The episode opens in Lilypad town where Dawn and her Mamoswine are training by battling Ash and his Grotle. Grotle uses Energy Ball and Mamoswine uses Ice Shard, then eat them to practice charging up their energy. Nearby, Cyndaquil shows the impressive flame on its back to show its capabilities and wishes to participate in the contest. However, Dawn eplains that she has already planned out this contest and will use Piplup for the first round and Mamoswine for the second round.

The scene changes to Team Rocket where it shows Jessie sick. She wishes to participate in the contest, but James and Meowth tell her that she must rest and recuperate. Jessie declares that she is already registered for the upcoming contest, but then has an idea.

The Lilypad contest starts and the scene shows Dawn backstage being accompanied by the rest of the group. They find James in the corner dressed up as Jessie, or Jessolina in terms of contents. After Dawn and her friends greet James, he quickly rushes out of the waiting area. He tells Meowth that he wants to quit after the first round, but Meowth will not permit him to quit, as winning the contest is the only way to make Jessie feel better.

Jessie is shown watching the contest from her cabin on television. Dawn is first up, and is shown with Piplup who uses Whirlpool, then Bide to start giving off a blue glow. The contest continues with a Sentret, Jumpluff, Tyrannitar, Magby, and Hitmontop before James’ turn is up. He uses Meowth for the first round, who jumps up from behind James and uses Fury Swipes to slice up a block of noodles into individual noodles. Three dishes are made and served to the judges.

Backstage, Piplup is shown gloating to Dawn and her friends. In hte other corner, James explains to Meowth that he is actually enjoying all this excessive attention. On the television, the host announces the eight players that make it to the next round. Both Dawn and James are included in the list. Excited, Dawn pulls out Mamoswine’s Pokéball and talks to it, preparing it for the upcoming match.

The first match of the second round was Dawn and her Mamoswine against a Granbull. Granbull starts off the battle with a Fire Fang, but misses after Mamoswine dodges the attack. Mamoswine then uses Ice Shard and eats it to charge up, surprising the host, judges, and crowd. Mamoswine then uses Hidden Power to make its icy fur sparkle and to charge up, then attacks with a Take Down. Granbull attempts to dodge the attack but is hit anyway, and gets knocked out and faints. Dawn progresses to the next round, but says backstage that she wish she hadn’t won so quickly in that manner.

The following scene shows the semifinal match between Dawn and James. The match is between Mamoswine and Carnivine. Mamoswine uses Ice Shard to charge up, but Carnivine quickly uses Vine Whip to snatch the Ice Shard away from Mamoswine, thus making its power-up fail. Carnivine then takes the Ice Shard and throws it back at Mamoswine, hitting it directly in the face. Mamoswine becomes enraged and charges at Carnivine, missing repeatedly as Carnivine gracefully dodges the attacks. Mamoswine becomes angrier and keeps attacking without Dawn’s command. After repeated failed attacks, Carnivine grabs Mamoswine by its tusks and drags it on the ground. Then, it flips Mamoswine and throws it, making it crash into the judges’ podiums. Immediately after the collision, time runs out and James progresses to the next round.

Backstage after the match, Dawn is positive about the loss and states that the contest has helped her realize what she and Mamoswine have to work on from now on. Dawn and her friends then direct their attentions to the television, which shows that James defeated a Tyrogue in the final round to win the contest.

James and Meowth return to the cabin where Jessie is. Although Jessie is grateful that James won the ribbon and is no longer sick, she is also mad that James got more applause than Jessie did during her previous contests.

At the end of the episode, Dawn feeds Mamoswine and says that she will train harder the following day. Corey closes by saying that he is glad he can be with his friends during times like these.