Ash and co. have made it close to the Battle Pike. They walk out of the Pokémon Center ready for the challenge. Bonsly begins to cry because it hasn't been fed. Ash wonders where May is at. Max tells him that May wanted to show her new Eevee the ocean. Max runs off to find May. Ash and Pikachu head down towards the Battle Pike.

May and Eevee gaze at the beautiful and calm ocean. May mentions to Eevee how smart it is and how they will win contests together. Max calls for May telling her that they have to go to the Battle Pike. Ash and Pikachu arrive at a place with a large snake as a mascot. James and Meowth, disguised as Lucy's assistants, welcomes him into the building. Jessie, disguised as Lucy, comes out. Ash challenges her to a battle. James gets out a container. He tells Ash to put Pikachu inside it because it supposedly purifies electric type Pokémon.

Brock has just finished feeding Bonsly. Bonsly is feeling better. May and Max catch up with Brock. May apologizes for keeping him waiting. Three girls walks up to them asking for Ash. Brock tells them that Ash already went to the Battle Pike to challenge Lucy, the Frontier Brain. A girl named Barbera gets mad at Ash for leaving to see Lucy early. Scott appears at the scene. He greets Brock, May, and Max. He says that Lucy took the day off so he came to hang out with the girls. Suddenly, Lucy arrives next to the girls. She tells Barbera to quit treating her guests like crap. Brock falls in love with Lucy immediately. Lucy blushes as she sees Brock in the eyes. However, Max drags Brock away again.

Ash puts Pikachu in the container. As soon as the container closes with Pikachu inside, a net is sprunged down onto Ash. Team Rocket reveals themselves by saying their motto. The whole building crashes and Team Rocket's balloon comes up. The real Battle Pike building is shown behind Team Rocket's fake one. Pikachu tries a Thunderbolt to escape from the container, but the attack doesn't work. Suddenly, Lucy shows up and throws a fake flower at the balloon. The balloon explodes. The container falls out of Meowth's hands and is opened in midair. Ash catches Pikachu. Team Rocket falls to the ground. May tells Ash that Lucy is the Frontier Brain. Ash wants to team up with Lucy to get rid of Team Rocket, however Lucy wants to handle it herself. Jessie sends out Seviper to battle. Lucy also sends out a Seviper. Both Sevipers use Poison Tail against each other. Lucy's Seviper has more strength in it, and it throws Jessie's Seviper backwards. Then Lucy's Seviper fires a Flamethrower at Team Rocket causing them to blast off again.

Ash thanks Lucy for helping him out. Brock says that the Battle Pike is unfortunately close and that they will have to come back the next day. Lucy blushes at Brock's words, so she says that the Battle Pike is always open to "good friends." Since she considers Ash and co. good friends, Ash can battle Lucy today.

Ash notices that battlefield immediately when he arrives at the Battle Pike. The field is covered with land and water. Each person can use up to two Pokémon. The battle begins. Lucy sends out Seviper and Ash sends out Donphan. Donphan starts off with Take Down, however Seviper counters the attack with Poison Tail. Both Pokémon look evenly matched. Next, Seviper uses Bite, but Donphan protects itself with Defense Curl, then it hits Seviper with a Rollout attack. Donphan comes back again with a second Rollout. Seviper dodges the attack and directly hits Donphan with Poison Tail. Donphan recovers from Seviper's attack. It uses another Rollout. Seviper attacks Donphan with a Flamethrower. Again, Donphan recovers from the attack. Ash tries to think of something else to defeat Seviper. He tells Donphan to use Hyper Beam. Donphan charges up for the attack. While Donphan is charging up, Seviper hits it with a Poison Tail. Donphan still manages to have the attack ready, and it fires the attack at Seviper. Seviper does not dodge the attack. Instead it uses the water to prevent the attack from hitting itself. Seviper fires another Flamethrower towards Donphan. Donphan dodges and uses Rollout. However, while Donphan is charging towards Seviper, Seviper turns Donphan into a fire ball with Flamethrower. Donphan doesn't give up. It still charges towards Seviper. Seviper jumps up right before Donphan can hit it. Surprisingly, Donphan curves up a nearby rock and hits Seviper from behind. Seviper is knocked out.

The three girls are disappointed that Lucy lost. Brock cheers for Lucy by telling her that she can win. Lucy blushes at Brock. May asks Brock who he is cheering for. Brock says that he is cheering for both of them. Lucy sends out Milotic. Ash is at a disadvantage because Milotic is a water type. Donphan uses Take Down, however Milotic uses Hydro Pump. Milotic's attack directly hits Donphan. Donphan crashes into a rock and faints.

Ash sends in Pikachu to battle Milotic. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on Milotic. Milotic doesn't defend itself, instead it takes the hit. Then Milotic fires another Hydro Pump at Pikachu. Pikachu is crushed by the powerful water. Scott explains to Brock, May, and Max that Lucy doesn't bother training her Pokémon's defense because its offense is much more greater. Brock is impressed at Lucy's battle strategy. Pikachu's next move is Iron Tail, however Milotic counters with Iron Tail too. Since Milotic is a stronger Pokémon, its attack hits Pikachu. Pikachu comes in with a Quick Attack, but a Twister from Milotic damages Pikachu even more. Then a Hydro Pump from Milotic does more damage to Pikachu. Lucy orders Milotic to use Iron Tail. Ash has Pikachu use Volt Tackle. The attack works and damages Milotic a bit. Scott is surprised that Pikachu learned Volt Tackle, however using Volt Tackle many times can weaken the user.

Pikachu charges towards Milotic with Quick Attack. Milotic uses Facade. Its body glows, and it hits Pikachu. Ash is surprised since he never heard of Facade before. Scott says that using Facade can double your attack power. The three girls cheer for Lucy. Ash begins to think of a way to beat Lucy since none of his battle tactics are working. He suddenly gets an idea. He has Pikachu use Thunderbolt on itself. Pikachu follows Ash's command. Milotic uses Twister at Pikachu. Ash tells Pikachu to head straight into the Twister and then use a full-powered Volt Tackle. The attack hits Milotic directly, knocking it out.

Ash and Lucy shake hands with each other. Lucy congratulates Ash for a great battle. She hands Ash the Luck Symbol, proof for winning at the Battle Pike. Outside, Scott tells Ash that his next match will be at the Battle Palace. Max looks at his Pokenav. He says that the Battle Palace is located on Metallic Island, right next to Seafoam Island. Ash and co. wave goodbye to Lucy and her friends. They begin their journey towards the Battle Palace.

Lucy walks inside her house and greets her Pokémon friends. Her Pokémon have squinty eyes just like Brock. Ash and co. are on a boat to the next town. Max wonders what the next Frontier Brain will be like. May is ready for her next Pokémon Contest so that she can win another ribbon. The boat sails them to the next town.