Mother of All Battles!

Plot
Ash and his friends continue their trek towards the Mt. Silver Pokémon Preserve to return Larvitar to its home. The group stops briefly as Brock tries to gather his bearings. Meanwhile, Misty marvels at Larvitar’s improved confidence as the young Pokemon is happily being carried in Brock's arms. Brock is unable to read his guidebook's map for directions to the Preserve, though Larvitar leaps out of his arms and rushes over a nearby rope bridge. The group follows, deciding that it's leading them to it birthplace. While everyone is crossing, a periscope rises from the water, watching them. On the other side, Larvitar is cheerier than usual as its guides everyone though a forested area. In the bushes, a machine is hidden with the same periscope aimed at them. Inside are three men, who decide to steal Larvitar after spotting it walked passed.

The group stops walking after hearing some loud noises. The growls continue to get closer and the ground begins to shake, until a huge Pokémon appears in front of them. Ash holds up his Pokédex and learns that they have encountered a Tyranitar. The group notices a familiar scar on Tyranitar's chest, and realize that this must be the very Tyranitar they saw in Larvitar's dream. Brock declares that the Tyranitar must be Larvitar's mother. Tyranitar looks endearingly at its child. Unfortunately, she gets upset when Ash tries to push Larvitar forward and fires a Hyper Beam at the group. Brock realizes that she probably thinks they are the poachers. They run away, leaving Larvitar with its mother. Ash looks back and sees Larvitar crying and running behind them, despite Ash telling it to stay. Larvitar ignores the group’s pleas and grabs a hold of Pikachu’s tail. Tyranitar fires off another Hyper Beam as Ash and his friends continue to flee. Ash eventually drops Larvitar and Tyranitar looks at it curiously. Larvitar lets out a mighty Screech. Tyranitar suddenly realizes that Larvitar is her child and apologizes to Ash and his friends.

Just then, the periscope locks on to Tyranitar. Following Braggo's orders, Chico fires a giant Pokébag, which wraps around Tyranitar and causes her to hit the ground. A bag wraps itself around her and she falls down. The machine rides out and the three men emerge to marvel at their grand catch. The group instantly recognizes them as the poachers from Larvitar's dream. They introduce themselves as Braggo, the leader who always speaks in rhyme and quotes, Chico, the inventor for the group, and Blurt, who calls himself the strong and silent type who always breaks things and talks a lot. They declare that they are the Pokémon Poacher Brothers. Meanwhile, Team Rocket flies over the area in their Meowth balloon and watches everything through their binoculars. Jessie remarks that the poacher brothers' routine was unoriginal. James is discouraged by the fact that the poachers have good equipment, and can make rhymes. Jessie makes a terrible rhyme furthering James’s point. Jessie states that if they can’t beat them, then they will join them, steal their equipment and Pokémon, and leave. Meowth and James agree.

Braggo is pleasantly surprised to learn that Larvitar is the very one they stole when it was just an Egg, and the poacher trio thank Ash for returning it to them. The poachers launch another Pokébag at Larvitar, but Ash jumps in the way and is caught instead. After hearing sirens, the poachers decide that Tyranitar is good enough and drive away. Brock sends out Crobat to follow them. A few seconds later, a lady rides up on a motorcycle and asks if everything’s okay. Brock rushes up and says that everything is okay now. She says that she’s Ranger Mason and that the poachers have been bothering them for quite some time. She has her Croconaw get Ash out of the capture bag. Ranger Mason informs the group that they would have reached the Preserve if they had simply stayed on the road. Ash notices that Larvitar is feeling down and he promise that they will get its mother back. Ranger Mason crouches down to assure Larvitar, but this startles it. Misty and Brock inform her that Larvitar takes a while to warm up to people.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket are begging to be accepted into the poachers' gang. Braggo and his brothers feel cricks in their necks and suggest the Rocket trio gives them a massage each. Team Rocket's incredible obedience helps them get accepted into the poaching troupe. However, Crobat peeks over the side of the robot and flies back to inform Brock. Braggo lets Team Rocket use the robot to capture Larvitar and Pikachu. Jessie and her teammates are overexcited about their upgrade, but they are unaware that Braggo is using them as cover while he and his brother's make their escape. Tyranitar struggles in her capture bag. Chico laughs, saying that the more she struggles, the tighter the bag will become.

Crobat finds Brock and reports back, and soon after the poachers’ robot zooms down a hill towards them. Team Rocket pops out and recites their motto. However, Mason and the others are confused. Jessie explains that she and her teammates are now aligned with Braggo, and then fires a Pokébag. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and Croconaw uses Hydro Pump that sends the bag back at Team Rocket and sends them blasting off. The real poachers, however, are getting away in Team Rocket's balloon. Chico uses a remote control to control the mecha. It grabs Pikachu and Croconaw, and then shoots a bag at the group for good measure. Ash tells Larvitar to use Screech, and the ear-splitting sound distracts the poachers and makes Tyranitar angry. She fires a few Hyper Beams at the bag. Chico presses a button on a remote to electrocute Tyranitar, but despite the pain, she bites through and fires a Hyper Beam at the balloon. As the poachers plummet towards the earth, Chico drops the remote which breaks into pieces after it lands on the ground, freeing the humans from the bag. As Larvitar is reunited with Tyranitar, they see the banged up poachers jump into their robot. As the robot is about to crush everyone, Tyranitar and Larvitar launch a Hyper Beam and Hidden Power respectively. Ash catches Pikachu while Croconaw lands on Brock. Afterwards, Larvitar and Tyranitar hug.

Ranger Mason thanks the group for helping her catch the poacher brothers, who are now tied up together. Ash tells her that Larvitar is the real hero, and she crouches down to thank it. This time Larvitar doesn't seem afraid and smiles back in appreciation. Mason declares that Larvitar has gained more confidence. Brock adds that he has also developed more confidence and grabs a hold of Mason's hands, but Misty drags him away by the ear for his troubles. Later Ranger Mason instructs the group to follow the river road, which will get them directly to Silver Town. As they farewell Mason, Larvitar and its mother appear to say their goodbyes to the group as well. Meanwhile, Team Rocket remains bundled up together in a bag and can only struggle as they hang precariously from a rope bridge.

Major Events

 * Ash and his friends arrive at Mt. Silver.
 * Ash leaves Larvitar with its mother at Ranger Mason's preserve.