"It's not that bad," Julia reassured her brother.  He was sulking after the match.
"It is bad, Julia," he argued.  "I…I can't even beat the second gym leader.  How am I supposed to handle the others?"
"I think it's just Pokémon selection.  I mean, you don't have any Pokémon that are good against Fighting."
"True…but I-I would think that I would be powerful enough to beat him without a Pokémon that-"
"Andrew," Julia interrupted.  "You don't come by power naturally.  Just because you are a Pokémon Master's son does not mean that you inherited his power."
"It's not that!" Andrew denied.
"I think it is," Julia replied.
Andrew sighed.  "It might be."
"Regardless, you need to train.  C'mon.  Let's go back to Granite Cave."
Andrew followed Julia into the cave, but this time they met someone they didn't quite expect.  They ran into a man named Steven, who was searching for rare stones.
"Oh, hi," he said to both of them.  "What are you two doing here?"
"We came to train," Julia replied.  "Or, at least, he did."
"I lost to the gym here," Andrew chimed in.
"Hmm…you're having a tough time with Brawly, huh?  Well, I can't blame you.  He was tough the first time I fought him, too," said Steven.   He thought for a moment, and then continued.  "If you want, I could help you."
"How?" Andrew asked, eager to take any help that Steven could offer.  He had, after all, beaten Brawly before.
"Well, it might help to feed some of your Pokémon these: they are minerals that increase Stats, such as Attack and Special Defense."  He handed two Protein, Zinc, Calcium, Carbos, and Iron to Andrew.  "And, well…my dad owns the Devon Corporation.  He has some special Pokéballs that could be valuable to you.  If we can Fly to Rustboro, I should be able to get some for you.  How about it?"
"Sure!" Andrew shouted.  He thanked him for the vitamins, as well.
"I am assuming that none of your Pokémon can Fly yet, correct?" Steven questioned the two young trainers.
"That's right," Julia answered.
Steven sighed.  "All right, then.  I have a Skarmory that you guys can ride on, I suppose.  It might be a tough fit for all of us, but…" he said.  They left the cave.
Outside, Steven sent out his Skarmory.  "Hop on," he told them.  Andrew and Julia climbed onto the back of Steven's Skarmory.  "All right, Skarmory, Fly us to Rustboro."  Skarmory flapped its wings several times, and then took off.
Andrew and Julia watched in amazement as Skarmory drifted through clouds, and over the rolling waves of the sea beneath them.  An exhilarating experience, no doubt.
Finally, Skarmory flew downwards from the sky, closing in on Rustboro.  With elegance, Steven's Pokémon landed, and the three Trainers hopped off.
"Follow me," said Steven.
Andrew and Julia did what he said to, and  followed Steven to a huge building in the north-westernmost part of the city.  They followed him up to the top floor, where they saw an older man sitting behind a desk, and another man standing near him.  The rest of the room was huge, and the window looked over the entire city.
"Dad!" Steven called.  "Dad, these are two trainers that wanted to see the new Pokéballs.  I was wondering if I could give them a couple prototypes."
"Well, I don't know…they are prototypes…" Mr. Stone, the Devon Corporation President, responded.
"Hey!" said the other guy standing near Mr. Stone's desk, "it's the two kids that helped me back in Petalburg Woods!  These are the kids I was telling you about, Mr. Stone."
"Ah, well, in that case, you are more than welcome to have some new Pokéballs!" Mr. Stone exclaimed.  He shook Andrew and Julia's hand.  "Steven, why don't you give them…a Net Ball, and maybe a Timer Ball.  Eh, whatever's in there, give a couple to 'em."
"All right.  Thanks, dad," Steven responded.  They went down one level, and over to several tables with Pokéballs on top of them.  "These," Steven said, pointing to the first set, "are Net Balls.  They help you against Pokémon you find fishing."  He handing one to both Andrew and Julia.  He moved to the next group.  "These are Timer Balls.  They work best in long battles."  He moved on to the second table.  "The final capture ball I will give you is a Great Ball.  It works even better than a Pokéball."
Steven led them back outside, and then flew them back to Dewford.
"Before I leave you two, I want you guys to have this."  He handed them a small piece of candy.  Andrew unwrapped it and almost ate it, but Steven stopped him.  "Don't eat it!  It's for your Pokémon-it's a Rare Candy.  It automatically levels up a Pokémon by one level.  I hope my gifts help, and that I see you again one day."
Andrew and Julia went back to the Pokécenter.  Andrew, right away, started giving his Pokémon the vitamins and the Rare Candy.  He gave the Rare Candy to Torchic, so that he was caught up with the rest of his team.  Protein was given to Treecko and Poochyena, Zinc was given to Treecko and Torchic, Carbos was given to Torchic and Poochyena, Calcium was given to Torchic and Poochyena, and Iron was given to Poochyena and Treecko.
"Now, I think," Andrew said, "it is time to get to work on catching new Pokémon."  They walked to the beach, and realized that they didn't have any Rods.  "How am I supposed to catch a Pokémon by fishing when I don't even have a fishing rod?"
A fisherman walked over.  "Do you want an Old Rod?  I have a Super Rod here, so I don't need this.  How about it?"
"Sure!" Andrew said.  He took the Rod and dropped it in the water.
In the mean time, Julia went to some tall grass outside of Granite Cave.  She was looking for more Pokémon.  It didn't take much time before she found a Skitty.
"You're mine," she muttered.  She sent out her Taillow.  "Taillow, Gust!"  Taillow whipped up some sand, and then blasted it at Skitty.  Skitty retaliated with Tackle, though it didn't do much.  "Now, Taillow, attack it with Peck!"  Taillow pecked Skitty, lowering her health a little more.  Now's my chance, Julia thought.  She threw a Great Ball at Skitty.  It wiggled, but Skitty could not escape.  She was now Julia's.
Back on the beach, Andrew was tossing another Magikarp into the water.  He threw the rod and bait back into the water, and waiting for a Pokémon to get hooked.  When he felt something, he thought, Great, another Magikarp, but this time, it wasn't: instead it was a Corphish.
"Okay, then.  You're a little different, and possibly a little rare, so, okay, I'll fight you.  Treecko, come out and use Absorb!"  His green gecko Pokémon sapped life away from the small red crab, leaving it slightly helpless.  "Now I'll use one of Steven's Pokéballs."  He threw a Net Ball, catching the Corphish.  "Yes!" he shouted.
He and his sister met up at the Pokécenter and told each other about what Pokémon they got.  After their Pokémon were healed, they went back to the gym.
"It's payback time for Brawly," Andrew said, vigor in his voice.