At the Sprout Tower, Gold declares that he will not let Silver get away this time, and Silver gets momentarily stunned when the other boy addresses him by name. Gold orders Typhlo forward, but Silver defends with Totodile, and the two starter Pokémon start to engage in a close-up battle. Silver commands a scratch from Totodile, and Typhlo gets instantly knocked back. Gold retaliates by ordering a tackle, and Typhlo quickly rams its whole body straight into Totodile. Gold says he has promised Prof. Elm to retrieve Totodile, and demands Silver to hand it over, but Silver simply scoffs at the remark.

Typhlo unleashes an ember from its back, only to be extinguished by Totodile's powerful water gun. Silver mocks that it is common knowledge that fire has a disadvantage over water, but Gold grunts that he is trying to use Typhlo's strong will to persuade Totodile to return. Silver coldly states that type difference counts more in this case, and that no matter how strong Cyndaquil's mind is, its fire will always be put out by Totodile's water. Gold remarks that he still believes that a strong will prevails over anything, and orders a smokescreen from Typhlo. Black smoke quickly fills the room, and Silver finds himself unable to see anything. Gold puts on his goggles, and quickly locates Totodile. He reaches out his hand and tells Totodile that he will return it to Prof. Elm, but the little blue crocodile bites him hard and jumps back to Silver.

Gold is deeply surprised, and wonders why Totodile refuses to leave. As the smoke clears, Silver states that all Pokémon wish to grow stronger, and Totodile fully understands that it can maximize its ability if it stays with him instead of going back to the lab. Gold still can't believe that Totodile choses to be with the person with stole it from its home, and is about to try persuading it again when he hears a rumbling noise coming from the other side of the room.

Spiked walls all of a sudden start closing in on Gold and Silver, and the two boys quickly jump out of the way. The ceiling of the room gives away, and a giant metal ball falls on them. Gold and Silver struggle hard to support the weight of the ball, and Silver accuses Gold of activating the mechanical devices in the tower with Cyndaquil's smokescreen. Gold looks around and sees that they have no means to escape now that the only staircase leading down has been destroyed by Totodile's slash earlier. He blames Silver for trapping in themselves, and starts to falter from the weight of the heavy metal ball.

Silver remarks that they can only count on their Pokémon now, and orders Totodile to jump onto the ball. Even without Gold's command, Typhlo follows and decides to collaborate with Totodile. Gold wonders what the two Pokémon are up to, and Typhlo begins to charge up its flames to heat up the metal ball. Both boys suddenly realize what their Pokémon are planning, and Silver quickly orders Totodile to use ice punch on the ball. The abrupt change in temperature causes the metal ball to explode, and the two boys land safely on the floor. Gold cheers over their success, and compliments on Typhlo for the clever combo it pulled off with Totodile. But then he turns around and jumps with shock as he discovers that Silver has once again slipped away without his notice.

Outside, Silver and Totodile are moving away from the Sprout Tower. Totodile suddenly starts to shake and glow, and instantly evolves into a Crocronaw. Silver checks on his Pokédex and remarks that their mission has been successfully accomplished despite the unexpected trouble…

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us