The Hoenn League Qualifying Tournament has begun. Having made it through their first two Double Battles, Ash, Morrison, and Tyson face just one more opponent before they make it to the Victory Tournament. Ash’s battle for a place in the Tournament is stopped only by a trainer named Clark. From the PokéNav, Max alerts Brock and May that Clark is known as Clark the Conductor from the way he conducts his Pokémon in battle, as if they were in a symphony.

Clark releases Charizard and Quilava to face Ash’s Grovyle and Glalie, and the battle begins. Ash orders Grovyle to use Pound on Charizard and Glalie to use Headbutt on Quilava. Clark blocks it with a Flame Wheel from Quilava and a Heat Wave from Charizard. He tells Ash that he’ll call this battle “The Destruction of Ash.” Ash calls for an Icy Wind from Glalie as Charizard and Quilava move in for Steel Wing and Quick Attack, respectively. Grovyle manages to dodge the Steel Wing but Glalie gets smacked with Quick Attack.

Ash commands a Headbutt from Glalie and a Pound from Grovyle. Quilava tries to dodge but ends up getting hit anyways. Clark orders a Quick Attack from Quilava and another Heat Wave from Charizard. Glalie blocks the Heat Wave with Icy Wind while Grovyle knocks out Quilava with one final Pound. Clark orders a Steel Wing on Grovyle which Grovyle dodges at the last second. However, Charizard turns around and attacks again from behind and Grovyle is knocked into the stadium wall, where it faints.

Clark orders a Flamethrower which Glalie counters with an Ice Beam on the ground. Pillars of ice materialize and as Charizard comes in for Steel Wing, Glalie uses Double Team. The doubles hide among the pillars so Charizard uses Steel Wing on all of them, finally hitting the real Glalie. Glalie flies into the pillars and begins bouncing around them gathering speed and gaining damage as it goes along. Ash turns the battle around by having it Bounce off the pillars itself instead of being forced to. Charizard Flies into the air as Glalie prepares to attack; using the gathering speed, Glalie smacks straight into Charizard with a Headbutt. Charizard falls to the ground and is declared unable to battle. Outside the stadium, Ash and the others meet up with Morrison who also won his third battle. With both Morrison and Ash moving to the Victory Tournament, they decide to race to Tyson’s match. Max waits until after they’re gone that they’ve gone the wrong way.

Taking Pikachu with them, May, Max and Brock head for Tyson’s match against a trainer named Johnny. When they get there, Johnny’s Blastoise has already fainted and so has Tyson’s Donphan. Johnny orders his Aggron to use Metal Claw. Tyson defends the attack with Detect and Sceptile automatically dodges each swipe. The battle continues as Team Rocket sells more things in the stands. Tyson orders a Bullet Seed from Sceptile and as it lands, Aggron uses Metal Claw. Sceptile uses Detect again and dodges each swipe once more. In the stands, Team Rocket moves behind May with a net to steal Pikachu. May looks back and they duck.

Ash and Morrison arrive, Ash getting there slightly ahead of Morrison. Morrison complains that he would’ve won if he had his sandals but he is wearing sandals as May points out. Brock, May and Max continue their discussion about Tyson’s battle technique, the Hit-and-Run, where you attack and then dodge the opponent’s attacks.

Meanwhile, Sceptile powers up for a Solarbeam as Aggron prepares a Metal Claw. Sceptile releases the Beam as Aggron charges with its claws aglow. Solarbeam hits Aggron and Aggron faints; Tyson is declared the winner. In the path behind Ash and the others’ seats, Team Rocket crawls towards them to try to steal Pikachu. Their new boss spots them and they immediately head back to work.

That night, the gang eats dinner in a nice restaurant. Once again, Ash and Morrison argue while May tells Tyson that she wants to try Ever Grande’s Peanut Butter and Cactus Sandwich. Not going hungry any more, Jessie, James and Meowth receive dinner from their boss again.

Next day, the sun shines brightly as Ash and Morrison open the curtains in their room. They race outside to a cleared area and have a practice battle: Metang versus Pikachu. While Ash and Morrison train, May and Tyson explore Ever Grande with May’s guidebook, Max keeps Munchlax from two girls’ ice cream cones, and Brock flirts with Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. After their battle, Ash and Morrison have a swimming race in the lake, and sleep outside with their Pokémon.

The next day, the Victory Tournament begins with Ash against a trainer named Katie. Delia nurses a sick Mr. Mime as she watches the tournament on TV. Misty watches from the Cerulean City Gym and Professor Oak watches with Tracey at Professor Oak’s Lab. The announcer says that the battlefield will be either Rock, Grass, Ice, or Water for the first half of the battle, followed by a five minute break. After the break, a second battlefield will be selected from the remaining selections. The spinner selects the Rock field and the field opens to reveal a rocky terrain.

Up in the stands, May asks Max about Katie. Brock tells her that Katie is the Pride of Lilycove and that she battles with a Venomoth and Golduck. He concludes that her strategy is analyzing the opponent’s moves. Ash sends out Torkoal and Katie releases Venomoth. She orders a Stun Spore which Torkoal blocks with Iron Defense. Venomoth uses Disable and Iron Defense. Ash commands a Flamethrower. Venomoth dodges and Katie calls it back. She sends out Golduck to replace it. Torkoal moves in for Body Slam but gets blasted into the air with a Hydro Pump. Torkoal lands and Golduck smacks it with Fury Swipes. The attack knocks out Torkoal, giving Katie the early lead.

Ash sends in Pikachu, hoping to even the score. Katie calls back Golduck and sends in Dugtrio. Pikachu tries a Quick Attack but Dugtrio uses Dig to dodge. From underneath, Dugtrio uses Sand Tomb. The attack makes a giant whirlpool of sand and Pikachu begins to slide in. Pikachu attacks with Thunderbolt but it has no effect on the Ground Type Pokémon. Dugtrio uses Double-Edge as Pikachu attacks with Iron Tail. An explosion rocks the stadium and Pikachu flies out of the Sand Tomb, landing on the ground unconscious. Ash sends in Glalie to earn back some ground.

Dugtrio immediately Digs again. Glalie uses Headbutt on the ground and Dugtrio pops out like a cork from a bottle. Glalie makes quick work of the Pokémon with Ice Beam and Katie loses her first Pokémon. Her next choice is the Ghost Pokémon Misdreavus. Glalie uses Ice Beam but Misdreavus charges straight through it. Glalie smashes Misdreavus with Headbutt and as it does, Misdreavus uses Destiny Bond. Misdreavus faints and Destiny Bond takes effect, knocking out Glalie. Max explains to the others in the stands that when the user of Destiny Bond faints, the opponent does the same. With three of Ash’s Pokémon, it is time for a break and a field change...