Gwendolyn

**Gwendolyn Birch** (Japanese: **オダマキ・グエンドリン** *Odamaki Guendorin*), usually referred by her nickname **Gwen** (Japanese: **グウェン** *Guuen*) or **Gwen Birch** (Japanese: **オダマキ・グウェン** *Odamaki Guuen*), is a Pokémon Trainer from Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region. She is the daughter of Professor Birch.

In her adulthood, after years of traveling the world, Gwendolyn was chosen by Norman to succeed him as the Petalburg City Gym Leader. As such, Gwendolyn gives out the Balance Badge to challengers who manage to defeat her.

## **History**

### **Background**

When Gwendolyn was little, she and her parents traveled to Goldenrod City in the Johto region while on vacation. While there, Gwendolyn became friends with a boy named Jethro, and the two spent many days playing together. One day, while Jethro's father, Norman, was taking the aptitude test to become a future Gym Leader, Gwendolyn and Jethro were attacked by a wild Salamence while playing together. Salamence decides to charge towards them to attack, but Jethro quickly grabs Gwendolyn and pushes her out of the way.

Jethro then sends out his Poochyena, Zangoose and Ralts, who attack Salamence with Assurance, Scratch and Confusion, respectively, and cause Salamence significant damage. However, Salamence recovers and strikes Jethro with Dragon Claw across his chest, leaving him with giant, bloody, and permanent claw-shaped scars across his torso. Jethro ignores the pain and gets Zangoose to attack with Giga Impact. Salamence, finally having enough, flies off. After the battle, Jethro realized that, because of his aggressiveness, he caused Gwendolyn to cry, while Gwendolyn realized that because she was weak, she caused Jethro to get hurt. Because of this, Jethro decided to focus on Pokémon Contests and a Pokémon's beauty, while Gwendolyn learned how to become stronger.

### **Hoenn**

Gwendolyn first appears when she saves Jethro from two wild Mightyena. She was, at first, mistaken by Jethro as a wild Pokémon due to her wearing a leaf bikini, and started attacking him. This hostility escalated when she learned the two had contrasting goals. Soon, they agreed to settle their rivalry with an 80-day pact, in which Gwendolyn would conquer all eight Hoenn Gym Badges while Jethro would collect all five Hoenn Contest Ribbosn. She fainted shortly afterwards. When Gwendolyn wakes up, she discovers a letter where Jethro explains that he had made her clothes in thanks for saving his life. Initially, she is angered, but quickly realizes that in order for Jethro to have made clothes for her, he must have taken her measurements, horrifying her.

In Petalburg City, a crowd has gathered to watch Gwendolyn struggle to free a Castform from a fountain. Gabby and Ty watch as Mr. Stone begs Gwendolyn to wait for the authorities. However, Gwendolyn refuses, because it would be too late if they waited. Instead, Gwendolyn has Aron chew the iron pillar of the fountain so she can easily rip the top part off, freeing Castform. With Castform freed, she has Torchic warm its body with its flames.

The crowd celebrates Gwendolyn's rescue of Castform, but Mr. Stone asks if her Rono is all right after eating all of the iron. Gwendolyn explains that Aron's favorite food is actually iron, and that he has a big appetite. Realizing that Mr. Stone is the president of the Devon Corporation, Gabby has Ty go interview Gwendolyn due to it having the potential to be a great news story. Gwendolyn, not liking television, decides to turn down the interview option and leaps onto a lamppost.

Nearby, three people in maintenance personnel uniforms watch the scene in frustration. They explain to their boss via their Pokégear that they had sabotaged the fountain as a trap for Mr. Stone. Since he strolls with his Pokémon here every day, the plan had been to lure him in by trapping his Pokémon in the fountain, then disguising themselves as staff and kidnapping him when they arrived to "rescue" his Castform. However, thanks to Gwendolyn's interference, they've been foiled. Their boss tells the three that while he would have preferred for them to kidnap Mr. Stone in secrecy, it still has to happen today, and that he doesn't care what they do as long as the mission is successful.

Back at Gwendolyn's location, Mr. Stone introduces himself to Gwendolyn and requests that she come to the next town with him so that he can properly express his gratitude. Gwendolyn immediately jumps down and reveals that something else is inside of the fountain. Suddenly, three Pokémon leap out of the fountain and attack. Gwendolyn sends out Aron and Torchic to battle the three Pokémon that have leaped from the broken fountain. They manage to pin down the Sharpedo and Carvanha, but the Lombre attacks Mr. Stone and steals a machine from his pockets before running off. The Sharpedo and Carvanha run off too, forcing Gwendolyn to chase after them with Mr. Stone being carried on her back.

As Gwendolyn, Gabby, and Ty chase after the Pokémon, they realize that the attack was too coordinated to be a coincidence, meaning that the attackers were given orders. They chase the Pokémon into the Petalburg Woods, but Gwendolyn reveals that she is much more energetic in nature, allowing her to locate the three thieves.

Noticing that one of their Pokémon is missing, Gwendolyn sees that the Lombre had snuck up behind them and it attacks Gabby and Ty. Gwendolyn tries to attack, but one of the thieves reveals that her Pokémon were injured from her Sharpedo's Rough Skin. But, to give them an advantage, the female thief, Shelly, gives her Lombre a Water Stone to evolve into a Ludicolo, thus allowing it to easily defeat Sapphire's Pokémon.

The thieves reveal that Mr. Stone actually had the component to the Submarine Explorer 1 which he was going to deliver whilst pretending to be on a stroll. Since they now have the component, the thieves prepare to kill Gwendolyn and company in order to silence her. Before Gwendolyn can react, Mr. Stone's Castform helps by giving her Torchic a boost in strength with Sunny Day, allowing her to beat Shelly's Ludicolo with a enhanced Ember.

Having escaped, Gwendolyn takes the injured Mr. Stone, Gabby, and Ty to Rustboro City. Gabby thanks Gwendolyn for saving them, but Gwendolyn says that it was Castform who really saved them with its Sunny Day. Mr. Stone comes to, and Gwendolyn apologizes for not being able to get the component back for him. Before he faints again, Mr. Stone gives Gwendolyn a letter to give to his son, Steven. After he falls unconscious again, Gwendolyn promises to deliver the letter to his son.

Gwendolyn then starts her first Gym challenge at the Rustboro Gym and opens the door, but finds no one inside. Suddenly, a bell rings and several people rush inside and start studying. Confused, Gwendolyn checks and confirms that she is at a Pokémon Gym. When Gwendolyn wonders where the Gym Leader is, she is told by a person entering the room that they are the Gym Leader.

At the Rustboro hospital, Gabby and Ty wonder what to do about the situation that happened with Mr. Stone. Due to broadcast regulations, they are unable to put what really happened on the news. However, they manage to use their recorded footage to find out the name of the people who attacked Mr. Stone: Team Aqua.

Back at the Gym, the Gym Leader, Roxanne, begins giving test papers to the people that entered her Gym earlier. Believing that she is giving a lesson, Gwendolyn decides to come back at a more appropriate time. Roxanne corrects her, and reveals that in order to face her in a battle, one must take a test. Due to Gwendolyn's poor reading skills, she has to have someone read out certain words to her, but manages to finish it. Later, Roxanne is pleased to see that someone has managed to pass with full marks for the first time since she started the test. After struggling to read the poorly-written name, she is shocked to see that the winner was Gwendolyn.

Roxanne accepts her challenge and sets up a stage to start their Gym battle. They start their match, with Gwendolyn choosing Aron and Roxanne choosing Nosepass. When Nosepass proves to be too strong for Aron, Gwendolyn decides to switch to Torchic, but discovers that she cannot switch Pokémon. Roxanne starts laughing, and exclaims that for Gwendolyn's Aron, there is no escape. Roxanne explains that her Nosepass has the Magnet Pull Ability, which prevents Gwendolyn's Steel-type Aron from leaving the battle. Roxanne has her Nosepass use Rock-type moves to bury Aron in a pile of rubble.

Roxanne begins bragging about her type specialty, which, despite being weak to Steel-types, has an advantage when magnetic forces are applied in the fight. Roxanne continues her strategy, which she continues to brag about how she studied hard to come up with it. Gwendolyn tries to get far away from Nosepass, preventing its magnetic force from affecting Aron, but cannot attack due to her techniques requiring physical contact.

For Roxanne, however, being far away doesn't affect her strategy, and she has Nosepass shower Gwendolyn and Aron in rubble with Rock Slide. Believing that she has won the battle, Roxanne opens the door outside to let the Gwendolyn out. Wind begins blowing inside, allowing Gwendolyn to find out where north is.

Aron climbs out of the rubble, revealing that he is still able to battle. Due to Nosepass being unable to face a different direction than north, it loses its balance when it turns around, allowing Aron to beat it with Iron Tail and give Gwendolyn the victory. Sapphire reveals that she figured out that Nosepass can only face north due to the position Roxanne started the battle in. Gwendolyn tells Roxanne that she shouldn't spend all her time reading books, as nature can tell people things that books cannot.

Roxanne understands, and presents Gwendolyn her first Gym Badge: the Stone Badge. As Roxanne clips the Badge to Gwendolyn's pack, Gwendolyn decides to go to Dewford Town and deliver the letter to Steven. In Dewford Town, Steven Stone talks to Captain Stern via Pokégear about the near-completion of the Submarine Explorer 1 and prepares to do something after investigating Granite Cave.

Gwendolyn sits perched on a lamppost, whistling out at the ocean. Roxanne finally catches up to her and says she's not through explaining about Gym Badges, then demands to know where Gwendolyn is going in such a hurry. Gwendolyn says she's headed to Dewford Town and will use a Pokémon to get there—a Wailord that she borrowed from her father. Wailord appears and Gwendolyn leaps onto its back, telling it to take her to Dewford, and as they swim away, Roxanne tries to yell across the water the full explanation about Gym Badges and the Pokémon Leage.

Meanwhile in Team Aqua's hideout, Matt, Shelley and Amber stand at attention as their boss, Archie, congratulates them on successfully stealing the heart component of the Submarine Explorer 1. He promotes them to sub-leaders and gives them each a vest to mark their new position, but also warns that he hasn't forgiven them for allowing themselves to be seen by Gwendolyn, Gabby, and Ty during their mission. He says he expects they know what to do about it, and they agree.

Gwendolyn approaches Dewford Town while riding on Wailord. Wailord sneezes, which accidentally sends a wave of water rushing to the people swimming at the beach. Suddenly, a man and his Makuhita come in and they surf on the wave. After they finish, Gwendolyn comes in and apologizes for the wave that Wailord created. The man says that it was alright, since the wave Wailord created was a good one. He reveals that he was training his Makuhita, despite it being a Fighting-type and not a Water-type, by teaching it the power of Jū, a fighting style that uses the energy in one's body to fight.

The man reveals himself to be Brawly, the Gym Leader of the Dewford Gym, and that he hopes remembers what he told her in their upcoming match. Due to Brawly being busy, Gwendolyn is forced to wait until the next day to have her Gym battle, so she walks around waiting. As she does, Jethro and Mr. Briney dock in Dewford Town, where the two Trainers meet up once again. Mr. Briney introduces himself to Gwendolyn and learns about the bet between her and Jethro. Seeing that Gwendolyn is wearing the clothes he made for her, Jethro is happy to see that she has "joined civilization", which angers her. Gwendolyn asks Jethro how many Ribbons he won, but after learning he hasn't won a single one, she brags to him about her recent Gym Badge acquisition. The two quickly get into another argument about their training styles, but quickly go to Granite Cave after saying goodbye to Mr. Briney. Upon entering the cave, the two split up after discovering a fork in the area.

Gwendolyn prepares with Torchic and Aron for her upcoming Gym battle. She has the two of them fight the wild Zubat, Golbat, Geodude and Graveler living in the cave. From their brief conversation earlier, Gwendolyn knows that if she fought Brawly as she is now, she'd lose the fight. She apologizes to Mr. Stone for not delivering the letter immediately, but since it's the only time she can fight Brawly, she has to finish tonight.

Later, Gwendolyn arrives at the Dewford Gym, where she finds Brawly waiting for her inside. The two start their match, with Brawly sending out his Machop. However, he does not see what Pokémon Gwendolyn sent, as Gwendolyn immediately orders Peck. Machop barely dodges the attack from Gwendolyn's new Pokémon, a Combusken. Brawly is surprised, since this was quick and sudden. Gwendolyn sends her Lairon, who also evolved, then asks Brawly to send his secret weapon. Brawly calls Machop back and grants her request, sending his Makuhita. Gwendolyn yells out Iron Tail and Metal Claw, but neither attack seems to hit Makuhita. Instead, Makuhita throws Lairon away.

Brawly commends Makuhita, telling Gwendolyn like the wave, she shouldn't fight the force, but ride it. Seeing Lairon wounded, Gwendolyn calls it back. Brawly sees though Gwendolyn trained Lairon well, it is still not enough to defeat the secret of jū. Gwendolyn sends Combusken, who uses Flamethrower. Brawly laughs, for Fire-type attacks are less effective due to Makuhita's Thick Fat Ability. Makuhita throws Combusken away onto the wall. Gwendolyn is shocked, as Brawly can counter any of her attacks. Gwendolyn thinks there is more to jū. She explains she was raised in the woods, she climbed tall trees with the vine. She explains should one accumulate enough energy, the vine can be binded. She is certain Makuhita has been storing energy, since it never attacked directly, only repelling attacks.

Brawly commends on her correct answer, for Makuhita has been storing energy to evolve into a Hariyama. Brawly has Gwendolyn in a tight spot, as his Hariyama goes to finish Combusken, whose hand got stuck in the wall. Hariyama strikes, while Combusken uses his leg to block the attack and both exchange attacks. Brawly tells Gwendolyn he won due to Hariyama's Counter. Gwendolyn disagrees, as Hariyama falls down, defeated. Brawly is shocked, seeing two bruises on Hariyama. Gwendolyn knows well if Combusken were to attack Hariyama, she would lose due to Counter. However, Gwendolyn knew that and had Combusken use Double Kick, allowing it to attack once more.

Gwendolyn knew well Brawly would use Hariyama's most powerful attack, so she had Combusken use that move. Brawly still wonders how she knew Makuhita would evolve. Gwendolyn replies that usually Gym Leaders don't reveal too much of their strategies, though Brawly already told her much. Gwendolyn thought he was hiding something and suspected there was a reason to come tonight. Brawly is surprised, but gives Gwendolyn her reward, the Knuckle Badge. Suddenly, a noise is heard from the nearby cave, so Gwendolyn speeds up, thinking of Jethro. Brawly stops her, warning that even if Gwendolyn trained there, there are still dangerous Pokémon inside Granite Cave. Gwendolyn replies a fool is inside the cave. Brawly asks if her friend is inside the cave, but Gwendolyn denies Jethro is her friend.

Brawly understands that, for he would also do anything for a friend. He also has a friend, whom he trained together and mastered gō. At any rate, Brawly bids her farewell, as he has to go on an expedition. Gwendolyn climbs up and finds Jethro on the Granite Cave. Jethro taunts her, thinking this is where she is looking for breakfast: grass and pebble soup. Gwendolyn yells out, replying she was looking for him, thinking Jethro is in danger. Jethro replies he was fighting Mawile with a man named Steven.

Gwendolyn is shocked and asks where he went. Jethro replies he went out to sea, so Gwendolyn grabs Jethro and runs off, hoping she may be able to catch up with him. Gwendolyn and Jethro land on Wailord and Gwendolyn commands Wailord to hurry up.

On Route 108, a moss-covered, half-sunken ship that has been abandoned for centuries lies in a sea cemetery. This ship is known as the Abandoned Ship. At night, Gwendolyn and Jethro sail on Gwendolyn's Wailord. Jethro brushes Zangoose's fur, leading to Gwendolyn to complain about how a man enjoys feminine traits and tells Jethro that the son of a Gym Leader should learn things that should help in battle.

Gwendolyn decides to start training with Combusken, which bothers Jethro as their attacks almost hitting him every time. Jethro retorts to Gwendolyn's previous comments by stating that he isn't a barbarian like her and is only interested in Pokémon. This offends Gwendolyn, who states that she wore the clothes she had before were for helping her father with his fieldwork. Gwendolyn claims that Jethro should be grateful for letting him ride on Wailord, but he states that she dragged him there. When Gwendolyn threatens to throw Jethro off, Wailord begins shaking. While Jethro mistakes this for Wailord telling them to stop fighting, Gwendolyn confirms that Wailord is trying to tell them that something is ahead. They quickly find out that they have arrived at the Abandoned Ship, where Gwendolyn decides to have Jethro sleep at for the night.

Because her father will yell at her for sleeping in the same place as a boy, she tells Jethro to sleep on the ship for the night, despite his protests. Gwendolyn throws Jethro onto the ship and tells him to come back in the morning. Angry that a city boy like him has to camp out on a ship, Jethro looks for a place where he can sleep. He finds a place filled with different types of Berries growing and has Mudkip pick some. Mudkip goes to pick some Berries, but something attacks him before he can get them. Jethro realizes that it must be a wild Pokémon and tells it that it won't be able to hide from him. Using Mudkip's radar, Mightyena and Zangoose attack the Pokémon, revealing it to be a wild Plusle and Minun. Due to finding them cute, Jethro decides to let the two off with a warning.

When he asks what they're doing on the ship, Plusle and Minun point to an old diary that had withered with age. Realizing that they were either separated from their Trainer or abandoned, Jethro pities the two and tries to comfort them. Plusle and Minun give Mightyena, Mudkip and Zangoose some Aguav, Mago, and Wiki Berries, respectively.

Due to their tastes, the three Pokémon get confused due to their bodies being unable to digest the Berries. Angered, Jethro takes chase to the trickster duo. Outside, Gwendolyn hears sounds and believes that Jethro had come back due to being scared. She quickly realizes that she was wrong and hears voices outside. Gwendolyn quickly goes on guard knowing that more people have come to the ship.

