The emergency exit cabin of Submarine Explorer 1 slowly ascends towards the water surface as a few wild water Pokémon nonchalently swim beside it. Zuzu detects with the radar-like fin on its head that they have reached surface, and Ruby releases the cover of the cabin to breathe in some fresh air. He discovers from the PokeNavi that they are floating along the river of water route 118, and realizes they have travelled all the way underwater from Slateport. He is wondering if Captain Stern and the President of the Pokémon Fan Club are safe when he hears the faint sound of the TV news. He looks into a little cottage besides the river, and sees from the television that reports about the Slateport shipyard incident is on.

The news mentions about an unknown young boy who lured the red-caped man away on Submarine Explorer 1, and Ruby feels relieved that he wasn't there when the reporters arrived because Norman would have known his whereabouts if he appears on TV. He knows that in order not to draw attention, he cannot return to Slateport anytime soon, and secretly apologizes to the President of the Pokémon Fan Club for keeping him worried. He thinks to himself how the President is the only one he knows in Hoenn that understands him, and promises to pay him a visit once he conquers all contests.

Back at Littleroot Town, Ruby's mother is looking at a photo of her son, and wonders where the boy has went. She turns on the television, and the news is just about to show the events captured by the hidden camera at the Slateport shipyard. She gasps in shock when she sees Ruby being chased after by a red-caped man before jumping into a submarine vessel, and instantly faints on the couch.

Meanwhile, Ruby is rowing himself up along the water route 119 with the help of a long tree branch. The cabin suddenly gets caught up in something, and Ruby hears a angry cry along the shore. He turns around to see a swimmerboy fishing on the rocks, and discovers that the cabin has been entangled by the fishing line. He quickly hops onshore and apologizes to the swimmerboy, but the swimmerboy goes beserk and says if Ruby is really sorry, he has to stay behind and fish with him. Ruby decides that it is not a good idea to upset weird people, and anchors the cabin near a tree before taking a seat next to the swimmerboy.

The swimmerboy, known as Jack, teaches Ruby how to fish, then turns around to untangle the fishing line on the cabin himself. Ruby feels a tug, and quickly pulls up to find a Feebas. He frowns in disgust at the Pokémon's ugliness, and thinks to himself that he has never seen something as discraceful as that. He sees that Jack is still busy untangling and hasn't noticed, but decides that no one would ever want Pokémon that ugly and throws it back into the river. With his back turned to Ruby, Jack mentions that he has been fishing for ten consecutive days, but still haven't caught the Pokémon he seeks. He talks about the importance of finding the right fishing point, and soon manages to free the whole fishing line from the cabin. All the while, Ruby is getting frustrated because he keeps pulling up the same Feebas despite having thrown it back for 3 times.

Jack takes out a photo from his bag, and turns around to show it to Ruby when the boy happens to have fished the same Feebas again and is holding it in his hands. Jack lets out a holler and jumps towards Ruby, but Feebas slips away and the collision accidentally knocks Ruby's PokeNavi away without the boy's notice. Both the machine and Feebas fall into the river, and Jack desperately asks where the fishing point is. However, Ruby can't seem to recall the exact location he found Feebas and Jack get depressed.

The swimmerboy sighs that Feebas is a rare Pokémon highly sought after by many, and that he has planned to earn a fortune by selling it. Ruby tries to cheer him up and says he specializes in Pokémon contests, and that he is also currently looking for a rare water Pokémon. Ruby takes out the Encyclopedia of Hoenn Water Pokémon given to him by Briney, and shows Jack the picture of Milotic. This seems to break a little tension between them, and the two soon resume fishing and start telling each other more about themselves. In the bushes behind them, a pair of gleaming eyes start to move about.

At the Slateport shipyard, reporters all over the land are trying to gather information from the police guarding the place. Gabby and Ty spot Captain Stern, and quickly run up to him. Gabby requests a private conversation with the captain, and drags him into the backdoor of the shipyard. Stern is surprised to hear that Gabby knows about the special engine starter developed by the Devon Corporation, and Gabby reveals that the news reports about Mr. Stone being attacked by wild Pokémon is false. She explains that she was at the scene during the attack, and says the ambush was in truth choreographed by an mysterious gang who were after the starter.

A man's voice suddenly interrupts from around the corner, and Gabby and Stern look up in surprise to see Norman and his Vigoroth...

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us