Sapphire gasps in shock as her attempt to withdraw Ronono fails. Roxanne smirks that retrieving the little Aron is not possible, and projects the information of her Nosepass on the lecture screen of the room. She explains that the magnetic pull ability of Nosepass disables steel Pokémon from being withdrawn and keeps them on the field. Nosepass suddenly lunges forward and rams itself into Ronono, and Sapphire hurries up to check on it. Roxanne then commands a rockthrow from Nosepass, which Sapphire narrowly ducks with Ronono.

Hopping away from the falling boulders, Sapphire realizes that the expert type of Roxanne is rock. The Rustboro gymleader grins that she is also an elite student in the Trainer School, and states that while steel types have a natural advantage over rock types, Nosepass's magnetic pull ability restricts the movement of Sapphire's Aron. She remarks that as a gymleader, she has paid extra effort in learning the different relationships between Pokémon types, and Sapphire knows that gym challenges aren't as easy as she initially thought.

Sapphire thinks hard for a strategy, and tells Ronono that they should be able to find a way to win, but Roxanne laughs that her profound knowledge has made her tactics impregnable, and orders another attack from her Nosepass. Sapphire and Ronono get knocked across the room by a jagging boulder, and the girl decides to stay out of Nosepass's magnetic field and attack from a distance instead. But Roxanne puts on an indifferent look, and says the strategy wouldn't work because all of Aron's steel moves require close-up body contact. Sapphire gets frustrated again, and Roxanne grins that her Nosepass, however, is able to attack at any distance. She orders a rockthrow, rockslide combo from Nosepass, and an avalanche of boulders plunges straight towards Sapphire. Ronono is buried under the pile of rocks, and Sapphire weakly climbs out from the rubbles.

Roxanne states that Sapphire has lost the battle since one of her Pokémon have fainted. She walks across the room and opens the front door, motioning Sapphire to leave and telling her to train harder before attempting another challenge again. A breeze of wind blows through the door, and Sapphire immediately recognizes it as the the wind from the mountains. She remarks that the mountains are towards the north of Rustboro, and suddenly grins that the battle isn't over yet. Roxanne gasps in surprise as Ronono emerges from the ground behind Nosepass. She realizes that the little Aron has avoided the attack earlier by a dig. Nosepass turns around to attack, but an invisible force instantly grips its nose, and it starts spinning round and round. Ronono grabs the chance to deliver a headbutt, and quickly knocks the compass Pokémon out.

A shocked Roxanne hurries over to Nosepass, and Sapphire calmly takes out her Pokedex. She begins to read, and explains that while Nosepass exudes a magnetic pull on its own, its nose is subjected to the magnetic field of the world and would always face north. It will start to lose balance if it turns to another direction, and it is the best time to attack it when it does. Roxanne puts on a annoyed look and withdraws Nosepass. She wants to know when Sapphire realizes the fact, and the girl says she felt that Roxanne was trying to hide something when she insisted the challenger must take the stand next to the front door. Roxanne is shocked that Sapphire picked up such subtle hints, and goes wordless for a moment.

Sapphire straightens herself up with a content smile, saying that the gentle breeze promises a fine day ahead, and tells Roxanne to go out and experience nature more because certain things cannot be learnt from books. Roxanne closes her book and lets out a soft sigh, knowing that Sapphire is right. She then formally declares Sapphire the winner of the match, and presents the Stone Badge to her. She helps Sapphire pin the badge onto her backpack, and Sapphire decides to head to Dewford next to find the guy named Steven and deliver Mr. Stone's letter.

Meanwhile, on a cliff above the Granite Cave on Dewford Island, Steven is standing next to his Metagross and talking with Captain Stern on his Pokegear. He learns that Submarine Explorer 1 is close to completion, and says he will head off as soon as he finishes checking out the Granite Cave...

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us