Our heroes have arrived on Harvest Island, famous for its delicious berries and the Grand Harvest Festival that celebrates them. Ash, Iris, and Cilan set off for the festival, and along the way, they come across a Pokémon they’ve never seen before—one that Ash’s Pokédex can’t identify! Ash just wants to catch it, of course, but when he challenges it to a battle, the electrical discharge from its frills knocks him flat, and its Trainer quickly runs up to apologize.
She introduces herself as Alexa, a Pokémon journalist from the faraway Kalos region. Along with her Pokémon, Helioptile and Gogoat, she travels the world for her job, writing about and photographing Pokémon in their natural habitat. Helioptile, who knocked Ash down, helps her by recharging her equipment, and Gogoat carries that equipment in its saddlebags—and remembers where it’s stored, something Alexa isn’t very good at!
Alexa has come to the island to cover the Pokémon Sumo competition at the festival, so they all decide to walk together. On the way, she fills our heroes in on the legend surrounding the competition: long ago, the island was in danger of going barren because people and Pokémon had stripped it of nearly all its berries. The island’s two strongest Pokémon fought each other to a standstill over the last remaining berry, and things looked grim...but a small boy picked the berry and split it in two, offering half to each Pokémon and telling them to share. The island recovered, and today, the Pokémon Sumo competition honors that fierce battle.
Ash, Iris, and Cilan all decide to enter the competition, and while they’re waiting for it to begin, Ash has a run-in with a rude boy named Rodney, who shoves him aside at the pie stand. It turns out Rodney has entered the competition, too, with his enormous Golurk, which makes short work of all its opponents! But Ash and Pignite are determined, and Rodney gradually begins to show respect for the pair’s persistence. Finally, with some clever maneuvering, Pignite manages to get Golurk off balance and throw it to the ground. Ash has won!
Rodney is disappointed, but Ash offers to split some berries with him, in an echo of the old legend. There are enough berries to feed the entire festival, and everyone happily joins in. Afterward, our heroes are ready to set out for the ship again when they learn that Alexa is heading to Kanto to work on her next article. So she’ll be joining them on their travels!
