Ash and his friends are walking along in Grandpa Canyon. They stop and they see a big line of people walking along. Lots of the people are carrying digging tools such as shovels. Gary comes to Ash. He's dressed up differently and Ash asks the reason of why he's dressed up so differently. Gary tells them about the Pokémon Discovery and the Fossil Rush. His cheerleaders say a chant for Gary. Gary then leaves to find a Pokémon Fossil. Jigglypuff watches Ash and Misty argue. Jigglypuff jumps on a rock. Before it can sing, it notices that Ash and his friends are gone. This gets Jigglypuff mad.

Everyone is digging hoping to find a fossil. Gary is digging and he finds something. Thinking that it is a Pokémon Fossil, his cheerleaders cheer for Gary. A scientist comes up and examines the fossil. The scientist tells him that he found fossilized manuever. Ash, Misty, and Brock look down at all of the people digging. Suddenly, they hear Meowth talking. Jessie and James pop out behind a rock and they say their motto. Meowth hits them with a hammer thinking that they didn't plant the dynamite but Jessie tells Meowth that he is wrong. They plan to blow of the canyon and steal the fossils. Ash, Misty, and Brock overhear Team Rocket's conversation. Ash decides to stop them while Misty and Brock tell the people about it.

Ash catches up to Team Rocket and he tells them to stop. Ash is a bit late because Meowth has already lit the fuse. Ash chooses Squirtle to take out the fuse. Squirtle uses Water Gun but it misses the fuse. Jessie sends out her Arbok and James sends out his Weezing. Squirtle continues to try to squirt the fuse out but it fails. Team Rocket begins to run after Ash to stop them. They run down the whole cliff. Suddenly, James trips and knocks into Jessie and they all fall rolling on the ground. Ash and Pikachu get trapped and they all roll down. They come to the end of the cliff. The fuse runs right past Ash and is about 5 feet away from the dynamite. Everyone tries to get untangled so that they can escape. Pikachu shocks the dynamite. The dynamite blows up causing the ground to split open. Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket all fall through the ground. Then the hole is covered with rocks trapping them underground.

Squirtle manages to escape and Misty and Brock come to its rescue. All 3 of them try to push the rocks aside. Underground, everyone wakes up. All of them argue over the whole mess. Pikachu spots red glowing eyes appearing deep inside the darkness of the cave. The Pokémon are Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, and Omastar and they don't look happy to see the group.

Ash looks up the Pokémon in his Pokédex. Dexter tells him that they are extinct Pokémon. They come to the conclusion that they dynamite explosion woke the Pokémon up. Jessie and James throw 2 Pokéballs at the Pokémon but Kabutops destroys the Pokéballs. Ash takes out his Charmeleon and he orders a Flamethrower at the extinct Pokémon. However, Charmeleon just sits on a rock and takes a nap. Then the extinct Pokémon begin to chase them and everyone is running for their lives.

Back on top, Misty and Brock try to get Officer Jenny to help them. Officer Jenny tells them that she will find some help right away. Brock sends out Geodude and he tells Geodude to help them move the rocks. Arbok and Weezing are running away from the extinct Pokémon. The extinct Pokémon eventually get Arbok and Weezing. Pikachu faces the Kabutops. It uses Thundershock but the Kabutops take no damage from the shock. Kabutops begin to attack Ash and Pikachu when suddenly they stop. Then all of the extinct Pokémon run away from the group. Meowth hears something and an Aerodactyl comes and kicks Charmeleon off the rock. Ash looks it up in his Pokédex. Then Aerodactyl starts to chase them. Charmeleon wants to fight but Aerodactyl knocks it over. Misty and Brock call for Ash and Ash tells them to hurry up.

Suddenly, Aerodactyl swoopes down and picks up Ash. Pikachu and Charmeleon both jump onto Aerodactyl's tail. Aerodactyl flies out of the ground. Charmeleon and Pikachu jump off Aerodactyl's tail and they land safely on the ground. Jigglypuff comes out and wants to sing. Ash calls for help. Charmeleon wants to fight Aerodactyl and so it evolves into a Charizard. Charizard begins to chase Aerodactyl. Ash thinks that Charmeleon evolved into Charizard to save him. Charizard shoots out a Flamethrower which almost hits Ash. One Flamethrower burns Ash and Ash realizes that Charmeleon evolved into Charizard to only battle Aerodactyl. Misty tells Jigglypuff to sing and it does. Everyone starts to get drowsy. Charizard is covering its ears to keep it from falling asleep. Then Aerodactyl falls asleep and drops Ash but Ash lands on Charizard's back. Aerodactyl falls into the ground and the rocks seal the entrance and exit. Charizard lands on the ground and Ash rolls over to a mysterious egg.