Having sensed the presence of someone else, Gwendolyn tells Wailord to hide. Wailord dives underwater as Gwendolyn notices two figures land on the ship from the sky. Two people clad in red cloaks, a man named Tabitha and a woman named Courtney begin searching for something. Courtney tells Tabitha to go alone, but they get into an argument and settle it with a coin toss. Courtney wins, so Tabitha is forced to go on deck alone anyway. As Gwendolyn hides, Courtney reveals that she knew Gwendolyn was there the entire time and attacks. In their struggle, Courtney manages to grab Gwendolyn's face briefly before Gwendolyn calls out Lairon and Combusken against her Ninetales. Suddenly, Gwendolyn clutches her face, crying out in pain, which Courtney explains is because of her gloves that were soaked in Tamato Berry juice, causing Gwendolyn's eyes to burn. Courtney scoffs that her companion Tabitha was too dull to detect intruders, and says she can't afford to let anyone know about them. But Gwendolyn uses this time to escape, and does so which prevents from Courtney from finding her.

Gwendolyn, hiding again, considers her position. Lairon and Combusken have both been badly burned, and her eyes are still stinging too badly to open. Furthermore, Jethro is still on board, and Gwendolyn is sure he'll suffer defeat at the hands of the other stranger. She decides to try to find him before it's too late.

Back at Jethro's location, he continues to chase the trouble-making Plusle and Minun. He realizes that they've been keeping him from going near one particular door, and guesses there's a rare Berry behind it. Before he can make a move, however, a blow from behind knocks him to the floor, and a man with a Torkoal thanks him for this deduction before moving towards the door himself. Plusle and Minun try to stop him, but Torkoal takes them out, and Tabitha then discovers a diary on the floor that mentions the Scanner. He breaks into the room as Gwendolyn discovers Jethro, out cold, and hauls him up to safety.

When Jethro awakens, Gwendolyn explains that the two strangers seem to be here to steal something from the ship, and that she was attacked by the companion of the man searching the room below. Courtney herself appears soon, saying she's found the Scanner. The two realize both kids are missing, and Jethro and Gwendolyn realize they're in a tough spot, since Jethro's Pokémon are confused and Gwendolyn's are burned. Gwendolyn has the idea to use Plusle and Minun, though Jethro will have to give the commands, since she still can hardly see.

On cue, Jethro and Gwendolyn leap down to confront Tabitha and Courtney, and Jethro orders a Double Team before the real Plusle and Minun shock them both. Jethro and Gwendolyn make a break for it, and Jethro checks his Pokédex to see which attacks he can use with these two Pokémon.

Courtney uses her Ninetales's fire to destroy the Double Team, and Plusle and Minun wait for their next commands, while Jethro realizes the Scanner is what's most important to the two in red. Torkoal pins Plusle down as the two tell the kids that they've got to dispose of them both. Jethro cries out for the two to hold it, then reveals that if they make another move, he'll drop the diary that Tabitha saw earlier into the sea, explaining that while they may have the Scanner, the password to activate it is written inside. Tabitha tries to call his bluff, but Jethro demands they bring Plusle over for a trade. Courtney approaches carrying Plusle, and as soon as she sets it down, Minun runs up to join it. Their combined power shocks Courtney, making her drop the Scanner, which Jethro catches. Victorious, Jethro and Gwendolyn, along with Plusle and Minun, make their escape, leaping out of the Abandoned Ship onto Wailord. Gwendolyn is impressed that Jethro had Minun use Helping Hand on Plusle to strengthen it, saying that teamwork is the way to win double battles. But Jethro is less enthusiastic: they may have escaped, but they haven't won. The Scanner he thought he stole is just the empty case.

As Tabitha and Courtney fly away with their Swellow, Courtney complains that the kids were a waste of time, but at least they have the Scanner. She also says she didn't get a chance to see the boy's face, and Tabitha can't remember what he looked like either, since he only attacked him from behind. Courtney vows to find Jethro again and put an end to him. As Jethro and Gwendolyn continue on Wailord towards land, while Plusle and Minun wave goodbye on the Abandoned Ship.

Gwendolyn and Jethro reach the end of Route 109 on Wailord, with Gwendolyn disappointed that they never caught up with Steven. Jethro is frustrated, saying he wants to part ways because Gwendolyn only ever drags him into trouble and distracts him from his goal. Gwendolyn retorts by saying he should be thankful that she and Wailord gave him a ride. Jethro gets off onshore, and they each yell at the other to remember their promise.

Elsewhere, Tabitha and Courtney have joined Maxie in a hideout as they await the return of Blaise. Tabitha and Courtney want to stir up trouble now that they've got the Scanner, but Maxie pours himself a drink and insists they should wait for Blaise. Blaise then appears, reporting that the Submarine Explorer 1 being built in Slateport City is already 95% completed. Upon hearing this, Maxie orders the Three Fires to go after it, saying that the world will burn and the seas dry up under the scorching fire of Team Magma.

On Route 110, Gwendolyn is contemplating about Steven's whereabouts. She resolves herself to challenge the Gyms and progress across Hoenn to search for clues. While overlooking Mauville City, Gwendolyn notices that the patch of grass she is standing on is markedly different to the other sections, and she springs a pitfall trap. While dangling, Gwendolyn wonders where she has gotten to but is unable to see due to the perpetual darkness.

Gwendolyn manages to free herself from the trap by swinging out of it, landing hard on her rear. As she does so, she is approached by a mysterious looking robot, which proceeds to attack her with an array of punches. More robots then emerge, surrounding Gwendolyn. A huge robot disguised as a tree uproots from the ground, snatching Gwendolyn, Combusken and Lairon. Gwendolyn shouts at the machine to let her go, but it then flings both Gwendolyn and her Pokémon onto a conveyor belt, leading to a railroad and eventually trapping them inside a ball.

Wattson and the Trick Master then emerge, celebrating their success in capturing a Donphan through a high five. Wattson then realizes suddenly that they mistakenly captured a human girl. The Donphan then appears, and on a rampage one of Wattson's robots, as Gwendolyn chides the two for mistaking her for a Pokémon. Wattson and the Trick Master then inform Gwendolyn that they were merely trying to capture the troublesome Donphan. They introduce themselves to Gwendolyn, who informs the two of her predicament with the pitfall trap. She asks whether that was one of their traps to capture Donphan, but they confirm that they only set the robot tree trap for Gwendolyn. Both Wattson and the Trick Master confer on the issue, asking one another whether they are thinking the same thing. Wattson concludes that Gwendolyn accidentally uncovered the entrance to the "Phantom Underground", New Mauville. Both Wattson and the Trick Master are ecstatic at this development, leading to Wattson creating a terrible pun, much to Gwendolyn's dismay.

Gwendolyn is looking for the entrance to the underground that she fell in earlier. Wattson and the Trick Master are curious to know where she fell since they have been looking for it for a while. Gwendolyn slams the exact area on the ground with her fist and the entrance opens up. The three take a peek from above. Wattson asks her what the location in the underground is called. Gwendolyn answers, but is interrupted by a group of kids that want to battle Wattson. Wattson accepts all of their challenges and sends out Electrike and two of his Magnemite. Wattson's Electric-type easily defeat the six challengers. One of them mentions that Wattson is a Gym Leader, which shocks Gwendolyn.

Gwendolyn gets angry and asks him if Wattson is a Gym Leader, which Wattson confirms with a laugh. Despite the challengers losing, Wattson rewards each of them a Gym Badge since the attacks their Pokémon performed were very powerful. Gwendolyn then questions him about giving out Gym Badges to challengers that didn't defeat him. Wattson was then saying that the Badges are proof of the Gym battle. Gwendolyn wonders if that was a Gym battle as the kids walk away. Wattson then continues his statement by saying that his battle motto is "*Be cheerful, no matter when or where*", and that any battle performed by him is a Gym battle. He would give out Gym Badges to anyone that has impressed Wattson during the Gym battle as stated by the Pokémon Association.

Since Gwendolyn showed him to the entrance to the underground earlier, he rewards her with the Dynamo Badge. Gwendolyn rejects the offer by slapping it away, sending the Badge flying. She explains to him that she would only earn Badges if she defeats the Gym Leader, not the Gym Leader giving them away for free. Wattson accepts her personality and the Trick Master wonders where the Badge that flew out of Wattson's hand went. The Badge is revealed to have landed on a Donphan, which ends up angering it. Donphan chases the three and they fall into the underground. Gwendolyn wakes up Donphan and the Trick Master. After they wake up, they fight each other. Gwendolyn tells the Trick Master to cut it out.

The Trick Master turns the lights on and mentions that he found New Mauville. He turns around to see Wattson, but Wattson isn't there. The Trick Master tells Gwendolyn the story behind New Mauville. The underground city was created by their ancestors since Mauville was known for the overcrowding of children. With New Mauville built, the problem of not having enough land disappeared. It turns out that both Wattson and the Trick Master love children. After Gwendolyn listens to his story, she asks the Trick Master for his help in finding the mystery of the underground city in exchange for a proper Gym battle. The Trick Master accepts. Gwendolyn calls out his name to see if he could hear her. Wattson did hear her and tells her to come over to him.

Gwendolyn dashes over to where she heard Wattson, but instead finds his Electrike and Magnemite. The Magnemite have fallen to the ground since their electrical supply was drained by the power generator. With Electrike alright, Gwendolyn tells him to lead the way to where Wattson is. Gwendolyn picks up the Magnemite and she along with the Trick Master follow Electrike. Electrike takes them to Wattson, who is stuck to a power generator that is out of control and sucked the electricity out of Voltorb and Electrode. However, the generator noticed them coming and attacks them with the electricity that it had drained from the Electric-type Pokémon.

Gwendolyn pushes the Trick Master out of the way from the power generator's attack. The power generator unleashes its full potential and the Trick Master comments that Electrike would have been no match for it. As a result, the Trick Master decides to take on the power generator as it is a battle between two robots. During the battle, the generator shoots off something that renders the Trick Master's contraption useless. He starts to lose hope as he is not able to run straight, but then deduces that the generator is shooting off a magnetic field that would affect any machine and cause it to not work properly.

Gwendolyn gets worried about Donphan and takes out her Pokédex, which reveals that Donphan have the ability to sense magnetic changes that go on around it and does so by curling up and rolling around. Gwendolyn and the Trick Master realize that this Donphan was trying to help them when it rolled around. However, it is too late since they are in the generator's magnetic field and have trouble standing up straight. Wattson then tells them that it was too early for them to give up and Gwendolyn agrees. The Trick Master goes to save Wattson, but the power generator zaps him, Gwendolyn, and Donphan which throws them off guard.

The Trick Master attempts to get them out of this by using his intelligence to find out the power generator's weak spot. Using his machine, the Trick Master figures out the generator has two abilities: the first is "Absorb", which can suck in the opponent's electricity, and the second is "Release", which allows the generator to convert that energy into attacking power. Wattson admits that he was captured by the power generator as his Electric-type Pokémon caught the haywire machine's attention.

Gwendolyn finds the weakness to the machine, it can't attack if it hasn't absorbed any electricity, which means that it would have to absorb in more electricity if it attacks. Gwendolyn goes on by saying that they have a chance to take on the generator. The Trick Master asks her if it is necessary, despite finding out its weakness. Gwendolyn is convinced that they still can. With everything in control, the power generator zaps them with electricity shaped as a fire ball. Gwendolyn gets confident that they'll defeat the machine and borrows Wattson's Electrike as part of the plan. Gwendolyn dodges the attack and Donphan curls up. The electricity is sent directly to Wattson's Electrike. Electrike absorbs the electricity due to his Lightning Rod Ability. With Electrike's Ability activated, this gives them a good chance to perform their combination attack. Donphan rolls into the generator with its body while Gwendolyn grabs Wattson and frees him from the generator's grasp.

The power generator starts acting strange and conks out. The Trick Master wonders who was responsible for creating the power generator. Everyone finds out that the power generator wanted to play and notices a message on the machine. They read the message and find out that Trick Master's ancestor was responsible for creating the power generator. He pushes the red button and watches the power generator send off electricity in a positive way. Afterwards, New Mauville becomes an amusement park for kids. A few days later, a group of kids go to the amusement park in Mauville City and New Mauville.

Gwendolyn admits that Wattson and the Trick Master were right all along. Now with everything accomplished, both the Trick Master and Wattson don't have to worry about the children not having enough land to play on thanks to Gwendolyn's help. As a result, she feels that she has earned the Dynamo Badge. Also, the Donphan that helped out earlier joins Gwendolyn's team. After completing everything, the Trick Master and Wattson say goodbye while Gwendolyn continues on to her next adventure.

Flannery and her Magcargo defeat a challenger at the Lavaridge Gym. Winona, watching the match on a video screen, congratulates Flannery on her 149th consecutive victory, which erases her previous mistake of constantly not being at her Gym. Winona informs Flannery about Gwendolyn, a Trainer who has already defeated Roxanne, Brawly, and Wattson, and will probably head to Lavaridge Town next. Flannery decides to go outside and cool off, where she yells out that she will accept Gwendolyn's challenge. Two figures show up and mistakenly assume that Flannery knows Gwendolyn after overhearing her. They demand that Flannery tell them about Gwendolyn and send out their Pokémon to attack her.

Sometime later, Gwendolyn herself arrives at the base of Mt. Chimney. She notices that the cable car seems to be out of commission, but then it starts moving, and the door slides open to reveal Matt, along with Flannery, bound and gagged. Gwendolyn recognizes Matt at once, and uses Donphan as a springboard to leap high into the air and into the cable car. Inside, Matt reveals that he wanted Gwendolyn to climb aboard, but Gwendolyn is more worried by Flannery, who is obviously hurt. Enraged that Matt would use an innocent bystander as bait to lure her in, Gwendolyn orders Combusken to attack Matt, but its blow is stopped by Matt's Azumarill, which then begins to flood the cable car with water.

While the car floods, Matt explains that it is airtight, so that eventually it will fill up completely and cut off their oxygen supply. As the water reaches the ceiling, his Azumarill creates an air bubble around his head, allowing him to continue to talk and breathe as water finally fills the car. He then calls out his Sharpedo to finish the helpless Flannery and Gwendolyn off. Meanwhile, at the top of Mt. Chimney, Team Aqua is working on a large drilling machine affixed to the rim of the crater. Amber announces that it's time to carry out their mission: stopping the volcano's activity.

Inside the flooded cable car, Gwendolyn shoves Flannery out of the way of Sharpedo's attack, much to Matt’s amusement. He taunts the girls, asking whether Gwendolyn is going for a world record by holding her breath for over four minutes. Flannery is losing consciousness, though, and Gwendolyn realizes she needs to find a way to let them both breathe before she can hope to counterattack. Matt sends Sharpedo after them again to finish them both, but Gwendolyn calls out Lairon, and its Iron Defense takes the force of Sharpedo's bite, breaking off many of Sharpedo's teeth. Matt isn't fazed, explaining that Sharpedo's fangs grow back immediately, and a weakened Gwendolyn falls against the glass window of the cable car, apparently unconscious.

At the top of Mt. Chimney, Amber calculates that Matt should have finished off Gwendolyn by now and notes that his mission is complete as well; only Shelly's work remains. He calls her and learns that she has met Professor Cozmo at Meteor Falls. The professor has been mining for meteorites to study, and thanks Shelly and Team Aqua for their generous funding of his research as he extracts a meteorite from the ground.

Back on the cable car, Matt declares that their first task as subleaders of Team Aqua is complete, but a sudden rush of noise announces that the water is draining out of the cable car. Gwendolyn and Flannery gasp for breath on the surface as one of the windows shatters, expelling the rest of the water. A baffled Matt wonders how this happened, and Gwendolyn snarls that she used Sharpedo's broken fangs to pierce the glass. Furious, Matt sends Azumarill and Sharpedo after Gwendolyn and Flannery, but Gwendolyn hits both Pokémon and Matt with a powerful Take Down from Lairon, sending them smashing through the back window of their cable car and into the front of the empty one coming up the cable behind them.

Gwendolyn leaps out of the destroyed cable car with Flannery on her back, then unties her. Flannery apologizes for telling Team Aqua about Gwendolyn, but admits that Gwendolyn is just as strong of a Trainer as the rumors said. Flannery then sets off for the top of Mt. Chimney, saying that it's her job to protect her Gym's town and that Team Aqua's plan must have something to do with the volcano. Gwendolyn didn't realize that Flannery was the Lavaridge Gym Leader, and they decide to go stop whatever is going on together. To help them get up the mountain quickly, Gwendolyn calls out a Pokémon of her father's that he uses for flight transportation: a Tropius.

Shelly and Professor Cozmo arrive at Mt. Chimney, where Amber greets Professor Cozmo and introduces himself as one of the 'SSS' members of Team Aqua. Cozmo is impressed by the machine they've set up to stop the volcano's activity, and Amber explains that according to their data, the sea levels in Hoenn have been falling for a year, and they have a responsibility to correct the imbalance. This is why they need Cozmo's meteorite—to power their machine.

As everything is being set up, however, a cable car arrives at the top of the mountain that has Matt, his Azumarill, and his Sharpedo, all unconscious and smashed against the shattered front window of the cable car. Amber realizes that Matt has failed to stop Gwendolyn, and lies to a frightened Cozmo that Matt has been attacked by enemy forces during his mission. Amber's task was to oversee the experiment, Shelly's was to bring in the professor, and Matt was supposed to negotiate with the 'enemy forces,' which clearly hasn't gone well. As Matt is carried away on a stretcher, Amber tells Cozmo that it's too dangerous here and that Shelly will protect him while Amber stays behind to deal with the enemy. He calls out his Pelipper and flies off.

