleep due to all of the anticipation. He gets out of bed and goes out for a walk to clear his head. Dwayne stumbles across Jade, so they decide to talk things over. The full moon out that night reminds Jade of her first night as a Pokémon Trainer; she states that she was lost in a deep forest, and was admittedly terrified of the forest and being alone, but upon looking at the beautiful full moon, she felt at ease and realized that while the world was scary, it was full of beauty nonetheless. Dwayne and Jade vow to battle each other, refusing to let anyone else eliminate them to prevent their fateful meeting in the tournament.

The next day, the Opening Ceremonies begin. Silver Stadium, the Pokémon Stadium for the Silver Conference, is filled to capacity, awaiting the arrival of the finalists, and even Professor Oak, Edge, and Roberta watching from home. The semi-finalist Trainers are soon corralled off awaiting their entrance cue. As Dwayne walks to join the line, he suddenly gets snatched and his mouth blocked to prevent him from screaming, and gets locked inside a room while tied up. As Jade looks back and sees that Dwayne wasn't present, she grows suspicious, aware that Dwayne would never miss the entrance ceremony. The two culprits reveal themselves to be Adrian and Adriana, once again attempt to have Dwayne disqualified from a Pokémon League, and they quickly run off, not wanting to get caught. As the athletes enter, Edge and Roberta, through the telvision, notice that Dwayne is curiously absent. At the same time, Dwayne, attempting to break the locked door down, is freed by Jade. Dwayne informs Jade that Adrian and Adriana were responsible for this, and the duo gives chase to the twins, tired of their antics. The twins eventually collide into the torch runner as he enters Silver Stadium. The runner subsequently drops the torch, but Dwayne catches the flaming torch baton in time. Adrian and Adriana's attempt to flee the scene is stopped by Jade, who manages to knock them both out with a roundhouse kick.

Though Dwayne the twins were stopped and the torch is still in one piece, the runner has twisted his ankle because of his earlier collision. Officer Jenny quickly arrives and demand an explanation, and Dwayne and Jade explain the situation. Jenny then takes the twins away, and states she would locate their parents and inform them of the situation. The news of the accident is soon announced to all the waiting competitors and spectators. Not knowing what to do, as the Silver Conference will not start without the torch, Jade tells Dwayne to make the final leg of the torch relay while she herself cares for the runner. Just when things look bleak, Dwayne makes his way into the arena and runs up the stairs to light up the big torch. The cameras focus in on Dwayne and the crowd cheers as the torch ignites with a large flame. Afterwards, Mr. Goodshow walks onto the center stage and gives a resounding speech to kick off the Silver Conference.

The day after the opening ceremonies, at the Athlete's Village Pokémon Center, Dwayne discovers that he has been grouped into Group H. Dwayne further learns that the semi-final round is a round-robin tournament, where each Trainer battles the two others—with three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. The Trainer with the most points in the group stage will move on to the Victory Tournament. Heading back out, Dwayne comes across Skyler, his first opponent. The two help each other get fired up, nearly getting into a battle in doing so, but they both manage to hold themselves back, waiting for their official battle in the tournament. The next day, at the B-Stadium, the match begins, with Skyler having the first move. Skyler sends out her Quagsire, while Dwayne responds with Misdreavus. The battle begins with an exchange of Ice Beam and Shadow Ball. Skyler changes tactics and tells Quagsire to use Double Team to evade Misdreavus's attacks. It works for a moment, and Quagsire hits Misdrevus with a Blizzard. Skyler orders another round of Double Team, but Misdreavus manages to hit Quagsire with a Power Gem. At this point, Skyler switches Quagsire for Electabuzz, with Dwayne surprised at how Elekid had evolved so soon since their last meeting. Anticipating this, Dwayne pulls out Misdreavus for Roserade. Skyler commands an Electro Ball, but Roserade easily brushes it off. With Electabuzz perfectly countered, Skyler recalls it and sends Quagsire back out. Dwayne leaves Roserade in and uses Petal Dance and Bullet Seed in quick succession. Quagsire retaliates with Hydro Pump, but Roserade blocks it with Power Whip. Roserade also dodges Quagsire's Ice Beam, and uses a powerful Poison Jab to defeat Quagsire once and for all.

