The episode starts with Jessie lying on her bed with her eyes closed until she wakes up and starts yawning and stretching. She looks out the window and sees a clear sky with barely any clouds. "What a day for some training!" She sees Meowth sleeping next to her and starts poking him awake. "Come on Meowth, it's time for some training."
Meowth replies with an annoyed tone. "Already? Come on, it can't be time already. Let me sleep, Jessie!"
"Meowth, you said you want me to wake you up early for training and this is what I'm exactly doing. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes so I can take a shower." Jessie gets up from her bed and starts heading to the bathroom.
Meowth tosses to the other side and opens her eyes, continuing to lay there and still tired. "Why did I ask her to wake me up early?" He says, regretting telling Jessie to wake him up early.
The scene cuts to the door of Jessie's room opening and she comes out with her Meowth. Jessie is all cleaned. "Are you ready for some training, Meowth?"
Meowth doesn't look tired anymore as he immediately nods. "You better believe it! Say, what are we doing today, Jess?"
Jessie thinks for a little bit. "I was thinking of powering up that Thunderbolt you got. I want to make it stronger like the move, Thunder!"
As Jessie and Meowth were walking down the hallway, another room door opened and it was Professor Oak and Jessie's mother, Miyamoto.
Jessie immediately waves hello to them! "Hey, Professor! Hey Mom!"
Jessie's mother immediately runs up to her and hugs her daughter. "Hey, sweetie! We saw your match on the TV and I'm so proud of you!"
Jessie groans from her mother's hugs but accepts them as she is used to them by this point and hugs her mother back. "Thanks, Mom!"
"Ah Jessie, I was looking for you! What perfect timing!" Professor Oak said.
"What is it, Professor?" Jessie asked.
"Your mother and I have been observing your battles in public by watching them from our television in our hotel room! I have to say, we are certainly impressed with your battle skills!" Professor Oak answered.
"Thank you so much, Professor! I would appreciate it if you two were actually there and cheering me along with my friends though." Jessie says with an embarrassed chuckle.
"And that's what I want to talk to you about and that is, we will be watching your top-four matchup in the crowd!" Professor Oak announced.
"And near your friends too, honey!" Miyamoto added.
"About time!" Meowth says.
Jessie smiles. "That is so awesome! With you and Professor there cheering me on in the stands, I can't lose and I'll make it to the finals!"
Professor nods. "Well yes, of course! Unless your top four opponent is Leaf." This causes Jessie to fall in disbelief. "Sorry Jessie, I can't cheer against my granddaughter, I hope you understand."
"But I'll be cheering you throughout the league tournament, sweetheart!" Miyamoto picks up her daughter off the ground and hugs her tightly.
Jessie starts gasping for air. "Mom… tight… again…"
"Oh! Sorry, I got carried away again!" Miyamoto lets go of her daughter with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Anyways, Mom, Professor, I'm going to do some quick training before Leaf's top-eight matchup with Samantha! Bye!" Jessie waves goodbye to Professor Oak and her mother before leaving with Meowth.
"I'm so proud of her… my little girl is in the top four… they grow up so fast!" Miyamoto starts crying as Professor Oak hands her a tissue from his pocket.
The title screen shows.
"Cheering for my Frenemy!"
The scene cuts to the Team Rocket trio still tied up in chairs. "This sucks!" Cassidy says with a frustrated look.
"Cheer up, at least she's feeding and giving us water to drink. We would be on the verge of death from dehydration by now." Butch replied.
"Yeah, but it's so embarrassing just sticking our heads into the bowls to eat and drink! What do we think we are, pigs or hamsters?!" Cassidy tries to struggle to get out, but no good.
Mondo sighs. "Cassidy, you've been struggling trying to get out for days. Just give it up already."
The trio hears the door open and Cassidy immediately stops struggling to get out. It was Samantha, closing the door behind her and walking to where the trio was. "You three are going to help me with something."
"Oh yeah? What makes you think we'll talk?" Cassidy says.
"That's fine, if you three don't want to talk then you all can just die from dehydration once I stop feeding and giving you water." Samantha threatened.
Cassidy scoffs. "Sure, cheerleader brat. My partners-in-crime and I simply won't give in to that threat-"
Butch and Mondo immediately start giving in to Samantha's demands. "We'll tell you! We'll tell you!" They both said.
Cassidy looks at her partners-in-crime with disgust and disbelief. "Are you two serious right now?! Fine, you might convince them, but you're not convincing me!"
