A Six Pack Attack! (LAoPtS)

Plot
Ash admires his Badges for a moment before asking Brock where the group is heading next. Brock informs him of the Fortree Gym, which excites Ash as he announces Fortree City is their next stop. Though May is quick to remind him that they promised to see Professor Birch first. Ash point’s out the Professor’s lab in the distance, when suddenly Birch drives his SUV over a nearby cliff. He skids to a stop next to them. The group gets reacquainted and then Birch comments that he on his way to pick up Professor Oak from the port. Ash and Brock jump into the SUV while May and Max decide to wait at the lab for them. As they speed off, Max becomes excited at the thought of finally meeting his idol.

As the SUV speeds over a mountain trail, Birch becomes distracted as he points out a Skarmory perched on a rock. He is forced to swerve the SUV to avoid colliding with an oncoming wagon pulled by a Camerupt. As Ash and Brock recover from the ordeal, Birch embarrassingly remarks that everything is fine. Unknown to the group, Professor Oak is, sleeping with a cowboy hat on, hitching a ride on the back of the old man's wagon. Meanwhile, May and Max admire the new starter trio Birch is taking care of at the lab. Birch's assistant Joshua holds a Mudkip as May and Max pet the new Torchic and Treecko. Joshua comments that it has been awhile since May got her Pokémon, and she happily remembers the incidents on the day she got Torchic. May then comments that she has come a long way since then. Max cuts in, remarking that she still isn't very good with Pokémon, and it ends with May chasing her brother around the lab.

Max then bumps into Professor Oak, who lifts his brim hat to reveal himself. Max is in total shock as Oak greets him and his sister. After a quick inspection, Max declares that Oak is real and asks him to autograph a bunch of celebrity snapshots. He quickly hands Oak the photos and the Professor happily signs them. As he does, Oak notices that Ash and Brock are absent, though Joshua explains that they accompanied Birch to the port. Oak laughs and hands the photos back to a very jumpy Max. Max then rushes back to Oak and asks if he brought along any Pokémon with him. Oak tells him to calm down and then reaches into his pack before calling out the three Kanto starters. Max happily inspects them. Spying from the bushes, Team Rocket are enticed by the thought of having the six starter Pokémon, but Meowth suggests that they give them to the Boss instead. Jessie and James wonder why and Meowth explains that with the starters, the Boss will have a new sense of confidence in his team. The three then cheer with this new thought in mind.

Meanwhile, Max is busily inspecting the bulb on Bulbasaur's back. As he begins to prod the bulb, Bulbasaur turns around and slaps Max away. May asks her brother if he's all right and he seems impressed with the strength of the Tackle. Max then goes over to the other two starters and begins to pull at their faces. The pair become annoyed, replying with an Ember and Water Gun to Max’s face, though Max is still excited. Oak then laughs and remarks that if Max likes them so much then he can have the responsibility of looking after them today. Max doesn't believe it and Oak comments that if he is up to it he'll let him. Max salutes and says he'll do his best. May then says she'll try her best to help as well. Bulbasaur then holds its vine up to her, and she quickly realizes that it is being friendly so she shakes its fine. Suddenly, a large Skiploom mecha rises above the trees. Before even saying their motto, Team Rocket launches a net and snags all six starter Pokémon. As the mecha begins to fly away, Oak tells Joshua to wait for Ash and Brock. Joshua nods, so Oak and the siblings rush off to retrieve the Pokémon. At the docks, Birch and the others are dumbfounded at why Oak hasn't gotten off the ship. Birch calls up Joshua to find out Oak actually arrived but is now chasing after Team Rocket to retrieve the starter Pokémon. Birch says they'll get back as soon as possible.

Oak, May, and Max have come to a river and wonder where the Rocket trio have disappeared to. Oak thinks for a moment, and then notices a cave behind a nearby waterfall. The three decide to investigate, and a bunch of lights hung up inside makes them realize something is up. Meanwhile, Joshua hands Max's backpack to Ash, Brock and Birch and the SUV speeds off to find them. Oak and the kids slowly walk through the cave, unaware that a motion tracker has detected the trio. The entry suddenly seals shut and a camera hones in on them. Soon they spot the six starter Pokémon in a cage. They rush to reclaim them, but suddenly fall into a pitfall trap. Annoyed, May tries to call out her Pokémon, but a large vacuum suddenly sucks the Poké Balls up. The Rocket trio taunt their captives before rushing off. As they go, a large metal gate shuts over the hole, leaving May, Oak and Max trapped until help arrives. Outside, Birch steers the car through a large rocky canyon. Birch informs the others that they are perfectly safe, but they begin to disagree when Birch drives the SUV off a ledge.

