Покемон, 7-й сезон. Новый вызов

May is competing in her second Pokémon Contest and manages to make it to the next round along with Drew, Grace, and a disguised Jessie. Jessie has attached a device to her Dustox that produces beautiful rainbows when it performs an attack, making the attack even more beautiful. May battles against Jessie, with Beautifly delivering enough of a beating to break the rainbow device and defeat Dustox. Caught cheating, Jessie is disqualified. Team Rocket tries to make trouble, but Pikachu sends them blasting off. In the next battle, Grace takes on Drew and beats his Roselia in a decisive victory with her Medicham. Grace moves on to the finals to battle May. Medicham takes a commanding lead until May tries a combo involving Tackle and Silver Wind, pinning Medicham down. May takes the lead with one minute to go. The two Pokémon meet in a head-on collision, and though both Pokémon go down, May has more points and is declared the winner. Drew congratulates May, and then the kids are off to Lavaridge Town for Ash's next Gym Battle.

Ash meets an old friend: Thatcher from Mt. Lighthouse! He's a member of a pep squad school that cheers at Pokémon battles, led by a man named Sheridan. A disguised Team Rocket offers Sheridan money to cheer for their Pokémon battles. To test the effectiveness of the cheering, Brock and Ash offer to battle against Team Rocket. Brock's Forretress knocks out James' Cacnea, who is secretly revived using Helping Hand. Sheridan wears a mask containing a small microphone that he uses to give directions to Pokémon hidden inside the pep squad's giant drums. After Cacnea wins, it's Ash and Pikachu versus Jessie and Seviper. Jessie doesn't pay attention to the battle, and Seviper is quickly taken down. Sheridan issues commands to revive Seviper repeatedly. Max sneaks nearby and knocks the drums over, revealing the Pokémon concealed inside. Sheridan runs off, and Ash manages to encourage Pikachu to victory. Team Rocket then reveal themselves, but Pikachu is too weak to fight them off. Plusle and Minun revive Pikachu, whose Thunder attack starts a thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning hits Team Rocket's balloon, sending them blasting off. The members of the pep squad decide to go home, Thatcher continues his Pokémon journey, while Ash and friends continue to Lavaridge Town.

Ash and friends are fleeing a group of rampaging Slugma along the Fiery Path, when they escape down a hill and end up on a Numel ranch. They are greeted by the owner Julie and her Furret. Brock and Max offer to help with the chores on the ranch while Julie and May have a Pokémon battle. May looks up attacks in her Pokédex, and orders Skitty to use the move Assist against Julie's Furret. To May's surprise, Skitty uses Ember, then Silver Wind. Julie defeats May in the battle, and explains that the move Assist allows a Pokémon to use any of the moves known by their Trainer's other Pokémon. That night, while everyone is sleeping, Team Rocket shows up in a robotic Numel to steal the sleeping Numel. The kids wake up, and try to stop them. May and Skitty are captured by the robot. Inside the robot, Skitty wakes up the still-sleeping Numel and they try to escape. Team Rocket activates internal sprinklers to prevent the Numel from using their Ember attacks. Skitty uses Assist to recharge, and the Numel burn through the robot's shell to break free. Ash and friends are fleeing a group of rampaging Slugma along the Fiery Path, when they escape down a hill and end up on a Numel ranch. They are greeted by the owner Julie and her Furret. Brock and Max offer to help with the chores on the ranch while Julie and May have a Pokémon battle. May looks up attacks in her Pokédex, and orders Skitty to use the move Assist against Julie's Furret. To May's surprise, Skitty uses Ember, then Silver Wind. Julie defeats May in the battle, and explains that the move Assist allows a Pokémon to use any of the moves known by their Trainer's other Pokémon. That night, while everyone is sleeping, Team Rocket shows up in a robotic Numel to steal the sleeping Numel. The kids wake up, and try to stop them. May and Skitty are captured by the robot. Inside the robot, Skitty wakes up the still-sleeping Numel and they try to escape. Team Rocket activates internal sprinklers to prevent the Numel from using their Ember attacks. Skitty uses Assist to recharge, and the Numel burn through the robot's shell to break free. Team Rocket tries to battle May and her friends, but they are quickly zapped by Pikachu. The next morning, Julie gives the kids directions to Lavaridge Town and they depart.

The gang rushes to the cable car headed up Mt. Chimney, boarding it just in time along with a disguised Team Rocket. As the car travels upward, they spy both a red helicopter and a gray helicopter. Professor Cosmo is on the mountain, searching for a recently-fallen meteorite. Team Magma and Team Aqua arrive, both after the meteorite. Team Aqua hijacks the cable car system and causes the cars to stop. Team Rocket reveals their identity, but the kids are too busy trying to escape the cable car to care. Ash manages to get out to the mountain. Teams Magma and Aqua fight, with Team Magma's Dark-type Pokémon overpowering Team Aqua's Water-type roster. Back in the cable car, the kids enjoy lunch with Team Rocket. Ash meets Professor Cosmo, but Team Magma gets the meteorite. They place the meteorite inside a machine designed to activate the volcano. Professor Cosmo distracts Team Magma while Ash tries to steal the meteorite back. Pikachu ends up shocking both Team Magma and the machine, causing an overload. Professor Cosmo pushes the machine into the lava, destroying it (and the meteorite). Team Magma departs with the knowledge that their machine worked. Team Aqua leaves, pleased that Team Magma did not succeed. Team Rocket falls down Mt. Chimney. Ash and his friends get directions from Professor Cosmo and head for Lavaridge Town.

Ash and friends arrive in Lavaridge Town. Ash heads straight for the Gym, where the Gym Leader Flannery is running around on fire. Brock uses Mudkip to douse the flames, and everyone goes inside for the Gym battle. The battlefield is a mess, so they need to clean up first. They find out Flannery just inherited the Gym Leader position from her grandfather, who left town to write Pokémon poetry. None of the kids know that he's actually spying on them because he's worried about Flannery. He comes back in disguise and offers to help Flannery out. Team Rocket also shows up in disguise to help clean the field, but instead they steal Flannery's Torkoal. They try to fly away in their balloon, but are stopped by the grandfather, who teams up with Flannery for a Pokémon battle with Jessie and James. May and Max free Torkoal. During the battle, Flannery's Slugma evolves into Magcargo. Flannery realizes her grandfather is there, and together they defeat Team Rocket. Everyone gets ready for the Gym battle the next day.