Samantha starts laughing. "You know, I could've simply asked your two partners, but I like this game that you're playing, so I'll play along! If you don't tell me then I'll send out my Persian to do some damage by that very 'important face' of yours with their scratches."
Cassidy starts sweating in fear. "That's still a no, I'll take on those scratches! I'm a strong woman!"
Samantha turns around to face the locked-up cage with Team Rocket's Pokémon inside. "Then I'll torture your Muk into pain if you don't give in."
Cassidy laughs. "You think I care about that ball of sludge? Go ahead, you're still not getting me to talk!"
Samantha thinks before smirking. "Or maybe I'll just torture your little Raticate instead, huh?" She starts to walk over the cage.
"No! Not Raticate! Okay, I'll talk, just don't hurt my precious little Raticate." Cassidy starts crying.
Butch and Mondo looked on at Cassidy's crying with weirded-out expressions. "I have never seen Cassidy cry before…" Mondo says.
"That's more like it!" Samantha walks over to the tied-up trio. "Okay, now tell me this time with no stupid riddles. Give me the names of the two trainers that defeated Giovanni!"
The Team Rocket trio all look at each other, then it cuts to where Jessie is, with Electabuzz, having a training battle with Meowth. "Electabuzz, use Thunder! Meowth, use Thunderbolt!" Jessie commanded.
Electabuzz shouts its battle cry as the electric Pokémon sends out powerful bolts of electricity from its antennas right at Meowth. Meowth's fur starts being surrounded by electricity, blasting electricity right back at Electabuzz. As the two moves collide, Electabuzz's Thunder easily overtakes Meowth's Thunderbolt. "AH!" Meowth quickly jumps out of the way to avoid the move. "That was a close one."
Jessie walks over to Meowth. "Meowth, you gotta get your Thunderbolt attack as powerful as a Thunder attack. That would make you more of a threat to knock out some Pokémon!"
"But Jess, how are we going to do that? Is it even possible to make Thunderbolt as strong as Thunder?" Meowth asked.
Jessie pumps up her fist in excitement. "With a lot of training we can!"
A familiar voice is heard behind Jessie. "So you're training for your top four battle?"
Jessie looks behind her and there's her rival, Leaf, behind her as she waves to greet her. "Hey Leaf! Yep, I'm training for my future top-four battle. I hope we get to battle in the Kanto League Tournament, I want my revenge from Route 22!" She chuckles.
Leaf chuckles with her. "I would love to have a rematch with you," her smile fades away into seriousness. "But the only way that's going to happen is if I can beat that Samantha girl first."
"Oh right, Samantha." Jessie nods. "Yeah, she's a tough opponent, alright."
"No Jessie, you don't understand." Leaf looks directly at Jessie. "There's something suspicious about her. I don't trust her at all and I think she's hiding something."
Meowth starts talking inside his thoughts. "So I was right, Leaf doesn't trust that Samantha girl at all too."
Jessie raises an eyebrow. "Really? I don't understand. I haven't seen anything suspicious with Samantha. Unless being a good trainer makes you automatically suspicious?" She scratches her head in confusion.
Meowth speaks up. "I believe her, Jess."
Jessie turns to her talking Pokémon. "You too, Meowth? How did you find her suspicious?"
"I umm… just got a feeling like Leaf does, yeah!" Meowth embarrassingly chuckles before talking in his thoughts. "I can't tell her Team Rocket told me, then she wouldn't believe me or Leaf at all."
Leaf starts explaining more. "Also, when we were league training together the other day and Meowth was being stolen, I saw the color of her hair and it was blonde. I'm pretty sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. If my suspicions are correct, that was Samantha more than anything."
"Then how did Meowth end up in Team Rocket's grasp at the end?" Jessie questioned.
Leaf holds up two fingers. "I have two situations, she's either working for them or purposely handed them Meowth so that Team Rocket could get the blame. Look, the point is, if Meowth and I don't trust that cheerleader girl, then you shouldn't."
Oblivious to Jessie and Leaf, Samantha was secretly eavesdropping on the two from afar then she looked at her wristwatch, it projected a person with a mask, it was Samantha's boss. "Samantha, is there a reason why you called?" He asked.
Samantha nods. "Yes, boss. I want to inform you that I have found out the two trainers that have defeated Giovanni and I'm facing one of them in my next battle."
"Very good, Samantha." The masked person sounds very proud.
"Although I do have some unfortunate news, boss. It seems like one of the trainers is growing quite suspicious of me." Samantha says.
