Another typical day in Sinnoh begins as Dawn tries to get her team prepared for another contest, only for Piplup to be snoozing off yet again. Her criticisms towards her partner's constant sleeping cause the penguin to storm off in a huff, leading Dawn to chase after it. But just as she finds it, another Dawn appears from a mysterious portal and takes Piplup! Ash, Goh, and Chloe arrive to help investigate, learning that other reports have been popping up all over Sinnoh of people's Pokemon disappearing. Things get more complicated when not one, but two Team Rockets attack the heroes...while all the while, in another dimension, Dialga and Palkia engage a duel that threatens all life in the universe!
This episode contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome:
- In the other dimension, Dawn became a Pokemon trainer rather than a coordinator, and managed to obtain the runner-up position in the Sinnoh League—one higher than Ash did when he competed, and a much higher ranking that Ash wouldn't obtained until Kalos.
- The alternate Team Rocket is far more competent than their mainstream counterparts, have invented badass-looking armor designed to protect them from Dialga and Palkia's fighting, and Meowth can use Dark Pulse as a move.
- Awesome by Analysis: Both Goh and Ash are able to deduce Dialga and Palkia's involvement by taking note of how time and space—the duo's respective fortes—are being affected.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite the fact Piplup ran off when it couldn't take Dawn criticizing it's laziness, it jumps right into her arms upon reuniting with her.
- Badass in Distress: Both Lucario and Inteleon are kidnapped by the alternate Team Rocket.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Dialga and Palkia, neither of which have been seen since the Diamond and Pearl era in the show, make their return here.
- The rest of Dawn's Team (Mamoswine, Togekiss, Pachirisu, Buneary, and Quilava) appear in the flesh for the first time since Dawn's Unova guest run.
- Curbstomp Battle: The primary Team Rocket last about 10 seconds before Lucario and Inteleon blast them off once again. Then, when the Alternate Team Rocket show up, the Pokemon wind up lasting just as long.
- Easily Forgiven: Dawn lets her alternate counterpart off the hook for taking Piplup when she sees how the other Piplup has been devolved into an egg.
- Fountain of Youth: Dialga and Palkia's fighting is causing a ripple effect throughout the alternate Team Rocket's universe, resulting in Pokemon first forgetting moves they once knew, then devolving into their previous evolutionary stage (if they had any) before finally ending up back as eggs. Alt!Dawn's Piplup wound up as one relatively quickly as a result of it being in its first evolutionary stage, while her Quilava and Mamoswine returned to being Cyndaquil and Piloswine.
- In Spite of a Nail: While the alternate Dawn walked the path of a trainer rather than a coordinator, she still chose Piplup as her partner, and at the very least caught Quilava and Mamoswine like she did in the main reality.
- Palette Swap: The other universe's Ash, Dawn, and Team Rocket wear the same outfits, but their color schemes are the opposite. Ash has a blue hat instead of a red one, Dawn wears purple rather than pink, and Team Rocket wears blue and white outfits.
- Stepford Smiler: Dawn is such an emotional mess from having her Piplup stolen, she's fighting back tears just to hold it together and find her lost partner.
- The Worf Effect: To demonstrate just how competent and dangerous the other Team Rocket is, Lucario and Inteleon both go down to them without barely putting up a fight.
