It was a day off.
Li Wei had already returned to the Pokémon Theme Park and was hard at work at his post.
Meanwhile, on the sunlit Shopping Street on Melemele Island, Ash and Pikachu were helping Professor Kukui carry the household supplies he had bought.
Pikachu looked around curiously. Suddenly, it tugged on Ash's trouser leg and pointed to the other side of the street.
"Pika! Pika!"
Ash looked in the direction Pikachu was pointing.
There was Mallow, giving instructions with a serious expression.
And on top of her Bounsweet's head sat an enormous, perfectly balanced stack of golden Poffins.
Bounsweet moved swiftly, doing its best to keep its balance. The stack of Poffins swayed precariously.
"Mallow! Bounsweet! What are you doing?"
Ash ran over curiously.
When Mallow saw Ash, she happily explained,
"Ash, perfect timing! We're doing some special training for Melemele Island's annual pancake competition!"
"Pancake competition?"
"That's right!"
Mallow's eyes sparkled.
"It's a traditional event in the Alola Region.
"It's mainly divided into two parts. One is the Poffin Cooking Contest, where we compete over the flavor and creativity of our Poffins."
When it came to a Poffin-making competition,
Mallow was quite confident.
Provided Li Wei didn't participate, of course.
"The other is the Pokémon Pancake Relay Race!
"Contestants and their Pokémon partners have to work together to finish a set course while carrying Poffins.
"You can't drop any Poffins along the way. If you do, you're eliminated! Bounsweet is practicing its balance right now!"
"Do you want to join us?"
Ash simply shook his head.
"You go ahead and keep practicing!"
For now, Ash wasn't particularly interested.
Not long after Ash and Professor Kukui parted ways with Mallow, they passed a restaurant with cute decorations.
An eye-catching poster was displayed in its window-a promotional poster