Misty and Jessie compete to be Queen of the Princess Festival; Ash and Brock lend Misty their Pokémon for the battle, and Jessie takes a licking despite a surprise Pokémon of her own.

Ash and friends help some schoolchildren celebrate Kids Day; Team Rocket spoils the fun by grabbing a kid instead of Pikachu, but in a shocking turn of events, Meowth becomes a good guy.

Ash, Misty and Brock travel to Cinnabar Island, where Ash hopes to win the Volcano Badge; a strange character offers riddles about how to find the gym, where Ash and Pikachu have a fiery battle with a Pokémon they've never seen before.

Ash forfeits his gym battle to save Pikachu, but before he can get a rematch, Team Rocket arrives and destabilizes the volcano in an attempt to capture Magmar; the gang must help gym leader Blaine dam the lava before it destroys the entire island.

As Ash and the gang rush to catch the last ferry off of Cinnabar Island, they get sidetracked by a group of Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise who need their help.

Misty's Horsea desperately needs exercise, so the gang decides to take it to her sisters' gym in Cerulean City, where she learns that her sisters are planning an exciting underwater ballet.