On their way to Violet City, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu approach a cliff where the view of the surrounding area is astounding. However, the serenity is interrupted by a rockslide. Team Rocket, on top of the mountain, recovers from the earthquake, only to find the rock below them crumble. As they fall through the forest below, they get entangled in vines, followed by a giant boulder crashing down on them.
Ash sees a Donphan eating some shrubbery. As he checks his Pokédex, we learn that the length of a Donphan’s tusks tell us what level it is. Ash begins to capture it, but Brock stops him saying that he should be its trainer because it’s only an infant, and only an experienced breeder should take care of it. They begin to argue, but Misty breaks them up saying that the Donphan is getting away. Brock calls out his Onix, who is defeated when Donphan uses Rollout. Ash takes over, and sends out Heracross. It uses Tackle. Donphan retaliates with another Rollout, but Heracross counterstrikes it with a Horn attack. As Ash finishes it off, a woman stops the battle claming that the Donphan is hers. She threatens to turn Ash into Jenny, but he declares innocence telling her that he thought it was wild. Ash turns to Brock for help, but he has already introduced himself to her. Asking for the woman’s name, the she tells him that she’s Rochelle. Brock notices the jewel on her necklace, and Rochelle tells him that it’s made of amberite, a gemstone worn by royalty. Rochelle tells Ash to not capture any more of her Donphan, and begins to walk away. Ash challenges her to a battle, but she declines telling him that her Donphan has fought enough for today. Ash then asks if they can battle tomorrow, but Rochelle is already on her way.
Disguised as forest rangers, Team Rocket plans to dig for amberite, and with their costumes, they’ll be less conspicuous. James asks where they should start, and Meowth tells him that he overheard two people saying that one sure way to find amberite is to have a Donphan sniff it out. With their objective clear, they set off to find a Donphan.
Rochelle starts to train her Donphan to sniff for amberite in a nearby stream. Team Rocket interrupts them and captures the Pokémon using a net. They get away in their balloon, and land in a crater not far from the river. Fanning herself, Jessie compliments Meowth telling him how smart he is. James asks why she has a fan, and Jessie replies telling him it’s for all the hot air. Meowth commands Donphan to start searching for the amberite, but it refuses. James then tries to coddle it with affection by giving it a snack, making Donphan happy.
Ash and the others run into Rochelle looking for her lost Donphan. She tells them what happened, and tells Ash that the people who took it were dressed in orange jumpsuits and included in the team was a guy, a girl, and one talking Meowth. Meanwhile, Donphan, still eating its lunch, makes Jessie impatient. James tells her to calm down and asks Donphan to start looking for the amberite. Donphan complies and gets to work. It stops at a spot nearby as Team Rocket digs.
Brock’s Zubat fails to find the lost Pokémon, so instead Rochelle blows a whistle and a herd of Donphan reports in. Brock tells Rochelle that training them to respond to the whistle is impressive, but asks why the missing one didn’t come. She explains that that one was her youngest, so she didn’t have enough time to train it yet. Rochelle turns to her Donphan and commands them to search for the missing one.
Tired from digging, Team Rocket is left with no amberite. Suddenly, Rochelle’s herd of Donphan approach and Ash and the others find Team Rocket. Brock demands that they return Donphan, but Meowth refuses to give it back until it can find some amberite. Jessie sends out Arbok while James sends out Victreebel to stop the trio. Brock calls out Onix, Binding Victreebel before it was able to use Tackle. However, Victreebel releases Sleep Powder, knocking Onix out. Misty and Ash send out Poliwag and Heracross. Misty tells Poliwag to use Double Slap, followed by Bubble. Victreebel faints and collapses on James and Meowth. Heracross uses Tackle on Arbok, and it’s sent flying into Jessie. Heracross then throws Team Rocket into their balloon with its horn, and Pikachu finishes them off with Thunderbolt. Team Rocket disappears.
Rochelle thanks the group for saving her Donphan. Misty, wondering why Donphan couldn’t find any amberite for Team Rocket, finds out that it wasn’t experienced enough to be able to sniff it out. Rochelle offers to show the team a demonstration of how Donphan find amberite. She uses her oldest and most experienced Donphan, and after a few moments, it rams into a wall, creating several small shocks. Misty realizes that that must’ve been the cause of the rockslides they had earlier. A large piece of amberite falls from the cliff and shatters. Rochelle picks up a piece and shows them what it looks like. Brock asks what she does with the amberite, and Rochelle tells them that she supplies the local artists and craftspeople with the precious gem. Rochelle asks Ash if she could do anything to pay him back for what he did, and he tells her that he would like a battle. She complies, and Ash challenges Rochelle’s large Donphan.
Ash sends out Heracross while Rochelle’s Donphan starts immediately with Tackle. Heracross is able to stop the attack with Endure, and it throws the Donphan through the air. It manages to land on its feet and recover from the fall. Rochelle orders it to use Rollout, sending Heracross to a tree. It takes a short snack on the tree, and after it’s done, jumps back down ready for battle. Donphan uses Tackle, but Heracross blocks it and tries to throw Donphan in the air. It turns the fall into a Rollout and finishes Heracross off with a final Tackle. Ash tells Heracross that he did a great job, and Rochelle tells Ash that he and Heracross are a good team. As the gang departs, Brock leaves with tears in his eyes. Rochelle waves them goodbye, as they head into the sunset