Headed for the next Johto League Gym in Ecruteak City, Ash comes across what seems like a Pokémon battle and decides to look on. The two contenders, a Cherrygrove City resident with his Alakazam and Gary Oak with his Umbreon, begin the fight. Alakazam starts things off by launching a massive Zap Cannon attack toward the other side of the battlefield, but misses when Umbreon leaps into the air in the nick of time. Alakazam then tries Psychic, but Umbreon is unaffected and left unscathed once again. Using its Headbutt next, Alakazam charges forth at its opponent an alarming speed.
However, Umbreon dodges and takes advantage of the situation by quickly tackling after. Alakazam recovers from the blow, retaliating with Dynamic Punch, which Umbreon easily evades with the help of Agility. Alakazam then pulls off a Double Team and sends all clones to strike at once. Gary commands Umbreon to stay calm to sense the real Alakazam, which it does. Alakazam is grounded, but just as Umbreon is about to connect with a Quick Attack, it teleports away. As Umbreon frantically searches for the whereabouts of its opponent, the other trainer tells his Pokémon to end the battle with Hyper Beam. Gary notices the strange light coming from his left, and warns his Umbreon about the imminent attack. It jumps up at the last minute, and finishes Alakazam off using Hidden Power.
Seeing this, Ash bolts down the cliff from where he was watching and challenges his rival to a match. Gary modestly turns down the offer, telling Ash that he's already studied all of Pikachu's attack patterns, making a battle between the two totally pointless. As Gary begins to take his leave, Ash stops him, sends out Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Noctowl, and tells him that he can beat him with anyone else. However, the bold and serious image Ash was trying to portray fails when all of his Pokémon begin to goof off. After finally gathering everyone back, Ash notices that Gary has already walked away. Entering a nearby town, Misty and Brock marvel over how well-trained Gary's Umbreon was. Moping and pouting along the way, Ash vows to beat Gary the next time they battle. At the town's Pokémon Center, our heroes decide to have dinner at the cafeteria inside. Spying on the gang, James is eager to sneak into the Pokémon Center's storeroom to grab as much food as possible. Jessie likes that idea, but Meowth, watching the sunset, sits calm and relaxed-until Wobbuffet sneaks up on him from behind. Angered by the disturbance, Meowth lunges forward and attempts to slash Wobbuffet in the face, but the Pokémon uses Counter and the one who ends up with the claw marks is Meowth.
Seeing this, Jessie comes up with an idea. That night, Ash has a pig out, stuffing himself with food. Suddenly, the lights at the Pokémon Center go out, so our heroes approach Nurse Joy to see what's going on. She reports that there's been a blackout, not to mention that the people at the Power Plant are not responding to her phone calls. To make matters worse, most of the equipment at the ER is run by electricity, and without power, treating injured Pokémon will not be possible. Brock asks where the Power Plant is located, and Joy tells him that it's in the mountains north of the city. Knowing this, the gang sets off for the plant to investigate the cause of these strange happenings. Camping out in the forest, Gary prepares dinner for himself and his Umbreon. As he looks down on the city, he notices that the town has gone black. He also notices Ash, Misty, and Brock rushing toward the Power Plant, and wonders what's going on.
At the Power Plant, a large extension cord can be seen connected to a giant mechanical robot. Inside, Team Rocket powers up the "Turbokick Engine" and discusses their objectives: to raid the Pokémon Center, stealing Pikachu and any other Pokémon they find along the way. In a stroke of luck, Meowth detects Pikachu closer than they thought on radar, so Jessie comes up with an even better idea. Arriving on scene, our heroes spot the Power Plant workers tied up. They run over to free them, when from out of nowhere, Team Rocket's giant mechanical robot, the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet appears before them. Ash commands Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but a trapdoor opens in the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet's chest, absorbing the shock and sending an even more powerful version of the attack back.
Everybody makes a run for it. Distancing themselves from the titanic robot, Ash and Misty send out Totodile, Staryu, and Poliwhirl to use their Water Guns. Much like the Thunderbolt, the blasts of water are taken in, and after a few seconds, sent back blasting toward the gang. Jessie explains that their Turbokick Engine will refine and send any attack thrown at them back at twice the power. She then gives Ash the chance to give up Pikachu peacefully, but he refuses.
Hearing this, Team Rocket decides to forcefully take it, and prepares for a Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet Punch. However, the robot is caught dead in its tracks, as the cord used to power the machine proves to be too short. Suddenly, Umbreon emerges as Gary's voice can be heard telling his Pokémon to use Tackle. It leaps up, breaking the plug connecting the cord and the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet. With Team Rocket stuck, the group runs away to free the Power Plant men. Distressed over another complete failure on their part, James and Meowth give up.
Jessie, remaining cool and calm, brings up Plan B. The workers thank our heroes for their efforts. Brock asks when the power will be back up, and one of the men tells him that due to the mess that's been happening, it won't be up for quite a while. Pleading for another solution for the sake of the Pokémon Center, Brock gets another man to come up with the idea of using the power from the second dam to get back online more quickly.
Only problem is that the water gate must be open first. Gary runs ahead to do so, and as Ash tags along, Team Rocket blocks his path once more. As we see Jessie's backup plan, which involves James and Meowth manually rotating pedals, she prepares to strike with her Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet Punch, followed by the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet Chop. Ash is down for the count, and just as Jessie is about to execute the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet Kick, the machine stops as James and Meowth are exhausted from peddling. With the Turbokick Engine temporarily down, Pikachu Thunderbolts Team Rocket.
Unfortunately, the shock attack becomes more helpful than harmful, as the electricity charged the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet's battery to full power. Coming up with an idea, Ash sends out Cyndaquil to use Flamethrower, but of course, the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet absorbs it. He then quickly chooses Chikorita to use Vine Whip to keep its trapdoors shut, and is successful. With no place for the double-powered Flamethrower to escape, the Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet's head expands, heats up, and explodes like an over-inflated balloon. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The gang catches up with Gary, who explains that the handle to operate the water gate is missing. Totodile directs Ash's attention to a nearby shack, where the handle is located.
Coming across the door, he finds it locked, so Cyndaquil knocks it down with a Tackle attack. Umbreon runs in and begins to glow, illuminating the otherwise dark room. Ash finds the handle attached to a locked chain bolted to the wall. He has Cyndaquil's Flamethrower, followed by Totodile's Water Gun, to weaken the chain, making it easy to cut for Chikorita's Razor Leaves. Running back to the dam, Ash inserts the handle in the slot, but it won't budge.
Misty, Brock, all the Pokémon, and Gary run over to help. The combined efforts of teamwork manage to succeed in opening the water gate, and water begins to gush out from the dam. However, one more problem remains; the old turbine hasn't been used in such a long time that it's not putting out enough electricity. To remedy the situation, Pikachu jumpstarts the generator and power is finally restored. Having saved the day, Ash thanks his rival for all of his help. Gary shrugs it off and as he and Umbreon are about to depart, he stops to tell Ash that he's definitely improved from the last time they've met, adding that Ash shouldn't be surprised if he challenged him to a match next time. The two say goodbye, for now. Back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy thanks the trio for their heroic deeds as they set off once more for Ecruteak City.