Ash uses Corphish in his Gym battle with Flannery. Flannery chooses Magcargo first, which is defeated by Corphish's Crabhammer. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is digging a tunnel to steal Magcargo and Pikachu during the battle, but they accidentally hit a pipe and are sent blasting off into a hot spring. Ash recalls Corphish and sends out Treecko, hitting Slugma hard but getting burned by Flamethrower. Ash sends out Corphish again, but Slugma uses Yawn to put Corphish to sleep. Pikachu goes out to battle next. Pikachu knocks out Slugma with a powerful Thunder attack, but Flannery calls out Torkoal. Pikachu can't get through Torkoal's Iron Defense, and is KO'd by Overheat. Treecko is sent out again, but is quickly knocked out by Overheat. Ash sends out the sleeping Corphish, who takes some damage before finally waking up. To get through the Iron Defense, Corphish hits Torkoal with Crabhammer from the side, flipping the Fire-type over and then knocking it out with Bubblebeam. After the battle, Flannery receives some advice and praise from her grandfather, and presents Ash with his Heat Badge.

Ash decides to head to Petalburg City for his next Gym battle. On the road, the gang runs into a group of Spinda. A pretty girl named Claire approaches, and Brock's reaction to her scares all the Spinda away. She is looking for her lucky Spinda, which has a heart-shaped mark on its face. Ash and friends offer to help her. Team Rocket tries to steal the Spinda using a vacuum, but the lucky Spinda fights back using Hypnosis and all of the Spinda escape. They also try disguising a Teddiursa (and later Meowth) as a Spinda to lure the real Spinda in, but fail. The kids track the lucky Spinda down to a flower garden, where they are met by the Spinda's owner—Claire's fiancée, Kain. Brock's heart is broken. Team Rocket shows up in a giant Spinda robot capable of repelling all the attacks of the Spinda. Brock sends out all of his Pokémon, and his Forretress destroys the robot using Explosion. Ash and friends wish Claire and Cain the best, and depart for Petalburg.

Ash and friends are walking through the Valley of Steel on their way to Petalburg Gym when they encounter a Torkoal being attacked by a Skarmory and several Magnemite. May's Skitty and Torchic drive the Steel-type Pokémon away. The Pokémon of the Valley of Steel turn out to be very territorial, and both Torkoal and the kids have put themselves in danger by trying to cross the valley. Regardless, they decide to press on. Team Rocket is in pursuit, though at first the trio is attacked by Skarmory and later Steelix. They are sent blasting off and nearly hit Ash and his friends on the way down, falling into a chasm instead. May tumbles off the edge, and Ash and Torkoal work together to save her. They are attacked by a Magneton, which Torkoal sends flying using Flamethrower. Magneton is found by the Steelix, who then goes looking for Torkoal and the kids. When they meet, it turns out that Torkoal came to the valley looking for a fight with this powerful Pokémon. The two begin to fight, with Ash directing Torkoal. Steelix has the advantage until Torkoal uses Overheat, knocking the giant Steel-type out. Torkoal joins Ash's roster of Pokémon, and the gang leaves the Valley of Steel.

Ash and friends return to Mauville City, where they encounter a carnival run by Team Rocket. They let all their Pokémon out to enjoy the festivities, and Team Rocket tries to steal them. Wattson and Watt arrive to help fight off the thieves, and after the battle Wattson's Electrike evolves into a Manectric. Everyone heads to the Mauville Gym for two practice battles. First up, May's Skitty faces off against Watt's Ampharos. Skitty is victorious with Assist, using Quick Attack and Double Slap in quick succession. Meanwhile, Team Rocket falls into Wattson's new improved Gym traps, eventually encountering a group of robotic Raikou that they mistake for the real thing. The second battle is Ash's Torkoal versus Wattson's Manectric. Torkoal uses Overheat too many times, and Manectric takes out the Fire-type with a Charge/Thunder Wave combo. Watt tells May about a Pokémon Contest taking place in Verdanturf Town, so the kids make that their next destination.

The kids are on their way to Verdanturf Town when they are waylaid by another Team Rocket scheme. May and friends successfully fight them off, but during the battle Skitty is blasted by Torkoal's smoke, losing its voice. May brings Skitty to the nearby Pokémon clinic in Foothill Town. They meet Dr. Abby, who uses massage to help Skitty get its voice back. Abby was once a Pokémon Coordinator, even winning the Grand Festival. But she retired after her pride got her into a Pokémon battle where her Skitty was seriously injured. A doctor from a Pokémon clinic helped Abby and taught her how to treat Pokémon. After receiving a Moon Stone to evolve her Skitty into Delcatty, she decided to become a full-time doctor. Team Rocket arrives in disguise asking Dr. Abby to treat Meowth. While being massaged by Abby, Meowth talks out loud, revealing his identity. Team Rocket steals May's Skitty and Abby's Delcatty. Team Rocket attempts to escape in their balloon, but Delcatty escapes and destroys the balloon. Delcatty shows off some impressive moves, teaching Skitty the move Blizzard in the process. The two cat-like Pokémon team up to take out Team Rocket.

