The five people of the group decided that they should split up and try to find the Minccino. Cilan would go solo, while Tracey and Iris would search the left halve of the area, and Ash and Bianca would search the right halve. Upon an hour later, no one has seen the Pokémon.

Cilan thought he had seen the Pokémon so he used Pansage to use Vine Whip to snare the creature. Although, what Cilan caught was a Foongus instead: which responded by using Stun Spore. Cilan collapsed on impact. Tracey and Iris were not doing much better, as they could not find a single Pokémon. Ash and Bianca were trying their best, but to no avail: so they decide to slow down their pace and hope the others were having better luck.

"You know Ash, this is quite nice." Bianca started.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant that since I never been on a journey before, everything that happens is a new experience. And if it weren't for me bring you guys your badge case, I wouldn't know that I don't like being robbed." Bianca commented.

"I'm pretty sure no one likes that Bianca. But I know how you feel." Ash reassured.

"Boy, I hope the others find that Pokémon. I really need my bag."

"And I really want my hat back." Ash responded.

"Hey look over there!" Bianca pointed at Ash's hat moving in a bush.

They tried to move as slow as possible, so that the Pokémon does not flee from them. Minccino heard something approach it from behind and high tailed out of there. Ash and Bianca tried their best to follow the Pokémon. To stall out the chase, Minccino used its Swift attack on them. It did slow the duo down, but Bianca thought quickly and sent out her other Pokémon.

A Swadloon had appeared, and used String Shot to entice the Pokémon. Ash used his pokedex to figure out what kind of Pokémon Swadloon was. After they tried to peacefully interrogate Minccino, which it did not comply to, they noticed that they were near a stream. Upon closer inspection, they noticed a den. Minccino was freaking out trying to get untangled. Ash and Bianca noticed that were other things there too, besides their own belongings.

Minccino started to cry as it felt like its home was being robbed. Ash tried to explain that they just wanted their stuff back. Minccino only responded by shaking its head. Bianca noticed that her bag looked slightly different. It had seemed like it was recently cleaned. It was then that Bianca pieced together what was happening.

"Ash, I think this Pokémon likes to keep things tidy. It dusted off my bag."

"How can you be sure that is the case?" Ash questioned.

"Look at your hat. When Minccino stole it, it was still wet."

"You're right, and now it's dry."

"Minccino probably thinks that if something is dirty, then that person does not want it anymore. So then it takes it here to clean off and keep it."

They both then realized that Minccino believes that they are trying to steal what it believes is his. They explained that they were not trying to steal, but rather get back what was theirs. Bianca then freed Minccino from its String Shot trap, and let it claim its territory again. They only asked for what was theirs and they would leave it alone. Minccino looked at the two and gave back what it took from them.

As the duo started to walk away, one trainer looked back and notice the Pokémon was now saddened. Bianca asked if everything was ok. The Pokémon responded with a whimpering sigh. Bianca then held out a pokéball and offer to take it along with her. The Pokémon opened its eyes in a surprised expression. Minccino accepted the offer and swiped the pokéball out of her hands. Minccino then went to dust off the object when it activated the capturing sequence.

After the capture had been confirmed, Bianca then sent out the Pokémon and asked what it wanted to bring with them. Minccino sorted through its former den and could not decide on what to bring, so Bianca took everything that was in the den and placed them in her bag. They met up with the others and returned their things back to each other. Bianca then informed them on the situation and apologized for inconveniencing them. The entire gang stated that there was nothing to be sorry for.

Bianca mentioned that she was going to find another gym to challenge somewhere and was about to be on her way. As she said good bye to her new friends, ash commented that they should battle again sometime. Bianca agreed to that statement and went on her way. Now the gang was heading for Nacrene City. Once they have arrived, they went inside the Pokémon Center to heal their Pokémon. Now everyone had their own agenda on what they wanted to do

Tracey and Cilan both wanted to visit the museum, Iris heard that the Café in the city is very outstanding, and Ash wanted to get his next gym badge. Ash realized that they all did what he wanted to do, so he put his gym challenge on hold so that they could enjoy the city themselves. They had reached the museum, what they did not expect to see was a scrawny man being thrown out of the building.

