Ash and co. are now taking the high road to Violet City. Brock states that it is really cold. On the other side is a mountain with snow on it. Ash suggests that they go skiing. Brock imagines himself on the slopes, and then afterwards in the lodge with the pretty girls. Ash then points to something in the grass. Ash recognizes it as a Chikorita. Brock notices that it is sunbathing. Misty smells something nice in the air. Ash tells her that the smell is coming from the Chikorita, similar to Casey's Chikorita. Misty wonders if the Chikorita lying on the grass is wild or not. Ash looks up Chikorita in his Pokédex. He decides to capture it. Before Ash battles Chikorita, he calls out to anyone if they own Chikorita. Chikorita stands up and swings its leaf on its head. Brock notices that this Chikorita looks like a real fighter. Ash sends out Bulbasaur. Chikorita runs towards Bulbasaur, but Bulbasaur's Vine Whip sends it backwards. Then Chikorita gets up and uses Razor Leaf. Bulbasaur counters with its own Razor Leaf. The leaves collide into each other. Bulbasaur hits Chikorita with one last Tackle. Ash throws a Pokéball at Chikorita, but Chikorita blocks it off. Then it uses Vine Whip on Bulbasaur. Brock and Misty notice the great power that Chikorita has. Ash returns Bulbasaur.

The next Pokémon that Ash sends out is Charizard. Chikorita charges for Charizard, but Charizard stops it with its foot. Just before Charizard is about to use Flamethrower, Chikorita uses Vine Whip on Charizard's foot. Charizard trips over and accidently attacks Ash with the Flamethrower. Then Chikorita uses Razor Leaf again, but Charizard burns the leaves with Flamethrower. When Charizard goes for Chikorita again, Chikorita hits Charizard in the head with Vine Whip. Charizard still is flying forward bringing Chikorita with it. Both are headed for a mountain and crash against it. Ash and co. runs towards the Pokémon. Ash returns Charizard back into its Pokéball. Ash sees Chikorita trying to get up but it can't. So they decide to bring Chikorita to the Pokémon Center.

Team Rocket has been watching the fight from the trees. Jessie says that Chikorita would make a good Pokémon for Team Rocket because of the toughness in it. They want to capture the Chikorita. Jessie adds in that once they do get Chikorita, they will finally have a Pokémon that is worth keeping. On their way to the Pokémon Center, Chikorita wakes up and bites Ash's arm. Ash tells Chikorita to calm down. Then Chikorita is brought into the treatment room. When the treatment is over, Nurse Joy reports to them that Chikorita will be fine. Nurse Joy asks about Ash's arm, but he tells her that it is fine. Brock immediately goes up to Nurse Joy and starts to flirt with her. Misty breaks them up. Later on, Nurse Joy tells Ash and co. that the Chikorita that leave in these areas are more stubborn than the normal kind. They fight until the end.

Suddenly, an ambulence pulls up to the Pokémon Center. Two people walk out with a stretcher. They say to Nurse Joy that they have to take Chikorita to the hospital. The two people put Chikorita on the stretcher and they run off. Ash and co. runs outside. They want to know who they are. The two people take off their disguises and reveal themselves as Team Roket. They say their motto. When they are done with the motto, Weezing uses Smog. Then they drive off with Chikorita. Ash manages to escape from the Smog. He decides to climb a hill and get ahead of Team Rocket. Jessie asks James to look out for the Ash and co. When they don't see any, they cheer because they think that they have finally caught a Pokémon. From a hill, Ash jumps and lands on the truck to stop them.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy hopes that Chikorita is okay. Misty tells Nurse Joy not to worry because Ash is there. Then she realizes that Ash doesn't have his Pokéballs because he left them at the Pokémon Center. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has parked the truck at a snowy spot. Ash and Pikachu stand behind a tree. They try to figure out a way on how to get Chikorita back. He decides to use Charizard but realizes that he left his Pokéballs behind. Team Rocket are in a small house and talking to Chikorita. They tell Chikorita that it is a great Pokémon with lots of talent, and that they need it on their team. James holds out a contract for Chikorita to sign. Just when Chikorita is about to sign it, Ash tells Chikorita to not sign it from outside. Then Ash comes in the house and says his own motto. Team Rocket doesn't like how Ash ripped off their motto. Then Ash picks up a snowball and throws it at Team Rocket. While Team Rocket is down, Pikachu and Chikorita run off. However, Meowth gets out a remote and presses it. Two chains come out of the ground and locks the Pokémon in place. Ash runs outside, but he gets caught in the trap too. Team Rocket sees the victims that they caught. Ash and the Pokémon try to make a run for it, but the rope prevents them from moving. The slip and fall down the hill. Rolling down the hill, Ash and the Pokémon get trapped in a giant snowball. They then roll off the hill and into a tree. They fall off the tree and onto the ground.

Team Rocket passes by Ash and the Pokémon on their snowmobile. They don't know that Ash is nearby because him and the Pokémon are covered with snow. Ash and the Pokémon get up. They walk for a bit and then stop. Ash doesn't know which direction to go. Suddenly, Chikorita takes off somewhere. Ash and Pikachu make it to a cave that is embeded in a mountain. A fire has been built for warmth. Ash wonders if Chikorita is okay out in the snow. After some thinking, Ash decides to look for Chikorita. He tells Pikachu to stay behind because Misty and Brock are probably looking for them. Ash calls out for Chikorita. He hears something pass by, but it is only a couple of Nidoran. Ash then slips down and lands on another pile of snow. Right in front of him is Chikorita. He tells Chikorita that everything will be okay. Chikorita sees that Ash is good, and it jumps into Ash's arms. Ash brings Chikorita back to the cave. He makes sure that both Pikachu and Chikorita are kept warm. They decide to get some sleep.

The next day, Ash looks outside. The storm has passed and the skys are clear. When they go outside, they find Team Rocket waiting for them. Meowth tells Ash that he isn't going anywhere. Jessie and James shovels some snow into the new weapon that Meowth has. His new weapon shoots out snowballs at Ash and the Pokémon. Chikorita uses Razor Leaf which destroys the snowballs. Team Rocket asks Chikorita to come with them, but Chikorita refuses to do so. It uses Vine Whip on Meowth's weapon. It freezes and begins to shoot snowballs in many directions. Then Pikachu hits Team Rocket with a Thunderbolt. The weapon explodes, and Team Rocket blasts off again.

Ash is happy that Team Rocket is gone. He tells Pikachu and Chikorita that they worked together in a good way. Then Misty, Brock, and Nurse Joy call out for Ash. They find each other and head back to the Pokémon Center. Ash and co. says goodbye to Nurse Joy and Chikorita and they head off. Chikorita suddenly rushes down to Ash and hugs him. Nurse Joy tells Ash that Chikorita probably wants to stay with Ash. Ash asks Chikorita if it wants to come with him, and it does want to be with Ash.