Drew loses a Pokémon battle to the mysterious "Phantom," a masked Pokémon Trainer using a Dusclops. Because of the injuries sustained by his Roselia, Drew has to drop out of the Pokémon Contest in Verdanturf Town. May is there to compete with her Skitty, and while practicing she is challenged to a battle with Phantom that Ash accepts instead. The battle is interrupted by the arrival of a woman in a limo who chases the Phantom into the woods. The woman reveals she is looking for her son Timmy, who has been missing a lot lately, usually when the Phantom is around. The kids follow her to a mansion where they meet the entire family. Timmy's father reveals that Tommy is the Phantom, disguising himself only because his mother hates Pokémon. Brock dresses up as the Phantom to fool the mother, but Team Rocket shows up to unmask the Phantom for a huge reward. Skitty's Blizzard attack frees Brock but also unmasks him by accident. Brock quickly runs off, and it appears that the mother did not see his face. Timmy decides to compete in the Pokémon Contest.

Timmy (aka "Phantom") arrives late to register for the Pokémon Contest, because his mother gave him lots of homework to do. His father let him go, and confronts the mother when she comes to check on Timmy. Jessie is competing under an alias in the Contest, and her Dustox takes the lead in the first round. May's Skitty fails to do a Blizzard attack, losing points and putting May behind. May still progresses to the second round. In the second round May quickly dispatches her opponent, while Phantom beats Jessie in a tough battle. Jessie's disguise is blown off, and after losing she decides to try to steal Phantom's Dusclops instead. Pikachu sends them flying with Thunderbolt, also ripping off Timmy's mask. Meanwhile, Timmy's father talks to his wife and brings up the fact that she only hates Pokémon because her parents took her beloved Poochyena away from her when she was a child. She relents and decides to cheer Timmy on at the Contest. May and Timmy face off in the final round, and Skitty isn't doing so well until May instructs it to use Assist. Skitty quickly catches up and beats Dusclops. Timmy's mother encourages him to continue competing. Jessie is competing under an alias in the Contest, and her Dustox takes the lead in the first round. May's Skitty fails to do a Blizzard attack, losing points and putting May behind. May still progresses to the second round. In the second round May quickly dispatches her opponent, while Phantom beats Jessie in a tough battle. Jessie's disguise is blown off, and after losing she decides to try to steal Phantom's Dusclops instead. Pikachu sends them flying with Thunderbolt, also ripping off Timmy's mask. Meanwhile, Timmy's father talks to his wife and brings up the fact that she only hates Pokémon because her parents took her beloved Poochyena away from her when she was a child. She relents and decides to cheer Timmy on at the Contest. May and Timmy face off in the final round, and Skitty isn't doing so well until May instructs it to use Assist. Skitty quickly catches up and beats Dusclops. Timmy's mother encourages him to continue competing.

Ash and friends are headed to Petalburg City so he can earn his fifth Gym badge. They fall into yet another Team Rocket scheme to steal Pikachu but are saved by a wild Solrock. The kids arrive at a nearby village where the stream has completely dried up. They send out their Water-type Pokémon to search for water, and Brock's Lotad falls into the empty well. When he pulls it back up, the Pokémon evolves into Lombre. An old woman runs out and calls it their "Water Lord." Her granddaughter Mary explains that they receive their water from a stream flowing out of a Lombre shrine, which dried up shortly after a meteorite fell to earth. Solrock has been spotted in the woods since then, so they blame it for the drought. The villagers perform a rain dance with Lombre, and many wild Pokémon join in. Ash and friends use Lombre's dance to draw Solrock out, but May's Skitty runs off toward a cave. When May and Mary explore the cave, they discover a machine built by Team Rocket siphoning water from the stream. A battle begins, and Solrock ends up using Ember to protect the villagers from Team Rocket's attacks. Pikachu sends the villains blasting off again, while Solrock continues to burn. Brock's Lombre and Mudkip cool down Solrock with their Water Gun attacks, and the steam creates a rainstorm. The villagers decide to worship Solrock instead, while Ash and friends depart for Petalburg.

A tree inhabited by Swablu and Altaria is struck by lightning during a thunderstorm, and one of the Swablu fails to fly away before the tree crashes. The next morning, May and friends are walking through the woods when they find the wounded Swablu. Swablu puts the kids to sleep with Sing, but Torchic wakes them up by pecking their noses. Their shouts alert a park ranger, who brings everyone to a rest station. May wants to stay there until Swablu gets better, so Brock helps her with caring for the little Flying-type. Eventually its wing heals, but it still can't fly. The ranger explains that the accident with the tree was very traumatic, so the kids try to re-teach Swablu to fly. Eventually Max comes up with a successful idea to trick Swablu into flying using "magic powder" spread by Beautifly. The ranger locates the Swablu's flock at a lake and drives the kids there, but they are stopped by Team Rocket. The trio steals Swablu and escape in their balloon. Swablu uses Sing, but James' Cacnea uses Pin Missile while asleep, damaging the balloon. The balloon becomes engulfed in flames, but Swablu manages to overcome its fear of flying to escape. Brock's Mudkip and Lombre put out the fire, and Team Rocket is sent blasting off. The gang finally arrives at the lake, but the flock appears to be gone. May offers Swablu a place with her, but the flock suddenly reappears, and instead she lets Swablu rejoin its fellow Pokémon.

Ash and friends are in a town close to Petalburg City, when their picnic is gobbled up by a passing Gulpin. They overhear an emergency announcement instructing everyone to evacuate. The kids and a local shopkeeper are accosted by a large group of Gulpin. Officer Jenny saves them, bringing the friends back to the Pokémon Center. They meet Nurse Joy and Professor Jacuzzi, who are working to stop the Gulpin from eating all of the town's food supplies. The professor's first plan involves a giant PokéBlock to lead the Gulpin away. Team Rocket tries to steal the PokéBlock, but their balloon is shot down by the Gulpin. The Gulpin follow the PokéBlock out of town. The Gulpin try to return through the sewer, but Jenny and Joy block the way. The Gulpin emerge onto the street. Professor Jacuzzi arrives with a device that beams them up and shoots them away, but it breaks down with one Gulpin left to go. Ash sends Treecko out to battle and the machine restarts, grabbing both Pokémon. It explodes, and the two of them become oversized. To avoid destroying the town, Treecko leads Gulpin to a lake, but is too tired to battle (shrinking back to normal). May suggests capturing Gulpin in a Poké Ball. Nurse Joy gives the professor a Heavy Ball, and he captures the Gulpin, vowing to restore it to its normal size.