"Your secret identity isn't important anymore. Now that you know who the two trainers are, you do not have to gain their trust. Just make sure they don't find out about you being in a criminal organization." The masked person starts explaining their plans "You know what to do next and that is to eliminate those two individuals so that M.A.R.S can take over Kanto. Do you get that, Samantha? Because you know what happens if you fail your mission…" The masked person sounds intense and serious.
Samantha nods in response. "Yes sir, but I will not fail. Failure is not an option."
"Good…" The masked person ends communications with Samantha.
Samantha repeats what she said to her boss to herself. "Failure is not an option, Samantha. Failure is not an opinion…" She leaves the area.
It cuts back to Jessie and Leaf's conversation with Jessie scratching her head. "Okay, I'll keep a sharp eye out, okay? But I don't understand, Samantha hasn't acted suspicious around me or anything like that."
Domino and James arrive where the two rivals are. "There you are, Jessie, Azurill was getting worried about ya!" Domino says with a smile.
"Azurill!" Azurill cries out happily.
Jessie chuckles and starts petting Domino's Azurill. "Aww, did you worry about me, Azurill?"
"So what brings you here, Jessie?" Domino asked.
"Oh, I was training here with Meowth for the top four. I'm so close to winning this entire thing!" Jessie answered.
"Too bad that's not going to happen while I'm still here. When we face off, Jessie, it's going to be me on top as always!" Leaf teased while chuckling.
"We'll see about that!" Jessie responded.
"Can we get back to our training now? I think even Electabuzz is getting impatient." Meowth says.
Electabuzz is seen with its arm closed and tapping its foot, getting impatient. "Elebububu…"
"Meowth's right. I'm going to continue with my training. You should head on to the stadium to get ready for your battle." Jessie suggested. "We will be there to watch your battle against Samantha."
"Thank you all, the support will bring me the strength to win! I guess I better get going now!" Leaf waves goodbye to the gang before turning around and leaving with the gang waving goodbye back.
The scene cuts to the room where the Team Rocket trio are tied up in chairs. "I can't believe we told her the two twerps who defeated Giovanni to that cheerleader…" Butch says, in disbelief.
"She threatened to hurt my little Raticate, that's just enough for me to give in. But yeah, we're traitors, we helped another criminal organization." Cassidy sighs.
"Don't worry guys, I'm sure the boss won't find out when M.A.R.S takes over Kanto shortly!" Mondo jokes, chuckling.
"Unfortunately we're going have to root for our twerpette to stop that cheerleader brat's plan. She's our only hope." Cassidy says with a little regret.
"I never thought in a million years that I would be put in a position where we have to cheer for our main enemies." Butch starts struggling to get out of the chair he's tied up in. "If only I could get out of this stupid chair!"
Cassidy sighs once more. "It's no use, Butch. We tried that many times before, yet we haven't come close to freeing ourselves. If you can't get out of this chair, then we can't. I don't know what type of rope that cheerleader brat used, but this is some strong rope."
"Hey, I know what to do to pass the time! Let's sing a song!" Mondo suggested. "It'll be fun!"
"It beats I Spy, I guess," Butch stated.
The scene cuts to the locker room where Leaf is currently, sitting on a bench and looking at one of her Poké Balls in her hand. "Just stay focused Leaf, you can do this!"
Leaf hears a familiar feminine voice behind her. "Hey Leaf!" As she turned around, it was Samantha, who was greeting her. "Well, our battle is near and I just want to say good luck on our battle. May the best trainer win!" Samantha holds out her hand to Leaf for a handshake.
Leaf looks at Samantha's hand before looking back at her face with a glare. She decides to call her out. "How about you cut the crap on the nice girl act already? That isn't going to work on me because I know you're up to something!"
Samantha gasped as she got offended. "Wh-what do you mean, Leaf? I'm just trying to show some sportsmanship! I'm not up to anything."
"Oh yeah? You might have everyone else fooled, but not me!" Leaf points at herself. "I know it was you trying to steal Jessie's Meowth earlier and you gave him to Team Rocket. I saw your blonde hair, Samantha, stop playing these games!"
Before Samantha could say anything, she remembered what her masked boss had said and that she didn't have to put up with the nice act anymore. Samantha stares directly at Leaf, her face becoming serious. "You know Leaf… you shouldn't be sticking your nose into other people's business." She retracts her hand, turns around, and starts leaving to go to her side of the stadium, before stopping to say one final thing. "Oh, Leaf… if I was you, I wouldn't lose this specific battle against me."
Leaf immediately raises her eyebrow in suspicion. "What do you mean by that?!"
Samantha looks back at Leaf with a very serious expression. "Oh, you will see…" She turns back to face the exit and leaves the locker room.
