Plot
The series follows preteens Dan Kouzo, Shun Kazami, Wynton Styles, Lia Venegas, and their dog Lightning. They are known as the "Awesome Ones" (later the “Awesome Brawlers”) and make videos on the website ViewTube. Eventually, they stumble across a race of battling biomechanical creatures called Bakugan. They soon befriend the Bakugan and begin to battle each other with them, all while defending their neighborhood from thugs who use the Bakugan for malicious purposes. They encounter many foes such as Philomena Dusk and the mysterious Magnus, bent on beating Dan in a Bakugan Battle to be the best brawler.
As the Awesome Ones continue to learn more about the Bakugan, they befriend the enigmatic billionaire Benton Dusk, Philomena's brother. Benton uncovers a mysterious underground world he dubs "The Maze", where the Bakugan are enhanced. When a Bakugan hunter named Strata kidnaps several Bakugan, a Bakugan named Phaedrus escapes and warns the Awesome Ones. They go to the Maze and rescue the others, but fall even deeper into it. As they try to make their way home, the Awesome Ones encounter a strange evil Bakugan named Tiko. Drago and the others find a powerful artifact called the Core Cell within the Maze and protect it from Tiko. However, when Drago is injured by the corrupting V Virus, he and Dan retreat into the Core Cell, and Tiko makes it inside. Drago is healed and experiences a power upgrade called a Bakugan Evolution. Drago evolves into Hyper Drago and defeats Tiko. The Awesome Ones then escape the Maze. Soon after, they learn that Magnus is working with Philomina, along with several other of their old rivals, as AAAnimus' publicity team, The Exit. In order to combat them, the Awesome Ones learn, one by one, to evolve their Bakugan without going inside the Core Cell. Eventually, they defeat the Exit and they are fired. Despite their efforts, AAAnimus learns that there are more Core Cells within the Maze, and they successfully extract one. They use it to take control of the Awesome Ones' primary Bakugan. Benton creates a plan to stop them. They break into AAAnimus' headquarters, and while Benton dismantles their network, the Awesome Ones act as decoys. The plan works, and they defeat Philomina. Benton informs the Awesome Ones of his plan to make all the Core Cells open-sourced, which sets them on an adventure around the world. However, even greater threats lurk in the shadows. Tiko survived his battle in the Core Cell, and hatches a plan of his own.
