Ash and co. are continuing their way towards Hearthome City. They approach the view of a big, beautiful river. Dawn looks down and notices a steamboat. Brock pulls out his guide book. He says that it is a sight-seeing steamboat. Ash and co. all want to ride the steamboat.
Ash and co. have finally went on the steamboat. The first room they see is a huge diner. In the center are band instruments. Pikachu walks up to the cello and plucks one of the strings. Then Pikachu runs up onto the dock. Pikachu is amazed by the wonderful view. Ash and co. follow Pikachu up onto the dock. Him, Dawn, and Brock all send out their Pokémon so that they can also join in on the fun. Pachirisu and Happiny find a few rings on the ground to play with. Piplup points to the board where they have to throw the rings into. It's a ring toss game. Piplup takes one of the rings and throws it, hoping to make one of the shots. Piplup misses, but Pikachu leaps up and makes it in the goal. The rest of the Pokémon cheer for Pikachu.
Ash and co. wonder why nobody is on the boat yet. Dawn notices a man down below. She calls out for him. The man wakes up from his nap. They ask the man when the boat leaves. The man tells them that the steamboat leaves everyday at noon. He asks Ash and co. where they plan on heading off to. Dawn replies that they are going to Hearthome City. Then Brock asks the man if their is a Pokémart anywhere nearby. The man tells him that there is one right past the woods. Ash, Dawn, and Brock all want to go. They turn around and notice that all the Pokémon are having fun. Ash doesn't want to stop them. The man tells them that they can leave their Pokémon on board the ship while they go shopping. Ash and co. thank the man for his kind courtesy. Before Ash and co. leave, they leave Pikachu and Piplup in charge of the others.
After Ash and co. leave, Pikachu and Piplup run back to play with the other Pokémon. When they get back, they notice Pachirisu and Happiny on the edge of the boat. Pikachu and Piplup quickly run towards them before they can jump off the edge. Piplup catches Happiny. Pikachu manages to catch Pachirisu, but Pikachu accidentally slips and falls. Piplup manages to catch Pikachu, however, and the three Pokémon struggle to get back on board the boat. Happiny notices them, and it throws them back on the boat.
Team Rocket are in their balloon. They notice Ash and co.'s Pokémon are on the boat. Their plan is to steal the Pokémon, give them all to the boss, and then make some money from it. Meanwhile, all the Pokémon are back inside the diner room. Croagunk has found a mirror and stares at it for a long time. Sudowoodo bangs on the piano, Pikachu plucks on the cello strings, Buizel is playing the saxophone, and Turtwig is on drums. Happiny, Aipom, and Buneary finds a closet filled with cool clothes and outfits. Pachirisu walks in the same room and notices a ladder. At the top of the ladder are balloons. Pachirisu imagines flying with Staravia, so it climbs up the ladder to get the balloons. Piplup has found a station full of magic stuff, something that Piplup admires. Pachirisu ties the balloons onto itself, and then it begins floating in the air. Pachirisu floats right out of the room.
Meanwhile, Ash and co. are at the Pokémart shopping for supplies. Ash finds a product that he likes and asks for Dawn's opinion on it. Dawn approaches Ash with a Piplup mask, scaring Ash a bit. Dawn then sees a few ornaments that she has always adored. In the next aisle is hair gel. Dawn wants some of that too because she uses Piplup's Bubblebeam to fix her hair everyday. Brock goes crazy over a few girls in the store, and without Croagunk there to stop him, Brock has freedom over it.
Sudowoodo, Pikachu, Buizel, and Turtwig form their own band and begin to play music. Happiny, Aipom, and Buneary have found costumes that they like, and they wear them. Piplup is performing a few magic tricks of its own. Meanwhile, Pachirisu floats into the kitchen and begins to knock over the pots and pans. Pikachu hears the crashes and runs straight into the kitchen. It sees Pachirisu knocking over a stack of plates. Pikachu quickly catches all the plates before they can break. The next room that Pachirisu floats in to is the control room. Pachirisu crashes in the window. The balloons pop and Pachirisu falls on the controls. Pachirisu gives off an electric shock, which turns on the engine to the boat. The steamboat slowly begins to drift away from the dock. With the man sleeping and Ash and co. gone, no one is there to stop the boat from drifting off.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket has boarded the ship. They are in disguises, and they are performing a dance show in front of the Pokémon. Pikachu soon joins them, and all the Pokémon dance with Team Rocket. Team Rocket soon leads the Pokémon in a tunnel. When all the Pokémon are in the tunnel, Team Rocket quickly closes the door. James pulls out the key and is about to lock it, but Pachirisu soon wakes up. It slips off the panel and onto the steering wheel. The steering wheel turns several times causing the boat to move harshly to the left. The turn causes James to drop the key. Team Rocket runs to get the key. When they finally get the key, however, all the Pokémon have escaped the tunnel. The Pokémon all attack Team Rocket, blasting them off again.
The man finally wakes up from his nap. He notices that the steamboat has drifted off. Ash and co. soon walk up to the man. The man tells them what happened. Ash and co. realize that they have to find another boat to catch up with the steamboat, but the only boats around are sailboats. So the man sends out his Mantine. Ash and Dawn jump onto Mantine, and Mantine takes them to the steamboat.
The steamboat approaches a waterfall. The Pokémon begin to think of a plan to turn the boat around. Pikachu notices that Croagunk is missing. Croagunk is still staring at the mirror. Pikachu runs over and gets Croagunk when it hears Ash's voice. Pikachu looks out, and it sees Ash and Dawn riding Mantine. The Pokémon soon all meet up with Ash and Dawn. Mantine jumps over the boat, and Ash and Dawn land on board the boat. Dawn notices that Aipom and Buneary look really cute in their outfits. Ash tells Dawn that they have business to take care of first. Ash heads into the control room. Dawn tells Piplup to use Whirlpool on the river. Piplup throws a gigantic whirlpool in the river, and Ash begins to steer the steamboat away from the waterfall. However, the whirlpool isn't enough as the steamboat inches closer and closer to the waterfall. Buneary finally uses Ice Beam. The steamboat manages to completely turn itself around.
Suddenly, the steamboat approaches a huge chunk of rock. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, and Turtwig uses Razor Leaf at the rock. Their attacks aren't having much effect on the rock, so Buizel helps by using Sonicboom. The Sonicboom does the job. The rock breaks, but a large chunk of it heads straight towards the steamboat. There is no way to dodge it. Fortunately, Mantine comes in and breaks the rock. The steamboat is saved, and they head back to shore.
The man apologizes to Ash and co. for all the trouble that occured. Ash and co. accepts the apology. The man is impressed with Pikachu and Piplup and their brilliant thinking throughout their whole trip. He then wishes them the best of luck as Ash and co. board the ship for Hearthome City.