Leaf looks on, gritting her teeth, before the Poké Ball she was holding in her hands bursts open and her Eevee materializes onto her shoulder, completely worried. "Eevee?!"
"I appreciate your concern, Eevee." Leaf smiles and pets her Eevee. "Don't worry, we're not going to lose, right?"
Eevee cheerfully shakes its head no in response. "Eevee!"
Leaf pumps her fist up. "Then let's get out there, win this battle, and move on to the top four!"
Eevee once more cheerfully cries out. "Eevee!"
It cuts to the gang arriving in the crowd, trying to find four empty seats next to each other. "Wow, this crowd is almost full, I can't even find four empty seats next to each other!" Jessie says.
Domino spots not four, but five empty seats and points them out. "Hey guys, I spotted not four but five of them next to each other!"
The gang rushes to the empty seats and immediately sits down. "Is there some room for me?" A familiar masculine voice was heard and it was Professor Oak, sitting next to the gang.
"Professor Oak?! I didn't know you were going to be here!" James says with his eyes widened in shock.
"Well you know I can't miss Leaf's battle, she is my granddaughter after all." Professor Oak chuckles and rubs the back of his head.
The announcer makes their way to the stadium, about to announce the beginning of the battle. "Lady trainers and gentleman trainers, welcome to the league battle. This battle is Leaf going up against Samantha in the top eight! Before we go on with that, please welcome our Elite Four members and our very own champion as always!"
The scene shows the Elite Four members: Will, Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha, on the four sides of the crowd, and then it shows Lance in the skybox from above. The crowd all erupts in claps and cheers for the Elite Four and the Champion.
The announcers start introducing the competitors now. "Now that we got that out of the way, let's introduce the first competitor first. From Pallet Town, also the granddaughter of the great Professor Oak, please give a round of applause for Leaf Oak!"
Leaf makes her way to the battlefield, receiving cheers and claps from the crowd as she smiles and waves at them. "Thank you, thank you very much!"
The announcer starts introducing the other competitor, Leaf's opponent. "And now Leaf's opponent, from Viridian City, let's also give a round of applause to Samantha!"
Samantha also makes her way to the battlefield, although, despite the cheers and claps she receives from the crowd, her expression is quite serious, and stares down Leaf, who stares directly right back at her.
Domino notices the intense staredown from the two. "Something tells me that this battle isn't going to have very much sportsmanship…"
James nods. "I can already see the intensity from the two."
Azurill has a frown expression on its face. "Azurill…"
Professor Oak raises an eyebrow. "Has Leaf been having problems with that blonde girl in that cheerleader outfit?"
"You could say that, yes…" Jessie answers in an awkward tone.
Meowth starts rubbing his hands together with a satisfied expression. "This battle is going to be so good!"
The referee arrives with a coin in his hands. "Leaf has heads and Samantha has tails." They flip the coin before landing on their hand. The coin displays Pikachu's head on top. "It is headed, so that means Samantha will send out her Pokémon first!"
"That won't be a problem!" Samantha pulls out her first Poké Ball. "Poliwrath, I'm starting with you!" She sends Poliwrath onto the battlefield.
Poliwrath materializes. "Poliwrath!"
Leaf proceeds to pull out a Poké Ball as well. "Then I'll start with you, Machamp, take the stand!" Then she sends Machamp onto the battlefield to face off against Poliwrath.
Machamp materializes. "Machamp!"
The referee holds up the green and red flags. "This league battle may now begin!"
Samantha commands the first move of the league battle. "Poliwrath, start it off with Submission!"
Poliwrath starts rolling towards Machamp at full speed.
"Dodge it, Machamp!" Leaf countered.
Machamp jumps to its side, barely dodging Poliwrath's submission.
"Use Thunder Punch, Machamp!" Leaf commanded.
Both of Machamp's fists start getting all static and surrounded by electricity, dashing towards Poliwrath.
"Dodge them, Poliwrath!" Samantha countered. Do not let one of Machamp's fists hit you!"
Machamp tries to punch Poliwrath, but the tadpole Pokémon side jumps to avoid it, Machamp tries to punch Poliwrath again, but the Pokémon dodges again by side jumping and it starts becoming a complete cycle.
"Hydro Pump!" Samantha commanded.
"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath sends out a jet of water from its spiral on its stomach.
"DODGE IT!" Leaf countered once more with a yell.
Machamp quickly jumps to its left to avoid Poliwrath's Hydro Pump.
"Now use Cross Chop!" Leaf commanded.
