Ash and his friends arrive in Yambera, where they meet a young Trainer named Emily. She is looking for her female Nidoran, nicknamed Maria, who has an orange ribbon around her neck. When she asks if they have seen her, Ash looks up Nidoran up on his Pokédex and learns about their gender differences. She pleads with them to help her and they agree. As they search, Ash and Misty eventually bump into Ralph, another kid from the town who is looking for Tony, a male Nidoran wearing a blue and purple ribbon. When Emily and Tracey return, Ralph calls Emily a kidnapper. Both Ralph and Emily begin to argue over their two Pokémon.
