While Ash's Pokémon train for the upcoming Pastoria Gym battle, Gligar is blown away by a sudden gust of wind. Gligar lands on Team Rocket's balloon—accidentally ripping a hole in it with its claws—then tries to land but nearly crashes into Paul and his Elekid in the process. Ash and his friends catch up to Gligar, and Ash doesn't take long to restart his rivalry with Paul, who is unimpressed by Ash's talk of friendship and trust. Team Rocket, creeping away from their crashed balloon, hides in the bushes to see what happens next.

Ash wants to battle Paul and show him how much stronger he's gotten, but Paul isn't interested until Chimchar steps forward to challenge its former Trainer. Paul consents to battle and sends out his Gliscor; Ash's Gligar is itching to battle, so Ash decides this will be Gligar's debut. It's a very short debut, too: Gliscor uses Guillotine to knock out Gligar in one hit! Paul's Ursaring is up next, and Chimchar volunteers to take it on. Although Chimchar is in good shape, Ursaring isn't even fazed, savagely attacking Chimchar until its Secret Power causes Chimchar to flinch in terror.

Just when it seems Ursaring has Chimchar completely beaten and buried, Chimchar's Blaze ability kicks into effect, powering it up so it can defeat Ursaring in one hit—but Chimchar is now out of control! In its blind rage, it blasts Team Rocket and nearly toasts Ash and Paul. Desperate, Ash grabs Chimchar and hangs on, shouting for it to stop, even though it bites him in its fury. Ash's words eventually get through to Chimchar and as soon as it calms down, Ash soothes it with praise and reassurance. As for Paul, he's willing to battle Ash again—once Chimchar learns to control its power, that is.