Dawn stands in front of a Buneary. She wants to capture it. She holds out her Pokéball. Ash says that she needs to make the Pokéball bigger first. Dawn makes the Pokéball bigger by pressing the button. Then she throws it, but it gets thrown at Ash's face instead of Buneary. Ash makes an argument about it, and Dawn fights back. Brock, Pikachu, and Piplup watch Ash and Dawn fight. While they are fighting, Piplup sees Buneary escape.

Dawn blames Ash for having the Buneary escape. Ash fights back by saying Dawn was doing stupid things. Brock tells both of them to stop. Suddenly, the sky lights up with bright light. Brock notices that a Sunny Day is taking effect. Sunny Day is a Pokémon move that temporarily powers up fire type moves. A Budew walks up to Ash and co. Ash looks up Budew in his Pokédex. Dawn notices that Budew is very cute. Brock wonders if it was Budew who caused the Sunny Day. A mysterious trainer walks up to them and tells them that the Budew did cause the Sunny Day. He tells them that the Sunny Day was to get Ash and Dawn to stop fighting, for Ash and Dawn are now happy. Ash and Dawn do notice that they are feeling a lot better.

Ash, Dawn, and Brock then introduce themselves to the trainer. The trainer introduces himself as Nando to Ash and co. He tells them that he owns the Budew. Dawn wants to battle Nando for some experience. Ash tells Dawn that this will be her first battle with a trainer, but Dawn tells him not to worry. Nando asks Dawn if she is on a quest to battle in the Sinnoh League. Dawn tells him that her quest is to battle in the Grand Festival. Nando tells her that they will have a contest battle, and he leads the group to an opening up ahead.

Team Rocket pops out of the bushes. They notice that Dawn is with Ash and co. Jessie wants to win the next, upcoming contest, so that she can beat Dawn. When Ash and co. arrive at the open field, Dawn and Nando face each other. Dawn sends out Piplup. Nando tells Dawn that she can have the first attack. Dawn knows that her opponent is a grass type, so a flying type would work best. She orders Piplup to use Peck. Before Piplup can hit Budew, Budew jumps into the air, dodging the attack. Then Budew uses Bullet Seed, but Piplup dodges the attack. Piplup fights back with Bubblebeam. The attack hits Budew, but Budew doesn't receive a lot of damage because water attacks don't do much against grass types like Budew. Budew begins to charge for a Solarbeam attack. Dawn knows that Solarbeam takes time to charge up, so she orders Piplup to use Peck. Before Piplup can get to Budew, Budew is all charged up, and it fires the Solarbeam at Piplup. The Solarbeam hits Piplup directly, and Piplup faints.

Dawn wonders how Budew was able to charge up so fast. Brock assumes that the Sunny Day effect was able to help Budew charge up faster. Nando congratulates Dawn for doing her best since it was her first battle. Ash and Brock tell Dawn that she can learn a lot and get stronger from her first battle. Then Nando begins to walk away.

Jessie is glad that Dawn was beat. She thinks that she could easily beat Dawn in battle. James and Meowth think that Jessie should just do it, but Jessie says that they first have to capture Pikachu. Meanwhile, Ash and co. continue to walk through the forest. Dawn is disappointed that she couldn't catch a Pokémon or defeat a trainer in battle. Ash tells Dawn that a good dinner and lots of sleep will make her feel better in the morning. Brock looks at his guide book and sees that there is a Pokémon Center nearby. He sends out Bonsly. He tells Bonsly that it will be able to get checked out by Nurse Joy. Dawn looks up Bonsly in her Pokédex. Ash asks Brock if he brought any of his other Pokémon along. Brock tells Ash that he only brought Bonsly. All his other Pokémon are with his brothers and sisters back in the gym. Nurse Joy greets Ash and co. when they arrive at the Pokémon Center. Dawn asks Nurse Joy if she is from Sandgim Town since they look familiar. Brock holds up a picture at Dawn. The picture contains a picture of all the Nurse Joy in Sinnoh. Brock says that all the Nurse Joy are different even though they look alike. He takes Nurse Joy's hand and tells her that she is very beautiful. Dawn notices that same behavior Brock had with Officer Jenny. Later that evening, Dawn gives her mother a call. Dawn tells her mother that everything is okay, and that there is nothing to worry about. Dawn's mother is relying on Ash and Brock to look after her. Then Nurse Joy walks up to Ash and co. She asks Ash if he has registered for the Sinnoh League. Ash is surprised that he forgot. Nurse Joy takes Ash's Pokédex and registers him. She gives the Pokédex back to Ash when she's done.

