The episode starts out with Ash, Misty, and Tracey on an island known as Murcott Island, known for its bug type Pokemon population, as well an injured Scyther that Ash almost catches when Tracey stops him and suggests Ash let him catch it. Tracey sends in Venonat, which despite being afraid of Scyther at first, manages to stop Scyther with Sleep Powder. After bringing it with him, Tracey has Nurse Joy look after Scyther, which unexpectedly takes a turn for the worst, as Scyther refuses to rest and it leaves to defend its clan, which Team Rocket trapped with glue globs in retaliation for Jessie' s hair being sliced off. Ash, Misty, and Tracey catch up to Scyther and see that it arrived to defend its clan from Team Rocket. Misty sees Jessie's short hair and jokingly asks her who cut it. Jessie, furious, blames the Scyther clan, saying a Scyther from that clan is responsible for her hair being short. Tracey asks them how they can possibly do any harm to Scyther. James says they'll be new recruits for Team Rocket so as to not let their attempts to get Pikachu go in vain. Ash, doubting this commands Pikachu to attack. James responds Von commanding Weezing to use Smoke Screen, which Scyther uses Swords Dance to blow away. Scyther tires out. Team Rocket decides to take advantage of Scyther being exhausted and send in Weezing, Victreebel, Arbok, and Lickitung to battle Scyther. With all four Pokemon ready to go, Meowth even joins the four Pokemon in an attempt to do away with Scyther, which fails when Meowth makes the mistake of underestimating Scyther despite tiring easily, can still put up quite a fight. With Meowth down for the count, Victreebel and Lickitung attempt to attack Scyther at the same time, which fails when Scyther gets out of their way at the right time to take to the air. Unfortunately this makes Scyther an easy target for Arbok, as Arbok is seen making its way over to Scyther. Scyther, thinking fast, uses Double Team to fool Arbok. Returning to ground level, Victreebel prepares for a Razor Leaf attack, which Scyther is quick to stop with its sharp blade arms, slicing the leaves into thin slices. This also surprises Victreebel, knowing its attack failed. Left with no other options, Jessie has Arbok take another go at Scyther Von using Poison Sting. Scyther does well at dodging the attack until it tires out. With no energy left to run, the lead Scyther rushes to Scyther's defense. Frustrated, Jessie commands the four Pokemon to attack, who fail at stopping Scyther. James and Meowth look panicked at Lickitung, Weezing, Arbok, and Victreebel being beaten so easily. Jessie decides to take care of Scyther once and for all. This fails of course and Pikachu shocks Team Rocket. Scyther finishes them off Von cutting James and Jessie's hair and Meowth's face flesh off. Team Rocket are horrified at their hair being sliced into Mohawks and run off. Later as the sun is setting Scyther meets back up with its old clan. Despite leadership issues in the past, Tracey's own Scyther and the lead Scyther make up in spite of this. Tracey returns Scyther to its Pokeball and tries multiple attempts to get the pose right. The episode ends here.