Ash, Misty, and Tracey are on Mandarian Island, and Ash is on a winning streak. He finishes off a Butterfree with Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf, and Tracey and Misty express their surprise. Ash starts to get a bit full of himself, then lets known the fact that he is hungry. Misty and Tracey facefault, and they get something to eat.
As Ash and Misty eat, Tracey comes up holding a paper. He reads it aloud, and it tells them that Prima is going to give a lecture on the island. Misty is ecstatic, and tells Ash and Tracey that Prima (who is better known as Lorelei of the Elite Four) is her hero. She hears a voice behind her, and turns to see a tall woman. It's her! Misty and Tracey introduce themselves while Ash chokes on his sandwich. She walks past them, however, and bends down to look at Togepi.
Nearby, Meowth watches from the bushes while Jessie and James eat. They peer through their binoculars, and James recognizes Prima. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember who she is. Prima looks out at the ocean, and makes many philosophical comments about nature. Misty and Tracey are immensely confused, but all Ash wants is a battle. Misty chides him for his rudeness, but Prima continues to ignore him. Ash interprets this to mean that she's afraid to battle and goes off in search of someone else. He does, and his opponent agrees. As Prima watches, Ash offers to let the boy set up the rules and they agree on two Pokémon each. Ash sends out Squirtle, and the boy releases a Persian. Tracey points out Persian's straight tail, and warns Ash that this means that it has been in a lot of battles.
Squirtle uses Water Gun, but Persian dodges it. It unleashes a Thunderbolt attack, and Squirtle uses Withdraw. Tracey notes that he didn't know a Persian could use Electric attacks, and Squirtle pops out of its shell, ready for more. It Skull Bashes Persian, and the cat is knocked out. The boy sends out a Tauros, who Tackles Squirtle right away. Ash withdraws Squirtle, and sends out Charizard. When Misty gets worried, Ash tells her that he thinks he has enough experience as a trainer to control it. Unfortunately for him, he's wrong. Charizard burns him, then yawns.
Prima continues to watch as Tauros uses Take Down. Charizard gets a bit ticked off, and uses Flamethrower, eliminating Tauros in one hit. He then flies into the air and tries to burn everything in site. Ash tries to call it back, but the beam misses. When Ash gets burned again, Prima intervenes, sending out Slowbro. Slowbro uses Disable, immobilizing Charizard in midair. It then brings it down to the ground, and Ash succeeds in calling it back. Prima asks Ash if he knows what he's doing, and he defends himself by saying that he was in the top 16 in the Indigo League. Prima isn't impressed and starts to leave. She turns and asks them all to come to her demonstration later. They enthusiastically accept.
Later, Ash and his friends watch Prima battle from the stands of Mandarian Island Stadium. Team Rocket has also snuck in dressed as food venders. James now fully recognizes Prima, and they plan to steal her Pokémon. The demonstration goes on for a while, and Prima beats every Pokémon she goes up against. Ash watches intently, determined to try to pick up some tips. After the demonstration, Prima invites Ash and his friends to her house on the island for some tea. As Misty and Tracey thank her for inviting them and rave about her Pokémon, Ash sits in silence. Suddenly, he speaks up. He announces his suspicions that Prima is trying to teach him by reverse psychology, but they just look at him. Prima tells them that every person has a particular way of acting in and out of battle. She explains to them that she is like the water. She usually "goes with the flow", but when she's in battle, she becomes as cold as ice. She walks outside, and tells Ash that the most important thing is knowing where your strength lies. Ash may be strong in some ways, but he needs to develop what comes from the inside.
Misty and Tracey think about what Prima has told her, but Ash wants to battle. Prima accepts, and they go down to her battle court. They agree on one Pokémon each, and send out their Pokémon. Ash uses Pikachu, and Prima chooses Cloyster. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but Cloyster Withdraws into its shell. The attack has no effect. Pikachu uses Agility, but is deflected by Cloyster's Reflect Attack. Pikachu uses Thunder, and it connects, but then Cloyster starts to glow red. Tracey warns Ash that this is Rage, and now its Attack level is going to be huge. Pikachu tries a Quick Attack, but is pummeled by an Aurora Beam and Take Down. Ash loses.
Prima calls back Cloyster, and looks at Pikachu to see if it is ok. She tells Ash that he has the skills he needs to be a Pokémon Master, but he needs to remember that his Pokémon are the ones who win the badges. She gives him a small lecture about losing, and learning from losing. She tells him that with his Pokémon and friends at his side, he'll always succeed. She then tells him that if he wins all the gym badges in the Orange Islands League, he'll be presented with an "Honorable Trainer" trophy. That's a goal Ash will strive to achieve, and he thanks Prima.
Suddenly, voices sound from above. It's Team Rocket, and they ask if Prima has a recording of her lecture on a CD. She replies that it's on tape only, and whispers to Ash and his friends that it's $18.95 (whoa, that's a steep price for a few tapes. Maybe she means video tapes.). Team Rocket falls out of their balloon, and says their motto. Misty correctly guesses that their original plan was to steal Prima's Pokémon, but they tell her that they figured they'd lose. They then decided to stick with the program and steal Pikachu. Ash gets ready to fight, but Prima tells him that she'll take care of it.
She sends out a Jynx, who uses Ice Beam (funny, it looks more like Ice Punch) and freezes the Rockets. Jynx then uses Blizzard and blows them into the sky. The pieces from the ice block rain down, causing lots of sparkles in the sky. Everyone watches, amazed. That evening, Prima tells Ash that the nearest gym is on Trovita Island, which is straight across the bay on the other side of Mandarian. Ash and his friends thank Prima again for everything that she taught him. They wave farewell, and head towards their next adventure