Gwendolyn and Flannery are on their way on Tropius, and spot the machine atop Mt. Chimney. Gwendolyn has Tropius use Razor Leaf to scatter the Team Aqua Grunts below, but before they can attack the machine itself, Amber interferes with his Pelipper's Hydro Pump. As Tropius and Pelipper battle in the sky, Shelly urges Professor Cozmo to set up the meteorite inside the machine as fast as possible.

Flannery tells Gwendolyn to get past Amber and go for the machine, but Gwendolyn says she can't—Amber is feinting, pretending to fight badly and staying defensive, only attacking when they head for the machine in order to keep them at a distance. Unable to get in close range, Gwendolyn orders Tropius to use Magical Leaf, an attack that never misses. Unfortunately, it hits the machine just after Cozmo finishes setting up the meteorite, so the machine's defenses block the attack. With the machine successfully activated, Amber reveals that he was deliberately fighting badly in order to fool Cozmo and buy them time to activate the machine.

The machine begins working immediately and shoots a blast of energy into the heart of the volcano. Soon, the hot springs in Lavaridge Town begin cooling off, and Mt. Chimney stops emitting smoke and ash. The townspeople begin to panic as they realize their whole town is going cold. However, there is one person who is pleased—Archie, the leader of Team Aqua. With Mt. Chimney now dormant, the energy balance in Hoenn has been tipped against the land, bringing the slumbering Kyogre that much closer to awakening.

In ancient times, two Pokémon fought each other in a great battle. One Pokémon, Kyogre rose waves and expanded the sea; the other, Groudon, expanded the land and rose plateaus. Their battle never seemed to end and the world was engulfed in the destruction the battle caused. One day, the two Pokémon stopped fighting and went to sleep at the bottom of the sea and have stayed there ever since. In the present day, the sea level rises, causing it to crash onto land until it nearly engulfs it. In Lavaridge Town, an Absol watches as people panic as their town begins cooling from the suspension of Mt. Chimney.

Back at Mt. Chimney, Amber is amazed at the power of the meteorite that allowed their machine to stop the volcano. With their mission complete, Team Aqua make their escape, taking Professor Cozmo with them. Gwendolyn follows them into the cavern that Amber's Carvanha opened inside the mountain, but Flannery is left outside. Underground, Gwendolyn tries to find where Team Aqua went, but finds herself being attacked.

Swearing to avenge Mt. Chimney's activity suspension, Flannery tries her hardest to revive it using her Pokémon. Suddenly, however, a voice behind her tells her that it is simply not enough heat energy to get the job done, and Flannery finds herself joined by a mysterious stranger—Tabitha of Team Magma. Although Flannery mistakes Tabitha to be a member of Team Aqua, he assures her that he is an ally and he is here to help try and revive the volcano. Using his Torkoal to burn coal, Tabitha creates a powerful ball of flame and has Flannery add more to it. They fire the ball into the volcano, creating a huge explosion that destroys Team Aqua's machine in the process.

Flannery excitedly hugs Tabitha as Mt. Chimney erupts with a roar, Flannery exclaiming that they've managed to revive the volcano. But as soon as the eruption subsides, the volcano grows dormant again. Tabitha deduces that the fireball they sent into the heart of the volcano collided with the meteor energy of Team Aqua's destroyed machine, neutralizing it, and adds that if a fireball of that magnitude wasn't enough to kickstart the volcanic activity, then there's nothing else they can do. Tabitha vows to continue to increase the land mass with Team Magma for the good of Hoenn, and compliments Flannery on her skillful handling of fire before taking off on his Swellow, leaving a blushing Flannery behind.

Suddenly, Flannery remembers something important: Gwendolyn is still inside the ground beneath her, fighting against Team Aqua. In the cavern created by Secret Power, Gwendolyn, Combusken and Tropius continue battling, but Gwendolyn suddenly realizes something and has Combusken and Tropius hold their fire. Approaching the "enemy," Gwendolyn discovers that a ring of Mirror Coat has been set up around them, reflecting all their attacks back upon themselves; Team Aqua have long since fled. Furious, Gwendolyn slams the ground in frustration, then sees something sparkling on the floor of the cavern and picks it up: a glittering rock fragment.

Once Gwendolyn returns outside, she and Flannery trade stories of their failures, Gwendolyn's is letting Team Aqua escape and Flannery's is being unable to revive the volcano. Flannery says she thinks the volcano won't last much longer, and looks sadly out towards Lavaridge Town in the distance, shedding a tear as she blames herself for being unable to protect the volcano despite being a Gym Leader.

Suddenly, Gwendolyn and Flannery notice that there's a hot spring nearby. Flannery guesses that the fireball she created managed to heat up the water here, and Gwendolyn dives in immediately. The two girls enjoy the hot spring, Flannery fully aware that Gwendolyn is trying to cheer her up after their failure, and Flannery asks Gwendolyn if she'll consent to have her official Gym battle right here in the hot spring. Gwendolyn is more than happy to oblige, and Flannery's Magcargo faces off against Combusken, with Combusken hitting hard with Double Kick before the two Pokémon exchange Flamethrowers. Combusken sneaks up behind Magcargo in the aftermath and cracks its shell with a powerful kick, but lava comes spewing out, damaging Combusken.

After the battle, the girls climb out of the hot spring, since it's beginning to grow cold. Flannery reveals that her grandfather was a member of the Elite Four in his day, and his example is what has inspired her to become a Gym Leader. She swears she won't let Team Aqua get away with their evil deeds and tells Flannery that she's headed to the Pokémon Association to inform them and the other Gym Leaders about this threat. Gwendolyn says she'll work on getting stronger, too, and as Gwendolyn flies away on Tropius towards Fortree City, Flannery tosses her a souvenir: the Heat Badge.

After witnessing Mt. Chimney's death at the hands of Team Aqua, Gwendolyn has prioritized defeating them over her goal of beating the Gym Leaders. Upon arriving in Fortree City, Gwendolyn spots a Picnicker named Kylee trying to rescue her Zigzagoon from a tree. The branch breaks, sending the Trainer and Pokémon plummeting to the ground. Using her tree climbing skills, Gwendolyn quickly rescues the two. After thanking her, the Trainer notes her Zigzagoon had fallen ill, so she decides to take it to a Pokémon Center. Gwendolyn says it'd be much faster if she treated it, so she picks the Zigzagoon up and presses her nose to its buttocks. Using this method, Gwendolyn figures out that Zigzagoon has the flu, so she feeds it a Berry to heal it.

Gwendolyn's mannerisms cause the Picnicker to figure out who she is, so she goes to inform Winona. Winona shows that she is already there, and had been meaning to meet Gwendolyn before the awakening of Kyogre. Winona introduces herself as the Gym Leader of Fortree City, and had the residents inform her if they found a person that resembled Gwendolyn. Now knowing that Winona is a Gym Leader, Gwendolyn and Winona begin their battle.

The battle starts with Gwendolyn sending out Combusken and Winona flying on her Altaria. Combusken proves to be a powerful opponent for Altaria, which Gwendolyn notes is because of all the training she had done before arriving. The strength Combusken gained from the training allows him to evolve into Blaziken. Although stronger, a well-used strategy from Winona allows her to defeat Blaziken, giving Gwendolyn a loss.

Winona notes that Gwendolyn had become careless when Blaziken evolved, allowing Altaria to heal and strengthen itself to give the power to win. Despite the loss, Winona offers to coach Gwendolyn and help her get stronger. When Winona asks her how many Gym Leaders she had defeated, Gwendolyn replies that Winona is the fifth she challenged. Happy at this answer, Winona asks some people to come out in the open. Four people come out of a house, the Gym Leaders that Gwendolyn had already beaten, Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, and Flannery.

Winona reveals that they have gathered for an important purpose. When Gwendolyn asks, Winona states that it is because the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre is going to awaken, and they need her help to deal with it. Winona knows that Gwendolyn may not have an answer at first, so she has her wait before deciding on her answer. Suddenly, Wallace, another Gym Leader, arrives, although Winona is shocked to see that he had brought someone with him. In Wallace's car, Jethro notes that Fortree City is beautiful. Upon looking down, Jethro and Gwendolyn are shocked to see each other in the same location.

When Wallace and Winona ask if they know each other, Gwendolyn confirms that the two of them are rivals. Jethro asks Gwendolyn why she had come, she replies it is because of her goal of conquering the Gyms. Gwendolyn retorts by asking why Jethro had come to a place where all the Hoenn Gym Leaders have gathered. Hearing this causes Jethro to freak out and hide at the thought of his father being here. Once he confirms that his father is not with the other Gym Leaders, Jethro calms down. Winona welcomes Wallace, and states that they'll discuss strategies once Tate and Liza arrive before dismissing everyone.

At Gwendolyn's location, Gwendolyn goes to start her training with Winona. As they train, Winona gets a call from someone. Winona goes somewhere else and promises to return in a short while. Left alone by their mentors, Gwendolyn and Jethro decide to start a conversation. Much to Jethro's surprise, Gwendolyn isn't trying to fight with him as she usually does whenever they meet. Gwendolyn realizes that Jethro is right and apologizes for her previous actions, to which Jethro states makes her sound more like a girl.

Suddenly, an earthquake occurs, causing wild Spoink and Grumpig to start rampaging. They try to get away from the panicked Pokémon, but Gwendolyn is sent flying. Acting on reflex, Jethro has Mightyena defeat the Grumpig. As Jethro lies down exhausted, Gwendolyn is shocked to find out that he was this strong all along. She notes that Jethro specifically attacked the Grumpig's pearls, which isn't a technique a normal Trainer would use. Although Jethro feigns ignorance once again, Gwendolyn isn't fooled, and she has Lairon attack Jethro. On instinct, Jethro dodges the attack and has Mightyena swat Lairon away. Gwendolyn asks why Jethro lied to her, but Jethro refuses to answer her question. When she sees that Jethro doesn't want to talk, Gwendolyn grudgingly accepts, since Jethro being strong is a good thing. Confused, Jethro asks why that is a good thing.

Gwendolyn reveals that a catastrophe is hitting Hoenn, and with Jethro's strength, he will be able to help the Gym Leaders with her. Jethro refuses, as he states that his interests lie in Contests. Angered, Gwendolyn states that because of all the bad things that have happened, she isn't interested in challenging Gyms. Gwendolyn states that they should fight for Hoenn, but Jethro replies that since he just moved to Hoenn, he isn't all that interested in fighting for it and plans on moving back to Johto after beating the Contests, saying that Hoenn's problems weren't his, and Hoenn could sink to the bottom of the ocean for all he cared.

Furious, Gwendolyn immediately begins stripping her clothes off, much to Jethro's shock. Using the leaves from the trees, Gwendolyn fashions a leaf bikini similar to the one she wore when she first met Jethro. As she does so, she reveals that despite their quarrels, she never really thought Jethro was a bad person. Gwendolyn shows Jethro the letter he wrote for her, and points out that he said that he thought she would look nice in the clothes he made for her. She reveals that the compliment made her happy, as no one had told her that before, which is why she decided to wear the clothes in the first place. She points out that even though Jethro is so strong, he's not putting his strength to good use. Jethro tries to say something, but Gwendolyn refuses to listen to his words. Gwendolyn tosses the clothes Jethro made for her and tells him to never come near her again. Jethro, visibly regretting his words, complies with her demand and turns around to leave.

Back at the Gym Leader's location, Winona asks her teammates if they are alright after the earthquake. The others shrug it off, and complain about her decision to let Gwendolyn join them despite most of them not agreeing to it. Roxanne decides to wait until Tate and Liza arrive before making their decision.

As Winona wonders where the twins are, Tate and Liza walk through Mt. Pyre. They sense an evil presence and are on guard. They express regret at having to miss the Gym Leader meeting, but they cannot tell the others about their other job. As they continue on, they managed to track the presence at the heart of the cave. Suddenly, the cave becomes hotter, which is revealed to be caused by Team Magma. The Team Magma Grunts reveal that they have come for the Red and Blue Orbs, which they tracked using the Scanner. The Grunts attack, but Tate and Liza easily dodge using their combination. The two groups then begin their Double Battle.

Atop Mt. Pyre, an old woman tells her husband that enemies have invaded the mountain and Tate and Liza are fighting them. Although worried that the twins are too young to take the responsibility off their hands, the old couple vow to protect the Orbs no matter the cost. Back at Tate and Liza's location, the twins continue to face the Team Magma Grunts in a Double Battle. By boosting their stats with Cosmic Power in addition to the Rock-type that their Pokémon have, the twins gains a huge advantage in the fight. Tate and Liza continue to attack their foes with powerful moves that can hit both targets, which begins to whittle their opponents down. Liza begins bragging and tells her foes to leave, only to start staggering because of the intense heat.

Suddenly, their foes rise up again, signifying that they haven't decided to give up. As Tate and Liza continue to battle their foes, Blaise watches from above. Blaise reveals that the Team Magma Grunts the twins are fighting are only illusions he created with the heat. Tate and Liza are completely fooled, and they continue to wonder why their attacks aren't hitting. As the two fight something that isn't there, Blaise goes to search for the Red and Blue Orbs. Using the Scanner, Blaise finds the old couple and easily swats them away. He picks the two gems from their pedestals, confident over his victory.

Back in Fortree City, Gwendolyn commands Blaziken to battle the wild Pokémon in the trees. Using fast attacks, the two easily defeat their opponents. Having won, Gwendolyn lands on the ground, still furious at what happened between her and Jethro. She goes to Winona, who is shocked to see her in such clothing. Gwendolyn demands that Winona train her again, to which Winona reluctantly agrees. Gwendolyn sends out Lairon, Donphan and Tropius, while Winona sends out her Masquerain, Swablu and Beautifly. Although Winona's Pokémon prove tough, Gwendolyn manages to defeat her. As Brawly and Roxanne watch, Winona realizes that Gwendolyn has accepted her offer to save Hoenn and awards her the Feather Badge.

Deep underwater, Team Aqua and Team Magma finally reach the Seafloor Cavern in the Submarine Explorer 1, where they sense the presence of Kyogre and Groudon upon entering. After reaching a fork in the road, the teams go their separate ways. Upon reaching the end of the tunnels, the two leaders stare in astonishment at their respective Pokémon in a deep slumber. At the Seafloor Cavern, Amber and his Pelipper attack the slumbering Kyogre, which allows it to awaken. Kyogre dives down into the ocean, and Archie gloats over his victory over the face that they awakened their Legendary Pokémon faster than Team Magma did. Due to Team Aqua having awoken their Pokémon first, Kyogre will have the advantage despite the two being evenly matched.

In Fortree City, the Gym Leaders look in horror at the flooding happening all over Hoenn. The destruction pressures Winona into increasing the emergency. They are soon called by the Pokémon Association Chairman, who reveals that a massive entity is swimming through the water, and the tsunamis are caused by it surfacing. The Chairman instructs Winona to alert all of Hoenn about the situation.

Suddenly, Kyogre emerges from the water, leading to the Chairman telling Winona to inform the townsfolk. As Kyogre swims through the water, the Pokémon Association informs Hoenn of Kyogre's awakening. Kyogre approaches the Abandoned Ship, which it easily blows apart with an attack. The attack sends Plusle and Minun flying, and they are carried away by the waves produced by Kyogre. Suddenly, Kyogre breathes a substance into the air, which causes a powerful storm to start.

Back at the Seafloor Cavern, Tabitha repeatedly attacks Groudon with his Torkoal. Eventually, he awakens Groudon, which immediately dives into the ground in order to surface later. Maxie assumes that Archie thinks that Team Aqua has the advantage due to their raising the sea level and awakening Kyogre first. However, Maxie has Tabitha present him the Red and Blue Orbs that Blaise had obtained at Mt. Pyre. Maxie activates the orbs and uses them to control both Legendary Pokémon to give Team Magma the advantage. As Groudon continues to dive into the earth, an intense heat wave causes plants to evaporate.

In Fortree City, Gwendolyn struggles to walk properly because of the sudden increase in temperature. Suddenly, the plants behind her immediately burst into flames and turn to ash. To her confusion, the water and plants begin drying up all around her. At the Gym Leaders's location, Brawly goes to help Dewford Town from flooding but is stopped by the Pokémon Association Chairman. As Fortree City continues to dry up and evaporate, the Chairman reveals that there is a second source of energy causing the heat wave. He goes on to mention that the energies are on the move, and if they continue, they will eventually clash at the center of Hoenn.

The Chairman sends Roxanne and Brawly to the areas hit by the drought, while he sends Wattson and Flannery to areas that have been flooded. He instructs them to take citizens to a safe area, but no one knows a suitable area for such a task. Wattson suggests New Mauville, as it takes place underground. The director issues Winona as the commander of the Gym Leaders and sends them all off on their mission. Gwendolyn arrives to see the Gym Leaders going off on their mission. As the Gym Leaders go in pairs, Winona has Gwendolyn go with her.

Around Hoenn, the drought and floods continue as people get rescued. The Pokémon Association instructs the rescued people to head towards New Mauville as soon as possible. The people listen to the instruction and begin to arrive at the underground city.

On Route 123, Winona and Gwendolyn continue flying as the weather continues to get worse. According to what the Chairman said, Route 123 is where the energy will clash with each other. Suddenly, a powerful wave of water and a piece of earth collide with each other, sending a powerful tsunami that evaporates upon colliding with the shore. Gwendolyn notes the clashing caused the sea-dwelling Pokémon to be knocked out of the water and onto land. Gwendolyn goes to rescue the Pokémon and put them back into the sea, where she discovers another Pokémon she has not seen before. She figures out the Pokémon must live at the bottom of the sea since she had never seen it before. As she continues to examine it, a wave of water rises above Gwendolyn and Winona.

Winona states that they will not be able to escape in time and has her Masquerain go and attack the wave before it hits them. Suddenly, the Relicanth in Gwendolyn's arms begins glowing, and the tidal wave is parted, causing it to miss the two Trainers. Winona immediately picks up Gwendolyn and flies her out of the water.

