After winning his eighth gym badge, Ash and his friends meet Sinnoh region champion, Cynthia at a Bearticone ice cream stand. They go with her to stay at her villa when they find an injured Meloetta on the road.

Ash and friends arrive in Undella town. When they get to Cynthia’s villa they find out Dawn is also staying there. Ash challenges Dawn to a battle but is interrupted by Cilan who wants to battle Dawn first.

Ash and Iris are training for the upcoming tournament when Dawn suggests they should take a break to a nearby, deserted island. She tells them the island has a rare Onix. Everyone decides to go.

Ash and Dawn take a break after a battle when they meet a boy named Chris who is looking for his lost Cubchoo. Ash and his friends haven’t seen it and decide to help him look.

An injured Dragonite sets off an alarm at a power plant after sustaining injuries from a battle with a Hydreigon. Officer Jenny arrives at the villa looking for Cynthia’s but she isn’t there. Officer Jenny tells everyone about a Dragonite that has begun destroying the power plant. Iris doesn’t believe that a Dragon-type Pokémon would do something like that and they all head to the power plant to stop Dragonite.

Ash and his friends arrive in Lacunosa Town for the Junior Cup. The Cup begins with an exhibition match between Cynthia and Caitlyn. Iris and Georgia face off against each other but Iris’ newly caught Dragonite refuses to listen to Iris’ commands.

Ash, Cilan, Iris, Dawn and Trip make it through the first round of the cup. In the second round Iris and Dawn face off against each other. Iris’ Dragonite continues to not listen to her commands. Trip and Cilan face off against each other in the Semi finals.

After beating Cilan, Trip moves onto the finals. The battle between Ash and Iris is under with Ash’s Krokorok against Iris’s Dragonite.

It’s the final battle of the Junior Cup with Trip facing off against Alder. Dawn leaving for the Wallace Cup in Unova. Ash and Dawn have a battle before she leaves.

Ash and his friends accompany a trainer named Cameron to Himalau City for his eighth gym badge. On the way there, Ash and Cameron get separated from Iris and Cilan and make their own way to Himalau City. Once they get there, Cameron challenges Marlon, the gym leader of the Himalau Gym.

Ash and his friends help a nursery worker named Leila, they try to get a Vullaby and Rufflet to stop fighting with each other. Vullaby runs away from the Nursery and Cilan and Leila go look for it.

Ash is training at Cynthia’s Villa when Ridley arrives thinking that ash had taken Meloetta away from him. After apologising for his mistake, Team Rocket arrives to take Meloetta. Ash and Meloetta try to get away from the Villa but they are captured by Giovanni. They are then taken to the undersea ruins.

After Capturing Meloetta, Team Rocket has brought the Undersea Temple to the surface and used her song to obtain the Reveal Glass. Team Rocket now plan on using the Reveal Glass to summon the forces of nature. Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus to take over the Unova region. Now Ash and his friends have to save Meloetta and put an end to Team Rocket's plan.

Ash and his friends learn that the Unova League will be held in in Vertress City and leave Cynthia's Villa. On the way there they stop for lunch when Oshawott and Tepig get into a fight and Emolga gets knocked away. Iris and the other go to retrieve Emolga when they meet three trainers, Moira, Sher and Minana who insult their Pokemon and walk away. When they get into a nearby town, they learn that the three trainers are part of a performance group. In order for the group to confront the three trainers, they need to disguise themselves as beautiful and elegant trainers.

On the way to the Unova League, Ash and Cilan get challenged to a Tag Battle against the brothers Soren and Rocko who have trained their Braviary and Drilbur to perform amazing combination attacks.

On the way to Vertress City, Ash, Cilan, and Iris find their way to Iris's hometown: the Village of Dragons. While there, Iris shows Axew to her elder and helps her childhood friend Shannon when one of her Zweilous suddenly evolves into Hydreigon and goes out of control.

The gang arrives in Opelucid City for Iris' scheduled rematch against the Dragon Master and Gym Leader Drayden, who handed her and Excadrill their first-ever defeat years ago. Upon arrival, Iris remembers her difficult time in going to school there and trying to adjust to urban life. She and the others then travel to the Opelucid Gym for her rematch with Drayden, where she puts her Excadrill and Dragonite to the test, respectively, against Drayden's Haxorus and Druddigon in order for him to evaluate her training and skills.

Near Vertress City, the gang meets the Pokémon Rescue Squad's Virgil - trainer of Team Eevee - and his brother Davey, whom they decide to assist in helping a group of troubled Cryoganal.

The Unova League begins, and as the preliminary round matches get underway, Ash finds himself up against Trip.

Ash's battle against Trip continues, with Pikachu facing Serperior. As the preliminaries end and the first round begins, Bianca pits her Escavalier and Emboar against Cameron's Samurott and Riolu.