The episode begins with the narrator speaking. He says that Ash and co. have entered Modama Town. He says that it is May's next chance to obtain her third ribbon. May starts training with Munchlax. SHe tells Munchlax to use Focus Punch, Munchlax's Focus Punch popped the party ball, and color paper falls out. Munchlax is happy, and May congratulates it for a job well done. Max is complementing Munchlax on its good work. Ash believes that May will earn her next ribbon. May is ready to get the ribbon, and so is Munchlax.

May calls Munchlax cool, and that it will have a good debut in the contest. Eevee looks like it wants to participate, but May says that it needs to practice some techniques; she also says that it's going to observe today on how the contest works. Ash asks if Munchlax is being used in both rounds, May answers that Munchlax will be used in the second round and Squirtle first. Ash, May and Max look over to Brock who are surrounded by girls complementing on a sweet and cute Bonsly he has. Brock is happy that thanks to Bonsly, he met a few girls. Then Harley comes if he can come over to see too. Brock thought that Harley was a girl at first, but then realizes its Harley. Harley's walking towards Brock, and all the girls run off.

Harley asks if he is May's friend. Harley thenn notices May. He runs over to her. Ash and Max are disgusted of his appearance at the contest. Now suddenly, he looks serious, and says that he'll win against May. Bonsly says 'Bonsly' and Harley yells to it, that its not a lie. Harley says that he has played enough tricks on her, and he will make May cry. May says that he will be one crying, and calls him a 'kamo' and Harley gets mad. Harley then asks how many ribbons she has. May acts proud of herself and says 2 Harley then has a sarcastic look on his face and says that what is expected. He shows May his Ribbon Case and there 3 ribbons in place. May then looks stunned, but then says that today's ribbon will be her's to have the same amount as Harley's. Then we see May in a Munchlax cosplay costume and Harley in a Ariados cosplay costume both saying it will be a challenge. (This whole scene with the costume was overly dramatic). Ash is glad to see a good rival Harley and May have. Harley then shows himself out, and saying that they will meet on the stage. Brock says that she will catch up to Harley soon and says not to go o Harley's quick pace. Max says to do her best in the contest.

Harley is now walking towards and past Team Rocket's market stand. As he walks by, Jessie commands him to hold it. Team Rocket try to sell Harley some PokéBlocks. James says that Harley speaks more then he listens. Harley is confused. Team Rocket then sing there motto. When their about to finish it, Harley asks if their that Team Rocket who loses to May. Wobbuffet pops out then (dramatically) becomes depressed. Then they cut to the real deal. Jessie says that they can get Harley to the championship. James continues that Harley would love it if the twerp (May) lost. Meowth says that in exchange for the deal, Harley has to get Pikachu for them. Harley starts laughing sadistically. Jessie asks what's so funny. Harley answers that all Team Rocket does is lose. Team Rocket are then dramatically stunned. (Another dramatic scene) Jessie is then mad at Harley cause he made fun of her.

The contest has now begun, Lilian is explaining the rules and etc. for the Contest. She says this is the convention in Modama Town, and that Coordinators went through the valleys sea just to make it to there. Pikachu is doing its little cheering dance. Ash and Max are ready to cheer for May, and Brock is suggesting to Eevee to watch the contest carefully. She then continues about getting the Modama ribbon, for the entry of the Grand Festival. She introduces to the crowd Contesta, Pokémon Fanclub President, and Joy. She asks the crowd if they are ready for the contest. The crowd screams their head off with a 'yeah'.

Now May is on the stage for the first round. She releases Squirtle. Ash back in the crowd says that they both look good. For May's appeal, she starts things off with Squirtle's Rapid Spin. Next she tells Squirtle to use Bubble. Lilian then comments on how well that attack was done. Ash and co. in the crowd complement on a good job May is doing. Harley back in the waiting room says that its not going to be as easy as she thinks and he will beat her. Contesta comments on Squirtle's performance, followed by Fanclub President, and Nurse Joy. Next May's Squirtle uses Ice Beam. Its Ice Beam destroys the bubbles, and then Squirtle covers the whole appeal stage with Ice. The crowd is amazed.

After a few other appeals, it's Harley's turn for appealing. He calls his Ariados super cool and threatening. He started off with Spider Web. Ariados covers the whole appeal stage with webs. Ariados is running around on the webs, and onto the ceiling. Harley tells Ariados to break off it, and does a bungee jump. Harley then commands a Scary Face. Ariados covers almost its whole body with webs. The crowd is stunned, scared and possibly frightened of Ariados' appeal. Max is commenting on Ariados' performance. Contesta comments on he appeal, it seems to give him the chills. The Pokémon Fanclub President said he liked it, and Nurse Joy absolutely loved it. Harley announced to himself his finishing move, but then we here Wobbuffet, and it drops from the Contest Hall roof. Harley is sad and surprised that his appeal didn't go as expected due to Wobbuffet.

Wobbuffet then pops out of the ground, and runs out of the Contest Hall after Ariados scared it. Lilian and Harley are wondering what that was all about. Pikachu looks like it knows what’s going on and runs off then Ash wonders what’s going on and follows it.