Skyler then sends out her Meganium next, and Roserade starts off with Poison Jab, but it is countered with Solar Beam, followed by Body Slam. Roserade's attempt at a Power Whip is met with another Body Slam, which knocks Roserade out of the battle. Dwayne calls out Misdreavus once again, while Skyler selects her Electabuzz for the upper hand, and both Pokémon nod to each other, agreeing to go all-out against each other despite their friendship. Misdreavus begins with a Shock Wave, but Electabuzz blocks it off with Light Screen. Misdreavus's Confuse Ray manages to break through, however, but nevertheless, Electabuzz's Thunder Punch successfully hits despite its confusion, and Misdreavus gets knocked out, and Electabuzz's confusion wears off afterwards.

Now down two Pokémon, Dwayne is forced to send out his Heracross. As Skyler prepares to strike Heracross with an Electro Ball, Heracross hits its mark with an Arm Thrust. Skyler is left startled for a moment, though she soon goes on the attack. Heracross evades a series of Thunder Punches and hits again with Fury Attack, which Electabuzz blocks with Iron Tail. A second Iron Tail hits Heracross, and Skyler tries to finish it off with a Thunder Punch. However, Heracross, out of the air, hits a Megahorn onto Electabuzz's wrist, which causes the Thunder Punch to redirect itself onto Electabuzz's face, sending him flying backwards, before Heracross finishes it off with a vicious Double-Edge.

The match is now down to Meganium and Heracross, with momentum back on Dwayne's side. Heracross opens with a Megahorn, which Meganium counters with Razor Leaf and Vine Whip. Heracross responds to the Vine Whip with Arm Thrust. The attacks collide, creating an opening for a Double-Edge to hit Meganium. Another Megahorn attack is met with a Razor Leaf, which sends Heracross reeling, with Heracross ending up on its back. As Heracross struggles to get back up, Meganium sees an opening and rushes in for a finishing Body Slam. In a last-minute move, Heracross slams his horn into the ground and uses his sheer force to toss large amounts of dust onto Meganium, whose Body Slam cancels because of the dust, and Heracross defeats Meganium with a super-effective Megahorn, and Dwayne wins the match. Skyler walks over to Valeria and congratulates him on the victory, and Dwayne says that Skyler battled wonderfully, and both Trainers shake hands.

During the second match of Group H in the Silver Conference, Skyler faces off against Sydney, the group's third competitor. Though Skyler is ready, Sydney is more prepared to showboat than battle, saying hello to her friends and family to one of the stadium cameras. The three-on-three match gets well underway, and soon it is down to a winner-takes-all situation with Skyler's Electabuzz and Sydney's Poliwhirl battling for the victory. Sydney's showboating gets to the better of her, as she trips over her own foot issuing orders to Poliwhirl, leaving Poliwhirl standing as it takes an Electro Ball. This, combined with Skyler's Meganium's Razor Leaf from an earlier round, seals the match for Skyler. As Dwayne watches from the stands, he notes that Skyler saved herself from elimination by winning, which also means that he and Skyler are tied at the top of Group H. He also realizes he will only need a tie against Sydney in order to advance, while Sydney must win outright to force a three-way tie.

Back at the Athlete's Village, Dwayne's Chikorita and Totodile are relaxing outside. They then see an apple from a tree, which Chikorita tries to grab with Vine Whip. At the same time, a Venusaur, accompanied by a Slowking, also see the same apple. The two Grass-type Pokémon get into a heated tug-of-war over the apple. As Totodile and Slowking receive their halves, Slowking throws its piece towards Totodile, hitting it in the face and knocking off the other half of the apple. As Venusaur and Slowking laugh at Totodile's misfortunes, Totodile's short-tempered side rears itself, and he prepares to pick a fight with the two, only to be restrained by Chikorita. As Chikorita tries to apologize, Slowking slaps her in the face, bringing out Totodile's anger once again. Chikorita easily shakes it off and tries once more to restrain Totodile. As the two leave, Venusaur's vine latches onto Chikorita, tripping her, and causing Slowking and Venusaur to laugh once again. Chikorita finally loses her temper and smacks Slowking in the face with Vine Whip, and she and Totodile laugh at them, and the four Pokémon begin fighting each other.

