Gold continues gliding towards Lugia and orders the school of Remoraid to veer right and then fire at their target. On the boat, Silver watches in astonishment and Crystal cheers. It appears that the Remoraid have wounded Lugia with their combined Water Guns, but instead they only enraged it. The Diving Pokémon whirls about and knocks Mantine, Gold, and the Remoraid out of the sky and onto the sand below. Crystal observes this and Silver notices that, although Gold did not bring Lugia down, he did force its mouth open with his cue stick.
Silver has Croconaw paddle the boat over to Gold, all while Lugia looms overhead. Gold, hurt, gently taunts Silver and Crystal for being bystanders and introduces Exbo to his new teammate, Mantine. Suddenly, the Legendary Pokémon's shadow hovers over them. As Lugia descends, the three are knocked backwards; unable to fire an Aeroblast, Lugia attempts instead to crush the trainers and their first partner Pokémon with its wings. Croconaw, Exbo, and Megaree resist the onslaught and, in doing so, evolve together, into their final forms.
When Crystal asks why Megaree evolved into Meganium, and Silver replies that he heard that when Pokémon of similar evolutionary levels spend time together, their natural competitiveness accelerates growth. However, Gold interrupts Silver's explanation, insisting that it should wait until Lugia has been defeated, and asks whether Silver, who has spoken in the past of a Pokémon's "vital spot", could spot Lugia's. Silver says that its vital spot is its forehead and Gold has to hit it right between the eyes.
Tossing a Poké Ball, Gold misses the spot, and declares the he can't aim well without his cue. When the Poké Ball hurtles back, Crystal kicks it back again and hits Lugia right between the eyes. In a flash of light, the Diving Pokémon is gone and the Poké Ball sits on the beach. Gold recovers his cue and congratulates Crystal, but Silver notices that Lugia isn't inside the Poké Ball.