Since no episode guide is up yet, I'll just copy/paste my bullet point synopsis:
-Starts out with Richie and Sparky on a boat to the next destination. After the narrator announces him as a boy who aims to be a Pokemon Master, a bunch of Gyarados are seen popping out of the water. Everyone who's on the boat deck start to run inside (why they think they'll be safer inside than outside is beyond me) while a mysterious, shadowy figure steps up.
-The stranger throws a PokéBall, and out comes a Salamence! As Richie looks the pokemon up on his PokéDex (he still has the old Johto model, by the way), the man steps into the light, revealing a Chikorita on his shoulder.
-Salamence is ordered to use Hyper Beam. The attack serves as a warning, and the Gyarados all swim away like dogs with their tails between their legs.
-The man, who introduces himself as Silver (Shi-ru-ba-a), says that he's going to an island (Tomoshibi Mountain) to battle with the legendary pokemon, Moltres.
-Just then, a woman with long, orange hair and a man with short, green hair appear and introduce themselves as researchers from some Academy (I think the green-haired guy gave Naruto as his fake name). They tell Richie that they're working with Silver to help find Moltres.
-The boat arrives on shore, and Silver and the two Academy people get off the boat. Just as the boat begins to leave, Richie decides that he wants to follow them, so he jumps off the boat at the last minute.
-Richie catches up to Silver and the others. Richie tells them that he wants to see the legendary pokemon, and the green-haired guy tells him that the pokemon is difficult to track because it's constantly going from island to island. The two assistants tell Richie that he can't go, but Richie insists that he'll be alright. Silver ends it by telling him to give up, and with that Silver and the others leave Richie behind.
-It starts to get late, so Silver's group decides to camp out for the night.
-Richie, who's not as fast as the three adults, finally catches up with the group. Before he reaches them, though, he overhears the two assistants talking to a transmitter. The voice on the radio tells them to be sure to capture Moltres for him.
-At that moment, Richie draws attention to himself by accidentally stepping on a twig. The noise alerts the two assistants, who walk over to the spot where Richie was eavesdropping to investigate. Luckily for Richie, he is able to hide by dangling himself off one of the rocks below. After seeing no one, the two assistants go back to their spot and resume their conversation.
-The man on the radio is soon revealed to be Dr. Nanba, and
he reveals that the two Academy assistants are none other than Cassidy and Botch (...I mean Butch) from Team Rocket!
-Soon after, Silver appears and asks Butch and Cassidy what they're doing. They respond by saying that they were just out for a stroll, and then nervously return back to the camp. Silver stays behind, and after the two Rockets leave, he goes over to the spot where Richie is hiding. The young trainer is still dangling from the cliff, but not for long--the rock he's hanging off of starts to break! The wannabe Pokemon Master starts to fall, but Silver's Chikorita uses its Vine Whip to save him.
-Richie is invited to stay with the group back at the camp. Butch and Cassidy announce that they're going back to the tent to sleep, and as they're being yelled at by Dr. Nanba, Silver and Richie have a chat by the campfire. Richie thanks Silver for the rescue, and then begins to reminisce about Ash for some reason.
Silver seems to know who Ash is, and acts surprised when he hears his name. Silver then reveals that he's seen Moltres once before, when he was little, and ever since then he's been marveling its awesome power.
---commercial break---
-It's the next day, and Silver and the others finally reach the top of the volcano. As the volcano rumbles, Cassidy notices all the dark clouds in the sky. Richie then looks up and spots Moltres, flying behind the clouds!! He looks the legendary pokemon up on his PokéDex as Silver sends out his Salamence to battle it. The dragon pokemon uses Hyper Beam, but it misses. Moltres responds with a Flamethrower, but the attack is weak and doesn't even reach Salamence. After it attacks, Moltres is noticeably weak and is seen panting.
-Butch and Cassidy think that it's their chance. They urge Silver to keep battling (to continue weakening it, of course), but Silver angrily yells at them to butt out. The disguised Rockets respond by calling out their pokemon--Cassidy calls out Cloyster while Butch calls out Tentacruel. Just then, Cassidy pulls out a large net bazooka and ensnares Moltres.
-Silver orders Salamence to break the net with its claws, and the pokemon obeys. However, Butch and Cassidy ignore it as they have their water pokemon use a combined Water Gun on the already weakened Moltres (they came prepared!). Meanwhile, Cassidy fires another net and catches Salamence with it. She then fires a third one at Richie and Silver. The net is electrically charged and begins to shock Richie and the others.
-Next, Butch and Cassidy remove their disguises and perform their motto. Silver goofs up and calls Butch "Botch," which angers him. Then Cassidy makes the same mistake, angering him even more.
-Butch and Cassidy have their pokemon use Water Gun on Moltres again. As the legendary pokemon is being pummeled by water, Cassidy fires another net at it, ensnaring it once more. As Cassidy is distracted, Silver has his Chikorita use Razor Leaf to free them from the net. He then tells Salamence to use its claws to break
its net. Now that everyone's free, they all turn angrily toward Butch and Cassidy.
-Richie has Sparky use Thunderbolt on Butch and Cassidy. Team Rocket blasts off again!
-Just then, Moltres, who's still trapped in its net, begins to fall weakly toward the volcanic magma below! Salamence swoops down to save it, but it's too late! The legendary bird falls into the magma as everyone helplessly watches on.
-After a few tense moments, the magma begins to glow with an intense light--so intense, in fact, that it can be seen from miles away! Moltres bursts out of the magma and shoots a huge Flamethrower attack into the sky. Richie notices that it's a lot different from the one that it fired at Salamence earlier, and the young trainer figures that the magma must have recharged its power.
-As Moltres is flying, Silver calls for another battle. Moltres agrees as Salamence starts off with a Hyper Beam attack. Moltres counters with a Flamethrower. The two attacks collide, resulting in an explosion that sends smoke flying everywhere. After the smoke clears, we see a Flamethrower attack headed straight for an unsuspecting Salamence. It hits, and another huge cloud of smoke is created. After the smoke clears, Goku...uh, I mean Salamence appears to be OK. Salamence is ordered to use Double Team, and Moltres counters this tactic by unleashing a huge sphere of fire energy.
-As the battle continues, the volcano starts to shake again. As Silver says that Tomoshibi Mountain is about to erupt, a boulder heads right for them! Moltres uses a Flamethrower attack to stop the boulder, saving Silver and Richie.
-Silver and Richie are soon seen riding on Salamence's back. Silver says goodbye to Moltres, saying that they'll meet again. Richie wonders if it's OK to let it go like that, and Silver reckons that it is.
-At the dock, Richie is about to leave the island. Silver says that he'll stay behind, so Richie bids his farewell.
...and that's it. MUCH better than last week's episode, in my opinon. Kinda odd that Silver knows who Ash is...could it be that That Scary Clefairy isn't as crazy and/or stupid as originally thought?