The narrator recaps what happened in the previous episode. Ash and May have been battling each other in a Pokémon contest. Ash has Sceptile, and May has Blaziken. Both Pokémon have used their most powerful attacks. The time limit is up. Who will be the winner? Ash or May?
When the battle is over, both Ash and May still have some points left. They are both tied meaning they both win the contest. Ash and May walk up to each other and shake hands. Nurse Joy holds out a medal to Ash and May. Unfortunately, they didn't expect the result to be a tie, so they only have one medal. Ash and May get an idea. May takes the medal out of the case and throws it in the air. Sceptile jumps up and slices the medal in half. Now both of them have a half of the medal. The audience cheers.
Ash and co. have prepared dinner as a celebration for Ash and May's victory. The Pokémon are already eating their food. Brock makes the final preparations for their dinner. Before the begin eating, May has something to say. She wants to travel to Johto and compete in Pokémon contests there. Max is surprised by this. Brock asks about Max, but May says that Max won't be able to come along. May explains that at first she was a failure, but when she traveled with Ash and Brock things changed. She began to develop a passion for Pokémon contests and Pokémon. Ash and Brock wish May luck on her journey. Max is disappointed. He sadly gets up from the table and walks away. Brock thinks that Max was hoping to continue to travel. Ash gets up to talk to him.
Max throws himself on a swing. Ash walks up to Max. He tells Max that he should be happy for his sister since she has finally reached her goal. Max nods his head. Max doesn't want to leave. To him it was fun watching the Pokémon battles. Ash tells Max that when he becomes a Pokémon trainer, he can battle him. Max thinks it's a great idea. They promise that one day they will meet up again and battle against each other. Ash and Max hope that time comes soon.
Suddenly, the horn to the ship sounds. They have lost totally lost track of time. May and Max hurry down to the ship while Brock takes care of the dishes. May and Max finally board the ship. When the ship begins to sail away, they all wave goodbye to each other. Max reminds Ash his promise, a promise he definitely won't forget. Ash and Brock stop waving when the ship is out of sight. Max knows that Ash is the best Pokémon trainer he has ever met. He can't wait to get back to Hoenn and meet his dad again.
Ash and Brock walk together until they come to the fork in the road. One way leads to Pallet Town, while the other leads to Pewter City. Ash is hungry again. Brock tells Ash that he ate everything yesterday, but Ash is still hungry. Brock then reminds Ash that Pallet Town is pretty close, and he can eat anything he wants when he gets there. Ash remembers and he says goodbye to Brock. Then him and Pikachu run off. Brock then walks back to Pewter City.
Team Rocket is in their balloon floating above the ground. Jessie can sense that Ash and co. are nearby. James and Meowth on the other hand are starving. Jessie tells her friends to be patient because they will now search for Ash and co. Team Rocket looks down using their binoculars. James wonders if they will be able to find them. Meowth states that they have been failing lately, and him and James are starting to lose their confidence. Jessie explains that they are really close in capturing Pikachu. Jessie then reminds them that they were able to get past obstacles when they first teamed up. James and Meowth agree. All three of them have their confidence back again.
Suddenly, lighting bolts blast out in the sky. Team Rocket wonders if it is Pikachu. They use their binoculars to get a closer view on the source of the bolts of lightning. They see the Pokémon, and Jessie wants to capture it. The Pokémon cuts an apple from the tree and begins to eat it. Team Rocket appears behind the bushes. Meowth gets out a rocket launcher and launches a net at the Pokémon. The Pokémon is caught. Team Rocket is happy that they finally got a Pokémon. They begin to reel the Pokémon in towards them. The Pokémon struggles to get out, but it can't. Ash hears the commotion, and he decides to check it out.
A trainer calls out to Team Rocket. He asks why Team Rocket is stealing his Pokémon. Then Ash arrives and sees Team Rocket stealing Pokémon again. He wants to battle Team Rocket, but the trainer tells him that the battle won't be necessary. The trainer jumps down and reveales his true self. It is Gary! Gary calls his Pokémon Erikubu. He tells it to use Iron Tail. Erekibu easily gets out of the net with Iron Tail. Then it uses Thunderpunch to blast Team Rocket off.
Ash looks up Erekibu in his Pokédex, but no data is found on it. Gary explains to Ash that Erekibu is a Pokémon from the Shinou region. Ash wants to battle Gary. Gary agrees to the battle, but the battle will have to wait since Erekibu is low on energy. He tells Ash that he will be waiting at Professor Oak's lab.
Ash finally arrives in Pallet Town. He walks into his house and calls out for his mother. He receives no response from anyone. Since no one is home, he decides to check Professor Oak's lab. When he arrives at Professor Oak's lab, he calls out for Professor Oak and Tracey. He checks several rooms, but they aren't there. Ash finally comes in the last room. Suddenly, stream banners burst out and Professor Oak, Tracey, Ash's mother, and Mr. Mime walk out to greet Ash. Ash walks up to his mother and gives her his Battle Frontier trophy. Tracey walks out with food and thinks they should celebrate Ash's arrival. Before they can celebrate, Ash wants to challenge Gary to a battle. Gary accepts Ash's challenge.
The battle between Ash's Pikachu and Gary's Erekibu begins. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt at the start of the battle. Erikubu uses Thunderbolt too to counter the attack. Ash knows Pikachu hasn't had its best yet. Pikachu uses Quick Attack, but Erikubu dodges the attaack by jumping in the air. Then Erikubu comes down using Iron Tail. Pikachu jumps up and uses its Iron Tail too. Both Pokémon collide into each other. Ash sees that Erikubu is very strong, but he doesn't give up yet. He orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt again. Pikachu releases the attack at Erikubu, but Erikubu dodges the attack again. Ash expected that. Then he has Pikachu use Volt Tackle. Pikachu charges towards Erikubu with full power. Gary expected Pikachu to use such an attack. Erikubu uses Protect to protect itself from the Volt Tackle. Then it strikes Pikachu with Thunderpunch. Pikachu is knocked out, and Gary wins the battle.
Gary recalls back his Pokémon. Ash picks up Pikachu and makes sure it's alright. Gary walks up to Ash and tells him not to get too excited with his Battle Frontier win. There are many other powerful Pokémon in the Shinou region. Gary then tells Professor Oak that he will be leaving for Shinou now. Gary is a person who doesn't like to waste his time. Professor Oak understands and awaits for his next return. Then Gary walks away. Ash thinks for a moment. Then he announces to everyone that he also wants to go to the Shinou region. Professor Oak isn't surprised by this. Ash's mother has tears in her eyes, but she knows that it is the best for Ash. At night, she begins to sew a new outfit for Ash to wear.
The next day, Ash gets ready for his departure. He leaves all of his Pokémon except for Pikachu at Professor Oak's lab. Professor Oak reminds Ash to see the professor in Masago Town since he is an expert on Pokémon. Before Ash leaves, Professor Oak hands Ash a brand new Pokédex that contains data of all of the Shinou Pokémon. Ash thanks Professor Oak for the gift. Ash's Pokémon wave goodbye to him as he leaves.
Ash is on the ship to Shinou. A gust of wind blows causing his hat to fly off. Suddenly, Aipom comes out with Ash's hat. Ash wonders what Aipom is doing here, but he has no choice. He has to take Aipom with him on his new journey. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is at the bottom of the ship in the water hitching a ride. They won't give up in capturing Pikachu. Ash stares out at the horizon. He wonders what Pokémon will be in Shinou. A bran new journey awaits him.