Ash and friends are eating lunch in the woods when they notice that Treecko has wandered off. After failing to convince the Grass-type to come down from a tree, lunch is disrupted by a rampaging Loudred. Its Trainer, Guy finally catches up with his Pokémon and makes it stop. Ash and Guy decide that both troublesome Pokémon need exercise, so they battle. While battling, both Pokémon evolve at the same time, into Exploud and Grovyle. The battle continues, but Exploud won't listen to Guy. It hits Grovyle hard and runs off. Grovyle catches up with Exploud at a waterfall, and the two begin to battle again. Exploud still won't listen to Guy. Team Rocket interrupts, trying to capture Exploud, but Guy protects his Pokémon. Pikachu and Exploud send Team Rocket blasting off. Guy and Exploud reconcile, and Ash and Guy decide to finish the battle.

Ash and friends are almost to Petalburg City. Ash can't wait to battle Gym Leader Norman, while May and Max look forward to seeing their parents again. They remind Ash that he needs to pick three Pokémon to battle with, so Ash calls all of his out to decide. After trying to get oranges out of a tree, the Pokémon are captured by Team Rocket in a net. Grovyle cuts the net and frees the Pokémon, and everyone congratulates the Grass-type. The gang sits down for lunch, but are interrupted by a dancing Ludicolo and its Trainer Poncho. Poncho challenges Ash to a battle; if Poncho wins, he gets the kids' lunch. Ash is ready to use Grovyle but Corphish wants to battle. Ash and Corphish aren't really in synch, so Corphish is badly beaten. Poncho takes the sandwiches and leaves to eat, but is followed by the angry Corphish. Team Rocket shows up again and grabs Poncho and Ludicolo in a net, but Corphish pops their balloon. Ash and friends arrive, and with Ash's teamwork, Corphish successfully takes out Team Rocket. Poncho apologizes for taking the sandwiches, and Brock makes stew for everyone. Ash proposes a rematch with Poncho and Ludicolo, this time using his Torkoal.

The friends arrive in North Petalburg and stop by the Pokémon Center, where May and Max are quickly recognized as the children of Norman. The siblings are swamped by an adoring crowd. Ash and Brock manage to escape and wander off. Team Rocket arrives in town and they decide to disguise themselves as Norman's family (Norman, Caroline, May, and Max) to conduct an autograph-selling scam. When Ash mentions that he's planning to take on Norman in the Petalburg Gym, a whole crowd of Norman-devotees challenge Ash to battles. Ash easily beats them all, exhausting his Pokémon (and himself). Word gets around about how good he is, so the crowd with the siblings pressures May to battle Ash in order to teach him a lesson. Her Torchic uses Ember on Ash, and he falls over. The still-disguised Team Rocket disappears, causing another crowd of people to search them out. The two crowds meet, and begin to argue over which version of May and Max is the real thing. May uses Ember to burn away Team Rocket's costumes, and Pikachu sends their balloon blasting away with Thunderbolt. The crowd is impressed with the defeat of Team Rocket—by Pikachu. Though Ash is dejected, the kids set off for Petalburg City.

Ash and friends finally arrive in Petalburg City. Ash heads to the Pokémon Center (PC) to take care of his team while everyone else visits May and Max's house. At the PC, Ash sees Norman talking to Nurse Joy. At the house, Norman's wife Caroline makes everyone lunch, and she seems very upset. The kids check out the greenhouse where Norman keeps his Pokémon, and his assistant Kenny explains that Norman has been going to the PC everyday to see Nurse Joy. The kids rush to the PC to yell at their father, just as Ash arrives at the house. Caroline shows up at the PC with her luggage and tells Norman she's leaving. Back at the greenhouse, Ash checks out Norman's Pokémon and gets into a battle with Team Rocket. Everyone returns to the house in the middle of the battle, and something in the greenhouse is damaged that makes Norman very upset. He has his Slaking use Focus Punch on Team Rocket to send them blasting off. It turns out that Nurse Joy was actually helping Norman prepare a fireworks display for his wedding anniversary, but it was ruined during the battle. Nurse Joys repairs the display, and that night they all watch the fireworks together.

Ash challenges Gym Leader Norman for a badge. While they battle, Team Rocket is busy digging a tunnel under the Gym. Norman's Slakoth begins with Hidden Power, and Pikachu can't hit it. Pikachu is then immobilized by Slakoth's Blizzard, so Ash switches the Electric-type out for Torkoal. Torkoal takes out Slakoth with Flamethrower. In turn, Torkoal is taken down by a Scratch attack from Vigoroth. Ash sends Pikachu back out, and when the two Pokémon make physical contact, Vigoroth is paralyzed by Pikachu's Static ability. Pikachu uses Iron Tail to knock out Vigoroth, but also faints. In the end Ash's Grovyle faces off against Norman's Slaking. Slaking manages to counter all of Grovyle's attacks, and then uses Earthquake. The shaking disrupts Team Rocket's plans, and puts them up against some angry Dugtrio. Low on HP, Grovyle's Overgrow ability increases its Attack power, and the Grass-type knocks Slaking out with a combination of Pound and Leaf Blade. All his Pokémon defeated, Norman awards the Balance Badge to Ash. However, Max is upset at his father's loss, so he runs off with the badge. Norman talks things over with Max, explaining that the experience of losing is just as important as winning. Max returns the badge to Ash, who celebrates winning his fifth Gym badge.

