Ash and co. are traveling to Rustboro City. They are walking happily through the forest except for May. She is tired out from the long walk. May falls down on her knees. Ash sighs and agrees to take another break. Max looks at his Pokenav and sees that a Pokémon Center is nearby. Brock pulls May's arm so that they can move forward. May trips backwards and hits a tree. She notices that something is sticking out of the tree. They see that a lot of trees have been scraped and that the bark is falling off. Max wonders if there was a Pokémon battle. The thing sticking out of the tree looks like a metal arrow. Ash holds the arrow in his hand wondering what it would have to do with a battle.

The group walks inside the Pokémon Center where they receive a warm welcome from Nurse Joy. May notices Nurse Joy right away. Nurse Joy isn't familiar with the group since the Nurse Joy from Odale Town was her older sister. Max gets out a book and shows it to May. Inside the book is a photograph of the Nurse Joy family. Brock can easily tell which Nurse Joy is from which country. He states that each Nurse Joy has something unique. Just then, Officer Jenny walks in the building. Brock immediately gets excited. He runs over to Officer Jenny and points out the uniqueness in her too. May wonders if there is also a bunch of Officer Jennys. Max shows her a photograph of the whole Officer Jenny family. Officer Jenny ignores Brock and asks Nurse Joy if any Pokémon have been brought to the Pokémon Center recently. When Nurse Joy says no, Officer Jenny tells everyone that a poacher has been seen. She holds up a Wanted poster. The poacher's name is Riko. Ash pulls out the arrow he found and shows it to Officer Jenny. Officer Jenny explains to them that poachers use it to capture Pokémon. Ash and co. lead her to the place where they found the arrow.

Team Rocket is far away spying on Ash and co. James suggests that they set a trap for them. He wants to dig a hole, but Meowth wants to be more original. Meowth tells Jessie and James that they have to be more creative in order to make it to the top. With that, he slips over the ledge and falls into the forest. Meowth hears sounds coming close. He sees a green cloth and lifts it up. Hiding under the cloth is a cage full of Ekans! Meowth begins to communicate with the Ekans. He hears that the Ekans were captured by a poacher. Meowth places his paws on the cage and ends up getting zapped. Jessie and James hears the commotion and they slide down the cliff with Arbok and Weezing. Meowth tells Jessie and James the story about the Ekans. Meowth suggests that they take the Ekans for themselves. Jessie and James agrees with Meowth's idea. Jessie tells Arbok to use Acid on the cage. Arbok looks at the Ekans with big eyes. It doesn't respond to Jessie's order. James says that Arbok used to be an Ekans and it doesn't want to hurt them. Jessie promises Arbok that she won't hurt the Ekans. Arbok understands and uses Acid. However, the Acid doesn't affect the cage at all. James orders Weezing to attack. Just before Weezing can do anything, a Fearow comes flying down and tackles Weezing.

A car pulls up to Team Rocket. The poacher gets out and asks them who they are. Team Rocket says their motto. The poacher introduces himself as Riko. In the back of his car is a cage full of Koffing. Weezing has tears in its eyes. Riko tells Team Rocket that he is poaching poison Pokémon. He tells them that he will let them go easily as long as he can get Arbok and Weezing. Jessie and James refuse to give up their Pokémon to Riko. A battle starts off with Fearow and Arbok. Fearow uses Agility. Arbok and Weezing send their attacks at Fearow but miss. Fearow then fires a Drill Peck when Arbok wraps itself around Fearow's beak. Riko calls his Pokémon back and sends out Pupitar. Pupitar uses Sandstorm which blasts Team Rocket off into the sky.

Officer Jenny tells Ash and co. that poachers use arrows to weaken the Pokémon. Max notices tire tracks on the ground. Since they are still fresh, Ash decides to send out Taillow to search for Riko. Team Rocket falls onto the ground. They are angry at Riko for being a coward. Unfortunately, Team Rocket has also landed in a part of the forest where Kakuna and Beedrill live. Team Rocket run as fast as they can away from the Beedrill who are following them. A Cacnea lies on the road. It fires a Pin Missile at the Beedrill. Scared, the Beedrill fly away. James thanks Cacnea for saving their lives. Jessie tells the group that they should head back to the poacher. Meowth reminds her that the poacher probably already got away. Suddenly, Arbok moves its head closer to the ground. Meowth says that Arbok can detect where the poacher is. Meanwhile, James gives Cacnea a bag of cookies for saving them. Cacnea stares blankly at the cookies. Arbok detects something. Jessie, James, and Meowth follow Arbok to the poacher.

