On the way to Pacifidlog Town, Ash and his friends run into Drew. May challenges him to a practice battle, but they get interrupted by Team Rocket. However, Team Rocket's sub gets sucked into a whirlpool and everybody winds up getting separated on the mysterious Mirage Island. Now, Ash, Max, and Brock must find Drew and May.

As Ash is training, he faces a new rival, Morrison, who tries to challenge Ash in any way possible. After having a number of challenges, Ash's Pikachu and Morrison's Beldum get captured. In order to rescue them, Morrison and Ash team up to battle Team Rocket by themselves.