Lance is heading into Fuchsia City in the afternoon after walking down route 12. He smiles as he looks at a pokeball of a pokemon he just caught. Well, actually, he didn't catch it, someone else did.
While walking down route 12, which is basically a long bridge built over the ocean, a man calling himself the Fishing Guru, stopped Lance and asked him if he liked to fish. Lance told him that he's never fished before, severely shocking the fisherman. He taught Lance how to fish using an Old Rod, but all they kept catching were small red fish with golden crowns known as Magikarp. The Guru apologized for not being able to catch any better pokemon, but Lance said that where he grew up in the Dragon's Den, Magikarp are deeply respected as sacred pokemon. The Fishing Guru was surprised that anyone thought that Magikarp were valuable pokemon, so he let Lance keep it. So now, Lance has his very own Magikarp.
Lance: Wow. I have a Magikarp. I bet granpda would be so proud of me.
The young trainer reaches Fuchsia City and as soon as he gets there, a ninja star flies at him. He quickly jumps back and barely evades being hit by the sharp weapon. He looks up to see who attacked him and finds someone dressed in a ninja outfit. A black mask covers his face.
Lance: What's your problem? You could hurt someone with that!
Ninja: I am the protector of this place. Leave now or suffer the consequences.
The ninja throws another weapon, but this one has a pokeball in the center. The ninja star lands in front of Lance and the pokeball opens, releasing a floating balloon-like pokemon. It is covered in purple skin and has the poison symbol beneath its smiling face.
Lance: Oh, you want to battle? Fine!
This is the perfect chance to try out the new Magikarp.
Lance: Go, Magikarp!
He releases his newly acquired pokemon, ready to battle, but as soon as it emerges from its ball, all it does is flop around uselessly on the ground. Lance looks at it in embarrassment.
Ninja: Are you insulting my skill? I'll punish you for that! Koffing, Sludge attack!
The poison pokemon spits out toxic sludge that lands on Magikarp. Magikarp is quickly beaten.
Lance: Ugh…
He calls back his pokemon and releases his Dragonair instead.
Lance: That wasn't my best. This is my best! Dragonair, Slam attack!
The dragon flies over to Koffing to hit it with its tail.
Ninja: Smokescreen!
His Koffing uses Smokescreen to block Dragonair's view, causing its Slam to miss.
Ninja: Koffing, poison it with Toxic!
Inside the cloud of smoke, Koffing uses Toxic to poison Dragonair. Since there is minimal visibility, Dragonair can't evade the attack and Lance can't see what's happening. Is Dragonair okay?
Ninja: This battle is ours! Sludge Bomb!
The ninja's pokemon mixes the toxins in its body and fires them in a concentrated blast of poison. The sound of impact is heard inside the smoke, then silence.
Ninja: We win.
The Smokescreen disappears and the two pokemon are seen, but Koffing is seen knocked unconscious while Dragonair is just fine. The ninja is infuriated.
Ninja: What did you do to my pokemon?!
Lance: Maybe if you hadn't set up that Smokescreen, you would've seen what happened. When your Koffing used Toxic, Dragonair instinctively responded by using Safeguard, an attack that protects the user from all status abnormalities, including poison. When you thought that you won the battle, Dragonair took the opportunity to strike with the Slam attack that I commanded earlier, beating your pokemon.
Ninja: But how could your pokemon see through the smoke?
Lance: Smokescreen only reduces one sixth of a pokemon's accuracy so it still had a high chance of landing a successful hit.
The ninja falls to his knees after taking the loss. Lance carefully approaches him
Lance: Who are you?
The ninja takes off his mask, revealing a young man's face with spiky dark-blue hair.
Ninja: My name is Koga. I am the protector of this city.
Lance: Why did you attack me?
Koga: Recently, a stranger entered the city and has started causing trouble. I challenged, but he easily defeated me with his ground-type pokemon. When I saw you, I thought you might be with him, that's why I attacked.
Lance: I can assure you that I'm not here to cause any problems. Why did you think that I might be traveling with someone like that?
Koga: Well, the two of you are around the same age and entered the city within an hour of each other. I thought you might be plotting something.
Lance: Wait. What did he look like?
Koga: Well, he was dressed in dark clothes and had black hair that was slicked back.
Lance knows that description well. It's the young man from the boat. So he's still up to no good. Maybe it's time for Lance to do something about it.
Lance: Where is he now?
Koga: Nobody knows. He robbed the local PokeMart, so the police are watching all the city's exits while I watch this one. He hasn't left Fuchsia yet, but we don't know where he is.
Lance: I'll find him. I have a score to settle with him.
Lance walks into the city to find him.
In the north part of the city, the young man walks into a building. The woman inside looks at him with a smile.
Woman: Welcome to the Safari Zone. Would you like to take the Safari Challenge?
Young Man: Shut up. Get out of my way.
He uses his Rhyhorn to break down the door and enters the Safari Zone. The woman immediately calls the police of the young man's whereabouts. They rush to the scene.
Meanwhile, Lance has followed the townspeople's rumors to find the young man. The search has led him to the Safari Zone. He is determined to find him and bring him to justice. What will happen when the two powerful trainers meet? The only thing that is sure is that their battle will be epic. The two great powers are about to clash.