At the Veilstone Gym, Lady Berlitz gasps in horror as Riolu locks hands with Chimlord, and unleashes a Drain Punch, an attack which absorbs the foe's strength and empties their health points. The girl quickly retrieves the Monferno to switch in Chatlord, and orders the Chatot to use Chatter. Chatlord babbles out a series of words at high speed to Riolu, and causes the fighting Pokemon to hold its ears in agony.

Maylene remarks that it is a move she has never seen before, and is amused that sound waves are able to deal such damage. The Pokeball in her hand begins to wiggle, and the Veilstone Gymleader sees that Riolu is calling out for help from Meditite by the aura emanating from its body. She quickly switches out Riolu to call forward Meditite, who swiftly throws out a shimmering blast from its fists, bouncing against the ceiling to the wall, and finally ramming into Chatlord, slamming it onto the ground.

Pearl exclaims that it is Bullet Punch, an attack which always strikes first, but is shocked at the great amount of damage it managed to deal. Meditite follows up with a Psycho Cut, which collides with Chatlord straight on, and Lady Berlitz cries that it is a critical hit.

Meditite and Maylene then both stand in the yogic tree-pose, and the Veilstone Gymleader states that her Meditite only eats one berry per day, allowing it to stay in an empty-stomach state during which it will be easier to tap into the endless potential power and speed of yoga. She, being the trainer, also shares the same eating habit, and thus connects to her Pokemon in both heart and soul.

Pearl sees that Lady Berlitz seems slightly phased by her opponent's intimidating presence, and hopes that she will be able to stay centered as she still has the type advantage despite the huge amount of damage received. The Lady thinks hard to come up with a strategy, then orders Chatlord to counter with Mirror Move, directing a Psycho Cut back at Meditite. The Chatot keeps delivering the same move over and over again, and soon manages to faint the yoga Pokemon.

Maylene retrieves Meditite into its Pokeball, and Riolu returns to the battlefield. It swiftly delivers a Vacuum Wave upon its entry, and the attack instantly faints Chatlord. Lady Berlitz calls Chimlord forward once again, and the two Pokemon resume their vigorous closed-up combat as before.

The Veilstone Gymleader states that she has no idea why she is feeling this powerful emotion within her, but the one thing she knows is that she shall not lose to Lady Berlitz. She recalls the sneak peek of their extravagant hotel room last night, and admits that she is slightly envious, the Lady's beautiful clothes, her well groomed hair and nails, the Pokemon hold items, and on top of all, the full table of luxurious food. However, she is convinced that a trainer with a full stomach cannot emerge victorious, and hollers that her strongest weapon is her hunger.

With that, Riolu rams its fist onto the ground, and cracks up a roomful of flying rocks and boulders, causing Chimlord and Lady Berlitz to evade and jump back in shock. Pearl exclaims that the emanation Pokemon has torn the battlefield apart with Rock Smash, and worries that its great speed coupled with the countless flying boulders will make it not only difficult to track down, but almost impossible to strike. Putting on a frustrated look, Lady Berlitz thinks hard to come out with a plan.

Meanwhile, at the Veilstone Game Corner, Dia walks up to the Manager with his Pokedex in hand, and wonders if the man has seen a similar device in pink. The Manager nonchalantly claims that he has as he continues to wipe the dust off his slot machines, and Dia instantly beams with joy.

Back at the Veilstone Gym, the dragon-like statue receives an incoming call, and sends out a cordless telephone to Pearl via an extendible wire from its stand, telling the boy that someone is calling him from outside. Pearl is baffled as to who it could be, and picks up to find Dia on the other end, who cheerfully informs him that he has found the Lady's Pokedex. He explains that it has been picked up by the Manager and is current at the lost and found warehouse, and Pearl gets confused as to where he is. Dia giggles that it is the Game Corner, and Pearl's face immediately darkens upon hearing that.

Trying to hold back his rage, Pearl states to Lady Berlitz that Dia has just called, and said he found her Pokedex at the Game Corner. The Lady freezes in her motions at the words, and Pearl reminds her of their pact about not going to the place again. He finds it hard to believe that she would go play slots before something as important as a gym challenge, and starts to understand why she is so tired. He grits his teeth in anger, and says while he and Dia are working hard and serious to help her win, she is apparently spending time to have fun instead.

Without turning around to face Pearl, Lady Berlitz firmly says that she did not go there to have fun. Pearl begins to fume that she is being unreasonable as there is no other purpose at the Game Corner, but then the statue whacks him on the head with the extendible wire, and says it doesn't want to remind it everytime that any conversation that would interfere with the battle's result is strictly prohibited.