Team Rocket is now celebrating their victory with a toast inside their Secret Base. Meowth turns his attention to the surveillance system, where Oak is oddly still, but they think nothing of it. It turns out that Max placed one of his collectible photos in front of the camera, and the captives are now climbing out of the hole. Hoisted by the others, Max manages to climb out. Following on the Professor’s advice, Max has Torchic and Charmander heat the cage with Ember, then he asks Mudkip and Squirtle to cool the bars with Water Gun, and then has Bulbasaur and Treecko use Tackle and Pound to knock the bars away. Now free, the Pokémon leap onto Max and hug him out of gratitude. Outside, Ash and Brock wonder how they are ever going to find the others. Birch whistles and a Poochyena suddenly appears. He has it smell Max's pack and it quickly takes off after picking up a scent. Inside the cave, the Pokémon have now helped May and Oak out of the hole. Oak thanks Max for his hard work, and they quickly turn their attention to retrieving May’s Pokémon. They peer inside Team Rocket’s base of operations to see the trio celebrating their success with food and dancing. May wonders how they can get past the Rockets and Oak notices a Zubat sleeping on the cave ceiling. Oak has it use Supersonic to hurt Team Rocket's ears, and Bulbasaur then grabs the Poké Balls with Vine Whip.

May thanks Bulbasaur and they all rush back to the entrance only to find it sealed shut. An alarm then sounds, alerting Team Rocket to their captives’ escape. Jessie checks the pitfall trap camera again, and realizes they have been conned as the photograph slips off the lens. James then points out the Poké Balls are also gone and the three become enraged. Meowth presses a switch and a cage wall traps Oak and the others from going back the way they came. However, it turns out a Dugtrio is inside the cage as well. It makes a hole and Oak orders everyone into the hole to escape. The hole leads to an underground spring where Max notices a Gyarados sleeping with its head on a rock. Oak warns that Gyarados are notoriously aggressive, so they tiptoe away. Team Rocket makes it to the cage to find that their captives have dug their way out, so they follow them down the hole. Meowth goes first and decides to remain quiet after spotting the sleeping Gyarados. Jessie and James, however, are two busy arguing, and the commotion disturbs Gyarados who blasts them with a Hydro Pump.

As Ash, Brock, and Birch round a bend, they spot a sad Poliwrath and then a group of Zubat sleeping in a tree. Birch quickly realizes something must be amiss at the nearby waterfall, so they rush to check it out. Soon, Oak and the others come to another steel door. Max then sees a small hole to the side, but none of them are small enough to fit through. Max starts calling to the outside in the hopes someone will hear. As Ash and the others inspect the door by the waterfall, Poochyena hears Max and leads Birch and the others to the second door. Ash responds and is happy to learn that they have finally found Oak, May and Max. Oak inspects the door and declares that the right attack combination will destroy it. Following on, Brock calls out Lombre and Mudkip to douse the door with their Water Gun before Pikachu shocks the door with Thunderbolt. Oak orders Max to pick the Pokémon that know Tackle, and Max selects Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Mudkip while Oak calls on Treecko’s assistance and May uses Skitty to help smash down the door.

The reunion, however, is cut short as Team Rocket in their Skiploom mecha bursts from the Secret Base's mountain roof. The mecha releases many hands to reclaim the Pokémon, but Pikachu manages to dodge one of them. After Ash and Brock’s attempts to attack the mecha fail, Birch suggests they attack together to overcome Team Rocket. Max orders Charmander and Torchic to use Ember, Brock has his Pokémon use Water Gun, and Skitty adds a Blizzard to the mix. As cracks begin to appear in the mecha, Pikachu blows it up with Thunder, sending Team Rocket sky high into the sunset. Oak commemorates Team Rocket’s latest defeat with a haiku about Starmie relating to the scene. The next morning, Ash and his friends leave Littleroot Town port on a ferry, waving goodbye to the Professors and Joshua.

Major events

 * Ash learns that the next Gym is located in Fortree City and decides to head there.
 * May and Max meet Professor Oak in person for the first time.