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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · Ghost trains, Gigantamax & stories from the lab arc (JN091–JN098) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 2 · English episode 1172 · Japanese episode 1178 · Bulbapedia code JN092 |
| English title | The Winding Path to Greatness! |
| Japanese title | ゲンガー頑張る！キョダイマックスへの道！！ Gengā Ganbaru! Kyodaimakkusu e no Michi!! — “Gangar Does Its Best! The Road to Kyodaimax!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 24 December 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 21 October 2022 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Deko Akao |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | With You – Echosmith |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Drakloak (US) · Drakloak (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Spectral Express! (JN091) |
| Next episode | It’s All in the Name! (JN093) |
Plot episodeGengar GigantamaxesGoh catches Galarian Corsola
The Winding Path to Greatness! is the 2nd episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1172nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1178, Bulbapedia code JN092). It first aired in Japan on 24 December 2021 and in the United States on 21 October 2022. It falls within the season’s Ghost trains, Gigantamax & stories from the lab stretch (EP91–EP98).
Released on Netflix in the US on 21 October 2022 with the first part (JN091–JN102); Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 4 June 2022.
Synopsis
Hoping to make his Gengar Gigantamax, Ash seeks the help of Stow-on-Side’s Ghost-type Gym Leader Allister, who leads him on a hunt for Max Mushrooms through a haunted forest. Professor Cerise has told Ash that some Gengar can Gigantamax, so he and Goh visit Stow-on-Side’s overgrown Ghost-type Gym, where Ash simply shouts his request until the door opens and they recognise Allister as the masked boy from the Ghost Train. The Gym is too cramped for a Dynamax, so Allister takes them to the Stow-on-Side Stadium, where they meet Bea, the town’s other Gym Leader; she is surprised that the reclusive Allister is helping anyone, but lets them use the field. Ash activates his Dynamax Band, but Gengar only performs a regular Dynamax, and no amount of effort will make it Gigantamax. Allister explains that if they gather Max Mushrooms and cook them into Max Soup, Gengar may gain the power, and Ash eagerly drags him off towards the forest where the mushrooms grow, ignoring his warnings about the Ghost-type Pokémon that live there.
The first mushrooms grow in an old graveyard where some of the stones are really Galarian Corsola that curse anyone who disturbs them. Gengar carries Ash across so that he never touches the ground, but his hat falls onto a rock that wakes up as a Galarian Corsola, and Goh catches it on the spot to save Ash from its curse. Deeper in the forest the group snatches a second cluster just before an angry Trevenant drives them off. The last cluster is serving as a pillow for a sleeping Drakloak, and when the Dreepy on its head slips off, Ash catches it and it falls asleep under his hat. Missing its Dreepy, Drakloak grabs Grookey as a substitute, but Grookey drums on its head with its stick until Drakloak flies into a rage and dives at Ash. Gengar catches Drakloak in time, Dreepy and Grookey are returned to their proper places, and Drakloak lets Ash take the mushrooms.
Back at the Gym, Allister sets the mushrooms stewing overnight and chats with Gengar, revealing that he can understand Ghost-type Pokémon; Ash and Goh find this fascinating rather than strange, which leaves the shy boy flustered. Ash promises to watch the pot but soon dozes off, and Allister keeps watch alone. When Gengar tries to peek at the soup, Allister tells it that he understands why it wants to grow stronger: it has known loneliness, but now it has a Trainer who cares for it and works hard beside it. Gengar is moved to tears and hugs him while the half-awake boys smile. In the morning Gengar eats the whole pot of Max Soup, and back at the Stadium, with Bea watching, Ash uses his Dynamax Band again and Gengar finally Gigantamaxes. As Ash and Goh’s train leaves Stow-on-Side, Allister waves them off, hoping they will meet again.
Major Events
- Gengar Gigantamaxes. With Allister’s Max Soup and Max Mushrooms, Ash’s Gengar Gigantamaxes for the first time, and it is also the only standard Dynamax by one of Ash’s Pokémon, making Gengar the first Pokémon shown doing both
- Goh catches a Galarian Corsola
- Ash and Goh meet Bea again
- Debuts of Drakloak, Galarian Corsola and Ash’s Gigantamax Gengar
Pokémon making their anime debut
Drakloak#0886 · JN092
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Deko Akao.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Stow-on-Side caption is removed
- Goh’s congratulations become cheering
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.