Ash and friends are still in Fennel Valley awaiting the return of Brandon so Ash can battle him once more. They are also waiting for a special delivery from Professor Oak’s Lab. Professor Oak runs out of the Pokémon Center to where everyone is standing and hands Ash a Pokéball. He calls out his Bulbasaur from it and everyone is happy to see it. Just then, Officer Jenny rides up in her motorcycle, Squirtle riding in the sidecar. Brock goes crazy once again and, once again, Max grabs him by the ear and drags him off. Ash comments that there’s just one more left and Charizard appears out of the sky. He greets Ash and Pikachu with a Flamethrower.
With everyone assembled outside, May calls out her Squirtle and Ash’s uses Water Gun on it to suspend it in the air. May’s returns fire at Ash’s and they are very happy to be together again. Brock hands Ash his backpack for a camping trip, saying that everything is ready. Professor Oak tells everyone that Ash will be spending the night in the wilderness, just like he did the very first night he was on his journey. Nurse Joy hands Ash a box of homemade cookies for his trip. Charizard uses Flamethrower on Ash and his Pokémon one more time and they head out.
In a clearing in the mountains, Ash tells Bulbasaur to use Razor Leaf on a pile of logs, splitting them all in half. Pikachu, Charizard, and Bulbasaur all catch one half of a log, and Squirtle, not paying any attention, gets hit on the head by the half it was supposed to catch. They make a square on the ground with the logs and Ash has Squirtle use Rapid Spin to clear the leaves out of the area. Bulbasaur and Pikachu then use Vine Whip and Quick Attack to gather them and place them in the square of logs to create a comfy place to sleep.
Charizard jumps into the air and lands hard on the leaves, sending them flying everywhere. Squirtle, angry at having to clear them again, sends a Water Gun at Charizard. Squirtle runs and Bulbasaur gets blasted by Charizard’s retaliatory Flamethrower. Bulbasaur uses Razor Leaf and hits Pikachu after Charizard dodges it. Pikachu uses Iron Tail and hits Charizard who fires another Flamethrower which hits Ash after he steps in to stop them. Pikachu ends the fight with a Thunderbolt that hits everyone.
With a new set of leaves collected, Ash and the Pokémon set out to get some food. They discover a berry tree and, before Ash can say anything, Charizard flies into the air for it. Its wings glow in a Steel Wing attack and it knocks two large groups of berries off the tree. Pikachu and Bulbasaur collect them with Vine Whip and Quick Attack and Squirtle uses Water Gun to grab some. They soon have a giant pile of berries. As the sun sets in the mountains, Ash has Charizard use Flamethrower on a pile of rocks and sticks. It doesn’t light them but ends up scorching them. Charizard tries again with just a tiny ball of flame and it lights.
As the group sits around the fire that night, Ash thinks back to where he met all of them and how they changed; Pikachu was his starter and didn’t listen to anything he said until Ash protected it from the Spearow flock; Bulbasaur was protecting the Hidden Village and became Ambassador of Professor Oak’s Lab; Charizard was an abandoned Charmander which soon evolved under Ash’s care; and Squirtle was a member of the Squirtle Squad, which was transformed into the Squirtle Fire Squad.
Ash and his Pokémon continue to train in the mountains for several days; while they sleep one night, Team Rocket spies on them and decides to steal Pikachu one more time. And so they drive up in a noodle truck and offer Ash some noodles. He accepts but Jessie says that the noodle-making battery is gone and they’d need an electric Pokémon to power it. Ash hands over Pikachu and they jump in the truck and drive off. They then proceed to fly off in a metal Meowth balloon. Ash, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle mount Charizard and give chase. Ash tells Bulbasaur to use Razor Leaf, but it does nothing.
Ash then commands Charizard to use Flamethrower which heats up the metal. Squirtle uses Water Gun on the same spot but it does nothing. Ash tells them to speed up and they eventually make a crack in the balloon. Bulbasaur sends them to the ground with a Razor Leaf and Pikachu jumps back to Ash. On the ground, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, Squirtle uses Water Gun, Bulbasaur uses Razor Leaf, and Charizard sends them blasting off again with a Flamethrower.
Charizard hears a rustling sound from the bushes and Brandon steps out, complimenting Ash on his battle against Team Rocket. He says that he found the Pokémon he was looking for and came back immediately to take Ash up on his request of a rematch. Brandon requests that the battle be 4-on-4 and Ash accepts.
And so they head back to the Pokémon Center. Scott mentions that Ash could now have a chance at becoming a Frontier Brain and the gang heads inside for an explanation. He says that any trainer who conquers the Battle Frontier is given the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain, in charge of their own Battle Facility and if Ash wins against Brandon, he’ll have that chance. Professor Oak and Max recite a poem and the battle time arrives.
At the Pyramid, the top opens up giving Charizard and any flying Pokémon that Brandon may have the advantage of the skies. Ash sends out Charizard first and Brandon releases a Dusclops which may promptly looks up in her Pokédex. Charizard starts with a Flamethrower which Dusclops blocks with Will-O-Wisp. Charizard uses Steel Wing but Dusclops uses Shadow Punch and makes a clean hit on Charizard. Next, Charizard uses Dragonbreath and gets a direct hit in on Dusclops. Brandon calls for a Mean Look attack and Professor Oak explains to Max and May that now Charizard cannot leave the arena.
On Charizard’s next attempt of a Steel Wing, Dusclops latches on and uses Confuse Ray, making Charizard go completely crazy. It lands on the ground and Ash attempts to recall it, thinking that he can combat the confusion by calling it into its Pokéball, but Mean Look prevents Charizard from leaving the arena until it is knocked out or has won the match. Dusclops next uses a Shadow Punch, sending Charizard into the wall. Charizard is then hit with a Will-O-Wisp and is suspended in the air by the blue flames. Ash calls to Charizard and encourages it to break free of the confusion and that it has helped on so many different occasions. Charizard closes its eyes and opens them again, ready to fight and no longer confused.
Charizard uses Dragonbreath which hits Dusclops head-on. Dusclops fires back with a Will-O-Wisp and Charizard lands on the ground. Both Pokémon are tired out but the battle continues. Charizard uses Steel Wing once more and Dusclops latches on again. Ash calls for a Seismic Toss and Charizard dives for the ground. Before Charizard can let go however, Dusclops disappears and Professor Oak tells Ash that Normal attacks have no effect on Ghost Pokémon. Brandon calls Checkmate and knocks Charizard out with a final Shadow Punch. With one Pokémon down, Ash is already losing. Can he win against Brandon? Stay tuned to find out!