After, Lilian announces that the judging is over, and they have selected the candidates. The list of coordinators for the second round is revealed, and May is first on the list followed by Harley. Back at the waiting room, Harley is talking to May. Harley is asking how May did so well. May does a happy face to make people jealous. She says to do each others best to get to the top. Harley really wasn't paying much attention and goes and gets mad. He then says to himself that his Pokémon will make her cry.

Now the battle first round battle with May and a trainer will now begin. May uses Munchlax and the trainer uses a Politoed. Munchlax uses a Solar Beam, the trainer uses Water Gun. The Solar Beam is too strong and knocks out Politoed. Munchlax does its little jig after the battle. Harley is surprised at Munchlax's power.

Outside of the hall, Team Rocket is stealing trainer's Pokémon with robotic hands. The trainers are wondering where their Pokémon have disappeared too. Team Rocket's plan is on the road to success. Wobbuffet comes running into the scene. James says that it fell from the balloon and they looked everywhere for it. Then Pikachu comes ready to attack. Ash is behind it. Before Ash commands an attack, Team Rocket confesses that they are on the twerp's side (referring to May). Ash is surprised then asks what is with the Pokémon in cages. James and Jessie tell Ash their sinister plot, and Ash send them blasting off. While blasting off, Jessie tells James that she is going to enter the next Contest, and then asks if she can borrow Manene. James replies with two words 'Eh, but'.

Now it's the battle in the contest with Harley vs. May. Harley looks like he's going to beat May, and the same with May. May mutters to herself that Munchlax will win the battle.

May throws out Munchlax, and Harley throws out Octillery. Back in the stands, Ash says that May will win the battle. Brock comments that Harley is a strong opponent. May starts things off with a Focus Punch. Harley orders his Pokémon to ump and use Constrict. Octillery blocks Munchlax's view, while Munchlax struggling to use it's Focus Punch. May starts to lose some contest points. Ash yells to let go of the attack, Lilian is commenting on what Munchlax will do next. Harley commands an Octazooka attack. The attack blew it right on Munchlax's face. May then loses even more points from that hit it took. Max and Brock are both surprised on how high level that Octillery Harley has. Ash tells May not to lose, and then Eevee and Pikachu start cheering May on. May then orders a Solar Beam, Harley counters with a Sludge Bomb, and Munchlax was hit by it, and wasn't able to do it's Solar Beam. May then loses another chunk of her points. She has less then half of it left. May wondered why that attack hit.

Turning to the judgers, they comment on the battle so far. Harley then says to May that he has seen plenty of Munchlax's moves. May then tells Munchlax to use a Metronome attack. Max and Ash talk about the attack Metronome and how it can be a good attack due to its randomness. Harley expected that May would use Metronome. May is ready to launch the Metronome attack. Then nothing pops out, everyone is wondering what went wrong. Brock wonders if it was a defense technique. Harley and Octillery laugh at May and Munchlax since nothing happened... then suddenly a Thunder has struck Octillery. Harley gets (dramatically) surprised. Lilian comments on how Thunder is a super effective attack on a Water Pokémon. Harley then loses some points, and with only 3 minutes remaining.

May and Munchlax are both happy about that attack. Harley is still ready, he orders a Rest attack. Max thinks it's slacking off... Ash says that this is bad... Brock continues that Rest heals a Pokémon while sleeping... Ash yells at May to finish the battle quickly before it fully recovers. May then commands a Tackle... Harley loses some points, then a Focus Punch, more points lost, Harley is getting frustrated. May then orders another Tackle, Harley loses more points... Octillery recovers, and uses an Octazooka to finish the battle and knocking out Munchlax.

Harley is completely happy that he won the battle. May puts Munchlax back in it's PokéBall. May apologizes to Munchlax for the loss... Lilian then presents the ribbon to Harley. Lilian then closes the contest.

The contest is over, and the sun is setting... May suggests to Munchlax to eat, she says it worked hard and is quite tired. Ash says that Munchlax did its best to the end of the match. May calls this contest regrettable, and will do better in the next contest. As they continue talking, Harley is in the background and walks away. Lilian then walks to Ash and co. She asks if May is tired. Brock answers yes for her with Love in his eyes. She says that was an unfortunate loss, but she gives her an advertising poster for the Yuzuriha Island convention. Lilian says that she is welcome to try again. Max says that the island is not too far from Modama. May gets eagered for it, then Lilian gives May something she's been holding for her. It's a rose plus a letter. Ash, May, and Brock wonder who is it from, as it doesn't say. After Brock says that it came with a rose, Max assumes that it was Drew who gave Lilian the letter. The letter reads...

“Dear May, Lets meet next time at the Yuzuriha Convention".

Ash then asks to himself if Drew will be at that contest. May then gets confident about her next ribbon, and that she'll win it. Then the narrator closes the episode with a quick recap of what happened.

