The sixteen-year-old Ash, Dawn, and their friends were walking through the foggy Johto forest to look for New Bark Town. They were traveling with allies, both human in Brock and Misty and Pokemon in Pikachu, Snivy, Piplup, Togepi, and some others still in their Pokeballs. It was just earlier that day that the group of four had arrived in the Johto region, with Ash aiming to enter the Johto League and Dawn planning to compete in the Grand Festival. However, the group may be faced with a bit of a dilemma.
Pikachu cried out, trying to get Ash's attention. Fortunately for Pikachu, it worked as Ash stopped. "What, Pikachu?" Ash asked as Pikachu pointed to right above them. Ash looks up and sees a branch above him that looks familiar. "Yeah, that branch looks familiar."
"Ash! You mean..," Misty began, dreading the thought of what this meant.
"Sadly, I think it is what we fear. We got lost. Again," Dawn said looking a bit annoyed.
At this, Misty and Dawn's Piplup collapse. Misty gets herself back up before complaining to Ash, "Now we've been walking around in circles all day! You said you knew where we were going and we're totally lost, now! Where do we go?!"
"Well, if you're so smart, why don't you be the one to decide?!" Ash countered.
"That's a good idea. I'll find a way out of here," Misty agreed as she pointed forward. After a few moments, she still stood there pointing without a response.
"Come on, Misty, let's go. We're waiting for your directions," Ash snarkily said in response to the silence.
"Don't rush me, Ash! I just have to think!" Misty yelled out.
"Well, this is gonna be a brand new experience for you," Ash joked.
"That is a bit much, don't you think, Ash?" Dawn whispered to her best friend.
"Hey! She's the one who wanted to play pathfinder," Ash whispered back.
"I heard that! And we're not lost cause of me!" Misty yelled out.
"Hey! Yelling never solves anything so just calm down! You two have to learn to be more mature like me," Brock tried to stop the fighting between Ash and Misty.
"Hey! I wasn't part of that fight! Though, to be fair, we could have said something earlier," Dawn muttered as Ash's Snivy shrugged in agreement.
Soon, a strange creature catches Togepi's senses, causing it to leap out of Misty's arms, with Pikachu, Snivy, and Piplup following behind.
"Pikachu! Snivy!" Ash yelled out as he ran after his partners.
"Piplup! Togepi! Please get back here!" Dawn followed after to retrieve both her partner Pokemon and Misty's.
Ash and Dawn follow them into the woods and manage to find them at the edge of a cliff. "Pikachu! Guys! It's good to see that you are all okay!" Ash cries out in relief as Pikachu gives a cry.
"I know, right? Thanks for looking after Togepi, you three. I bet Misty will be relieved to see that she is… huh?" At this point, Ash and Dawn see the glowing blue figure of a dog-like creature, one that they both find familiar from looking in the Pokedex. At about this point, the rest of the gang approaches, having managed to catch up.
"A Pokémon!" Brock says, amazed at the rare Pokemon.
"It's beautiful," Misty sighs at the rare Pokemon. "I haven't seen this one before. What do you think it is?"
"I think I've seen this one in the Pokedex before. It appears to be a Suicune," Dawn answers gleefully as Suicune looks at our heroes.
"It sure is!" Ash agrees. Suicune runs off, but Ash rushes after it. "Wait! Come back! We don't want to hurt you!" Ash cries out as he tries to run after Suicune, only to end up sliding down the edge, followed by Pikachu and Togepi.
"Ash!" The others cry out as they follow, but also slide down. The singing Jigglypuff notices and also slides down.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket is lost and wandering around in the foggy forest.
"We'll never find our way in this," Jessie complains.
"This fog's as thick as pea soup," James agrees.
"Without the little hunks of ham," Meowth jokes in agreement. Fortunately for the evil trio, the fog soon lifts at last.
"It looks like it's finally lifted," Jessie says gleefully.
"Hot diggity dog!" James yells excitedly.
"Let's go get lunch!" Meowth suggests as Team Rocket dashes ahead, but quickly runs out of breath, having used all of their limited energy. Meowth suddenly ends up noticing something in front of them. "What's that?" In response, Jessie and James look and see a building in front of them.
"It looks like a university," James notes.
"Or maybe even some kind of school," Meowth suggests.
"Oh, if it is, it must have some kind of a cafeteria!" Jessie realizes as the trio look at the building greedily.
"If so, think we can get away with enough food if it isn't free?" James questions.
"Only one way to find out," Meowth says. Soon, some Fearow fly out of the trees, startling them enough to run into the building.
"This is for the birds," Team Rocket sigh in relief that they are away from the fearsome Pokemon.
"Is that you, Nurse Joy?" A voice says, which freaks out the trio. Team Rocket cautiously looks up and sees a stranger in a lab coat. "Thanks for coming over on such short notice. I guess I should've called weeks ago, but I got caught up in my research project. You'll find the Pokémon we talked about running around the lab somewhere."
James quietly asks, confused, "Pokémon?"
"Is there a problem, Nurse Joy?" The professor asks.