Ash and friends decide to visit Professor Birch. On the road they are nearly run over by Birch in his jeep, on his way to the port to pick up Professor Oak. Ash and Brock join him, while May and Max head to his lab. May and Max are admiring the Hoenn starter Pokémon at the lab (Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic), when Professor Oak shows up. He shows them the Kanto starter Pokémon he brought: Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander. May befriends the Bulbasaur. Team Rocket arrives and kidnaps all six starter Pokémon, and Professor Oak and the siblings go after them. They track the thieves to a Secret Base, but fall into a trap and are imprisoned. Team Rocket also takes May's Poké Balls. Meanwhile, Birch, Ash, and Brock are hot on the trail with the help of a Poochyena. Oak and the siblings escape from imprisonment with the starter Pokémon. Oak has a Zubat use Supersonic on Team Rocket while the Bulbasaur uses its vines to grab May's Poké Balls. After running, they eventually find their way to an outside door, but can't break out. Professor Birch and company arrive outside the door, where they use Water-type attacks on the door and then have Pikachu blast it with electricity. A group of Pokémon on Oak's side knocks down the now-weakened door with Tackle or Pound. Team Rocket shows up again, but all of the Pokémon team up with their different attacks to send the crooks blasting off. After saying goodbye, the kids depart for Fortree City.

The kids are on their way to Fortree City, but May is delaying them. Ash starts to argue with her, and the two kids continue to bicker as they walk. They are interrupted by a couple named Andi and Oscar, who challenge May and Ash to a tag battle. Ash uses Corphish and May uses Skitty, facing off against the lovebirds' Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Skitty's Assist move continually interferes with Corphish's attacks, so the two Trainers and their Pokémon begin to fight. Ash and May are defeated. Andi and Oscar encounter Team Rocket next. Jessie and James agree to battle only so they can steal the couple's Pokémon, but are soundly beaten. Jessie and James blame each other for the loss. The two groups overhear each other fighting, and Jessie decides to team up in a tag battle with May against James and Ash. The battle starts to go in favor of the boys, prompting Jessie to send out another Pokémon. The fight between Skitty, Seviper, Cacnea, Corphish, and Dustox quickly goes out of control, until Meowth realizes that Team Rocket could steal Pikachu. They grab Pikachu and run, but Ash and May team up to stop the thieves. After using their Pokémon to soundly defeat Team Rocket, Ash and May reconcile.

Ash and friends are lost in a forest when they are attacked by a Skarmory that kidnaps May. It drops May on the other side of a tall fence, and several hooded men prevent Ash, Brock, and Max from pursuing. The Skarmory drops May on the ground, where she saves a Bulbasaur from falling off a cliff. A group of Grass-type Pokémon angrily attack May, but she drives them back with Torchic's Ember attack. The hooded men explain to the guys that the Grass-type Pokémon will attack any human that trespasses, because people damaged the forest trying to catch Grass-type Pokémon. The guys decide saving May is more important, and Ash manages to get over the fence. A group of Grass-types corner May, and Ash swoops in and has Pikachu clear a path. The two kids run for it, but get cornered again. A Venusaur arrives and orders the other Pokémon to back off, accompanied by the Bulbasaur that May helped. May begins to befriend the Bulbasaur, but Team Rocket arrives, trying to catch Grass-types with their robot. May gets caught inside the robot as well, and helps all the Pokémon break free. The Venusaur uses Solarbeam to blast the robot away. Reunited in the end, the kids get ready to depart the forest, with one new addition—the Bulbasaur decides to join May on her journey.

The kids arrive in a city where May lets her Bulbasaur to enjoy the scenery. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is at the Pokémon Center (PC) making "repairs" to the transporter machine. Upon arrival at the PC, Ash calls Professor Oak. They decide that Ash's and May's Bulbasaur should meet, so Oak transports Ash's over. Unfortunately Team Rocket has rerouted the machine so they get all the full Poké Balls, and only empty Poké Balls arrive at the PC. The kids confront Team Rocket outside the PC. James has attached a new engine to their balloon which malfunctions, so the thieves go blasting off. They drop one Poké Ball—Ash's Bulbasaur. Team Rocket gathers up everything from the crash site and runs, but a hole in James' bag leaves a trail of Poké Balls along the way. The two Bulbasaur quickly pick up the trail to a cabin where the thieves are hiding. Team Rocket seals up the cabin and begins fending off Ash and friends, using the Poké Balls as projectiles. The two Bulbasaur try to sneak the rest of the Poké Balls out through a window with their vines. Pikachu breaks down the wall with Iron Tail, and the Bulbasaur team up to battle Team Rocket. Pikachu sends the thieves blasting off. Back at the PC, Ash talks to Professor Oak again, who begs Ash to send Bulbasaur back. Everyone says goodbye, and the little Grass-type is sent home.

The kids have stopped at a lakeside camp site on their way to Fortree City. Ash trips and drops his badge case into the lake, where it is eaten up by a giant Whiscash. Ash dives in after the Pokémon but gets caught in some reeds instead. Ash is pulled out of the water by a fisherman named Sullivan, who calls himself "Legend." He tells them that he has been trying to catch the giant Whiscash for years and its name is Nero. The kids decide to help "Legend" catch Nero. "Legend" shows them how to fish, but all of them are unsuccessful. On the other side of the lake Team Rocket is also fishing, but not having much luck. Eventually Ash snags Nero and manages to pull the giant Whiscash out of the water. Before he can get his badges back, Team Rocket scoops Nero up in a net and flies away in their balloon. Ash's Grovyle uses Bullet Seed to send the balloon crashing down, and a battle begins. Whiscash uses Earthquake on Team Rocket, and then Pikachu sends them blasting off with Thunder. "Legend" tries to catch Nero using his own Pokémon, but eventually he just pulls out a Master Ball and throws it—which Nero gobbles up, and then swims away.

The kids are crossing a mountain in the fog, and Ash trips and slides down a cliff with Pikachu. He encounters a mysterious woman singing a strange song. Pikachu stops a Baltoy from spinning off a cliff. Its Trainer, a girl named Callista, arrives and explains that she is searching for ancient artifacts from the Baltoy civilization. Her parents forbid her to search, but a mysterious phone call sent her to the mountain that day. Team Rocket is also on the mountain, and they attack the mysterious woman, who fights them off with her Xatu. Callista and Ash help fight the thieves off, and the woman leads them to a cave with the ruins that Callista has been searching for. A pile of rubble lies on top of the most important artifact, and the woman explains that her Baltoy is trapped under it. Callista's Baltoy clears the rock and frees the other Baltoy. Team Rocket attacks again with a drilling machine, but they are driven back and sent blasting off as usual. The woman explains to the kids that the artifact is a time machine and reveals the truth to them—that she is a future version of Callista! She explains that she spent her whole life searching for the Baltoy civilization and now has no time to study it—but now the younger Callista can. The elder Callista disappears into the machine with her Baltoy. The kids leave the ruins, and Ash reunites with his friends, in a hurry to get to his next Gym battle.

