At the Johto Pokémon Association Headquarters in Goldrenrod City, the chairperson and the committee members, including the famous inventor, Bill, are discussing about the replacement of gymleaders in certain Kanto and Johto cities. Bill points out to the board that the current gymleaders of Saffron and Vermillion, together with the those of Fuchsia and Viridian, whom have gone missing at the moment, are believed to be associated with the evil organization, Team Rocket, that was disintegrated three years ago. He warns that gymleaders are supposed to be role models of all trainers in Kanto and Johto, and suggests everyone to consider thoroughly whether or not they should let them remain. But the chairperson remarks that there isn't solid evidence to prove any of those gymleaders directly related to Team Rocket, and says they should perhaps only consider hiring new gymleaders for Fuchsia and Viridian, since both Lt. Surge and Sabrina seem to be doing good jobs at their own gyms. The chairperson tells Bill not to worry about it, and work on fixing the malfunctioned Pokémon Transfer System in certain PokémonCentres instead as it is causing much inconvenience for trainers across the land.

It is afternoon in the countryside of Violet City. Gold is still upset about letting Silver get away again, and turns around to see that Typhlo has a sad look on its face. He understands that the little Pokémon is disheartened when Totodile opted to stick around with Silver, and sighs that there isn't much they can do if that is Totodile's choice. He tells Typhlo that it might have to fight Totodile from now on if it decides to stay with him, but says it can also choose to go back to Prof. Elm if it wishes to. Typhlo isn't sure what to do, and Gold decides to drop the matter at the moment and take a nap on the nice and green meadow instead.

A strong gust of wind suddenly sweeps by, and Gold sits up with a start to see a who gang of Sunkerns hopping by. He takes out his Pokédex to check on them, but doesn't find any information about them having migrations in groups, and wonders what is going on. He decides not to bother about it, and goes back to sleep, but then something flies over him with a loud flapping sound, and Gold sits up a second time to see what it is. To his surprise, he sees a familiar young man with his Pidgeotto and Noctowl. The young man seems to recognize Gold as well, and walks over to introduce himself as Falkner, who happens to be the police officer Gold met the other day.

Gold finds it interesting that police officers train Pokémon as well, and Falkner explains that not all of them do, but he himself is currently working hard to fulfill his dreams. Gold wonders what he's talking about, and Falkner reveals that his father used to be the gymleader of Violet City, but has gone missing for a while now. The Pokémon Association is planning to recruit new gymleaders for the city, and he aims to follow his father's footsteps by taking up the title. He grins that he is training hard hopefully to become eligible for selection, and Gold starts to wonder what his own aims in life are.

A faint noise echoes from a distance, and Falkner pushes Gold away just in time when a strong gust of wind cuts into them. Gold gasps in shock at the strong air currents surrounding them, and Falkner says a new specie of bird Pokémon with steel-like armour is causing deadly gales around the region lately. Just then, a Skarmony appears in the sky and Gold turns around to find another group of Sunkerns hurrying by. Falkner remarks that they must be trying to escape from the bird Pokémon, and Gold marvels at their strong bouncing abilities.

Falkner then releases Noctowl and Pidgeotto to fend off Skarmony, and the three bird Pokémon immediately engage in a fierce mid-air battle. Gold compliments on the skills of Pidgeotto and Noctowl, but Falkner warns that the Skarmony isn't easy to beat, and says he has only faced it once in the past. Pidgeotto tries a wing attack, but Skarmony retaliates with a steel wing. Both Noctowl and Pidgeotto can't seem to overcome their foe's strong defence, and Gold wonders what Skarmony's weaknesses are. Falkner remarks that its steel-like body is supposed to be weak to heat, and Gold immediately gets an idea. He retrieves Typhlo into its Pokéball, but then realizes that his billiard cue alone won't be sufficient to propel it up to Skarmony. He looks around and spots the Sunkerns, and decides to depend on their bouncing power.

Aitro stuns a Sunkern with its hand-like tail, and Gold quickly captures it. He then calls it out again, and tells it to bounce as high as it can after placing Typhlo's Pokéball between the leaves on its head. Sunkern starts to jump up and down on the ground, with each bounce higher than the previous, and soon propels itself high up into the sky. Typhlo immediately pops out from its Pokéball and delivers a powered-up ember attack on Skarmony, instantly weakening it and causing it to fall. Falkner quickly tosses out a Pokéball, and successfully traps the steel bird into it.

Falkner thanks Gold for his help and compliments on his wit, which Gold brushes off embarrassedly. Falkner praises Noctowl and Pidgeotto for their hard work as well, and thanks them for being there for him all the time. Gold gets inspired by what Falkner says, and turns to Typhlo. He tells the little fire Pokémon that although the hope to get Totodile back seems lost, he still hopes that they could stay together as partners. Typhlo thinks for a moment, and nods with a grin. Falkner then invites Gold to train with him a little longer, but Gold politely declines and says though he used to live life aimlessly, he seems to have found something to work towards now, and he feels that he should start pursuing his goal right away. Falkner says he understands, and agrees that one should always follow his own dreams. Gold returns a smile and the two part ways.

Later, Bill is on his way to Violet City when he sees Gold skating by. He notices a Pokédex in the boy's hands, and wonders who he is. But then, he decides to finish what he's supposed to do first, and resumes his visit to Falkner's house to deliver the Pokémon Association's notification of eligibility to sit for the gymleader selection test.

Meanwhile, at the PokémonCentre of Violet City, Prof. Elm's assistant calls the professor and informs him that he still isn't able to find Gold. Elm reveals that he hasn't been able to reach the boy through his Pokégear either, and his assistant wonders if it is safe to bestow upon Gold such an important task and item. Elm explains that with the item not showing any sign of changes in the lab, he believes it must be carried around by a trainer with active Pokémon. He tells his assistant to be patient, and try searching for Gold again to deliver to him their item under research, the mysterious egg…

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us