Toughing It Out! – Pokémon Journeys Episode 27 (JN027)


Season	Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · The Great Class & a return to Galar arc (JN025–JN030)
Episode	Season 23, episode 27 · English episode 1107 · Japanese episode 1113 · Bulbapedia code JN027
English title	Toughing It Out!
Japanese title	英雄伝説！ダンデ最強バトル！！ Eiyū Densetsu! Dande Saikyō Batoru!! — “Legends of Heroes! Dande’s Greatest Battle!!”
First aired (Japan)	5 July 2020 · TV Tokyo
First aired (US)	4 December 2020 · Netflix
Screenplay	Shōji Yonemura
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?	Duraludon (US) · Duraludon (Japan)
Previous episode	Splash, Dash, and Smash for the Crown! / Slowking’s Crowning! (JN026)
Next episode	Sobbing Sobble! (JN028)

Plot episodeLeon vs RaihanAsh catches Farfetch’d

Toughing It Out! is the 27th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1107th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1113, Bulbapedia code JN027). It first aired in Japan on 5 July 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 premiered it in the UK on 10 November 2020.

Synopsis

Back in Galar, Ash watches Leon beat Gym Leader Raihan in a World Coronation Series Master Class match, hears from Sonia about the legend of the Darkest Day, and catches a battle-hungry Galarian Farfetch’d after Riolu fights it to a standstill. Professor Cerise hands the boys tickets to see Leon’s match, and they reach Wyndon Stadium just in time after stopping for food and passing a statue that catches Ash’s eye. The announcer explains that only the top eight of more than 10,000 entrants form the Masters Eight. Raihan, Galar’s Dragon-type Gym Leader and seventh in the rankings, declares that he has entered to end Leon’s winning streak. Leon sends out Charizard and Raihan Duraludon, whose Metal Claw is surprisingly fast; Charizard answers with Dragon Claw, Dig and Brick Break, and Ash and Goh notice that Leon has changed its moves. Duraludon’s super-effective Stone Edge and Steel Beam, a move that drains its user’s stamina for enormous power, overwhelm Flamethrower and slam Charizard down, but it gets back up.

Raihan Gigantamaxes Duraludon and Leon Gigantamaxes Charizard; Max Knuckle beats Max Rockfall, and G-Max Wildfire cuts through Max Steelspike, its burning aftereffect finishing off Duraludon. Raihan vows to improve at his Gym and break the streak someday, and Ash shouts from the stands that he will be the one to beat Leon, embarrassing Goh, while Chairman Rose watches from a skybox. In the entrance hall a young woman explains the statue: long ago a great black storm covered Galar, giant Pokémon ran wild, and a young hero with a sword and shield ended the chaos, though no one knows who the hero was, what became of the sword and shield, or how it connects to Dynamax. She is researching the legend for her grandmother, a Pokémon Professor, and introduces herself as Sonia.

A Trainer carrying a fainted Chewtle tells the boys that a strong Pokémon beat him at a nearby bridge, where they find a Galarian Farfetch’d wielding a huge leek. It slaps away Goh’s Poké Ball and easily beats his Kantonian Farfetch’d, Night Slash against Night Slash. Before Ash can send out Pikachu, Riolu leaps out of its ball to fight: Vacuum Wave is blocked by the leek, Force Palm lands, Double Team makes Night Slash miss, but Brutal Swing clears the copies and hits Riolu. Seeing that Riolu still has energy, Ash orders Reversal, which strikes hard, and cheers on the Farfetch’d when it refuses to fall—only to realise that it has fainted standing up. At the Pokémon Center, Galar’s Nurse Joy and her two Indeedee heal everyone, the Farfetch’d shows that it still wants to battle, and Ash invites it to grow stronger with his team and catches it—his first Galar capture. It immediately begins training with Riolu, while a camouflaged Sobble watches from behind Goh before the noise scares it away.

Major Events

Leon vs Raihan. Leon’s Gigantamax Charizard beats Raihan’s Gigantamax Duraludon in a Masters Eight match
Chairman Rose’s first appearance
Sonia tells Ash and Goh the legend of the Darkest Day
Ash catches a Galarian Farfetch’d, his first regional form and first Galar catch
Riolu learns Force Palm, Double Team and Reversal
A wild Sobble starts following the boys