As our friends make there way through the park to reach the middle of the city, they see some rustling in some nearby bushes. A pair of antlers then appears, which Ash mistakes for a pair of eyes. The Pokémon’s head then emerges and Ash refers to his Pokédex to get some more information. Dexter, “Stantler, the big horn Pokémon. The eye like shapes at the base of its horns produces a pleasant odor and has a bewildering effect on anyone who smells it. It can also create startling realistic illusions by shaking its horns. Stantler form herds and live in mountainous terrain”. Brock begins to imitate a Stantler so he can get closer. Upon nearing the distraught baby Pokémon, Brock notices that it has a sore leg. Brock attempts to fix it by enticing the baby Stantler with food. Stantler, however emits a purplish odor from its antlers and suddenly a herd of adult Stantler appear and try and run down our friends in a ground shaking stampede. Brock, Ash and Misty quickly run away and when finally escaping the stampede, our heroes stop to catch their breath and wonder where they had gone. Close by, some more bushes begin rustling and Officer Jenny emerges. Not one who is hurt by rejection, Brock begins to flirt with her but to no avail. Officer Jenny then invites our heroes to the station, which Brock thinks is a strange place to go for their first date!!!
When finally reaching the police station, Officer Jenny informs Ash, Misty and Brock that a herd of Stantler have been scaring away families from the park. Meanwhile, outside the station, Team Rocket is heard running down the street in an attempt to escape the approaching stampede. Team Rocket stop running (in a manner of speaking) and start to perform their infamous motto. Upon completing their ramblings, Team Rocket notices that the herd has disappeared and tells Officer Jenny that they heard there was a herd of Stantler in the park so they went in there to catch them but they only saw one baby Stantler and suddenly a herd of them appeared and started to give chase. Just up the road, a pair of antlers appears from behind a building and the stampede begins again. Frightened beyond belief Ash, Misty and Officer Jenny take cover in the police station. Brock however notices that the Stantler appear to be passing right through a light post outside one of the buildings, so he stands his ground. Worried about his safety Ash and Misty think Brock is run down but he is perfectly all right. The baby Stantler then walks up to Brock and they become friends.
Once back inside the station, Brock bandages up the baby Stantler’s leg. Outside a nearby window Team Rocket spies on them and realises that they have been swindled and so decide to catch this baby Pokémon to give to their boss. James informs his colleagues that he has purchased an anti-Stantler secret weapon in case the Stantler decides to use his abilities on them. Meanwhile, inside the station, while Stantler is sleeping in Brock’s lap, he decides not to keep him but rather return him to his mother.
The next morning, our friends release Stantler at the base of the mountains. But Stantler having bonded with Brock does not want to go. Brock, having the best interests of his new friend at heart, tells the baby Stantler that he doesn’t want it around anymore and tells it to go. As Ash, Misty and Brock are walking back to town, Brock notices Team Rocket’s balloon near to where he released Stantler.
James activates the Anti-Stantler Number 7 via a remote control. This newly acquired secret weapon is an oversized, orange, mechanical Stantler. The mechanical Stantler releases a large net from its mouth, which captures the baby Stantler. As they descend, James uses his machine to stop Brock, who is quickly approaching. Brock, although trapped, releases Onix and instructs him to use tackle attack against the huge machine. Onix then uses his bind attack to blow it up. As Team Rocket is slowly making their escape, Pikachu tries his thunderbolt attack but they are too far away. Brock continues to give chase and the baby Stantler appears to be in a great deal of distress.
An adult Stantler then launches from a nearby hill and splits Team Rocket’s balloon completely in two and the baby Stantler falls to the ground. Ash uses Bulbasaur to try and catch it but the baby Stantler is just too heavy and it continues to fall. Brock then dives and takes a spectacular catch to save the baby Stantler. A herd of Stantler are then seen surrounding the bewildered Team Rocker. Thinking it is another illusion, James ditches his remote control at one of the adult Stantler and it smashes. They then realize that this is no illusion, and one of the Stantler's attacks and sends Team Rocket flying. Our heroes then say their goodbyes as their new friend returns to his herd