Although Winona believes that her attack parted the wave, Gwendolyn thinks to herself about how Masquerain's attack should not have been strong enough to do it. Gwendolyn notes that the Relicanth released an energy just before the wave was parted, but thinks nothing of it once she notes that it is too injured to even continue moving. After checking it in the Pokédex, she decides to keep the Relicanth.

Winona gets a call on her Pokégear from Wattson. Wattson reveals that he and Flannery are currently battling against Kyogre, but none of their attacks are doing any real damage to it. Wattson asks Winona to give them advice for defeating it if she can think of something. Although Kyogre attacks the two, Wattson refuses to give up and prepares to fight again. Gwendolyn points out that even though the location that they are at is where the two energies will collide, the storm has stopped and the earth is rising. Winona quickly realizes what this means and calls Brawly and Roxanne. Brawly reveals that in the location he is at, the temperature is quickly rising, signifying that Groudon is going to the surface. Suddenly, the ground begins to crumble, and Groudon immediately shoots up from underground.

Upon seeing Groudon, Brawly and Roxanne prepare themselves for battle. Winona loses her signal and is unable to talk to the other Gym Leaders and prays for their success. Suddenly, two voices appear in Winona and Gwendolyn's heads. The voices reveal that even though the Gym Leaders are fighting the Legendary Pokémon, it will not be enough to stop the destruction. The voices reveal that the real battle takes place underground.

The old couple from Mt. Pyre arrive in a bubble created by their Chimecho. Suddenly, the Chimecho loses energy, which causes the old couple to fall to the ground. Gwendolyn manages to save the two with Tropius and asks if they are alright. The old couple reveals that they are the former guardians of the Red and Blue Orbs at Mt. Pyre. They reveal that the orbs can control Groudon and Kyogre, and that they passed on their roles to Tate and Liza when their age caught up with them. Since the orbs had been stolen and Tate and Liza are missing, the old couple had to find someone to tell about their situation. They state that fighting the Pokémon is pointless, as someone is using the orbs to control both Pokémon. Because of this, the real opponents are at the Seafloor Cavern. Gwendolyn sends out Wailord and decides to go there and put an end to this. Winona questions this plan, as even though they know where their opponents are, they have no means of getting underwater.

Back at Brawly and Roxanne's location, they continue to have trouble against Groudon, who merely toys with them. Brawly tries to fight it with his Machoke, but Groudon easily swats it away. Although Brawly knows that his Pokémon is not weak, he concedes that Groudon is too strong.

At Wattson and Flannery's location, Kyogre continues to attack the Gym Leader duo. Wattson has his Manectric store up electricity and release it as an attack. The attack has no effect, as Kyogre instinctively raised its defenses with Calm Mind.

Back on Route 126, Gwendolyn is frustrated at the lack of an ability to follow their enemies. Gwendolyn decides to swim to the Seafloor Cavern herself, but Winona stops her as it would be impossible for a human. Winona expresses frustration that even though they want to do something, it is impossible to go to the bottom of the sea. Suddenly, a voice shouts out that there is a way to go underwater, surprising the two. The voice is revealed to be Jethro, who had arrived with Wallace. Gwendolyn gets irritated, as she is still angry with Jethro. Jethro reveals that Mr. Briney told him about a Pokémon that helped people get to the bottom of the sea. Gwendolyn's Relicanth happens to be the same kind of Pokémon, and with it, they can get to the bottom of the sea.

Winona gets angry, as she refuses to believe that any Pokémon has the power to do such a thing. Gwendolyn stops Winona and states that she believes what Jethro said because of what happened when the tidal wave was about to hit the two of them. Jethro is happy that Gwendolyn believes him and reveals that the move Relicanth can use to help them go underwater is Dive. Jethro calls Mr. Briney on his Pokégear and tells him about Relicanth's size. After finishing the call, Jethro reveals that because of Relicanth's size, it can go to the bottom of the sea, but can only carry two children while doing so. Winona quickly figures out what this means, as Wallace states that Jethro had volunteered to go the Seafloor Cavern with Gwendolyn. Winona has doubts about this plan, but Wallace decides to put his trust in Ruby.

Although Jethro expresses joy in going on an adventure, Gwendolyn gets angry at Jethro and demands to know what he has planned. Jethro notices Gwendolyn's bikini made of leaves and points out that it will fall off once they go underwater. Jethro presents Gwendolyn with a new set of clothes and states that he thinks she would like them. After a brief pause, Gwendolyn puts on her new clothes and throws away the leaf outfit.

Wallace wishes the two good luck and tells them to defeat their opponents at the Seafloor Cavern. Jethro, Gwendolyn and Relicanth jump off of Wailord and into the water. Relicanth uses Dive and brings the two underwater. Wallace decides to help Brawly and Roxanne in order to reduce the destruction while Jethro and Gwendolyn go to retrieve the Red and Blue Orbs. Despite wanting to help fight, Winona decides to stay at the command tower because of her orders from the Pokémon Association.

Winona decides to call the Pokémon Association Chairman, but is unable to get a signal due to the weather. Wallace quickly notices a giant figure approaching them that is obscured by the heavy rain. The figure is revealed to be the Pokémon Association headquarters, which is being suspended in the air by a giant balloon. The Chairman reveals that because of the fires spreading in Lilycove City, he had to turn the headquarters into an airship in order to get to safety.

The Chairman tells Winona that he is taking over her duties, allowing her to go out and fight with the other Gym Leaders. Having heard her orders, Winona prepares to go and help Flannery and Wattson battle Kyogre. The old couple ask the Chairman if he can help search for Tate and Liza. The Chairman agrees to this, but states that it won't be an easy task.

Wallace and Winona briefly shake hands before seeing each other off. Suddenly, a man flying around in a small UFO approaches the headquarters airship and sneaks inside. Somewhere else, Professor Birch listens to a call asking the people of Hoenn to seek shelter. He notes that because of the raging floods and heat waves, going outside would be considered suicidal. Even though he notes that it's dangerous, Birch remains outside while atop of a tree.

Birch apologizes to Treecko, who was going to meet its Trainer today, but cannot due to the flood. Birch impatiently waits for the Trainer, who had said they would arrive no matter what, due to the flood potentially hitting soon. Suddenly, a wave of water crashes into the tree Birch is holding onto, sending him into the water. The waves knock the bag with Treecko and the third Pokédex out of Birch's hands and carries them away.

Inside the Seafloor Cavern, Archie asks Amber why Kyogre has stalled its activity while Groudon continues to move about. Despite the death of Mt. Chimney and the fact that Kyogre awoke earlier than Groudon, it's barely active, while Groudon continues to rampage. Furious, Archie realizes that Team Magma must have a hand in this, and sends Amber to find out what the problem is.

Elsewhere in the cavern, Maxie struggles while using the Red and Blue Orbs to control Kyogre and Groudon simultaneously. However, he suddenly falls back in exhaustion. When Tabitha helps Maxie up, Maxie explains that controlling two ancient Pokémon at the same time is extremely difficult; he didn't realize how much of a drain on his mental capacities it would be. Maxie asks Tabitha to take the Blue Orb a little distance away and control Kyogre himself so that Maxie can concentrate on harnessing Groudon's power. As Tabitha carries the Blue Orb back towards the submarine, accompanied by his Torkoal, Amber watches from a hiding place above. When Tabitha reaches the submarine, a sudden glow distracts and confuses him and his Pokémon. Tabitha recognizes it as the move Tail Glow, and has his Torkoal use Yawn to put the culprit, a Volbeat, to sleep. Tabitha demands that Volbeat's owner show themselves, at which point Amber steps forward, noting casually that Team Aqua should have done more research in order to discover the existence of the two Orbs. Amber orders another two Volbeat to use Signal Beam, and Tabitha counters with Heat Wave, using the time bought by the blast to escape into the submarine. As soon as he jumps inside, however, Amber catches hold of him from behind, having left his Pokémon outside in the cavern so that he could follow Tabitha.

Tabitha demands that Amber let him go, since Torkoal is ready to attack again, but Amber swears to steal the Blue Orb under any circumstance. Torkoal is carrying the Orb on its back, and Amber, has one of his Volbeat outside blast a light over Torkoal. At first it seems as though nothing happened, until Tabitha realizes the Blue Orb has become a Figy Berry. Tabitha grabs the ladder to try to climb back out and retrieve the Orb. However, Amber, who is still clinging tight to Tabitha, explains that he had Volbeat use Trick to switch the items the two Pokémon were carrying. Outside, Archie has been waiting, and receives the Blue Orb from Volbeat, mesmerized by its obvious power.

Having successfully retrieved the Orb, Amber calls for Archie to lend him a hand out of the submarine. Instead, Archie shuts and locks the escape hatch, and the submarine sinks on autopilot. As Amber and Tabitha gape in horror, Archie tells them through the intercom that he's removed the heart component of the submarine, so that it will break apart under the water pressure after reaching a critical depth. He thanks Amber for his hard work and tells them both to enjoy their tour of the ocean depths, then turns off the transmission and studies the Blue Orb. He is convinced that having it will finally put him and Maxie on even footing, and that nothing can stop him now.

Underwater, the Submarine Explorer 1 begins to buckle under the weight of the water as Jethro and Gwendolyn pass by it while making their way towards the Seafloor Cavern with Relicanth. Jethro and Gwendolyn reach the Seafloor Cavern. Although it does not take long for them to dive underwater, Gwendolyn states that it felt like it has been days. When Gwendolyn notes that she is holding Jethro's hand, she quickly shakes him off and states that despite his help, she has not forgiven him for what he said to her. Jethro ignores what she says and points out that there are two different tunnels in front of them. Gwendolyn decides to take the left path, but Jethro stops her and tells her to stay by his side.

Jethro reveals that Mightyena has sensed the presence of someone and has her sniff them out with Odor Sleuth. Suddenly, they are attacked by a group of Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts and their Pokémon. Immediately, Jethro and Gwendolyn send out their Pokémon and prepare to fight and defend themselves.

Elsewhere, Tabitha and Amber are still trapped inside the submarine as it breaks from the water pressure while it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Tabitha and Amber try their hardest to keep the water from flowing in, but to no avail. Suddenly, the submarine breaks apart, sending the two into the water. Amber tries his hardest to keep his breath, but soon looses consciousness, forcing Tabitha to save the both of them by swimming upwards to the surface.

On the surface, Blaise flies above the ocean until he notices a piece of the Submarine Explorer 1 float up to the surface. Blaise sends out Armaldo and rescues the two from drowning, revealing that Tabitha sent him an SOS signal earlier. As Tabitha is unconscious, Blaise takes his lighter and uses it to find out what had happened to the two. Feeling sorry for Amber, Blaise hopes for his teammates to save him and takes Tabitha away. Tabitha soon wakes up and asks Blaise where he is taking the two of them to. Blaise states that they are going to Route 121, as that is where the Gym Leaders are facing Groudon. Blaise calls Courtney, who reveals that she had seen the destruction Groudon caused. Blaise reveals that there are people trying to stop Groudon and tells her to come and help stop them. When Blaise requests Courtney's current location, she reveals that she is at the Mossdeep Space Center.

Back at the Seafloor Cavern, Jethro and Gwendolyn manage to easily defeat the Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts. However, they are shocked when they hear two more voices commenting on the battle. They look in front of them to find the silhouettes of Maxie and Archie approaching them with the Red and Blue Orbs.

On top of the wreckage of the Submarine Explorer 1, a startled Amber wakes up. He remembers the last words Archie told him before locking him in the Submarine Explorer 1 and sending it to the bottom of the water. Amber immediately shakes it off as a misunderstanding and goes to help his teammates raise the sea level.

Elsewhere, Blaise and Tabitha continue traveling on Route 121, where they are joined by Courtney. At Groudon's location, it continues to easily overpower Brawly and Roxanne with its attacks. After defeating Brawly's Machoke, Groudon attempts to leave the battle. Roxanne immediately stops its movements with her Nosepass's Block. Although not her style of battling, Roxanne has her Pokémon continuously attack Groudon, preventing it from fighting back.

Suddenly, a voice from above praises Roxanne's skills and sends out a Sealeo to attack Groudon with Ice Ball. The voice is revealed to be that of Wallace, who came to help them stop Groudon. Before they can continue, three figures arrive and tell the Gym Leaders that if they intend on stopping Groudon, they'll have to face them first. The Three Fires jump down and take the Gym Leaders to the currently-abandoned Lilycove City. Blaise takes Brawly into the Lilycove Museum, while Tabitha takes Wallace to the Lilycove Department Store, and Courtney takes Roxanne to the Lilycove Inn.

Elsewhere, Wattson and Flannery continue their battle against Kyogre. Above them, Shelly and Matt arrive, angry at the Gym Leaders's attempt to stop Kyogre. Shelly gets a signal from Amber, which informs them that he is on his way to help them. As they decide on a course of action, a figure in the sky quickly approaches them. Shelly assumes that it's Amber, but she is proven wrong when they are hit by a Dragon Breath attack. The figure turns out to be Winona, the commander of the Gym Leaders that had been given clearance to help her fellow Gym Leaders. Winona continuously attacks Matt, preventing him from fighting back.

Shelly tries to stop Winona, leading to Flannery going to help while Wattson stays behind to stop Kyogre. Flannery attacks Shelly, preventing her from attacking Winona. Upon getting a good look at Shelly, Flannery is determined to defeat her after recognizing her from Mt. Chimney. Annoyed, Shelly charges into battle against her new opponent and dodges her attacks.

Wattson continues to battle against Kyogre, but regrets staying behind to battle it alone. He notes that Kyogre has gotten stronger, and is preparing for another attack. A voice appears to confirm Wattson's suspicions, and states that it's because of Archie taking control of the Blue Orb. The voice is revealed to be Amber, who slowly rises out of the water.

In Slateport City, Swimmer Jack moves about the flooded city to look for any people left. After finding no one, he assumes that everyone already left to New Mauville already. He notices a young boy left behind, and quickly goes to ask if he is alright. The boy reveals that he was so engrossed in reading that he simply didn't notice everyone had left. The boy reveals that he is reading in Braille, which impresses the Swimmer. The boy states what he was told by the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone. Elsewhere, Steven walks out of a building with Phoebe, Sidney, Glacia, and Drake, who are the members of the Hoenn Elite Four.

As Kyogre continues to press forward, Team Aqua clash furiously with Wattson, Winona, and Flannery. Amber has just arrived and has his Pelipper uses Stockpile and then Spit Up to strike Wattson's Manectric. The battle is now three-on-three, with Flannery and Shelly, Winona and Matt, and Wattson and Amber going head-to-head. Amber taunts Wattson, saying their fighting is giving Kyogre time to advance, but Wattson retorts that his own Electric-type Pokémon have the advantage in this fight. Wattson's Manectric takes out Amber's Pelipper with one hit, leaving him with no remaining Pokémon after his remaining team had been left behind at the Seafloor Cavern. Shelly decides to lend Amber her Nincada, which he happily accepts. Even with the Pokémon he borrowed, Amber is still easily defeated by Wattson's Manectric, confusing the Gym Leader.

Amber reveals that he picked Nincada due to the fact that it would evolve. Nincada quickly evolves into its next stage, Ninjask, and goes on the attack. With Ninjask's Ability, Speed Boost, it manages to easily out-speed Wattson's Manectric. Wattson manages to counter Ninjask's speed by ordering a Double Team, allowing Manectric to gain the speed to hit its opponent.

With its opponent pinned to the ground, Manectric uses a powerful Thunder attack, which defeats its opponent at the cost of knocking itself out. Due to Wattson still having more Pokémon able to battle, he confidently names himself as the victor. Wattson's victory is short lived, as he is quickly knocked out by a Shedinja. Amber reveals that Wattson made a careless mistaking of not knowing that when Nincada evolves, it leaves behind a shell that becomes a Shedinja. As Wattson falls into the water, Amber states that he lost the battle because he did not know about Nincada's abilities.

Flannery tries to rush in to help Wattson, but is stopped by Shelly, who states that she is her opponent. As Wattson falls off the island, Flannery cries out in horror as he falls into the water. Winona attempts to try and save Wattson, but her Altaria refuses to listen to her commands. Matt blocks her way and reveals that he had his Sharpedo use Taunt on Altaria, making it unable to listen to its Trainer. Although annoyed at this kind of tactic, Winona praises the SSS's teamwork. Shelly thanks Winona for the compliment and reveals that SSS stands for **Subleaders of the Sea Scheme**.

Enraged, Flannery orders her Vulpix to attack Shelly, but is stopped by an attack that comes from the water. Flannery assumes that it's the work of another Pokémon, but Shelly reveals that it's the effect of her Ludicolo's attack, Nature Power. Shelly explains that depending on the terrain, Nature Power can be attacks such as Razor Leaf, Hydro Pump or even Shadow Ball. Shelly states that her Nature Power comes directly from the sea and points out that Team Aqua wants to raise the sea because all life came from it. Shelly states that in order to achieve Team Aqua's noble goal, sacrifices are inevitable. Shelly commands another attack from her Ludicolo, and states those that have been sacrificed will be remembered in history.

At the Lilycove Museum, Brawly and his Machoke face off against Blaise. Due to the intense flames, Brawly has trouble seeing his opponent and is easily hit by a sneak attack. The attack burns Brawly's Machoke, but he still continues to attack his opponent. The attack hits Blaise's Slugma, but it quickly disappears, revealing it to only be an illusion. Annoyed, Brawly steps back near a painting of a woman, which suddenly springs to life and begins grabbing him. The two are instantly freaked out, and begin running through the building as more paintings spring to life. Brawly tries to calm his Machoke down, but it's too scared to listen to his words. Blaise confidentially tells Brawly to give up, as it won't be easy to stop his illusions, but Brawly refuses to stop fighting. Brawly reveals that through training, he mastered Jū, a fighting style that turns the attack of an opponent into an attack against them.

