Dawn is practicing for her first contest. She sends out Piplup. Piplup uses Bubblebeam, but it messes up and faints. Ash tells Dawn that she did good, but not good enough. Dawn doesn't give up yet. She orders Piplup to use Bubblebeam while spinning. Piplup follows Dawn's command, but it gets dizzy from the spinning. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu take cover as Piplup's attack heads for them. Then Piplup faints again. Dawn runs over to Piplup's side.

Team Rocket is laying on the ground. They are tired and hungry. Meowth states that he is so hungry that his mouth could go on strike. They stand up to search for food. Suddenly, they see a big mountain of food in front of them. Their eyes light up. Meowth runs over to take a berry. Before Meowth can eat it, Jessie stops him. Jessie notices that some Pokémon tracks near the mountain of berries, so some Pokémon must've collected the berries for themselves. Team Rocket doesn't care, and they steal all the berries. Meanwhile, a Golduck, Quagsire, Poliwag, and Wooper are happily carrying their berries back to their spot. When they get there, they notice that all their berries are gone. This makes Golduck angry.

Team Rocket is busy loading the berries in their Magikarp submarine. James says that they will never have to worry about being hungry again. James accidently drops one of the berries. Meowth reaches out to grab it. Meowth jumps to grab the berry, but he lands hard on the plank. The berries are thrown out of Team Rocket's grasp, and they land somewhere far away.

Team Rocket goes back to search for the berries again. They hear something from behind the bushes. They look to see what it is, and they see three dancing Ludicolo. In between the Ludicolo is a small pile of berries. Meowth notices that the tracks they saw earlier couldn't have come from the Ludicolo, however he thinks the Ludicolo would make a perfect present for the boss. Team Rocket thinks about all the money they will get. Suddenly, they see Golduck, Quagsire, Poliwag, and Wooper. Meowth translates what Golduck is saying. Golduck is telling the Ludicolo that they stole its pile of berries. Team Rocket now knows who the berries they stole belong to. They plan on helping the Pokémon, and then when the Pokémon trust them, they plan to steal them.

Team Rocket comes out into the opening as judges. They tell Golduck that it doesn't have any proof that Ludicolo stole their berries. Golduck points to the small pile that Ludicolo has, but Jessie doesn't see Golduck's name written on it. Golduck is still angry about this. Team Rocket takes off their disguises. Jessie sends out Seviper, and James sends out Carnivine. Seviper hits Golduck with its Poison Tail attack. Then Carnivine uses Bite on Golduck. Golduck falls to the ground, and its friends run up to it. Finally, Seviper uses Haze, and the four water Pokémon run off. Then Team Rocket tries to get the Ludicolo to trust them. The three Ludicolo are happy, and they swing Team Rocket around. Team Rocket runs off in a dizzy state.

Meanwhile, Ash and co. have stopped for lunch. Piplup hears something, and it runs away. Pikachu notices that Piplup is missing. Brock turns around and notices that Piplup is gone, too. Piplup runs into the opening. It use Bubblebeam while spinning, but it faints again. Suddenly, Golduck, Quagsire, Poliwag, and Wooper run right into Piplup. Piplup asks the Pokémon what they are doing. Golduck explains the situation to Piplup, and Piplup decides to lead the Pokémon somewhere. Ash and co. watch Piplup walk with the other Pokémon, and Dawn wonders what Piplup is planning to do. Ash looks up Golduck in his Pokédex. Ash and co. decide to follow the Pokémon to see where Piplup is taking them.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is in their Magikarp submarine enjoying the berries that they stole. Jessie knows that Golduck will be back, but it will be easier to catch them. Piplup leads the four water Pokémon to the Ludicolo. Piplup walks up to the Ludicolo and begins to talk to them. Ash and co. see Piplup talking to the Ludicolo. Dawn looks up Ludicolo in her Pokédex. Ash and co. realize that Piplup isn't too happy with the Ludicolo. The Ludicolo use their Water Gun attacks on Piplup. This makes Piplup angry, so it Peck. The Ludicolo dodge the attack. Ash and co. think that Piplup is trying to act as a leader towards Golduck and its friends. Meanwhile, James is looking through his binoculars. He sees Piplup meaning that Ash and co. are nearby. Piplup tries to attack the Ludicolo again, but the Ludicolo dodge and Piplup ends up being thrown to the lense of the binoculars. Jessie steps in and throws Piplup off the lense. Then she sees Ash and co. coming their way.

Suddenly, Team Rocket's submarine surfaces the water. Team Rocket gets out, and they say their motto. Ash and co. wonder what Team Rocket is doing here. Piplup goes back to Ash and co. It yells at Team Rocket. Team Rocket sees that Piplup is the bodyguard for Golduck and its friends. Piplup tries to attack Team Rocket's submarine, but it's too weak and ends up falling back into the water. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt. Team Rocket quickly takes cover in their submarine. Their submarine is electricity-proof, so the Thunderbolt has no effect on them. Then Meowth presses a button from inside their submarine. Their submarine faces Ash and co. Two ropes are launched from their submarine, and they tie up Golduck and its friends, the Ludicolo, and Pikachu. Piplup tries to save the Pokémon by using Peck on the submarine, but its attack doesn't seem to be working.

Jessie notices that Piplup is being a pain. Meowth presses another button, and a bunch of Remoraid rockets fly out of their submarine. These rockets begin to hit Piplup and weaken it. Piplup falls to the ground. It begins to cry because it couldn't save the Pokémon. Dawn tells Piplup not to give up because it promised to save the Pokémon. Piplup stands up. It jumps into the air, spins around, and use Bubblebeam. Ash and co. notice that Piplup isn't growing dizzy. The Bubblebeam attack begins to explode the rockets. Then Piplup flips in the air and lands safely on the ground.

Piplup uses Bubblebeam again to create a whirlpool around Team Rocket. Team Rocket grows dizzy as their submarine is trapped in the whirlpool. Ash and co. free the Pokémon. When the whirlpool subsides, Team Rocket's submarine surfaces the water. Team Rocket opens the door for air. Pikachu then uses Thunderbolt on Team Rocket. Team Rocket gets shocked, and their submarine explodes. All the berries that Team Rocket stole fly down onto the ground. Golduck realizes that Ludicolo didn't steal their berries, and it shakes hands with Ludicolo. Team Rocket walks onto land again. They look up and see all the Pokémon glaring at them. Jessie tells the Pokémon that they were saving the berries for them. The Pokémon doesn't believe her, and they all use their Water Gun attacks on Team Rocket. Team Rocket blasts off again.

Now that all the berries are safe, Ash and co. wave goodbye to Golduck, Quagsire, Poliwag, Wooper, and the three Ludicolo. Ash says that Piplup was the hero. Dawn tells Piplup that it was awesome. Dawn tells Piplup to use its move again. Piplup jumps into the air, spins around, and uses Bubblebeam. This time Piplup doesn't mess up. Dawn thinks that she and Piplup are now both ready for their contest. Then they all run towards Jubilife City.