"Machamp!" Machamp crosses its top two arms to form an 'X' and its arms start to glow.
"I don't think so! Poliwrath, make sure Machamp can't hit you at all!" Samantha countered.
Machamp tries to strike Poliwrath, but the tadpole Pokémon dodges the move again by jumping out of the way.
"This is such a dodge fest, both Pokémon keep dodging each other's moves over and over!" Domino says.
Professor Oak nods in agreement. "Correct, but one Pokémon has to be tired soon from all of that dodging."
"And that a trainer can't just win a battle by dodging all of the time," James added.
"Both trainers dislike each other so much that they don't want their opponent to get the first hit," Meowth says with a laugh. "This is great!"
Jessie remains silent and she starts talking inside her mind instead. "Is Leaf right, should I not trust Samantha?"
Back to the battle, both Machamp and Poliwrath try to strike each other, but both said Pokémon keep dodging each other's moves, not showing any signs of exhaustion at all.
"Enough! This dodging ends right now!" Samantha declared. "Poliwrath, use Mind Reader!"
Poliwrath stands there and closes its eyes, not moving a muscle at all. "Poliwrath… Poliwrath…"
"Poliwrath isn't doing anything?" Jessie questioned.
"Yes, but don't let that fool you, Jessie. Mind Reader is a powerful move." Professor Oak says with his arms crossed.
"How can it be powerful, Professor?" Jessie questioned once more. "Poliwrath is just standing there with its eyes closed, basically allowing Machamp to attack!"
"If Leaf takes the bait, you'll find out, Jessie." Professor Oak answers.
"Machamp, it's just standing there wide open. Use Thunder Punch and take it out!"
"Machamp!" Once more, both of Machamp's fists start to become all static and electrical, dashing towards Poliwrath.
Samantha sees Machamp dashing towards her Poliwrath, she waits for the perfect moment. "NOW!"
Poliwrath shoots its eyes wide open before kicking Machamp at the perfect time, right in the face as Machamp hits the ground from the kick.
Leaf gasps in shock and calls out her Machamp to stand up. "Machamp, get up!"
Machamp starts slowly getting up, still able to battle. "Ma…champ!"
Jessie's eyes widened. "It's like Poliwrath knew the perfect time to counter Machamp by kicking it in the face!"
Professor Oak nods. "And that's what Mind Reader does, Jessie. Mine Reader can read the Pokémon's mind and know what move it's going to use next."
"That's one useful move right there…" James stated.
"And since it's my turn, Poliwrath, use Hydro Pump!" Samantha commanded.
"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath shoots out jets of water from its spiral on its belly right at Machamp. The superpower Pokémon was close to getting up until meeting jets of water, flinging it back to its side on the battlefield and taking damage.
"That should be the end of it!" Samantha declared until she saw Machamp still getting up after that Hydro Pump from Poliwrath. "What?! How is your Machamp still able to battle?!"
"You're going have to do a lot more than some water to take out my Machamp!" Leaf says with a glare. "Here's a move that Poliwrath can't dodge no matter what! Machamp, use Earthquake!"
"Machamp!" Machamp starts stomping on the ground of the battlefield, causing an Earthquake as Poliwrath stumbles onto the ground.
"Right where we have it!" Leaf immediately commands her next move. "Machamp, use Cross Chop!"
Machamp crosses its top two arms to form an 'X' again and its arms start to glow, dashing towards Poliwrath.
"I don't think so! Poliwrath, use Submission!" Samantha countered.
"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath launches themselves while tucked and rolling into a ball, striking Machamp right in the gut.
"MACHAMP!" Machamp screams in pain, falling back to the ground and fainting from the battle.
"Machamp, no! Come on, get up!" Leaf tries to encourage Machamp to get up again, but it's no good as Machamp continues lying there.
The referee holds up the green flag. "Machamp is unable to battle! This round goes to the red corner!"
Jessie frowns. "Not off to a good start with Leaf…"
Professor Oak looks over at Jessie. "Don't worry, Jessie, my granddaughter still isn't out of it yet, plus she knows how to turn things around during a battle."
"That battle was intense and that was just the first round!" Domino stated.
Azurill starts getting cheerful from watching the battle that is currently happening. "Azurill!"
"Machamp, return! You did great, pal." Leaf recalls her Machamp into its Poké Ball, before pulling out a different one.
"I'll switch as well. Poliwrath, return!" To Leaf's shock, Samantha also recalls her Pokémon as well, pulling out a different one.
"So you're switching Pokémon too? So you're that type of trainer huh?" Lead asked.
