Pokémon

In the land of Hoenn, a girl named May travels to Prof. Birch's lab. She is attacked by a wild ghost pokemon called Duskull. Scared, but unharmed, she travels on her bike to the lab in Littleroot Town.

Ash is ready to head to Oldale Town to sign up for the Hoenn League. May has offered to show Ash the way in exchange for his company to Oldale Town - which is only fair, seeing as Pikachu destroyed May's bike when it was sick! In Oldale Town, May visits her first Pokémon Center and is amazed with all of its services, and by the ancient ruins next door.

Ash and May have made it all the way to Petalburg City â€" the first city with a gym. Ash is very excited to take on the gym leader. May seems a little uneasy â€" perhaps it's because she hasn't yet told Ash that her father, Norman, is the gym leader in Petalburg!

Ash, May, and Max are strolling through the Petalburg forest on hopes of seeing new pokemon and adventures. May suggest that they should stop for a quick lunch break but Max on the otherhand think that they should continue to find pokemon in the forest.

Brock is ready to travel again and has joined up with Ash, May and Max as the journey on towards Rustboro City. In the forest they encounter a giant Zigzagoon, which they soon realize is actually a trainer in a Zigzagoon suit. Nicolai the Knickerbocker is a trainer that believes in becoming one with Pokémon in order to understand them. While battling, he wears a costume of whichever Pokémon he is using. When not dressed as a Pokémon, he wears knickers in order to be closer to nature.

Our heroes are headed for Rustboro City, where Ash hopes to have his first real gym battle in Hoenn. Team Rocket is making their way along the same path when they stumble upon a cage full of Ekans.

Deep in the woods, Ash spies a Treecko. He's wanted to catch a Treecko since he first saw one at Professor Birch's laboratory. He follows the Treecko to an enormous tree that seems to be dying. There, Ash's Treecko has an argument with all of the other Treecko.

Ash's newly caught Treecko may be a bit standoff-ish, but the little green Pokémon is quite a fighter. When Team Rocket sees Treecko knocked down and hurt by a Seviper, they decide that they must have that Seviper. Jessie is very impressed with its "sneaky, snakey ways."

Ash, May, Brock and Max have arrived at a small city on their way to Rustboro City. Brock decides to stock up on supplies, while Max is eager to go hunting for city dwelling Pokémon. Max soon stumbles upon a very frightened Shroomish who is hiding in an alleyway. Ash, Max, Pikachu and their new Shroomish friend head off to find a Pokémon Center.

En route to Rustboro City, Ash and the gang pass by an unofficial gym boasting the world's most powerful Pokémon. Even though he can't win a badge there, Ash is intrigued and decides to battle the trainer named Anthony and this mysterious Pokémon.

As our heroes travel on towards Rustboro City, they stumble into a forest filled with many different kinds of Pokémon. It turns out that the area is actually a Pokémon preserve, and it's looked after by a girl named Katrina. Katrina takes care of all of the Pokémon in the area and helps to nurse them back to health when they are sick. Max takes a particular liking to her Poochyena and he's determined to see it evolve before they leave the preserve.

Ash and friends are relaxing in a lake when they come across a group of Lotad. The Lotad help a group of three sisters grow flowers and berries for their shop. The runt of the Lotad litter is having trouble, though, and Brock gives it some advice and encouragement. Natalie, the youngest sister, develops a crush on Brock and runs off to find a Sitrus Berry to give him. Brock and company arrive just in time to save her from a wild Beedrill. But just then, Team Rocket sets out to catch all of the Lotad in the lake. Pikachu joins forces with the lake dwellers to stop Team Rocket, and afterward, the littlest Lotad decides to join Brock as his Pokémon!

Ash and friends come across their first Pokémon Contest! These competitions, hosted all over the Hoenn region, focus on the beauty of Pokémon attacks--style and technique count just as much as power! May and Max assist Janet, a Pokémon Coordinator with a beautiful Beautifly. Meanwhile, Janet's friend Chaz helps Ash teach Pikachu to use Iron Tail, a Steel-type attack that may come in handy for his upcoming battle at the Rustboro Gym, which specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. Jessie, in disguise, enters Seviper in the Pokémon Contest. But it's a complete disaster, because Seviper doesn't know any showy attacks. Janet and Beautifly win the contest, but Team Rocket cuts in and tries to steal the finalists' Pokémon. Ash, May, Janet, and Chaz fight them off. May is amazed by the beauty of Pokémon, and it seems like she has found her calling.

While the gang is walking through a forest May sees a Wurmple. After Ash scanned it with his Pokédex and they learn from Max that it can evolve into Beautifly, May decides to capture it and separates from the group. Meanwhile, Jessie wants to capture some Wurmple too, to give them to Giovanni and to use the others for winning contests. After a while, Team Rocket attacks May to catch the Wurmple that she saw when a boy named Franklin, who is a ranger, helps her. At the same time, Ash has a double battle against another ranger also named Franklin who is identical to the other one. What's the truth behind the two Franklins? Will Jessie and May be able to catch a Wurmple?

Ash and friends arrive at Rustboro City where he gets silly with souvenirs. Max then notices a Poliwag hiding and soon the gang meets Roxanne, teacher of the Pokémon Training School and Rustboro Gym Leader. Will Ash get his first Gym Battle in Hoenn, and what of May? And how can Max fair against the school bully?

The time has come! After mastering Pikachu's Iron Tail, Ash is ready for his Gym Battle with Roxanne. But before the battle begins, May tells Roxanne she will not be participating in Gym Battles and instead focus on Contests. Roxanne supports May's decision and wishes her the best of luck. With that set aside the Battle has begun. Will Ash manage to win on his first try, or will this end up like his first Gym Battle back in Pewter City all over again?

After winning the Stone Badge from Roxanne, Ash and co. head out to the next gym, located on Dewford Island. However, Max spills a drink on May's PokéNav and rather than suffer her wrath, Max tries to find a quick solution. He sees an old man demonstrating new inventions but before he can go further, a younger man picks him up in a limo. Who is this old man, and can he help Max fix the PokéNav before May finds out it's broken?

May may be the new Misty but she is not as smart as she was. And she proves this when she, Ash, Brock and Max head to a pasta restaurant that May read up on the internet. The thing was May forgot to check the date and found that the place was closed. The date was exactly the same day, exactly the same month, ten years ago. Things go from bad to worse when they find the pier on the other side of town.May tries to find help and finds a kind sailor by the name of Mr. Briney. But when she returned with her friends, his personality changed for the worse. Could May have goofed up again? Or is someone else pulling Mr. Briney's strings?

After the incident with the Team Aqua agent and with Peeko safely returned to Mr. Briney, Ash and co set sail for Dewford Island. All is not calm on the way there however as a school of Sharpedo suddenly attack Mr. Briney's boat. Not to mention tear up a part of May's new swimsuit. Now how will Ash and co. get to Dewford with all the Sharpedo in the way? Is this going to be like "Jaws" all over again?

After a night at the Pokémon center, Ash is stoked to have another Gym Battle. He meets the Gym Leader Brawly, who would rather surf than battle, which infuriates Ash. Could there be more to this Gym Leader than meets the eye? And does May even have a shred of decency?