Brawly pulls out a pair of nunchucks, and states that when fighting an opponent that doesn't fight head on, he has to use a different style. As Brawly spins his nunchucks, he reveals that he met with an old friend prior to the battle he is currently in. He reveals that the friend taught him another fighting style, Gō; one that is the opposite of Jū. Brawly sends out his Hariyama and has it stun Blaise's Slugma with Fake Out, allowing it to repeatedly attack them with Arm Thrust. As he prepares one more attack, Brawly calls out to the friend that helped him: Bruno.

Meanwhile at the Lilycove Inn, Roxanne sees the blast from Brawly's attacks and realizes he must be getting the upper hand. Courtney tells Roxanne to pay attention, and has her Ninetales leap at Roxanne's Cradily. Cradily uses its tentacles to tie Ninetales down, preventing it from moving. Roxanne figures out that Courtney is trying to lift the Block set on Groudon; a plan Courtney agrees to. Though Ninetales attacks Cradily, it regains strength quickly by using Ingrain to root itself to the earth through the floor of the inn and absorb energy.

A sudden rattling noise startles the two, and makes Roxanne realize that there might still be people hiding inside the inn. Courtney melts down the door to reveal a programmer, graphic designer, and game designer who are still stuck inside the building. Courtney threatens to use the same mix of acid and Berry Juice on the three people that she used to melt the door. Roxanne, unable to act, is forced to see Nosepass defeated by Ninetales, lifting the Block on Groudon in the process.

Deep inside the Seafloor Cavern, Kyogre and Groudon continue moving about whilst being controlled by the Red and Blue Orbs. Maxie and Archie approach Jethro and Gwendolyn and introduce themselves. Immediately, both parties send out their Pokémon to battle against one another. After managing to hold down Maxie's Camerupt and Archie's Walrein, Jethro and Gwendolyn's other Pokémon charge at the villains, only to be knocked back by the power of the Red and Blue Orbs. The two quickly realize that the opponents they are facing are the leaders of the two teams they have faced during their adventure previously.

Upon figuring this out, Gwendolyn and Jethro realize that the gems in their hands are what's allowing them to control Groudon and Kyogre. Gwendolyn notes that even though they are clearly fighting in a Double Battle, their opponents aren't fighting together nor seem like they are even aware that the other one is there. Jethro decides that if their opponents aren't fighting together, then it'd be best for him and Gwendolyn to work together to gain an advantage.

Jethro and Gwendolyn send their Pokémon and have them work together by complementing their strengths and weaknesses. Archie and Maxie refuse to give up, and retaliate with a powerful attack that manages to defeat Jethro and Gwendolyn's Pokémon. Jethro also refuses to give up and sends out Swampert to attack the foes with Hail followed by Blizzard to defeat Archie and Maxie.

As Maxie and Archie stand, motionless, Jethro wonders if he overdid it, but quickly shrugs it off and goes to take the Red and Blue Orbs. Jethro tries to remove the gems from the Leaders's hands, but he finds that they have become attached to Archie and Maxie's hands, preventing him from taking them off.

Outside, the old couple sense that something has gone wrong. They quickly realize that Maxie and Archie, the ones who sought out to control the ancient Pokémon, have now become slaves to their power. Back at the Seafloor Cavern, Jethro and Gwendolyn watch in horror as the Red and Blue Orbs quickly recede in Maxie and Archie's hands. The patterns on Groudon and Kyogre's bodies glow on Maxie and Archie's hands as they grin evilly.

Jethro, realizing that they'll never be able to retrieve the Orbs if they're absorbed, sends Zangoose to take them back. Zangoose attempts to use Covet, but a blast from Archie's hand knocks her aside. The Orbs finally consume the two men's minds, causing a silhouette of Kyogre and Groudon's to appear in their shadows. This reveals that instead of Maxie and Archie controlling the Legendary Pokémon, it's now the other way around. With their new power, Archie and Maxie shoot a blast of energy at Jethro and Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn manages to save them both by having Lairon use Iron Defense. The attack proves to be too powerful for Lairon to handle, as it comes from the powerful Groudon and Kyogre. A now-insane Archie leaps at the two, but Jethro grabs Gwendolyn and manages to get out of the way in time. As Jethro saves her, Gwendolyn is reminded of a similar event that happened to her in the past.

Gwendolyn quickly shrugs it off as to not get distracted, only for Archie to grab her by the neck. Maxie does the same with Jethro, and the two begin flying up to the surface, glowing in a large sphere of energy the same color as the Red and Blue Orbs. As they fly upward, all of the fainted Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts are absorbed into the energy spheres as well. Jethro guesses that Groudon and Kyogre must be calling out to the Red and Blue Orbs, a guess that he is correct about.

Elsewhere, the Gym Leaders have failed to stop Kyogre and Groudon's rampage. Groudon has reached Lilycove City, and leaves a trail of flames and destruction behind it as it reaches the sea. Meanwhile, Kyogre is heading for the same location as Groudon, and it raises tsunamis and storms as it does so. The two Legendary Pokémon continue to head where their original battle took place.

In Slateport City, the Pokémon Association headquarters approaches Gabby, Ty, Captain Stern, Dock, and the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman. After the others go and get rescued, Ty decides to stay behind with Gabby, much to her confusion. When Gabby asks why Ty did this, he reveals that he sensed a presence near them. Suddenly, the Absol from the Rusturf Tunnel leaps before them.

Ty notices that Absol has ashes on its body, meaning that it was there when Team Aqua killed Mt. Chimney. Ty accuses Absol of always being around when disasters occur, which must mean that it's the cause of them. Gabby questions Absol's intentions, and wonders if Absol isn't causing the disasters, but can actually sense them and has been trying to warn people. Gabby's guess is correct as Absol gestures for the two to ride on its back. Gabby asks Ty what could be the worst kind of disaster to happen. Ty guesses that it would be the battle between Groudon and Kyogre, as it could destroy the entire Hoenn region. Gabby agrees with this, and hops onto Absol's back and asks it to take her to where Groudon and Kyogre will meet.

Elsewhere, Jethro and Gwendolyn continue to fly towards the surface in the energy spheres created by the possessed Archie and Maxie. Jethro guesses that by the speed they're flying at, it must be because of Groudon and Kyogre calling to the power of the Red and Blue Orbs. As Maxie and Archie continue to growl like animals, the two orbs begin to fly in different directions. As they separate, Jethro and Gwendolyn call out to each other.

Gabby and Ty continue on Absol's back to where Groudon and Kyogre will meet and battle with each other. They see a light emerging from the water, which turns out to be the energy spheres with Jethro and Gwendolyn still inside. The energy spheres fly towards the same direction as Absol is heading to. Ty manages to figure out that Absol, Kyogre, and Groudon are heading towards Sootopolis City. Because Jethro and Gwendolyn are currently trapped inside of the spheres of energy, Gabby tells Ty to inform the Pokémon Association Chairman and Captain Stern about the current situation. At the Pokémon Association headquarters, Stern is informed about Groudon and Kyogre's upcoming clash. The old couple get worried, as the situation had become worse than they expected. They reveal that after Groudon and Kyogre awakened their bodies at the Seafloor Cavern, they must be heading towards the Cave of Origin to awaken their minds. If the two Legendary Pokémon succeed in awakening their minds, the next thing they'll do is fight. Groudon and Kyogre eventually reach Sootopolis City. Groudon digs through the walls surrounding the city, while Kyogre dives down underwater and enters through an undersea tunnel. As soon as the two see each other, they immediately begin a battle to the death.

Back in Lilycove City, Brawly continues his battle against Blaise at the Lilycove Museum. He has his Hariyama finish off Blaise's Slugma with Knock Off. The attack pins the two Pokémon into a wall, and knocks off a pair of hairpins. Brawly recognizes the hairpins as the ones that belong to Tate and Liza, which allows him to figure out that Blaise was the one who defeated the twins. Brawly demands that Blaise tell him where the twins are, but Blaise refuses, as Brawly used up all his energy to defeat him. Although Blaise is exhausted as well, he's fine with it as his goal is to keep Groudon advancing without any obstacles. As Blaise disappears into the flames, he praises Brawly for being the first to defeat his illusions. At the Lilycove Inn, Courtney also disappears in the flames as Roxanne laments her failure at stopping Groudon.

At the Abandoned Ship, Flannery's Vulpix continues to be attacked by Shelly's Ludicolo's Nature Power, which defeats it. Shelly decides that since they managed to keep the Gym Leaders from stopping Kyogre, the battle is over. Before she leaves, Shelly decides to finish Flannery off, but Winona steps in to protect her. This doesn't faze Shelly, who orders another Nature Power from her Ludicolo. Ludicolo attacks once more, but nothing happens when it uses it.

Shelly gets angry at Ludicolo for fooling around, but Flannery reveals that nothing is happening because of her Vulpix's Grudge move. Due to Vulpix being defeated by Nature Power, Grudge made Nature Power unusable. Annoyed, Shelly decides to flee, as there is nothing the Gym Leaders can do to stop Kyogre's advancement. Matt begs for Shelly to help him as he flops around in the water helplessly, but Shelly refuses and tells him to save himself.

Flannery tries to chase after Shelly, but Winona stops her as she doesn't want any more sacrifices like what happened to Wattson. Flannery reluctantly agrees as she mourns over Wattson's death. Suddenly, a large burst of water shoots up from the sea with Wattson on top of his Manectric. The water is revealed to be Gwendolyn's Wailord, who had saved Wattson with Water Spout. After thanking Wailord for rescuing Wattson, a small box is thrown near them. Winona figures out that it's the black box from the Submarine Explorer 1, which reveals that Team Aqua's base is located in Lilycove City. As they head off to go rescue Professor Cozmo, Amber watches them from behind a tree.

Meanwhile at the Lilycove Department Store, Wallace's Whiscash manages to easily defeat Tabitha's Torkoal. Wallace tells Tabitha that he has been defeated, only for Tabitha to suddenly lose it and go on a rampage. Tabitha begins chasing Wallace throughout the store, until they end up on top of the roof. When Wallace questions why Tabitha suddenly went crazy, a voice from above tells him that Tabitha had come in contact with one of the Orbs that control Groudon and Kyogre.

A Metagross comes down from the air and defeats Tabitha with a powerful Meteor Mash attack. Wallace berates the voice for taking so long to save him, revealing the voice to be from Steven Stone. Steven apologizes for being late, but tells Wallace to come with him because he needs his assistance.

In Slateport City, the blind boy and the Swimmer ride on the Swimmer's Gyarados through the flooded city. The boy asks the Swimmer if he knows about Ever Grande City, the place where the Pokémon League is held. When the Swimmer states that he does, the boy reveals that in the past, the Pokémon League was simply a tournament between Trainers, but recently, they added a new rule which states that in order to become the Champion, a Trainer must beat the Elite Four and current Champion before gaining the title.

The boy states that person who taught him that was the same person who told him how to read the carvings on the slab——the current Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone. The Swimmer gets annoyed because the Pokémon Association headquarters didn't notice them, meaning that they're stuck in Slateport for the time being. The boy states it's alright, as he doesn't want to leave because he promised Steven that he would protect the slab until Steven returns for it.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the Lilycove Department Store, Steven and the Hoenn Elite Four, Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, and Drake, approach Wallace. Wallace is shocked to see all five together, but Steven states that they were the only people he could think of to help him, and that finding all of them wasn't very easy. Steven sends the Elite Four away to their designated posts, and they fly up and in different directions. When Wallace asks him what he's doing, Steven removes his cloak and hands it to Wallace. Steven tells Wallace that since he entered the Hall of Fame, the cloak rightfully belongs to him.

In a flashback, Wallace defeats a Trainer, and is later seen being entered in the Hall of Fame. The Pokémon Association Chairman congratulates Wallace on his victory, and begins doing the paperwork that will make Wallace the new Champion. Wallace stops the Chairman, and reveals that he intends to become the Sootopolis Gym Leader and take over the role of his master, Juan. Back in the present, Steven adds that since it would be impossible to be a Champion and a Gym Leader at the same time, he becomes the Champion instead.

Steven reveals that he knew the real reason why Wallace stepped down from the position of Champion: because Winona had become a Gym Leader at a similar time. Steven correctly guesses that Wallace wanted to be near Winona at all times. Wallace states that the reason he became a Gym Leader was unimportant, because Steven proved to be a powerful Champion that went undefeated. Wallace realizes that this means that he needs a better reason to take up the Champion's cloak.

Suddenly, Tabitha awakens and begins attacking in a rampage once more. With his Metagross, Steven manages to fend Tabitha off, but barely. Steven worries that if Tabitha went crazy from only coming in contact with the Blue Orb, one can only guess what happened to the people that used both Orbs in the Seafloor Cavern. Steven decides to find out by following the rampaging Groudon. Wallace is confused, as Groudon should have been kept in place by Roxanne's Nosepass, which means that she had been defeated. Steven points out to a doubtful Wallace that even though it's midnight, the sun is shining in the sky, which means that Groudon had went to Sootopolis already and awakened a second time. As they dodge Tabitha's attacks, Steven reveals that he and his father knew about the Legendary Pokémon for some time, and have been thinking of a top secret plan to prevent them from fighting. In order to achieve their goal, Steven and his father will need as much help as they can get.

Elsewhere, three of the Elite Four members stand in front of three caves. Sidney, Drake, and Glacia each stand in three different ruins in different locations and announce to Steven that they're ready to execute the plan. As Steven continues to face Tabitha, he thanks them for their help. In his head, Steven reveals that once this is all over, it will be the end of his life's journey.

In the flooded, collapsing ruins of Slateport City, the Swimmer and blind boy attempt to make their way out of the storm. The boy refuses to leave because of his promise to Steven, but the Swimmer states that if he dies, then he wouldn't be able to keep the promise. Suddenly, a building collapses on top of the two, but a Shadow Punch from an unknown source immediately destroys it and saves the two. The person who saved them is revealed to be Phoebe, a member of the Hoenn Elite Four. After introducing herself to the boy, Phoebe reports to Steven, through her Pokégear, that she had found the person she was looking for. Steven thanks Phoebe, and has her tell the boy to read the code on top of the slab. Wallace asks Steven what he is planning, but Steven tells him to go to Sootopolis City and that he'll join him later. Wallace listens to what Steven says and takes off with the Champion's cloak.

Steven asks the boy to decode the slab, as it holds the key to awakening the three Pokémon that can help stop Groudon and Kyogre—Regirock, Regice and Registeel. The boy tries his hardest to decode the Braille, but due to a missing piece, he is unable to completely read the text on the slab. This causes Steven to lose hope, as the boy's sense of touch was the only thing they had that could help them awaken the three Pokémon.

At the Team Aqua Hideout, Wattson, Flannery, and Winona examine the abandoned building, where they find Professor Cozmo tied up. They rescue the Professor and take him to the Pokémon Association's headquarters, where he is reunited with his staff. Winona tells Wattson and Flannery to stay behind and tend to their injuries while she goes on ahead to help stop Kyogre and Groudon in Sootopolis. Winona calls the Pokémon Association Chairman and informs him of the current situation. As Winona and Wallace head towards Sootoplis, the Pokémon Association Chairman sends a message throughout Hoenn asking for the help of Trainers.

In Sootopolis City, the possessed Maxie and Archie arrive in front of the Pokémon that are controlling them. As they land on the heads of their respective Pokémon, Jethro, Gwendolyn and the Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts are sent flying away. Jethro and Gwendolyn try to stop the two, but their Pokémon are just repelled by the force fields surrounding Maxie and Archie. The two leaders tell them to stand aside and witness the battle between Groudon and Kyogre.

Meanwhile, Gabby and Ty arrive at Sootopolis whilst riding on top of Absol's back. Noticing the danger Jethro and Gwendolyn are in, Gabby begs Absol to save the two. Absol complies with her request, and uses Magic Coat to produce a shield around Jethro and Gwendolyn. Gabby thanks Absol for its help and begs for it to help them fight against Groudon and Kyogre. Absol refuses, and Ty guesses that even though Absol warns people of disasters, it remains neutral as to the outcome.

Wallace and Winona arrive and rush in to help get their pupils out of the crossfire. They manage to wake the two up, surprising their students at the sight of their teachers being there. Jethro and Gwendolyn blame themselves for causing the destruction that's going on right now, and decide that it'd be best to just run away. Wallace and Winona shake their students out of their stupor by reminding them that they have loved ones they need to fight for and protect. Their words remind Jethro and Gwendolyn that they have a dear friend from their past that they'd like to see once more despite not even remembering their faces. They promise that when they meet their special person once more, they'll be able to show them how much they've changed.

The Magic Coat begins crumbling, so Winona and Wallace evacuate their students and encourage them to not give up. Upon regrouping, the group decides to think of a new plan to stop the destruction. Jethro suggests destroying the powers of the Red and Blue Orbs inside of Maxie and Archie's bodies, but using Pokémon attacks might harm the hosts. Suddenly, the meteor fragment that Winona picked up when Gwendolyn dropped it earlier begins glowing inside of her hand. They realize that with the meteor's ability to stop the power of nature, they can use it to stop the powers of the Red and Blue Orbs and turn Maxie and Archie back to normal.

Remembering that when the Orbs were absorbed in Maxie and Archie's bodies, they move from their hands, to their arms, and are currently located in their foreheads. Jethro decides to use the reflecting ability of Absol's Magic Coat to reflect the power of the meteor, as they are too far to hit them at their current location. With Wallace and Winona holding the Magic Coat in the air, Jethro and Gwendolyn have Swampert and Blaziken attack the meteor fragment, which sends a powerful blast of energy out. The energy hits Maxie's and Archie's foreheads, turning them back to normal, and creating a massive explosion of energy. The explosion consumes Sootopolis, with Jethro, Gwendolyn, and everyone else being caught inside.