Samantha stares directly at Leaf. "Just shut up and battle…"
Jessie's eyes widened upon hearing what Samantha responded and started talking inside her thoughts. "Maybe Samantha isn't as nice as I thought…"
Leaf growls from Samantha's response. "Rude… Ninetales, I choose you!" She sends out Ninetales next to battle.
Ninetales materializes. "Ninetales!"
"Golbat, you're up!" Samantha sends out Golbat next in the battle.
Golbat materializes and screeches to Ninetales.
Samantha commands the first move of the round. "Golbat, use Haze!"
Golbat screeches and then releases a thick, black smoke from its mouth, covering the entire battlefield with black smoke.
"Ninetales?!" Ninetales starts crying in confusion from not being able to see through the thick black smoke.
"Ninetales, try using Flamethrower to blow all of that smoke away!" Leaf commanded.
Ninetales opened its mouth, releasing flames of fire to try to blow this smoke away, but it was no good.
"Wing Attack, Golbat!" Samantha commanded.
In the black thick smoke, red eyes are seen, and Ninetales tries to react, but it is too late as Golbat strikes Ninetales with one of its glowing wings, dealing damage to the fox Pokémon. "NINETALES!"
Leaf grits her teeth. "This is going to be tough and that smoke isn't clearing out too!"
Samantha immediately commands her next move. "Confuse Ray!"
Golbat's body starts to shine brightly while in the thick smoke. Ninetales sees a twinkle of light and starts heading towards it.
"That's it Ninetales, head to the light in the smoke!" Leaf says.
"What is Leaf doing? Isn't that light Golbat?" Jessie questioned.
"I don't get that either. If Ninetales looks at Golbat, then Ninetales automatically gets confused by the Confuse Ray. So why?" Domino added.
"I'm getting confused as well." James scratches his head.
"Don't worry, this just means Leaf has a strategy." Professor Oak says.
"I wish I had the confidence in myself as Gramps Oak does," Meowth mumbled to himself.
"That's it Ninetales, keep walking towards the light you see in the smoke!" Leaf says with a smile and her fist is pumped up.
Ninetales keeps getting closer and closer to the light in the dark smoke, which is just Golbat. Samantha looks on with a confused look on her face. "What are you doing?! I know you're up to something!"
Leaf smirks in response. "You're right, I am and it's this! Ninetales, use Safeguard!"
"Ninetales!" Ninetales jumps to where the glowing Golbat is before its body becomes outlined in orange. Ninetales looks at the glowing Golbat and isn't confused.
Samantha growls. "Now my Golbat is wide open from the glow! Golbat stop glowing!"
Golbat screeches in confusion and starts flying in circles, but its glow doesn't disappear.
"That's not how it works, Samantha! Ninetales, use Quick Attack!" Leaf commanded.
Ninetales strikes Golbat with its extreme speed, dealing damage to the bat Pokémon who screeches in pain.
"Golbat, get out of there and fly away!" Samantha commanded.
Golbat screeches in fear and starts flying away from Ninetales.
"Don't let it get away, Ninetales! Follow the glow, it'll lead you to Golbat in this dark smoke!" Leaf commanded.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales starts following Golbat through the dark thick smoke because of the bat Pokémon glowing from the Confuse Ray.
"Golbat, return!" Samantha tries to recall Golbat but misses because of the dark smoke on the battlefield so she couldn't get a good view. "It's like all of my moves have turned against me! That little bitch…" She mumbles the final part.
"Now Ninetales, use Flamethrower!" Leaf commanded.
Ninetales opens its mouth, releasing fiery fire flames at Golbat, dealing damage to the bat Pokémon some more, and the bat Pokémon screeches in pain.
The dark thick smoke finally clears the battlefield, revealing Golbat is on the ground and its glow also disappears, but Golbat flies up in the air, still able to battle.
Leaf grits her teeth. "That bat still wants to battle? Fine! Ninetales, use Iron Tail!"
All of Ninetales' tails start glowing metallic, before jumping up in the air towards Golbat to strike it.
Samantha smirks. "Perfect! Golbat, use Haze directly on Ninetales' face!"
Golbat releases a thick, black smoke from its mouth again, but directly at Ninetales this time, completely blinding the fox Pokémon.
"Ninetales?!" Ninetales falls directly down to the ground before getting back up and can't see at all.
Samantha snaps her finger."And now use Leech Life, Golbat."
Golbat screeches before flying right to Ninetales, bites down on the fox Pokémon's neck and drains Ninetales' blood for energy. Once Golbat recovers all of its energy, the bat Pokémon flies to its side of the battlefield.
