Dawn is staring at a Pokémon. Ash walks on over to Brock. Brock tells him that Dawn has been staring at the Pokémon for a long time. He thinks that Dawn might want to catch it. Ash looks up the Pokémon in his Pokédex. It's a Pachirisu. Dawn sees Pachirisu chase its tail and then curl up in a ball. Dawn thinks it's so cute, making her want to capture Pachirisu even more. She sends out Piplup and tells it to use Peck. Pachirisu uses its Sweet Kiss attack on Piplup. Piplup becomes confused, making it useless in battle. Dawn returns Piplup back into its Pokéball, and she sends out Buneary. Buneary attacks and hits Pachirisu with its Dizzy Punch attack. Pachirisu is fine, and it counters with Spark. The electric shocks paralyze Buneary, but Buneary still can battle. It uses Ice Beam on Pachirisu, but Pachirisu dodges all of the attacks. Then Pachirisu uses a Thundershock attack to shock everyone. Ash notices that Pachirisu is very strong, but Brock says that Pachirisu is now growing tired. This gives Dawn a chance to attack. She sends Piplup back out. With its confusion gone, Piplup can now battle. It uses Bubblebeam on Pachirisu. Pachirisu grows weak from the Bubblebeam, and Dawn throws her Pokéball at it. The ball wiggles several times, and it captures the Pokémon. Dawn is extremely happy that she was able to capture it.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is walking along in the forest. Jessie is jumping up in down in a happy way. She is very excited for the upcoming Floaroma contest, and she plans to win it. James wonders which of his Pokémon Jessie plans on using for the contest. Jessie says that she can catch a Pokémon for herself. At night, Dawn dreams of herself and Pachirisu winning the contest. She wakes up in the middle of the night and sees Pachirisu sleeping. She loves its cuteness.

In the morning, Dawn finishes up her hair. Ash states that he is going to go for another badge. Dawn reminds him that they are going to the Floaroma contest first. She wants to do some good training with Pachirisu. In an open field, Dawn sends out Pachirisu. Pachirisu begins to wander around on its own. When Dawn orders it to come back, Pachirisu shocks Dawn, ruining her perfect hair. Because of this, Dawn tries to return Pachirisu back, but Pachirisu runs all over the place, preventing Dawn from getting it back into its Pokéball. Dawn is getting annoyed with Pachirisu. She sends out Piplup and Buneary to bring Pachirisu back. Piplup and Buneary try to catch Pachirisu, but Pachirisu is too fast for them, and Piplup and Buneary end up getting tired. This makes Dawn even more annoyed. Ash and Brock then walk up to Dawn. Ash tells her that he will try to get Pachirisu back. Ash orders Pikachu to catch Pachirisu. Pikachu tries to catch it, but Pachirisu is so fast that it can't do it alone. So Ash sends out Turtwig, Aipom, and Staravia to try and catch Pachirisu. All four Pokémon chase after Pachirisu until it comes to a dead end. Pachirisu shocks all of the Pokémon, causing then to collapse. However, Pachirisu collapses itself, too. Ash and co. run over to them. Ash finds out that all of his Pokémon are okay. Dawn picks up the fainted Pachirisu and tells it to wake up. Pachirisu ends up shocking her again, which messes up her hair again.

Dawn is in the tent again fixing up her hair. She wonders if Pachirisu really likes her or not. Ash and Brock notice that Dawn has been in the tent for a very long time. They see Dawn walk out of the tent, but she is feeling really down. Dawn walks out to the open field. She sends out Pachirisu and tells it that it's better off being in the wild. Pachirisu tries to comfort Dawn, but Dawn's mind isn't changed. She releases Pachirisu and runs back crying to her friends. Brock asks Dawn if she wants anything to eat. Dawn sits alone on a rock sad. Ash and Brock walk up to Dawn. Dawn tells them that she released Pachirisu because she knows that she wouldn't be able to take good care of it. Ash and Brock think that Dawn is giving up too easily. Ash thinks that Pachirisu was having a lot of fun with Dawn. Dawn doesn't know what to do now because she already released it.

