After hearing that her rivals Kenny and Nando have scored new Contest victories, Dawn is eager to train her newly-evolved Piloswine for their next competition. But Piloswine refuses to follow her commands and only shows an interest in eating Poffins! When the Poffin supply runs out, Piloswine charges and tries to put Ash's Grotle and Gliscor on ice. Luckily, Gliscor's new move, Fire Fang, counters Piloswine's icy blasts, and Brock's Happiny stops Piloswine in its tracks. Maybe a friendly Pokémon battle is what Piloswine needs, but it's not even interested in battling Grotle. It hits Grotle with AncientPower, then abandons the fight when it smells food—Team Rocket's food!
Team Rocket is sitting down to a picnic when Piloswine runs up, freezes them in ice, and eats their cake. While Dawn wonders what to do with Piloswine, Team Rocket hatches a plan to take revenge for their lost lunch. They create a Pokémon Friendship School where Trainers can bond with their Pokémon; sure enough, Dawn sees their poster and decides this may help her befriend Piloswine. In fact, Ash and Brock decide to take Grotle and Croagunk to give the school a try, too! The first activity is an obstacle course, and everyone does great... except for Piloswine. Next, our heroes call out all their Pokémon for a brisk round of calisthenics, which also fails to interest Piloswine.
Finally, all the Pokémon are instructed to stand in a circle: all the better for Team Rocket to scoop them up in a cage! With their cover blown, Team Rocket hops in their balloon and tries to take off with the cage, but Piloswine forces a crash landing. Team Rocket's Pokémon attack, but that only triggers Piloswine's Evolution into Mamoswine! Mamoswine easily bursts free of the cage and blasts Team Rocket into the sky, but then it turns on Dawn and her friends. All Dawn can do is recall it to its Poké Ball and hope she can somehow find a way to befriend her out-of-control Pokémon. As for Ash, Byron the Canalave Gym Leader is back in town, which means the next Gym Challenge is coming right up!