Being totally indifferent to the feud between Pearl and Lady Berlitz, Maylene hollers that it is time to finish things off. She states that the Lady will certainly not emerge victorious, and in no way will she lose to a wealthy one like her. She mocks that the Lady is free to use the Zoom Lens as she wishes, and she is dying to see if it will really make a difference in their battle.

However, upon hearing these words, to everyone's surprise, Lady Berlitz orders Chimlord to drop the Zoom Lens instead. She closes her eyes and says in order to land an attack on the fast moving Riolu amid a roomful of flying boulders, one must see through the motions of the boulders, see through the motions of the elusive Riolu moving amongst them, and find the weakest point of Riolu's guard where a critical hit is guaranteed to connect the miraculous straight line.

The Lady declares that she is the same as Maylene, in the sense that she hopes to win battles not with the aid of items, but with her personal strength and skills as a Pokemon trainer which she has worked so hard to attain. With a determined look, she says she shall find that miraculous straight line on her own.

Pearl, on the other hand, doesn't think it is possible, but Lady Berlitz assures him that she can definitely do it. With that, she holds up her thumb in front of herself, and Pearl recognizes it as the reeling hand-sign at the slots. Focusing her gaze ahead, the Lady treats the flying boulders and Riolu as the three reels on the slot machine, and one by one locks down each movement as if she is attempting the Triple 7. When she finally sees the miraculous straight line, she orders Chimlord forward to deliver a Mach Punch, and the attack lands straight on Riolu's chest, causing it to tumble under the boulders and everyone else to gasp in surprise.

The statue announces that Riolu can no longer battle, and declares Lady Berlitz the winner of the match. Pearl is left speechless at what the Lady has just done, and admits that he would certainly not have been able to track down such a rapidly moving foe. Maylene also recovers from her shock, and bows to the Lady in recognition of her being a serious and skillful trainer. Lady Berlitz thanks her, and the Veilstone Gymleader grins that it has been a long time since she lost. She says the Lady has set a perfect example, and she has now learnt that being hungry and full makes no difference to the outcome of a battle.

It dawns on Pearl that the Lady went to the Game Corner not to have fun, but to train her own focus from the rapid reeling of the slot machines, and begins to regret about not trusting her. He voices his apology, and Lady Berlitz responds with a gentle smile.

Just then, the back door of the gym opens, and the man in flippers and patched-up clothes whom Lady Berlitz met at the Game Corner appears. He laughs that the young girl indeed kept her promise in not touching the slots despite the constant temptation he gives her, and simply watched him play alongside her Pokemon. Pearl sweatdrops and wonders who the man is, and Maylene puts on a frustrated look, addressing the man as her father, much to Pearl and Lady Berlitz's shock.

The man grins that he has finally come home, and starts to bluff how he deliberately hangs out at the Game Corner day and night to set a bad example for Maylene, so she could become independent under adversity, and grow into a strong gymleader. Knowing her own father too well, Maylene simply keeps silent, and orders a Force Palm from Riolu, knocking him off his feet. Pearl and the dragon-like statue then watch with sweatdrops running down their faces as Maylene, Riolu and the four Blackbelts continue to smack the man around in the gym.

Lady Berlitz proceeds to pin the Cobble Badge on her scarf, as Pearl uses the phone to contact Dia about the good news.

Pearl: Hey, Dia! Ms Lady has beaten Maylene!!
Dia: Yay, we did it~ Ms Maylene was quite a powerful opponent this time, eh?
Pearl: She was quite powerful.
Dia: But the Lady managed to win, and I bet Riolu is now really blue~
Pearl: I'm hanging up!!

At the Game Corner's lost and found warehouse, Dia wanders across the many shelved racks with Beh and Roo, and sees that people do lose a lot of things around the place. The Manager has given them directions of where to find the pink Pokedex before returning to the Game Corner to dust his slot machines, and Dia soon spots it on the top shelf of one of the racks. He grins that the Lady can stop worrying now, and tries to reach up for the Dex. However, he is clearly not tall enough, and decides to stand on Roo to gain more height.

Yet, just as Dia is about to touch the Pokedex, someone else grabs it away a split second before he does...

(Original Japanese Jokes)

1. In the conversation between Pearl and Dia at the end of the chapter, Pearl informs Dia of the Lady's victory, and Dia says 'Mattaku ano Riolu yarioruwa', which means 'That Riolu is completely broken and torn'. The pun is on Riolu's name, which is a part of the term 'yarioru' (broken and torn).