Dawn sends out Buizel, her new Pokémon, so that it can meet the other Pokémon. However, Buizel is being very stubborn, and it refuses to say hello to any of the other Pokémon. Piplup tries to get Buizel to talk, but Buizel just ignores Piplup. Piplup and Buizel then get into a fight. Dawn orders them both to stop, and they do. Dawn wants to know why Buizel is acting this way. Brock knows that Buizel has spent most of its life training alone, so it probably wants to battle. Ash challenges Buizel to a battle, which Buizel accepts.
Ash chooses Turtwig for the battle. Turtwig starts off with Razor Leaf. Dawn orders Buizel to dodge and then use Water Gun. Buizel dodges the attack, but instead it uses Aqua Jet. Dawn is a bit upset that Buizel ignored her order. Turtwig recovers from the attack, and then it uses Bite. Dawn orders Buizel to dodge the attack, but Buizel completely ignores Dawn's order. Instead, Buizel lets Turtwig bite it, and then Buizel knocks Turtwig out with its Sonicboom attack.
Ash hopes that Turtwig is okay. Brock says that there is a Pokémon Center up ahead. Dawn apologizes to Ash. She wonders why Buizel won't listen to a thing she says. She decides to return Buizel back into its Pokéball, but Brock thinks that Buizel should stay out for awhile, since Dawn needs better communication with it. Dawn knows that Brock is right. When they arrive at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy gladly takes Turtwig and heals it. Brock falls in love with Nurse Joy, but Croagunk stops him. When Croagunk begins dragging Brock away, Buizel glares at it. Buizel soon gets into a fight with Croagunk, but Croagunk ends it. Dawn wants to know why Buizel always wants to fight everyone.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon League battle is being broadcast on TV. Dawn recognizes one of the trainers as Lucian. It's a battle between Scizor and Girafarig. Lucian orders Girafarig to use Psybeam. The Psybeam knocks Scizor out. The announcer states that Lucian knows how to work with Psychic type Pokémon really well. Ash and Dawn are excited over the battle. Suddenly, a trainer walks in and greets them. It is Lucian of the Elite Four! Ash and co. are really surprised. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is outside watching in on Ash and co. They notice that a member of the Elite Four is with them. James states that Lucian must have a lot of rare Pokémon, so they decide to steal them.
Ash and co. sit down to talk to Lucian. Lucian tells them how the Elite Four works. He explains that there are four top trainers including him, and then there's the champion, Cynthia. In order to battle Cynthia, a trainer must first beat the Elite Four. Buizel suddenly asks Lucian for a battle. Dawn wants Buizel to mind its matters, but Lucian accepts Buizel's challenge. Ash asks Lucian to battle with him first. Lucian tells Ash that he can battle him after he has reached his goal of collecting the eight badges.
Lucian has already selected the Pokémon he plans on using for the battle. He sends out Bronzong. Ash looks up Bronzong in his Pokédex. Team Rocket has decided to watch the battle from the bushes. The battle then begins. Dawn orders Buizel to use Aqua Jet. Ignoring Dawn's orders, Buizel uses Water Gun. Bronzong protects itself with Iron Defense. Dawn orders Buizel to use Aqua Jet again, but Buizel uses Sonicboom instead. The attack hardly does any damage on Bronzong. Then Bronzong uses its Gyro Ball attack. Buizel heads straight for Bronzong with Aqua Jet, but it ends up getting hurt from the Gyro Ball. Buizel quickly recovers and is back on its feet again. Lucian is a bit surprised that Buizel was able to recover from the attack. He orders Bronzong to use Flash Cannon. Bronzong charges up energy and then fires it all at Buizel. Buizel tries to counter it with its Water Gun attack, but the Flash Cannon is too powerful. It hits Buizel. Buizel slams against a tree and falls. It tries to get up, but it ends up fainting in the end. Lucian apologizes that Buizel was hurt. He tells Dawn to see Nurse Joy, and then he leaves.
Team Rocket realizes that Bronzong is a very powerful Pokémon. They don't know if they should steal Bronzong or not since the boss may not like it. Buizel is brought to Nurse Joy. When the healing is finished, Buizel gets out of bed and stands in the corner with a sad expression on its face. Ash and co. assume that Buizel is feeling sad because it lost the battle. Back when Buizel was at the river, it won every battle, but now it has experienced its first loss. Nurse Joy thinks that a bowl of soup would do Buizel some good. Brock falls in love with Nurse Joy again. Croagunk pops out and stabs Brock again and then drags Brock away. Buizel and Croagunk quickly glance at each other. Buizel doesn't pick up a fight with Croagunk, so it must be really sad.
Ash gets an idea. He brings Buizel outside and asks if it wants to swim in the river. Buizel ignores Ash. It still has its sad face. Ash thought that his idea would work, but it didn't. Lucian walks up to Ash and co. Dawn tells Lucian that Buizel hasn't been the same ever since it lost the battle. Lucian knows that it is time for Buizel to make the choice of defeat. The choice is what Buizel should do when it's defeated. It can continue to battle...or not.
Suddenly, Team Rocket appears and traps Buizel in a cage. Then Team Rocket says their motto. Team Rocket plans on giving Buizel to the boss for money. Ash and Dawn decide to save Buizel. Lucian stops them. He says that this might be the chance that Buizel has been waiting for. Buizel has turned from sad to angry now that it has been caged. Its anger has erased Buizel's memory of losing its battle. Buizel grabs onto two of the cage bars, and then it begins to use Sonicboom to try and break the cage. Team Rocket laughs because they know that Buizel won't be able to break it. Buizel's attacks are getting weaker. Dawn tells Buizel not to give up. Hearing Dawn's words, Buizel regains confidence in itself, and its Sonicboom attacks get stronger. Finally, Buizel is able to break through the cage. Ash and co. are glad that Buizel is alright.
Team Rocket lands on the ground. They are upset because they spent a lot of money on that cage. Jessie sends out Dustox, and James sends out Carnivine. Dawn wants to battle with Buizel, but Lucian steps in and decides to battle with Buizel. Dustox and Carnivine charge towards Buizel. Dawn wants Buizel to dodge the attacks, but Lucian says that Buizel doesn't have to dodge them. Lucian orders Buizel to use Water Gun. Buizel obeys Lucian's order and strikes Dustox and Carnivine with Water Gun. Then Dustox uses Psybeam, and Carnivine use Bullet Seed. Buizel dodges the attack and uses Sonicboom. Dustox dodges, but the Sonicboom hits Carnivine. Then Buizel hits Dustox with Aqua Jet. Lucian explains to Dawn that many Pokémon have their own unique battling styles. It's a trainer's responsibility to discover that style and use it. Dawn is starting to understand it all. Lucian orders Buizel to finish Team Rocket off with Water Gun. Buizel uses Water Gun on Team Rocket, and they blast off again.
Dawn congratulates Buizel for defeating Team Rocket. Buizel walks up to Lucian and asks for a rematch. Lucian accepts Buizel's challenge. He decides to use Bronzong again for the battle. Bronzong starts off with Gyro Ball. Dawn orders Buizel to dodge the attack. Buizel follows Dawn's order and dodges. Then it uses Aqua Jet. Bronzong protects itself with Iron Defense. Ash and Brock notice that Buizel is now listening to all of Dawn's orders. With that, Lucian returns Bronzong back into its Pokéball. Lucian tells Dawn that she is much stronger now than she was before with her Buizel. Lucian knows that Dawn will also become a lot stronger in the future. Lucian then bids farewell to Ash and co. Ash is now more excited than ever to win his second badge.
