Ash and his friends are just in time for the Pokémon Summer Academy at Professor Rowan's research facility on Mt. Coronet, where young Trainers have gathered to make new friends and learn about Pokémon. Among the campers are Dawn's one-time tag partner, Conway, and Jessie—now Jessilinda—who's forgotten about Team Rocket's plan to steal the Academy's Pokémon. Each Trainer is assigned a team and a new Pokémon; Ash nearly gets into a fight over a Poké Ball with Angie, another Trainer on Ash's Red Team, before ending up with a Raichu. Angie has a Monferno, Dawn gets a Grimer, and Brock has a Magnemite. Angie's Monferno is out of control and Ash's Raichu is too shy, but tomorrow Professor Rowan will judge how well everyone has done with their Pokémon!

When they're not busy getting on each other's nerves, Angie and Ash are busy falling asleep in class. But after a full day of excitement, bedtime finally rolls around. Everyone is still wide-awake, so Angie plays cards with Ash and his friends until Professor Rowan's assistant, Yuzo, angrily enforces the lights-out rule. The next day, Ash works to build up his Raichu's confidence, and Angie challenges her Monferno to let out all its aggression. Pokémon and Trainer are finally bonding, just in time for the day's battles!

Brock is up against Jessie and her Smoochum, but Smoochum is so cute that Jessie cuddles her Pokémon and forfeits the battle. Dawn's Grimer faces Conway's Venonat, then Ash's Raichu and Angie's Monferno take each other on in a match that perfectly demonstrates their Trainers' attack-oriented styles. At the end of it all, Dawn gets an award for bonding with her Pokémon, but the Red Team—including Ash, Angie, Brock, and Dawn—is currently last in overall points, thanks to Angie and Ash's behavior the previous day. Conway's Blue Team is first in the points, but it's not over yet. There are still more Pokémon Summer Academy adventures ahead!