Taillow sees the poacher driving in his car. It flies back to tell Ash. Meanwhile, Arbok pops out of the ground. Riko comes to a complete stop. Then Weezing uses Smokescreen. Jessie and James appear in back of them. Riko gets irritated and has his Fearow blow the smoke away. Meowth is at the cage trying to open the cage. Even though Meowth is getting shocked with electricity, it doesn't give up. Riko has Fearow attack Meowth, but Arbok counterattacks with a Tackle. Fearow falls backwards into the cage and gets shocked. Meowth successfully opens the cage and lets all the Ekans and Koffing free. Riko is very mad by this. He angrily sends out Pupitar who suddenly evolves into a Tyranitar.

Team Rocket is scared now that Pupitar has evolved. Weezing uses Smokescreen. The smoke surrounds Tyranitar. With the smoke in the way, Meowth tells the Ekans and Koffing to run. Tyranitar fires out a Hyper Beam to block the path of Ekans and Koffing. Riko snickers and tells Team Rocket to give back Ekans, Koffing, and all of their Pokémon. Jessie thinks of an idea. She knows that Wobbuffet can use Counter. Tyranitar fires another Hyper Beam. Wobbuffet tries a Counter, but the attack hits Wobbuffet before Counter can do anything. Another Hyper Beam is fired causing a few trees to be knocked down. Ash and co. see the explosion ahead. They walk towards the direction of the explosion.

Team Rocket is severely crippled. They look at each other and then face Arbok and Weezing. Jessie and James orders Arbok and Weezing to take its friends and leave because the Ekans and Koffing needs someone to look after them. Arbok and Weezing don't want to go, but Jessie and James insist. They tell their Pokémon that they can take care of themselves and that everything will be okay. Arbok and Weezing give in and they lead the Ekans and Koffing away. They sob greatly as they watch their friends get beaten up by Tyranitar. Jessie, James, and Meowth are on the ground. Riko calls back Tyranitar and goes after the poison Pokémon.

Ash and co. walk up to Riko. Officer Jenny tells Riko that he is under arrest. Riko laughs and sends out Fearow. With a jolt of electricity from Pikachu, Fearow faints. Before Riko can send out Tyranitar, Growlithe leaps up and seizes all of Riko's equipment including the Pokéball that holds Tyranitar. Officer Jenny demands to know where the captured Pokémon are at. Riko explains to her that three people released them all. Ash knows that it was Team Rocket, and he is glad that they can be nice people. Team Rocket sadly walks down the road. Jessie and James hopes that Arbok and Weezing will live happily in the forest. Suddenly, Cacnea appears in the scene. It is still holding the bag of cookies. James bends down and opens the bag of cookies. He gives one to Cacnea. Cacnea happily munches on the cookie. James offers Cacnea to come and travel with him. Cacnea agrees to James' offer. Cacnea jumps into James' arms, but the needles on its body pinches James.

English Official Summary

Our heroes are headed for Rustboro City, where Ash hopes to have his first real gym battle in Hoenn. Team Rocket is making their way along the same path when they stumble upon a cage full of Ekans. Jessie is delighted that their work has been done for them and orders Arbok to attack. Arbok can't manage to attack the helpless Ekans, however, because it remembers when it used to be an Ekans. Jessie is sympathetic. James soon makes a similar concession when they find a cage of Koffing that Wheezing will not hurt. The cages belong to a poacher named Rico who uses his Fearrow and Pupitar to chase off Team Rocket. Team Rocket returns to the scene, now hoping to free the Ekans and Koffing. Things turn dangerous when Rico's Pupitar evolves into a Tyrannitar, and Team Rocket is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice for the Pokémon that they love.

