Upon meeting the rival, he/she immediately develops a crush on the player while doing a poor job at hiding it. Coincidentially, the player's rival and his/her mother have moved in to the next-door house around the same time. The player and his mother have just moved in to Breeze Town of the Corna region, which is a heavily modified Hoenn region. The story begins with the player riding in a moving van with Professor Baro (who replaces Professor Birch's role in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Versions).