On the way to Pastoria City, Ash and friends have stopped at a pokémon center to do some training. On TV, Dawn watches Sinnoh Now which reveals the Wallace, the Hoenn Champion and a contest master, is in Sinnoh to host a special tournament. Dawn decides to train for the contest, but Zoey's advice gets to her and she begins to doubt herself again. Then Rhonda comes up to them says she is looking for Wallace, who is supposed to be nearby. Ash and friends decide to look for him, and near a lake they find him. He then invites them to come over, and when he finds out Dawn wants to enter the Wallace Cup, he asks to see some of her moves.
A young boy named Ash Ketchum embarks on a journey to become a "Pokemon Master" with his first Pokemon, Pikachu. Joining him on his travels are Brock, a girl-obsessed Rock Pokemon Trainer, and Misty, a tomboyish Water Pokemon Trainer who may have a crush on him. Ash and Co. end up traveling through various regions, including Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto, and then enter the Pokemon League competitions there.
Along the way, they run into many confrontations with Jessie, James, and Meowth, a trio of Pokemon thieves who are apart of an evil organization called "Team Rocket". But every time Team Rocket try to do their evil deeds, they fail thanks to Ash and his Pokemon.