Ash and his friends have finally arrived in Viridian City so that Ash can get his Earth Badge. They find the Viridian Gym and Ash decides to enter it. Ash has good confidence in himself knowing that he can win. Ash is glad to have Pikachu by his side and him and Pikachu hold hands. A car pulls up and inside it is Gary. Gary wondered if Ash had quit or not but he sees him here. Gary shows Ash his badge case and he reveals ten badges to Ash. Gary tells the guards that he wants to battle the gym leader and the guards lets him inside. Ash runs in the gym but the guards stop him. They tell him that only one trainer is allowed in the gym. Togepi comes up to Ash trying to confort him. Ash thinks that Togepi is Pikachu. Startled, Ash throws Togepi in the air and Togepi lands in a Fearow's mouth which flies away.

Misty shakes Ash up and yells at him. Ash says that it was an "eggcident". Team Rocket is above looking for Pikachu. Fearow spits Togepi out and it hits James. James thinks that Meowth hit him and accuses him of doing so. Togepi walks right up to Team Rocket. Jessie plans on giving Togepi to the boss. Togepi quickly gets away and Jessie runs after it. Togepi walks on a long piece of wood to the other side. Jessie does the same thing except she falls. James and Meowth run down as fast as they can to try to catch Jessie except they miss. Togepi bounces off Jessie and she quickly grabs it.

Gary and Giovanni face each other in a battle. Gary's first Pokémon is Nidoking and Giovanni chooses Golem. Golem starts off with a Tackle but Nidoking counters it with its own Tackle. Golem rolls against a wall and Nidoking is declared the winner of the first round. Giovanni returns Golem and sends out Kingler. Kingler uses Crabhammer and Gary returns Nidoking. Then he sends out Arcanine. Arcanine uses Take Down followed by with a Fire Spin. His cheerleaders cheer for Gary. Arcanine finishes it up with a Fire Blast and Gary is the winner of the second round. Gary thinks that he has won this battle but Giovanni wants to test out his last Pokémon. A door opens and Mewtwo appears. It uses a Psychic attack on Arcanine. Gary uses Nidoking and Arcanine to battle Mewtwo but Mewtwo was unbeatable and so Gary lost the battle.

Jessie, James, and Meowth are speaking to Giovanni in his office. Jessie brings out Togepi to Giovanni. Giovanni asks them of what Togepi can do but they don't know. Suddenly, the phone rings and Giovanni answers it. He tells them that there's been an accident and that they are in charge of the gym. Then Giovanni hands each of them a Pokéball for battling trainers. He disappears to the back room. Giovanni and the two guards walk to Mewtwo. He tells Mewtwo that they have an emergency assignment for him.

Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Brock are searching the whole city for Togepi. They head back to the gym. None of them have found Togepi. Suddenly, they hear a voice coming from Togepi. Togepi's voice is coming from behind the gym doors. They pull the doors open and Togepi comes out. Brock sees Gary and the cheerleaders lying on the floor. Ash asks Gary if he's okay. Gary tells Ash that he saw an evil Pokémon. His cheerleaders start to cry because Gary lost.

Suddenly, a voice appears. Team Rocket comes from the ground and they say their motto. They interrupt their motto and Team Rocket gets mad. Then Meowth comes out and they tell Ash and co. that they are gym leaders. Team Rocket tells Ash that they were put in charge from their boss. If Ash wants the Earth Badge, he will have to battle Jessie. Two battle rings appear and Ash steps into the green one. Jessie says that it will be a 3-on-3 battle. She throws all three Pokéballs at once and Machamp, Kingler, and Rhydon comes out of them.

Ash sends out Squirtle and Jessie has Machamp battle first. Machamp uses Karate Chop on Squirtle. Soon the platform that Ash is standing on begins to shock him. James says that it's a new feature. The trainer feels all the pain the Pokémon feels. Weakened from the shock, Ash sends out Bulbasaur. Jessie has Kingler battle next. Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip but Kingler blocks with Harden. Then Kingler uses a Bubble attack. The bubbles pinch Bulbasaur and the platform shocks Ash again. The last battle is with Rhydon and Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto uses Quick Attack on Rhydon and sparks appeared on Jessie's platform. Pidgeotto uses Double-Edge attack and now Jessie gets shocked. Meowth has made a gadget that can blow up Ash's platform incase they did lose. Gary tackles Meowth to the ground.

Jessie sends out Arbok and Weezing even though it's against the rules. Ash sends out Pikachu and it thundershocks all of Jessie's Pokémon. The shock that Jessie is feeling must be super strong. Machamp, Kingler, and Rhydon run away. Ash hugs all of his Pokémon. Even Gary admitted that Ash is a good trainer. Ash calls out to Jessie for his Earth Badge but Jessie won't give it to him. Meowth notices that Togepi is playing with the gadget he made. Togepi presses both buttons and both platforms blow up. Luckily, Ash wasn't on the platform, but Team Rocket blasted off again and the Earth Badge fell from Jessie's hand.

Ash has finally got his Earth Badge. The gym begins to collapse and Ash and co. run out just in time. Ash, Misty, and Brock now head off. Brock wants to see the Pokémon that Gary was talking about but all Ash wants to do is to get registered for the Pokémon League. Misty asks if Ash knows where the Pokémon League is but he doesn't know. They decide to ask Professor Oak of the location to the Pokémon League and so they head for Pallet Town.

English Official Summary

Ash and friends finally make their way to Viridian City where Ash hopes to earn his Earth Badge. They get to the gym just in time to see his rival, Gary, being defeated by a never-before-seen Pokémon that he insists must be evil!

Italian Official Summary

Ash e amici sono tornati a Smeraldopoli (Viridian City), dove Ash spera di conquistare l'ottava e ultima Medaglia, la Medaglia Terra. Alla Palestra Gary entra per primo ma viene sconfitto da un Pokémon sconosciuto... diversissimo da tutti gli altri!

Portuguese Official Summary

Os nossos heróis vão para a Cidade Verde-Azulada, onde Ash quer ganhar o Crachá Terra. Chegam ao Ginásio a tempo de verem o seu rival, Gary, a ser derrotado por um Pokémon desconhecido. E Gary insiste que ele é maléfico!

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

Nuestros héroes llegan a Ciudad Viridian, donde Ash espera ganar la Medalla Tierra. Llegan al Gimnasio justo a tiempo para ver a su rival, Gary, derrotado por un Pokémon desconocido, ¡y Gary insiste en que es maligno!

Spanish Official Summary

Ash y sus amigos llegan finalmente a Ciudad Verde, donde Ash espera conseguir su Medalla Tierra.

English Great Britian Official Summary

Ash and friends finally make their way to Viridian City where Ash hopes to earn his Earth Badge. They get to the gym just in time to see his rival, Gary, being defeated by a never-before-seen Pokémon that he insists must be evil!

Dutch Official Summary

Onze helden reizen door naar Viridian City, waar Ash zijn Earth Badge wil verdienen. Eenmaal bij de Gym, zien ze nog net hoe Gary, de rivaal van Ash, wordt verslagen door een onbekende, en volgens Gary kwaadaardige Pokémon!

French Official Summary

Sacha et ses amis arrivent enfin à Jadielle, où Sacha espère décrocher son Badge Terre.

German Official Summary

Ash und seine Freunde erreichen Vertania City, wo Ash seinen Erdorden zu erringen versucht.

Danish Official Summary

Endelig når vore helte Viridian City, hvor Ash håber på at vinde et Earth Badge. De når frem til Salen tids nok til at se deres rival, Gary, blive overvundet af en ukendt Pokémon – som Gary insisterer på er ond!