On top of the Lilycove Department Store, Steven senses the clash between large powers happening in Sootopolis City. Steven wonders if Wallace and the others succeeded in their mission, but quickly realizes that the surge of power is just spreading throughout the region.

In New Mauville, several young Trainers from Mauville City approach Wanda and Riley to see the patient from Rustboro City that just arrived. Wanda and Riley tell the children to be quiet, as the patient, Mr. Stone, shouldn't be disturbed while in a coma. In his sleep, Mr. Stone begins to mutter out his son's name.

Back in Lilycove City, Steven talks to the blind boy about the problem with translating the slab. The other members of the Elite Four continue to try and awaken Regirock, Regice, and Registeel with their Pokémon, but are unable to. Frustrated, they demand that Steven hurry up and tell them how to awaken the three Pokémon. With the Devon Scope, Phoebe tries to scan the slab.

With no time remaining, Steven tells everyone to abandon the plan and go to Sootopolis. Steven decides to go first, and tells Sidney, Glacia, and Drake to stay their course, and for Phoebe to bring the slab to him. Seeing that the blind boy is disappointed, Phoebe cheers him up by stating that his efforts won't go to waste. Both Steven and Phoebe head off on top of Steven's Metang and Metagross, respectively.

In Sootopolis City, Gabby and Ty ride on Absol's back in attempt to escape the explosion engulfing the island. Wallace attempts to escape in his aircar, while Winona's Altaria carries its unconscious Trainer away. Jethro is engulfed in a huge bright light. Riding on his Metagross, Steven approaches Sootopolis City, only to be overwhelmed by the extreme power being emitted by the island. Because of the massive energy being shot out, the sea and earth begin exploding wildly, forcing Steven to defend himself with Metagross's Reflect. As the energy continues to push back Groudon and Kyogre, Steven sees a figure in the explosion and goes to rescue it.

He manages to rescue Gwendolyn, who had been searching for him all around Hoenn. Gwendolyn, glad to have finally found Steven, hands him the letter she had been given by Steven's father. Steven opens the letter and inside is a paper with the Braille that was missing from the slab. Steven reads it, and figures out that the missing components of awakening Regirock, Regice, and Registeel are the Pokémon Wailord and Relicanth.

Gwendolyn calls out to Wailord and Relicanth, who emerge from the water. Steven has the two line up with his four Beldum, which puts Wailord in front and Relicanth in the back. The slab begins glowing, and Steven reads the completed text out loud. A large surge of energy emerges from the group and shoots up into the sky. The energy splits into three pieces and flies off to where Regirock, Regice, and Registeel are sealed. After passing by Drake, Sidney, and Glacia, the blasts of energy come in contact with the three Pokémon, awakening them.

In his head, Steven flashes back to when he and his father were discussing how to stop Team Aqua and Team Magma. Mr. Stone reveals that Captain Stern is building the submarine, Submarine Explorer 1, but has not been told why it is being built. Mr. Stone tells Steven that he wants him to take a crew he trusts down to the Seafloor Cavern. Mr. Stone states that if they fail, then they will have to summon Regirock, Regice, and Registeel so that they can stop the clash between Groudon and Kyogre. When Mr. Stone asks Steven where the slab is, Steven reveals that he left it with a blind child with sensitive hands.

Regirock, Regice, and Registeel awaken, which causes the slab to break in Steven's hands. Sapphire worries for Steven, but he assures her that he is alright since it means that Regirock, Regice, and Registeel can be summoned. Gwendolyn, happy that they managed to succeed in their mission, reaches out for Steven's hand when he offers to save her. Suddenly, the burst of energy explodes once more, engulfing Gwendolyn entirely.

Later, Jethro awakens in a completely different location. After recollecting what happened, he finds Gwendolyn unconscious as well and wakes her up. They notice that despite the destruction ravaging Hoenn, the place they are at looks unaffected and is actually beautiful. A figure appears behind them, noting that they have been asleep for a long time. Jethro and Gwendolyn turn around to find Juan and the Mossdeep Gym Leaders, Tate and Liza, standing before them. Juan reveals that they are on Mirage Island, an island isolated from the rest of Hoenn. With the help of his Kingdra, Juan shows the two what is happening in the outside world.

Outside, Groudon and Kyogre are still fighting each other. Juan reveals that when Jethro and Gwendolyn used the grand meteor on Groudon and Kyogre, it managed to free the Red and Blue Orbs from Archie and Maxie, but sent the two young Trainers flying away in the process. Because of this, Groudon and Kyogre are now evenly matched, but the power that is released from their battle continues to accumulate and is erupting throughout Hoenn. Juan reassures the two by stating that even though the disaster that happened to Hoenn is happening once more, there are people currently fighting to contain the power.

Juan reveals that Steven, Wallace, Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, and Drake are all controlling the Legendary Pokémon Regirock, Regice, and Registeel in order to suppress the power emitted by Groudon and Kyogre. Even though they can delay the power Groudon and Kyogre release, Juan states that it is Jethro and Gwendolyn who will have to be the final opponents of the Legendary Pokémon. Juan states that in order to prepare for this moment, he, Tate, and Liza will have to train Jethro and Gwendolyn.

Juan has Tate and Liza attack Jethro and Gwendolyn forcing them to defend themselves by dodging their Spoink's attacks. Jethro has Zangoose attack Juan with X-Scissor, but Juan easily blocks the attack. This convinces Jethro to trust Juan, as he moves just like his master, Wallace. Deciding that Juan is now his grand master, Jethro gladly accepts the training offer. Juan is pleased with the answer, and tells the two that they will first train in the art of Double Battle with Tate and Liza.

Juan states that they do not have much time to train, as the passage of time on Mirage Island is different than normal. Although Jethro and Gwendolyn were asleep for three days, in the outside world it was multiplied by seven, making it 21 days. Tate stops Juan from going any further, as Liza has sensed the presence of someone else on the island. As they try and find out what the presence is, the Plusle and Minun from the Abandoned Ship watch from afar. With the teamwork of Plusle and Minun, they manage to defeat Tate and Liza's two Spoink. Although defeated, Tate and Liza praise the excellent strategy that Jethro and Gwendolyn used. Gwendolyn, happy to be praised by Gym Leaders, thanks Plusle and Minun for their help and for meeting each other again. Tate and Liza state that in order to beat Groudon and Kyogre, they will need to master Double Battles. Assuming that Jethro and Gwendolyn are exhausted, Tate and Liza leave to take a break.

Gwendolyn looks around to see Jethro coming up with battle strategies for Pokémon other than Plusle and Minun. Gwendolyn quickly remembers what is happening in the outside world and decides that there is no time to rest. Elsewhere, Juan asks Tate and Liza about the results of their training. The twins state that their students are showing promise, and the training has caused their Pokémon to become much stronger. As they point this out, Lairon evolves into his final form, Aggron.

Juan is pleased to hear this, but states that he is not surprised as the two were recommended by Wallace. He states that it is Jethro and Gwendolyn's destiny to fight Groudon and Kyogre. Although pleased at Jethro and Gwendolyn's progress, the point where time moves faster outside is soon approaching. Back at Jethro and Gwendolyn's location, Gwendolyn has Blaziken master Sky Uppercut to help in their Double Battle training.

Juan approaches the two and states that it is time for their next lesson. He takes them to a spring and has them both look into it along with their Pokémon. Juan puts a coin in his hand and has Jethro and Gwendolyn guess which hand the coin is in. Jethro gets only a few correct, while Gwendolyn gets all correct, signifying that she has a better intuition than Jethro. Juan reveals that in heated battles, there are times where one has to come up with a plan on the spot, but this can be hindered by swaying emotions. Juan states that the next challenge will involve training their hearts.

Gwendolyn begins falling asleep due to the effects of the spring, so Juan decides to hold off on training until later. Later, while Gwendolyn sleeps, Jethro decides to talk to Juan alone. Jethro reveals that he knows that Juan is hiding something from his students, which angers Jethro. Jethro takes off his glove, which has the pattern on Groudon's body on it. Jethro states that Juan has been hiding the fact that the Red and Blue Orbs have been absorbed into Jethro and Gwendolyn's bodies. When Juan asks how he knew this, Jethro reveals that he found out because of the diary held by Plusle and Minun. After reading the diary, Jethro learned that the Red and Blue Orbs can control Groudon and Kyogre as well as put them to sleep. But, in order to maximize the powers of the Orbs, they need people to control them. The Orbs must be absorbed into their controllers, but sometimes they may choose their controllers.

Jethro states that even though Juan told him that the Red and Blue Orbs were forced out of Maxie and Archie's bodies, he was never told about what happened to the Orbs. After reading the diary, Jethro realized that the Orbs, after being knocked out of Maxie and Archie, went to Jethro and Gwendolyn to be their next controllers. Jethro later learned that he was right, as the symbol of Groudon later appeared on his hand. Juan congratulates Jethro for his impressive skills in deducing what happened and assumes that if Jethro guessed all of that, he must have figured out the purpose of the mind training. When Jethro asks what he is talking about, Juan decides to restart their training. Juan has Jethro's team concentrate on Jethro as he attempts to summon the Red Orb. After some initial trouble, Jethro manages to pull the Red Orb out of his hand.

Ecstatic at Jethro's progress, Juan reveals that this was the reason for their training. Because they only have one more day before they can leave Mirage Island, Juan states that the rest of the training will involve learning to control the Orbs. Juan states that when Jethro and Gwendolyn leave to face Groudon and Kyogre, they will use the Orbs to control and stop them. Juan points that if their minds are not strong, Jethro and Gwendolyn will be controlled instead, just like Maxie and Archie.

Although Jethro believes that he and Gwendolyn were chosen by the Orbs because they were the closest when they were knocked out of Maxie and Archie, Juan does not believe it was a coincidence. Juan states that the Orbs chose them because they were the best choice. Juan apologizes for not telling Jethro earlier, but pointed out that if he did, Jethro would have felt nervous when trying to summon the Red Orb. Juan ends their training session and tells Jethro to get sleep before they continue.

In his head, Juan reveals that he heard that Jethro was a selfish person, but instead, he was thoughtful enough to wait for Gwendolyn to go to sleep before confronting Juan about the Orbs. Jethro climbs up the tree that Gwendolyn was sleeping on and quickly notices that she is simply pretending to sleep. Gwendolyn reveals that she overheard the two talking so seriously, which caused her to eavesdrop. Gwendolyn apologizes for listening in on them, but Jethro states that it does not matter, as they have to continue training.

Later, Jethro and Gwendolyn are called by Juan to continue their training. Together with Plusle and Minun, Jethro and Gwendolyn continue their training until the time to leave arrives. After Jethro and Gwendolyn manage to successfully control their Orbs, Tate and Liza notice that Juan's hourglass has run out of sand, signifying that Mirage Island has connected to the outside world. Outside, at the Sky Pillar, the old man notices that Mirage Island is finally visible.

Back on Mirage Island, Juan congratulates Jethro and Gwendolyn for their success. Juan, Tate, and Liza, present Gwendolyn with the Rain Badge and Mind Badge, respectively. As Jethro and Gwendolyn prepare to leave, Gwendolyn begins to talk to Jethro. Gwendolyn confesses to Jethro that she likes him. Jethro, stunned, is too shocked to come up with a response. Before they can continue, Juan's Kingdra gives the signal that tells them that it's time to leave. Jumping on top of Gwendolyn's Tropius, Jethro and Gwendolyn take off of Mirage Island. Juan calls Jethro and tells him that he, Tate, and Liza, will be staying on the island to monitor their safe exit off the island.

Gwendolyn apologizes to Jethro about confessing to him at such a time, but points out that if she hadn't Jethro would have gone back to Johto before she could do so. Gwendolyn reveals that years ago, she met a boy that she really liked who had defended her from a wild Salamence attack. Hearing this causes Jethro to realize that Gwendolyn was the girl he met when he was younger. Gwendolyn describes the boy as the person who inspired her to become stronger and beat the Pokémon League before she turns eleven, just like Edge was when he beat it. But, as Gwendolyn continued to help her father in his field work, time passed and she realized that she would turn eleven soon.

Gwendolyn reveals that when she met Jethro again, it was only 80 days before her birthday, which is why she created the bet with him. Gwendolyn states that she is glad she made the bet, as it allowed her to get to know Jethro more, which eventually caused her to start liking him. Gwendolyn finishes her explanation, and asks if Jethro will stay in Hoenn and come back to Littleroot Town with her.

Back on Mirage Island, Tate notices that the passage of time is becoming unstable again, like back when Jethro and Gwendolyn had first arrived on the island. Juan tells Jethro to not go against the flow of time. As Jethro and Gwendolyn struggle against the flow of time, they eventually exit and arrive near Sootopolis City. Jethro and Gwendolyn push the Blue Orb out of her body and summons Wallace's aircar with his Pokégear.

Jethro immediately pushes Gwendolyn, Plusle, and Minun off of Tropius and onto the aircar. Locked inside, Gwendolyn demands to know what Jethro is doing. Jethro removes his hoodie and admits that he likes Gwendolyn too, which is why he can't let her fight with him. Gwendolyn sees Jethro's claw-shaped cars on his torso and realizes that Jethro was the boy she met years ago. A voice appears, and asks if Jethro is finished. The voice is revealed to be Courtney, who had come to help. Jethro, with both Orbs in hand, flies on Tropius towards Groudon and Kyogre with Courtney.

After Groudon and Kyogre are defeated, Gwendolyn and Wallace head over to Jethro's location as Plusle and Minun became uneasy and were shooting electricity. While Wallace fights Maxie and Archie, Gwendolyn frees Jethro. Gwendolyn then notices Norman's burned corpse and becomes horrified, before becoming extremely worried about Jethro's mental health as seeing his father's corpse could damage his willpower and his mental state. As Jethro slowly drags himself over to his father's corpse, Gwendolyn gently clings into him, telling him to look away, but Jethro slams the ground, angry at his father's death, and swears vengeance upon Maxie and Archie. Gwendolyn becomes horrified at Jethro's tone, noticing that Jethro's killing intent was real, but she hugs him and tells him to remain calm, otherwise he would be no better than Maxie and Archie. Gwendolyn's words snap Jethro out of his murderous rage, and Jethro thanks Gwendolyn for always being by his side.

After Jethro's Feebas evolves into Milotic, Jethro and Gwendolyn head out to battle, with Jethro riding on Milotic, and Gwendolyn riding on Tropius. Maxie and Archie send out their Camerupt and Walrein to fight back, but Gwendolyn has Blaziken send them flying with a powerful Sky Uppercut. Jethro follows up by having Swampert use Muddy Water, which Gwendolyn notes as the combination attack they learned on Mirage Island.

Maxie and Archie are unfazed, and send out more Pokémon to counterattack. As the battle commences, Wallace notes that Archie and Maxie must intend to battle to the end if they sent out their remaining team. Wallace's guess is proven wrong when he notices the two stealing his aircar and driving away. Maxie and Archie decide to let their opponents live, as with the Red and Blue Orbs, they can easily get rid of them later.

The Trick Master tries to stop the two from escaping, but is easily swatted away. Seeing what happened, Gwendolyn decides to use the New Mauville generator in addition to Plusle and Minun's electric energy to stop Archie and Maxie. By summoning the electrical energy stored inside the generator, Plusle and Minun shoot a powerful attack at the aircar. Maxie and Archie try to escape, but the attack reaches them and surrounds the car in a dangerous field of electricity.

Jethro gives Sapphire his Pokégear and has her put up the aircar's shield to protect Maxie and Archie. Stating that enough people have died, Jethro decides to simply retrieve the Red and Blue Orbs now that Maxie and Archie cannot move. Gwendolyn questions Jethro's motives, as no Pokémon they have could possibly move through the electrical field and survive. Jethro states that he has one Pokémon that can and prepares to release it from its Poké Ball. Gwendolyn recalls the pose Jethro is in from back when he saved her from the Seviper.

Jethro reveals that he doesn't know what the Pokémon he has is, as the Pokédex won't identify it, but he has had it ever since he came to Hoenn. Jethro opens the Poké Ball, and releases Celebi. Back on Mirage Island, Juan is shocked to see that Jethro has a Celebi. Juan quickly realizes that Jethro having Celebi makes sense, as it explains why time became unstable when Jethro and Gwendolyn entered and left Mirage Island. Celebi passes through the electrical field and takes the Red and Blue Orb from Maxie and Archie's hands. Back in Sootopolis City, Gabby notes that the energy field surrounding the city is disappearing, which means that it will fall back into place soon.

Somewhere, an exhausted Jethro lies with Gwendolyn right next to him, with the two of them holding hands. As Celebi flies past them, Jethro sees images of Courtney, Steven, and Norman—those who lost their lives in the final battle. Celebi smashes the Red and Blue Orbs to pieces, which break into two gemstones. Jethro and Gwendolyn begin floating into the air, while Celebi stays behind. Jethro and Gwendolyn suddenly wake up in the Pokémon Association's headquarters, where they are thanked by their friends and allies.

Jethro is shocked to see that Steven and Norman are alive, and sees Courtney flying past the airship as well. Courtney states that she feels like she had come back from the dead, and decides to take this second chance to pursue a life of Contests again. Jethro realizes that he had passed through a time slip and ended up in a slightly different future. Looking at Celebi's empty Poké Ball, Jethro guess that Celebi joined his team because it knew that all of this would happen.

The Pokémon Fan Club Chairman greets Jethro and notes that it's been a while since they last met. This causes Jethro and Gwendolyn to learn that the current day is September 19, which means that their bet only has one day left before it ends. The counter of the bet continues at one day. Jethro and Gwendolyn desperately ask Wallace and Norman if they can arrange a Contest and Gym battle for them. Wallace and Norman accept their requests, much to Jethro and Gwendolyn's joy.