Jessie imitates Nurse Joy, responding, "Not a problem in the world."
James worriedly scolds, "Jessie!"
Jessie grabs James in a headlock before loudly whispering, "Just be quiet! I'll handle this!" Jessie then says aloud, imitating Nurse Joy, "Well, now that Nurse Joy is here, what is it you'd like me to do for you?"
"What we talked about on the phone. A complete checkup for the Totodile," The professor responds.
Jessie and James ask, confused, "Totodile?"
Meowth soon yells in pain, but Jessie and James stifle him. They soon see the aforementioned Totodile, a blue crocodile with a smile on his face, latched onto Meowth's tail. The Totodile lets go and sprays a Water Gun in James' face, still as happy as can be.
Jessie imitates Nurse Joy again, "Oh, silly me! Now how could I have forgotten that?" Jessie then proceeds to grab James, Meowth, and Totodile and heads for the door. "I'll take it right over to the Pokémon Center. Bye-bye."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy. Great to see ya," The professor says, remaining unaware that the gleeful starter Pokemon has been stolen.
Meanwhile, our heroes are exhausted after their tumble, trying to regather their barings as they are walking forward.
"I don't think I can go much further," Misty pants out.
"Me neither," Brock agrees.
"No need to worry, you guys! If we're to find New Bark Town and continue our journey we can't just give up! I know we're all exhausted after that tumble, but if we stop now we'll never return to civilization again!" Dawn tries to encourage her friends to continue.
"Dawn's right! We can't just stop now! At the very least we should find a way into town before we stop," Ash agrees as they stop at a road sign. "Speaking of… Hey! Look what that sign says!"
"New Bark Town!" Misty reads, looking relieved.
"We made it!" Dawn cheered. "Do you think they'll have a Pokemon Contest hall here?"
"Maybe. Either way, things seem to be looking up for us!" Ash said as Pikachu and Piplup cheered and Snivy gave a small smile.
"Ash, maybe we'll see another one of those Pokémon we saw in the woods," Misty suggested.
"Hey, yeah! We may have seen some of the Pokemon Johto has to offer, but maybe we'll see some new ones all the same!" Ash agreed.
"Maybe not another Suicune, though. They are supposed to be very rare," Dawn said as Piplup nodded.
"'New Bark Town. This way to The Town Where the Winds of New Beginnings Blow'. Yes! Our next adventure starts right here!" Brock reads joyfully.
Ash then thinks, "Where Winds of New Beginnings Blow. I can almost hear the crowd at my first Johto League match." Ash then says aloud, "YEAH! I'm ready!"
"Me too! Nothing will be stopping us!" Dawn agreed as Piplup looked proud.
A shocked and confused Misty asks, "What do you think they're ready for, Brock?"
Brock then suggests, "Ash's probably ready to overcome every obstacle to achieve his ultimate destiny. Same with Dawn and her Contests."
A sweat drop forms on Misty's head as she mutters, "Oh, that."
"The journey starts right now, Pikachu and Snivy! Look out, Johto League, we're on our way!" Ash says, pumped up.
Brock suddenly grabs Ash's shirt collar before he could walk forward, "Ash, you can't get to the Johto League until you're registered!"
"Not to mention we still need to get you eight badges, if it is like how it was in Kanto that is," Dawn reminds Ash.
At this, Ash blushes. "Oh yeah, that's right. Look out, Johto League, we're going to register! And once my Pokemon and I win eight badges, we'll be able to reach for the very top!" Pikachu agreed with a nod as Snivy shrugged with a nod as well. Suddenly, Ash asks Brock. "Do you have any cash in case they charge a fee?" At this, everyone else comically fell, with Snivy facepalming.
"There's no fee! You just sign up at the Pokémon Center! Come on," Brock pointed out as he started walking into town.
"If this is anything like it was in Kanto and the Orange Islands, I bet there's a Nurse Joy in charge of this Pokémon Center, too," Misty comments, believing that Brock may be quick to enter town for that reason.
"Well, at least he's happy. Let's just hope he doesn't get his hopes too high," Dawn comments to Misty.
Soon, our heroes arrive at the Pokémon Center and Brock races to the front desk in order to compliment Nurse Joy.
"I guess some things never change with Brock. Well, at least we have him back with us," Dawn commented to Piplup, who agreed with a nod.
"So, Misty, don't you want to interrupt Brock?" Ash asked Misty, confused at Misty not going up yet.
"I'll give him a minute," Misty answers.
"Oh, Nurse Joy!" Brock cheers as he approaches the counter. "Your beauty goes well beyond mere words and-," However, a Chansey pops up instead of the nurse, much to the group's confusion. "Chansey, you're not Nurse Joy."
Chansey activates a button and a screen with Nurse Joy on it comes down and turns it on. "Welcome, all trainers. I'm Nurse Joy."
"There she is," Brock says dreamily.
"That's funny," Misty comments.
"I wonder why she is on TV and not here to help?" Ash wondered.
"I'm not sure. Maybe the video will give us an answer," Dawn suggested.