Meanwhile, Pachirisu is playing alone in the wild. Team Rocket sees Pachirisu, and Jessie notices that it's very cute. She thinks that Pachirisu could be the Pokémon that she can use for the Floaroma contest. Dawn is thinking about Pachirisu. She walks over to Ash and Brock and tells them that she wants Pachirisu back. Ash and Brock agree to help Dawn find Pachirisu, but she will have to capture it again. Jessie and Pachirisu face each other. Jessie throws a Pokéball at Pachirisu. The Pokéball wiggles, and Pachirisu breaks out of the Pokéball. Then Ash and co. run up to Team Rocket and Pachirisu. Team Rocket says their motto.

Ash tells Team Rocket that Pachirisu belongs to Dawn. James says that Pachirisu had no problem getting inside the Pokéball when Jessie threw it. If it was a trainer's Pokémon, Pachirisu wouldn't have gone inside, but since it did it's a wild Pokémon. Dawn admits that she did let Pachirisu go. Jessie thinks that Pachirisu should decide who it goes along with. Jessie order James to give her all the food that they have. James gives her the bag, and Jessie holds out a piece of bread. Ash asks Brock if he has any food to give to Pachirisu, but Brock doesn't want to give any away. Pachirisu runs on over to Jessie. It shocks Team Rocket and then steals their bag of food. Ash and co. think that Pachirisu doesn't like Team Rocket at all. Jessie yells at them by saying that Pachirisu showed no love affection towards Dawn. Now it's Dawn's turn to try and get Pachirisu back. She apologizes to Pachirisu and asks it to come back. Pachirisu walks on over to Dawn. Ash and Brock knew that Pachirisu would come back.

This makes Jessie angry. Jessie, James, and Meowth run into the bushes. A mechanical arm is fired to capture Pachirisu, but Pachirisu dodges it. Then Team Rocket comes out in their balloon. Jessie notices that Pachirisu is very fast. However, Meowth has another plan. He pushes a button and a big gumball shoots out. Pachirisu gets hit by the gum, preventing it from moving. Ash sends in Pikachu, and Dawn sends out Piplup and Buneary to save Pachirisu. Meowth fires a few more gumballs at the Pokémon. The gumballs hit them, making them stuck. Dawn tells Team Rocket that she won't let them get Pachirisu. Meowth then fires gumballs at Ash and co. They also get stuck from the gumballs.

Team Rocket climbs down from their balloon. Dawn covers up Pachirisu and tells Team Rocket that she won't let them get Pachirisu. She tells Pachirisu to shock Team Rocket. Ash and Brock say that Dawn will get shocked too since she is very close to Pachirisu. Jessie and James hold Dawn's arms while Meowth uses a spray bottle to disolve the gum. As soon as Pachirisu is free, it runs out. Jessie holds out her hand to Pachirisu. Pachirisu inches closer to Jessie until its on Jessie's shoulder. Jessie knew that Pachirisu liked her and not Dawn. Then Jessie walks towards the balloon. James and Meowth ask if they are going to get Pikachu. Jessie states that whenever they try to go overboard, their plan fails. Team Rocket goes into their balloon, and they take off into the air. While Team Rocket is in the air, Pachirisu uses its Spark attack on Team Rocket. Team Rocket's balloon explodes, and they blast off again.

Dawn assumes that Pachirisu never liked her in the first place. Ash thinks Dawn is wrong. He points out in the opening, and they see Pachirisu running back to them. Dawn is glad to have Pachirisu back. She hugs Pachirisu tightly. Sparks fly out of Pachirisu's cheeks, and Dawn's hair gets messed up again. Dawn asks Pachirisu if it would like to come with her. Pachirisu says yes, and Dawn puts Pachirisu in its Pokéball again. Now that Dawn has a new friend added to her team, she's going to try extra hard to win the upcoming Floaroma contest.