May is headed for the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest, where at least one ribbon is needed to enter. She runs into Drew, and both of them are mobbed by the Mothers for Pokémon—a group of women who adore Pokémon Coordinators. One of them, Savannah, is a Coordinator herself, and will be competing in the upcoming contest, but she is really nervous. Jessie from Team Rocket wants to enter the contest but can't since she has never won a ribbon. Later, May is practicing outside the Pokémon Center when she spots Drew with his new Masquerain. She tries to show off her Bulbasaur, but it won't listen to her. The next day, May is helping Savannah practice when they are accosted by Team Rocket, who takes both May's and Savannah's ribbons. The kids take down Team Rocket's balloon, and Jessie returns the stolen ribbons. Savannah's Lairon uses a Water-type move to send the thieves blasting off. Savannah's daughter Sandra reassures her mother, while May is feeling confident again about the contest.

The Rubello Pokémon Contest begins! Savannah is still nervous, but May is overconfident. Both of them do well in the first round performances, and while waiting in the locker room, May brags that once you have at least one ribbon, all the rest come easily. Drew tells her off. Jessie tries to enter the contest by making her own ribbon, but instead a woman offers to buy the ribbon, giving Jessie the idea to start selling them. She puts James and Meowth to work. The finalists in the contest are announced: May, Savannah, Drew, and Sunny. Ash tries to offer some advice, but May snaps at him. Drew's Masquerain takes down Sunny's Girafarig with a three-move combo. The next battle is May's Bulbasaur versus Savannah's Lairon. Bulbasaur gets nervous, and doesn't dodge Lairon's attacks. Bulbasaur takes a bad pounding but May refuses to accept defeat, and the judges yell at her. May goes outside, and Ash talks with her. The two of them go back inside to watch Savannah face off against Drew. Drew beats Savannah by a lot of points, and wins his fourth ribbon. Team Rocket is trying to sell the ribbons they made, but no one buys one, and even the woman who bought one before wants to return hers. Back at the Pokémon Center, Savannah doesn't feel bad about losing, and even May realizes that she can't take her wins for granted.

Team Rocket talks to Giovanni on the video phone, and he yells at them for not making progress, threatening to replace the three of them. The kids are eating breakfast when Skitty runs off and encounters a Spoink that has lost its pearl. The Spoink shows how it rolled away, so the kids help look around the forest. Spoink keeps mistaking various round objects for its pearl—like an Igglybuff—and putting them on its head. Just as they find the real pearl, all of them are caught in a Team Rocket trap, but Ash's Corphish helps them get out. Spoink drops its pearl and Meowth catches it. Team Rocket runs off to a nearby carnival. At the carnival, James runs into the Magikarp salesman, who is now selling Feebas. Drawn by the promise of Feebas evolving into a Milotic, Jessie trades the pearl. But when their new Feebas is swimming, its paint washes off, revealing just a Magikarp. Ash and friends arrive, and both groups go looking for the salesman. Brock and Max reveal the scam, and then everyone confronts the Magikarp salesman. The kids start to battle Team Rocket, and the salesman slips away in the confusion. Spoink passes out, but Max grabs the pearl and puts it on Spoink's head. Spoink then uses Confuse Ray to send Team Rocket blasting off.

Outside Crossgate Town, the kids meet a Trainer named Shane and his Swablu. He is practicing for the PokéRinger competition, a contest where flying Pokémon battle in the sky to capture a ring and place it on the goal post. Ash and May both sign up with Taillow and Beautifly. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has also arrived in town. As a child, James received training from a champion PokéRinger, and decides to enter the competition as well. The competitors are matched up into three separate groups of four. In the first group, Shane and his Swablu use the wind to their advantage and win the round. Ash faces the previous PokéRinger champion in the next group, but knocks out his Volbeat to win. In the last group, May and James face off against each other, but Dustox (borrowed from Jessie) scores the goal. In the next round, Ash's Taillow faces off against a Skarmory and wins easily. Shane goes up against James, but his Swablu gets blinded by the sun, giving Dustox a chance to score. While the competition is going on, Jessie and Meowth have been tricking Trainers into leaving their Pokémon behind for a special "relaxing" treatment. They trap the Pokémon into a net and prepare to run. Meowth tries to order James to leave with them, but James refuses. Ash and James begin the final round, but they are interrupted by a freak tornado in the middle of the field that blocks their path to the ring. Ash sends Taillow into the swirling wind, and its determination causes it to evolve into Swellow. Swellow snags the ring and leaves the tornado, with Dustox on its tail. Swellow punts the ring onto the goal, and James is dragged away sobbing by Team Rocket. Swellow frees the stolen Pokémon, and then Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off with Thunderbolt. Ash attends the award ceremony, where his picture is displayed alongside the previous PokéRinger champions.

Team Rocket crash lands in front of a mansion, and start to argue. But a beam fired by a Shuppet hidden in the bushes calms them down. They enter the mansion in search of food, but the door locks behind them. They start to argue again, but are again calmed by Shuppet. Ash and friends are lost outside when it starts to rain. They eventually make their way to the mansion and get locked inside as well. May and Max start to argue, and Max runs off. Max runs into Shuppet, and the two of them explore the mansion and play. They overhear May still saying some nasty things about Max, so Shuppet plays a joke on the kids by using Psychic to move things around in mid-air. May meets Emily, the owner of the mansion. Emily wants to turn the mansion into a hotel, but can't because it appears to be haunted. Everyone splits up to look for Max. Max and Shuppet are hiding when Team Rocket comes in, followed by May's Torchic. When they threaten the little Fire-type, Max jumps out to protect it. May comes in, and battles with Team Rocket. An armoire almost falls on May and Max, but Shuppet stops it. Emily recognizes the Shuppet from her childhood, but Team Rocket grabs it, flying off in a balloon. Ash's Swellow breaks Shuppet free, and Pikachu sends the team blasting off. Max and May apologize to each other, and Emily bids them all farewell.

