Lista episodi

As Ash and his friends are taking a break, Max hears a cry for help and finds a sick Ralts. It's too weak to walk but needs to be treated at a Pokémon Center, so Max decides to carry it there. However, Team Rocket wants Ralts for themselves, dressing up as Gardevoir and Kirlia to steal it. When the Pokédex sees through Meowth's disguise, Team Rocket decides to fight, and Max must take Ralts and run while his friends fend off Team Rocket. Ralts becomes too ill to travel at all, but Max doesn't know what to do until Snorunt makes him an ice pack for Ralts fever. Now they can set off again, but Team Rocket makes another grab for Ralts. To everyone's surprise, they're sent packing by a real Gardevoir and Kirlia. They want Ralts returned, and its a tense stand-off until Gardevoir decides Max can be trusted and lets him continue. By the time Max reaches the Pokémon Center, Ralts is terribly sick. When Ash and the others arrive, Max bursts into tears and runs to May. Its a tense wait until Nurse Joy predicts a full recovery for Ralts. Once Ralts is well again, Max takes it outside and calls for Gardevoir and Kirlia. This summons Team Rocket's fakes again, but Ralts is healthy enough to take care of them itself. The real Pokémon appear and though Ralts doesn't want to leave, Max knows it must. But first he promises that when he's old enough to be a Trainer, he'll come back and find Ralts again so they can travel the world together.

Our heroes have arrived in Sootopolis at last, and Ash is ready to earn his eighth badge--but first it's time to watch the Sootopolis Gym Leader, Juan, put on an impressive water show! Team Rocket tries to snatch Juan's Water Pokémon with an electrified net, but his Pokémon work together to free themselves from Team Rocket's net and foil the plan. Ash challenges Juan to a battle, and of course Juan accepts. As a former champion Pokémon Coordinator, he intends to fight an elegant match. First Ash will face him in a 2-on-2 battle, followed by a second round of 1-on-1 battles. It's Snorunt and Pikachu against Sealeo and Seaking in the first round, and Ash is surprised by the speed with which Juan's Pokémon battle. Even Sealeo's Ice Ball attack is much faster than expected. Snorunt is knocked out and replaced by Corphish, and together Corphish and Pikachu manage to triumph over Sealeo and Seaking for a first round victory. In the second round, Ash sends out Grovyle to face Juan's Luvdisc. Luvdisc is an agile opponent, but more than that, it surprises Ash and Grovyle with Sweet Kiss. Grovyle is confused, and it might not be the only one--elsewhere in Sootopolis, Team Rocket has disguised James as Juan in preparation for another money-making scheme. What's Team Rocket up to, and how can Ash counter Juan's Luvdisc? These questions will be answered in the next episode!

We rejoin the action in the middle of Ash's match against Juan, the Sootopolis Gym Leader. Ash's Grovyle has been confused by Luvdisc's Sweet Kiss and before it can snap out of it, Luvdisc knocks it out with Water Gun! Corphish must step up to take Grovyle's place. Team Rocket has dressed James up as Juan to attract an audience for their Water Illusion show, but back at the Gym, it's a tense back and forth as Corphish confronts Luvdisc. Luvdisc is fast, and when Corphish's attack creates a rain-like shower of water, its Swift Swim makes it even faster! But once that effect dissipates, Corphish wins the round, only to be defeated by Juan's next Pokémon, Whiscash. With no Water Pokémon and no talent, Team Rocket's Water Illusion is a very poor Water Pokémon talent show, but they've got a Plan B: sell merchandise and autographs! Naturally Team Rocket tries to swindle all their customers, but it turns out that Juan's fans include some tough Water Pokémon Trainers--never mess with a lady and her Blastoise! Team Rocket's plan is now officially all wet. After Swellow defeats Whiscash, Juan sends out his secret weapon: Milotic! Milotic takes down Swellow and then faces off with Pikachu. Milotic's Restore ability makes this a tough battle, but in the end Pikachu takes advantage of the water-filled battle stage to score a victory. Ash has earned his eighth badge and it's time to prepare for the Hoenn League!

When May discovers that two of her Poké Balls are missing, she naturally assumes it's Team Rocket! But the culprit could be someone else entirely...

When Ash and May see Drew training his Masquerain, May can't resist the challenge of a practice match. Beautifly and Masquerain battle it out in a Silver Wind showdown that's interrupted by who else but Team Rocket and their Magikarp submarine! They use a giant vacuum to snatch the Pokémon but accidentally snatch the Trainers as well, and in the confusion, Max bumps the sub's engine switch. The submarine rockets off until it hits an island, sending everyone flying! Now Jessie, James, and Meowth need to find Wobbuffet. Brock, Max, and Ash need to find Drew and May. And Drew and May are found by Roderick, a one-time coordinator who knows the ins and outs of Mirage Island. But when Drew and May try to get a closer look at Mirage Island's famed Liechi Berries, they fall into a river! Wynaut to the rescue! A herd of Wynaut rescue the pair and shelter them in their cave, where they've got plenty of Liechi Berries to eat. Elsewhere, Wobbuffet reunites with Team Rocket, and they're inspired to steal the Liechi Berries from the Wynaut. May is kidnapped when she tries to stop them, but Drew and the Wynaut come running. Roderick and Ash's group realize foul play is afoot and show up just in time to help Drew battle Team Rocket. Team Rocket is no match for teamwork--once Drew and May have their Pokémon perform a perfect double Silver Wind, it's all over! Team Rocket blasts off and Roderick helps everyone off the island. He also gives May a sweet souvenir that will help her in her upcoming contests: a basket of Liechi Berries to make great Pokéblock!