Three other trainers walk in and ask Nurse Joy if she would heal their Pokémon. Dawn recognizes a Chimchar, Turtwig, and Prinplup, the evolve form of Piplup. Dawn looks up Prinplup in her Pokédex. Then Nando walks in the Pokémon Center. He greets Dawn. Nurse Joy gives Budew back to Nando. Nando thanks Nurse Joy for taking care of Budew. Dawn asks him if he will also be staying at the Pokémon Center. Nando tells her that he needs to ponder with a few other things. Ash wonders what Nando is pondering about. Nurse Joy tells him that Nando participates in both gym battles and contests, and he can't decide which one he should do. Ash thinks that he should go for gym battles because his Budew is very strong. Dawn obviously thinks that he should participate in Pokémon contests instead. Ash and Dawn begin to fight again, and they run off. Brock runs after them.

Ash and co. wonder where Nando went. Ash asks Starly if it saw Nando. Starly shakes its head no. Brock says that Starly would've seen him if he was here. Ash returns Starly back into its Pokéball. Ash apologizes to Dawn because now they have to camp out in the forest. Dawn wonders why they can't just go back into the Pokémon Center. Ash tells her that it's too far away. Suddenly, two people walk up to Ash and co. They invite them into their inn. They point to the inn behind them. Ash and co. wonder why there would be an inn in the middle of the forest. The two people state that they like travelers. Suddenly, the inn falls causing smoke. When the smoke clears, the two people are revealed as Jessie and James. Meowth comes out, and the three of them say their motto.

James sends out Carnivine for battle. Ash and co. notice that they have a new Pokémon. Ash looks up Carnivine in his Pokédex. Dawn sends out Piplup. Piplup uses Bubblebeam, but the attack doesn't have much of an effect on Carnivine, a grass type. Then Carnivine uses Bite. Before Carnivne can hit Piplup, Budew tackles Carnivine. Ash and co. are surprised to see Budew. Budew fires a Bullet Seed at Team Rocket, causing them to blast off again.

Nando walks out into the opening. He hopes that Ash and co. are alright. Ash says that they were just looking for Nando a few moments ago. A fire is built, and Ash tells Nando that he should use Budew in gym battles, while Dawn says that he should use Budew in contests. Ash and Dawn begin to fight again. Nando tells both of them to stop fighting, so that they can hear the forest sing. They stop and listen to all the Pokémon in the forest sing at once. Dawn notices how gorgeous the sounds are. She apologizes to Ash for all the complaining she has caused. She promises to do better next time. Ash also apologizes to Dawn for all the trouble he has caused. Ash mentions that on his first day back in Pallet Town, he saw a Pokémon that looked like a Ho-oh. Dawn tells Ash that she saw something similar on her first day. She mentions that the world is full of mysterious Pokémon. Then Ash challenges Nando to a battle. Nando accepts Ash's challenge.

Ash chooses Pikachu for the battle, while Nando chooses Budew. Pikachu starts off with Quick Attack, and Budew uses Bullet Seed. Pikachu dodges Budew's attack and hits Budew with full force. Budew then fights back with Mega Drain. Pikachu's health is sucked out of Pikachu, and it heals Budew. Pikachu is able to get up, and it uses Thunderbolt on Budew. The electric attack directly hits Budew. Suddenly, Budew begins to glow. It evolves into Roselia. Ash is suprised to see Budew evolving into Roselia. Nando commands Roselia to use Sunny Day. Roselia creates a bright sunny light. Then it uses Solarbeam. Pikachu dodges the attack by jumping in the air. Then Pikachu uses Iron Tail on Roselia, knocking it out. Ash wins the battle.

Nando returns Roselia back into its Pokéball. Nando tells Ash and co. that he has decided to do both gym battles and contests. He couldn't imagine to give up both. Nando then bids farewell, and Ash and co. continue their journey.

