Ash's training battles with Dawn catch the eye of Theresa, a young woman with a strange request: can she borrow Pikachu for three days? Theresa and her aunt Abigail run a cake shop, but Abigail's Pikachu, Sugar, has disappeared and Abigail will surely need Sugar's help to win an upcoming baking contest. Ash agrees and the gang goes to Theresa's home, pretending that Pikachu is Sugar.
Abigail takes Pikachu into the forest, where it uses Thunderbolt to zap berries and give them a delicious roasted flavor. Team Rocket notices this unusual electrical activity and tries to seize Pikachu, but Abigail and Pikachu defeat them with ease. Abigail then challenges Ash to a friendly training battle, her "Sugar" against Ash's Aipom, only to cut the battle mysteriously short after just a few rounds.
That night, Ash feels so guilty about deceiving Abigail that he confesses the entire plan. Abigail reassures him that she knows Pikachu isn't Sugar, and Sugar really left because it was unable to crack open Aspear Berries for her. The moment is spoiled when Team Rocket nabs Pikachu, but a Raichu springs out of the woods and comes to the rescue. That's Sugar, who learned Focus Punch to crack open the Aspear Berries and even evolved into Raichu. Abigail's sure to win her contest and now our heroes are confident that they'll win their competitions as well!