Everyone went over to see if the man was alright. He said that he was fine, and that he was more concerned about what was happening inside. Just then, a group of men surrounded them to make sure that they could not escape. A man had walked out of the museum in an unusual outfit. He wore a metallic colored vest in dress pants. With a white metal face covering, that only revealed his eyes. By his arm was a lady being dragged out of the building, the museum owner herself: Lenora.

The gang had demanded to let the woman go. He refused, saying that they had to take care of official business. Lenora stated that there was nothing for them to discuss. Cilan asked what was the man trying to do. The response given was of utter shock. The man introduced himself as Blitzorg, and his goal was to ensure that Pokémon would remain superior to humans.

His claim was that people and Pokémon do depend on each other, and live peacefully doing so. However, mankind also restricts Pokémon of the power they could unleash. Only a select few could bring out the best in the other, so only those select few may be allowed to own Pokémon. The group found his claim to be complete nonsense. Blitzorg then mentioned that Gym Leaders, such as Lenora, only use Pokémon to battle and do not care for the Pokémon in their possession.

"I already told you. I do care for my Pokémon, and we want to see how close other trainers are with theirs. That is why we do what we do." Lenora defended.

"Silence! You only use your Pokémon to hurt others. You even get paid by the official Pokémon League to do so! Therefore, you do not simply care for the Pokémon you have." Blitzorg alleged.

"So you're the Gym Leader and the caretaker of the museum?" Ash asked.

"She was, until now. GO MEN!"

"Aye aye sir." The men chanted as they rushed back inside the building.

"What are you doing in there?"

"You will see soon enough."

After a few seconds, Lenora broke free from Blitzorg's grip. As she ran back inside, she only felt pure terror. The museum had been vandalized to smithereens. The shelves were toppled over, artifacts broken out of their cases, and the battle arena was no longer acceptable for any participants. Blitzorg said that he did not hurt anyone that was inside. The museum and gym was the only target, so the people were safe as long as they did not disrupt what was happening. With that, Blitzorg and his crew disappeared in a fiery manner.

Everyone asked if Lenora was ok. She said that she was alright, but the look she gave after looking at the museum and gym did not match what she was saying. She had then called the police and the Pokémon HQ to let them know what had happened. The police said they would try to see who was behind all of this. However the Pokémon League said that her gym would not be allowed for oncoming trainers to receive a badge. A lot of renovation had to have been done before the gym could open back up again.

Lenora apologized that the trainers came all the way out there for a battle and could not deliver. Ash reassured that it was not a problem. He did however still ask for a battle. Lenora questioned his motives. He enlightened her that he was not from this region and wanted to see all kinds of Pokémon. So he did not want to miss the chance to battle a gym leader, whether he got a badge or not. Lenora was astounded at the young man's eagerness and agreed to a battle.

Lenora said that her gym was usually two on two battles, so they will have the same. Ash sent out his Oshawott first, followed by Lenora's Herdier. Oshawott went for a Razor Shell, which was countered by Take Down. The two of them seemed to be evenly matched, so Lenora pulled out her famous trick. Herdier was instructed to use Roar, which sent Oshawott back into its pokéball. Tepig was sent right out in its place. Ash has never seen this trick before, so he was dumbfounded to say the least.

Herdier then went for Giga Impact. Tepig tried its best to dodge, but the move still landed its mark. Tepig slowly got up, but was clearly in a lot of pain from the attack. Tepig did not want to give up yet. Ash noticed that Tepig glowed a reddish color, and pulled out his pokedex. Tepig had just learned a brand new move, Flame Charge. When ash asked Tepig to use the move, Tepig did as it was commanded. The move landed its mark and Tepig's speed and slightly increased. Herdier had then passed out and was no longer able to battle.

Lenora sent out her Watchog, her ace Pokémon. Tepig landed an Ember attack, but Watchog retaliated with Hyper Voice. Tepig could not continue to fight after that. Oshawott was sent back out and was not prepared for what was about to come. Watchog had charged after its opponent with Hyper Fang. Oshawott tried to block the attack with Razor Shell, but could not react in time. Lenora was then declared the winner.

Lenora congratulated Ash for a well battle. She commented that not many challengers are able to react in time to her Roar strategy. She even went to say that an effective way to counter such a plan was to increase a Pokémon's speed, just like Flame Charge. Oshawott wanted to learn a tactic like that, so Lenora pointed them in the direction they needed to go to.