May and her friends are headed to Pacifidlog Island for the last Pokémon Contest before the Grand Festival. But their boat has engine trouble and the pilot, Carlos, lands on a nearby island. To reach Pacifidlog in time, our heroes must cross the island to the port and take a ferry. But the island is full of Donphan, and it's breeding season--all the male Donphan perform a Roll Out dance of love to impress the females, which can be dangerous for any Trainers who happen to be in the way! Along the way, May and her friends cheer on a Donphan who wants to impress a brown female Donphan. Snorunt's Ice Beam turns the ground into an ice skating rink, and Donphan trips. Ash chases Snorunt, who won't go back into its Poké Ball, but just as he gets it back, the Donphan send everyone running! May and Ash make it to the port as the last ferry is about to leave... and May bravely decides to turn around and look for Max. May's Grand Festival debut will have to wait another year, but everyone is reunited, along with their Donphan friend and the brown Donphan. Donphan does a dance of love that wins her heart, but Team Rocket shows up and captures them both. May, fed up with Team Rocket's constant schemes, calls on her Pokémon to free the Donphan and stop Team Rocket. Once the Donphan are freed, they Roll Out together and Team Rocket blasts off yet again. Carlos finds May and her friends sadly standing at the port. His boat is fixed, and he takes them to Pacifidlog. Now it's up to May to win her fifth ribbon!

Pacifidlog at last! May is practicing for her contest, and Ash wants Snorunt to practice Ice Beam. But Snorunt's wild aim hits Team Rocket instead and scares another Coordinator's Aipom. Skitty chases it, and May chases Skitty. She finds Skitty playing with another Coordinator, Joshua, and the two talk about the upcoming contest. Erica, a Coordinator who really likes Joshua, loses her cool when she sees them together and gives May a piece of her mind. Ash and the others show up, but so does Team Rocket! The villains grab Pikachu and Snorunt, so May and Joshua team up to stop them. Erica's so mad that May and Joshua are working together, she has Jynx use Hyper Beam to send Team Rocket flying. Then it's time to register for the contest, where Team Rocket also has a plan to enter the contest--with Meowth! The first competitor in the Pacifidlog Contest is the Jester and her Meowth. Both of them look awfully familiar, as does the Giovanni ice sculpture Meowth carves using Fury Swipes! Joshua, Erica, and May all do well and move onto the second round along with the Jester. To May's shock, she'll be facing Joshua in the second round! Erica wants Joshua to win so they can win the ribbon together, but there's no way May is going to give up!

The second round of the Pacifidlog Contest begins! Erica and her Jynx face a suspiciously familiar team--the Jester and Meowth. Meowth is afraid of Jynx, so the Jester orders him to use Transform. Meowth disguises himself as a Sunflora, then a Kirlia, and finally a Wailord, but the scam is uncovered. The Jester reveals herself as Jessie and Team Rocket tries to snatch Jynx, but its Hyper Beam puts a stop to that! Erica jealously watches Joshua and Houndoom battle May and Skitty. The winner depends on which attack is stronger: Houndoom's Flamethrower or Skitty's Blizzard! They're well-matched, but Houndoom finally stumbles. With time up, May is ahead of Joshua in the points. On the final contest stage, Erica realizes May and Joshua both gave it their best. That matters more than petty jealousy, so Erica apologizes and shakes May's hand. Once their battle starts, Skitty has a hard time with Jynx's attacks so May decides to use Assist again and again, with mixed results... and she's running out of time! But Skitty's Assist finally comes up with Fire Spin, an attack that Jynx is weak against, giving May the advantage she needs to win! Afterward, Erica and Joshua promise to keep training separately so they can become great rivals as well as great partners. May and her friends say goodbye, then it's off to the Grand Festival and the Hoenn League!

The kids are now headed to Slateport City. But while eating berries, Ash bites into a Tamato Berry and burns his mouth! They reach a Pokémon Center and Ash goes off to practice Ice Beam with Snorunt, while May goes off to make PokéBlock. In the garden, Team Rocket is trimming hedges to earn money, but they're stepped on by an unrepentant Munchlax. They notice the Berry Blenders and get an idea. Brock and Max watch people make PokéBlock. May comes in with her killer top-secret recipe for PokéBlock: May's Purple Surprise! But it tastes terrible to Brock and Max. The Pokémon also hate it. But Munchlax wanders in and loves it! Team Rocket shows up dressed as professional PokéBlock tasters who claim to know all the secrets. Meowth and Wobbuffet then steal the PokéBlock while everyone's distracted. Oddly enough, Jessie also likes May's PokéBlock. But then the kids notice all of the PokéBlocks are missing and they blame it on Munchlax. It goes out into the garden and eats all the berries, but May stands up for it to the other kids. She tries to capture Munchlax but nothing works. James bites into a Tamato Berry and runs away in pain; the kids see him and realize he must be a fake. Backed into a corner, Team Rocket grabs Pikachu. Munchlax jumps into the Team Rocket balloon to eat all the PokéBlock. With Snorunt's help, the kids defeat the thieves. May tries to catch Munchlax; she throws the ball but Munchlax eats it. But it works, and she now has a new friend!

Our friends have stopped to eat, but Munchlax won't stop eating! Ash is training when he sees a sandwich come rolling down a hill, and Munchlax gulps down the sandwich. That's how Ash ends up meeting Morrison, the sandwich's owner, who decides to have a Pokémon battle with Ash: his Beldum against Ash's Pikachu! Pikachu's Iron Tail and Beldum's Take Down are evenly matched--it's a tie! After the battle, Morrison, who plans to enter the Hoenn League tournament, shows off his seven badges. When Ash tells him he needs eight badges to enter, he runs off to find a Gym. But since there's no Gym on the island, he ends up at the same Pokémon Center that Ash and his friends are staying at. The two Trainers constantly compete over everything, even which spot they're going to train in! Just as they reach a truce, however, Team Rocket kidnaps Pikachu and Beldum. Though they have no other Pokémon with them, Ash and Morrison chase the thieves down, then battle Team Rocket's Seviper and Cacnea by themselves! Pikachu and Beldum are freed and with their help, Team Rocket is quickly sent blasting off again. Now Ash is headed to Slateport with his friends, but as Morrison goes off to earn his eighth badge, the two rivals promise to meet each other again at Ever Grande!

