On the way to Veilstone City, Ash and the others stop to have lunch. When Ash, Dawn, and Brock let all their pokemon out, Chimchar is shocked to see a happy environment, which is different from the one it had with Paul. Meanwhile, a group of Zangoose are lured to Team Rocket's Seviper, which results in Team Rocket blasting off. Meowth is separated from Jesse and James, and has a midnight meeting with Chimchar about life. The next day, Team Rocket attacks and captures all of the pokemon except for Ash's Chimchar. The Zangoose also return, and now it is up to Chimchar to put its fear behind it and fight the Zangoose.

Ash and the others arrive in Emeragrove Town, where the Eterna City Gym Leader, Gardenia, just happens to be. Team Rocket decides to steal Pikachu, but when James calls out Cacnea, Gardenia swoons over it and asks to have a tag battle. The battle ends up being Ash and Dawn vs. James and Gardenia. During the battle Cacnea pulls off the move Drain Punch. James tries to use it a second time, but it does not work. Gardenia then tells James he needs to be in perfect sync with Cacnea for the move to work and asks if she can train Cacnea. James starts to think about it, and decides to try and train Cacnea himself. Jessie and Meowth think that Drain Punch would be a good move for them to have, so they convince Ash to help James train. However, will James' training work?

Continuing the journey to Veilstone City, Ash and the others are at a Pokemon Center watching a contest on TV (and to give time for Ash and Pikachu to rest after eating too much), where they see Kenny win his second ribbon, which upsets Dawn. They then reveal that the next contest will be held in Solaceon Town, and Dawn decides to start training for that contest. Ash also starts to train for his next gym battle. Zoey arrives at the center and decides to help Dawn train. During the training, Ash’s Aipom and Dawn’s Buizel are distracted by the other’s training, and so Zoey suggests that they trade them. Ash and Dawn start to think about the trade, and when Team Rocket attacks, they decide to use the other pokemon as a test to help decide what they should do.

On the way to Solaceon Town, Ash and Dawn are doing some late night training with their new Buizel and Aipom. During the battle, Buizel accidentally destroys a nearby stone tower, and unleashes the pokemon Spiritomb. Spiritomb attacks them before flying away. The next morning Ash and the others arrive in a nearby village that was attacked by Spiritomb. They meet an old woman who tells them the tale of Spiritomb. After realizing the trouble they have caused, Ash, Dawn, and Brock decide to help seal Spiritomb away. Meanwhile Team Rocket disguise them selves as psychics in order to capture both Pikachu and Spiritomb.

On the way to Solaceon Town, Ash and friends arrive at the site of an unfinished bridge. They meet the builder, Isis, as well as the engineer, and the nearby town mayor. The bridge needs to be completed in three days, but the pokemon that cuts the stone, Bibarel, is not working. No matter what they try it just lounges around. Brock decides to help Isis, but because Bibarel won’t work, they can’t get the right size of brick. The engineer then returns to the site and decides to use force to get Bibarel to work.

Ash and friends arrive on Mt. Coronet where Ash engages in a battle with a boy named Alan and his Nosepass. When the battle leaves the mountain, Alan says they must stay on the mountain in order for Nosepass to evolve. Eventually, Nosepass evolves into Probopass. Before the battle can continue, Team Rocket arrives and puts a device on Probopass, which turns it against Alan, and allows it to go with them. Team Rocket plans to make more controlling helmets in order to gain an army of Probopass. Meanwhile Ash and the others begin formulating a plan to get Probopass back.

Ash and friends are lost while on the trip to Solaceon Town. They find a mansion nearby and decide to check it out. When they approach they are attacked by an young girl named Marble, her Luxray, and a bunch of security guards, who believe they are thieves. The owner comes out and the misunderstanding in resolved. The owner, Matthew, reveals that three criminals want to steal his treasure the Old Charm, at 8:00. Ash, Dawn, and Brock agree to help out. It turns out that Team Rocket are the thieves, and they make off with the treasure. Their plan ends abruptly when their balloon pops and crash lands in another part of the mansion. Everyone heads to get there, but Team Rocket falls prey to the mansion's traps. Now it is up to Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Marble to find Team Rocket and get the Old Charm back, but with a mansion full of traps and a disobedient Luxray, that may be harder then planned.

