Ash and co. walk past the flower fields. Up ahead is Rustboro Hall meaning that the group is getting closer to Rustboro City. Ash sees a group of trainers training their Pokémon. However, it doesn't look like they are training for any Pokémon battle. Max points to a building. He thinks that the trainers are training for a Pokémon Contest.

Suddenly, a Beautify attacks May. May screams until the Beautify gets off of her. Ash looks up Beautifly in his Pokédex. Beautifly perches on May's head again. May doesn't like the Beautifly. Two people rush to Beautifly. The woman apologizes to the group. Max asks her if she was training her Beautifly for the contest. She was, however the man's Venomoth's Whirlwind attack was a bit too strong, and it turned out to be a failure. The woman's name is Janet, and the man's name is Chaz. Ash and co. introduce themselves to Janet and Chaz. Ash wants to know how a Whirlwind can be a failure. Obviously Ash doesn't know much about Pokémon Contests. Janet explains to them that contests are about the beauty of the Pokémon and attacks and not about the power. She shows May two ribbons from previous contests. Ash, May, and Brock want to enter in the contest too. Janet and Chaz wonder if it is too late since spaces are limited.

Jessie walks up to a lady and presents her with a contest card. Jessie wants to enter into the contest. The lady tells Jessie that her card has expired, so she cannot qualify. However, the lady tells Jessie that she can renew her card. Jessie seems to be delightful. Moments later, Ash and co. enter. Unfortunately, there aren't any more spaces for them, however the lady does give Ash, Brock, May, and Max passes to watch the contest.

May is a bit upset that she couldn't be in the contest. Max thinks that May could be Janet's assistant. Janet thinks it's a great idea. Brock walks over to Chaz. Chaz is feeding Pokeblock to Venomoth. Chaz even gives some Pokeblock to Brock to taste. Janet and Chaz each have their own recipes. Because of the nutrition, Beautifly's wings are beautiful. Janet says thank you to Max for his compliment on Beautifly because it is nice to hear compliments about the Pokémon you've been working so hard on. Then Chaz asks them if they are going to battle the Rustboro gym leader. Ash says he is going to battle with Pikachu. Chaz tells Ash that the gym leader uses Rock type Pokémon which might be a problem for electric types like Pikachu. May's Torchic will also serve a problem since Fire types aren't very effective against Rock types. Chaz tells Ash that he can teach Pikachu an attack that might be effective against the Rock Pokémon. Ash wants Pikachu to learn the attack.

Chaz sends out his Sentret. He says that they are going to teach Pikachu how to use Iron Tail. For a demo, Sentret uses Iron Tail on a nearby rock. Sentret's tail glows, and it slams its tail on the rock. The rock breaks into many pieces. Chaz tells Ash that Iron Tail can be very effective against the Rock Pokémon, but only a Pokémon with a strong tail can use it. Ash starts to train Pikachu to get its tail stronger. Pikachu begins to lift up a small rock with its tail.

Meanwhile, Jessie is reading a book about Pokémon Contests. She says that winning a Pokémon Contest will make you a star because of all the fans you will receive.

The Pokémon Contest is about to begin. The three judges are introduced. Then the announcer holds out a ribbon. The winner will receive that ribbon. He explains that a coordinator that receives five ribbons will gain entry into the Grand Festival. Janet tells Brock, May, and Max that first impressions are important. Also, the development of your Pokémon and your Pokémon's cooperation are important too. Points will be given when you are done, and the points will be added up. These points will determine your score.

Outside, Ash continues to train Pikachu to perfect its Iron Tail attack. Many different objects are thrown at Pikachu, and Pikachu hits each one of them. Suddenly, Pikachu's tail begins to glow but only for a few seconds. Ash sees Chaz on the TV. Chaz is using Venomoth for the contest and he is almost done. His final score is 29.5 out of 30. Ash rushes back inside the contest building. Up next is Janet with May and Max. Janet sends in her Beautifly. Beautifly immediately uses Flash, lighting up the whole stage. Next, May and Max toss the frisbees they were holding. Beautifly uses String Shot to break each frisbee. Beautifly's final move is Hidden Power. Sparkles fly from the stage creating a beautiful area. The judges all give Janet and Beautifly a perfect score. Ash runs in the room and congratulates Janet. Janet then thanks May and Max for their help.

The last entry is with Team Rocket. Jessie sends out Seviper. She tells it to use Sacred Fire. Seviper gets a nervous look on its face. James and Meowth tells Jessie that Seviper can't use that attack. Jessie then orders Seviper to use Water Pulse and Blaze Kick. Jessie is now getting nervous since Seviper can't use any of the attacks. She gets out her book and lists some attacks, but still Seviper can't use them. Meowth tells Jessie to have Seviper use Poison Tail. Seviper does know that attack, and it uses Poison Tail on Jessie. Jessie slams into the ceiling. James, Meowth, and Seviper quickly run off stage. They receive a score of zero. With that entry over the four finalists are displayed on the screen. Both Janet and Chaz have made it to the finals.

Jessie hugs Seviper. She apologizes to it for treating it badly. Meowth has a plan. He says that they will just steal the winning Pokémon, however that happens to be Jessie's plan too.

The final battle is with Janet and Chaz. The battle begins. Chaz sends out Venomoth and Janet sends out Beautifly. Venomoth begins with Stun Spore, but Beautifly blows the spores away with Gust. Chaz and Janet both lose points, however Chaz lost a bit more point than Janet because Janet had her Beautifly defend itself while showing beauty. Janet then has Beautifly use Hidden Power. Venomoth tries to dodge the attack, but it can't because Beautifly can control the path of its attack. Chaz loses more points. Then Chaz has Venomoth use Psybeam. The attack hits Beautifly causing Janet to lose points. Because Beautifly is weak, Janet tells it to use Morning Sun. Beautifly begins to glow. It uses Morning Sun to perfection and its wounds are all healed. With one minute left, Venomoth fires out another Psybeam and Beautifly uses Hidden Power. The two attacks collide into each other. Time is up! Janet has a bit more points than Chaz, so she wins the contest.

Suddenly, Team Rocket appears in disguises. They claim to be the part of the "Congratulations Commitee." James gives Janet a bouquet of flowers. The bouquet is actually a trick. Smoke comes out of the bouquet, and Team Rocket says their motto. They have Beautifly and Venomoth trapped in nets. Chaz and Janet says that Team Rocket are crooks and cheats. Jessie sends out Seviper. Before Seviper can attack, Ash has Pikachu use Iron Tail. Unfortunately, the attack fails because Pikachu isn't quite ready to perform the attack. May sends out Torchic. Torchic tackles Seviper, and then it uses Ember on the net. The net breaks and Venomoth and Beautifly are free. Janet thanks May for her help. Venomoth and Beautifly both use Gust. The powerful wind strikes Team Rocket, causing them to blast off.

One of the judges presents Janet with her ribbon. Janet lets May and Max look at it. May has decided to one day enter a Pokémon Contest. Max tells her that she should first focus on her gym battle. Chaz wishes Ash and May the best of luck. Brock tells Ash that he should also work on Pikachu's Iron Tail attack. Ash and co. continue their way to Rustboro City and the Rustboro City gym.