Morning has arrived in Sinnoh. At the wharf of Canalave City, Sailor Eldritch gets ready to leave home, and waves goodbye to his wife and kid as they wish them good luck on his journey. Humming a sailor's tune, the man makes his way to the harbour and boards a luxurious liner waiting there. Starting from today, he is going to be captain of the ship, and he merrily heads to the control room to begin steering the wheel. Somewhere on board, Dia munches on some burgers, and stands next to his three Pokemon, Roo the Torterra, Beh the Munchlax, and Pooh the Shieldon, as the S.S. Sinnoh makes its departure.

The bridge in the city gets lifted to allow the liner to pass through, and Eldritch feels grateful that everything is going well so far. Although there aren't any passengers or goods on board this time, it is nevertheless a joy to experience being the captain. These western waters of Sinnoh, especially the area around the Fullmoon Island may be rough and stormy, but apart from this little problem, there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

Suddenly, the crew rushes into his room and cries that they have an emergency, and Eldritch wonders what is wrong. The crew explains that their lunch has mysteriously disappeared from the kitchen, and Eldritch exclaims in disbelief. He decides to go check for himself, but as soon as he storms out from the control room, he sees a boy and three Pokemon feasting on the deck.

Eldritch's face reddens with anger, and finds it unacceptable that someone is having a party on his ship, eating their food even. He believes that the boy is either a smuggler or a hijacker, and rushes down to the deck to confront him. The man yells at the top of his voice and demands to know the identity of the boy, who calmly introduces himself as Dia, and says Eldritch must be the captain of the ship. He hands Eldritch a riceball and grins that it is very tasty, and Eldritch politely accepts it and thanks him for the offer.

Yet, in the next instant, he breaks into a fury, and shouts that those are their food to begin with, and Dia feels dizzy from the man's booming voice. He tells Beh, Roo and Pooh that he knew it wouldn't be such a good idea, and begins to explain how he was trying to locate the ship's crew, but stumbled upon the kitchen where the food is kept instead. As soon as Beh saw the food, it picked them up and ran away, and though Dia has attempted to stop it, he had little success and ended up bumping into poles and boxes in the dark.

Dia is glad that he has finally met the ship's captain however, and Eldritch pretends to be grateful about their fatal encounter. But then, he once again goes into a fury, and drags Dia away while hollering that they shall head back to the harbour where he will toss the boy off the ship.

Later, back inside the control room, Eldritch feels annoyed to have his special day ruined, and says he has been sailing for 20 years. After moving and drifting from place to place, he has finally settled down in Sinnoh, and began working as captain on this very day. The man turns around to face Dia, but discovers with bewilderment that the boy and his Pokemon have all dozed off. He shakes Dia up in frustration, and Dia grins that it is easy to get sleepy when one is full.

His words further aggravate Eldritch, and the S.S. Sinnoh captain uses the announcement system to call for all crew members who don't currently have a job at hand, to come to the control room and make sure that their smuggler won't fall asleep while he gives his speech. However, not a single Sailor responds to his summon, and Eldritch wonders what has happened. Dia points out from the window, and says everyone is asleep downstairs, but when Eldritch sees the way his crew members are spread out on the deck, he immediately knows that something is seriously wrong.

Eldritch hurriedly rushes down to the deck to check on his Sailors while Dia follows suit, and finds them all unresponsive to his shaking. Dia grins that they must be taking a nap after having a full meal, and Eldritch hollers that they have been knocked unconscious. The man says they are in great danger as the culprit might be a really ferocious wild Pokemon, and Dia cheerfully grins that he believes so. The S.S. Sinnoh captain looms over the boy and wonders if he really understands their situation, and Dia nods, saying that he can see it right before his eyes.

