Ash holds out a card to Dawn that has a number on it. Ash tells Dawn that the card is for the upcoming tag battle tournament. Brock tells Dawn that Zoey suggested that she entered. Dawn isn't too sure whether or not she wants to enter. Piplup urges Dawn to enter, so Dawn finally gives in and decides to do it. Ash and co. then arrive at the tag battle stadium. Brock notices that the scene is similar to the one of the Pokémon League. The mayor of Hearthome City is the tag battle competition's host. He welcomes all the trainers to the competition. For the next three days, trainers will be battling with their partner to decide who is the best. Then the mayor points to a screen above him. The screen will list the partner of each trainer based upon the number on the trainer's entry card. The mayor presses a button, and the results are displayed on the screen. So all the trainers begin to search for their partner.
Dawn is the first to find her partner. It's a trainer named Conway, who is first described as "creepy." Right next to him is a Slowking, a Pokémon that Dawn looks up in her Pokédex. Dawn is freaked out a bit by Conway's tone of voice and his Slowking. Suddenly, she hears a scream coming from Brock. Brock has just found out that his partner is a girl. The girl introduces herself as Holly. Perched on her shoulder is a Wingull. Dawn immediately notices it and scans it with her Pokédex. Brock expresses his love towards Holly until she states that she is not interested in him. This turns Brock down. Ash continues to search for his partner. He suddenly finds him. It is Paul. Ash and Paul glare at each other. Paul tells Ash not to get in his way. Pikachu tries to be friendly with Paul's Elekid, but Elekid punches Pikachu to the ground.
When everyone has found their partner, the mayor shows the grand prize winner - a Soothe Bell. The bell makes a soothing noise that everyone enjoys to hear. The mayor then states that battles won't commence until the afternoon, so this gives everyone time to practice with their partner. Conway tells Dawn that he has make perfect analysis on every battle he has experienced, so he knows the formula for winning battles. Holly and Brock then think out a strategy. All Ash does is glare at Paul.
It's afternoon, and the first battle is about to begin. Dawn and Conway are up in the first match. Dawn sends out Piplup, and Conway sends out Slowking. Their opponents choose Scyther and Koffing. The battle begins. Scyther starts off with a Razor Wind, and Koffing uses Sludge Bomb. Piplup uses Bubblebeam on Scyther. The sludge is hurled towards Piplup, but Slowking steps in with its Safeguard attack. This prevents the sludge from touching them. Koffing then uses its Thunderbolt attack, but Slowking protects Piplup with Protect. Conway states that he will be covering the defense, and Dawn will work on offense. Dawn agrees. She has Piplup uses Peck on Scyther. This attack was too much for Scyther, so it faints. Koffing then uses its Gyro Ball attack, but Slowking stops it with Psychic. Koffing faints, too, and Dawn and Conway win the first battle.
Brock notices that Dawn has herself a good partner because he knows what he is doing. Ash suggests to Paul that they work together, too. Paul has Chimchar use its Flamethrower on Ash; Ash barely dodges it. Paul tells Chimchar that its Flamethrower is too weak and that it can't control, but Ash disagrees. Before they can get into a fight, Dawn steps in and states that they have to work together because that's the tag battle's purpose. Paul says nothing about Dawn's comment and begins to walk away. Ash asks Paul why he even joined the tournament. Paul's reply is that he wanted to meet fire type Pokémon. Brock understands that Paul wants other fire type Pokémon to power up Chimchar.
The next match is with Brock and Holly and two other trainers. Holly's Wingull is being chased by the trainer's Yanma. Yanma eventually catches up and strikes Wingull with its Steel Wing. Wingull begins to fall to the ground. The other trainer's Bagon charges towards Wingull with its Headbutt attack. Brock's Sudowoodo counters it with Double-Edge, which saves Wingull. The two trainers begin to fight with each other because of their losses. Wingull then uses Blizzard on both Bagon and Yanma. The ice attack causes some heavy damage. Bagon is able to attack with Dragonbreath, but Sudowoodo counters with Flail. Then Wingull strikes Yanma with its Aerial Ace attack. Both Bagon and Yanma faint, so Brock and Holly are the winners.
The last round involves Ash and Paul and two other trainers. Ash uses Pikachu, and Paul sends out Chimchar. Their opponents send out Magmar and Rhydon. Conway can already predict the results of the battle. Pikachu starts off by sending out a Thunderbolt at Magmar. However, the electricity gets absorbed into Rhydon's horn. Rhydon then knocks Pikachu off its feet with Megahorn. Brock states that Rhydon has a special ability that allows it to absorb any electric attack, therefore Pikachu can't use any of its electric attacks. Magmar uses Lava Plume, an attack that affects every Pokémon the field. Rhydon won't receive much damage because of its resistance to fire attacks. Paul orders Chimchar to head straight into the Lava Plume. He hopes to power up Chimchar by using the fire from the Lava Plume. Chimchar uses its Flamethrower on Rhydon, but the attack doesn't have much effect. Then Rhydon uses its Hammer Arm on Chimchar. Before Rhydon can strike again, Pikachu comes down with an Iron Tail attack. The Iron Tail weakens Rhydon, but it is still able to battle.
Magmar uses Protect, and Rhydon uses Surf. Rhydon rides the wave of water as it approaches Chimchar and Pikachu. Paul orders Chimchar to use Flame Wheel, a very risky move. Ash suddenly recalls one of Zoey's contest moves. Inspired by this, Ash orders Pikachu to use Iron Tail on the wave. The force from the Iron Tail knocks Rhydon off the wave, and then Pikachu makes a clean shot on Rhydon with Iron Tail. Rhydon faints. Ash has full control over the battle. He orders Pikachu to use Volt Tackle. Magmar uses Fire Punch, and the two Pokémon collide into each other. Chimchar uses its Dig attack. It surfaces below Magmar and attacks it. The attack knocks Magmar our, and Ash and Paul are declared the winners.
Dawn, Brock, and Conway notice that Ash and Paul's win was just pure luck. They have to work as a team otherwise they may lose. Ash persists that Paul works as a team with him, but Paul refuses to do anything that Ash says.
