It is only 5am in the morning. At Hotel Great Oreburgh, Pearl and Dia have already risen and are waiting at the lobby hall for Lady Berlitz. Dia is obviously still in need of sleep, and spreads himself comfortably on the sofa right next to Beh and Roo. On the other hand, Pearl is wide-awake and walking back and forth impatiently, with Chimlord hanging off his right shoulder, still deep in its sleep. At such an early hour, even Chatlord finds it hard to keep its eyes open, and the little parrot drops its head to take a snooze as it perches on the sofa's handle.

Soon, the Pokedexes of Pearl and Dia begin to give off a beeping sound, and Pearl walks over to shake Dia awake, knowing that it means Lady Berlitz is near. Indeed, the passenger lift door slides open in the next instant, and the Lady emerges with her own Pokedex in hand, while holding a clipboard with what appears to be notes on it in her other hand.

The three young trainers simultaneously turn off the beeping sounds as they move outside, and Lady Berlitz pulls out a band with the word 'victory' written on it to tie around her head. She gets Piplup and herself ready, and hopes that Pearl and Dia will teach her all they know in their training session. With a nod, Pearl sends Chimlord forward to attack Piplup, and the two Pokemon instantly get into a close up combat.

Watching from aside, Dia munches on his riceballs, and recalls how the unexpected events of the previous day led to their current situation...

As the announcement about Roark's return resounds in the coalmines, all the coal workers begin to gather at the entrance as instructed, and soon see their person-in-charge arrive with his Cranidos. Roark greets his co-workers with a warm smile, and apologizes for leaving all the excavation work unsupervised for so long. The miners laugh that they are managing well, and wonder how Roark's expedition went.

Roark grins that he had a great time exploring the underground world with his uncle, the Underground Man, at Eterna, and the two of them were so carried away that they ended up staying there much longer than planned, during which he managed to unearth plenty of fossils. He reaches into his bag to pull out a Skull Fossil, a Dome Fossil, an Armor Fossil, a Root Fossil and a Claw Fossil, and the miners instantly exclaim at the sight of the rare treasures.

Roark explains that he was held up longer than expected not only because of that, but due to the fact that they had a visitor from Canalave City joining them at Eterna. The miners realize that he is talking about father, and joke that all the underground experts in Roark's family are having a reunion. Roark laughs that his father has always been the unpredictable type, and says the man was there because he had something to discuss with him.

Just then, Roark notices Lady Berlitz standing among the crowd, and wonders who she is. The coal miner who showed her around earlier explains that she is a traveller wishing to challenge the Oreburgh Gym, and Roark cheerfully greets the girl, welcoming her to the city. He wants to know if the next day will be good for her, and the Lady politely nods in agreement. Roark tells her to take her time in preparation, and says he will be waiting patiently at the gym. He then leaves with the coal miners to check on their work, while Piplup keeps an aggressive stare on Cranidos as it watches the headbutt Pokemon walk off.

At that moment, Dia finally catches up with Pearl and Lady Berlitz at the coalmines, and pants hard to catch his breath with Beh and Roo. Pearl briefly explains what happened to him, and the boy could see the look of determination on Piplup's face. Clearly, the little penguin has considered itself a failure when it couldn't fully protect Lady Berlitz from the Kricketots and Kricketunes despite already having achieved an extraordinary feat. It has now turned this humiliation into a burning desire to beat Roark at the Oreburgh Gym, as a way to redeem its pride and confidence...

Dia takes another bite of his riceball while Piplup and Chimlord continue to fight down each other in front of the hotel. Knowing the motivation behind Piplup's perseverance, Dia starts to worry whether the two of them are the best candidates when it comes to being training opponents, since they have close to nothing to teach in terms of battling skills.

Pearl places his hands on Dia's shoulders to address him as Diamond, and states that he has always considered himself to be a person with a strong will. However, compared with Piplup, he still has miles to go. While he usually despises the little brat's pride, he was honestly moved when he saw the strong determination in its eyes yesterday, the moment when it decided to take on gym challenges. Thus, for a Pokemon who shares a strong will like him, he will give all his might to help and support it in its determination to win.