Then, Dwayne hears that a Pokémon brawl is happening outside, with Chikorita and Venusaur involved. Dwayne and Sydney figure that their Pokémon are involved, and rush out. Seeing their Pokémon grappling, they try in vain to quell the fighting. Only when Raven appears with her Alcremie does the fighting stop, by way of Sweet Scent. As both Dwayne and Sydney thank Raven for breaking up the fight, Officer Jenny arrives to see what the commotion was about, and warns that any brawls could get their Pokémon's Trainers disqualified. Raven covers for Dwayne and Sydney, saying that the four Pokémon were only practicing against each other, with Jade appearing to back up Raven's claim, and after Officer Jenny leaves, Dwayne and Sydney also thank Jade for assisting them, and she simply nods in silence before walking off.

The next day, the match begins, with Sydney given the first move. Sydney calls upon her Slowking, and Dwayne selects Totodile. Slowking leads off with Water Pulse, while Totodile evades the attack. As Totodile goes in for a Slash, Slowking dodges at the last minute. After exchanging a Water Gun and Scald, Slowking connects with Icy Wind and follows up with Mega Punch. Totodile, however, Crunches Slowking's hand just as it connects and replies with a point-blank Hydro Pump, knocking Slowking out. As Totodile dances in victory, he suddenly evolves into Croconaw, much to everyone's surprise.

Next up, Sydney calls out Gligar. After Croconaw and Gligar's Slash and Quick Attack collide, Dwayne orders Croconaw to use Crunch next. However, Gligar dodges and uses Tailwind, which makes Gligar too fast for Croconaw to keep up. Finally, Sydney ends it all with Gligar's X-Scissor, and Croconaw is hurled right into a wall and is out for the count. Dwayne recalls Croconaw and sends Noctowl out next. After exchanging a Wing Attack and Rock Slide, Noctowl manages to use Extrasensory and slams Gligar onto the ground. Dwayne then orders a Hypnosis, but Sydney has Gligar dodge the attack by circling around Noctowl. Noctowl finds himself surrounded, and Dwayne orders Noctowl to risk a Sky Attack, and Gligar retaliates with a super-effective Rock Slide, which cancels out Sky Attack and knocks out Noctowl.

Now down to his last Pokémon, Dwayne brings out Chikorita. Gligar begins with a Rock Slide, which Chikorita counters with Razor Leaf. Chikorita avoids the same Tailwind-boosted circling strategy that defeated Noctowl by using a spinning Vine Whip to cut off Gligar's space. The vine soon connects and swats Gligar aside. Nevertheless, Gligar attempts X-Scissor, but the attack is blocked by a last-minute Razor Leaf. Finally, Chikorita fires Solar Beam at Gligar, and with the bright sunlight, the attack gets charged instantly, and Solar Beam hits directly, knocking Gligar out of the battle.

Chikorita and Venusaur are now battling for the match, and the prior bad blood is still fresh in their minds. Trading off Razor Leafs and Vine Whips, Venusaur appears to be more powerful as some of its Razor Leaves hit Chikorita and it manages to throw Chikorita while locked in the Vine Whip. Narrowly dodging several Petal Blizzard attempts, Chikorita connects with another Razor Leaf. Evading another Vine Whip from Venusaur with her own Vine Whip, however, allows Venusaur to hit Chikorita while airborne with a super-effective Sludge Bomb. However, Chikorita manages to evade Venusaur's follow-up Razor Leaf and uses another Vine Whip to hook on to Venusaur's bulb and pelt it with more Razor Leafs. Both slowly get back up and wear each other down by hitting each other in the face with Vine Whips. On the sidelines, Skyler wonders why they aren't taking time to evade the attacks, in which Jade explains that the battle may be of pride as well, and thus both are willing to take as much as they are willing to give. As they talk, both Grass types cross counter with their Vine Whip attacks. Getting up one last time, Chikorita and Venusaur trade off Leaf Storm and Petal Blizzard, respectively. The pair emerge standing despite the large explosion. They both smirk at each other before collapsing on the battlefield, forcing the referee to declare a tied result. Despite the draw, both Trainers congratulate each other on a battle well fought, and the rival Grass types also shake vines. With the tie game, Dwayne officially advances to the victory round from Group H.