Ash and friends arrive in Solaceon Town for Dawn's next contest. Dawn is training and shows off Aipom's new move, Double Hit. Brock reveals that this means Aipom is close to evolving. Soon Kenny arrives and reveals his new Breloom. Ash wants to battle him, and Kenny agrees. During the battle Kenny shows off the move Energy Ball, which Ash immediately wants to teach Turtwig. Kenny agrees and the battle is called off to begin training. Meanwhile Team Galactic Commander Saturn as his two henchman arrive at the Sloaceon Ruins and retrieve a special cube, and before leaving, they upset all of the ruins' Unown. Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Kenny arrive at the ruins, and are then unexpectedly caught in the Unown's warped dimension and must figure out a way to stop them.

The day of the Solaceon Contest has finally arrived, and Dawn, Kenny, and Jessie are all determined to win. As the contest gets underway, all of them pull off dazzling appeals. When the final eight are selected, Dawn is not included. Dawn congratulates Kenny and Jessie. The final match comes down to Kenny and Jessie, and in a startling upset, Jessie defeats Kenny and wins her first ribbon. Kenny leaves town for the next destination that evening, while Dawn begins to sulk, trying to figure out why she keeps losing. The next day Zoey shows up and is ready to get Dawn back to winning form.

On the way to Veilstone City, Brock brings the group to the Mountain Hut Maid Cafe where they meet the owners, sisters Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The sisters show them how they produce the milk, which is where they learn that Autumn’s Miltank, Ilta, does not like to listen. Brock agrees to help Autumn and Ilta, so Ash and Dawn decide to help Spring and Summer with the cafe in their absence. Brock then bestows all his breeding knowledge to help Autumn and Ilta get along and cooperate. Meanwhile, Team Rocket try to have their own cafe, but when that fails they decide to steal Ilta instead.

Continuing the journey to Veilstone City, Ash is busy training Turtwig so it can perfect Energy Ball. Realizing that it is getting late, Brock insists that they get to the next town before it gets dark. Dawn says that instead they should go to a nearby hot springs hotel owned by her friend's family. They arrive there and Dawn introduces them to her childhood friend Leona. While they immediately jump into the hot springs, they find out that the water level is low and they are cold. Leona reveals that it happened just recently, and her parents went off to find out the reason. Ash, Dawn, and Brock agree to help her find the reason and head up into the mountains with her. They soon discover a fresh hot spring in the mountains. The hot spring was made by a disguised Team Rocket, who is tapping into Leona's pipeline, and now they must find a way to get the water back.

Ash and friends stop to have lunch in a city while Ash continues to train Turtwig to master the move Energy Ball. They are suddenly interrupted by a group of Gligar and a Gliscor who swoop down on them and steal all of their food. While trying to decide what to do, Paul appears and scares the hoard off, revealing that he wants to capture Gliscor. Ash, Dawn, and Brock then run into Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny who reveal that Gliscor was trapped in the city due to recently strong winds, and its attempts at using sonar to escape attracted a group of Gligar. Ash, Dawn, and Brock agree to help them get the group of pokA©mon back to the forest. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is planning a way to capture the pokA©mon, while Paul plots on how to capture Gliscor, and Ash has a few encounters with a awkward Gligar.

Still on the way to Veilstone, Ash and friends stop by a sand-pit to have some fun. All of a sudden a Hippowdon emerges from underneath it. Trouble appears when the over curious Pachirisu falls into its mouth.

The group are introduced to Maylene and Ash immediately asks for Gym Battle. However, Maylene declines his request because she has lost her self-confidence as a Gym Leader due to Paul...

Following Dawn's two contest losses, and Maylene's loss to Paul, both girls have lost their confidence in battle. The two of them decide to have a battle to regain their spirits

Maylene has regained her confidence and accepts Ash challenge request. As the battle begins, Maylene begins with Machoke, while Ash chooses to use Staravia to show off its new training skills.

On the night before Ash, Dawn, and Brock leave Veilstone City, they stop at a park with some meteors. However, Team Galactic shows up and wants to take them.