Hearing that, Eldritch steals a tentative glance behind himself, and bolts with horror when a purple flying scorpion gleams its fangs at him as it hangs from the rails on the upper deck. Dia flips out his Pokedex to read that it is a Gliscor, the fang scorp Pokemon that evolves from Gligar, capable of ambushing from the skies while hanging inverted with its tail. Eldritch recognizes the high-tech device, the symbol of an able trainer, and is astonished that Dia possesses one.

Just then, Gliscor begins its assault, and charges towards Roo as it delivers an Ice Fang, which the Torterra narrowly evades. It then chases after Beh with a Thunder Fang while targeting Pooh with Fire Fang, and Eldritch cries that it knows exactly what attacks will be most effective on its foes. Dia sees that Gliscor's strongest weapon is its fangs, and after a brief moment of thought, makes up his mind.

He tells Beh, Roo and Pooh that it is time to repay the sailing crew for the ship ride as well as the food, and reiterates his determination in forcing himself to become stronger as a Pokemon trainer. The boy starts off by motioning to Beh, who jumps up and down, causing dozens of Berries hidden its long fur to fall out. It then hurls the items at Gliscor, but Eldritch hollers that they are not going to win this way.

Dia grins that he is simply stalling time, and calls Pooh to action, who climbs onto Roo's back and begins rubbing its face against the bark of the Torterra's big tree. Eldritch once again feels disheartened, and wonders what good it would do. Dia tells him to just watch, and the polished metallic surface of Pooh's face soon glitters and shines. In that instant, Gliscor charges towards the little Shieldon, and digs its fangs into its face. However, the material proves to be too sturdy for its fangs, and it immediately leaps back in agony.

Eldritch exclaims that Pooh's steel type has given it a very tough face, and Dia remarks that by polishing it against a tree trunk, he has hardened it even more. Dia then grabs this golden opportunity when Gliscor is flinching from its severe toothache, and orders a Razor Leaf from Roo. The Torterra sends out a barrage of powerful sharp leaves, and the fang scorp Pokemon is finally knocked out.

Eldritch: We made it!! Your tactics are really marvellous! I am so impressed by your unflinching nerves which isn't the slightest swayed no matter how scary things are!!
Dia: Not at all. I just have a habit to hang, and the foe is just some fangs after all.
Eldritch: (collapses)

Dia hands Eldritch an envelope with his name on it, and the S.S. Sinnoh captain discovers that it is a letter from Byron, who is writing to ask Eldritch let Dia sail on his ship, and explore it freely as if it is his own home. Eldritch smacks his head with a troubled look, and knows that it is a request he can't turn down, because his wife was introduced to him by Byron, and he owes the Canalave Gymleader in some way.

Eldritch clears his voice and tells Dia that it is perhaps some kind of karma between them after all, but before he could lay down the rules on the ship, Dia points behind him and lets out a cry. Eldritch wonders what is wrong this time, and bolts with horror when he turns around and sees that they are about to crash into a giant boulder sticking out from the sea surface. Apparently, they have all forgotten about the steering during Gliscor's upheaval, and they are in grave danger now.

Just then, a motor boat appears out of nowhere, and a Pokemon on it unleashes a Flash Cannon to destroy the giant boulder, creating a big bang and splash. Dia cheers that their danger has been cleared by the attack of someone's Pokemon, and Eldritch hurriedly rushes back to the control room to grab the steering wheel before the ship gets further astray.

Dia hears his name being called, addressing him by Diamond, and looks over to the motor boat to see a young man in blue-suits standing next to a Lucario. The man introduces himself as Riley, and says he has been asked by Byron to meet and train Dia. Without further delay, they must head to Iron Island as soon as possible...

(Original Japanese Jokes)

1. In the short joke Dia pulled on Eldritch when he complimented on the boy's courage, Dia says 'Nanigoto mo sakiba shittari shinaikoto desu, aite ga kiba dakeni', which means 'I just don't anticipate things, and the foe is just some fangs'. The pun is on 'Kiba', which means fang, and Dia has also deliberately tag it to 'Saki' (beforehand) to form 'Sakiba'.