"I'm over at the Elm Laboratory right now and I'm sorry I'm not here to help you, but I'll be back at the Pokémon Center at no later than two o'clock this afternoon," Nurse Joy answered on the screen.
"Guess we gotta wait. So, Dawn, anything you wanna talk about before Nurse Joy gets back?" Ash asked his friend.
"I guess. What do you think is keeping Nurse Joy held up at Professor Elm's anyway? Do you think that one of the Pokemon got injured?" Dawn wondered.
"Maybe. I just hope that whatever it is that it isn't too serious. Then again, seeing as how this is Nurse Joy we're talking about the Professor and the Pokemon are in good hands," Ash tried to comfort himself and Dawn.
"Yeah," Dawn agreed before noticing a familiar face was present as well. "Hey look Ash. It's…"
"Paul!" Ash noticed the frowning teen sitting at a seat not that far off from the duo.
"Oh, it's you! Do you mind?! Some of us are trying to wait here!" Paul commented in annoyance.
"So, what are you doing here, anyway? Let me guess. You plan on entering the Johto League like me, right?" Ash asked as Snivy looked on warily.
"Duh! I'm waiting for Nurse Joy to return so that I can register and begin working towards my eight badges," Paul said.
"Ah! So it is like it was in Kanto!" Dawn cheerfully said.
"Right. Now, can you two please leave me alone? I'd rather not have to listen to the buzzing from two annoying flies while I wait for Nurse Joy to get back," Paul snarked.
"Hey! We're not annoying flies, you know! Can't you just be respectful to us for once in your life?!" Ash asked.
"Ash is right! We didn't even do anything wrong! I bet you're just worried that Ash will beat you like he did at the Indigo Plateau!" Dawn countered, visibly frustrating Paul.
Before Paul could say anything, Misty and Brock approached and pulled Ash and Dawn away from the rude rival. "Now, now. I know Paul may be frustrating, but getting mad at him won't solve anything," Brock said.
"Fair point," Ash sighed a bit begrudgingly. "So, Paul, I guess I'll wish you good luck in the upcoming Gym Battles. I mean, once we both register when Nurse Joy returns at two o'clock."
"Hmph! It's a lot later than that! I don't know what's taking Nurse Joy so long, but I'd rather she get back here soon! I have places to go and people to see and I don't want to be kept up any longer!" Paul responded.
At this, Misty looked over at the clock and noted, "Paul is right, you guys. The clock says that it is currently way past that," Misty answered. Our heroes look at the clock and see That Misty is right. It's WAY past two o'clock.
"It's already three thirty," Ash realized.
"May as well sit down," Misty decided as she sat down on a nearby seat a bit away from Paul.
"Must be running late," Ash muttered as he prepared to sit down.
"Maybe…," Dawn was starting to get worried.
"We can't just hang around here and hope everything's okay! Don't you understand?! Nurse Joy might be in some kind of terrible danger! Let's go find her!" Brock cried out as he prepared to run to the Professor's lab.
"Whatever you say, Brock," Ash said dryly, not sure how to feel about his friend's girl craziness.
"To be fair, it may be a good idea to at least see what the problem is. If it is something we can help, we'll help. If not, we can just return to the Pokemon Center," Dawn agreed.
"I hate to admit it, but you and Brock are making sense," Misty said. "Besides, I'd rather not have to continue dealing with Paul any longer than I can help."
Soon, our heroes arrive at the Elm Lab, but find police on the scene. "Wonder what's going on here?" Misty wondered.
"I don't know. Hopefully it isn't too serious," Dawn said.
"We won't know until we ask, Dawn," Misty responded.
"Hey, Nurse Joy's not the only familiar face in town," Ash noticed another familiar face.
Brock turns and sees who it is. Officer Jenny. "I can't believe it's her!" Brock is quick to rush over to the kind officer.
"Oh, great. This again. Well, let's just hope Brock doesn't interfere with whatever is going on," Dawn muttered awkwardly as Snivy facepalmed.
"Don't worry about that," Misty said as she walked forward.
"Hello, Officer Jenny! I'm Brock, and I'd like to present you with a small token of my admiration. Perhaps you'd like to get together this evening for a nice, quiet…." But before Brock can finish, Misty pulls him away by the ear.
"I better haul you off before she does," Misty grumbles, annoyed with her friend's behavior instead of awkward like Ash and Dawn were.
"Excuse me, Officer Jenny, could you please tell us where we could find the lab of Professor Elm?" Ash asks, wanting to know where Nurse Joy was.
"That's easy. We happen to be standing right in front of it. But I'm afraid we can't let you in right now," Officer Jenny apologized.
"Looks like trouble! Don't worry, Officer Jenny, just leave this to me!" Brock ignored Jenny's comment about not being allowed in and dashed for the lab.
"Brock, wait a second!" Ash called out as he rushed after him with Pikachu on his shoulder. Snivy followed after her Trainer, but not before shaking her head.
"Hey!" Misty yelled as she also ran after the girl obsessed guy.
