Dawn is on the contest stage performing for a bunch of people. Unfortunately, her Pachirisu has lost control of itself. However, Dawn thinks of something. She takes out a poffin and throws it into the air. Pachirisu smells the poffin. It stops running, and with a jolt of electricity, it jumps up and catches the poffin. Pachirisu lands safely on the ground and munches on it. Ash and Brock are relieved that Dawn was able to bring Pachirisu under control again. Next up, Pachirisu uses its Discharge attack to light up the stage. Pachirisu then follows up with a Sweet Kiss. The many hearts float across the stage, and the audience cheers. When Dawn is done, the judges compliment on her performance, then they move on.

Some other coordinators perform unitl it's Jessie's turn. Jessie sends out Seviper, and her performance begins. Meanwhile, Dawn is in the back room. She sighs as her performance could have been better. Kenny is watching Jessie's performance while talking to Dawn. He tells Dawn that she did alright. Kenny also notices that Jessie is pretty good. The audience is cheering for Jessie and her Seviper. When Jessie finally finishes, Kenny is up next.

Kenny sends out Alakazam. Dawn looks up Alakazam in her Pokédex. Alakazam starts off with Light Screen. The light barriers form a box around Alakazam. Then Alakazam uses Shadow Ball followed up by Teleport. The Shadow Ball causes the Light Screen barriers to explode. Because Alakazam teleported, it dodges the attack. Alakazam reappears when the smoke clears. It then uses Hidden Power. A string of psychic energy surrounds Alakazam. Then it bursts away. The audience cheers for Kenny and Alakazam. Dawn and Jessie notice that Kenny is a really good coordinator.

Now that all coordinators have performed, a short intermission will be held while the judges decide on the results for the second round. During the intermission, Dawn is worrying about whether she will make it to the second round or not. Ash and Brock meet up with Dawn. Ash tells her not to worry because she did a great job. Dawn knows that Ash is right. Suddenly, Mary is on screen and she displays the results for the second round. Kenny, Jessie, and Dawn all made it in the second round. Dawn is relieved. Next, the computer randomly shuffles the results to see who faces who in the next round. The results are then displayed. Dawn will be facing Jessie in the next round.

Jessie is so happy that she made it to the second round. James and Meowth believe that Jessie may win the contest after all. Meanwhile, Dawn is preparing Piplup for the contest. Ash and Brock wish Dawn the best of luck, and then they had back to their seats. Kenny walks up to Dawn. He asks her if she plans on using Piplup for the contest. Dawn tells him that she is, and she asks the same thing about Prinplup. Kenny is indeed going to be using Prinplup for the contest. Dawn thinks that it will be great if she was able to battle Kenny in the final round. Kenny hopes so too.

The battle between Jessie and Dawn is about to begin. When Jessie and Dawn are in their places, the clock is set, and then the battle begins. Dawn sends out Piplup, and Jessie sends out Dustox. Dustox starts off with a Whirlwind attack. Piplup flips in the air to dodge the attack. The wind begins to power Piplup up. Dawn is using her opponent's moves to her own advantage, and that causes Jessie to lose points. Piplup then flies into the air. It charges towards Dustox with its Peck attack. Dustox counters with Poison Sting. Piplup tries to dodge the attack, but it still gets hit. Dawn then loses points. Jessie isn't finished yet. She orders Dustox to use Psybeam. Dustox fires the attacks at Piplup, but Piplup manages to dodge them. Brock knows that Piplup is still dodging attacks, but he realizes that Piplup is going to eventually reach its limit. Dustox uses Poison Sting again, and Piplup uses Bide. The Poison Sting attack hits Piplup, but Piplup manages to hold on. It then unleashes the Bide. It hits Dustox, and Jessie loses half her points.

When the smoke clears, Dustox is seen standing. Dawn is surprised that Dustox was able to withstand the attack, but the battle continues on. Dustox uses Poison Sting again, but Piplup counters with Peck. Piplup hits Dustox, knocking it out. Dawn wins the battle and advances to the final round. Jessie is disappointed that she lost. She asks James and Meowth for more money, but they spent it all on Jessie's nails. Kenny then battles his opponent and wins.

The final round is between Dawn and Kenny. Five minutes is set on the clock, and the battle begins. Dawn sends out Piplup, and Kenny sends out Prinplup. Both Pokémon use their Bubblebeam attacks. The bubbles collide into each other. Ash notices that the attacks were even, but Brock thinks that Prinplup has the advantage. Piplup then uses Peck. Before Piplup can hit Prinplup, Prinplup grabs Piplup with its Metal Claw attack, and then it throws Piplup into the air. Then Prinplup uses Drill Peck. Prinplup extends its beak while spinning. Piplup uses Bide. It lands on Prinplup's beak and endures the attack. Piplup spins and spins, and Dawn loses more points. Then Prinplup throws Piplup into the air. Piplup regains control of itself and unleashes the Bide attack at Prinplup.

Prinplup still stands. Prinplup attacks Piplup with Metal Claw, but Piplup dodges the attack. Then it creates a large Whirlpool and hurles it at Prinplup. Kenny is amazed with Piplup's attack, but he doesn't expect it to do much because Prinplup is a water type. Prinplup demolishes the Whirlpool with its Bubblebeam attack. Dawn loses points, making the score even. Prinplup then uses Mist to hide itself from Piplup. Afterwards, Prinplup attacks with Drill Peck. Piplup creates another Whirlpool. Kenny knows that Dawn's same strategy won't work, but instead Piplup dives into the Whirlpool to dodge Prinplup's attack. Kenny tells Prinplup to dive into the whirlpool too and use Metal Claw. Both Pokémon are now in the whirlpool. They attack each other. Both Pokémon still remain in the whirlpool.

The judges are really liking the battle. They think it's great that two water Pokémon are battling in the water. Piplup and Prinplup then use Bubblebeam. The attack completely destroys the whirlpool. Suddenly, the clock beeps. Time is up and the battle ends. Dawn has more points than Kenny, so she wins the Floaroma Town contest. The judge presents Dawn with her first ribbon. The audience cheers for Dawn.

Back in the Pokémon Center, Dawn is on the phone with her mother. She shows her mother the ribbon that she won. Her mother reminds Dawn that she still has a long way to go, as she still needs to win four more ribbons. Then Dawn ends the call. She thanks Ash and Brock for cheering her on. Now it's Ash's turn to battle the gym leader in Eterna City. Kenny then walks up to Dawn and congratulates her on her first win. Dawn knows that Kenny will eventually win a ribbon. Kenny then leaves the Pokémon Center. Now Ash and co. are on their way to Eterna City where Ash will face the Eterna gym leader.