When Jigglypuff finishes its song, it sees that everyone is asleep. Angrily, Jigglypuff takes out its marker and draws on everyones' faces. When everyone wakes up, Officer Jenny makes an announcement that no more digging will be allowed. Ash and his friends continue to walk down the road. Ash takes out a Pokémon egg and he tells Misty and Brock about it. Brock and Misty run away with the egg and Ash chases them down. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is still stuck underground with the sleeping extinct Pokémon. James accidently sneezes and Aerodactyl roars...

English Official Summary

Our heroes approach Grampa Canyon, famous for the beautiful scenery of its valley. As they approach, however, they find wave upon wave of people also heading for Grampa Canyon. Carrying backpacks, pickaxes, etc. they are all dressed like explorers. Ash has no idea what is so special about the canyon, but he notices a familiar face among the crowd—that of his rival, Gary. According to Gary, fossils from an extinct Pokémon have been discovered, triggering an ancient Pokémon excavation boom.

French Official Summary

Nos héros approchent du Canyon du Grand-Père, célèbre pour sa magnifique vallée. Mais ils ne tardent pas à découvrir que des vagues incessantes de personnes se dirigent dans la même direction qu'eux.

German Official Summary

Unsere Helden nähern sich einer großen Schlucht, die für ihre wunderschöne Aussicht berühmt ist. Doch was ist das? Jede Menge Leute sind ebenfalls dorthin unterwegs!

Italian Official Summary

Secondo il rivale di Ash, Gary, i fossili di Pokémon estinti sono stati ritrovati in zona e ciò ha provocato una vera e propria caccia al fossile nel canyon. Ash decide di unirsi alla ricerca cercando di battere Gary!

Portuguese Official Summary

De acordo com o rival de Ash, Gary, fósseis de Pokémon extintos foram descobertos na área, disparando uma grande corrida de fósseis no desfiladeiro. Ash decide se unir à escavação pela chance de derrotar Gary!

Finnish Official Summary

Ashin kilpailijan Garyn mukaan alueelta on löytynyt sukupuuttoon kuolleiden Pokémonien fossiileita, joka on johtanut varsinaiseen fossiiliryntäykseen. Ash päättää osallistua kaivauksiin voittaakseen Garyn!

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

Según el rival de Ash, Gary, se han descubierto fósiles de Pokémon extintos en el área, iniciando una gran fiebre de fósiles en el cañón. ¡Ash decide unirse a las excavaciones para tratar de derrotar a Gary!

Spanish Official Summary

Nuestros héroes se acercan al espectacular Cañón del Abuelo, famoso por ser una maravilla natural. A medida que se acercan se encuentran con oleadas de gente que también se dirigen al Cañón del Abuelo.

English Great Britain Official Summary

Our heroes approach Grampa Canyon, famous for the beautiful scenery of its valley. As they approach, however, they find wave upon wave of people also heading for Grampa Canyon. Carrying backpacks, pickaxes, etc. they are all dressed like explorers. Ash has no idea what is so special about the canyon, but he notices a familiar face among the crowd—that of his rival, Gary. According to Gary, fossils from an extinct Pokémon have been discovered, triggering an ancient Pokémon excavation boom.

Dutch Official Summary

Volgens Gary, de rivaal van Ash, zijn er in de buurt fossielen van uitgestorven Pokémon ontdekt waardoor er een enorme fossielenjacht is ontstaan. Ash doet mee aan de opgravingen en ziet het als een kans om Gary te verslaan.

Norwegian Official Summary

I følge Ash sin rival Gary, har fossiler fra utryddede Pokémon blitt oppdaget i området, og folk strømmer til dalen for å lete etter fossiler. Ash vil bli med på utgravningen for å få en sjanse til å slå Gary!

Swedish Official Summary

Enligt Ashs rival Gary har man funnit urgamla fossiler från utdöda Pokémon i närheten, vilket leder till stor fossil-iver i floddalen. Ash beslutar sig för att delta i utgrävningarna som ett sätt att försöka slå Gary!

Danish Official Summary

Ifølge Ashs rival Gary er der blevet fundet fossiler af uddøde Pokémon i området. Det har udløst en enorm jagt på fossiler i kløften. Nu vil Ash også være med for at vinde over Gary i udgravningen!