Leaf looks very worried about what just happened. "Ninetales?!"
Ninetales slowly drops on the ground of the battlefield from Golbat sucking all of its blood for energy.
The referee holds up the green flag. "Ninetales is unable to battle, therefore the winner of this round is Golbat!"
Azurill starts getting upset from the crowd that Leaf is losing. "Azurill! Azurill!"
"Hey, it's okay Azurill, I'm sure Leaf is gonna make a comeback." Leaf starts petting Azurill to calm it down.
"That Leech Life move looked cruel…" James stated.
Professor Oak nods. "It does, but unfortunately it is an existing move in the Pokémon world. I guess you got to anything to win, I suppose. I still have faith that my granddaughter can turn things around."
"That move… that was too cruel!" Jessie looks very angry and starts cheering for Leaf. "Come on, Leaf! Beat this stupid blonde, I know you can do it!"
Samantha hears Jessie's voice in the crowd and starts talking to herself quietly. "It seems like Leaf also convinced her to believe my real side… which means more satisfaction when I crush the two of them."
"Ninetales, return!" Leaf recalls her Ninetales back in its Poké Ball before looking at it. "You did great, Ninetales. Please take a nice long rest." She then pulls out a different Poké Ball.
"Golbat, return!" Samantha once more recalled her Pokémon while it was still ready to fight, pulling out a different Poké Ball.
"Alakazam, I choose you!" Leaf sends out Alakazam next to battle.
Alakazam materializes. "Alakazam!"
"Mr. Mime, go!" Samantha sends out Mr. Mime to go up against Alakazam.
Mr. Mime materializes. "Mr. Mime!"
"Alakazam, use Psybeam!" Leaf commanded.
Samantha commands the same move as Leaf does. "Mr. Mime, you use Psybeam too!"
Alakazam crosses its spoons and releases a multicolored beam from them at Mr. Mime, and then Mr. Mime also fires a multicolored beam from one finger at Alakazam. Both Psybeams collide, causing an explosion, and creating smoke around the battlefield.
Samantha immediately takes the opportunity. "Double Slap!"
"Mr. Mime!" Mr. Mime disappears and reappears next to Alakazam, slapping the psi Pokémon and then quickly disappearing.
"Alakazam?!" Alakazam looks around, trying to find Mr. Mime, but the barrier Pokémon appears right behind Alakazam and slaps them again. The smoke surrounding the battlefield disappears.
"Alakazam, recover that damage by using Recover!" Leaf commanded.
Alakazam's whole body glows yellow and all of the damage it took by Mr. Mime disappears.
Domino chuckles. "Alakazam is going to be pretty tough to beat when it knows Recover!"
Azurill cheers happily, clapping for Leaf as well. "Azurill!"
Jessie looks at Samantha with a serious expression. "Knowing Samantha, she's got a plan on how to deal with that."
"Mr. Mime, use Encore!" Samantha commanded.
Mr. Mime starts clapping their hands directly at Alakazam for an encore. "Mr. Mime! Mr. Mime! Mr. Mime!"
Alakazam's cheeks turn red from the encore. "Alakazam!"
"What's that going to do?" Leaf questioned. "You just basically just gave my Alakazam an encore."
Samantha crosses her arms. "Oh you will see, Leaf, you will see."
"Whatever you say, weirdo. Okay Alakazam, use Psybeam!" However, Alakazam doesn't do anything but stand still, expressing Leaf's confusion. "What?! Alakazam, can you hear me?! Use Psybeam!"
"That's not going to work, Leaf," Samantha explains what Encore does to Leaf. "Encore locks in the previous move that your Alakazam did, which is Recover. You can only use that specific move!"
"But Alakazam is already in full health! Just great!" Leaf sarcastically says. "Alakazam, use Recover!"
Once more, Alakazam's whole body glows yellow, but nothing happens when Alakazam is already in full health.
"Mr. Mime, use Meditate!" Samantha commanded.
Mr. Mime sits on the ground, closing their eyes, and starts meditating, glowing pink from boosting its attack.
Leaf growls at the fact that she can only use Recover. "Use… Recover."
Alakazam's whole body glows yellow, but nothing happens again.
"Keep using Meditate, Mr. Mime!" Samantha commanded.
Mr. Mime continues meditating and glowing pink, boosting more of its attack.
Leaf tries to use a different move, in denial. "Come on, just use a different move! Future Sight!" Alakazam still doesn't do anything from being trapped in Encore. Leaf groans in annoyance. "Recover…"
Alakazam's body glows yellow, but nothing happens again from its health already being full.
