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Still on their way to Violet City, Ash & Co. come across a huge valley, which they will have to hike through to reach their destination. As they are about to start their hike the ground begins to shake and some rocks fall from the valley walls. They decide they had best get going before it happens again.

Up on the walls of the valley, Team Rocket also experienced the rock fall. Just as they begin to think they're safe, the ground below them gives way and they plummet into the forest beneath, becoming entangled in some vines. A huge rock then falls from above, down onto the Trio.

Walking through the valley, Ash & Co. soon come across a Donphan. After looking it up in his PokéDex, Ash decides to try and catch it. Brock though thinks it would be a better idea if he were the one to catch it as it's horns indicate that it is a low level one and, as a breeder, he would be better at raising it than Ash. They begin to argue and after a while Misty points out that there isn't any reason to fight as the Donphan is leaving. To stop it, Brock sends out Onix. He orders it to use Tackle, but the Donphan uses Rollout, defeating Onix in one hit. After recalling Onix, Brock decides to let Ash have a go. He sends out his newly caught Heracross and orders it to use Tackle. The Donphan tries another Rollout, but Heracross uses Horn Attack, sending the Donphan flying into a tree. As they are about to attack the Donphan again, a girl steps between it and Heracross. She tells Ash off for trying to steal her Donphan and threatens to turn him in to Officer Jenny. He asks her not to and explains that he thought the Donphan was wild, then turns to Brock for backup. Unfortunately Brock isn't there; he's over trying to chat the girl up. He asks her what her name is, and she introduces herself as Rochelle. He introduces himself then comments on how beautiful her necklace is. She thanks him for the compliment and tells him that it is made from amberite. Misty asks him what amberite is, so Brock explains that it is a very precious gemstone that use to be worn by royalty, much like gold and diamonds. Rochelle tells them that she has to go, and asks them not to try and catch any more Donphan in the area as they all belong to her. Ash promises that he won't, then challenges her to a battle. She says that her Donphan has done enough battling for the day and heads off. Ash calls after her asking if he could battle her tomorrow, but she doesn't hear him.

Meanwhile, in another part of the valley, Team Rocket, dressed as forest rangers, are searching for amberite themselves in the hopes of selling it to make some money. Jessie and James ask Meowth where they should start digging. He tells them that while they were at a rest stop at the top of the valley he overheard two men talking about amberite, and one told the other that the only way to find top quality amberite was to have a Donphan sniff it out. So all they have to do is look around the valley for a Donphan and use it to lead them to the amberite.

A little while later, near a waterfall, Rochelle is searching for some amberite with her Donphan when Team Rocket appear. They fire a net at Donphan and float away in their balloon with it. Rochelle tries to chase after them.

After managing to evade Rochelle, Team Rocket start their search for some amberite. Meowth tells Donphan to sniff some out, but it refuses. Jessie begins to shout at it, but James stops her. He tries a softer approach and brings some food for Donphan. It tucks in.

In the forest, Rochelle is searching for her Donphan, when she comes across Ash & Co. They ask her what’s wrong, with Brock trying to hit on her again, but Misty pulls him away. She asks Ash if he has seen anyone in an orange jumpsuit as someone dressed like that took her Donphan. Ash asks if she got a good look at them and how many of them there were. She tells them that there were three of them; one guy, one girl and a talking Meowth. Ash & Co. immediately recognise them as Team Rocket.

Back with Team Rocket, and Donphan is still eating. James asks it to looks for some amberite, so it stops eating, sniffs the ground and wanders off. After a while it stops, indicating where they should dig, which they begin to do.

In the forest, Ash & Co. are helping Rochelle try to locate Team Rocket and her Donphan. Brock tries using Zubat's Supersonic to find them, but it doesn't work due to all of the trees being in the way. Seemingly running out of options, Rochelle takes a whistle out of her pocket and blows into it. Hearing it, a group of Donphan come rushing towards the group. Misty asks Rochelle if all of the Donphan belong to her, which she confirms. She explains that she trains them all to answer to her whistle. Brock seems impressed, but wonders why the missing one didn't come like the others, so she tells him that the stolen one is her youngest and she hadn't had the time to train it yet. She then turns to her Donphan and orders them to begin searching for the missing one.

Back with Team Rocket, and the team are exhausted after digging wherever Donphan tells them, yet finding no amberite. James asks Donphan to try again, but just as it's about to do so, Rochelle's group of Donphan arrive, followed closely by Ash & Co. Upon seeing them, Team Rocket recite their motto. A Pokémon battle then begins with Jessie and James sending out Arbok and Victreebell respectively. Brock sends out Onix. James orders Victreebell to use Wrap, but Onix uses Bind before it can do anything. James then orders Victreebell to use Sleep Powder, sending Onix to sleep. Ash and Misty enter the battle, sending out Heracross and Poliwag. Misty orders Poliwag to use Doubleslap on Victreebell, then Bubble, sending Victreebell flying and landing on James and Meowth. Ash orders Heracross to use Tackle, making Arbok crash on top of Jessie, then Horn Attack, sending the Trio and their Pokémon flying into the basket of their balloon. He then orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, sending Team Rocket blasting off again.

After the battle, Rochelle fusses over Donphan, glad to have it back. Misty begins to wonder why Team Rocket couldn't make Donphan find any amberite, so Rochelle explains that Donphan have to be trained to find it and that the one they stole hadn't had enough training to find amberite by itself yet. She offers to demonstrate how the Donphan find amberite. Ash & Co. accept the offer. She takes them to the bottom of a cliff and lets her most experienced Donphan sniff her amberite necklace. It then sniffs the air and runs, headfirst, into the cliff causing the whole valley to shake. Misty realises that the rocks falling earlier that day must have been caused by a Donphan searching for amberite. After a little more head butting the cliff face, a lump of rock falls from the top and smashes open, revealing a lump of amberite. Rochelle picks it up and shows Ash & Co. Brock asks her what she does with the amberite, so she explains that a lot of artist and craftspeople who live nearby use the amberite in their work and they rely on her and her Donphan to supply it to them. Rochelle asks if there is anything she can do to repay them for their help, so Ash challenges to a Pokémon Battle with her Donphan. This time she accepts.

The battle begins and Ash sends out Heracross. Rochelle orders Donphan to use Tackle, but Heracross manages to stand it's ground. Ash orders Heracross to use Endure, then orders it to pick Donphan up and toss it. Donphan lands on its feet, then Rochelle orders it to use Rollout. It misses on the first pass, but manages to hit on the second, sending Heracross flying into a tree. While it the tree it decides to have a snack on the sap, which Ash tells it off for. Back on the battlefield, Rochelle orders Donphan to use Tackle, but Heracross uses it's head to stop it. Ash tells it to flip Donphan, sending it flying up, but Rochelle tells it to turn it into another Rollout, which hits Heracross, defeating it. Everyone comforts Heracross on it's defeat, telling it that it will keep getting stronger and will soon be unbeatable.

That evening Ash & Co. say goodbye to Rochelle and her Donphan, who thanks them again for all of their help. As they continue towards Violet City, Ash and Heracross have gained some valuable experience that will help them both in their journey towards the Johto League.

This episode guide has been written by The Librarian.

Characters appearing in this episode

Ash

Misty

Brock

Jessie

James

Meowth

Ash's Pikachu

Pokémon appearing in this episode

• Pikachu belonging to Ash
• Meowth

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