Rustboro City/Anime

Rustboro City debuted in All Things Bright and Beautifly!. and arrived at Rustboro Hall, located in its southern outskirts, and discovered that a Pokémon Contest was scheduled to take place there in just a few hours. They were surprised by the way contestants prepared their for the event, as it was very different from how s usually  their Pokémon for Gym matches. After a meeting with Janet and, two skilled Pokémon Coordinators, they learned about the proceedings of the competition and decided to enter. However, the lady in the registration desk was not accepting new entries as the event had already reached the maximum number of contestants allowed. Nonetheless, they received Contest Passes and watched the Pokémon Contest get underway, with and Max working as Janet's assistants. During the Appeals Round, Chaz had his showing off its  attack, while Janet had her  using  to break plates thrown by May and Max. Their performances impressed the panel of judges enough to secure them a place in the second round. Jessie's performance, on the other hand, was a total failure as she commanded her newly  to use several moves it didn't known. In the Contest Battles, both Janet and Chaz defeated their opponents to reach the finals. The two had a close battle, but when time ran out Janet was shown to have more points. As a result, she was declared the winner of the Rustboro Contest, earning her third Ribbon. Throughout the competition, May was amazed by the performances and the different kind of battling, and this inspired her to become a Pokémon Coordinator.

In Gonna Rule The School!, and  attended the Pokémon Trainers' School and first met Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader and Trainers' School headmistress. Max spent much of his time with, , and Anita. Later, all Beginner Class students, and helped defeat.

In The Winner by a Nosepass, Ash battled Roxanne and earned himself the. The match was filmed by some of Roxanne's students to become a learning resource at the Rustboro Trainers' School.

In Stairway to Devon, Max spilled soda on the PokéNav, causing it to malfunction. While attempting to avoid so she wouldn't find out, Max bumped into Mr. Stone, who agreed to fix the PokéNav and take him on a guided tour through this company, the Devon Corporation. During the tour, Mr. Stone and Max spotted a mysterious scientist, later revealed to be a, who stole two capsules from the Fossil restoration lab. The thief was eventually cornered by Mr.Stone, Ash, and his friends, with Team Rocket inadvertently causing the grunt to lose the stolen goods. While the thief managed to escape, Max was able to recover the tubes for Mr. Stone. In On a Wingull and a Prayer!, Ash and his friends visited the desolate harbor of Rustboro City to take a boat to Dewford Town. After missing the morning service boat, the group decided to wait for the afternoon ferry. During that time, the group re-encountered the Team Aqua Grunt from the Devon Corporation heist, who hoped to take Mr. Briney's boat and make his getaway. The grunt took Mr. Briney's, nicknamed Peeko, as a hostage. While Mr. Briney recovered Peeko using his other boat, the S.S. Wingull, the grunt escaped with Mr. Briney's boat. Afterwards, he was recovered by his fellow grunts, who were waiting out at sea with a submarine. As a reward for their assistance, Mr. Briney escorted Ash and his friends to Dewford Island.

After a long absence, Rustboro City appeared again in Mega Evolution Special III, where Alain, Mairin, and arrived there, following the energy signature of the giant rock they had previously encountered. Primal and Primal  also followed the energy, and clashed with each other just off the coast of Rustboro City. The battle was eventually stopped by, although the giant rock was taken away by Lysandre's submarine to be studied at Lysandre Labs.

Much of Rustboro City is tall buildings and thriving, but its seaport and the neighboring suburb appear derelict. In On a Wingull and a Prayer!, May was particularly disappointed to learn that the famous "Rustboro City Pasta" restaurant was closed up. Rustboro's coastline is largely open water, with sharp rocks like Triangle Rock further out.