Ash and co. have finally made it in Oreburgh City. There next stop is the Oreburgh Gym where Ash will compete for his badge. Ash and co. walk up to the Oreburgh Gym. Dawn notices that the gym looks like it's for serious trainers only. Suddenly, Paul and another guy walks out of the gym. Ash asks Paul if he won a badge, and Paul tells him that it's none of his business. The other guy assumes that Ash is here to battle the gym leader. Ash introduces himself to the guy. The guy welcomes Ash to the gym for rock Pokémon. He says that the gym leader's name is Roark, who is temporarily not available at the moment. The guy's name is Ian, and he takes care of the Pokémon in the gym. Paul states that he will be at the Pokémon Center until Roark is back. Then he walks off.

Ian gives Ash his Sinnoh badge case. When Ash obtains eight badges, he can qualify for the Sinnoh League. Ash asks where Roark is at. Ian tells him that Roark is coal mining. Brock states that Oreburgh City gets it name from their famous coal. Roark also sometimes goes for hidden treasure.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is busy digging away at the coal mining site. Ash and co. walk up to them. Team Rocket immediately notices them. Suddenly, a group of men carry out a big fossil in a train car. Another man walks out, which the guy's refer to him as Roark. Roark begins to talk to the fossil. Ash and co. are surprised that Roark talks to fossils. Roark states that he can still feel the life in the fossil. When Roark is done talking to the fossil, the group of men carry it back to the museum. Ash tells Roark that he wants to battle him, but another person is ahead of him first. Roark is surprised that two challengers are waiting for him. Ash and co. then ask about the treasure that Roark searches for. Roark tells his friends that the fossils end up being the treasure.

Ash and co. arrive back at the gym. Roark explains to Ian that he found an amazing discovery. Then Paul walks into the gym. Ian tells Roark that Paul is his first challenger. Paul and Roark greet each other. Dawn can't wait to see the gym battle because she never saw one before. Roark asks Paul if he cared that Ash and co. watched. Paul could care less. Ian begins to explain the rules of the gym. It will be a 3-on-3 battle. Then the battle begins.

Roark starts off by sending out Geodude. Dawn looks up Geodude in her Pokédex. Paul sends out Azumarill, a water type Pokémon. Dawn looks up Azumarill in her Pokédex. Azumarill starts off with a Hydro Pump attack. Geodude dodges the attack and uses Hidden Power. Azumarill falls to the ground. Geodude goes immediately into a Rollout attack. Before Azumarill can use its Water Gun attack, it is hit by Geodude. Azumarill flies into the air where it is hit again by Geodude. Azumarill is knocked out, so Roark wins the first round.

Paul returns Azumarill back into its Pokéball and curses at it. Then he sends out Elekid. Roark wonders what Paul's strategy is since none of Elekid's electric type moves will work on Geodude. Paul orders Elekid to use Brick Break. Geodude sticks with Rollout. However, Elekid has the upperhand, and it knocks Geodude out of battle. Paul wins the second round. Dawn is surprised that Geodude lost even though Elekid was at a huge disadvantage to it. Brock tells Dawn that using the right moves can overcome that disadvantage.

Roark returns Geodude back into its Pokéball and sends out Onix. Dawn looks up Onix in her Pokédex. Brock can see that Roark's Onix has been through some tough training. Paul decides to stay with Elekid. Elekid uses Brick Break again, but Onix dodges the attack. Then Onix uses Slam. Just before Onix's body can hit Elekid, Elekid uses Protect to protect itself. Onix isn't done yet. It strikes Elekid with its Double-Edge attack. Ash knows that Onix also suffers damage from the Double-Edge attack. Dawn notices that Onix looks fine. Brock explains that Onix has the Rock Head ability, which prevents recoil damage from taking place.

Onix's next attack is Stealth Rock. A bunch of rocks surround Elekid. Brock explains that Stealth Rock is a move that damages Pokémon later in battle. So if Paul decides to switch Pokémon, that Pokémon he sends out will take some serious damage. However, Stealth Rock doesn't affect Elekid at all. Onix uses Slam again. When Onix makes contact with Elekid, Elekid's special ability, Static, activates. Onix is now paralyzed. Paul hopes to win the battle now that Onix is paralyzed. Elekid uses Brick Break, and Onix attacks with Double-Edge. Both Pokémon collide into each other. Paul notices that Elekid is weakening down, so he returns it. Ash and co. think that Paul doesn't care about the Stealth Rock at all.

Paul sends out Chimchar, who gets damaged by the Stealth Rock. Roark is impressed that Paul is sending out Pokémon that aren't very good match-ups to rock type Pokémon. Chimchar starts off with Dig. Onix tries to sense with Chimchar is but fails. Chimchar then uses Dig on Onix. Then attack has a powerful impact on Onix. Onix uses Double-Edge, but Chimchar dodges the attack by digging again. Onix tries to feel Chimchar's movements again, but the Static is disrupting it. Chimchar uses Dig again, and Onix faints. Paul wins the round.

Roark's last Pokémon is Cranidos. Ash notices that Cranidos looks similar to the fossil he saw earlier. He looks up Cranidos in his Pokédex. Chimchar uses Dig attack. Cranidos senses Chimchar's movements, and it uses Headbutt right when Chimchar pops out from underground. Chimchar uses Dig attack. This time, however, when Chimchar comes out, it gets hit by Cranidos' Zen Headbutt attack. Brock states that Zen Headbutt is a very powerful attack, and it can even flinch the opponent. Cranidos uses Zen Headbutt again. Chimchar is scared by the attack, that it ends up flinching and getting hurt. Then Cranidos uses Focus Energy. Brock thinks that Roark is planning on using a final Zen Headbutt to knock Chimchar out.

Suddenly, Chimchar begins to light up in flames. Brock sees that Chimchar is using its Blaze ability. Now Chimchar's fire attacks will be stronger. Cranidos uses Zen Headbutt again, but Chimchar counters with Flame Wheel. It hits Cranidos' legs to weaken it. Cranidos is able to stand up, but Chimchar hits it with another Flame Wheel. Then Chimchar digs underground again. Cranidos uses Focus Energy just before it gets hit by Chimchar's Dig attack. Afterwards, Cranidos charges towards Chimchar with a Headbutt attack. It hits Chimchar, and Chimchar faints.

Paul has no other choice but to send out Elekid. Elekid gets hit by the Stealth Rock. Elekid uses Brick Break again. Cranidos counters with Flamethrower, but Elekid dodges the attack. It hits Cranidos' leg with Brick Break, weakening it. Elekid's Static ability kicks in again, but Cranidos also has a special ability: Mold Breaker. It cancels out Elekid's ability, leaving it unparalyzed. Then Cranidos uses Zen Headbutt again, but the damage in its leg prevents it from using the attack. Elekid then use Brick Break again on Cranidos. Because Cranidos can't use its legs, it use Flamethrower instead. The fire attack hits Elekid. Elekid falls to the ground, but it manages to recover. Elekid uses Brick Break again, and Cranidos uses Zen Headbutt. Both Pokémon collide into each other. When the dust clears, Cranidos falls to the ground. It can't battle anymore, so Paul is the winner.

Roark congratulates Paul and presents him with his badge. Paul accepts the badge and begins to walk away. Now it is Ash's turn to battle Roark...