May is traveling to Slateport City in style: onboard a giant cruise ship that has the Grand Festival's prize Ribbon Cup on display! Officer Jenny reveals that even though Team Magma and Team Aqua have disbanded, a former Team Magma member--Brodie the Phantom Thief--is onboard and intent on stealing valuables. When May goes to see the Ribbon Cup, Munchlax bumps the display case, breaking the Cup and revealing that it's a fake. And without the Cup, the Grand Festival will be called off! Brodie must have stolen it, so a "Golden Poké Ball" is put on display as a lure. Disguised as the Captain, Brodie distracts May and her friends and steals the Poké Ball, but Officer Jenny had a tracking device installed in it and they set off in hot pursuit. They chase Brodie through the ship, finally cornering him on deck. Brodie has now disguised himself as Officer Jenny and the only way to distinguish between the two is with Brock's keen eye for lovely ladies. Once his ruse is rumbled, he escapes and Team Rocket tries for the Ribbon Cup instead. But Officer Jenny and Ash are up to the job, and Team Rocket's plans are thwarted.

May aims to win the title of Top Coordinator.

May has arrived in Slateport City for the Grand Festival. Her mother, Caroline, has come to cheer her on, and her friends sent notes to wish her luck. With 247 competitors in the preliminary matches and only 64 slots in the main competition round, May will need more than just luck--especially when Drew and Harley are among the competitors, too! Harley is friendly towards May, but her friends are suspicious of the advice he gives her. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has dressed James up as Norman and offers free counseling sessions. When Trainers show up, their Pokémon are stolen! Harley sees this and drags May off to see "Norman." When she and her friends see the false Norman, Team Rocket's number is up. With Team Rocket's plan foiled, it's back to the competition. May uses Silver Wind just as Harley suggested, and it works great. She advances to the next round along with Harley and Drew. But Drew is still skeptical of Harley's motives as they prepare for the main competition.

The Grand Festival is underway in Slateport. Harley asks May if they can train together for the main competition, and May agrees. She's not the only one training; Ash is also training Snorunt, but its Ice Beam hits a Pokémon coordinator named Anthony. Anthony was planning to compete in the Grand Festival with his Swalot... until three people stole his ribbons! The first round of the main competition begins with single Pokémon performances. Harley shows off his scary Banette as Jessie prepares to take the stage--as Anthony! She took his ribbons and disguised herself as him, but Officer Jenny, Ash, and the real Anthony are all waiting for her. Before she can get in a fight, James and Meowth exercise the better part of valor and drag her away. Now it's May's turn. Following Harley's advice, she has Skitty use Assist over and over, until Skitty performs a Petal Dance and confuses itself! Harley is delighted; Drew, who overhears him, is not. May orders Skitty to Double Slap itself back to normal and finish off with an impressive Blizzard. She apologizes to Harley for going against his advice, but Drew reveals that Harley was only pretending to be her friend to sabotage her. Drew and his Masquerain receive perfect scores for their performance, as does Robert and his Milotic. May just makes it into the second round, where she'll face Harley in a double-battle!

May and Harley face off in the main competition of the Grand Festival! It's Harley's Banette and Cacturne against May's Beautifly and Bulbasaur. May's team gets in the first hits, but Harley makes a comeback and it takes some quick thinking for May to beat Harley and move onto the semifinals. Elsewhere, Jessie wants to impersonate a coordinator and sneak into the competition. Team Rocket decides to kidnap Robert, but Ash interrupts them as they make their move. Snorunt is hit by Team Rocket's Pokémon and evolves into a Glalie! Jessie thinks it's adorable, James thinks it's creepy, but either way, Glalie easily sends them packing. Back on the stage, May defeats Anthony's Pinsir and Combusken, but her next opponent will be an even greater challenge: Drew! And Drew has brought a Flygon he trained especially for the competition. Flygon and Roselia are up against Combusken and Skitty. It's a close fight but Roselia hits May's Pokémon with Stun Spore, followed by a Steel Wing from Flygon, and takes the win. Now it's Drew and Robert in the finals. To May's surprise, Robert earns the victory and wins the Festival. But Drew isn't upset--that night, even though there's a party, he goes right back to training. Impressed by his example, May sets her sights on next year's Grand Festival!

Ash is ready to board the ferry to Ever Grande City when May comes running up--she's won four plane tickets to Ever Grande! Except once the kids are onboard, the flight crew turns out to be Team Rocket in disguise, and the plane is headed for Team Rocket headquarters! Now if only Team Rocket had thought to fill up the fuel tank first... Out of fuel, the plane makes an emergency landing on an island in the middle of the ocean. As Ash and his friends exit the plane, they meet Robin, a traveling salesman who's been stranded on the island for ages. Luckily, he also made a Wailmer friend to help him out! But Wailmer wasn't strong enough to carry Robin past the whirlpools that surround Wailmer Island, as Robin now calls it. Team Rocket tries to swim for it themselves, and find out firsthand how dangerous the whirlpools are! Brock realizes that with help from their Pokémon, the group can convert the airplane to a ship. Once the ship is finished, Team Rocket grabs Pikachu and steals the ship, but once again they've forgotten about the need for fuel. The ship ends up wrecked in a whirlpool, and Wailmer helps Ash save Pikachu just in time. Together, Wailmer and Pikachu stop Team Rocket, and Wailmer evolves into a huge Wailord! Now Wailord is strong enough to carry Robin, Ash, and his friends through the whirlpools and safely back to the ferry. But Robin, who realizes he never truly enjoyed his job in the city, decides to return to Wailmer Island with Wailord and live life to the fullest. As he departs, Ash and company turn their sights towards Ever Grande and the Hoenn League competition two weeks away!