Back at the Athlete's Village, the preliminary rounds have been decided. Dwayne discovers that Raven advanced from her group, as did Jade and Sydney. What surprises her even more, though, is that her first round match in the victory tournament is against none other than Jade. The next day, the Victory Tournament begins in earnest as the announcer explains the Victory Tournament conditions: a Full Battle with a random selection of battlefields between grass, water, rock, and ice-based fields. In the round's opening match, Raven easily advances onto the next round when her Sneasel defeats a Machamp. Back in the locker rooms, Dwayne congratulates Raven on her victory, and Raven says that she's looking foward to battling against her in the finals. Back on the field, after the announcer makes a brief note of Jade's and Dwayne's accomplishments, the match begins on the rock field, and Jade is selected to choose her first Pokémon.

Jade leads off with Nidoqueen, while Dwayne calls on his Noctowl. Nidoqueen charges forward with a super-effective Rock Tomb that sends rocks flying into the air, causing Noctowl severe damage damage. However, Noctowl manages to push through the oncoming rocks and rushes towards Nidoqueen with a Sky Attack. However, Jade orders Nidoqueen to grab Noctowl by the head, which Nidoqueen successfully does so. She then launches a point-blank Hyper Beam, easily knocking Noctowl out of the match. Dwayne sends out Machamp as his second Pokémon, so Jade swaps Nidoqueen out for a Flareon. Jade begins with a Flamethrower, but Machamp evades the attack and throws its opponent into the air with a Dual Chop. Flareon uses the increased altitude to its advantage, landing into its own Fire Blast before ramming straight into Machamp. The flames engulf Machamp, causing it massive damage. Adding insult to injury, Flareon also adds a point-blank Flamethrower to the mix to cripple Machamp, which leaves him burned. Suddenly, Machamp manages to blow the fire away with his sheer strength, and Jade wonders where Machamp gained such power, and Dwayne says that Machamp's Ability was Guts. Machamp charges towards Flareon with a Cross Chop, which overpowers Flareon's Flamethrower defense, knocking it out.

Unfazed, Jade sends out Kangaskhan – the most powerful Pokémon on her team – and Machamp starts with a Dynamic Punch, but Kangaskhan responds with Hyper Beam, and the two attacks prepare to collide. However, despite a last-minute evasion tactic behind a rock, Hyper Beam manages to blast through the boulder and knocks Machamp out, forcing Dwayne to send out Misdreavus. Kangaskhan uses Power-Up Punch, but Misdreavus swiftly dodges the attack. Misdreavus uses Shock Wave, but Kangaskhan uses Rock Slide to block the attack and tries to hit Misdreavus, but Misdreavus easily dodges, although Dwayne realizes that their power gap was too great, and Dwayne recalls Misdreavus in favor of Chikorita, hoping that her small size and speed might come in handy. Chikorita evades the first Power-Up Punch with a Vine Whip-powered jump, but her airborne Razor Leaf is easily deflected. Then, Chikorita tries to use Leaf Storm, but Kangaskhan easily leaps towards her, and dodges the attack with ease, before using Iron Tail and slams Chikorita into the battlefield, knocking her out.

Since Dwayne has lost three Pokémon, the referee calls for a five-minute intermission. When the break ends, Dwayne sends out Muk, while Jade sends out Venomoth. Venomoth uses Tackle to charge straight at Muk, who easily absorbs the attack. Dwayne then orders Muk to use Body Slam. Muk leaps foward and squishes Venomoth underneath his body, and when Muk gets off, Venomoth is knocked out, and Jade sends Nidoqueen back out. Jumping towards the air, a tactic copied from Chikorita, Nidoqueen manages to land on Muk and strike it with Mega Punch. Nidoqueen then fires off a Fire Blast, but Muk dodges and retaliates with Mud Bomb, knocking out Nidoqueen and tying the score.

Jade sends Scyther out next, and after a series of Quick Attacks, Scyther defeats Muk with Razor Wind. Sending Misdreavus back out, Misdreavus easily dodges Scyther's Air Slash, allowing her to attack with Power Gem, which Scyther evades. Scyther uses Air Slash again, and while Misdreavus dodges the attack, it allows Scyther to swoop in and knock her out with Air Slash.

