Ash has finally earned his eight badges, and our heroes are now taking the boat to the next island. May reminds Ash that she still has to win her fifth ribbon, so that she can keep up.
Ash and co. have now reached the Pokémon Center on the island. Ash is talking to Professor Oak on a video screen. Professor Oak congratulates Ash for winning all eight badges. He tells them that when Pallet Town hears the story, there will be a big celebration. He reminds Ash how tough the Hoenn League will be, and to not underestimate his opponents. Ash tells Professor Oak that he will do some serious training before the competition starts. Professor Oak says that he will cheer for Ash the whole time. Then he hangs up.
Ash and co. are now outside ready to begin their training. Ash wants to start right away. Brock tells him that he still has three months to train, so there's plenty of time. Ash thinks three months is a short amount of time and then he runs off. May wants to start training too so that she can win the Pacifidlog Contest. One she has won that, May can head off for the Grand Festival. May first wants to clean her Pokéballs. She breathes on one of the Pokéballs, and rubs it with a cloth. Deep in the woods, a Linoone is carefully watching May. May has finished the last Pokéball, and lays it on the table. She puts Combusken and Skitty's Pokéball back into her bag, but before she can gather the rest, May notices that they are gone. May begins to freak out and panic. Brock and Max asks her if something is wrong. She tells them that her two Pokéballs are missing. Max thinks Team Rocket is up to something. Team Rocket hears this and they turn around to hear the commotion. They see May whining about her lost Pokéballs. Team Rocket is mad that they think May stole her Pokéballs. James cries about how they haven't stolen anything for a day. Max notices footprints on the ground near the place where May's Pokéballs were. The tracks lead away from the table. Brock adds on that the thief must be close by.
Ash has picked a spot for his training. A Linoone comes rushing by behind him. It bumps right into Ash and runs straight ahead. The Linoone's mouth looks fatter than normal. Ash takes out his Pokédex and looks up Linoone. The Linoone crashes into the poles where the curves are. May comes out and accidently steps on Ash. She apologizes and wonders what he is doing in the middle of the road. Max asks Ash if he has seen anything strange around. Ash tells him that a Linoone just ran by. May asks if Linoone had her Pokéballs. Ash is not sure, but he tells her it had puffy cheeks. May knows that Linoone has them. Brock explains to Ash that May thinks someone stole her Pokéballs. The group decides to head straight on down the road.
The group comes across a house. May thinks that it's a hideout, and Ash decides to go and check it out. Meanwhile, a kid named Kimi is holding an empty Pokéball. He stares at it, and then throws it across the room. Kimi sighs. Ash walks up to the boy and asks him if he saw a Linoone running by. May tells him that Linoone probably stole her Pokéballs. Kimi apologizes that Token did this to them. A man and a woman walks up to Ash and co. They assume that they are Kimi's new friends. Ash explains to Kimi's parents that they saw a Linoone take May's Pokéballs. The parents ask Kimi if Token took them. Kimi thinks so. Token is the nickname for the Linoone. The man introduces himself as Carven and his wife's name is Harmony. Ash and co. introduce themselves too. Then Kimi takes them to Token's hut.
In the hut, the group sees a bunch of valuable items such as pots, berries, and other round things. Kimi says that Token has been collecting a bunch of round things for a long time. Kimi adds on that they were very good friends when Linoone was still a Zigzagoon. He tells a story about when he used to throw Pokéballs at his Zigzagoon. Everything changed once Token evolved to Linoone. Now Token just runs all over the place and collects tons of stuff. Kimi says that he tried to teach Token to not steal stuff, but it didn't work. Ash tells Kimi that the same thing happened when his Charmeleon evolved into Charizard. Kimi asks Ash what he did to solve the problem. Ash tells him that he let Charizard know that he is working hard. Max comments that Ash also got hit with a few Flamethrowers. Ash sighs in embarrassment. Brock tells Kimi that he should have faith in Token and the problem will eventually be solved. May screams in horror that her Pokéballs aren't in the pile of things. Kimi tells May to not worry because Token also hides things in the mountains.
