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| Season | Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · Monarch Leon & the World Coronation Series arc (JN012–JN018) |
| Episode | Season 23, episode 18 · English episode 1098 · Japanese episode 1104 · Bulbapedia code JN018 |
| English title | Destination: Coronation! |
| Japanese title | サトシ参戦！ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップス！！ Satoshi Sansen! Pokémon Wārudo Chanpionshippusu!! — “Satoshi Participates! The Pokémon World Championships!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 22 March 2020 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 11 September 2020 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – After the Rain · Pokémon Shiritori (Pikachu → Mew Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | The Journey Starts Today – Walk off the Earth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Raichu (US) · Raichu (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Kicking It from Here Into Tomorrow! (JN017) |
| Next episode | A Talent for Imitation! (JN019) |
Plot episodeAsh enters the SeriesRank 3,763
Destination: Coronation! is the 18th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1098th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1104, Bulbapedia code JN018). It first aired in Japan on 22 March 2020 and in the United States on 11 September 2020. It falls within the season’s Monarch Leon & the World Coronation Series stretch (EP12–EP18).
Synopsis
Ash registers for the World Coronation Series and, in his first official match, defeats Visquez, the substitute Leader of the Vermilion Gym, jumping to rank 3,763. At the lab he learns that the Series has more than 10,000 participants and that his first goal is the Great Class; Ren suggests challenging high-ranked Trainers to climb quickly. Searching his Rotom Phone, Ash picks Visquez, ranked 2,109th, who is standing in for Lt. Surge while he is away training. On the way, Ash recalls winning his Thunder Badge from Surge’s Raichu long ago, and Goh and Raboot peel off to chase a Spearow. At the Gym, Visquez scolds a challenger for lacking spirit before her Raichu’s Volt Tackle knocks out his Hypno; her assistants Steve and Tony tell her he was the last challenger of the day, but her Rotom Phone signals that a World Coronation Series participant has arrived, and Ash knocks at the door.
Visquez already knows about Ash’s old battle with Surge, because her Raichu was also trained by him. The two set up an official match on their Rotom Phones, Goh arrives showing off his newly caught Spearow, and a Drone Rotom flies in to referee a two-on-two battle with substitutions allowed. Pikachu and Raichu open with clashing Thunderbolts; Ash tries his old trick of grounding Volt Tackle with Iron Tail, but Raichu pushes through, wraps its tail around Pikachu and flings it. Pikachu rebounds off a wall with Iron Tail, but Raichu’s Reflect absorbs most of the blow. Ash recalls the tiring Pikachu and sends out Gengar, which lands Night Shade, passes an Ice Punch straight through Raichu’s tail and slams Raichu into a wall with Psychic to knock it out.
Visquez sends out Electrode, whose Magnet Rise lifts it and chunks of the battlefield into the air—a tactic built to counter the Ground moves challengers usually use. Electrode ricochets among the floating rocks, shrugs off Psychic, dodges Night Shade and knocks Gengar out with Discharge. Pikachu returns to face Rollout, which gains speed with every hit until Pikachu leaps onto Electrode, stops it with Iron Tail and runs along its top to reverse its spin, then strikes again as it rebounds from a wall. Electrode faints and its Aftermath Ability triggers an explosion, but Pikachu shelters behind an Electroweb shield and remains standing, and Ash wins. Visquez predicts that Surge will want a rematch with the stronger Ash, the Drone Rotom flies off to update the rankings, and Ash’s Rotom Phone shows him at 3,763th while Visquez is dismayed by her own drop—Ash’s first step towards Leon and the Master Class.
Major Events
- World Coronation Series, battle 1. Ash registers for the Series
- Goh catches a Spearow
- Ash’s Pikachu and Gengar beat Visquez’s Raichu and Electrode in a two-on-two match refereed by a Drone Rotom
- Ash enters the rankings at 3,763rd
- Visquez is the Vermilion Gym’s substitute Leader while Lt. Surge trains
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.