English Official Summary

May is preparing for the Pokémon Contest in Wisteria Town when her old rival Harley shows up and vows to beat her. He's even got one more Ribbon than she does! Harley also runs into Team Rocket, who offer to help him beat May if he'll help them steal Pikachu. Harley just laughs and laughs at the idea, infuriating Jessie. May starts the Contest with a dazzling display from Squirtle, and Harley brings out Ariados for an impressive but scary show. During the appeal, Wobbuffet suddenly falls onto the stage, then runs away. As May and Harley move on to the next round, Pikachu and Ash investigate this odd occurrence. Chasing after Wobbuffet, they find Team Rocket busy stealing Pokémon—Wobbuffet fell onto the stage because it fell out of their balloon. Team Rocket tries to convince Ash they're really big May fans, but Pikachu quickly sends them packing. Harley and May make it to the Contest finals, and Harley's brought his Octillery. Moves like Constrict and Octozooka hit hard, but Munchlax strikes back with Metronome. Harley has Octillery use Rest to restore its health, so now Munchlax must knock it out before it wakes up! But at the last minute, Octillery wakes up and defeats Munchlax with Octazooka. May's not too upset about her loss, though. She has her next Pokémon Contest to look forward to—and a message from an anonymous admirer. Could it be Drew...

French Official Summary

Flora se prépare pour le Concours Pokémon de Wisteria-Ville lorsque son vieux rival Harley apparaît et jure de la battre. Il a même un Ruban de plus qu'elle !

German Official Summary

Maike bereitet sich auf den Pokémon-Wettbewerb in Wisteria City vor, als ihr alter Rivale Harley auftaucht und schwört, sie zu besiegen. Er hat sogar schon ein Band mehr als sie!

Italian Official Summary

Vera si sta preparando per la Gara di Pokémon di Città del Glicine, quando il suo vecchio rivale Harley spunta all'improvviso e giura di sconfiggerla. Ha già ottenuto un Fiocco in più della sua avversaria!

Portuguese Official Summary

No Concurso Pokémon No Cidade de Wisteria, May descobre que ela vai competir contra seu velho rival, Harley.

Finnish Official Summary

Wisteria Townin Pokémon-kilpailussa May huomaa, että saa vastaansa vanhan kilpakumppaninsa, Harleyn.

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

En el Concurso Pokémon de Pueblo Wisteria, May descubre que va a competir contra su viejo rival, Harley.

Spanish Official Summary

Aura está preparándose para el Concurso Pokémon en Pueblo Wisteria cuando Harley, su viejo adversario, aparece y jura que la derrotará. ¡Incluso tiene una Cinta más que ella!

English Great Britian Official Summary

May is preparing for the Pokémon Contest in Wisteria Town when her old rival Harley shows up and vows to beat her. He's even got one more Ribbon than she does! Harley also runs into Team Rocket, who offer to help him beat May if he'll help them steal Pikachu. Harley just laughs and laughs at the idea, infuriating Jessie. May starts the Contest with a dazzling display from Squirtle, and Harley brings out Ariados for an impressive but scary show. During the appeal, Wobbuffet suddenly falls onto the stage, then runs away. As May and Harley move on to the next round, Pikachu and Ash investigate this odd occurrence. Chasing after Wobbuffet, they find Team Rocket busy stealing Pokémon—Wobbuffet fell onto the stage because it fell out of their balloon. Team Rocket tries to convince Ash they're really big May fans, but Pikachu quickly sends them packing. Harley and May make it to the Contest finals, and Harley's brought his Octillery. Moves like Constrict and Octozooka hit hard, but Munchlax strikes back with Metronome. Harley has Octillery use Rest to restore its health, so now Munchlax must knock it out before it wakes up! But at the last minute, Octillery wakes up and defeats Munchlax with Octazooka. May's not too upset about her loss, though. She has her next Pokémon Contest to look forward to—and a message from an anonymous admirer. Could it be Drew...

Russian Official Summary

Прибыв в Модама Таун для участия Мэй в местном состязании покемонов, наши герои неожиданно сталкиваются с ее давним противником, Харли! Как и Мэй, он многократный победитель разных состязаний покемонов, обладатель трёх ленточек, но он ненавидит всех своих соперников. Их ждёт ожесточённое соперничество, но в результате, Харли получает ленточку Модама, а Мэй не удаётся завоевать свою третью ленту. Но даже здесь Мэй находит положительные моменты - бесценный опыт. Вскоре она узнает о ещё одном грядущем состязании покемонов на острове Узуриха, и загорается желанием принять в нем участие. Там она получит ещё один шанс завоевать третью ленточку состязаний покемонов.

Dutch Official Summary

In de Wisteria Town Pokémon Wedstrijd ontdekt May dat ze moet wedijveren tegen haar oude rivaal Harley.

Norwegian Official Summary

I Pokémon-konkurransen i Wisteria Town, oppdager May at hun skal konkurrere mot sin gamle rival Harley.

Swedish Official Summary

I Wisteria Towns Pokémon-tävling, upptäcker May att hon ska tävla mot sin gamla rival Harley.

Danish Official Summary

I Wisteria Towns Pokémon-konkurrence går det op for May, at hun skal dyste mod sin gamle rival, Harley.