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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · Lilycove, Greninja & the Masters Eight arc (JN105–JN109) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 18 · English episode 1188 · Japanese episode 1194 · Bulbapedia code JN108 |
| English title | Catching the Aura of Fate! |
| Japanese title | ルカリオとゲッコウガ！運命の波導！！ Rukario to Gekkōga! Unmei no Hadō!! — “Lucario and Gekkouga! The Wave Guidance of Destiny!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 April 2022 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 24 February 2023 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Akemi Omode |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Satoshi & Go (Rica Matsumoto and Daiki Yamashita) · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | With You – Echosmith |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Greninja (US) · Greninja (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Big Brother to the Rescue! (JN107) |
| Next episode | Aim For The Eight! (JN109) |
Plot episodeGreninja returnsLucario’s Mega Evolution bond
Catching the Aura of Fate! is the 18th episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1188th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1194, Bulbapedia code JN108). It first aired in Japan on 29 April 2022 and in the United States on 24 February 2023. It falls within the season’s Lilycove, Greninja & the Masters Eight stretch (EP105–EP109).
Released on Netflix in the US on 24 February 2023 with the second part (JN103–JN117); Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 8 October 2022.
Synopsis
To prepare for his battle against Raihan, Ash takes Lucario to Kalos to meet his old partner Greninja, and together they help Lucario master Mega Evolution with Ash, while Goh’s Froakie evolves into Frogadier. While Chloe and the Cerise Laboratory staff watch a broadcast previewing the season’s final entrance battle, Ash trains at Cerise Park, and Lucario asks Goh’s Cinderace to spar. Inspired, Goh’s Froakie challenges Chloe’s Eevee and, after taking a Tackle, evolves into Frogadier. The moment stirs Ash’s memories, and he decides to introduce Lucario to Greninja, explaining that his bond with Greninja felt like becoming one with it, much like Lucario’s Aura connection. In Hammerlocke, meanwhile, Raihan reassures his fans, then admits to his Duraludon that he never expected Ash to rise so fast. Recalling the defeat by Leon that started his selfie habit, Raihan vows to be the one who beats the Champion.
Ash, Goh and Lucario fly to Kalos and search a forest all day without finding Greninja. By the campfire, Ash tells Goh their history: Froakie was his first Kalos catch, they fell out when he became obsessed with winning, made up, reached the Kalos League final, and parted so that Greninja could protect Kalos. That night Ash and Lucario sense Greninja and run off, followed by Goh, but they find a tangle of giant roots that easily deflect Lucario’s Aura Sphere. When a root attacks Lucario, Greninja appears and slices it apart with Cut, and Ash spots the roots’ weak point so that Greninja can destroy them with Water Shuriken. Ash and Pikachu greet their old friend warmly, and Ash asks Greninja for a battle. Lucario cannot match Greninja’s speed, refuses to Mega Evolve and charges recklessly, achieving nothing, then runs off in frustration.
Greninja finds Lucario at a stream and teaches it to stand in the water and make ripples with tiny movements of its legs, until Lucario’s ripples match its own, while Ash tells Goh that Greninja and Lucario are alike in their wish to grow stronger. The lesson is cut short when even bigger roots attack Ash and Goh, shrugging off Pikachu’s and Cinderace’s moves. Greninja and Lucario rush to help, and this time Ash successfully Mega Evolves Lucario. Fighting as a perfect team, the two cut and tear at the roots until they coil together, and Lucario, synchronised with Ash’s will, charges an Aura Sphere larger than ever, which joins Greninja’s Water Shuriken to destroy the roots. At sunset, Ash promises to visit again, and Greninja nods and vanishes in a flash, having given Ash and Lucario a far better chance against Raihan, who is training just as hard to reach Leon.
Major Events
- Lucario and Greninja. Goh’s Froakie evolves into Frogadier, the last on-screen evolution of a friend’s Pokémon in Journeys
- Ash takes Lucario to Kalos and is reunited with Greninja for the first time since Till We Compete Again!, 254 episodes earlier, the first time he meets a released Pokémon outside the series it left him in
- Lucario Mega Evolves in sync with Ash
- The redrawn XY flashbacks show an ordinary Greninja
Captures and evolutions
Froakie → Frogadier#0657 · Goh · the last on-screen evolution of a friend’s Pokémon in Journeys
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Akemi Omode.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Kalos and Hammerlocke Stadium captions are removed
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.