Fire and Ice

Plot
As Ash wins his second preliminary battle on the Rock field with Squirtle, it is revealed that Gary was watching Ash's battle with his cheerleaders. He scoffs at Ash's confidence for winning what he calls two easy matches. Gary walks off while his entourage cheers Ash's name, seemingly jealous and a bit spiteful toward Ash.

Misty later arrives at the group's accommodation, only to notice Ash's absence while Brock takes care of Ash's Pokémon. She criticizes his selfishness, and the two soon reunite with Ash and Pikachu, who are in midst of searching for a place to eat. Ash soon locates an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, where he and Misty indulge. During the meal, Pikachu saves Togepi's life from falling cutlery, though Misty only sees Pikachu performing a seemingly dangerous stunt. She warns her Pokémon not to follow suit and goes on to criticize Ash's training methods.

Afterwards, Ash and his friends search for a Pokémon Center so Ash can heal his Pokémon before the third round, but they find the Centers are all crowded. Noticing this, Team Rocket decides to use this opportunity to swipe Ash's Pokémon by opening a fake Pokémon Center. James, disguised in a nurse outfit with a face-mask, lures them into the auspicious building, where Ash submits his Pokémon for healing. However, Brock becomes suspicious when he isn't attracted to the Center's Nurse Joy, who is actually Jessie.

While Ash and his friends are talking, they mention a few keywords that trigger Team Rocket to recite their motto and reveal themselves. As a result, Team Rocket is forced to destroy the fake Center and flee in their balloon. Brock's Onix stops them and retrieves Ash's Pokémon. After biting a hole into their balloon, Onix sends Team Rocket blasting off again. Afterwards, the group hears that new Pokémon can now be admitted into the Pokémon Center. Ash takes this opportunity to heal his Pokémon.

Later on, Ash is now in the middle of the third round match with Pete Pebbleman on the Ice Field, and both Trainers are each down one Pokémon. Ash uses Kingler for the battle, while Pete uses Cloyster for the battle. Pete orders Cloyster to Withdraw into its spiked shell, helping it defend itself from Kingler's barrage of Crabhammers. While Ash fears that Kingler will be exhausted, Misty and Brock encourage him to keep going, since Cloyster is still losing health despite the defense boost. Kingler keeps hitting Cloyster with its Crabhammer until Cloyster's shell finally cracks, knocking it out.

Pete recalls Cloyster and sends out Arcanine. Kingler tries a Bubble attack, but Pete's Arcanine dodges it and uses Dragon Rage. Kingler is caught in the icy twister, but with Ash's plea, it manages to stand up. Ash still recalls Kingler and sends Pikachu onto the battlefield. Hoping to confuse his opponent, Ash has Pikachu use Agility and it narrowly evades Arcanine's Fire Blast attacks. Pete soon reveals his strategy: the Fire Blast attacks were meant to melt the field. The technique takes Ash by surprise, but with Brock's suggestion, Ash has Pikachu dive into the water. Misty reminds him that water conducts electricity, so Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt, thus defeating Arcanine.

Major Events

 * Ash's Squirtle is revealed to know Withdraw.
 * Ash wins his second and third matches against an unnamed Trainer and Pete Pebbleman, respectively, in the Indigo Plateau Conference.