The whole group heads down to the mountains. A big batch of trees line up. Token could've hid May's Pokéballs anywhere in the trees. May doesn't feel too good, but Carven and Harmony cheers May up. So everyone starts their search for May's Pokéballs. They search the inside of the trees and the ground. Harmony spots something under a tree stump. She picks it up, and it happens to be the ring she lost. Carven and Harmony go through a love scene. Kimi is embarrassed by it. Pikachu looks under another tree stump. It finds something and May rushes over to see if it's her Pokéballs. Pikachu hands her a bone, and May freaks out. She hands the bone to Ash. Max thinks the bone is a Thick Club. It is used to power up the attacks of Cubone and Marowak. Ash also finds a Soothe Bell from under the tree stump. They also find a Dragon Fang which can power up dragon-type attacks. Brock says that they have found some rare stuff except for May's Pokéballs. Using the Pickup Ability, Token can gather up some really rare items. Team Rocket is listening in, and they want to capture Token. They imagine the boss give them a promotion for sending in gifts. They cheery and plan to steal the Linoone.
Everyone is still searching for the missing Pokéballs, but they have had no success. Token is watching from a nearby cliff. Kimi is the first one to spot Token above. May notices that Token has her Pokéballs in its mouth. Kimi screams out to Token to give May's Pokéballs back. Token doesn't want to give them back and shakes its head.
Suddenly, a net springs down and captures Token. Team Rocket appears from their balloon, and they say their motto. When they are done, they start to float away. Kimi is angry and he begins to climb on the rocks. He demands for Token back. Team Rocket sees Kimi coming, and Jessie sends out Seviper. Seviper uses Haze. The haze gets in Kimi's way, and so he trips backwards. Token sees this and he drops the two Pokéballs that were in its mouth.
Everyone runs towards Kimi to see if he is okay. May's Pokéballs rolls down and May gathers them up. Ash is angry and sends Pikachu in to help Token. James calls out Cacnea to stop Pikachu. Cacnea hugs James again. Ash tells Pikachu to cut the net with Iron Tail. Pikachu successfully cuts the net, but now Token is going to fall.
Jessie decides to take Pikachu instead. Seviper hurls a few Poison Tail attacks at Pikachu, but Pikachu manages to dodge them all. Pikachu jumps on Seviper's head. Meanwhile, Kimi runs down to Token to see if it's okay. They both hug each other. Pikachu thunderbolts Seviper, who is sent back to Team Rocket. However, Team Rocket isn't done yet. Their Pokéball balloon is blocking off the electricity. Another net is sent out and it picks up Pikachu. Team Rocket begins to leave now. Kimi heads up to Ash and apologizes. All Ash was trying to do was save Token, but he lost Pikachu. Ash tells Kimi to not worry about it. He will get Pikachu back.
Token spots the Pokéball part of the balloon and stares at it. It remembers playing fetch with Kimi using a Pokéball. Token jumps from cliff to cliff towards Team Rocket. Max thinks Token wants to rescue Pikachu. Brock disagrees, and thinks that Token is after the Pokéball balloon because of all the round things Token likes to collect. Kimi remembers a time when he and Token were playing fetch. That was when Token was still a Zigzagoon. Brock thinks that Token collects round things for a reason. They must've remind Token of the times when Kimi played wit it. This means that Token still wants to play with Kimi. Kimi asks Ash if him and Token will be close again. Ash replies with a yes at Kimi. Kimi runs up and tells Token to get the Pokéball balloon. Token smiles. It jumps up and lands on the balloon. Jessie and James are glad that Token came back. Meowth tells them that Token can blast them off again. James is worried and orders Cacnea to use Needle Arm. Meowth knows that this is a bad idea. Cacnea misses Token and punctures a hole in the balloon. Token rescues Pikachu by cutting the net open, and lands safely on the ground. Pikachu is on Token's back. Pikachu jumps back into Ash's arms. Kimi runs up to Token and thanks it.
Jessie and Meowth are angry at James for messing up. Seviper uses Poison Tail and Cacnea uses Needle Arm. Token launches a Water Pulse at the two Pokémon. Ash is surprised that Token can do that attack. Kimi tells Ash that Token can use electric attacks too. Both Seviper and Cacnea are now confused because of the Water Pulse attack. They begin to attack each other. Seviper and Cacnea hears Jessie yelling at them, and they attack her, James, and Meowth. Ash and Kimi decide to work together. Pikachu and Token use Thunderbolt on Team Rocket, which sends them blasting off again. Ash and Kimi congratulate their Pokémon for the good work.
Kimi tells everyone that he will spend more time with Token for now on. Token might even also stop taking things from people. Kimi's parents thank Ash and co. for their time. Kimi throws a Pokéball in the air and Token catches it with its mouth. Now Ash and co. head their ways towards Pacifidlog Town for May's next contest.