The gang was now heading for a place known as Challenger Rock. Lenora guided them there so that Ash and Oshawott could do some special training. Tracey and Iris were the least thrilled about going to the spot. Tracey wanted to learn more about the Unova culture, but could not due to the museum being destroyed. While Iris still has yet to go to the Café she wanted to visit. Ash insisted that they will go there as soon as they finished with their training.

Cilan even suggested that Iris could use the time to get some training in herself. Iris and Axew looked at each other and both thought it could not hurt to train a little bit more. Ash even offered that Gible could try and encourage Axew too, as Gible was released from its pokéball. Iris was about to deny the offer, but really wanted to spend some time with the dragon Pokémon. So they stayed behind for a while.

Ash and company were then greeted by a man who was training a new Pokémon they have not seen before. Ash used his pokedex to be informed it was a Blitzle. The trainer of the said Pokémon introduced himself as Stefan, which for some reason the others called him Steven. Stefan was informing the others that they were training in order to challenge an upcoming gym battle in the next city over.

Stefan was working on the speed of his Blitzle. Ash took the opportunity to train Oshawott on the same method. Oshawott was running as fast as he could, but could never compare to agility of Blitzle. Oshawott, out of frustration, had summoned water around itself and charged after the Pokémon. Oshawott has just learned Aqua Jet. Although, it had trouble moving in a linear direction. They all just brushed it off as it just needed time to improve. Stefan bid farewell to his new friends as they had gone their separate ways.

Iris, who was way behind, was working on Axew and their training. Gible wanted to help, but Iris said that it would just be in the way of their style of training. Gible had just frowned at the idea. Gible was feeling upset, now that it to relearn everything he had known. Gible just walked away from the two. When the rest of the gang went back to Iris, Ash had one thing on his mind.

"Hey, Iris, where's Gible?" Ash pondered.

"Huh!? It was just here a second ago."

"Gible? Where are you Gible?" Ash yelled out.

"Where do you think it could have gone off to?" Cilan questioned.

"It's not like Gible to walk away. Iris, what happened when you last seen Gible?" Tracey investigated.

"Let's see. Me and Axew were training and I told Gible that he would have just been in the way of our training." Iris answered, not knowing the others would have reacted the way they did.

Ash was furious at this point. He let iris watch after Gible to help train him, and told him he would have been a complete bother to them. Ash then stormed off to find his Pokémon. Without any other evidence, the others had to follow Ash. Iris still did not see what the problem was. Tracey then tried to enlighten her on how Gible felt.

Gible is not like Axew when it comes to experience. Axew, as told by Iris, recently hatched from an egg. Gible started out with Ash as a wild Pokémon with several victories on his own. Only to have none of that experience to carry over, just to be told it was going to be in the way. Iris then acknowledged how she was the one to make Gible upset.

Before they could even react, a trap was sprung onto the heroes. Team Rocket had appeared and started to revel in their victory. Everyone was trapped in an extremely powerful cage, which could not be destroyed from the inside. Everyone was yelling for help, much to Team Rocket's annoyance, hoping that someone would hear them.

As the trio of villains mocked the group, a familiar face had then emerged. It was none other than Gible. The land shark looked around and figured out what was happening. Gible then went on a rant that caused Meoth to laugh. Jessie asked for a translation, to which Meoth obliged.

"Gible here says that we should release his friends or we would have to face him in a battle." Meoth translated.

"Well, who are we to refuse a pest their last dying wish? Go Yamask." James mocked.

"Gible get out of there now!" Ash warned his friend.

"Gible." Responded the Gible.

Gible dodged the Shadow Ball that was heading towards it. Gible then burrowed underneath the ground. Everyone was shocked at what they have just seen. When Gible emerged, it was getting ready for a new move. Energy could be seen from its stomach area. Gible was trying to use Dragon Rage, just like how Axew was learning. The only major difference was that Gible did not keep his mouth closed and went for the attack.

Team Rocket dodged the move and ridiculed the Pokémon for missing. Ash and friends mentioned that Gible was not aiming for them. When the Team Rocket trio turned around, they saw how the cages were broken. With no other option, the trio fled on their jet packs and left the area.

