A Flood of Torrential Gains! (Japanese: ファイナルⅠ 「激流」The Finals I: "Torrent") is the 129th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,214th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on October 21, 2022, in Canada on March 18, 2023, in South Africa on March 28, 2023, in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2023, in Australia on May 3, 2023, and in the United States on June 23, 2023.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Following an emergency communication from Project Mew, Goh is off to Hoenn, while Ash battles Leon in the Masters Eight Tournament finals. It’s a six-on-six Full Battle, and although each Trainer can typically use Dynamax, a Z-Move, or Mega Evolution only once, Leon insists that Ash use all three. Leon first sends out his Cinderace, who spars with Pikachu, and then Leon’s Inteleon battles Ash’s Gengar. After Gigantamaxing, Gengar takes down Inteleon, but Leon’s Mr. Rime manages to defeat it. Ash and Leon are now back on equal footing, and this massive battle promises to keep going strong!
Plot
Ash with his Pokémon before their battle against Leon
Following an urgent summons by Project Mew, Goh has arrived in Slateport City in Hoenn, where he is quickly reunited with his fellow Chasers Horace and Gary. Gary understands that Goh must feel disappointed for missing the finals of the Masters Eight Tournament, but Goh assures he's fine, given that he and Ash promised to smile the next time they meet. As the three of them move to join Professor Amaranth, Danika, and Quillon at Project Mew's mobile laboratory, Goh wishes Ash good luck. Back in Galar, Ash is also wishing Goh good luck as he enters Wyndon Stadium. In his dressing room, he gives a pep talk to his team to get them pumped up, only to be interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Dawn and Chloe, who have come to cheer for him in person. In his own dressing room, Leon muses how this occasion reminds him of his first-ever battle against Sonia as a child.
The entire stadium is filled with excitement as the finals are about to begin, with Dawn's Piplup even donning the cheerleader outfit he used while cheering for Ash during his Sinnoh travels. Eager to join in, Chloe's Eevee also starts waving a pom-pom, which Chloe finds cute. Finally, the two finalists enter the field: Ash, the first Champion of Alola and a native of Kanto, who defeated Hoenn Champion Steven Stone in the quarterfinals and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia in the semifinals; and Leon, the reigning Monarch and the undefeated Galar Champion. The cheering Ash gets is enough to make Team Rocket give up on their broadcast and focus on cheering for him as well. In the stands, Hop is joined by Sonia to cheer for Leon.
Ash and Leon are both feeling excited about finally getting to face each other in a serious battle. As usual, Dan starts explaining the rules, declaring the match to be a six-on-six Full Battle with no time limit or switching restrictions. However, his usual explanation of only one of either Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax being allowed per Trainer is interrupted by Leon, who wants to see Ash at his full power in this climactic battle and urges him to use all three of them so he can face and beat all of them with his own full power. The entire stadium unanimously agrees to this, including Hop. Chloe, intimidated by the sound of the roaring crowd, asks Dawn what that means, and she says that it will be a great battle. After a brief discussion with the World Coronation Series management, Dan officiates this exception of the usual rules, which Ash also approves.
With this established, Ash and Leon send out their first Pokémon, Ash leading with Pikachu and Leon starting off with Cinderace. At Dan's starting signal, both Pokémon launch their first moves. Cinderace's Scorching Sands hits faster than Pikachu's Thunderbolt and deals super-effectivedamage, though Pikachu's attack still goes off and scores a hit. To Ash's shock, however, Cinderace shrugs off the hit without as much as a hint of damage. Leon reveals that his Cinderace has the LiberoAbility, which changes its type to match the type of the move it uses, meaning that, at the moment, Cinderace is a Ground type. Seeing that Pikachu is at a clear type disadvantage now, Ash recalls his buddy while Leon does the same with Cinderace.
Dawn and Chloe in the audience together
For their respective second Pokémon, Ash and Leon choose Gengar and Inteleon, making Ash feel like he's battling Goh's partners. Inteleon outspeeds Gengar's Shadow Ball with Snipe Shot, before proceeding to swat the attack apart with its tail and prepare a Dark Pulse. While Gengar manages to avoid the attack by hiding in its own shadow, Leon remains unfaltering and has Inteleon use Aqua Jet while spinning in place, creating a spiral of water. Ash and Dawn both recognize this tactic as Counter Shield, which Ash used against Cynthia in the semifinals and impressed Leon enough for him to copy it. With Ash's own tactic being turned against him, Gengar is in a dire strait, but eventually, it manages to break free and uses Will-O-Wisp, evaporating the water and covering the field in a cloud of steam. While Inteleon is momentarily blinded, Ash recalls Gengar and Gigantamaxes it just as the mist fades away. What follows is a clash between Gengar's G-Max Terror and Inteleon's dual Snipe Shot, with both sides succeeding in hitting the other. Due to G-Max Terror's effect, Inteleon becomes unable to switch out, though Hop remains confident that his big brother can manage it. The next exchange of attacks comes in the form of a Max Ooze from Gengar and a dual Dark Pulse from Inteleon. While Inteleon does its best to avoid the Max Move and succeeds in landing a critical hit with Dark Pulse in the middle of Gengar's mouth, it still ends up being hit, while Gengar returns to normal size as a result of the critical hit. Observing Inteleon, Dan declares it unable to battle, giving Ash the first knockout of the finals and sparking celebration both in the crowd and amongst Ash's Pokémon at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Recalling Inteleon, Leon promises to build up on the work it did and declares he'll catch up to Ash. In the crowd, Sonia notices how Leon is getting fired up. For his third Pokémon, Leon chooses Mr. Rime, while Ash sticks with Gengar and orders a Sludge Bomb. Leon counters with Freeze-Dry, which not only freezes and shatters the Sludge Bombs but also freezes the battlefield and covers Gengar in frost. Gengar suddenly shivers, which also occurs with Mr. Rime, making Ash smirk. A failed attempt at using Freeze-Dry again confirms Leon's suspicion: Gengar's Cursed Body Ability has activated, temporarily disabling Freeze-Dry. However, the first Freeze-Dry was still enough to leave Gengar frozen, giving Leon the opportunity to have Mr. Rime set up Psychic Terrain and attack his immobilized opponent with a powered-up Expanding Force, defeating Gengar and evening the playing field. While Ash recalls Gengar, Leon declares that he's dedicating this victory to Inteleon, reminding Ash that, in a Full Battle like this, the important thing is to build up damage on the opponent and achieve each victory as a team.
Ash and Leon read the title card for this episode.
If Iris's participation in the Masters Eight Tournament is excluded, this marks the first time that one of Ash's former traveling companions has traveled to watch one of Ash's battles at a major tournament in person.
For audiences outside of Japan and South Korea, this episode marks the reveal of the last three members of Leon's team.
Albeit in different circumstances, this is the first time a character's Pokémon is first seen in different episodes between the Japanese version and the dub since Ash's Tauros, all of which were caught in EP035, but were first seen by most other audiences in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral.
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