The Sweet Taste of Battle! – Pokémon Season 24 Episode 34


Season	Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Ultra Class battles & the first token arc (JN076–JN083)
Episode	Season 24, episode 34 · English episode 1162 · Japanese episode 1168 · Bulbapedia code JN082
English title	The Sweet Taste of Battle!
Japanese title	マホイップの甘〜いバトル！？ Mahoippu no Amāi Batoru!? — “Mawhip’s Sweet Battle!?”
First aired (Japan)	1 October 2021 · TV Tokyo
First aired (US)	26 May 2022 · Netflix
Screenplay	Akemi Omode
Opening / ending (Japan)	Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type), Version 2 – Pokémon Music Club (on TV Tokyo, with a live-action dance video in place of the animation)
English opening	Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall
Who’s That Pokémon?	Alcremie (Strawberry Vanilla Cream) (US) · Alcremie (Strawberry Vanilla Cream) (Japan)
Previous episode	Mad About Blue! (JN081)
Next episode	Star Night, Star Flight! (JN083)

Filler / stand-alone episodeOpal’s cake contestGoh’s Alcremie

The Sweet Taste of Battle! is the 34th episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1162nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1168, Bulbapedia code JN082). It first aired in Japan on 1 October 2021 and in the United States on 26 May 2022. It falls within the season’s Ultra Class battles & the first token stretch (EP76–EP83).

Released on Netflix in the US on Thursday 26 May 2022 with the rest of Part 3; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 29 January 2022, followed by POP in the UK on 9 March 2022, e.tv in South Africa on 22 March 2022 and Australian television on 6 May 2022.

Synopsis

Opal, revealed as the Ballonlea Gym Leader, invites Ash, Goh and Chloe to a “tournament” with Leon and Raihan that turns out to be a cake-decorating contest, Goh’s new Milcery evolves into Alcremie, and Ash’s battle with Opal ends in a sweet surprise. Opal, the quizzing old woman Ash and Goh met in Ballonlea, video-calls the Cerise Laboratory, reveals that she is the town’s Gym Leader and invites them to a tournament. Ash accepts as soon as he hears that Leon is taking part, Goh wants more Galarian Pokémon, and Chloe insists on coming. Leon, meanwhile, is lost somewhere in Glimwood Tangle. At a Ballonlea pâtisserie, Chloe explains that a pâtissier’s Alcremie makes the cream, which tastes better the more it likes its Trainer. A friendly wild Milcery floats over to Goh, who catches it and gives it a Strawberry Sweet; when he spins around with it in his arms, it evolves into Alcremie, because Milcery evolves when spun like whipped cream.

At Ballonlea Stadium, Opal tells Chloe that the Galarian Ponyta and Rapidash she befriended are doing well. Instead of Leon, they find Raihan, who jokes that Leon has run away and admits he would run too if he dared disobey Opal. Leon finally arrives, apologising, and Opal announces the All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge: each contestant pairs with one of her many Alcremie to decorate a cake. Leon explains that Opal’s whimsical tournaments are not always battles. Goh partners his own Alcremie, Chloe a Lemon Cream, Leon a Matcha Cream, Raihan a Rainbow Swirl and Ash a sweet-smelling Caramel Swirl. Raihan whisks furiously to beat Leon, Chloe shapes her cake like an Alcremie and Ash adds whatever looks nice, while Grookey eats all the cream off Goh’s cake. Opal praises every entry, then tastes Ash’s oddly decorated cake and declares it especially delicious.

Wanting to meet the Trainer whose Alcremie made such fascinating cream, Opal challenges Ash to a battle, with Leon refereeing. Pikachu opens with Quick Attack and Iron Tail, but cream on its tail softens the blows; Opal’s Ruby Swirl Alcremie infatuates it with Attract and hits it with Dazzling Gleam, though Pikachu blocks a second one with Electroweb. Opal then uses her Dynamax Band to Gigantamax her Alcremie and buries Pikachu under G-Max Finale’s giant blobs of cream. Pikachu emerges and grows until it matches Alcremie in size, even swallowing a whole cream projectile, and Ash, thinking it has Gigantamaxed, calls for G-Max Volt Crash. Nothing happens: as Leon explains, Pikachu has simply eaten the cream and become enormously plump, a transformation he dubs “Feastamax.” Opal shrugs and calls the battle off. Over the contest cakes, everyone agrees that Ash’s is delicious, and Ash promises Leon that he will battle his way up the World Coronation Series to face him at the top; Leon looks forward to it, and they bump fists.

Major Events

Opal’s cake contest. Opal is revealed as Ballonlea’s Gym Leader
Goh catches a Milcery, which evolves into Alcremie
Leon and Raihan join the All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge
Ash’s battle with Opal’s Gigantamax Alcremie is called off when Pikachu Feastamaxes
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka’s first episode as Raihan’s Japanese voice
Moved forward in Japan from 8 to 1 October 2021