Ash and his friends have finally arrived in Ever Grande city for the Hoenn League Championships, but they're mobbed by a group of Murkrow as they're looking for a place to eat. A snappily-dressed Meowth and its Trainer, Tyson, jump into save the day. After introductions and a friendly lunch together, it's time to see the torch carried to the stadium. Tyson himself turns out to be the torch bearer! While Tyson heads for the stadium, Ash makes his preparations for the Hoenn league and wonders where Morrison is. Team Rocket is also making their preparations--to steal the torch, which burns with a legendary flame! When Tyson brings the torch to a storage room before the ceremonies, a disguised Team Rocket grabs the torch and runs! Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and our heroes all give chase and finally corner Team Rocket. Tyson's Meowth seizes the torch and dares Team Rocket's Meowth to try and take it back. Meowth, its pride wounded, takes up the challenge, but is quickly defeated by its new rival before Team Rocket is sent blasting off as usual. With the torch recovered, now the Hoenn League championships can get underway!

Where's Morrison? That's the question on Ash's mind as he trains his Pokémon in preparation for the big tournament in Ever Grande City. When Morrison finally makes his appearance, he and Ash immediately start up their friendly rivalry again, which leads to them falling into a Team Rocket pit trap! Tyson and his Meowth in boots show up just in time to help out--Tyson's Meowth defeats Team Rocket's Meowth once more, using Iron Tail to send the villains flying. Once everyone is registered for the tournament, the one-on-one preliminary rounds get underway. Morrison and Beldum face a Trainer with an Electabuzz, and Morrison is relying solely on Beldum's Take Down attack. This doesn't work too well until Beldum evolves into Metang and wins the match. As for Tyson, his Meowth takes some hits from a Persian, then comes back to win its first round. But once Persian is knocked out, Meowth charges after it and Tyson must recall it to its Poké Ball. Tyson later explains why his Meowth is so troubled. When he met Meowth, it was lying hurt in a forest after a Persian defeated it in a battle for leadership. Tyson took care of Meowth, which was how it got its boots--originally they were just to help protect its injured legs. But to this day it still has a grudge against Persian. And now it's Ash's turn to battle! Pikachu handily wins its round, so all three Trainers can look forward to their next challenge in the Hoenn League.

The preliminaries are over, and now the Hoenn League Championships begin in earnest! The qualifying round is all double battles, and Ash goes to watch Morrison's match against muscleman Gavin. Morrison's Growlithe and Gligar are up against Marowak and Machamp, and no punches are pulled in this all-out battle! It's not looking good for Morrison until Gligar uses Guillotine to knock Machamp out. But Marowak defeats Growlithe, and Gligar finally wins. Ash is jogging along after the match, minding his own business, when he falls into another Team Rocket pit trap. But just as they finish their motto, their new boss catches them in the act and shouts at them to get back to work. Team Rocket runs away and Ash wonders what's going on, but not for long--he's up next in the qualifying round! Ash sends out Torkoal and Corphish. His opponent Dominic sends out Swalot and Tropius, which may grant him an aerial advantage. But Ash's trusty Torkoal gives it all it's got, and takes down Tropius in a double KO. As for Swalot, its resilient body resists Corphish's attacks. Finally Corphish charges in, throws Swalot, and gets up close and personal to deliver a Bubble Beam that knocks its opponent out! Tyson has also won his first match, and now our Trainers move on to round 2!

Ash, Tyson, and Morrison are all aiming for the top of the Hoenn League, but first they have to qualify for the Victory Tournament stage of the competition. In the third and final double battle qualification round, Ash sends out Glalie and Groyle against Clark, a conductor with two strong Fire-type Pokémon--Charizard and Quilava. Grovyle and Quilava are knocked out first, and it's an icy hot battle as Charizard and Glalie battle for victory! Thanks to Ash's quick thinking, Glalie bounces back for the win. Morrison and Tyson advance to the Victory Tournament, too. In fact, the only ones not getting anywhere are Team Rocket. It's hard to steal Pikachu when they're busy selling snacks at the stadium, but honest work has its rewards... a delicious dinner they didn't even have to steal! Meanwhile, the Trainers have a day off to see the sights and do some extra training. Now the Victory Tournament begins: 32 competitors, one winner! Ash's first opponent is Katie, a strategic Trainer who takes full advantage of type weaknesses and strengths. She starts out with Venomoth, but switches in Golduck to put Ash's Torkoal out of the match. Next up is Pikachu, but Katie counters with Dugtrio and sends Pikachu flying! Glalie knocks out Dugtrio, but is stopped by Misdreavus and its Destiny Bond attack. With Ash down three Pokémon and Katie only down two, will he be able to hang on to this match?

