In the small cave behind the Tohjo Falls, Misty gasps in surprise as a crystal-like Pokémon stands in front of her. She recognizes it as the legendary Suicune, and the beast immediately starts charging towards her. Misty quickly has Starmie defend, but the star-shaped Pokémon fails to withstand Suicune’s powerful headbutt and gets knocked back. Stunned at her opponent’s strength, the Cerulean gymleader calls out her Lanturn and commands a hydropump. Suicune counters with a hydropump, and soon pushes Lanturn near the edge of the cliff. From Suicune’s body colour as well as the attacks it uses, Misty rationalizes that it must be of water type, but knows that it has to be the strongest water Pokémon she has ever encountered.

Just then, Lanturn’s hydropump becomes overpowered by Suicune’s, and gets blasted into the waterfall along with Misty and her other Pokémon. Thinking that it has beaten the girl, Suicune calmly walks over to look down from the cliff. To its surprise, Lanturn has unleashed its waterfall skill to stay afloat, and Misty hollers that while Suicune might be the strongest water Pokémon, she is the gymleader whose expertise is water types. She then demands to know why Suicune is challenging trainers endlessly across the land, and the legendary beast without warning leaps down to tackle Lanturn. Knowing that Suicune wants a battle within the waterfall to test her skills, Misty accepts the challenge and states that she excels at all kinds of water battle fields.

Outside, Brock and Erika are riding on Onix and yelling out to Misty, deeply worried about her safety. Just then, Erika receives another message from the Pokémon Associatin via her Pokégear, and the two read in surprise that an exhibition match between the Kanto and Johto gymleaders has been decided to take place at the upcoming Pokémon League Tournament. Suddenly, two powerful hydropumps come shooting out from the waterfall, and Erika realizes that Misty must be having a battle against something in the waters. Noticing the shadow of a fast moving creature, Brock exclaims that it must be an extremely agile water Pokémon, and decides to find a way to help the Cerulean gymleader. But then another strong hydropump comes splashing out to hit Onix, and the shadows of Misty and the Pokémon disappear into the base of the waterfall. Brock knows that Misty must be in the giant lake beneath them right now, and quickly has Onix carry them down to find her.

Down in the lake, Misty keeps her eyes on Suicune’s every move as she thinks hard to come up with a strategy. All of a sudden, Suicune releases a powerful mental wave which causes her to clutch her head in pain, and Starmie starts glowing in a weird way. The star-shaped Pokémon then begin creating a message in Star Symbols, and Misty realizes Suicune must be trying to tell her something. She reads with astonishment about a vast evil looming in the lands, and that Suicune is in search of a partner who could fight alongside with it. However, the most surprising part comes when she learns that Suicune has deemed her its appropriate trainer. She wants to know why Suicune picked her out of all the gymleaders it challenged, and the legendary beast responds through Starmie that apart from being the ultimate water expert, Misty also has compassion for small lives.

Still stunned by Suicune’s words, Misty thinks over the situation, and knows that Red would have accepted the offer in no time if he were her. Determined to do what she could in safeguarding the land’s peace and harmony, the Cerulean gymleader reaches out her hand to Suicune, and agrees to be its partner.

Later, Misty emerges from the lake surface, and Brock and Erika quickly help her climb onto Onix. Misty apologizes for keeping them worried, and Brock wonders what happened to the Pokémon she battled with in the waterfall. Misty simply lets out a silly grin, and Brock gets concerned that she might have bumped her head. Misty laughs that a mermaid like her won’t have trouble with waters, and grins that the brief fight in there made her see her own worth. Erika remarks that Misty certainly is a worthy gymleader that Kanto can’t afford to lose, and shows her the message from the Pokémon Association.

Misty gets all excited after reading about the exhibition match between the Kanto and Johto gymleaders, and Erika informs her that the captain of Johto will be the old man Pryce from Mahogany. The three gymleaders then resume their journey towards Goldenrod, and look forward to their showdown with the others at the Pokémon League Tournament. In a greatball fastened onto Misty’s belt, the legendary Suicune rests peacefully for the first time in a while after finally finding the partner it searched…

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us