On the road following Ash’s victorious Gym Battle against Gym Leader Skyla, our heroes run into their old friend Stephan, who tells them about the Wishing Bell Festival, a competition where teams of Trainers and Pokémon compete for the opportunity to climb Mistralton Tower and ring the Wishing Bell. The story goes that whoever rings the bell will have all their wishes come true.

Our heroes happily discover that Skyla’s grandfather, their friend Miles, runs the festival. Many Trainers and their Pokémon are competing in the challenge, but the field is eventually narrowed down to Ash and Pikachu versus Stephan and Sawk. With one final heroic push, Stephan and Sawk are declared the winners!

After Stephan rings the bell and makes his wish, Iris asks him what he wished for. His reply? “I wished everyone would pronounce my name right....” But he also wished he could win the upcoming Clubsplosion Battle Competition, sponsored by the Pokémon Battle Club and Don George!