The next day, Gwendolyn rushes back to her Secret Base on Route 101. She notes that Norman was a tough opponent, but if he wasn't injured, he would be an even tougher one. Despite this, Gwendolyn managed to beat Norman, and finally has all eight Hoenn Gym Badges. As she climbs into her Secret Base, Gwendolyn wonders if Jethro managed to beat the Contests, as it's only been a day since their exhausting battle. Upon entering her base, Gwendolyn is shocked to see it filled with various toys and furniture.

Jethro appears from inside a tent and reveals that he did it to brighten up Gwendolyn's base. When Gwendolyn demands to know what happened to Jethro's Contest challenge, Jethro reveals that he had won, as he presents his entire team and all five Ribbons. Jethro decides that since the both of them completed their goals on time, the bet ends in a draw. After seeing that Gwendolyn's team is covered in dirt, Jethro decides to groom them.

Gwendolyn, confused at Jethro's behavior, wonders if he remembers what they said back in Sootopolis. Believing that Jethro may have forgotten, Gwendolyn tries to remind Jethro of what they said but has trouble getting her words out. Suddenly, the television turns on, which is revealed to be Gabby interviewing Jethro's mother. On the television, Stephanie asks Jethro to come home so that they can celebrate his birthday as well as Gwendolyn's.

Around the Hoenn region, the people get back to their daily lives. Wanda brings food to Riley as he continues construction with the help of the wild Loudred. Mr. Briney and Peeko prepare to board the S.S. Tidal. Captain Stern, Dock, and the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman take deep breaths. In Fallarbor Town, Professor Cozmo and his assistant are joined by Wallace's cheerleaders. Lenny writes a letter to Professor Birch and Jethro, where he returns the Pokédex and Kirlia, respectively.

Roxanne and Brawly talk to each other. Wattson flies on the New Mauville generator with the Trick Master riding on a robot next to him. Flannery welcomes people to re-opened Lavaridge hot springs and sees Tabitha in the crowd. Elsewhere, Courtney grows Berries in the blazing heat. As Jethro and Gwendolyn run back home, Jethro asks how well he groomed Gwendolyn's Pokémon. Gwendolyn, imitating Jethro, states that he did a beautiful job. As they run, the two exchange a wink at each other.

Somewhere else, the gems produced by the destruction of the Red and Blue Orbs wash ashore. A figure picks them up, who is revealed to be Giovanni. He beckons to his new underlings, saying there is work to be done, and they leave the scene.

The next day, Jethro and Gwendolyn celebrate the latter's birthday, and both vow to win the Hoenn Grand Festival and Hoenn League, respectively. Three days later, Gwendolyn arrives in Ever Grande City to participate in the Ever Grande Conference. After Gwendolyn registers to participate, she notices many other participants around the Pokémon Center, and feels goosebumps all over her body, excited at the thought of battling strong opponents, and how different an official tournament was from regular battles, with the stadiums, crowd, and carefully planned scoreboards.

With her first preliminary battle, Gwendolyn faces off against a Trainer Gilbert. Gwendolyn chooses Donphan while Gilbert chooses Hitmonlee. Both Donphan and Hitmonlee charge towards each other, with Gilbert commanding a Rolling Kick, and Gwendolyn ordering Horn Attack. Hitmonlee leaps towards Donphan and kicks hard with its extendable legs, but Donphan quickly dodges and quickly unleashes its Horn Attack on Gwendolyn's command, sending Hitmonlee crashing down to earth. Gilbert tells Hitmonlee to use High Jump Kick, and Hitmonlee attempts to hit Donphan while combining its attack with forward flips. Donphan uses amazing speed to dodge all three kicks, leading Hitmonlee further and further towards the stadium wall. Seeing its chance, Hitmonlee thrusts forward to attack, but Donphan dodges once again at the last moment, making Hitmonlee hurt its knee against the hard surface of the stadium wall. Both Pokémon land and face-off, but Hitmonlee starts to feel the pain of its strained leg.

As Hitmonlee's legs are its main source of attacking, they are also its weak spot, and so Gilbert senses that he'll have to end the battle fast, even if it means taking a risk. Gwendolyn orders Donphan to attack, and Gilbert tells Hitmonlee to use Mega Kick. The fighting Pokémon responds, and smashes its foot hard into Donphan, but it feels pain while doing so, which Gwendolyn senses. Thinking fast, she orders Donphan to switch from Take Down to Rollout, which causes Hitmonlee's leg to give out, and allow Donphan to overwhelm the Fighting-type Pokémon. As Hitmonlee crashes to the ground and clutches its leg in pain, Gwendolyn commands Donphan to use another Rollout, crashing onto Hitmonlee, and knocking it out of battle. Gwendolyn congratulates Donphan on his victory as the announcer declares Gwendolyn as the winner.

Later that night, a celebration is held to mark the start of the real Hoenn League Tournament, with Gwendolyn being the one chosen to light the sacred League torch. She lights the torch, while the celebration balloons float off into the distance.

The next day, Gwendolyn prepares for her second round match-up, and discovers that the second round are consisted of Double Battles. Gwendolyn faces off against a Trainer named Dominick, with Gwendolyn's Blaziken and Aggron battling against Dominick's Tropius and Swalot. Tropius starts off by flying up in the air and whips a Razor Leaf. Blaziken's Flamethrower burns the attack. Tropius's Bullet Seed seems futile against Blaziken's Sky Uppercut. Swalot hits Aggron with a Shadow Ball and Tropius's Gust sends Blaziken flying, but Blaziken uses Flamethrower on Tropius. Tropius dodges the Flamethrower and Aggron dodges Swalot's Body Slam. Swalot seems to be a tough opponent since most of the attacks slip or bounce off its body. This happens when Aggron launches a Flash Cannon.

Tropius defends against Blaziken's and Aggron's combined attacks. Blaziken and Tropius both faint after their Flamethrower and Solar Beam attacks, respectively, collide. Gwendolyn and Dominick are both down to one Pokémon now. Aggron gets dazed after getting hit from Swalot's Shock Wave and is sent flying. Aggron is then hit by a Body Slam and is then struck down by a Shadow Ball. Aggron gets up and charges through a Shock Wave and grabs Swalot and through it. Seeing this as a good attack, Gwendolyn tells Aggron to release a Dragon Pulse in Swalot's mouth. The attack explodes and after the dust settles, Swalot faints. Gwendolyn wins and qualifies to the next round.

In the Stadium, Gwendolyn's next battle is about to start with a Trainer named Clark who directs his Pokémon like a conductor in a symphony orchestra. She calls out Minun and Plusle, which she borrowed from Jethro, while his opponent chooses Quilava and Charizard. Gwendolyn's Pokémon attack directly, but end up taking damage from Charizard's Heat Wave and Quilava's Flame Wheel. Plusle's Charge Beam does not affect its opponents, but Charizard's move doesn't hit its target either. However, Quilava manages to hit Minun with a Quick Attack, but Gwendolyn's Pokémon pay back with a double Spark. Plusle blocks Quilava's Quick Attack, while Charizard's Heat Wave and Minun's Shock Wave collide and explode. Then, Plusle knocks out Quilava, but Charizard quickly defeats him with a Steel Wing.

Gwendolyn orders Minun to use Double Team to confuse Charizard. Gwendolyn then commands Shock Wave, and all of Minun's copies begin charging the attack and they all unleash it at once. Charizard becomes panicked, but the majority of the attacks simply faze through him, as they're simply illusions. However, this causes Charizard to lower his guard, and get struck with the real Shock Wave, before Minun defeats it with Spark, awarding Gwendolyn the victory.

Backstage, Gwendolyn meets up with Lenny, whom Gwendolyn heard about from Norman. Lenny introduces himself, and says that thanks to Norman, he was capable of entering the Hoenn League and growing stronger, both physically and mentally, and tells Gwendolyn that as Norman's friend, he was looking to defeat her, and Gwendolyn says the same before they head to different directions.

As the tournament rages on, Gwendolyn and Lenny advance through the next rounds, before both of them eventually reach the finals, where they face off for the trophy. Gwendolyn and Lenny stand at the arena while the announcer makes the introductions as the battle begins on the grass battlefield. Gwendolyn chooses Plusle as Lenny summons Altaria. Plusle uses Charge Beam, but Altaria counters with Hyper Beam, creating an explosion of light that reaches high into the sky. The explosion from their Charge Beam and Hyper Beam knocks out both Plusle and Altaria instantly.

On the battlefield, Lenny's Roselia and Gwendolyn's Donphan battle it out. Donphan continues launching Rollouts as Roselia evades Donphan's attacks. Roselia responds with a Energy Ball attack, which collides with its target for a direct hit. Donphan is blasted backwards but recovers from the attack. Donphan goes for another Rollout attack but as Roselia evades this second round of attacks, Donphan ascends into the air by bouncing its rolling body, and hits Roselia for heavy damage. After the dust clears, Roselia is announced as unable to battle.

Lenny decides to choose Cacturne for his third Pokémon choice. Donphan begins with a Take Down attack. However, Lenny commands Cacturne to use Needle Arm, and as Donphan approaches him with Rollout, Cacturne blasts him with Needle Arm, causing an explosion, as Donphan gets knocked out from the impact.

Gwendolyn selects Minun as her third Pokémon. Cacturne goes for another Needle Arm attack, slamming into the ground, while Minun manages to evade the attack. Minun and Cacturne blast forward with their Spark and Needle Arm attacks. The combined strength causes an explosion that sends both Minun and Cacturne backwards, but Minun is the one left unable to battle. This leaves Gwendolyn with only three additional Pokémon, ending the first stage of the battle.

The second half of the battle begins, with the battlefield now changing to rock terrain. Gwendolyn calls upon Tropius for her fourth Pokémon selection and Lenny chooses Cacturne. Tropius thrusts forward with Aerial Ace, but Cacturne grasps onto Tropius and prevents it from moving. Cacturne rotates into the air and slams Tropius down in a Seismic Toss. After a few moments, Tropius recovers and continues on the attack. Cacturne charges for a Dynamic Punch while Tropius counterattacks with an Aerial Ace. Tropius's Aerial Ace strikes Cacturne first and knocks Cacturne out.

Lenny chooses Flygon for his fourth Pokémon. Flygon begins with a Sandstorm attack. Tropius manages to clear the Sandstorm with its wings just as Flygon propels itself skyward, hitting Tropius with Giga Impact. Flygon goes into another Giga Impact attack, hitting Tropius multiple times. As Flygon moves for one last Giga Impact attack, Tropius manages to halt Tropius by catching it with its legs. Tropius lifts Flygon and propels it towards the ground. Flygon crashes and is declared unable to battle. Tropius seals an impressive victory, leaving Lenny with only two more available Pokémon.

A solitary Poké Ball rotates from Lenny's hand, as Grovyle is called upon by Lenny. Grovyle begins the battle with a Leaf Blade, striking Tropius. Tropius manages to recover and blasts forward with Aerial Ace. As the two forces clash, Tropius is thrust backwards taking the full damage from its own attack. Grovyle continues with a Hyper Beam, knocking Tropius out of the match.

Gwendolyn does not hesitate in this competition and chooses Aggron for her fifth Pokémon. Aggron is eager to battle and closes in on Grovyle while using Flash Cannon. While Aggron continues its barrage, Grovyle launches a Hyper Beam attack. Aggron evades the attack and repeats Flash Cannon. Aggron launches forward for a Take Down attack, but Grovyle manages to recover and counterattack with a Leaf Blade, knocking Aggron unconscious and unable to battle.

Gwendolyn selects Blaziken for her final attack. Blaziken bolts forward with a Sky Uppercut attack hitting directly, but with little effect. Grovyle retaliates with a Leaf Blade attack, but Blaziken manages to avoid the attack and use Blaze Kick. Afterwards, Blaziken grabs onto Grovyle's body and delivers an overwhelming Flamethrower, knocking Grovyle out of the competition. This leaves both Lenny and Gwendolyn with only one Pokémon each. Lenny calls upon Kecleon as his final Pokémon.

Blaziken begins the final match-up with Flamethrower, which Kecleon matches with Thunderbolt. Blaziken follows up with another Flamethrower attack, which Kecleon also counters with Thunderbolt. Gwendolyn decides to take the battle into close range with a Sky Uppercut, which Kecleon dodges by using Double Team. Blaziken and Kecleon clash with Blaze Kick and Astonish, evenly matched. The two clash once more with Kecleon's Bind and Blaziken's Sky Uppercut. Blaziken launches a devastating Flamethrower attack as Kecleon once more defends against the attack with a Thunderbolt. Gwendolyn states that she had enough games and orders Blaziken to finish it all with Overheat while Lenny commands Thunderbolt. Both attacks clash briefly, but Blaziken's Overheat ultimately overwhelms Kecleon's Thunderbolt, and both attacks are sent back towards Kecleon. As the smokescreen clears, Kecleon's laying in the ground, unconscious, and the referee rules it unable to battle, earning Gwendolyn and Blaziken the victory. Both Trainers meet in the middle of the battlefield and congratulate each other.

The Hoenn Championship finally concludes, with Gwendolyn being awarded the Ever Grande Championship Trophy. She celebrates her victory as fireworks are showcased. As she lifts her trophy over her head, Gwendolyn wonders how Jethro's Grand Festival performance is going.

### **Battle Frontier**

Gwendolyn and Jethro arrived at the Battle Frontier in order to assist Magna, the third Hoenn Pokédex holder, in protecting Jirachi from the armored man, Guile Hideout. After meeting Magna, the boy ran off saying that he didn't need their help. In an attempt to befriend Magna, Gwendolyn and Jethro competed in Battle Dome tournament. Gwendolyn advanced to the semi-finals, but was defeated by Tucker. Afterwards, Magna got frustrated by their constant pestering that he had Jethro and Gwendolyn thrown out of the Battle Dome.

Gwendolyn and Jethro encountered Spenser, who noted Gwendolyn's connection to the Blue Orb. Finding Spenser's behavior suspicious, Jethro and Gwendolyn recorded their conversation with him on Jethro's Memory Lighter. Spenser revealed that Guile managed to catch Jirachi and fled with it to the Battle Tower. Gwendolyn, Jethro, Magna, and Noland all traveled to the Battle Tower in order to confront the man. After making their way into the area, they discovered that Anabel had been put under Guile's control.

Guile forced the Hoenn Pokédex holders and Noland to take the Battle Tower challenge in order to make it to him. The four battled through various Virtual Trainers before finally reaching the top floor, where Magna faced off against Anabel. During the battle, Latios arrived and used its Sight Sharing to relay a message from Spenser, who revealed that he came in contact with the Blue Orb in the past and gained the ability to detect others like him, which included Guile. With his identity exposed, Guile lifted his helmet, revealing himself to be Archie.

Guile used Jirachi's wishing granting power to summon a giant Kyogre-shaped mass of seawater and had it flood the Battle Frontier. Gwendolyn and the others were assisted by the Johto Pokédex holders, Miguel and Rosita, who revealed that their fellow Pokédex holder were turned to stone and the only way of reviving them was Jirachi. While Miguel and Rosita kept the Kyogre monster busy, the Hoenn Pokédex holders trained to learn the Ultimate Moves, Hydro Cannon, Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant. After they succeeded, Magna managed to get Jirachi to grant his wish to turn the petried Pokédex holders back to normal.

The ten Pokédex holders gathered together to for one final battle against Guile and his army of Rental Pokémon. With a combination of a triple Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn, Hydro Cannon, Volt Tackle, Thunderbolt and Thunder, the ten Pokédex holders destroy Guile's sea demon, finally defeating him for good. With Guile defeated, the Pokédex holders celebrate their victory and decide to participate in a tournament at the Battle Dome, in which Magna ultimately emerges victorious and obtains the Tactics Symbol.

### **Meteor Threat**

The Hoenn Pokédex holders are enlisted by Steven and Mr. Stone to prevent a meteoroid from crashing into the Earth and destroying it. Steven gave the three a Mega Bracelet enabling them to use Mega Evolution and had them train with Ultima so Swampert, Blaziken, and Sceptile could fully master the Ultimate Moves. Jethro only agreed to help on the condition that Gwendolyn be kept in the dark about the meteoroid. While Gwendolyn and Magna practiced with each other, Jethro had plans elsewhere and lent Swampert to Gwendolyn so it could train without him.

Gwendolyn trained her new Kirlia, and Jethro's Gardevoir in order to evolve her Kirlia into a Gardevoir. When she accidentally kicked up a Dawn Stone, Kirlia evolved into a Gallade instead. Later, Gwendolyn and Magna fully mastered the Ultimate Moves with Ultima's guidance and gained the ability to use Mega Evolution. In order to prevent potential enemies from fiding them, Mr. Stone had the training moved to the abandoned energy harvesting facility, Sea Mauville.

The group arrived at the Sea Mauvile, where Gwendolyn reunited with Plusle and Minun, who had made the facility their new home. The next day, Gwendolyn and Magna assisted Steven and Mr. Stone by putting Blaziken and Sceptile on a machine known as an Absorber and using the power of the Ultimate Moves in their Mega-Evolved forms. To their horror, the Absorber drained Blaziken and Sceptile of their life energy to fuel a machine known as the dimensional shifter.

The Draconid Zinnia and a group of Team Aqua and Magma Grunts attacked the Sea Mauville in order to destroy the dimensional shifter. After Zinnia revealed the truth about the meteoroid, the shock of Jethro and the others lying to her caused Gwendolyn to lose her voice. During the clash, Zinnia managed to steal Gwendolyn's Mega Bracelet, and Gwendolyn ended up falling into a ring belonging to the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa. Gwendolyn was transported to the inside of a rocket located at Mossdeep City, where she handed the dimensional shifter to Professor Cozmo and his assistants.