Before Dawn could follow after the trio and their Pokemon. "You can't go in there!" Officer Jenny yelled, stopping Dawn.
"Oh, sorry! We're just worried is all," Dawn apologized.
In a moment, Officer Jenny calmed down. "I understand. Still, you shouldn't interrupt our work at this time. I'd be more than willing to give you all an explanation provided you leave the work to us."
"Got it," Dawn nodded in agreement.
Inside Professor Elm's lab, Nurse Joy and the professor himself, who is feeling guilty over what happened, are seen. "It's all my fault. I should've been paying attention," Professor Elm was wracked with guilt.
"Well, maybe if you got out of this lab once in a while, you'd start to notice what's going on around you. Now what are you gonna tell that new trainer when she comes to pick up her Totodile?" Nurse Joy scolded.
"I'm so sorry, but I was observing a very unusual cell division," Elm apologized once more.
"Stop making excuses for yourself, Professor!" Nurse Joy scolded once more.
Brock soon rushes in, much to the confusion of the nurse and professor. "Have no fear, Brock is here! And, may I say, you're looking lovely."
Misty then gets between Brock and Nurse Joy. "Hey! Save it, Romeo! We don't have time for mushy stuff!"
"Could someone tell me what's going on here?" Nurse Joy wanted to know.
"Sure. You see, Nurse…," Ash began only for Officer Jenny to interrupt.
"You kids can't just come barging in here in the middle of an official police investigation!" Officer Jenny yelled out.
"Investigation?" Ash was confused.
"Yes. Apparently someone has stolen a Pokemon from the lab. I don't know if it was Team Rocket or not, but someone stole it," Dawn answered.
"Well, that would explain the police officers," Misty commented.
At this point, everyone heads outside to continue the conversation. "A new trainer's very first Pokémon is gone. That poor girl. That poor Totodile," Officer Jenny sadly commented.
"Totodile?" Our heroes asked, having, for the most part, not having seen or heard of one before. As Pikachu turned to Snivy for an answer, she just shrugged, commenting that she wasn't aware of the Pokemon.
"You see, I was supposed to give this Totodile and this Cyndaquil to two new Pokémon trainers tomorrow," Professor Elm explained as he motioned towards the Cyndaquil, who was still present.
"Hey, look at that!" Ash was amazed to see the Cyndaquil. "I take it that that is a Cyndaquil?"
"That would be my guess," Dawn agreed.
"Yep! It's a Cyndaquil!" Brock confirmed.
"It's so cute!" Misty said cheerfully.
"I know, right? The new Trainer will be happy to have him!" Dawn agreed.
Suddenly, the Cyndaquil shoots fire out of its back in excitement, leaving the group to be concerned for a moment, with Piplup beginning to freak out. "Don't be alarmed, this is normal behavior," Professor Elm said.
"Well, I guess we know which one the Fire-type is, right Dawn?" Ash asked his friend, who responded with a nod.
"I think I better explain things more fully. New Bark trainers get to choose one of three," Professor Elm explains as he pulls out a picture of another Pokémon, which is a green four-legged Pokemon with a leaf on their head. "A Chikorita, a new trainer just picked this one up the other day. It's a grass type. Or they can pick a Cyndaquil, which is a fire type." Elm gets out another picture. "Or they can have a Totodile, which is a water type."
"A water type! I'd pick that one!" Misty said cheerfully.
"New Pokémon trainers back home get to pick a Charmander, or a Squirtle, or a Bulbasaur. But I got Pikachu," Ash explained.
"And I got to choose Piplup here thanks to having Professor Rowan transfer some Pokemon to Oak's lab for me," Dawn said.
"Oak's lab? Well, if those were the Pokémon you had to choose from, I'd say you must be from the Kanto region. And if you got them from the lab, you two must come from Pallet Town," Elm realized.
"Yeah, that's right. And I am here to register for the Johto League. As for Dawn, she wants to compete in the Grand Festival," Ash answered.
"That's right! So, do you know where the next Contest will take place, Professor?" Dawn asked.
"Uh, I think that the next one takes place in Cherrygrove City, if I recall," Elm answered.
"You hear that, Piplup? We're gonna compete in our first ever Contest soon!" Dawn said excitedly as Piplup threw up a flipper in agreement. "I bet our moms and Professor Oak will be proud to see we're continuing on our journeys."
"So I suppose you two know Professor Samuel Oak then?" Elm asked for clarity.
"Yep. Of course we both know him. Professor Oak gave me Pikachu and he's a good friend of ours and he was even at my house for dinner the other night," Ash revealed.
"Yeah, he sure is a great person. Have you ever met him yourself, Professor Elm?" Brock asked curiously.
"Of course I know Professor Oak! I was his top student. I remember the first paper I submitted to him at the university. A brilliant analysis of the hyperdized communicative faculties of Pokémon! A truly groundbreaking work!" Professor Elm said proudly.
"Sounds great! So, you did great on your paper then?" Dawn asked.
As Professor Elm talks, Nurse Joy takes the Cyndaquil out of his hands while Brock and Dawn listen.