The first round of the Victory Tournament finds Ash in a tight spot. He has three Pokémon remaining; Katie, his opponent, has four. Katie's Golduck faces Corphish on a water field and uses its attack to confuse Corphish. Luckily, even confused, Corphish is one tough Pokémon! Its haphazard attacks manage to defeat Golduck. Then it's a tense series of battles as Ash rallies and knocks out all of Katie's Pokémon until only her Walrein remains! Walrein knocks out Swellow and Corphish with no problem, but Ash's spur of the moment tactics and Groyvle's fighting ability are still a force to be reckoned with. Walrein's Ice Beam has the side effect of freezing over the water, which means it can no longer dive to avoid attacks, and Grovyle takes full advantage of the situation to strike fast and hard. Victory to Ash! The next round draw is completed, and to their mutual shock, Ash and Morrison will be battling each other. Morrison runs off, stunned by the thought of battling his friend. And where has Team Rocket been all this time? Still working hard to sell snacks at the stadium! Their boss will even take them out for dinner if things keep going well. Will the promise of food actually keep Team Rocket out of trouble? The next day, Morrison and Ash begin their match. Morrison doesn't have the heart to battle, and his Girafarig is quickly beaten by Corphish. Will he recover in time to make it a good match, or will this experience affect his friendship with Ash?

Morrison and Ash are battling each other in the Hoenn League, and Morrison is so upset he can't bring himself to choose his next Pokémon after his Girafarig is knocked out! He's almost disqualified before he decides to send Growlithe out against Ash's Corphish. But Morrison doesn't have Growlithe attack, and his Pokémon is quickly knocked out. Ash angrily demands to know why Morrison isn't fighting, which makes Morrison realize his Pokémon are counting on him to give it his best, too. He rallies and brings out Swampert--both it and Corphish unleash their strongest attacks, resulting in a double KO! It's time for a battlefield change and Morrison apologizes to Ash. Then, Pikachu and Morrison's Steelix take to the grass battlefield. Another head-to-head battle results in Pikachu out of the match, and Torkoal is defeated as well! It's up to Grovyle to beat Steelix, but Morrison's agile Gligar gets the better of their aerial battle. Gligar and Ash's Swellow have another double KO, so this match will be decided by Glalie and Metang. Some clever strategy wins the day for Ash, who becomes one of only 8 semifinalists! Elsewhere, Team Rocket's work as snack sellers pays off when their boss takes them to the all-you-can-eat buffet as a reward. But is he making a big mistake in trusting them? And Ash and Tyson will face each other in the semifinals, in a match that begins with a real bang!

It's the battle between Ash and Tyson to decide who moves on to the final four of the Hoenn League, and Glalie and Sceptile are already out! Tyson's Shiftry is ill-matched against Ash's Torkoal and its fiery attacks, but Tyson sends in Hariyama to beat the heat and defeat Torkoal. Corphish is next, but Hariyama defeats it too! At the halftime break, Morrison tries to give Ash a pep talk. When the match resumes, Swellow and Hariyama battle until Swellow is the victor. Swellow then goes on to beat Tyson's Donphan, but Tyson has a powerful Metagross waiting! Despite Swellow's determination, Metagross knocks it out--but Swellow did some damage, and Ash sends Grovyle out to hammer on that weak spot. Grovyle still can't stop Metagross but Pikachu finishes the job, so Tyson sends out the ace up his sleeve: his Meowth! Team Rocket's Meowth cheers its fellow Pokémon on from the stands. Tyson's Meowth can counter Pikachu's Thunderbolt with one of its own, so the battle comes down to Iron Tail vs Iron Tail. Exhausted, both Pokémon finally fall to the ground, and though they get back up, Pikachu cannot continue. Team Rocket's Meowth is delighted, but not for long--Jessie and James have been caught stealing Pokémon by their new boss, who sends all three flying! Tyson goes on to win the Hoenn League and Ash, happy that he battled his best, can now look forward to his next big adventure.

The gang splits up and heads for their separate homes. While passing through Viridian City, Ash has a battle with Agatha, a member of the Elite Four. After the battle, an agent, named Scott, tells Ash about the Battle Frontier.

Max and May come to visit Ash in Pallet Town, along with Misty and Brock, and they all make plans for another journey together-this time, to the Battle Frontier.

While traveling toward Mount Moon, the gang run into Team Rocket, once again. After a fierce battle with them, Misty, Max, and Pikachu become separated from the group.

The Battle Factory is Ash's next destination--if he can find it, that is. He and his friends have become lost, but they see snow and an Articuno flying overhead, followed by a plane in distress. The group winds up at a Pokémon Center, where Scott gives them a ride to the Battle Factory. There they meet Noland, who's not just the Factory Head but also a bit of a mechanical mastermind, and the pilot of the plane they saw last night. Ash can pick which of Noland's Pokémon he wants to battle. Noland has befriended an Articuno whom he helped once, and he takes Max and Pikachu up in his plane to fly with the Legendary Pokémon. Team Rocket wants Articuno for themselves, and they show up in their own plane to steal it. It's no match for Articuno, who quickly sends them on their way. Impressed, Ash decides he wants to battle Articuno. What's more, he wants to battle it with Charizard! It looks like this is shaping up to be quite a match...

Ash has opted to battle Articuno with Charizard in his Battle Factory match. Now he's busy training with Charizard, who has gotten even stronger during its time in the Charicific Valley. Team Rocket, secretly watching from the roof of the Battle Factory, are hopeful they can snatch the impressive Pokémon for themselves. But when the battle gets underway, the roof of the Battle Factory opens and they fall into the main chamber where everyone can see them. Articuno and Charizard waste no time in clearing out the intruders before Noland and Ash get down to business. This Articuno is tough and knows a Water-type attack, so Charizard is in for a rough time. The two Pokémon wage a fast-paced flying battle that looks like it might end in Noland's favor as Articuno ices up Charizard's wing. Good thing for Ash that Charizard has a new trick in store: Overheat! Articuno also packs a powerful Steel Wing, but Charizard grabs it mid-attack and turns the move into a Seismic Toss. Articuno tries to get back up and battle, to no avail. Ash is awarded the Knowledge Symbol along with a Frontier Folio to hold his Battle Frontier Symbols, and Noland congratulates him on a battle well-fought. Next stop, the Battle Arena!