Now down to one Pokémon against Jade's three, Dwayne sends out Gardevoir, and urges Gardevoir to perform at her best. Scyther lunges towards Gardevoir with Slash, but Gardevoir dodges and attacks with Moonblast. Scyther flies up to avoid the attack, but Gardevoir teleports herself next to Scyther in the sky and knocks him out by a point-blank Shadow Ball to the face. Jade, undaunted, sends out Tauros next. Tauros first uses Earthquake, which momentarily stuns Gardevoir. Gardevoir attempts to use Psychic, but as Gardevoir lifts Tauros, Tauros blasts Gardevoir back with Zen Headbutt. Tauros lands back on its feet and uses Horn Attack. However, Dwayne orders Gardevoir to use Moonblast, which hits Tauros, knocking it out.

With both Dwayne and Jade down to one Pokémon, Jade sends out Kangaskhan. Gardevoir uses Moonblast, but it is deflected by Kangaskhan's Rock Slide. Kangaskhan uses Hyper Beam next and hits Gardevoir's face. Gardevoir soon recovers, and unleashes Psychic, and Kangaskhan takes the attack due to Hyper Beam's after-effects, but manages to withstand it. As Gardevoir continues dodging Kangaskhan's Rock Slides, Dwayne desperately looks for some way to take advantage, and he suddenly notices the rocks caused by the destruction of their battle, and orders Gardevoir to use Psychic on the rocks, and Gardevoir lifts several large rocks with Psychic, and flings them all towards Kangaskhan, who gets overwhelmed by them. As Kangaskhan begins to suffer from the damage, Gardevoir closes in and they lock hands. As both Pokémon engage in a staredown, Dwayne orders Gardevoir to use Teleport, and Gardevoir teleports herself and Kangaskhan several feet in the year, before Gardevoir lets go of Kangaskhan and teleports herself back to the field. Everyone watches as Kangaskhan falls helplessly several feet in the year and crashing directly onto the battlefield, which knocks her out, giving Dwayne the victory.

Later that night, Dwayne meets Jade privately by the lake. Jade isn't ashamed that she had lost the battle. She exclaims that she felt incredibly satisfied from the battle despite her loss, and feels that she learned how to become a better Trainer and says that she would cheer for Dwayne during his next matches, and urges him to win the tournament. Following this, both Dwayne and Raven win their respective matches, allowing them both to meet in the finals, just as Raven predicted, and Dwayne becomes momentarily stunned at the pressure of competing in such a high-stakes battle, but quickly regains his composure, and tells himself that she couldn't fail. Raven, wearing a standard Galar battling uniform, says that she would proudly represent Galar and win the tournament.

Dwayne and Raven send out Houndoom and Ursaring, respectively. Raven starts the battle by ordering Ursaring to use Hammer Arm on the field, which causes the ground to shake violently, and Houndoom loses his balance as a result, and Raven quickly commands a follow-up Thunder Punch, which hits Houndoom directly, causing severe damage. As Houndoom struggles to get back up, Dwayne mumbles that Raven truly was an incredible Trainer, and orders Houndoom to hang in there. Raven then tells Ursaring to end the battle with another Thunder Punch, but as Ursaring closes in, Dwayne tells Houndoom to crunch Ursaring's hand, which it does, and Thunder Punch gets cancelled. As Ursaring unsuccessfully tries to free itself, Dwayne commands Houndoom to use Flamethrower, which blasts Ursaring back, before Houndoom knocks it out with a follow-up Thunder Fang.

Raven then sends out Sneasel, the same one she captured before the tournament opened. Houndoom uses Fire Blast, but Sneasel dodges and and charges towards Houndoom with Poison Jab, but Houndoom jumps to dodge the attack and follows up with Flamethrower. Sneasel uses Ice Beam to create a wall of ice to block Houndoom's attack, before finally knocking it out with Throat Chop. Dwayne then recalls Houndoom and sends Misdreavus as his second Pokémon. Dwayne commands a Shadow Ball, but Sneasel fires off an Ice beam that overpowers Shadow Ball. However, Misdreavus quickly charges towards Sneasel and uses Confuse Ray, leaving Sneasel confused. With Sneasel unable to properly battle, Misdreavus knocks it out with a flurry of Shadow Ball and Power Gem.

