At Prof. Elm's science lab, with his legs held tight by Sneasel, Silver makes sure the professor isn't looking, and quickly slips on a pair of gloves before swinging himself down from the ceiling to snatch off the Pokéball of Totodile on the table below. Chikorita and Cyndaquil gasp in shock as they witness their companion being taken away, and start to thrash around in their Pokéballs. Prof. Elm walks over to see what's wrong, and hollers in shock when he discovers that one of his three starter Pokémon is missing.

Meanwhile, Gold and Joey have arrived in front of the lab, and Gold warns Joey to be careful since the culprit who stole his backpack might be lurking around to ambush them. He tells Joey to wait outside, and proceeds to climb onto the balcony of the building's second floor with Aitro. Just as he's about to peek through the glass door, Silver slides it open from inside and the two jump with a start upon seeing each other. Silver quickly hops back into the lab, and Gold angrily yells for him to stop. Prof. Elm hears the stir and looks up to see Gold, and immediately accuses himself of stealing his Totodile. Gold frantically denies just when Silver lands behind Elm, and orders an icy wind from his Sneasel. Gold shouts out for the professor to look out, but the man and his Sentret are too late to react, and get knocked out after slipping on the frozen ground and hitting their heads on the ice.

Joey hears the scream of Elm from outside, and charges in through the door, but he, too, slips on the ground and bangs his head on the ice, knocking himself unconscious. Gold decides to fight and orders a scratch from Aitro, but Silver quickly calls Sneasel forward and orders a protect. Gold retreives Aitro into its Pokéball, and remarks that he would attack from the backside if a frontal assault is not possible. He positions his billiard cue and strikes the ball to the staircase right behind Sneasel, and the dark Pokémon jumps with surprise when Aipom pops out to deliver its scratch.

Gold demands the Silver to return his backpack, but the red-haired boy says he has no idea what Gold is talking about. Gold realizes he doesn't have proof to accuse the other boy, and quickly thinks of a way to at least stall his time. He recalls the powerful ice attacks Sneasel unleashed earlier, and knows that the boy is no ordinary trainer. He suddenly remembers Prof. Elm's accusation of him stealing Totodile, and looks over at the table to see one Pokéball missing from the three holes. Gold puts on a grin, and says even though Silver can deny stealing his backpack, it is beyond doubt that he has taken one of the three lab Pokémon. Just then, Cyndaquil starts thrashing around in its Pokéball again, and Gold realizes that it must be upset over its companion being snatched.

Gold quickly releases Cyndaquil from the ball, and the fire mouse Pokémon immediately powers up the flames on his back. Seeing how the flames remind him of an exploding typhoon, Gold decides to call it Typhlo and prepares to attack as the other boy continues to wear an indifferent look on his face.

Out on a grassland in the countryside, a few Team Rocket members are rejoicing over their success in stealing the goods from Oak to Elm, and start rumbling through the backpack for the rare Pokémon and research material. Yet they soon discover that they have gotten the wrong bag, and angrily toss it back on the ground. They decide to head towards the lab of Prof. Elm to ambush the two young boys, and quickly run back into town. Through the unzipped opening of the backpack, the Pokéball of Gold's Poliwag, Politro, accidentally rolls off into the stream next to the grassland, and the little Pokémon wiggles frantically in its ball as it gets slowly carried away by the water current…

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us