Buck appears solely in Episode 12, "The Magma Stone." Operating at Stark Mountain, he confronts remnants of Team Galactic led by Charon, who are attempting to awaken the Legendary Pokémon Heatran using the Magma Stone. Buck joins forces with Detective Looker and Looker's Croagunk to thwart the scheme. During the clash, Buck directly battles Heatran using his Claydol. Once Heatran is subdued, Buck retrieves the Magma Stone and secures the artifact back on its stone altar within Stark Mountain. Following these events, he reveals to Looker his personal ambition: to traverse Sinnoh and become the region's greatest Pokémon Trainer.