Ash's Battle Factory victory has him eager to reach the next Battle Frontier stop right away, but even he has to stop for food and water. Munchlax takes care of the Pokémon food by eating it all, which sets off a squabble that disturbs the local Geodude. The Geodude chase Ash and May's Pokémon, and some of them are separated in the commotion. Ash and May have to find their missing Pokémon! An Onix leads the Rock-type Pokémon that live in the area, and they're none too happy about the intruders. Team Rocket sees this and convinces Onix that Ash and his friends are up to no good. Phanpy and Squirtle reunite with Pikachu, Corphish, and then Munchlax, but they're captured by Rock Pokémon working with Team Rocket. Elsewhere, Brock is captured as well! Ash finds Onix and Team Rocket, but now all his friends and their Pokémon have been snagged! Ash tries to tell Onix that he's not a villain, and Onix decides that they'll battle. If Ash wins, his friends go free. If Ash loses... well, he'd better win! Ash choses Grovyle, who has a type advantage against Onix, and wins the round. Team Rocket tries plan B: steal all the Pokémon outright. But Ash tells Grovyle to defend Onix against their attack, and it's clear now who the good guys are. May and the others are freed, and together everyone protects the wild Pokémon from Team Rocket. Once the villains are sent flying, Onix makes amends by giving our heroes an escorted ride out of its valley.

On their way to the Battle Arena, Ash and his friends are snagged by a net trap. But for once, it's not Team Rocket--it's a fellow named Mitch and his Loudred, and they're tyring to catch Jigglypuff! Mitch used to be a company executive until his daughter Lisa requested a Jigglypuff for her birthday, and for six months he's been in the woods trying to get one. Every Jigglypuff comes to tease him, and every day Jigglypuff gets away scot free. Plus, Lisa's birthday is tomorrow! Ash decides to help Mitch out, but Jigglypuff puts everyone to sleep, even Team Rocket. What's more, it's tough, and it's not impressed when they try to lure it with food! So they trick it into battling Loudred and using Rollout, which rolls it right into the cabin--now covered in sound-reflecting panels. Pikachu battles Jigglypuff until it uses Sing, and the echoes of its attack put it to sleep. Now Mitch can catch Jigglypuff, but he realizes it belongs in the forest after all. He and the kids return to town, where Lisa is happy to have her dad home even if he didn't bring a Jigglypuff. Just then, Jigglypuff comes flying in, angry at Mitch for leaving. It turns out that Jigglypuff liked playing with Mitch, and it decides to stick around. So now Lisa has two new Pokémon friends!

May and Ash are waiting on line outside a popular bakery when an Arcanine runs past. May wants to catch it, but she sees that Drew is chasing it too! Thanks to Extremespeed, Arcanine easily escapes. May catches up to it while it's eating and sends out Combusken, but Arcanine outruns her Pokémon. So Ash and his friends stop to ask a woodsman about Arcanine, and he points them to locations where it sometimes appears--but he also told Drew the same information about an hour ago. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has been fired from the bakery for eating the merchandise, and a combination of Wobbuffet and hunger leads them to a Pecha grove. Ash and his friends are waiting in the grove; when Arcanine shows up, they send it towards May and Squirtle. Arcanine uses Roar on Squirtle, and May sends out Munchlax to use Metronome. Metronome gives Munchlax Extremespeed, speed it uses to eat all the Pecha berries. By the time Team Rocket arrives, the trees have been picked clean! They do spot Arcanine, however, and decide to nab it for the boss. May and Drew again run into each other on a high ledge and see Arcanine run off again. Irate, May challenges Drew to see who gets Arcanine, and Drew's Flygon quickly defeats May's Squirtle. Both Coordinators chase after Arcanine anyway, only to find it feeding Pecha berries to its young Growlithe. Team Rocket kidnaps Arcanine and the Growlithe, but Drew and May team up to free them and defeat Team Rocket. May and Drew then decide not to break up Arcanine's family, and they let it go on its way. Drew goes on his way too, but not before he tells May to try the Pokémon Contest in Saffron City. Excited, our heroes set their sights on their next destination!

A Psyduck is frantically running from a Machop, Machoke, and Machamp when it hurls headlong into Ash and friends, on their way to the Pokémon Contest in Saffron City. Ash sends out Phanpy, who drives off the three Superpower Pokémon. Brock feeds the Psyduck, who makes fast friends with Phanpy and Pikachu. Meanwhile, the Superpower Pokémon trio returns to their Trainer, a rich girl named Emily who orders them not to return unless they have Psyduck in tow. They dutifully head out again. The kids and Psyduck walk along until they reach a hill where a disguised Team Rocket coerces them into trying out "grass-sledding." But as they're coasting down the grassy hill, Jessie activates a trap that sends the kids barreling around like pinballs and then Meowth catches Psyduck and Phanpy in a net. Team Rocket begins to escape with the two Pokémon using their balloon, but Machop, Machoke, and Machamp show up just in time to pull them back down. Team Rocket is sent blasting off, and Emily arrives to take her Psyduck home. Back at Emily's mansion, everyone notices that despite the posh surroundings, Psyduck is not happy there. Ash and May have a practice battle on the grounds, and they find out that Emily never lets Psyduck battle. Brock speculates that it's lonely. Team Rocket shows up again, and this time Psyduck eagerly steps up to the plate to drive them off. Emily doesn't know how to battle, so Max gives her some advice. Psyduck holds its own against Cacnea, Seviper, and Meowth, just before Pikachu sends the thieves off with Thunderbolt. Emily realizes that she needs to bond with her Pokémon more, and considers going on her own Pokémon journey as the kids resume their own travels.

