The episode begins with a recap of the previous episode’s events. We now pick up right where the last episode left off, with Grovyle confused due to Luvdisc’s Sweet Kiss. Ash calls for Grovyle to snap out of it, but it jumps to one side and begins repeatedly banging its head on one of the land structures! Ash’s friends agree that this is going nowhere fast, and Brock calls out to Ash, saying that he should recall Grovyle. But before Ash can do anything, Luvdisc attacks with Water Gun! Due to the confusion, Grovyle was completely unprepared for this, and faints. Brock comments on how the combination of hitting itself and being blindsided with the Water Gun added up to the loss. Ash recalls Grovyle, and Juan says he’s going to have to do a lot better than that if he wants to get into the Hoenn League. Ash responds by sending out Corphish.

Meanwhile, we see that a disguised Team Rocket (with James in his Juan disguise from the previous episode) is at the amphitheater that Juan performed at. Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbuffet are trying to draw an audience for another performance by Juan, the famous Water Artist. Three women approach, and say that they thought Juan was at his Gym. Jessie laughs and says Juan finished the Gym Battle in no time. James then makes his appearance, doing an admirable impression of Juan, even kissing the hand of one of the ladies. Jessie and Meowth, off to the side, hope James remembers that he’s acting.

Back to the Gym battle, Corphish is now swimming at full speed towards Luvdisc. Ash calls for a Bubblebeam, but Luvdisc dodges and hits Corphish with Water Gun, sending it back far enough to slam against one of the land pieces. Luvdisc follows up with Sweet Kiss, but Corphish is able to dodge and counter with Bubblebeam. Luvdisc dives underwater to dodge, but Ash has Corphish hit the water from midair with Crabhammer. That throws Luvdisc above the surface, so Ash calls for a Vicegrip. The spray from Corphish’s Crabhammer is raining back onto the battlefield now. Juan tells Luvdisc to dodge, which it does, and it then starts zipping around at great speed! May and Max are surprised at this, but Brock explains that Luvdisc is taking advantage of its Swift Swim ability. May now realizes that the spray from the Crabhammer is serving the same function as rain, to trigger Swift Swim. Luvdisc now uses Water Gun, but Ash has Corphish dodge and hit the water with a Bubblebeam, calming it down and ending the spray. Corphish now follows up with Crabhammer, sending Luvdisc reeling back to slam into another piece of land. It twirls around and faints. Ash congratulates Corphish, and Juan recalls Luvdisc, saying it did its best. Ash’s friends now suspect that Juan is saving his best Pokemon for last. Juan now sends out a Whiscash. Corphish starts out with Bubblebeam, but Whiscash counters by using Surf. The Bubblebeam can’t do much against the wave Whiscash is riding. Whiscash jumps off the wave, and its body glows a little as it falls in for a Rock Smash! Whiscash lands hard on Corphish, and when the dust clears, Corphish is knocked out! Juan congratulates Whiscash, while Ash can hardly believe how strong it is.

Meanwhile, back to Team Rocket, James has now started his performance. He holds up two fans (ironically, with Team Rocket’s logo on them), and we see three tiny little jets of water coming from him—one from each fan, and one from his head. While Jessie talks about Juan, we see a view from behind James, revealing hoses leading from the three points where we saw water back to a container. Meowth rhythmically pushes on a pump to keep the water flowing. James waves his fans around a bit, but the crowd (including the three women from earlier) is completely unimpressed. They’re used to performances like we saw at the beginning of the previous episode. James mumbles to Jessie that the crowd doesn’t seem too thrilled, and Jessie agrees. She now announces to the crowd that “Juan” will conduct an autograph and photo session after the show, and this manages to excite them.

Back to the Gym, Ash tells a recalled Corphish that it did its best, and sends out Swellow. May and Max think that Swellow’s ability to fly should help it in dodging attacks. Swellow rushes in for a Quick Attack, but Whiscash stops it by grabbing Swellow in its whiskers! Whiscash then uses Tickle, as Swellow squirms in discomfort. Max explains that Tickle lowers the opponent’s Attack and Defense, and Brock comments on how unpredictable Juan is. Juan now tells Whiscash to finish it off with Hyper Beam. Swellow can do nothing but watch, and May and Max cringe and turn away. The attack strikes, sending Swellow back, landing on the ground and skidding into one of the tall structures! Swellow hits it so hard that it falls over, creating a large cloud of dust. Juan thinks the round is over, but Swellow emerges from the cloud, still ready to battle! Juan seems impressed. Ash calls for an Aerial Ace, but Juan has Whiscash dive underwater to dodge. Swellow, however, keeps right on going, diving into the water and striking! The attack knocks Whiscash back above the surface again and sends it flying. Juan calls for a Hyper Beam, so Whiscash grabs a pillar with its whisker to turn around, and fires the attack. Swellow emerges from the water and uses Quick Attack to dodge, and follows up with Aerial Ace. Juan tells Whiscash to dive underwater again. Swellow aims for Whiscash as it dives toward the water, and both Pokemon strike the water at once! The water splashes up around them, but Swellow flies up above it. When everything clears up, we see a KOed Whiscash!