Ash and friends have stopped for lunch, and Brock has made food for all of their Pokémon. Corphish eats up its share quickly, so it snatches up Torchic's food. Corphish and Torchic start to fight, firing furious blasts of Bubblebeam and Ember at each other. Team Rocket is starving, and they end up stealing apples from a group of Shroomish. Some of the Shroomish become angry enough that they evolve into Breloom, then attack Team Rocket. The thieves run into the camp where the kids are, and eat their leftover food. But the Breloom show up and attack, sending everyone blasting off to various parts of the forest. Torchic and Corphish run into each other, and eventually find Max and Meowth. The quartet stumbles into the food stash of the Shroomish by accident, and have to fend off attacks from the Breloom. They are found by Pikachu and Swellow, but none of the Pokémon can fight off the Breloom. Torchic evolves into Combusken, and begins a one-on-one battle with the leader of the Breloom. A titanic exchange of kicks and punches ends in a double knockout. The two Pokémon become friends, and together they attack Team Rocket. In the end, everyone sits down for a shared meal.

Ash and the gang are headed to Fortree City when it starts raining and then snowing. They run for shelter and meet a Castform who leads them onward. The gang is greeted by two scientists from the nearby Weather Institute, Bart and Millie. Brock feels absolutely nothing for the attractive Millie, which puzzles him. Millie is showing the kids around the Weather Institute when a Team Aqua helicopter suddenly appears, and they restrain all the other scientists (plus Team Rocket). Team Aqua is looking for information on the Legendary Pokémon, Groudon and Kyogre. Bart gives his access card to Castform, who flees in search of Millie. Inside the institute, Ash, Millie and friends reunite with Castform, fight off Team Aqua, and use the access card to get into the computer. Millie transfers all the data onto a disk and deletes the copy on the hard drive. Outside, Team Aqua uses the weather machine to create a bolt of lightning that sends Team Rocket blasting off. Millie gives Team Aqua the access card. A Team Aqua technician finds the files missing, and Millie reveals that she is in fact, a he—Brodie, the Man of a Thousand Faces, a member of Team Magma! He escapes with the disk. Team Aqua leaves. Bart is feeling betrayed, but then the real Millie shows up—and Bart puts her to work transferring all their paper files on the Legendary Pokémon back into the computer.

Ash and friends climb the steps to the Fortree City Gym—only to find out that the Gym Leader is busy in town with the Feather Carnival. Ash quickly heads to the carnival, where Winona is riding her Skarmory above the city. Team Rocket is also at the carnival, and James laments the time he saw a Chimecho for sale at a carnival but did not buy it in time. Jessie and Meowth ditch him. The kids meet Winona, and Ash challenges her to a Gym battle. She's busy with the carnival, so their battle will have to wait. Ash and friends decide to have fun, and release their Pokémon so they can have fun too. James sees a Chimecho for sale—from the Magikarp salesman who's scammed him three times in the past! He buys it anyway, but once he shows it to Jessie and Meowth, it turns out to be just a Hoppip in disguise. A real Chimecho floats by, and happily joins James. Ash and Winona arrive at the Gym, but an explosion in town calls them back to the carnival. Team Rocket is using a giant robot to shock and capture Flying-type Pokémon. When Ash fights back, they capture his Pikachu and Swellow too, and use Chimecho to heal their wounds. Winona's Skarmory defeats Team Rocket with a Drill Peck attack, sending them blasting off. The festival resumes that evening, with the skies full of Flying Pokémon.

Ash begins his Gym battle with Winona by sending out Grovyle against her Altaria. Grovyle takes out Altaria with Leaf Blade. Next up is Pelipper, a Water-and-Flying-type so Ash counters with the Electric-type Pikachu. Pelipper uses Steel Wing on the ground, and Pikachu uses Thunderbolt with no effect. Team Rocket arrives to steal Pikachu, but the force of Pikachu's continued Thunderbolt sends them blasting off. It turns out that Pelipper is being grounded by its Steel Wing, making the Electric-type attack ineffective. Pelipper uses Hydro Pump, which Pikachu uses as a conduit to shock the other Pokémon. It results in a double KO. Ash sends out Grovyle again, which is then finished off by Winona's Swellow. Ash counters with his own Swellow. Winona's Pokémon has the advantage since it has more experience battling in mid-air, especially with its Aerial Ace. After taking several hits, Ash has his Swellow use Wing Attack on the ground, which gives his Swellow a chance to counterattack, knocking out Swellow and winning him the Feather Badge.

Ash is ready for his next badge—which means heading to Mossdeep City. To get there, Ash and friends will need to take the ferry in Lilycove City. On their way there, the kids encounter a Trainer named Elijah and his Camerupt, stuck in a river. They help get Camerupt out, and Elijah explains that he travels around, showing movies to the small towns in the area. Traveling together, the group falls into a Team Rocket trap, and Camerupt is stolen. Corphish attacks the thieves and they get Camerupt back. While camping out in the woods, the kids reminisce about the last time each of them went to the movies, describing the movies each of them saw. They arrive in a town, and Elijah sets up the equipment and begins to show the feature: "Plusle & Minun and the Princess Rescue". Team Rocket bust up the screening and run off with the equipment. Brock stays behind to entertain the crowd, while Elijah, Ash, May, and Max chase down the thieves. A trail of film leads the kids straight to Team Rocket, and Ash’s Grovyle takes them out. Elijah shows the rest of the movie, and everyone enjoys it—even Team Rocket, watching from a hiding place in the bushes.