Everyone ran over to Gible, thanking him for helping them out. Iris apologized for how she treated him earlier. Gible reluctantly accepted the apology and went over to Axew. The two of them were 'talking' about how to use the move. Now the gang only had one more objective to complete before they leave the city.

The gang was on their way to Castelia City, but first they needed to go over to the Café Iris had wanted to go to since they arrived. Once they reached the area, they were surprised to see it was closed. The sign they had read mentioned that due to a Pokémon attacking the area, the place was closed for the safety of others.

The entire gang pondered at what Pokémon could have been causing so much trouble. Especially since they have only just heard about it just now. Cilan had got in contact about the rampage of the Pokémon, which was identified as a Druddigon. Iris claimed that the Pokémon could not have been the culprit of the crimes it was accused of. Iris claimed that dragon type Pokémon always have a reason as to why they act a certain way. To which Tracey said that would apply to all Pokémon.

The two of them got into a little debate, but Cilan broke it up. They were all going to see what the problem was about the Druddigon. Last time it was reportedly seen was near the Challenger Rock. The gang headed over as fast as they could. They reached a spot that had several dens in it. Iris then remembered something she learned from where she grew up. She reached the top of the dens and peeked inside the tallest one she could find.

Druddigon had appeared, and seemed to be angered by something. It could have been trying to sleep and was disturbed. Tracey asked iris how she knew where it would be. Iris responded that Druddigon live in the tallest part of cliffs or dens to assert their dominance. Druddigon had then raised his arm up and tried to use Slash on her. Luckily she dodged the attack.

"What was that for?!" Ash yelled out.

"Relax Ash, I got this." Iris stated.

"Iris, look out!" Cilan screamed.

"AH!"

A landslide had happened, and caused Iris to go into the cave Druddigon was in. After she opened her eyes, she noticed that Druddigon was starring right at her. All she could do was stare back in fear. Druddigon took a deep sigh and started to walk away. Iris followed for a little bit, until Druddigon noticed and fired off an Incinerate attack at her. She asked why Druddigon attacked her and other people too. Druddigon just kept on moving.

Iris continued to follow the Pokémon, much to his frustration. They both have reached a stand still. Druddigon refused to move another step until Iris would leave him alone. Iris was also being stubborn because she wanted to defend the Pokémon. She did what the Elder did the one time she had to do in a similar situation. Iris just sat there and waited for the Druddigon to come to her.

Iris just decided to talk to the Pokémon about how she would love to get to know as many dragon type Pokémon as she could. Druddigon was barely listening, mainly because there was an injury on his foot that only became visible. As soon as Iris noticed, she went over to try and heal the wound. As soon as Iris touched the foot of the Pokémon, he winced at the pain. Iris on the other hand, had something else happen to her.

Iris glimpsed at a vision from Druddigon's perspective. He was seen walking at a tower of some kind. There were several others of the species there too. One of them wanted to show the others how tough it was and started attacking them. Druddigon saw this and did not approve of its methods. The two of them had a battle: however the opposing Druddigon used Dragon Claw on his foot and could barely walk. Once that Druddigon showed the others how tough it was, it banished him and sent him far away from the tower. That is how Druddigon ended up where it is now.

"I get it now. You feel betrayed by your own kind. That really must be tough. So you came here and saw all the others being happy and could not find that yourself right?" Iris asked.

"Drud." Druddigon agreed.

"Iris! We're about to get you out of there!" Ash yelled.

"Hold on Iris!" Cilan chimed in.

"We're ok. Just hurry up!" Iris responded.

A tiny explosion had occurred thanks to Pansage and Pikachu using their attacks. Iris was about to climb on out, until she looked back at Druddigon. She offered to help take care of him and even offered to train him to make sure that other Pokémon will regret the day it messed with him. Druddigon accepted the offer and climbed out of the cave too. Iris held out a pokéball and let Druddigon decide if he wanted to join her. He touched the pokéball with his fist and a red aura engulfed the dragon. After three wiggles, the Pokémon had then been caught.

After they went back to the Pokémon Center to heal, they all headed towards the café that had reopened. Iris did enjoy her glass of fresh Moo Moo Milk in her Energy Powdered Tea. The owner of the establishment thanked them by having their meal on the house. Now it was time for the gang to head on out to the Pinwheel Forrest.