French Official Summary

Nos héros se dirigent vers Mérouville, où Sacha espère livrer son premier vrai combat d'Arène de la région de Hoenn. La Team Rocket suit le même sentier lorsqu’ils tombent sur une cage pleine d’Abo. Jessie est ravie de voir que le travail a été fait à leur place et ordonne à Arbok d’attaquer. Cependant, Arbok refuse d’attaquer les Abo sans défense, parce qu’il se souvient de l’époque où il était lui-même un Abo. Après qu’ils aientt trouvé une cage pleine de Smogo, que Smogogo refuse d’attaquer, James et Jessie décident de libérer les Pokémon pris au piège. Les cages appartiennent à un braconnier qui force la Team Rocket à prendre la fuite, mais ils reviennent très vite, bien déterminés à libérer les Abo et les Smogo. La situation s’aggrave lorsque l’Ymphect du braconnier évolue en Tyranocif, et la Team Rocket se voit forcée de prendre une décision difficile, pour les Pokémon qu’elle aime.

German Official Summary

In Metarost City plant Ash seinen ersten richtigen Arenakampf in Hoenn.

Italian Official Summary

Il gruppo è diretto a Ferrugipoli, dove Ash spera di poter fare la sua prima vera lotta in una Palestra della regione di Hoenn.

Portuguese Official Summary

Nossos heróis estão no rastro de um ladrão de Pokémon, e a Equipe Rocket segue logo atrás!

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

Nuestros héroes siguen el rastro de un cazador Pokémon, ¡y el Equipo Rocket está muy cerca!

Spanish Official Summary

Nuestros héroes van de camino a Ciudad Férrica, donde Ash espera tener su primer Combate de Gimnasio real en Hoenn. Mientras sigue el mismo camino, el Team Rocket tropieza con una jaula llena de Ekans. Jessie está encantada de que alguien les haya hecho el trabajo difícil y ordena a Arbok que ataque. Pero Arbok se niega a atacar a los indefensos Ekans, pues se acuerda de cuando él era un Ekans. Cuando encuentran una jaula de Koffing a la que Weezing no hará daño, James y Jessie deciden liberar a los Pokémon atrapados. Las jaulas son de un cazador furtivo que persigue al Team Rocket, pero no tardan en volver decididos a liberar a los Ekans y a los Koffing. La situación empeora cuando el Pupitar del cazador evoluciona a un Tyranitar, y el Team Rocket tiene que tomar una difícil decisión por los Pokémon a los que quieren.

English Great Britian Official Summary

Our heroes are headed for Rustboro City, where Ash hopes to have his first real gym battle in Hoenn. Team Rocket is making their way along the same path when they stumble upon a cage full of Ekans. Jessie is delighted that their work has been done for them and orders Arbok to attack. Arbok can't manage to attack the helpless Ekans, however, because it remembers when it used to be an Ekans. Jessie is sympathetic. James soon makes a similar concession when they find a cage of Koffing that Wheezing will not hurt. The cages belong to a poacher named Rico who uses his Fearrow and Pupitar to chase off Team Rocket. Team Rocket returns to the scene, now hoping to free the Ekans and Koffing. Things turn dangerous when Rico's Pupitar evolves into a Tyrannitar, and Team Rocket is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice for the Pokémon that they love.

Russian Official Summary

На дороге Эш и его друзья обнаруживают странный предмет. Полицейская Дженни говорит, что он часть браконьерской сети. Наши герои вместе с Полицейской Дженни отправляются на поиски предполагаемых браконьеров, но на пути у них встаёт Команда Р. Оказывается, что браконьеру заказали поимку ядовитых покемонов, и в сети попались Эканы и Коффинг, которые эволюционируют в Арбока и Визинга. Потрясённые плохим обращением с покемонами, Джесси и Джеймс пытаются сразиться с браконьером, но не справляются, и приказывают собственным Арбоку и Визингу увести младших покемонов несмотря ни на что. Злодеям пришлось попрощаться со своими давнишними партнерами, но баланс восстановился благодаря присоединившейся к ним Какнеи. Тем временем Эшу, его друзьям и Полицейской Дженни удастся поймать браконьера, но они так и не узнают, какое неожиданное геройство совершили члены Команды Р!

Dutch Official Summary

Onze helden zijn een Pokémon stroper op het spoor, en Team Rocket is ook in de buurt!

Danish Official Summary

Vore helte er på sporet af en Pokémon-tyv, og Team Rocket er lige i hælene på dem!

Swedish Official Summary

Våra hjältar förföljer en Pokémon-fångare, och Team Rocket är inte långt efter dem!