Ash, Misty, and Brock are traveling through the forest when they happen upon an old hippie sitting on a rock. He plays a song for them on his Poké Flute, which wakes the sleeping Pikachu up. He then asks for some food as payment for the music, but Ash and his friends don't even have any for themselves. The hippie is disappointed, and lets them continue on their way. As they walk along, they complain about how hungry they are, and are happy to find a small town. As they enter, the hippie plays his song for Team Rocket, but they are only annoyed and insult him.
Ash and his friends walk through the town, searching for something to eat. They come across a bakery, but there isn't anything there. There isn't anything at a vegetable stand nearby, and the local restaurant is closed. They sit down and complain some more, when an the mayor of the town approaches them. He invites them to his house, where they eat a rather large meal. He explains that the river that flows through the town has dried up, killing their crops. He tells them how hard it is to find enough food to eat, which makes Ash and his friends concerned that they are eating so much of his food. He assures them his family has enough food in storage to last them for a while. Misty and Brock wonder why the river dried up, as it hadn't been particularly dry this season. The mayor takes them outside and shows them the dry river bed, telling how it suddenly stopped flowing two weeks before. Ash and his friends decide to search upstream, for they think something may be blocking it up there. The mayor warns them that there is no telling what they may find and to be careful.
Ash and his friends walk along the river bed, and come across a large patch of thorns. After making their way trough them, with the help Bulbasaur, they find a huge Pokémon blocking the path. Brock tells Ash that it's a Snorlax. Ash and his friends try to wake up the Snorlax with many different techniques, but to no avail. They try to move him, but he is way too heavy. He is, in fact, the heaviest species of Pokémon in the world. Ash then tries to catch him in a Pokéball, but the ball just bounces off his rotund body.
Team Rocket appears with the intent of capturing the Snorlax for their Boss. Meowth shows up in the balloon and lets down a bunch of cables. Ash and his friends resign to the fact that at least Snorlax will be moved, and help Jessie and James attach the wires to the large Pokémon. Meowth then tries to lift Snorlax, but the cables snap, sending the balloon crashing down. They all try a few more things, from an alarm clock, to a bucket of ice water, but he still doesn't awaken. Team Rocket is at a loss, but then Jessie remembers the story of Sleeping Beauty, and how a noble prince woke her up with a kiss. James declares that a kiss from a noble Pokémon might just do the trick. Ash and his friends decide to use Misty's Horsea, but Psyduck comes out instead, planting one right on Snorlax. It doesn't work, and Misty hits Psyduck over the head. Team Rocket decides to use Meowth, and dress him up as a prince. Meowth is reluctant to comply, but Team Rocket force him to. That doesn't work either, but makes Snorlax look awfully disturbed.
Snorlax rolls over slightly, revealing a small door-handle sign. Ash picks it up and it turns out to be a "Do Not Disturb" sign, like the kind you put on your hotel door. He turns it over, and reads that, in case of an emergency, one can wake him up with a Poké Flute. Ash pulls out Dexter and shows a picture of one. Misty recognizes it as the flute that the hippie played for them, and they run off to find him, with Team Rocket soon behind. They do, but end up fighting over him. Jessie starts off with Arbok, but Ash's Pidgeotto blows them all away. Ash, Misty, and Brock take the hippie to where the Snorlax is and he tells them that Snorlax is his. He pulls out his Poké Flute, and Snorlax quickly gets up, and lumbers off.
The water however, still isn't flowing, and Ash and his friends see another patch of thorns blocking the way. They're about to start to get rid of them, but Snorlax starts to eat the thorns. Ash and his friends are surprised, and the hippie explains that thorns are Snorlax's favorite food. After eating through all the thorns, the river starts to flow once more. The mayor is overjoyed and decides to through a banquet in their honor.
Back in the forest, Team Rocket are searching for the Snorlax. They find him, but he has gone back to sleep. They ask the hippie when he'll wake up again, but it won't be for another month. The hippie walks off, and the Snorlax rolls over on top of them. They're going to be there for a while.