Still heading for Serrosey Town and the ferry to Sootopolis City, Ash and friends have stopped off in a forest for lunch. Brock cooks the soup while Ash, May and Max sit on a log. Max looks in the PokéNav and says that they should be there soon. Ash gets all fired up about the Gym battle as Snorunt pops out of its Pokéball. It uses Icy Wind on Ash to freeze him. May thinks it was trying to cool him off and Max says that it wanted him to chill out. Suddenly, Max hears a voice asking for help. Seconds later, he is running through the forest towards the voice. At the edge of a lake, he finds a Ralts lying on the ground.
Taking it back to camp, Maxx shows it to the others and Brock makes some soup for it. While Max feeds it, May looks it up in the Pokédex. Max lays the Ralts on a sleeping bag to rest. Snorunt looks at Ralts and scares it but Max pulls it back as Ash scolds it. Angered, Snorunt takes Ash’s hat and Max’s glasses and freezes them and then sticking them back on their owners. Ralts begins to laugh at Snorunt who laughs alongside it. Brock says that it has a fever and needs to get to the Pokémon Center at once.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket spies from a tree. They decide to steal the Ralts for Giovanni as a sleep aid and safety device. As the four friends race the Snorunt towards the Pokémon Center, James (in a disguise approaches them and introduces himself as “Sir Lord James Jameson, Esquire!” He exclaims that they have found his Ralts and asks them to give it back to him, showing its “sisters” Gardevoir and Kirlia who are really just Jessie and Meowth. Meowth’s feet slip and it falls off of its toes. Ash looks it up in the Pokédex, revealing it to be just Meowth. After saying their motto and ditching the costumes, Jessie and James send out Dustox and Cacnea. While Dustox uses Whirlwind, Cacnea tries to hug James but James ducks and orders a Pin Missile.
Pikachu counters the attacks with Thunderbolt. Quickly, James has Chimecho use Heal Bell and they are healed. May releases Combusken and orders a Fire Spin but Dustox blocks it with Whirlwind. Releasing Seviper, Jessie orders a Poison Tail which Pikachu blocks with Iron Tail. Cacnea uses Pin Missile again as Brock sends in Ludicolo to use Razor Leaf. The impact creates an explosion, after which, Dustox uses Psybeam, Seviper uses Poison Tail and Cacnea fires another Pin Missile. Ludicolo, Combusken and Pikachu block the attacks. Ash, May and Brock encourage Max to run off with Ralts while they battle Team Rocket. He takes off running with Ralts on his back. Ash has Snorunt use Icy Wind on Team Rocket but when the snow clears, they are not frozen having had Wobbuffet use Mirror Coat. Snorunt runs off to help Max as Team Rocket says that they’re not frozen but “cool!” When Meowth notices that Max is gone, Ash calls their eyesight “not so hot” with May chiming in “Considering how cool you are!” Seviper uses Haze and Team Rocket makes their getaway.
Max continues to run with Ralts, jumping down a small cliff with Snorunt in tow. Team Rocket also pursues Max, Jessie and James blaming Meowth for losing the Ralts. Max, noticing that Ralts’ condition was getting worse, lays down Ralts in the grass and gathers some nearby berries. He tells Ralts to eat the juicy berries but it won’t. He drops them and begins to cry. A blast of snow passes by and Max turns to see Snorunt. It offers Max some frozen berries which Max puts in a napkin and places on Ralts’ head. Feeling better, Ralts eats some of the berries. Meanwhile, Ash, Brock and May walk down the path, May worried about Max. Ash assures her that Max is fine and probably at the Pokémon Center already. Max and Snorunt continue towards the Pokémon Center but are stopped along a cliffside by Team Rocket. Before they can attack Max, however, they are blasted off by a Psychic attack. Appearing where Team Rocket was mere seconds earlier, a Gardevoir and Kirlia approach Max.
They try to take the Ralts from Max but he doesn’t let them. He says that he’ll help Ralts and promises to bring it back. Kirlia fires a Psychic at Max but it doesn’t hit him. It holds Ralts in the air for a few seconds and then Ralts falls. Max catches it as Kirlia approaches him. Gardevoir stops Kirlia and lets Max take Ralts to the Center. Max and Snorunt run through the forest, slide down hills, and race across the plains to get to the Center.
Max and Snorunt reach the Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy begins treatment on Ralts. May and the others arrive at the Center as Max watches Ralts. May calls out to him and he looks to see them. Tears well up in his eyes and he dashes to May and hugs her while crying. She tells him that it’ll “be all right” and that he “really came through.”
Ralts recovers from its sickness which Nurse Joy tells the gang was pneumonia. Max hugs Ralts as Snorunt dances around them. The joy turns to sadness as Max tells Ralts that it has to go back to its family. Everyone exits the Center and Max calls out to Kirlia and Gardevoir. Meowth and Jessie emerge from the bushes in their costumes again. No one is fooled and Max’s glasses flash as he tells them that they must love their Ralts dearly. They nod as he continues that they wouldn’t want it in the hands of Team Rocket. He points at them and they realize that he knows who they are. He tells Ralts to use Psychic and the two of them are blasting off again wondering why James isn’t going too.
James, in the bushes, turns to run away and finds himself at the feet of Kirlia and Gardevoir. He is blasted off too and the two Psychic Pokémon head over to Max and Ralts. Max tells it that it has to go back to its family. Ralts doesn’t want to and hugs Max who tells it that he’ll be back for it someday when he’s a trainer. Assured, Ralts disappears with its family. And after it’s gone, it calls back to Max and asks it to promise that he’ll come back. Max shouts out to the sky that he promises and Ralts is gone...