With that, Pearl voices his encouragement to Lady Berlitz, whom he now addresses as Ms. Lady and tells her to try out the tactics he has written on her training menu. As Chimlord charges forward to attack, the Lady orders a Bubble from Piplup, which hits the Chimchar square-faced. She then commands Piplup to sneak up on its foe from behind to evade the counterattack, and follow up with a powerful Peck, which manages to knock the little monkey out.

Pearl takes out a Potion to heal Chimlord while complimenting on Lady Berlitz's quick learning. He tells Dia that although the girl is always getting them worried with her apparent lack of practical skills, he must give her credit for her broad and profound knowledge.

Lady Berlitz puts on a grin and starts reciting how fire beats grass, grass beats water, and water beats fire, earning her Dia's applaud. She claims that in order to learn as much knowledge as possible, she has read a wide variety of books since her childhood, completing at least 10 books each day. Dia exclaims at the revelation, and says he always falls asleep after reading three lines. Lady Berlitz grins that it feels different and far more effective however, to learn from actually experience than reading through books.

Pearl then says Roo should be the next one up, and Piplup immediately points a menacing finger to the startled little Turtwig, causing it and Dia to both choke on their riceballs. Dia starts to stutter and protest, but Pearl shoots him a glare, and says they can't have Chimlord as the only opponent all the time.

Pearl (and Chimlord): You shall pretend to be Roark! Now turn yourself into a Gymleader!
Dia (and Roo): What~!! (startled)
Pearl (and Chimlord): Do it now! Piplup is waiting! (tower over Dia and Roo)
Dia (and Roo): Whaaa~~~~~ (jump back)
Pearl (and Chimlord): Here, dump your food! (throw away Dia and Roo's riceballs)
Dia (and Roo): Whaa~~~~~ (try to save their food)

Dia thus takes on the role of an imaginary Roark for Lady Berlitz to fight, wearing a hand-drawn mask of him over his face. Roo starts charging towards Piplup with a Tackle, but the little Penguin manages to stand its ground, and counters with a Pound. Roo, Chimlord and Piplup continue to battle each other as the training session goes on, and Lady Berlitz soon drops to her knees in exhaustion and pants to catch her breath.

Dia finishes the riceball in his hands and asks if the Lady needs a break, but Lady Berlitz grins that she is still all right. The truth is, she feels really thankful that an amateur like her could learn about battling from top-class professionals, making it possible for her to help Piplup regain its pride and confidence.

Meanwhile, at the Science Lab in Sandgem Town, Prof. Rowan and Sir Berlitz have prepared all the data they need for the upcoming academic conference. Rowan massages his shoulders which have become sore from all the computer work, and suggests taking a short break to eat the tasty desserts in the refrigerator. Sir Berlitz grins that he will go get them, and soon brings out two bowls of colourful rice dumpling fruit mix.

Rowan wastes no time in scooping the delicacy into his mouth with a spoon, and wonders where Lady Berlitz might have reached by now. Sir Berlitz replies that he honestly has no idea, but given his daughter's curious nature, she is most likely taking her time to journey around, which he suspects is the real reason she decided to set out on the family voyage in the first place. He has faith that the two bodyguards they hired would assess every situation before letting the girl go, and would definitely stop her whenever there is danger.

Rowan gobbles down the remaining of his bowl, and agrees that the two black-suited guy certainly look like the type. He notices that Sir Berlitz has barely touched his share of the dessert, and wants to know if he is eating it after all. Sir Berlitz sweatdrops as he tells the professor to help himself, and watches with amazement as the man pours everything into his mouth in one gulp. Rowan then says it is time to get going, and Sir Berlitz remarks that all is ready. Pulling on their coats and picking up their suitcases, Prof. Rowan and Sir Berlitz depart from the Science Lab, and start heading towards the direction of Canalave City, where the academic conference will be held.

Back at Oreburgh City, Pearl and Dia are taking time to practice Manzai while Lady Berlitz continues with her training.