Ken and Mary of the Pokémon Mystery Club (PMC) are once again looking for a Pokémon from outer space, checking the site of a meteor crash. A Lunatone emerges and zaps them, erasing their memories of the encounter. Meanwhile, Ash and friends reach Volley Town, finding it strangely deserted. They walk into the Pokémon Center for assistance but Nurse Joy is zoned out and unhelpful. Brock doesn't believe it's the real Nurse Joy. Team Rocket sneaks into the Pokémon Center, but bump into Ash and friends. When Nurse Joy approaches, they all run, and hide in a storage room. There, they run into the frightened Lunatone. It tries to use Psychic on them, but passes out instead. Nurse Joy returns to normal and treats Lunatone. It needs moonlight to survive, so they decide to take it up to nearby Camerupt Point where the full moon shines. They hide the Pokémon from the PMC in a cart and pull it up the hill, but are cut off by Team Rocket. Team Rocket gets into a fight with the Pokémon Mystery Club. The PMC sends Team Rocket blasting off. Pikachu, Mudkip, and Beautifly team up to drive off the PMC, but they won't be defeated. The full moon rises and Lunatone charges up and send the pair off with Hidden Power. The kids then bid farewell to Lunatone.

The kids have stopped by the Banana Slakoth Garden on their way to Lilycove City, but the gate is closed and the trees have no fruit on them. When they meet the director, a man named Marcel, they find out a Snorlax came down from the mountains looking for food, and has been eating all of the bananas. Ash decides the only way to take care of the Snorlax is to catch it, so he and Pikachu confront the giant Pokémon just after it eats. Unfortunately, Pikachu's attacks have no effect and Snorlax puts them all to sleep with its Yawn attack. After consulting with Professor Oak, they get the recipe for a PokéBlock that will feed the ravenous Normal-type, and he advises them to use a Pokémon that can't be put to sleep to catch it. Slakoth's evolved form, Vigoroth, is one such Pokémon. Marcel talks to all of the Slakoth, trying to convince them to help save their home, and one comes forward. They have it battle and defeat all of Ash's Pokémon, gaining enough experience to evolve into a Vigoroth. The next time the Snorlax wakes up, Marcel and Vigoroth challenge it to a battle. When Snorlax's Yawn attack proves ineffective, it uses Hyper Beam instead. Vigoroth attacks furiously, eventually knocking down the giant Pokémon with Focus Punch. The park reopens, the Slakoth are happy, and Marcel shows the kids what he did with the Snorlax—placed it in the center of a relaxation chamber where people can take a refreshing nap.

As Ash and friends walk to Lilycove City, a tree comes crashing down in front of them—pushed over by Team Rocket in their newest giant robot! They have Pikachu in hand, when the robot begins to sink into the ground and crumple. It explodes, sending everyone flying. The kids find themselves stuck in a tree—without Pikachu. Team Rocket is lost, and Meowth is nowhere to be found. Pikachu and Meowth wake up next to each other, and to Meowth's delight, Pikachu has no memory. Meowth convinces Pikachu that it was a part of Team Rocket and that the two of them are best friends. While the pair makes it may back to Team Rocket's secret base, Meowth witnesses Pikachu saving a Zigzagoon, not being scared of a high ledge, and even sharing an apple with Meowth. Eventually they make it back to the base, and Meowth updates Jessie and James. Ash and friends track down Pikachu to the cabin, where Team Rocket has Pikachu attack Ash. They try to get away in a balloon, but Ash grabs on. James orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, and they end up crashing. Ash and Pikachu land in the river and wash ashore. When they awake, Pikachu has its memory back. Team Rocket lands in the water nearby, and Pikachu sends them blasting off.

The kids finally arrive in Lilycove City, and Ash is starving. They decide to head to a restaurant that serves omelets, but Pikachu runs off, leading them to the berry market. In the berry market, they meet a Pokémon Coordinator named Kelly and her Grumpig. Kelly is buying berries to make PokéBlocks with, and she plans to enter the Lilycove Pokémon Contest. Kelly invites them to her home, which is attached to a PokéBlock store that her mother runs. Kelly's mom teaches May and Brock how to make PokéBlocks in the Berry Blender. Ash wants to teach Swellow the move Aerial Ace before his next Gym battle, so he ventures outside with Max to practice. They meet an old man named Ralph, who was once known as "Vladimir the Attacker," a famous Pokémon Trainer. He offers to help. May makes her first PokéBlocks and tests them on her Pokémon, but only Beautifly likes them. Team Rocket shows up and tries to steal Kelly's Grumpig, but May has Combusken use Sky Uppercut to send them blasting off. After Kelly compliments the Fire- and Fighting-type Pokémon, May decides to use Combusken in the Lilycove Contest. When Team Rocket finally hits the ground, Jessie finds a flyer for the contest and decides to enter with James' Chimecho. The contest begins, and May is called up first. She starts by having Combusken perform Fire Spin, but it goes out of control...

Combusken's Fire Spin is spiraling out of control in the Lilycove Contest Hall. Combusken protects May, who takes control by having the Fire- and Fighting-type unleash a fireball and perform Sky Uppercut. The performance earns May a decent, but lowered score for losing control in the first place. Meanwhile, Ash is keeping an eye on the contest from outside while he continues to teach his Swellow Aerial Ace. Kelly puts on a great performance with Grumpig, using Psychic to catch thrown PokéBlocks. A disguised Jessie is up next with Chimecho, who she hurts and forces to use Astonish—an unusual move that actually earns her a perfect score! In the next round, May faces off against Jessie, and the battle is pretty much even, until Chimecho misses with Double-Edge, letting Combusken hit it with Sky Uppercut. Team Rocket retaliates with yet another one of their attacks, but Swellow drives them off with its new Aerial Ace attack. May and Kelly face off in the final round, May taking a beating until she comes up with an idea to use Fire Spin on the ceiling, which rains down on the whole room so Grumpig can't possibly escape. May claims victory, winning her third ribbon.