Raven chooses Stantler to fight next. Misdreavus tries a Shock Wave, but Stantler blocks the attack with Protect. Stantler then replies with a Hypnosis, which puts Misdreavus to sleep, and Stantler follows up with Shadow Ball, knocking out Misdreavus. Dwayne sends out Heracross out next, but Stantler quickly outspeeds Heracross and puts him to sleep as well with Hypnosis. Stantler then takes advantage of the situation by using Dream Eater. As Stantler slowly absorbs Heracross's energy, its target soon wakes up in a rage, not appreciating at having his dreams stolen, as Stantler becomes shocked. With a single Megahorn, Stantler is blasted into the stadium's walls, and gets knocked out of the battle. The announcer orders a five-minute intermission due to three of Raven's Pokémon being unable to battle.

The second half of the battle begins; Dwayne sends out Noctowl and Raven chooses Alcremie. Noctowl hits Alcremie with a Confusion, but Alcremie weakens him with Charm. Noctowl is then struck by Alcremie's Dazzling Gleam. Noctowl recovers and attempts to use Sky Attack. However, Alcremie knocks it out of the sky with a blindingly fast Giga Impact, winning Raven the round. Dwayne sends Heracross back out. As Heracross prepares to use his Fury Attack, Alcremie uses Sweet Scent, decrasing Heracross's movements because of the scent. Heracross manages to free himself from the influence before knocking Alcremie out with a Megahorn. Raven's fifth Pokémon is her Duraludon. Heracross uses Arm Thrust, but Duraludon uses Stone Edge to stop Heracross dead in his tracks, and after Heracross gets blasted by the attack, Duraludon follows up with a vicious Hyper Beam, which knocks Heracross out of the battle. Dwayne's next Pokémon is Roserade. Roserade starts with Bullet Seed, but a Dragon Pulse attack from Duraludon easily pushes through the seeds. Dwayne orders a Petal Dance, but Duraludon manages to withstand the attack, and as Duraludon continues to get engulfed by the attack, Raven commands a Steel Beam, and the attack blasts through the petals and strikes Roserade right on her head, knocking her out, and leaving Dwayne with only one Pokémon remaining.

After a deep breath, Dwayne chooses Latias as his final remaining Pokémon, which shocks the audience and the announcer screams out in surprise. At the stands, Jade leaps out of her seat in surprise at seeing Dwayne in command of a Legendary Pokémon, and back in Pallet Town, Edge and Roberta stare in awe at Latias's presence. Raven also becomes shocked at the sight of the Legendary Pokémon, and Latias giggles at everyone's reaction to her sudden appearance. Dwayne orders Latias to use Dragon Breath, but Duraludon blocks the attack with Stone Edge, before using Hyper Beam, but Latias manages to fly upwards and dodge the attack. With Duraludon unable to move due to Hyper Beam, Latias approaches him at a face-to-face distance, and blasts the Steel-type Pokémon with a point-blank Dragon Breath attack. As a result, Raven is down to her last Pokémon—Cinderace. Realizing that both Pokémon were equally powerful, Dwayne remarks that their battle would be one to remember, and orders Latias to use Psywave, but Cinderace uses its legs to blast the attack away in a flash. This impressive display of strength and speed causes everyone to gasp in amazement, Dwayne included. Cinderace's Flamethrower and Latias's Dragon Breath clash in mid-air, resulting in a huge explosion.

Dwayne then commands Latias to use Dragon Breath again, which Cinderace easily dodges by jumping high into the air. Taking advantage of the fact that Cinderace can't move freely in the air, Latias tries a Psywave, but Cinderace dodges, then counters using Mega Kick. Latias flies upwards, dodging the attack. However, Cinderance lands on his feet, and uses the momentum to bounce back towards the sky, successfully striking the second Mega Kick directly onto Latias's face. However, Latias quickly regains her composure and blasts Cinderace down with a point-blank Dragon Breath. Cinderace is ordered once again to use Mega Kick. As Latias and Cinderace brawl it out, Dwayne commands Latias to use Dragon Breath, and Cinderance gets blasted to the ground. As the smoke clears, Cinderace shocks everyone by remaining on its feet, and Raven explains that Cinderace used Flamethrower at the last second to cushion its fall.

