After finishing his battle with Yinghao outside Twinleaf Town, Liu Qing resumed his journey and soon entered Sinnoh's famous Great Marsh.
Pastoria City was also renowned for the Great Marsh and had been built right beside it. The marsh had originally been a sea, but as the earth's crust rose and the seawater drained away, it became a wetland inhabited by large numbers of wild Pokémon. Since this was the only place in Sinnoh where Croagunk could be found in such abundance, Pastoria City had adopted Croagunk as its mascot.
That day, Liu Qing finally reached a small village in the Great Marsh near Pastoria City. The village was festooned with decorations, and crowds of villagers bustled about, their faces full of joy. Puzzled by the sight, Liu Qing hurried into the village's most recognizable building.
"Hello, Nurse Joy!"
"Good afternoon, traveler. How can I help you?" Nurse Joy's voice was gentle and sweet.
"Please take care of these Pokémon for me, Nurse Joy!" Liu Qing took out his Poké Balls, then asked, "Is the village holding some sort of event?"
"You came here without even knowing that? How ignorant!" Before Nurse Joy could answer, a voice Liu Qing recognized came from behind him.
"Zuo Jie?!" Liu Qing turned around and stared in surprise at the mud-covered young man behind him. Who else could it have been? Liu Qing truly did not know what to say to this rival for Cynthia's affections. The man never missed a chance to take a jab at him. With an almost imperceptible frown, he said, "Why can't I come here? You're not the Pastoria City Gym Leader, are you?"
"Oh, so you're here to challenge the Pastoria Gym?" Zuo Jie put on a look of sudden understanding, reached into his pocket, and pulled out