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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends (Season 22) · Guzzlord & the Masked Royal arc (SM140–SM144) |
| Episode | Season 22, episode 49 · English episode 1075 · Japanese episode 1081 · Bulbapedia code SM141 |
| English title | Exhibition Unmasked! |
| Japanese title | ファイナルバトル！サトシ対ククイ！！ Fainaru Batoru! Satoshi Tai Kukui!! — “Final Battle! Satoshi VS Kukui!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 September 2019 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 1 February 2020 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Kimi no Bōken (Your Adventure) – Taiiku Okazaki · Taipu: Wairudo (Type: Wild, 2019 version) – Shōko Nakagawa |
| English opening | The Challenge of Life – Dani Marcus and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Naganadel (US) |
| Previous episode | Z-Move Showdown! (SM140) |
| Next episode | A Full Battle Bounty! (SM142) |
Plot episodeExhibition, part 1Naganadel rejoins
Exhibition Unmasked! is the 49th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, the twenty-second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1075th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1081, Bulbapedia code SM141). It first aired in Japan on 29 September 2019 and in the United States on 1 February 2020. It falls within the season’s Guzzlord & the Masked Royal stretch (EP140–EP144).
Synopsis
Ash and Professor Kukui begin their exhibition match as a six-on-six Full Battle, with Naganadel rejoining Ash’s team and Torracat facing its rival, Kukui’s Incineroar. Learning that Kukui is the Masked Royal only makes Ash more eager for the next day’s match. Kukui asks for a Full Battle, so Ash adds Naganadel to make a full team of six, and Tapu Koko watches over Manalo Stadium. The next morning, Caster introduces Alola’s first Champion and the Masked Royal, now publicly revealed as Kukui. Rotom reports that Melmetal’s Double Iron Bash has grown faster and stronger, and Ash fires up Torracat for its rematch, while Kukui and Incineroar meditate. Professor Burnet admits that as a fan she really should have recognised her own husband, and wishes him well.
Hala explains the rules: six Pokémon each, substitutions allowed. Pikachu is eager to start, but Ash chooses Torracat, and Kukui answers with Incineroar. Incineroar takes a Flame Charge after Bulk Up, Torracat speeds up with repeated Flame Charges to dodge Darkest Lariat, and a Fire Fang from behind is knocked aside. Torracat circles its opponent in a ring of fire, but Throat Chop breaks through and sends it flying. Kukui explains that his Battle Royal training has left Incineroar without blind spots and orders Blast Burn, and Torracat runs straight into the fireball and absorbs it into the bell on its neck. Ash names the stored energy “Blast Torracat,” but the attempt to release it backfires and smoke pours from the bell, so Ash recalls Torracat to recover.
Kukui keeps Incineroar in the battle while it recharges from Blast Burn, and Ash sends out Lycanroc, which strikes with Accelerock and Stone Edge. Once recovered, Incineroar shatters the rocks with Darkest Lariat, but Lycanroc catches a sharp shard in its jaws and uses it to wound Incineroar’s arm when it tries Throat Chop. Kukui switches Incineroar out for Braviary, and Ash keeps Lycanroc in to face the new opponent. Braviary unleashes Rock Slide, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger as Ash and Lycanroc brace themselves. Meanwhile, Ash’s friends, his mother and Professor Oak watch from the stands, and the episode closes with no Pokémon yet knocked out on either side, leaving all twelve available for the battles to come.
Major Events
- The exhibition, part 1. Ash and Kukui begin a six-on-six Full Battle
- Naganadel rejoins Ash, who has a full team of six for the first time in Sun & Moon
- Torracat absorbs Incineroar’s Blast Burn
- Lycanroc wounds Incineroar
- Sun & Moon passes XY in episode count
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Alola storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Incineroar’s stripes are corrected
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.