As Latias begins panting in exhaustion, Raven orders Cinderace to use Blaze Kick, and Latias gets struck directly onto her face, but Cinderace also begins showing signs of exhaustion. With both Pokémon tired out, Cinderace uses its signature attack, Pyro Ball, which Latias counters with Dragon Breath, and both attacks explode after a back and forth collision. Latias attacks again with Psywave, but Cinderace dodges and smashes Latias with a Blaze Kick, dealing severe damage to her. Latias uses Recover, but Cinderace stops the process with a quick-fire Flamethrower. Latias and Cinderace clash again with Dragon Breath and Flamethrower, respectively that engulfs both Pokémon. As the smoke clears, both Pokémon struggle to their feet. Raven and Dwayne plead for their Pokemon to get up, and with encouragement both do.

Dwayne orders another Dragon Breath, but as Latias prepares the attack, Latias suddenly feels an excruciating pain on her neck, and collapses. Latias attempts to get back up again, but this time she can't and faints completely, meaning Raven is the winner of the Silver Conference. Dwayne is left distraught from the loss, but quickly cheers up, knowing full well he battled well and rushes over to Latias, and feeds her a Sitrus Berry, and Latias slightly recovers. Dwayne asks if she's okay, and Latias fights back tears, disappointed for being defeated, believing she was at fault for Dwayne's loss, but Dwayne assures her that she did her best, and he was proud of her, and Latias quickly cheers up, and nuzzles against her Trainer in a playful manner. Raven approaches them and offers a handshake, and Dwayne accepts. Raven states that she had never participated in a battle that made her this excited, and hopes to battle him again one day, and Dwayne returns the sentiment. Latias and Cinderace also exchange pleasantries before the announcer urges the crowd to give both Trainers another round of applause.

The next morning, the Silver Conference comes to an end with Raven becoming the winner of the Johto League Silver Conference, and Mr. Goodshow presents Raven with the coveted trophy as the crowd cheers on. Outside the stadium, Dwayne asks Raven where she would head to next, and Raven says she would travel through Mt. Silver first, hoping to capture some powerful Pokémon, and would then return to Galar for the time being before embarking on another journey. Dwayne says that Mt. Silver was prohibited, but Raven explains she just gotten permission from Mr. Goodshow and shows Dwayne her official letter from the president of the Pokémon League, and Dwayne expresses his amazement. Dwayne and Raven shake hands as Raven walks off. Just then, Jade arrives and says that while Dwayne didn't win the tournament, he became the runner-up and congratulates him on getting this far. Dwayne thanks her and asks what was her next step, and Jade says she would return to Pewter City for the time being, wanting to rest before thinking about her next journey. Dwayne extends his hand for a handshake, but Jade instead hugs him, saying that she was glad to have met him, and overcoming his initial surprise, Dwayne returns the sentiment, and both Trainers head their separate ways.

A week later, Dwayne arrives in Pallet Town and upon entering his house, gets greeted by his parents and Professor Oak, all of whom congratulate him on his ranking in the Johto League. Dwayne thanks them for it, and sits down for lunch. Everyone eats, as Oak questions Dwayne on his next step, and Dwayne admits having no idea about what to do next, and Oak tells him to take his time and enjoy some time off from traveling. Dwayne agrees and decides to spend some time home before deciding on his next journey.

A few months later, Dwayne celebrates his 12th birthday, and receives a letter from Gwendolyn, a friend of his parents's. The letter states that Gwendolyn was suggesting Dwayne travel to Hoenn and compete in the Hoenn League. After some thought, Dwayne agrees with Gwendolyn's suggestion and openly announces his intention to compete in the Hoenn League. The next day, Dwayne leaves all of his Pokémon with Professor Oak, with the exception of Gardevoir and Dratini, as Dwayne believed that Dratini was still far too young to be left without him, and explains his decision to leave the majority of his Pokémon behind, wanting to "start over" in Hoenn by catching new Pokémon. His parents agree with his decision and bid him farewell, as Dwayne embarks on a ship directly towards Hoenn.