On their way to the White Ruins, our heroes (accompanied by N) have just arrived in Virbank City when they see smoke and rush to investigate. But as Ash recruits Oshawott to put out the fire, they are stopped by an insistent Watchog wearing a red scarf. It turns out the fire is part of a drill conducted by the Pokémon Harbor Patrol, a team dedicated to dealing with any disasters that happen around Virbank City’s extensive harbor. Under the direction of Captain Halsey, Dewott and two Frillish run the rescue operations and put out fires, and Watchog serves as lookout.
But Watchog seems upset, and N figures out why: it wants to be involved in the rescues too! Unfortunately, it fails the firefighting section of the aptitude tests, so Halsey asks it to stay as lookout for now. N speaks up, saying he doesn’t approve of Pokémon being “forced” to rescue people at all, and as he and Halsey are arguing, the captain gets a call about a real emergency: a fire at the Virbank Complex, where a local kindergarten class is visiting! Everyone rushes to help, while the Team Rocket trio, lurking as always, decide the chaos is the perfect cover to steal Pikachu.
As Ash, Iris, Cilan, and N guide the children and workers to safety and Watchog stands guard, Halsey, Dewott, and the Frillish head into the complex to put out the fire. But when Team Rocket appears and a battle begins, a second fire starts outside, while inside, the fire doors slam shut automatically, trapping Halsey and his team! Ash and Oshawott try to fight the fire, but they can’t do it alone. Iris asks Excadrill to dig a tunnel to reach Halsey, but when Excadrill runs up against hard bedrock, N has an idea. He asks Watchog to use its remarkable sensing skills to detect the rocky places in the ground. With some teamwork, Watchog, N, Iris, and Excadrill manage to get Halsey and the others out of the building.
They quickly put out the second fire, and Halsey says it’s time to rethink his decision about keeping Watchog off the rescue team. N says he also has some rethinking to do, because Watchog has proven to him that some Pokémon help people because they want to!