Beginning their journey to Pastoria City, Ash, Dawn, and Brock have stopped for something to eat. Meanwhile Dawn is also showing off the new vest her mom made for Buneary. All of a sudden a Chingling wonders into their camp. Their trainer Francesca soon shows up and performs her magic act, only to have it interrupted by Chingling. She then tells how this Chingling is a little spoiled and is always ruining the act. Ash, Dawn, and Brock decide to help her solve the problem. Meanwhile Team Rocket wants to steal Francesca's Chingling trio for the boss.

On their way to Pastoria City, Ash and his friends found a hurt Riolu.They try to help it, but Riolu atack them.But our friends didnA't give up of helping it and a Top Pokemon Ranger appears. Together, they try to get Riolu back home while Team Galact try to get Riolu, who is a special one.On their way home, galactic’s Salamance begin to fire flametower in the florest our friends are hiding.Now, what will be of our friends?

J has managed to capture Riolu and delivers it to her client. In order to help get it back, Ash is reunited with his old Ranger friend Solana, and together they agree to save Riolu

Team Rocket arrives by a lakeside where Jessie's Dustox catches site of a Shiny Dustox. They follow it to a lake where they meet the Shiny Dustox's trainer. He tells them that when there is a full moon, Dustox gather at the lake and fly over Mt. Coronet together, and Jessie's Dustox becomes close with the other one.

Ash and friends encounter a boy who has a Pichu and Raichu, and he thinks that Ash’s Pikachu is wild. Meanwhile, Pikachu might have to revisit a very important issue regarding its future.

On their way to Pastoria, Ash and Dawn were training when a journalist came up and told them about a pokemon contest whose ribbon is worth for every region and itA's called Walace Cup. Then, they met Walace and he asked May to show PiplogA's moves to him, so, Ash and Buizel fought May and Piplog.After seeing BuizelA's performance, Walace ask Ash to participate his cup.May appears.

At a pier near Lake Valor, Ash, Dawn, and Brock wait for a ship to come which has their old friend May on it. The boat lands and they greet each other. As they leave the pier May talks about Max, reveals her new Glaceon and tells about her travels in Johto. When Ash gets hungry, she tells them she made reservations at the Seven Stars Restaurant. Once they get there, they find out they must win a tag battle before they can eat. Ash and Brock win their battle easily, but before Dawn and May can battle Team Rocket steals food from the restaurant and they decide to find them and get it back.

The Wallace Cup is finally beginning and the competition is going to be fierce with Ash, Dawn, May, Zoey, and Jessie all competing for the prestigious Aqua Ribbon, which can be used in any region’s Grand Festival. As the appeals start, May, Zoey, and Ash all put on great appeals, but Dawn is till nervous about her two previous failed contest bids and wonders if she really can make it past the appeals.

After everyone passes the first round of the Wallace Cup, the group returns to the lake resort to talk about their journeys. Ash and Pikachu head down to the lake where see a glow in the lake, and a shadow emerges and then disappears. Ash heads back to tell Dawn about it. The next day the contest resumes.

The semi-finals begins. Dawnand piplog fought a croudon and proceeded to the finals.Zoey and Granmeow, May and Beautifly fought.After a good battle, may passed to the finals too.The final is a battle between MayA's Glaceon and DawnA's Piplog.After a good-to-see battle, Dawn won her second ribbon.

Ash and friends keep going to Pastoria City.On their way, they met a one-weak trainer that promised himself he would get the first pokemon he saw. This figured out to be Yamn, and he was there three whole days trying to get it, when he was close to manage it, the team rocket shows up and Jesse throw a pokeball that get the Yamn. On their way to get another Yamn, the team rocketA's Yamn evolves into a Yamnmega and with Buizel help, Ash blow away Team Rocket more one time.And the trainer got his Yamn.

AshA's Gliger blows away by a strong wind that leave Gligar to a place where Paul is. Using Staravia, Ash found Gligar and ask Paul to a battle. The first pokemon of Ash is Gligar that fought and lost to his envolve form.The second one is Chinchar that fought Ursaring. When Chinchar is about to lose, his great ability finally shows up and because of it he wons Ursaring. Ash has trouble to control Chinchar but everything ends well.

Ash and his friends have arrived in Pastoria City and head to the Gym. The Gym Leader Crasher Wake comes out but denies Ash's request for a Gym Battle because of an urgent matter. The group decides to accompany him instead and follow him.