With the Hoenn League finally started, Ash and Pikachu continue to train to become ever stronger. This time, they jog alongside a river as the Moltres Flame burns brightly in the Ever Grande Stadium.

At the Pokémon Center, Max checks on the PokéNav for the stats on the Tournament. Morrison seems surprised at what they program the PokéNav to do. Brock scribbles down in a notebook what Max and May think are the stats of the Tournament but what Brock tells them is the location of every beautiful girl in the Stadium. Nurse Joy picks up a microphone and says that she will announce the pairings for the next round of the Tournament. She says that the next three rounds will determine the 32 participants that move on to the Final Rounds. All of the battles in the three rounds are to be Double Battles. Ash and Morrison begin to argue about who is more ready for the upcoming battles but they are cut short by the announcement of the pairings. Ash spots himself in the C Arena in the afternoon. Morrison finds himself in E Arena early that morning. He starts taunting Ash that he’ll win first.

And so Morrison’s second battle in the Hoenn League begins. The announcer tells everyone that Morrison from Verdanturf Town will be facing Gavin from Danda Town. Morrison sends out Growlithe and Gligar for the battle to face Gavin’s Marowak and Machamp. Morrison starts the battle with Take Down from Growlithe on Marowak. Gavin orders a Headbutt from Marowak on Growlithe. Marowak jumps on Growlithe and starts bashing it with its head. Morrison sends in Gligar with a Guillotine attack on Machamp but Machamp counters with Karate Chop. Growlithe uses Flamethrower on Marowak but Marowak uses Bone Club to block it. Gavin orders a Dynamicpunch and Cross Chop combo on Gligar who counters with a Steel Wing. Marowak fires off a Bonemerang at Growlithe who counters with Flamethrower. Marowak charges into the flames and then uses Headbutt followed by Ice Beam. Growlithe’s foot becomes frozen to the ground and it struggles vigorously to free itself.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has decided to take a break and they are sitting downstairs. The wall behind them bursts open and their boss threatens to kick them halfway to the moon if they don’t get back to work. They immediately head back to the stands to sell some food. Back at the battle, Gavin calls to his Machamp to use Vital Throw on Gligar. Gligar comes back with a Guillotine attack on Machamp. Marowak uses Bonemerang on Growlithe again and it frees Growlithe from the ice so Growlithe counters with Flamethrower. Morrison screams for Gligar to use Steel Wing and then once more on Machamp. The Pokémon unleashes a series of Steel Wings on Machamp who attempts to use Dynamicpunch again but it doesn’t work. Gligar finishes off Machamp with a Guillotine and turns the battle in favor of Morrison.

Gavin orders his Marowak to use Bone Club on Growlithe. Growlithe tries to hit its opponent with Flamethrower but Marowak is too fast and smacks Growlithe on the head with its club. Growlithe faints and the battle becomes 1-on-1. Marowak uses Bonemerang again while Gligar uses Guillotine. Marowak uses a Headbutt/Ice Beam combo which freezes Gligar’s wing. Gligar gets hit with the next Bonemerang attack and smashes into the ground. It gets back up and charges at Marowak who hits it with its Bone Club. Marowak withstands the blow and swings its tail around in one final Iron Tail attack to win the match.

Heading for the Stadium and his match, Ash falls into another pitfall trap. Team Rocket appears and says their motto but their boss shows up and tells them to get back to work. They do so, leaving Ash in the pit. He climbs out and heads for his match.

Once there, the announcer tells everyone that Ash from Pallet Town will face Dominick from Inua Town. He sends in Torkoal and Corphish to face Dominick’s Tropius and Swalot. May looks both Pokémon up in the Pokédex as the match begins. Tropius takes to the sky and fires a Razor Leaf. Ash thinks quickly and has Corphish use Harden while Torkoal uses Iron Defense. Tropius fires a Bullet Seed which has no effect on Torkoal because it’s in its Iron Defense. Swalot uses Sludge Bomb on Corphish and even with the extra defense, it manages to push Corphish backwards. Tropius uses Gust on Torkoal and it too gets pushed back. Torkoal uses Flamethrower on Tropius which causes some damage. Torkoal tries its luck with Overheat but Tropius dodges with the use of the sky.

Dominick calls for a Body Slam on Corphish but the fish dodges and uses Bubblebeam. Thanks to Swalot’s expandable and contractible body, the bubbles merely bounce right off. Torkoal launches a Flamethrower which smacks Tropius hard along with Bubblebeam from Corphish. Up in the air, Tropius begins to charge for a Solarbeam attack. Corphish whacks Tropius with its Crabhammer but Tropius manages to get out the Solarbeam anyways. Torkoal counterattacks with Overheat and the two attacks meet in the middle of the field. Both Pokémon push their power to the limits and an explosion knocks them both out.

Dominick shouts to Swalot to use Shock Wave and the attack hurts Corphish badly. Another explosion sends Corphish flying as Swalot attacks with Shock Wave again followed by a Body Slam. From underneath Swalot, Corphish smacks it with a Crabhammer. Swalot launches a Shadow Ball and Corphish slides across the ground toward the wall. Ash tells Corphish to get in close so Dominick orders a Shock Wave. Corphish charges straight through the attack and grabs Swalot’s whiskers. Corphish flips Swalot over and then fires Bubblebeam into Swalot. An explosion knocks Swalot out and Ash wins the battle.

Team Rocket decides to take another break and when the boss comes in, they start to say they’ll get right back to work. The boss, however, thinks they did hard work for the day and gives them dinner, saying that they might get dessert if they do such a good job the next day.

Outside the Pokémon Center, Ash and Morrison argue about whose battle was closer. Max checks in the PokéNav and tells them that Tyson won his match too. The first round of the Hoenn League Qualifying Tournament is over and just 128 contestants remain, three of them being Tyson, Morrison, and Ash.