Professor Oak has a concerned look on his face. "This is bad, Samantha got Leaf stuck in a loop to a point where she can't attack with Alakazam."
"And with Mr. Mime using Meditate and boosting its attack, this spells trouble for Leaf," Domino added.
Azurill has a disappointed expression. "Azurill…"
"I have to say, that's pretty smart coming from the blonde cheerleader," Meowth says.
"I think Leaf is realizing that Samantha is a smart and stronger opponent than Nikolaus," James stated.
Jessie starts thinking inside her thoughts. "There's gotta be a way out of this, right? Or is Alakazam doomed from the start?"
Leaf was forced to use the same move again. "Alakazam, use Recover again…"
Alakazam's body glows yellow with nothing happening again.
"Use Meditate for the final time, Mr. Mime!" Samantha commanded.
"Mr. Miiiiiiiime!" Mr. Mime continues meditating, glowing pink and boosting its attack once more. After that was done, Mr. Mime stopped meditating and flexed their arms. "Mr. Mime!"
"Alakazam use Recover again!" Leaf commanded, however, despite using Recover, Alakazam doesn't do anything. "What's wrong now, Alakazam?!"
Alakazam starts flapping its arm around while looking at its trainer. "Alakazam!"
"Looks like Recover ran out of PP, that's too bad for you, right?" Samantha explained. "Mr. Mime, use Psybeam!"
"Mr. Mime!" Mr. Mime points their finger directly at Alakazam and fires a huge blast of multicolored energy, completely decimating and knocking Alakazam out of the battle.
The referee holds up the green flag. "Alakazam is unable to battle, therefore the winner goes to the green corner for the third time in a row!"
Jessie starts sweating from being worried. "Leaf is already down to three Pokémon and Samantha still hasn't lost one Pokémon…"
Domino looks at Professor Oak. "Um Professor, do you still have the confidence that Leaf can turn this battle around?"
"I do but… maybe I have underestimated this blonde girl." Professor Oak looks at Jessie. "Jessie, I wouldn't be worried about just Leaf but yourself as well if you have to take on this trainer in the future."
"Gramps still has his confidence? Wow, grandfather of the year here!" Meowth sarcastically says.
Jessie's eyes widened knowing that Professor Oak was right, but tried to play it off like she already knew. "I know! That's why I'm rooting for Leaf to win!"
James chuckles. "You know at the start of your journey, I never thought you would ever root for your rival in a battle."
"Alakazam, return!" Leaf recalls her Alakazam back in its Poké Ball, looking at it. "I know you did your best, Alakazam. You deserve a nice rest."
"Hey Leaf!" Leaf hears the sound of Samantha and looks over with an annoyed expression. "You only have three Pokémon left compared to my full six-party team still ready to battle. How about you save yourself from an embarrassing sweep and just throw in the towel already?"
Leaf pulls out a different Poké Ball, staring directly at Samantha. "I will never give up! Especially during a league tournament match, Samantha! It's not over yet and I will find a way to turn this battle around!"
Samantha simply recalls Mr. Mime, pulling out a different Poké Ball and staring back at Leaf. "Bring it on then, bitch!"
Leaf and Samantha continue staring at each other with both of them having Poké Balls in their hands as the narrator begins narrating. "Even down to three Pokémon and Samantha still has all of her six Pokémon in the battle, Leaf fully believes she can still make a comeback and win! Can Leaf make it possible or will Samantha shatter our dreams of Jessie vs. Leaf, the rematch in the tournament? Find out soon as the journey continues!"
The scene cuts to the Team Rocket trio watching the battle happening on the TV in the room they're kidnapped in. "When that blonde cheerleader comes back, we should ask for some popcorn and soda," Mondo suggested.
Cassidy rolls her eyes. "Sure and she will happily also give us some nice comfortable beds for us to sleep in and some air conditioning too." She sarcastically says. "Mondo, she ain't doing that!"
"Then why is she supplying us food and water then to keep us alive?" Butch asked.
"Because to prevent other Team Rocket members from hunting her down. If we three suddenly disappear, then the boss will know something has happened to us." Cassidy answered. "Thank goodness for that or we will probably be dead already."
"Well, I think I deserve something special for sitting and being tied up to this chair for so many hours!" Mondo protested.
"She isn't a servant or anything like that. So we're going to be tied to these chairs for quite a while." Cassidy responded.
"Maybe we should've minded our own business and stay out of it…" Butch stated.
The Team Rocket trio sighs. "Looks like Team Rocket has messed things up again…" They all said together.