"I should have done great! Professor Oak gave me only an A minus because he failed to recognize the genius of my thesis," Elm admits.
"Oh, too bad!" Dawn awkwardly comments as she backs away from the Professor and lets him talk to Brock. While the Professor talks, Misty, Dawn, and the others are hanging around with the Cyndaquil while Misty tickles it, the Cyndaquil laughing gleefully.
"That tickles, huh?" Misty asks the Cyndaquil.
"I know that sometimes Professor Elm may sound like a hot-head, but he's really very sweet and he raises wonderful Pokémon," Nurse Joy complimented the Professor.
"Yeah, I bet," Ash agrees.
"If Elm is anything like Professor Oak I'd say he is a wonderful Professor to work for," Dawn says.
At this point, Elm rejoins the rest of the conversation. "And though I admire and respect Professor Oak's scientific achievements, I am forced to consider him my personal enemy!"
"...If a bit quirky," Dawn mutters.
"Or a lot quirky," Ash agrees.
"Yeah. And Professor Elm sure can talk," Misty notes.
"As you can see from my published works, I focus my studies on unusual Pokémon abilities, which I find infinitely more interesting than Professor Oak's research, which concentrates on Pokémon and their human relationships, because I…," Elm continues, not having heard the teen's comments.
"Sometimes, I wish Professor Elm would be a little more like Professor Oak, and do some research in the area of human relationships, too," Nurse Joy says.
"Yeah. Professor Elm should realize one of these days that Oak's research does have merit, to him and to others," Dawn whispers to the Pokemon doctor.
"While that does sound great, Dawn, and I do agree with you, Nurse Joy, the reason we came looking for you is cause I wanted to sign up for the Johto League," Ash confessed
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was supposed to be back at the Pokémon Center by two, but when I got to the lab, I lost track of time. I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long and I hope that you and that boy from the Center will appreciate the wait," Nurse Joy apologized with a bow.
"We definitely can. As for Paul…," Dawn reassured, though doubting that Paul would feel the same way.
"I agree with Dawn on that. We forgive you. We just feel bad for the new trainer whose supposed to get that Totodile tomorrow," Misty commented sadly.
"Yeah, when I was a new trainer, I got so excited about getting my first Pokémon, I couldn't even sleep the night before!" Ash revealed, feeling a bit nostalgic of his beginnings.
"So you slept till four the next day," Misty snarkily commented, annoying Ash.
"But, if that didn't happen you wouldn't have met Pikachu," Dawn reminded Ash, who looked at his starter with a happy grin.
"Anyway, I'm just saying I know what it's like to look forward to the day when you finally get your first Pokémon. That's why I'll do whatever I can to help you track down the Pokémon thief and bring back that Totodile," Ash decided.
"Same here!" Dawn agreed.
"We'll all help find it, Nurse Joy!" Misty also agreed.
Soon, a police officer calls for Jenny. "Officer Jenny!" The officer says as he runs up to her. "We didn't find any fingerprints, but we made a plaster cast of some suspicious footprints we found out behind the lab." The officer shows the cast of footprints, which includes two sets of boots and something that immediately got Ash and companies' attention. Meowth footprints.
"Looks like it may have been Team Rocket, you guys," Dawn realized.
"I think you're right. Not many villainous Meowths around here. Still, why can't they just stop following us?" Misty yelled, frustrated.
"I don't know. But what I do know is that they aren't going to get away with this," Ash said.
"Hold on. You know the perpetrators?" Officer Jenny asked the teens.
"I'm afraid so. They're thieves that steal other people's Pokemon for money and power," Dawn answered.
"Well, they aren't going to get much farther if I have anything to say about it," Officer Jenny said as she sent out her Growlithe.
At this point, Snivy pointed to a Pokeball on Ash's belt. "What is it, Snivy? Oh, I may be able to help you guys find Team Rocket. Lucario, I choose you!" Ash cried out as he sent out a Pokeball that contained his Lucario. "Lucario, use your aura in order to try and locate Team Rocket. As for you, Pikachu, help Growlithe smell out Team Rocket and Totodile." Both Pikachu and Lucario nodded as the three Pokemon started to search for the villainous team.
"A Lucario, huh? Where did you find them at?" Officer Jenny asked curiously.
"Oh, I found him as an egg back in Kanto. He wouldn't react to much of anything for some time until he finally reacted to my aura and soon hatched from his egg. He's been a part of my Pokemon family ever since," Ash explained as Pikachu and Snivy nodded in agreement.
"Lucario may be in rotation rather than with Ash at all times, but he's shown himself to be a very powerful, yet level-headed Pokemon," Dawn said as a compliment.
Meanwhile, with Team Rocket…
Jessie screams in pain as a result of the Totodile's grip on her hair. "Help! Let go! Get out of my hair, you filthy little jinx! Meowth, get this disgusting thing off me! Hurry!"
"That Totodile's really attached to you!" Meowth joked.
"Just make sure it doesn't go to your head!" James also joked.
Meowth laughs at the joke, "That's a good one, Jimmy!"