Juan recalls Whiscash, and tells Ash that his attack combinations have been impressive, especially the way Swellow uses its Quick Attack to dodge. May and Max are happy, but Brock reminds them that Pikachu and Swellow are the only Pokemon Ash has left now. He reasons that both have already been in battle and taken hits, no doubt this last Pokemon of Juan’s will be his strongest, AND it has yet to battle. Juan confirms this by explaining that he saved his most cherished partner for last, and sending out Milotic! Milotic starts with a Hydro Pump, but Swellow is able to dodge and strike with Aerial Ace. The attack sends Milotic back, but it stops itself and uses Iron Tail. Swellow dodges by using Double Team. Milotic counters with Twister, striking all of the clones, including the real Swellow, and slamming it against the ceiling! Swellow falls on top of a large block, out cold. Ash & friends are amazed at Milotic’s strength, but Brock says it’s no wonder, since Milotic is Juan’s first partner and strongest Pokemon.

Ash has no other choice now but to send out Pikachu. After Juan warns Ash to brace himself for a tough match, Ash has Pikachu start out with Thunder. The attack seems to be doing good damage, and Ash’s friends explain between them that the combination of the type advantage and the fact that Milotic is in the water is contributing to the damage. The Thunder finally ends, and Juan calmly calls for a Recover. Milotic’s body glows, and it visibly looks healed! Ash and Pikachu are stunned; Ash didn’t know Milotic could use Recover. Juan says that this move was quite useful in his Pokemon Contests.

We now get to see how Team Rocket is doing. There’s quite a long line of women, awaiting their chance for a free picture. Jessie explains, much to their disappointment, that they first have to deposit some money into her box. The crowd had thought this was a free session. However, they accept the idea when Jessie goes on to explain that they’d also get a “commemorative badge” with a picture of Juan, and Wobbuffet holds up a box of little bags that the “badges” come in. (All the bags, ironically, have Team Rocket’s logo on them.) The women drop in their money, one by one, and take their badges. Jessie thanks the crowd, then whispers to James that it’s time to go. James protests, thinking about the autographs, but Jessie hooks her arm around his neck and drags him away. The crowd then realizes that the “badges” they have are actually just bottlecaps! James, still being dragged, is upset over the loss of more of his collection. Jessie and Meowth say that the most important thing is to get away with the money, but the crowd, led by the three women from earlier, turns against them. One of them sends out her Blastoise to use Hydro Pump, sending TR blasting off again. Blastoise catches the box of money that TR dropped when the attack hit.

Meanwhile, back at the Gym, Ash calls for an Iron Tail. Milotic counters with its own Iron Tail, sending Pikachu flying. Milotic follows up with Twister, sending a column of water up at Pikachu and catching it in the vortex! Ash calls for a Thunder, which electrifies the whole column and makes it dissipate. Pikachu then follows up with Quick Attack, striking and then landing on a block. May wonders what just happened, and Max and Brock realize that the Thunder vaporized the water, dispelling the Twister. Juan calls for a Hydro Pump, but Pikachu jumps off the block to dodge, and uses Thunderbolt. Milotic shakes off the attack and uses Recover again. Milotic is a little tired now, but Pikachu seems more so. Ash now realizes he has to figure out a way to stop Milotic from using Recover. Juan tells Milotic to dive underwater, and Ash gets an idea. Pikachu runs straight for the water, and Milotic emerges to do an Iron Tail. Pikachu dodges, and begins running up Milotic’s body! Milotic uses Hydro Pump, but Pikachu dodges that too. It leaps forward, and grabs Milotic’s two red fins! Without stopping, it flips Milotic over its head and into the water! This totally catches Juan off guard, and Ash calls for a full-power Thunder. The attack not only courses through Milotic, but lights up the whole water portion of the field. A column of electrified water bursts up and hits the ceiling, and the whole gym shakes for a bit. When the steam clears, the water is still electrified, and we see both Pokemon float to the surface. Pikachu is standing on a knocked-out Milotic! The judge declares Ash the winner, and he celebrates with Pikachu. His friends rejoice as well, and Brock comments on the brilliant strategy Ash used. Juan recalls and thanks Milotic.

Later, outside the Gym, Juan presents Ash with his well-deserved Rain Badge. After Ash does his trademark badge pose, Juan and Sebastian tell him that the Hoenn League starts in three months, in Ever Grande City. Ash and Pikachu agree to do some serious training before then. Juan also tells May that the next Pokemon Contest is in Pacifidlog Town. Max consults the PokeNav and finds that Pacifidlog isn’t too far away, so May says they should head there next. Juan wishes them well in their journey

Thanks To Geodude For Writing this for us