When Team Rocket attempted to capture Pokémon in Saffron City, Harley had his Ariados use Spider Web to stop their balloon, letting May rescue the Pokémon and blast the enemy away.[1] Harley sent Ariados during the Contest battle, against Jessie's Wobbuffet. Aware that Wobbuffet would use Counter after Ariados would launch an offensive move, both sides waited for each other's move. Since nobody reacted, Harley's Ariados used String Shot on Wobbuffet, tangling it without hurting it (to prevent it from using Counter). Ariados then spun Wobbuffet around until Jessie lost all of her points for the round.
After his Ariados defeated a Walrein in the next round, Harley faced May in the final round. Harley's Ariados battled May's Squirtle, using String Shot to pull it. Squirtle was afraid of Ariados, failing to hit it with Ice Beam. Ariados continued using String Shot to pull Squirtle, then launched a Spider Web to trap it. As Ariados went to use Double-Edge, Squirtle went to use Bubble, but the effect did not have any effect. Instead, Squirtle used Ice Beam on the web to freeze it and Ariados. Using Bubble, Squirtle hit Ariados, unfreezing it. As Ariados had no balance on the frozen web, it was an easy target for Squirtle, who defeated it with Tackle.[2]
During Wisteria Town's Contest, Harley sent Ariados during the first round. It used Spider Web to slide along and make acrobatic moves, then covered itself in the web to scare everyone. Despite the terrifying performance, Harley and Ariados won the first round.[3]
Harley had his Ariados help Team Rocket in sabotaging May's performance for the final Ribbon. As Ash, Brock and Max went to attack James and Meowth for distracting May, Ariados used Spider Web to trap Pikachu, but the threads were burnt from May's Combusken's Fire Spin. The threads were burnt and Ariados soon fainted from the attack.[4]