Plot
As Ash prepares to battle Conway in the third round of the Sinnoh League tournament at Lily Of The Valley Island, Barry is getting ready to battle Paul. In his usual bombastic way, Barry informs Paul that their match will surely decide the top Trainer, while Paul is wary of being overconfident.
The third round is a three-on-three battle, and first up, it's Barry's Skarmory vs. Paul's Magmortar. Although Barry starts out strong by using Spikes to lay a trap, Magmortar quickly defeats Skarmory, so Barry brings out Hitmonlee. Paul then switches to Ursaring who is powerful enough to withstand Hitmonlee's repeated attacks.
Barry has only one Pokemon left and it's his beloved Empoleon. Though Empoleon shows great speed and strength, it can't achieve victory over Paul's powerful Electivire, and Paul is the victor!
We leave our heroes pondering Ash's upcoming battle with Conway who keeps mysteriously appearing for mere seconds at a time and dropping hints about his "secret strategy"...