James accepts the praise. "Thanks."
Eventually, Team Rocket stopped for a break. "This thing's becoming a big headache!" Jessie furiously complained.
"Jessie, just think of it as a Pokémon hair extension," James joked, also trying to look on the bright side of things.
"I DON'T FIND THIS FUNNY! My hair is gonna come out of the roots if this doesn't let go of me!" Jessie yells in fury as she stomps. As Jessie tries swinging Totodile off, Meowth walks to the phone booth.
"I'm calling the boss to tell him we got ahold of a new Pokémon, or it got ahold of you," Meowth decided as he was about to enter the booth. Suddenly, the door closes in Meowth's face, knocking him back. "What was that for?!" Meowth demanded.
"I know how you operate, Meowth, and if you make the call, you'll take all the credit," Jessie cynically explained.
"I don't think I like the implication of your accusation! Is it too much to ask after enough humiliation to last nine lives for me to call the boss to bear him these good tiding? I may be a Pokémon, but for your information, I've still got feelings and I wanna make that call!" Meowth tried to play himself as sympathetic.
"Let me remind you that I took all the risk in stealing this thing, so I should get the reward! Now, I'm telling you to get out of my hair and let me make that phone call!" Jessie argued back.
As Meowth and Jessie argue, James walks into the phone booth and prepares to make the call to Giovanni. "I ain't in your hair! That's the Totodile, and it's obviously putting a big strain on your brain!"
"At least I have a brain, you halfwit!"
"Half a wit is better than none!"
"How dare you!" Jessie yells out as she starts beating on Meowth.
James then realizes something and Jessie and Meowth notice him in the booth. "By any chance, do either of you remember the boss' area code?" Jessie and Meowth stumble in disbelief and start beating up on James for nearly calling Giovanni and taking all the credit, but they soon stop when they hear Pikachu, Growlithe and Lucario cry out.
"It's Team Rocket! We found them!" Ash cried out.
"The twerps again!" Team Rocket cry out back.
"We should've guessed your obsession with Pikachu would lead you to follow us all the way to the Johto Region!" Misty said.
Officer Jenny gets out some cuffs before saying, "I'm placing all three of you under arrest for stealing that Totodile from Professor Elm's lab!"
"Maybe some time behind bars will make you reconsider your path in life," Dawn agreed as Officer Jenny approached the trio, only for them to run back and begin their motto.
"Prepare for trouble. You can't take us in!" Jessie began.
"Make that double. We'll fight and we'll win!" James said.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth finished the motto as usual.
Officer Jenny, who was completely baffled by the motto, asks, "Could you repeat that?"
Team Rocket stumbles in disbelief. "Listen, you!" Jessie swings her hair around to shake off Totodile, but to no avail. It just so happens that this Totodile and I are inseperable!"
"That Totodile's supposed to be the first Pokémon a new trainer thinks she's coming to pick up tomorrow! It belongs to her! Now, doesn't your conscience bother you, even a little?" Ash demands.
"My conscience does bother me a bit," James reluctantly admits.
"Well, not me! I'm unconscious!" Meowth denies feeling bad.
"I suppose my conscience would bother me if Team Rocket didn't go by a somewhat different ethical standard," Jessie agrees with Meowth.
"Thanks for that reminder, Jessie. Maybe now is the time to flee?" James suggests.
Meowth then mocks, "Finders keepers, losers weepers!" Team Rocket makes a dash for it.
"We'll see about that! I choose you, Bulbasaur!" Ash calls out as he releases Bulbasaur and Bulbasaur materializes. "Bulbasaur and Snivy, use your Vine Whip now!"
Both Pokemon, with one vine each, trip up Meowth, causing Jessie and James to stumble and fall behind him.
"I'll help out too! Come on out, Gloom!" Dawn cries out as she releases her Grass-type. "Now, Gloom, use your Sleep Powder!" Gloom releases a powder-like substance to immobilize the trio.
"You're not stopping us that easily! Okay. Weezing, I choose you!" James cries out as he releases his Pokemon and Weezing materializes. "Smokescreen attack! Stop that Sleep Powder and blind those Grass-types!" The attack blinds Bulbasaur, Snivy, and Gloom. Snivy tries to use her nose to smell the trio, but fails due to the smoke and then covers her face.
"I choose you, Charizard! Blow away that Smokescreen!" Ash sends out his ace in the hole. Charizard materializes and blows the smoke away in four flaps of its wings, allowing Bulbasaur and Snivy to work together and grab onto Totodile with their vines. But as they pull, Jessie screams in pain until finally, Totodile lets go of Jessie's hair and lands in Ash's arms. "Don't worry, Totodile, I got you."
"Oh, just look at these horrible split hairs," Jessie whines over her ruined hair.
Meowth scratches Jessie as he talks, "If we lose that Totodile, the boss will have us scalped!"
Jessie grabs Meowth. "Get off me, you fur ball!"
Officer Jenny then yells out, "Alright, Growlithe, get in there and apprehend those three Pokémon thieves!"