Chasing after a hungry Munchlax, Ash and his friends end up at Rhonda's, a restaurant run by a girl named Rhonda with Mr. Mime as its head chef. Team Rocket stumbles across another restaurant, Rhoda's, run by a girl named Rhoda with Sneasel as its head chef. Meowth quickly takes a disliking to Sneasel, but Jessie and James want it for Team Rocket. Back at Rhonda's, Mr. Mime puts on a fantastic show for Ash and company, but the food is terrible. Over at Rhoda's, Sneasel's food looks terrible, but it tastes fantastic--except for Meowth's, because Sneasel purposely made him a horrible meal. The two start to fight, breaking through the restaurant wall and right into Rhonda's. Rhonda and Rhoda are actually twin sisters who split up the family restaurant; Rhoda accuses Rhonda, and they challenge each other to see who deserves to run the place. Team Rocket coaches Sneasel while Brock advises Mr. Mime, and after a night's practice it's time to allez cuisine! Mr. Mime's presentation is great, but now Sneasel also puts on a show. It looks like a close battle until Team Rocket steals the chefs and Pikachu too! Team Rocket hops in their balloon to make a getaway, but Rhonda tells Mr. Mime to use Trick and Psychic. This frees all three Pokémon, who head home and send Team Rocket packing along the way. Impressed, Rhoda leaves the restaurant to Rhonda. But Rhonda makes Rhoda co-manager and Sneasel the head chef; with everyone working together, the restaurant is now better than ever! And after a wonderful meal, Ash and his friends can happily continue on their way.

On their way to Saffron City, Ash and his friends encounter a Caterpie and its Trainer-in-training, Xander, who mistakes them for lab robbers. Fortunately, Dr. Gordon, the lab owner and Xander's teacher, shows up and things are sorted out. The kids visit Dr. Gordon's lab, where he makes all kinds of strange inventions. Of course, Team Rocket wants to steal them all! Caterpie helps catch them in the act, but in the process, Dr. Gordon's briefcase opens and blue candies roll out. Caterpie eats some and grows until it's big enough to send Team Rocket blasting off. The Mystery Candy Complete keeps Caterpie growing until it's bigger than a building! The giant Caterpie heads into town as people flee in a panic. Climbing the local radio tower, it then evolves into Metapod. Elsewhere, Team Rocket discovers that Wobbuffet stole some Mystery Candy too, so they head back into town and kidnap Dr. Gordon. The Candy makes Dustox and Cacnea huge--Dustox is so big that Team Rocket hops on its back and flies away with Dr. Gordon! Metapod evolves into a giant Butterfree just in time for Ash and Xander to give chase. After some aerial maneuvers, Dustox suddenly shrinks back to normal size. Butterfree catches it but Team Rocket plummets into a pond. No sooner do they emerge than Officer Jenny arrives with Ash's friends, and when Team Rocket puts up a fight, Pikachu and Butterfree send them on their way once more. Eventually Butterfree returns to normal size too, and Ash says farewell to Xander and his newly-evolved friend--as well as Dr. Gordon, who's now more enthusiastic about his inventions than ever!

May and friends arrive in Saffron City, where May is so excited about the upcoming Pokémon Contest that she heads straight for the Contest Hall. She sees people going in to check out the hall, so she goes inside too. On stage is a woman who looks suspiciously like Vivian from the Hoenn region, practicing with an Espeon. May's Squirtle gets so excited that it runs on stage. It turns out that the woman is actually Lillian, Vivian's younger sister. May takes her Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for a check-up, and is surprised to meet Nurse Joy's new assistant--Harley! Harley is overwhelmingly nice to May, and even tells her that she can switch Pokémon during the contest, which turns out to be true. Harley also tells her that she can register with her Hoenn Contest Pass until 11 the next day--which isn't true. But May believes him since he was telling the truth before. Meanwhile, a disguised Jessie registers for the Pokémon Contest, and asks James if she can borrow Cacnea. But when Jessie tries to form a bond with Cacnea, it ends up getting stuck in her hair and James and Meowth rush her to the Pokémon Center. At the PC, they get the idea to steal everyone else's Pokémon so Jessie can win by default. May and Ash begin to battle outside when James and Meowth fly over in their balloon and start snatching Pokémon. May ends up teaming up with Harley to free the Pokémon, and even more unexpected help comes from Squirtle, who uses a newly-learned Ice Beam to send the thieves blasting off. When May finally goes to register, she turns out to be too late. Luckily, Lillian happens to be walking by, and after hearing mention of May's heroics, the attendant lets her register for the contest.

The contest in Saffron City is about to begin! Harley ends up apologizing to May, but it rings hollow given his history of hating May. He goes first, and really impresses the crowd with his Cacturne's combination of Cotton Spore and Needle Arm. A disguised Jessie comes up to the stage, impressing and horrifying the crowd when she embraces James' Cacnea, followed by a firework-laden Pin Missile. May brings Combusken up, performing a great combination of Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut. All three of them make it to the next round. Jessie and Harley are opponents next, and Jessie's strategy is to send in Wobbuffet knowing that its defensive moves could knock out Harley's Ariados. Harley is quite aware of this, and orders his Pokémon to do nothing. Frustrated and annoyed, Lillian issues them yellow cards, knocking down their points. Harley finally strikes, using String Shot to tie up Wobbuffet and move it like a helpless puppet. Eventually Wobbuffet is thrown in the air and knocked out of battle. May makes through her next battle fine, and faces Harley in the finals. May has elected to use Squirtle, and the little Pokémon has a rough start, especially when it uses an Ice Beam that is too strong for it! Harley tries String Shot again, stringing up Squirtle near the ceiling. Ariados then uses Spider Web to cover the entire stage. May orders Squirtle to use Ice Beam again, which frees it from the Spider Web and freezes the stage--and Ariados! With the Bug-and-Poison-type out of the way, May wins the Saffron Ribbon. May is thrilled, and Ash is hyped for his next Frontier battle.

