En route to Shalour City, our heroes happily watch three forest Pokémon help each other gather berries. Suddenly, an Ursaring grabs their berries and scares them out of their wits! Then, just as suddenly, a brave Hawlucha attacks the Ursaring, giving the forest Pokémon time to retrieve their berries. But Hawlucha can’t resist striking an artistic pose right before its last move, and Ursaring escapes.

Forest caretaker Keaton explains that Hawlucha is the Forest Champion, protecting weaker forest Pokémon from the more aggressive ones. Ash is quite impressed with Hawlucha and offers to help it figure out how to strike more quickly without losing its “battle artistry.” During a battle between Hawlucha and Froakie, Ash figures out how Hawlucha can incorporate its signature pose into its favorite finishing move. When that proves to be a huge success, Hawlucha decides to join Ash on his journey!