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| Season | Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · The Great Class & a return to Galar arc (JN025–JN030) |
| Episode | Season 23, episode 26 · English episode 1106 · Japanese episode 1112 · Bulbapedia code JN026 |
| English title | Splash, Dash, and Smash for the Crown! / Slowking’s Crowning! |
| Japanese title | はねろ！コイキング／かぶれ！ヤドキング Hanero! Koikingu / Kabure! Yadokingu — “Jump! Koiking / Put it On! Yadoking” |
| First aired (Japan) | 28 June 2020 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 4 December 2020 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Jun’ichi Fujisaku |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – After the Rain · Pokémon Shiritori (Mew → Zamazenta Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | The Journey Starts Today – Walk off the Earth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Magikarp (US) · Magikarp (Japan) |
| Previous episode | A Festival Reunion! (JN025) |
| Next episode | Toughing It Out! (JN027) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeTwo storiesMagikarp High Jump
Splash, Dash, and Smash for the Crown! / Slowking’s Crowning! is the 26th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1106th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1112, Bulbapedia code JN026). It first aired in Japan on 28 June 2020 and in the United States on 4 December 2020. It falls within the season’s The Great Class & a return to Galar stretch (EP25–EP30).
Released on Netflix on 4 December 2020 with the rest of the third batch; POP had shown it in the UK on 9 November 2020, and 9Go! aired it in Australia on 4 December.
Synopsis
In a two-part comedy episode introduced by Team Rocket’s Rocket Prize Master, Goh’s giant Magikarp jumps so high in a Magikarp jumping contest that it flies into space, and a Slowking’s Shellder crown turns Ash and Goh into would-be Slowpoke kings. Bored at their secret base, Team Rocket call the Rocket Prize Master, which a Pelipper delivers by ringing the doorbell; Meowth’s coin produces two “king” Pokémon, a Magikarp and a Slowking, and James lunges at the camera to announce a double feature. At the Cerise Laboratory, Goh shows Ash a promotion for the tenth annual Magikarp High Jump Competition and vows to beat nine-time champion Kasukarp and his Shiny Magikarp, Shinegoldie. His giant Magikarp has grown plump at the lab, so Goh puts it through a workout video made by Kasukarp, a popular muscle trainer, while Ash and Pikachu train alongside it until it is fit and trim.
In the semifinals Goh’s Magikarp beats last year’s runner-up, Magikarpenter, with a personal-best Splash of 21.02 metres, and Shinegoldie easily wins the other semifinal. Kasukarp reveals that Shinegoldie has been holding back to make the tournament exciting, but Goh’s confidence does not waver—and two enormous weights drop from his Magikarp’s fin, so heavy that one of the two Machamp carrying them away hurts its back. In the final Shinegoldie jumps first while Goh’s Magikarp gathers power, then rockets into the sky, far beyond its rival and on into space. Because a jump only counts when the Pokémon lands, the judge cannot measure it, and Kasukarp is declared champion for the tenth year running. Goh grieves for his Magikarp, and Ash reads Goh’s closing lines from a script and winks at the audience.
In the second story the boys visit Slowpoke Island, where Goh’s Rotom Phone says Slowpoke tails taste sweet and Ash, to Goh’s annoyance, sits down to eat a cup of noodles. A Slowking eating udon politely stops Goh’s Poké Ball with Psychic and returns it, then shares Ash’s noodles and swaps its Shellder crown for his cup. Wearing the crown, Ash becomes “Ash-king,” a Slowpoke Master, and offers Goh a Shellder to turn him into a Slowbro; Raboot’s Double Kick knocks the crown off, only for it to land on Goh, who becomes “Goh-king,” then on Pikachu, Raboot and Ash again, faster and faster while Slowking watches. Goh’s Magikarp, returning from space, crashes down on everyone, sending the crown and noodle cup back to their owners and ending up perched on Slowking’s head. In an epilogue James opens the base door to find Kasukarp instead of Pelipper and silently shuts it.
Major Events
- Two stories. The first episode split into two segments with two title cards
- Goh’s giant Magikarp jumps into space in the Magikarp High Jump Competition and Kasukarp wins his tenth title
- A Slowking’s Shellder crown turns Ash and Goh into Slowpoke kings
- Goh fails to catch Slowking
- Storyboards co-credited to Kunihiko Yuyama and Daiki Tomiyasu
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Jun’ichi Fujisaku.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto, Galar & beyond story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Dub error: the English title card of Slowking’s Crowning! has no on-screen text
- The “King Pokémon, come out!” pun on Koiking and Yadoking is lost
- Goh’s line about Slowpoke tails changes
- The Shellder crown, which makes Ash speak English in Japanese, gives him a fancy British accent in the dub
- The Magikarp Song and the Slowpoke Song as insert songs
Part of our Pokémon Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.