"You join Growlithe, Piplup and Gloom!" Dawn yelled out as the trio ran for Team Rocket.
Jessie and Meowth stop bickering when they see and hear Growlithe, Piplup, and Gloom charging at them.
"Weezing, Sludge attack them, now!" James cries out as Weezing uses Sludge at them.
"Quick, you two! Dodge the attack!" Dawn yells as Piplup and Gloom jump up and out of the way. Unfortunately, Growlithe still gets hit right in the face, blinding him.
"Growlithe!" Officer Jenny yells out in worry.
"Quick, James, while we have the advantage!" Jessie commands.
"Good point, Jessie. This calls for a Victreebel Vine Whip attack!" James says as he sends out Victreebel. Victreebel materializes, but munches on James instead. "Hey! Let go, Victreebel!"
Jessie shrugs as she sends out Lickitung. "I choose you, Lickitung!" As Lickitung materializes, Ash and Dawn are ready to strike.
"Quick, Squirtle, use your Water Gun attack!" Ash cries out as Squirtle materializes and fires the attack, knocking Lickitung back.
"Lickitung, use Power Whip!" Jessie commands.
"Piplup, use your Bubblebeam!" Dawn orders as Piplup sends out said attack, knocking Lickitung down.
"This has gone on long enough. Let's end this and get back our Totodile! Attack them! Lickitung, use Stomp and Arbok, use Ice Fang!" Jessie growls.
"Wheezing, use Gyro Ball and Victreebel, use Knock Off!" James also commands. All three Pokémon charge and attack at once, as Arbok materializes and joins them.
"Buneary, use your Ice Beam to freeze them!" Dawn yelled as she sent out her Buneary. As she materializes, she sends out the attack and freezes the four Pokemon in ice, much to the fear of Team Rocket. "It's all yours, Ash."
"Thanks, Dawn. Okay, everybody, let em have it!" Ash commands. Pikachu fires a Thunderbolt, Charizard launches a Flamethrower, Bulbasaur launches a Razor Leaf, Snivy launches a Leaf Storm, Lucario an Aura Sphere, and Squirtle launches a Water Gun. All the attacks combine and annihilate Team Rocket's Pokemon, sending them blasting off.
"Bye-bye!" Ash remarks with a smirk now that things are a lot easier.
"It's over, Team Rocket. Just give up now and we won't have to blast you off," Dawn gives a final warning.
"N-No way! We can still pull out a victory, right Jessie?" James nervously asks.
"James? I think we're about to have a blast," Jessie disagreed just as nervously. The Totodile walks up and blasts Team Rocket off with a Water Gun.
"What do we tell the boss, now?!" Meowth asks.
"You can make the call this time, Meowth, and you can give him the same message we always have to give him!" Jessie responds
"Team Rocket's messed things up again!" The Team Rocket trio cry out as the disappear as a twinkle in the sky.
"Well, looks like Team Rocket is still out there for us to have to deal with," Misty shook her head and Togepi chirped and Snivy shook her head and shrugged in annoyance.
Ash picks up Totodile and says, "Still, at least we got back the Totodile. That was great work, Totodile."
"Well, like Misty mentioned, no arrests," Officer Jenny shook her head.
"You can take me into custody," A lovestruck Bock said as he held the police officer's hands. Misty, meanwhile, pulls Brock away.
"Come on, lover boy! What you need is solitary confinement!" Misty grumbles.
Ash hands the Totodile to Jenny, "Glad to help, Officer."
"Thanks to you, a new Pokémon trainer's going to be very happy," Officer Jenny thanked the group.
"And now I can finally go get registered for the Johto League," Ash said.
Later, at Professor Oak's lab, the professor gets a call. "Someone always calls during my soap operas!" Professor Oak was a bit upset as he approached the phone. The screen comes up and our heroes are seen.
"Hello there, Professor Oak. How are you doing?" Ash greeted the Pokemon Professor.
"I'm doing just fine," Oak said.
"Good to hear, Professor," Dawn said kindly.
"Guess what, Professor? We finally made it to New Bark Town," Ash revealed.
"That's excellent news. Are you registered, Ash?" Oak asked.
"Not yet, but we ran into an old student of yours," Dawn answered.
"Student? Do you mean…?" Professor Oak was starting to realize who it could be.
Professor Elm comes in and asks, "Remember me, Professor?"
"Yes, Professor Elm. I do," Professor Oak said.
"You never told us that he was very chatty," Misty snarked quietly.
"Hey! Well, anyway, I want you to know that Ash and Dawn were a tremendous help to me and everyone at my lab today. They've certainly done an outstanding job of training their Pokémon. Of course, I expect great skill from teens trained by superb teachers like yourself.
"Well, Ash and Dawn certainly deserve your praise, but I'm afraid you flatter me," Professor Oak kindly yet awkwardly said.
"Now that I'm responsible for sending new trainers out just like you are Professor, I'm going to make it my goal to do a better job than you do. I mean, just as good a job as you," Professor Elm said, trying not to be too egotistical. As Prof. Elm talks, our heroes take a seat and sigh.