English Official Summary

Dawn is still trying to catch her first wild Pokémon, but Ash's coaching isn't helping at all and both Trainers are getting annoyed. The outlook suddenly gets much brighter when Nando, a traveling Pokémon bard, has his Budew use Sunny Day to lighten the mood. To show Ash her skills, Dawn requests a Contest battle with Nando, but Budew's Grass-type moves are too tough for Piplup. Budew wins and our heroes head to a Pokémon Center, where they learn that Nando can't decide whether to dedicate himself to Pokémon Contests or Gym battles. To help him decide, Ash and Dawn set off to find Nando again, only to end up deep in the forest. It's too late to get back to the Pokémon Center, but three very familiar and suspicious-looking individuals offer them a free inn room for the night. Of course, it's all another Team Rocket scheme to snatch Pikachu! Nando and his Budew come to the rescue, and now it's Ash's turn to ask Nando for a friendly battle. Ash decides to use Pikachu to battle Budew. Nando's style may be elegant, but even though Budew evolves into Roselia during the match, it's still not enough to defeat Pikachu. Still, Nando had so much fun battling Dawn and Ash that he's decided to do both Gym battles and Pokémon Contests! Our heroes say goodbye to Nando with promises to meet again, then continue their journey towards Dawn's first Contest and Ash's first Sinnoh Gym battle.

French Official Summary

Aurore essaye toujours de capturer son premier Pokémon sauvage et les conseils de Sacha ne l'aident pas du tout, ce qui provoque une dispute entre les deux Dresseurs.

German Official Summary

Lucia tritt in ihrem allerersten Kampf gegen Nando an, einen wandernden Minnesänger, der sich nicht sicher ist, welchen Weg er einschlagen will.

Italian Official Summary

Lucinda è ancora alle prese con la cattura del suo primo Pokémon selvatico. L'aiuto di Ash non sembra aiutarla ed entrambi gli Allenatori si stanno innervosendo.

Portuguese Official Summary

Dawn tem sua primeira batalha com Nando, um bardo Pokémon dividido entre dois possíveis caminhos em sua jornada.

Finnish Official Summary

Dawn ottelee ensimmäinen ottelunsa Nandon, Pokémon-bardin kanssa. Nando pohdiskelee kahden eri vaihtoehdon välillä omalla matkallaan.

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

Dawn tiene su primera batalla con Nando, un bardo Pokémon que está dividido entre dos posibles caminos en su viaje.

Spanish Official Summary

Maya todavía está intentando atrapar a su primer Pokémon salvaje, pero los consejos de Ash no están ayudando en absoluto y ambos Entrenadores están perdiendo la paciencia.

English Great Britian Official Summary

Dawn is still trying to catch her first wild Pokémon, but Ash's coaching isn't helping at all and both Trainers are getting annoyed. The outlook suddenly gets much brighter when Nando, a traveling Pokémon bard, has his Budew use Sunny Day to lighten the mood. To show Ash her skills, Dawn requests a Contest battle with Nando, but Budew's Grass-type moves are too tough for Piplup. Budew wins and our heroes head to a Pokémon Center, where they learn that Nando can't decide whether to dedicate himself to Pokémon Contests or Gym battles. To help him decide, Ash and Dawn set off to find Nando again, only to end up deep in the forest. It's too late to get back to the Pokémon Center, but three very familiar and suspicious-looking individuals offer them a free inn room for the night. Of course, it's all another Team Rocket scheme to snatch Pikachu! Nando and his Budew come to the rescue, and now it's Ash's turn to ask Nando for a friendly battle. Ash decides to use Pikachu to battle Budew. Nando's style may be elegant, but even though Budew evolves into Roselia during the match, it's still not enough to defeat Pikachu. Still, Nando had so much fun battling Dawn and Ash that he's decided to do both Gym battles and Pokémon Contests! Our heroes say goodbye to Nando with promises to meet again, then continue their journey towards Dawn's first Contest and Ash's first Sinnoh Gym battle.

Russian Official Summary

Доун участвует в своей первой битве. Ее соперник - бард покемонов по имени Нандо. Он никак не может определить своё призвание.

Dutch Official Summary

Dawn heeft haar eerste gevecht met Nando, een Pokémon Bard, die voor een lastige keuze uit twee wegen op zijn levenspad staat.

Norwegian Official Summary

Dawn har sin aller første kamp med Nando, en Pokémon-skald som er splittet mellom to mulige retninger på reisen sin.

Swedish Official Summary

Dawn kör sin allra första strid mot Nando, en Pokémon-poet som slits mellan två möjliga vägval på sin resa.

Danish Official Summary

Dawn udkæmper sin allerførste kamp med Pokémon-skjalden Nando, som er splittet mellem to mulige veje på sin rejse.