Dr. Jumba Jookiba is arrested and put on trial by the Galactic Federation for "illegal genetic experimentation", evidenced by her creation Experiment 626, a small sentient creature with unparalleled intelligence and strength, but also a propensity to cause chaos. Jumba is imprisoned while Experiment 626 is sentenced to exile on a desert asteroid. 626 manages to escape in a spaceship and activates the hyperdrive, causing its guidance systems to malfunction and randomly set a course for Earth. 626 crash lands on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and is knocked unconscious by three passing trucks and taken to an animal shelter. The Grand Councilman dispatches Jumba and Agent Pleakley, the Council's expert on Earth, to the planet to have 626 captured discreetly. On Kauai, a young man named Nami has been struggling with caring for his rambunctious and friendless younger brother, Lino, who's been ridiculed by his haka classmates and peers following incident that Merle instigated, following the death of their parents in a car accident. A social worker named Cobra Bubbles expresses increasing concern that Nami is unable to take adequate care of Lino. To reduce Lino's grief after a brief argument, Nami decides to let Lino adopt a dog. At the shelter, Lino immediately takes a keen interest in Experiment 626, who is impersonating a dog, in order to escape captivity. In spite of Nami's doubts, Lino names 626 "Stitch" and shows him around the island.