Soon afterwards, Gwendolyn met with Steven and Mr. Stone again. While Mr. Stone oversaw the rocket's launch, Gwendolyn battled against Zinnia in order to prevent from interfering with it. Eventually, Gwendolyn lost and was sent flying, allowing Zinnia to knock the rocket into the water and destroy the dimensional shifter. Gwendolyn woke up at Route 120, where she landed after Zinnia defeated her. There, she met Aarune, who saw her falling and rescued her. Later, Gwendolyn spotted Jethro with Rayquaza and confronted him about lying to her. After Jethro apologized, Gwendolyn agreed to help stop the meteoroid and jumped onto Rayquaza's head. To Gwendolyn's shock, Archie and Maxie also appeared with Primal Kyogre and Groudon. The four then teamed up to destroy a large piece of the meteoroid, combining the power of Hoenn's three super-ancient Pokémon into one attack to shatter it to pieces. After they succeeded, Gwendolyn used the Jade Orb core to peer into Rayquaza's mind, revealing it needed the power of Mega Evolution to defeat the actual meteoroid.

Zinnia managed to lure Rayquaza away from Gwendolyn and Jethro, but her attempt to convince the Sky High Pokémon to join ended with it rejecting and attacking her. Zinnia was rescued by Latios and taken to Sootopolis City to recover from her injuries. Brought to tears, Zinnia gave up and admitted there was no way to save the planet anymore. Magna disagreed and suggested the three factions that tried to stop the meteoroid work together instead of fighting with each other. The group's allies from around Hoenn gathered together to lend a hand and stop the meteoroid, now known as **Grand Meteor Delta**. After changing into their Aqua and Magna Suits, Gwendolyn and Jethro set off with Rayquaza to space. With the power of Mega Rayquaza and the combined might of their allies from Hoenn, Kanto and Johto, Gwendolyn and Jethro successfully shattered Grand Meteor Delta into pieces. A Deoxys emerged from the wreckage of the meteoroid, but was defeated when Rayquaza shattered its core, knocking it unconscious. Afterwards, Rayquaza took Gwendolyn and Jethro back down to Earth, where they reunited with their friends.

## **New Era**

At some point following the Meteor Threat, Gwendolyn and Jethro started a romantic relationship and after some years, they married, although Jethro would often travel across the world with his mentor Wallace, and Gwendolyn would continue competing in tournaments into adulthood. Eventually, Gwendolyn and Jethro would birth two daughters: Layla and Elizabeth.

### **Hoenn Again**

When Dwayne arrived in Petalburg City, Gwendolyn and her family welcome him to their home. Dwayne exchanges pleasentries with Gwendolyn and Jethro, who remark on his growth and praise him reaching the finals of the Silver Conference. Hearing this, Elizabeth mumbles that Dwayne still lost, but Dwayne's glare of fury causes her to shut up immediately. Jethro asks to see which starter Pokémon Layla chose, and she sends out Torchic. Elizabeth is disappointed that Layla picked Torchic, and states that she would have picked Treecko, angering Torchic, who starts pecking her, much to Dwayne's amusement. Gwendolyn doesn't mind the extra company, so Dwayne decides to enjoy lunch with the family. During the meal, Dwayne asks about the rules Gwendolyn uses for her matches; Gwendolyn states that she used a three-on-three match rule. Dwayne sighs, saying that he only had two Pokémon with him, causing Elizabeth to laugh at his misfortune, but quickly shuts up after Dwayne slaps her on the back of the head. Jethro tells him that he can have his Pokémon sent to the Pokémon Center. However, Dwayne replies that he wants to start fresh and only use Pokémon he catches in Hoenn. Gwendolyn is impressed by Dwayne's ambitions and offers him an unofficial match, but Dwayne doesn't mind. Just after lunch, everyone goes back to the arena for the battle.

As the battle starts, Dwayne uses Gardevoir and Gwendoyln sends out Blaziken. Layla's Torchic marvels at the sight of its evolved form, and begins cheering for the Fire-type Pokémon. The first strike is a Moonblast from Gardevoir, but Blaziken uses his quick reflexes to easily jump away. Blaziken soon runs towards Gardevoir at high speed and scores a direct hit with Focus Punch. Dwayne then decides to confuse Blaziken by ordering Gardevoir to continuously teleport around the battlefield, but regardless, Blaziken uses his quick reflexes to foresee Gardevoir's next location and scores another hit, this time with Aura Sphere. As Gardevoir stumbles, Blaziken knocks her out with a rapid-fire Blaze Kick, giving Gwendolyn the victory.

After Dwayne makes sure that Gardevoir was okay, Gwendolyn gives the Embrace Pokémon an Oran Berry to restore her strength. Layla and the others walk into the battlefield, and Layla comments on Gardevoir's performance, and says that she was glad to see that the little Ralts that used to play with them evolved into such a graceous and beautiful Pokémon, and Gardevoir expresses her appreciation towards Layla with a warm hug. Elizabeth says that Gardevoir still lost, which earns her Gardevoir's fury, who begins charging a Moonblast to intimidate Elizabeth into silence, which causes everyone else to laugh. Layla's Torchic begins jumping up and down in excitement, and begins running around Blaziken in circles, and Jethro comments that Torchic has become inspired by Blaziken, and Layla says that she specifically picked Torchic because she to grow up as powerful as her mother, and Gwendolyn puffs her chest, saying that Layla made the right, and obvious, choice, causing Jethro and Elizabeth to simply groan at Gwendolyn's smugness.

That night, Dwayne spends the night at their house, and shares a room with the sisters, although Dwayne sleeps on the floor, which amuses Elizabeth, who sarcastically remarks that she should be careful to not "accidentally" step on Dwayne if she needed to use the bathroom, and Dwayne says that she would regret if she actually does it, and Layla simply chuckles at their bickering. The next morning, Dwayne prepares to head off, but not before Gwendolyn gifts him a Badge case. Dwayne asks Layla if she would travel with him, but Layla says she wanted to travel by herself, and asks if Dwayne felt disappointed, but Dwayne assures her that he understands, and bids her and the family goodbye as he sets out towards Rustboro City, and promises Gwendolyn to challenge her again once he became stronger.

Sometime later, Gwendolyn becomes suspicious of Jethro as she noticed him spending more and more time at the Pokémon Center and eventually starts hearing a rumor that Jethro was romantically involved with the local Nurse Joy, and Gwendolyn becomes both heartbroken and infuriated, and subsequently refuses to even mutter Jethro's name, as the mere mention of him leaves her agitated and filled with rage.

When Layla and Dwayne return to Petalburg City, she welcomes her daughter home, but once Layla asks about her father's whereabouts, Gwendolyn tenses up, and with Layla's mention of having recently caught a Beautifly cause Gwendolyn to become increasingly angry. She then starts packing her bags, and heads to the Pokémon Center, where she meets Dwayne, her daughters, and Jethro, and announces her intentions to leave, and when Jethro gets confronted with the rumors, he says it was all a misunderstanding and directs everyone back to the Petalburg Gym.

By nightfall, Jethro explains that Nurse Joy was helping him with a gift for Gwendolyn, and Joy sets off the machine, and Beautifly-shaped fireworks are shot into the air. Joy also apologizes about being secretive, but she reveals that Jethro knew that she is also a fireworks technician. He wanted to arrange a special gift for Gwendolyn to celebrate their anniversary, with the Beautifly fireworks commemorating that day in the flower field with all the Beautifly. Gwendolyn begins to cry, and apologizes to her husband for her suspicions, and wishes him a happy anniversary as they kiss.

The next day, Gwendolyn and Dwayne prepare for their official Gym battle. Gwendolyn tells him that she's been waiting for another fight with Dwayne ever since their last battle, and Dwayne says he's more than willing to take Gwendolyn up on her offer. Watching from the sidelines, Layla says she's excited to see how the match turns out. Elizabeth tells her that their mother is certain to win. Jethro tells her that she should just relax and enjoy the match without worrying about the final result, but Elizabeth remains adamant that Gwendolyn would win. The referee announces the rules of the match: three Pokémon, but only Dwayne is allowed substitutions. Raising his flags, the referee signals for the match to begin and both Dwayne and Gwendolyn send out their first Pokémon, Corphish and Donphan. Utilizing Corphish's speed, Dwayne orders him to use Vise Grip, but Donphan dodges and counterattacks with Horn Attack. Jumping out of the way, Corphish attacks with Crabhammer, but misses once again as Donphan leaps out of the way. Dazed, Corphish is unable to dodge Donphan's Take Down and is blasted across the arena.

As Corphish recovers from Take Down, Dwayne realizes that he needs to change his strategy. He orders Corphish to attack with Bubble Beam. However, Donphan dodges this attack as well and responds with Rock Tomb. As a result, Dwayne recalls Corphish for some rest, and sends out Combusken instead. Upon seeing Combusken, Gwendolyn comments that she was surprised to see that Dwayne also owned one, and remarked that herself, Dwayne, and Layla all owned the same species, but Layla sheepishly comments that Dwayne's Combusken was the same one that used to belong to her, and they had traded their Pokémon, much to everyone's shock. Gwendolyn asks why Layla had traded her very first Pokémon, and Layla comments that Combusken's nature didn't match with her training style, so they opted to trade. Despite somewhat disappointed that Layla traded away her starter Pokémon, Gwendolyn nonetheless respects her decision.

As the battle resumes, Combusken uses Flamethrower, which easily blasts through Donphan's Rock Tomb and scores a direct hit, knocking Donphan out. With Donphan out of commission, Gwendolyn calls out her next Pokémon, Gallade. Dodging Combusken's Flamethrower, Gallade knocks Combusken out with a single Psycho Cut. With Combusken down, Dwayne sends Corphish back into the arena. Gallade dodges a Bubble Beam from Corphish and attacks with Signal Beam. Corphish blocks the attack with Bubble Beam but is hit with a surprise follow-up Close Combat. Layla says that Dwayne should substitute Corphish, but Jethro tells her that if he does that, his only reserve Pokémon will be the already injured Corphish. He has no choice but to use Corphish as long as possible. Sizing up Gallade, Dwayne suddenly comes up with a plan. He orders Corphish to use Vise Grip, dodging a Signal Beam from Gallade. As Corphish closes the distance, Gwendolyn orders Gallade to use Close Combat, but is surprised when Dwayne tells Corphish to switch over to Aqua Jet, and Corphish suddenly speeds towards Gallade with amazing speed, striking it before Gallade can attack. Seizing the opportunity, Corphish attacks with a follow-up Crabhammer, knocking Gallade out. However the effort is too much for Corphish and he passes out as well, resulting in a double KO.

After recalling Corphish, Dwayne and Gwendolyn send out their last remaining Pokémon, pitting Gwendolyn's Blaziken against Dwayne's Grovyle. Dwayne attacks first by ordering Grovyle to use Bullet Seed, but Blaziken easily blocks the attack with his hands, sustaining no damage at all. Grovyle attacks again with Leaf Blade, but Blaziken grabs it mid-attack and tosses Grovyle back across the arena. Blaziken begins to attack with Focus Punch, but is stopped after Grovyle hits it in the face with Bullet Seed. The attack angers Blaziken, who retaliates with Aura Sphere.

Grovyle slices the Aura Sphere in half with Leaf Blade and attempts a Pound attack, but Blaziken grabs him in midair and tosses Grovyle into the ceiling. Grovyle counterattacks with Bullet Seed, but Blaziken blocks with a powerful Flamethrower, which blasts through the Bullet Seed and sends Grovyle flying. Watching Grovyle struggle to his feet, Gwendolyn suggests that Dwayne should withdraw from the match for Grovyle's safety. Dwayne begins to consider it, but stops when Grovyle indicates that it wants to keep fighting. Remembering the battle with Brawly, Dwayne wonders if he should truly cater to Grovyle's feelings or simply forfeit for his sake. Grovyle senses Dwayne's reluctance and shoots his twig onto his feet, and Dwayne realizes that Grovyle would never forgive him if he threw in the towel. Accepting Grovyle's wishes, Dwayne tells Grovyle to show Norman what he's made out of. Inspired by Dwayne's confidence, Grovyle activates his Overgrow Ability, which powers up his Grass-type attacks.

Leaping back into combat, Grovyle dodges both a Blaze Kick and Slaking's clumsy attempts to grab him. Grovyle then begins bouncing around the arena. Dodging a Flamethrower, Grovyle hits Blaziken with a vicious Quick Attack. Gwendolyn congratulates Dwayne for his recovery, but tells him that he'll need more than just speed to beat Blaziken. She orders Blaziken to attack with Focus Punch while Dwayne tells Grovyle to use Leaf Blade. The two attack each other at the same time, and after a moment's pause, Blaziken falls to the ground. Shocked at her mother's loss, Elizabeth can only stare in disbelief as Jethro and Layla congratulate Dwayne on his victory. Later, Gwendolyn presents Dwayne with the Balance Badge – however, before she can give it away, Elizabeth grabs it and runs away. Locking herself in the Gym's greenhouse, Elizabeth tells everybody gathered outside that it was unacceptable for her mother to lose the match and that it's not okay for a Trainer like her to lose in a Pokémon battle.

Gwendolyn tells her that losing is just as important as winning and that sometimes life's most important lessons are learned through losing. Dwayne tells Elizabeth that he really doesn't need the Badge, beating Gwendolyn in a fight taught him enough that he'd be satisfied without one. Touched by their words, Elizabeth comes out and gives the Badge back, but not demanding Dwayne to eventually win the Hoenn League, otherwise his victory over Gwendolyn would've been for nothing, and Dwayne assures her that he would win no matter what.

## **Character**

As a young child, Gwendolyn was very feminine and didn't enjoy Pokémon battling, but it all changed when a Salamence attacked Goldenrod City, which resulted in her friend, Jethro, being scarred by Salamence, which caused Gwendolyn to believe that she was responsible for not being able to help him fight, and spent the next years of her life training carelessly to one day re-encounter her friend and make up for her mistakes.

In the following years, Gwendolyn became incredibly tomboyish and wild, wearing clothing made out of leaves, and developed a quick temper, attacking Jethro after he mistakenly believed her to be a Pokémon. She often assists her father with his fieldwork and years of doing so have given her various skills such as heightened physical strength and senses. Due to constantly being surrounded by nature, Gwendolyn has come to dislike the idea of beautifying Pokémon instead of leaving them in their natural state.

Gwendolyn also possesses a strong sense of justice, willing to discard her challenge against Jethro to save the Hoenn region from potential chaos and destruction by Team Magma and Team Aqua. Gwendolyn also holds strong romantic feelings towards Jethro, stemming from her childhood when he protected her from Salamence, and after the two recognized each other years later, Gwendolyn still held feelings for him, which grew even stronger after Jethro's heroic actions and Gwendolyn's confession, although she became quite humorously enraged that Jethro pretended to have forgotten her confession after defeating Groudon and Kyogre.

Gwendolyn retained her wild and rebellious attitude throughout adulthood, often listening to her music with headphones, but would constantly sing out loud and become unaware of her surroundings, as Gwendolyn would sing and dance blindly, without looking where she was going, often causing her to bump into others. Gwendolyn's love for battles never weakened and Gwendolyn herself began traveling the world in order to capture different kinds of Pokémon for her quest in winning tournaments. Furthermore, Gwendolyn would eventually come to terms with her feelings for Jethro, with the two eventually marrying, and although they would often remain apart due to each other's busy schedules, their love would always be reinforced whenever they were together.

At the same time, Gwendolyn also mellowed her tomboyish nature, sporting more feminine clothing, and began both understanding and enjoying more feminine tastes, but nevertheless retained her fierce and outspoken spirit, and despite having grown comfortable with hew newfound femininity, she still dislikes having others make comments about it, to which Gwendolyn reacts with bursts of anger, and shows a specific loathing towards being referred to as "cute", believing it makes her look "weak" and "defenseless".

She's also become quite rash and somewhat unreasonable as she would allow her emotions to cloud her judgment, as after hearing rumors about Jethro's supposed affair with Petalburg City's Nurse Joy, she became completely enraged to the point where the mere mention of Jethro's name caused her to become irate, despite Gwendolyn never having confronted Jethro about this, or obtaining solid proof, and was more than ready to leave altogether before learning that Jethro and Joy were merely preparing a surprise for Gwendolyn and Jethro's wedding anniversary, and Gwendolyn subsequently promised to not allow her emotions to control her again.

After becoming the Gym Leader of the Petalburg Gym, Gwendolyn quickly gained a strong reputation and became recognized as one of the toughest Gym Leaders in all of Hoenn. Her reputation was also quite infamous amongst challengers, as Gwendolyn developed a mean streak of using too much force and power against her challengers, and was known to be "extreme" to a great extent, and as such, many challengers hesitated to battle her, both in fears of losing and because of her explosive temper. Jethro mentioned that she once had a challenger defeated so badly, the challenger actually started crying and ran away from the Gym, while Gwendolyn shrugged it off it, claiming the challenger was weak-spirited and simply started listening to her headphones without a second thought. Gwendolyn herself admits that she purposely crafted this persona in order to teach her challengers to remain at their best, and although admitting that she occasionally exaggerates with her aggressiveness, she nonetheless doesn't regret it.

Having defeated all eight Gyms around Hoenn, and having conquered the Ever Grande Conference, Gwendolyn is given the title of "**Conqueror**" (**極める者** *Conqueror*).

### **At Sea**

Wailord's known moves are Surf, Water Spout and Dive. and his Ability is Oblivious.

Relicanth's only known move is Dive. and his Ability is Rock Head.

### **Borrowed**

Gwendolyn borrowed Plusle from Jethro in order to participate in the Ever Grande Conference as Gwendolyn only had five Pokémon with her, and she needed a full party of six. After Gwendolyn's victory at the tournament, Plusle was returned to Jethro.

## **Achievements**

### **Badges Obtained**

#### **Hoenn Badges**

This listing is of the Badges Gwendolyn has obtained in the Hoenn region:

* Stone Badge
* Knuckle Badge
* Dynamo Badge
* Heat Badge
* Feather Badge
* Rain Badge
* Mind Badge
* Balance Badge

### **Pokémon League**

Gwendolyn has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:

* Ever Grande Conference – Winner