Ep 29. Sours for the Sweet!

Ash is an aspiring Pokémon trainer accompanied by his partners Pikachu and Lycanroc. In this episode of Pokemon season 21, Ash and his friends are on their way to attend a festival in the Strait of Melemele Island. The festival is known as the Wela Fire Festival and it is an annual celebration to invite the Wela Volcano and honor the fire god. As the group continues their journey, they meet a Pokémon called Bounsweet. On their first encounter, Bounsweet is feeling a bit down so everyone decides to offer it some help and it quickly becomes friends with Lillie. Bounsweet has had a few bad encounters recently and it developed a distinct hatred towards Popplio.

When Ash and his friends arrive at the festival, they find out that it is being run by a famous chef named Mallow and her little brother. Mallow is in charge of preparing the food for the visitors and she is regarded as an expert in the region. She gives Ash and his friends some delicious sweets to taste and they love it. In the meantime, Bounsweet smells a distinct aroma coming from Mallow's restaurant and rushes over to investigate. When it arrives, Bounsweet finds out that Mallow is serving Popplio on ice cream, which makes it extremely angry. The sight of Popplio on the ice cream angers Bounsweet and it immediately starts attacking and attempting to eat the ice cream. Mallow is surprised by Bounsweet's reaction and tells it off for its behavior towards her customers.

As the day progresses, the festival attendees start to line up to taste Mallow's sweets. Ash and his friends decide to stay back and help Mallow prepare the sweets for the customers. They are all surprised when Bounsweet shows up at the restaurant and asks to help them. Mallow is happy to have Bounsweet as one of her helpers and assigns it to mix the ingredients. Bounsweet's mannerisms and work ethic start to show as it diligently starts to work on the sweets.

As the night comes and the fireworks go off, Ash and his friends are approached by a bunch of disgruntled festival-goers who are having a hard time getting what they want from Mallow's restaurant. Ash and his friends split up to help the people that need help. When Ash returns to the festival grounds, he finds out that Mallow's kitchen is in chaos. One of the ovens has broken down and they are having a hard time getting it fixed. Mallow is distressed and is at a loss for what to do, but Bounsweet steps in to help. It starts working on its own during Mallow's crisis, silently working on the sweets in the background. Despite the chaos and confusion all around, Bounsweet remains level-headed and diligent in its work. In the end, they successfully finish the sweets with Bounsweet’s help and put a smile on everyone's face.

In "Sours for the Sweet!", there might not be any gym battles or intense team rocket encounters, but the episode offers character development and a glimpse at the power of friendship and teamwork. Ash and his friends learned the importance of listening to others and responding appropriately to their needs and struggles, and this leads them to help many individuals at the festival. This marked an accomplishment for them and helped them experience a sense of positive growth. As the episode ends, Ash and his friends say their goodbyes to the Wela Fire Festival, each with their hearts filled by the joy and wonder of the occasion.