Before they leave Saffron City, the kids have different things they want to check out. May and Brock want to try some awesome noodles. Ash and Max want to check out a Fighting-type Pokémon dojo. Unable to fully agree, the two groups split up. May and Brock arrive at the noodle place only to see the chef, Kyle, being dragged away by a girl named Terri. May, desperate for food, follows them with Brock. Meanwhile, Team Rocket have come up with their own noodle cart scheme, but abandon it when they see Ash and Max headed for the dojo. At the dojo, Ash and Max are quickly drafted by Master Hamm into being students at the dojo, even though they just wanted a demonstration. Terri happens to drag Kyle in while Ash, Max, and Pikachu are cleaning the dojo's floors. After May and Brock arrive, it is finally explained that Kyle is the son of Master Hamm, and that Hamm wants Kyle to take over the dojo. Kyle would rather make noodles. Unwilling to compromise, they decide to have a Pokémon battle to sort it out. Master Hamm's back gives out as they start, so Ash offers to take his place. Kyle doesn't like this, so May takes Kyle's place. Ash and May both practice, using Master Hamm and Kyle's Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. They soon begin a formal battle, but are interrupted by Team Rocket, determined to steal the Fighting-type Pokémon. Terri steps in with her Hitmontop, freeing Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan just before Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off. Everyone is disappointed that the battle wasn't finished, and Kyle admits he's been trying to make noodles as good as his father's all along. Terri offers to take over the dojo, since it happens that managing a dojo like that was her dream. It turns out that Master Hamm's dream was to sell noodles from a cart. In the end, everyone gets what they want, including May, who gets to try some delicious noodles made by Master Hamm!

Ash and friends wander into a ghost town, where they try to help settle a dispute between a group of Ghost-type Pokémon and a group of Psychic-type Pokémon.

When James' Chimecho falls ill, he brings it to his old mansion to recover. May's Munchlax is also sick and an old man and woman bring it to the same mansion Team Rocket is at. Jessie and Meowth then decide to steal all the Pokémon in the garden while the others are taking care of Chimecho and Munchlax... Afterwards, James is force to leave Chimecho behind so it can recover..

When Brock's Mudkip evolves into a Marshtomp, it accidentally injures a Flaaffy with a wayward Mud Shot. Brock apologizes profusely to Flaaffy's Trainer, Mariah, and offers to go get some medicine, but Mariah has a better idea. She takes our heroes to meet her grandmother, Katie, whose specialty is making Pokémon medicines that are in big demand by Pokémon Trainers everywhere. This of course includes Team Rocket...although their only demand is to steal everything they can from Katie, including her entire medicine supply! They're unsuccessful, thanks in large part to Katie's other employee, a young man named McCauley, who displays surprising courage when he teams up with Mariah to stand up to Team Rocket. Katie, much impressed with her two brave employees, decides to retire and let them take over the business. In the process, Mariah and McCauley discover that they have feelings for each other--much to Brock's disappointment!

Finally, it's time for Ash's second frontier battle. The Battle Arena's frontier brain, Greta, won't give up her Guts Symbol without a fight. Will Ash be able to beat Greta in a double battle using his Grovyle and Snorlax against her Medicham and Hariyama?

As they continue towards the Battle Dome and May's 2nd contest, Ash and co. happen upon a farm dedicated to raising Pokémon eggs when May accidently falls into a group of Voltorb protecting it. They meet a young girl, Nicolette, who takes care of the farm with her parents, Christopher and Jeannie. However, Nicolette's true dream is to venture out into the world and become a Pokémon Coordinator. The only problem is, as her parents tell the group, she doesn't feel ready to leave the farm behind. While May contends with Nicolette's jealousy at her actually being a coordinator, Team Rocket works on a plan to poach every egg for themselves.

May competes against a former rock'n'roll guitarist and band leader in the Silver Town Pokémon Contest for her second Kanto ribbon!

Still heading to the Battle Dome and Ash's 3rd symbol, the gang decides to stop at a pond and go fishing. Unfortunately, the place is deserted and the owner of the shop says that a rich man wants to buy the lake to turn it into a resort paradise. Ash, not willing to stand and do nothing decides to fight the man who wants the lake and his Crawdaunt. Will he be able to defeat Crawdaunt with his Corphish or will the lake be the man's to keep?

Ash Ketchum arrives at the Battle Dome, and challenges Dome Ace Tucker to a battle. Tucker gives Ash one of the toughest challenges of his life. Can Ash overcome the superb tactics of Tucker and win his 3rd Frontier Symbol?

Ash wins his third Battle Frontier symbol, the Tactics Symbol. On their way to the next Battle place the Battle Pike, Ash and friends encounter an Elekid. After an accident, May's Egg becomes stuck in Elekid's antenna and it runs off. Now Ash and the others must find Elekid and get May's Egg back... Meanwhile, Ash's Phanpy evolves into a Donphan.

The Mythical Pokémon Celebi has been injured in the forest, and Ash and friends, along with a Pokémon Ranger, nurse Celebi back to health.

Ash and friends have arrived at Ninja School, where they meet a Bonsly who cries a lot and that does not get along with the other pokemon at the school. Then Team Rocket appears and decides to capture all of the Pokémon at the school. later in the episode Brock captures the Bonsly.

Ash and friends have arrived at Fuschia City for Ash's fourth Battle Frontier battle. But May's Squirtle seems to have vanished. The frightened May began searching for her Squirtle. Meanwhile, May arrives at a mysterious old station, where she meets an old woman, named Kuni. She has not been able to comprehend her husband Isao's death in a faraway town many decades ago, and has hence waited at the station ever since. Will May be able to save Isao's life...?