"They could be on for hours," Misty groaned.
"Tell me about it. Wonder how much we'll have to pay for this call?" Dawn wondered.
"Hopefully not too much," Misty answered.
"Next time, I'll remember to reverse the charges," Ash noted.
"I was able to answer some of the questions that seemed to stump you when you spoke at the last meeting of the Pokémon Symposium," Professor Elm continued his talk.
As Elm talks, however, Totodile heads to the door, and our heroes notice. "Piplup? Can you please stop Totodile before they get away? We don't need a repeat of what happened earlier," Dawn asked her starter who nodded. It turned out to not be necessary as before Piplup or Ash's Snivy could reach them, Nurse Joy stops in front of Totodile and picks it up.
"Hey, Nurse Joy," Brock swooned over the Pokemon nurse.
"Where did Professor Elm go?" Nurse Joy asked.
"I think he got a little distracted again," Misty whispered as she pointed to Elm talking to Oak.
"Before I explain my theory Professor, I think I should take just a moment to give you a bit of background first," Elm continued, much to the awkwardness of Ash and company.
"So, that's the Pokemon Professor of the Johto region? What a joke! Here I thought he would be respectable like Rowan or Oak, but here he is blabbing on like there's no tomorrow. How pathetic," Paul grumbled to himself, with Dawn and Ash giving annoyed looks toward Paul for his rude comment.
"Anyway…He'll be a while. In the meantime, let's do what you came here to do and get you registered and approved for the Johto League," Nurse Joy changed the subject, not wanting to be rude to Paul.
"Great!" Ash cheered, excited.
"Don't forget about me, Nurse Joy. I was here before this young kid here," Paul said, trying to be respectful towards the Pokemon nurse even if he wasn't to Ash.
"Looks like Paul can't be properly nice to us to save his life, huh Dawn?" Misty noted.
"I'm afraid so. Well, at least Ash has a rival to face off against," Dawn tried to look on the bright side.
"Well, we can get you both registered for the League then. Let's go," Nurse Joy said.
Soon, Ash and Paul are being registered. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. Paul of Veilstone City. Welcome to the Johto League," The computer said as the two Trainers were registered.
"Congratulations, Ash. And you too, Paul. You're now fully qualified and approved to become an official participant in the Johto League," Nurse Joy wished luck to both Trainers as she hands Ash and Paul their Pokédexes.
Ash takes the Pokédex before saying, "Great. Thanks, Nurse Joy."
"Thank you for the help," Paul respectfully said with a bow.
"Oh, before you both leave, you'll need a copy of Johto League guidebook, so make sure you don't lose them," Nurse Joy said as she handed a book to Ash and another to Paul.
"Okay," Ash said as he was about to look over the book. However, Brock snatches it up.
"I'll hold it close to my heart, which is just where I hold you," Brock swooned.
"Hmph. Well, I'd say I'm done here," Paul said as he was about to leave.
"Wait, Paul!" Ash yelled out as he approached Paul. "You know, I was thinking maybe we should try to start over. What do ya say?" Ash asked the rude Trainer as he held out his hand.
Paul, however, was quick to reject it. "No thanks. I don't see myself being able to get along with an amateur that doesn't understand what it takes to be a real Trainer."
"What?!" Ash was outraged, though thankfully Dawn stood in his way to prevent him from reacting harshly.
"I understand you're angry Ash. I'm mad too. But that doesn't mean we should stoop to his level," Dawn reminded.
"Yeah, I guess. I just wish he'd stop treating Pokemon so harshly," Ash agreed.
"Well, who knows? Maybe one of these days he'll change his mind. Doesn't mean he isn't a jerk in the meantime," Misty admitted.
"So, Nurse Joy, where do you think would be the best place to begin getting badges from?" Dawn asked.
"I'd say the best place to start is the Violet Gym in Violet City," Nurse Joy answered.
"Then, that's where we'll go," Ash decided.
"Oh, and according to the map, we'll be able to go to Cherrygrove City on the way. Dawn, you'll be able to go to your Contest first!" Brock suggested.
"Really?! That's good! First Contest ribbon, here we come!" Dawn cheered.
"Yeah, as for you, Ash, you can battle for your next badge there and catch up with Gary Oak," Brock said.
"Yeah," Ash was getting pumped to know he was going to beat both his rivals, with both Pikachu and Snivy crying out in agreement. "Watch out, Gary Oak. And you too, Paul! Because Ash Ketchum is right behind you!"
Later, our heroes are seen leaving Professor Elm's lab.
"Good luck in the Johto League Ash! And you in your Pokemon Contest, Dawn!" Officer Jenny wished both teens luck.
"Remember, you can always stop in at a Pokémon Center if you run into any trouble!" Nurse Joy reminded.
"And thanks again for rescuing Totodile, Ash and Dawn!" Professor Elm thanked before saying to Totodile, "Tomorrow morning, you'll get to meet your new trainer, Totodile. And I have a feeling that you two will become best friends, just like Pikachu and Ash are."