Ash and friends are in Fennel Valley, current home to the Battle Pyramid where Ash is hoping to earn his final Frontier Symbol and become the Battle Frontier Champion. At the present time however, Brandon is out searching some ancient ruins so Ash and the others are waiting at the nearby Pokémon Center. Ash and Max sit in the Pokémon Center hot springs, Ash wondering what exactly he should do, thrown off by his second loss at the Pyramid. Meanwhile, Skitty and Beautifly play with each other on the Contest Stage as May sits gloomily at the edge.
The two Pokémon run over to her and she agrees to practice with them. Scott and Brock walk into the room and Scott notices that she’s still put off by her loss at the Grand Festival. May stands at the side of the Stage and commands Skitty to use Blizzard followed by a Psychic from Beautifly. They pull off the combo as Ash and Max run in. They are happy to see Beautifly and Skitty and May comments that Beautifly learned Psychic while in Petalburg.
Max suggests that Ash and May train together but May rejects the idea because she thinks she isn’t strong enough. Before Ash or Max can press the issue further, Professor Oak surprises everyone by arriving in the Contest Room with a giant bag tied to his back. The gang gathers in the lobby where Professor Oak takes off the bag and starts to untie it. A giant group of fans gathers around and Professor Oak poses for them before pulling out a poster for Ash made by all of his Pokémon at the Lab. Professor Oak unfurls the poster on the floor to reveal the word FIGHT!! in giant black letters with the Pokémon’s marks all around it in various colors. The gang spends some time recognizing the marks of Ash’s Pokémon, including Bulbasaur, Totodile, Tauros, and Kingler. Professor Oak then unwraps a giant plate of food, sent from Delia. Next, he pulls a Misty Lure from his pocket and says that it comes from Misty and that he could take some time off from training to do a little fishing. And finally, he hands Ash a postcard from Gary with a picture of a lake in the Sinnoh Region on it. Ash imagines himself next to the lake with Gary there. They have a somewhat polite conversation, but Gary leaves making a snide remark to Ash.
Ash’s daydream ends and Ash says that he’s ready to train. Professor Oak makes up a poem and Nurse Joy runs up, excited to hear an original poem in person. She asks Professor Oak sign a first edition book of his poems, which he gladly does. May still doesn’t have any motivation though, and continues to look downtrodden. Just then, though, Roselia appears at her feet, and right behind it Drew appears.
In the Contest Stage room, Drew feeds Roselia some Pokéblock as May continues to be depressed. He tells May that she needs to find her own style of being a Pokémon Coordinator and proposes a battle to her. Ash and the others arrive and chime in that it’s a great idea and that Professor Oak and Nurse Joy could be the judges. Suddenly, three suspicious people arrive, Mr. Contesta, a miniature Sukizo, and Nurse Joy. They say that they will be the Judges.
A Cacturne jumps seemingly out of nowhere at the call of an all-too-familiar voice and attacks the panel of Judges. After the smoke clears, it’s revealed that the three of them are Team Rocket. Harley appears on scene and gets angry at them for messing with May. They try to run but Cacturne blocks their way and Harley tells them to stick around a while. As Harley gets reacquainted with the group, Nurse Joy rushes in with Scott and Professor Oak and demands Harley’s signature. Ash proposes the idea that Professor Oak and Nurse Joy be the Judges for May and Drew’s battle, but Joy tells Scott he can be a Judge as she’s going to be the emcee.
As the battle time draws closer, a crowd begins to pour in and Team Rocket is forced to watch by Harley. May and Drew stand onstage awaiting the signal to battle as Nurse Joy begins the introduction. She says that the battle will be a Double Battle just like the Grand Festival and the clock begins. May sends out Combusken and Beautifly together, a combination she’s not used before. Drew sends out Roselia and a Butterfree, also a new combination. May begins things with a Fire Spin and Psychic combo but Drew blocks it easily with Petal Dance.
Shards of fire fly through the air and hover above the stage. May takes advantage of them and has Beautifly attack with them using Psychic. Roselia uses Magical Leaf which ignites the leaves and sends them into the air along with the fire. Combusken launches a full-on physical attack but Butterfree uses Gust to bring the flaming leaves down on it, sending Combusken flying backwards into Beautifly and dealing major damage. Scott and Professor Oak watch interestedly from the Judge Panel. May calls for Combusken to use Sky Uppercut which hits Butterfree hard. Roselia fires another Petal Dance which Beautifly counters with a powerful Silver Wind. The wind only powers up the leaves however, and they are rammed into both of their opponents. May commands Combusken to use Overheat but Butterfree uses Protect and blocks it completely. Butterfree and Roselia then finish the battle with a Psybeam/Solarbeam combination.
As the sun sets on Fennel Valley that evening, Drew and May sit outside the Pokémon Center overlooking the valley’s vastness. They have a nice conversation there about May getting over the loss to Soledad at the Grand Festival and May proclaims that she’s going to get her own battle style. Drew meanwhile, comments that he’s headed to the Johto Region next. Harley arrives on scene not too long before Team Rocket does. Harley says that he’s going to Johto too and asks Jessie if she’s going to. She turns down the offer which angers Harley and he calls her a loser. Jessie reaches for a Pokéball to teach him a lesson, but doesn’t get it before Harley blasts her off with Cacturne’s Bullet Seed. Harley recalls Cacturne and races off towards the Johto Region.
Ash and the others come running, saying that they heard the sound of an explosion. May says that it was just Harley blasting Team Rocket off. Not long after that, Drew heads out to Johto as well, waving back without looking as he does. May, being motivated to win some more, tells Ash that they both have their goals now. Professor Oak says another poem as the sunlight continues to fade. With Ash and May out of depression about losing, their sights are set high and Ash has to get ready for the Battle Pyramid!
