In addition to the main quest of defeating the Gym Leaders, there are side quests in which the player can aid NPCs by fulfilling tasks (usually obtaining items); other side quests involve catching legendary Pokémon.
Shortly before approaching the town of the first Gym Leader, the protagonist first encounters Team Magma/Aqua in the Petalburg Woods, where he or she rescues a worker from Devon (a company that manufactures Pokéballs) and recovers Devon merchandise [REF].