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| Season | Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Spring at the lab & into the Ultra Class arc (JN061–JN067) |
| Episode | Season 24, episode 14 · English episode 1142 · Japanese episode 1148 · Bulbapedia code JN062 |
| English title | Not Too Close for Comfort! |
| Japanese title | じめじめジメレオン Jimejime Jimereon — “Damp Jimereon” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 April 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 21 January 2022 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Pokémon Shiritori (Pikachu → Mew Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Drizzile (US) · Drizzile (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Searching for Service with a Smile! (JN061) |
| Next episode | On Land, In the Sea, and to the Future! (JN063) |
Plot episodeSobble evolves into Drizzile
Not Too Close for Comfort! is the 14th episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1142nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1148, Bulbapedia code JN062). It first aired in Japan on 16 April 2021 and in the United States on 21 January 2022. It falls within the season’s Spring at the lab & into the Ultra Class stretch (EP61–EP67).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 21 January 2022 with the rest of Part 2; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 11 September 2021, followed by POP in the UK on 20 September 2021 and e.tv in South Africa on 2 November 2021.
Synopsis
Goh’s Sobble evolves into Drizzile but, disappointed that it has not become Inteleon, withdraws into a cave in Cerise Park, and Goh learns to respect its need for space. A camera crew interviews Ash and Goh about their work as research fellows; Ash says he wants to battle Leon in the World Coronation Series and become a Pokémon Master, while Goh wants to catch every species so that he can understand Mew, said to carry the genes of all Pokémon. Meanwhile Sobble practises Water Gun in Cerise Park, and while saving an Oddish from a falling Sitrus Berry it suddenly evolves. Goh’s Rotom Phone alerts him as he sees the crew off, and he finds his new Drizzile delighted, until it sees its reflection in a pond and realises it is not the Inteleon it hoped to become. Goldeen and Poliwag try to cheer it up with a splash, but its mood sinks. Drizzile then hunts for a spot to retreat to, but every good nest is taken, and a Heracross sends it flying into Cinderace.
Cinderace leads Goh to a small cave where Drizzile has hidden. Goh crawls in and asks it to come out and train towards becoming Inteleon, but it will not budge until Cinderace cheerfully drags it out to meet Ash and Chloe. Drizzile sheds a single tear, turns invisible and slips out through the laboratory’s front door. Chrysa’s Pokédex entry describes Drizzile as intelligent but lazy, and Professor Cerise explains that evolution can change a Pokémon’s personality, which reminds Goh of how his cheerful Scorbunny became an aloof Raboot and then a carefree Cinderace. Nobody can say for certain why Drizzile wants to be alone, though they wonder whether it is nesting before its next evolution. Goh, Ash and Chloe search all afternoon without success. At sunset, wondering why Drizzile would hide from everyone, Goh remembers something from his own childhood and realises where it might have gone.
The three run to a run-down building on a hilltop and find Drizzile on the rooftop, gazing at the stars. Goh sits beside it and apologises for dragging it out of its cave. He explains that as a small child he did not want to play with the other children in the schoolyard and grew frustrated when his teacher kept asking why, since he did not know himself; with his parents always working and a grandmother he found hard to confide in, he would come here to look at the stars for comfort. Since Drizzile has come to the same place, he feels they are alike, and he promises to respect its choices and let it stay in its cave as long as it likes, hoping it will choose him when it is ready to be with someone. Goh finds himself crying, and Drizzile wipes away one of his tears and smiles before vanishing again. The next day Goh is relieved to find Drizzile back in its cave, and he looks forward to the day they can play together.
Major Events
- Sobble evolves. Goh’s Sobble evolves into Drizzile, which withdraws to a cave in Cerise Park and leaves his active team
- Goh recalls his lonely childhood and the rooftop where he watched the stars
- On TV, Ash names Leon and Goh names Mew as their goals
Pokémon making their anime debut
Drizzile#0817 · JN062
Captures and evolutions
- Sobble → Drizzile#0817 · Goh · saving an Oddish in Cerise Park
Trivia
- The English title plays on the phrase “too close for comfort”, as Drizzile keeps its distance.
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.