Pearl: Speaking of Pokemooon!!
Dia: Speaking of Pokemooon~
Pearl: Speaking of Pokemon, you can challenge Gyms in some cities!
Dia: In some cities~
Pearl: Each Gymleader has his or her own catchphrase. Roark's phrase is 'Call me Roark the Rock'! That is sooo cool~!
Dia: The-rock... the-lot... kalot... Sounds yummy~! (grins and takes out a berry)
Pearl: (yells in a fury) That is a Qualot Berry, stupid!!

Pearl: (squints with disdain) What I said was 'Rock', obviously hinting that his expertise is the rock type.
Dia: Is thaaat so!
Pearl: Gymleaders usually highly specialize in one single type, making them masters in that area!
Dia: Haha, of course~ And thus they are losers in all other areas...
Pearl: (smacks Dia on the face) Hey show some respect!!

The two boys turn around and see that the Lady is still diligently polishing Piplup's attacking skills. Dia remarks that Lady Berlitz is really hardworking, and Pearl nods with agreement, adding that she has already practiced all the techniques written on her training menu.

The next day, Dia, Pearl and Lady Berlitz find their way to the Oreburgh Gym, and find themselves awe-struck when they enter the facility and see its extraordinary layout. The entire room is built like a rocky mountain, with footbridges and staircases connecting the blocks. Pearl exclaims that it is essentially a maze, and Dia says he has never seen the interior of a gym before.

Just then, a voice comes out through the dragon-like statue at the entrance, and welcomes the three young trainers to the gym. It verifies that Lady Berlitz is the one making the challenge, and starts stating the rules. Each trainer is allowed to use up to two Pokemon, and will be given a choice between switch-in battles, elimination battles, and double battles.

Lady Berlitz picks switch-in battles, and the statue goes on to explain that challengers must find their way to the other end of the room with the help of the bridges and stairs, where the gymleader Roark will be waiting. However, Roark will not be the only opponent in the gym. Along the way, there will be virtual trainers one must defeat in order to proceed.

With that, a virtual Youngster materializes out of thin air in front of the trio, and sends out a Geodude. Lady Berlitz remarks that the place seems to have tight regulations, and calls Piplup forward to fight. However, Pearl notices that the little penguin is planning to use Pound, and tells it to use the super effective Bubble instead.

Pearl's comment draws a grumble from the statue, and it demands to know who Dia and Pearl are. Dia munches on his riceball and grins that they are there for support, and Pearl proudly claims to be the coach of the Lady. Unfortunately, the statue deems any kind of assistance unfair in gym challenges, and angrily throws the two boys out of the gym, adding that eating is strictly prohibited in the room.

Pearl and Dia crash on their bottoms on the ground, and Pearl fumes in rage that the statue is being stubborn. He can't believe that they will have to wait there while the battle takes place inside, and tells Dia to find a window to peek in. However, after circling around the building several times, they soon realize that even the lowest hanging window is almost 20 feet from level ground. Left with no choice, the boys start piling themselves up on their Pokemon, with Beh at the bottom, followed by Roo, then Pearl, who lends his shoulders for Dia to stand on. Chimlord and Chatlord perch along the window aisle on top, and make sure that Dia doesn't topple over.

Pearl trembles at his position, and asks Dia how things are going. Dia peeks through the windows, and gasps that Lady Berlitz has cleared the entire maze and beaten all virtual trainers, and is now standing right in front of Roark.

The Oreburgh Gymleader asks for the challenger's full name, and proceeds to commence his battle by calling Cranidos forward. Lady Berlitz quickly sends Piplup into the battlefield as well, but to her surprise, Cranidos instantly fires off a Shock Wave...

(Original Japanese Jokes)

1. In the first half of the Manzai dialogue, Pearl says Roark's catchphrase is 'The Rock to iwareru otoko', which means 'the man who is called the Rock'. Dia mishears it as a berry name, because 'the Rock' is written as 'Za-rokku' in Japanese, which when read as one single word 'Zarokku', is the Japanese name of the Qualot Berry.
2. In the second half, Pearl says the gymleaders are the 'Senmonka' (expert) of their selected type. Dia replies and wonders if the gymleaders 'Sore igai no koto ha nanimo shirimasenmon ka', which means 'Do they know nothing outside of that specialty'. The pun is on the two last phrases of the sentence, which also make up the word 'Senmonka', but in a different context.