On the way to Hearthome City, Ash and his friends are approached by Mira, a friendly girl who offers them a shortcut. All they have to do is use her Abra to teleport there! The gang eagerly accepts the offer, but to their surprise, Abra teleports them to the top of a dam. Mira apologizes, but since they're there, she asks everyone to help her recover a piece of heirloom jewelry that's lost in the lake behind the dam.Was this a trick to get our heroes to help?

However, the gang agrees to help Mira anyway. Mira leads them on a dive into the lake, where they find a submerged town. An angry Gyarados forces them to make an unplanned retreat, and Brock convinces Mira to tell them what's really going on. Mira finally explains that she used to live in the town before it was submerged, and her Sandshrew was left behind in its Poké Ball when the townspeople moved.

This time, Brock has a plan: Piplup, Buizel, and Pikachu keep Gyarados busy while the others finish the dive and recover Sandshrew's Poké Ball. As soon as they find the Poké Ball, Team Rocket arrives on the scene in their Carvanha-shaped submarine and kidnap Mira and Abra. But Mira tricks Team Rocket into relaxing their guard and teleports away with Abra.

At last, Mira is reunited with her Sandshrew. Team Rocket comes back one more time and seizes Abra, but Ash's Turtwig cuts it free with Razor Leaf. Sandshrew joins the group in defeating Team Rocket and after that, Mira's Abra teleports everyone to Hearthome City—for real this time!