This episode is essential viewing because: Ash catches a Totodile. Misty's Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl.

Today, Ash & Co. are having a break from their adventure and are relaxing next to a river, fishing. Ash comments on how boring it is, much to Misty's annoyance. As he complains, Misty gets a bite. She struggles to reel it in, but when she finally does land her catch, she finds out it's nothing more than an old kettle. When Brock makes a joke about throwing it back and trying for a coffee maker, she gets angry and decides to use her secret weapon, introducing them to the Mini-Misty Lure. Ash comments that it may end up scaring any Pokémon away. She casts her line out. As they wait for one of them to get a bite on their lines, a Totodile jumps up out of the water and stands, dancing on a rock in the water. Misty, thinking it's adorable and decides to catch it. Ash also want to, but Misty throws out her lure again and Totodile catches it in it's mouth. After a few seconds it spits it back out. It winks at them, causing Misty to practically fall in love with it. Ash orders Pikachu to use Thundershock, then throws a Pokeball. Misty becomes angry with him and they start arguing. As they argue, the PokéBall fails to hold Totodile and it gets out, emerging on the bank right in front of Ash. Misty, seeing her chance, throws a PokéBall, but Totodile jumps away, using Water Gun on Ash & Co. then swims away. When they notice it gone, Ash and Pikachu run off to find the Totodile, followed by Misty, determined to catch it before Ash does.

A little further downstream, Totodile emerges from the water, hungry.

Also on the bank, Team Rocket are sat down enjoying a meal. Meowth is worried, wondering how Jessie and James can eat when the Boss could fire them from Team Rocket for all of their mess-ups. They try to take his mind off it and cheer him up. As they do so, Totodile sees them and starts dancing with them. Jessie offers Meowth some food, but Totodile takes it, and nearly takes Jessie's hand too. She tries to shake it off, but it manages to hang on. When Jessie recalls Wobbuffet to it's PokéBall after it lets itself out once again, Totodile lets go and eats all of their food. Angry, they try to pounce on it, but it jumps away, licking it's lips. They try to grab it again, but it uses Water Gun, sending them blasting off already. Totodile then realises that it's still hungry.

Ash & Co. continue searching for Totodile, and it's not long before they come across it again. Ash and Misty both get ready to catch it. Ash takes a PokéBall out, but Misty takes out the Lure Ball Kurt made for her. Noticing this, Ash puts the PokéBall away and takes his Lure Ball out too. Totodile tries to jump away, but they both throw their Lure Balls. The balls fall down behind a bush, out of view. One of them having caught the Totodile. Unsure which ball is which, they both bend down to pick what they think is their's, but both reach for the same on; the one containing Totodile. As they fight over it, Brock takes the ball from both of them, telling them that there is only one fair way to decide; a Pokémon Battle.

Before the battle begins, Brock, acting as referee, sets out the rules of the match; a three on three contest, whoever wins the best of three, wins the match. Ash is eager to battle so he can show her who would have won their match back at the Cerulean Gym. The battle begins. Reasoning that she only has Water-Type Pokémon, Ash sends in Pikachu. Misty decides to use her secret weapon and surprises him by sending in Togepi. The first match begins and Togepi starts happily running towards Pikachu. Ash suggests using Thundershock, but Pikachu doesn't want to hurt Togepi. Misty orders it to give Pikachu a hug. She then orders it to use Charm, causing Pikachu to forfeit the match. With Pikachu unwilling to battle, Brock declares Misty the winner of the first round.

Round two, and Ash sends in Chikorita. Misty calls out Staryu. The battle begins and Chikorita uses Razor Leaf. Staryu jumps out of the way, then hits back with Swift. Ash orders Chikorita to use Tackle. It hits, but Staryu manages to stand it's ground, knocking Chikorita back with Water Gun. Ash orders Chikorita to use Vine Whip, but it gets out of the way and comes back with a Tackle. Chikorita jumps out of the way, then grabs Staryu with it's Vine Whip. It slams it into the ground, defeating it and putting Ash and Misty on equal terms.

The final round. Ash and Misty both send out their Pokémon; Ash choosing Bulbasaur and Misty choosing Poliwag. The battle begins. Ash orders Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip as Misty orders Poliwag to use Doubleslap.

Floating down the river on a log, Jessie and James are hoping that they don't run into Totodile again. Meowth however wants to find it as it's the kind of Pokémon that would get them back on the Boss' good side. All they have to do is catch it and it will be smooth sailing from there on out. As they continue to float downstream, the log hits a rock and launches the Trio into the water. They manage to grab hold of the rock to stop themselves being washed away, when they notice Ash and Misty battling. They wonder why they're fighting, and decide to steal Pikachu while they're distracted. Meowth points out that if they go running in while they are in the middle of a battle, they will just turn their Pokémon on them, and suggests waiting until they and their Pokémon are worn out before launching an attack. Jessie and James agree to this.

Back with the battle, Ash orders Bulbasaur to use Razor Leaf, but Poliwag counters with Water Gun. Bulbasaur jumps out of the way, and hits back with a Razor Leaf, knocking Poliwag back. As Brock is about to declare Ash the winner, Misty tells him to wait; Poliwag is evolving! Poliwhirl picks itself up, ready to battle. After looking it up in his PokéDex, Ash orders Bulbasaur to use Tackle, but Poliwhirl counters with Body Slam. Bulbasaur uses Razor Leaf, knocking Poliwhirl off. Ash asks it if it can keep battling, which it confirms. Ash orders Bulbasaur to use Solar Beam. Since it takes a while to charge, Misty orders Poliwhirl to use Bubble. Bulbasaur manages to withstand the attack and launches it's Solar Beam at Poliwhirl, defeating it. Misty rushes over to Poliwhirl, thanking it and telling it that she knows it evolved just to help her. Brock declares Ash the winner and presents him with Totodile.

After his victory, Team Rocket appear in disguise and congratulate him, but Wobbuffet blows their cover. They remove their disguises as they recite their motto. They assume that Ash & Co's Pokémon are all worn out and prepare to steal them, but Ash tells them that they have a new friend who is rested and ready to battle. He sends in Totodile much to the Trio's horror. It bites onto Jessie’s hair, but she shakes it off. She notices the end of her hair missing; bitten off by Totodile, and angrily sends Arbok into battle. She shouts at James to help her, so he sends in Weezing. Ash orders Totodile to use Bite, causing Arbok a great deal of pain. He tells it to swing it around, which it does, letting it go and causing it to knock Meowth flying. James orders Weezing to use Sludge, but Totodile; happily dancing, dodges every attack fired at it. Ash orders it to use Scratch. As Weezing tries to get away, it crashes into Team Rocket, knocking them down. Ash then orders Totodile to use Water Gun, sending Team Rocket blasting off again. After it's victory, Totodile continues to dance, even grabbing Pikachu and dancing around with it. Misty complements Ash, saying that she couldn't have handled Totodile any better herself and that she isn't the slightest bit jealous. She goes on to wonder why would she want a Totodile that does whatever it wants, when she already has a Poliwhirl that evolves just for her, calling it the best Pokémon a girl could ask for. Ash picks up Totodile, welcoming it to the team. And with a new Pokémon on their team, Ash & Co continue on their journey towards Goldenrod City.

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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