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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · The Masters Eight: semifinals arc (JN121–JN128) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 31 · English episode 1201 · Japanese episode 1209 · Bulbapedia code JN123 |
| English title | Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder! |
| Japanese title | セミファイナルⅡ 「幻惑」 Semifainaru II "Genwaku" — “The Semifinals II: "Dazzle"” |
| First aired (Japan) | 2 September 2022 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 23 June 2023 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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 |
| Previous episode | It’s… Champion Time! (JN122) |
| Next episode | Valor: A Strategic Part of Battling! (JN124) |
Plot episodeAsh vs Cynthia, part 1Pikachu’s last defeat
Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder! is the 31st episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1201st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1209, Bulbapedia code JN123). It first aired in Japan on 2 September 2022 and in the United States on 23 June 2023. It falls within the season’s The Masters Eight: semifinals stretch (EP121–EP128).
Released on Netflix in the US on 23 June 2023 with the third part (JN118–JN136, without the clip shows); Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 4 February 2023.
Synopsis
Ash’s long-awaited Full Battle against Sinnoh Champion Cynthia begins in the second semifinal of the Masters Eight Tournament, and her surprise opener, Spiritomb, takes down Dragonite, Gengar and finally Pikachu. Before the match, Diantha encourages Cynthia to be the one to stop Leon’s unbeaten run, and is stunned when Cynthia says she will retire from battling once the tournament is over. Dan explains the rules: six Pokémon each, unlimited switching and one Dynamax, Mega Evolution or Z-Move per Trainer. Ash leads with Dragonite, but Cynthia sends out Spiritomb, a Pokémon nobody expected, and Diantha notes that she has seized the initiative at once. Spiritomb strikes first with Sucker Punch, shrugs off a direct hit from Draco Meteor with mocking laughter, and puts Dragonite to sleep with Hypnosis before draining it with one Dream Eater after another. Despite Ash’s cries for it to wake up, Dragonite faints in its sleep without landing another blow.
Gengar and Cynthia’s Roserade come out next. Bullet Seed barely affects Gengar, whose Shadow Ball hits hard, and Gengar burns Roserade with Will-O-Wisp before taking a Leaf Storm. Cynthia swaps back to Spiritomb, and Dazzling Gleam and Sucker Punch hit both Ghost types for super-effective damage, but only Gengar falls. Ash sends out Pikachu to halt her momentum, just as Cynthia expected, and she switches to Togekiss, which dodges every Thunderbolt and uses Air Slash; while Pikachu flinches, Zen Headbutt stops its Electroweb, and Diantha and Leon realise that Togekiss’s Serene Grace Ability is at work. Cynthia then brings in Gastrodon, whose Earth Power raises slabs of rock that Pikachu leaps over, as she predicted. But when Gastrodon fires Stone Edge, Pikachu’s Iron Tail slices the tops off the pillars and sends the rocks flying back; Gastrodon catches them and is left stuck, and Pikachu’s Quick Attack smashes through to knock it out, giving Ash his first knockout.
Praising Ash and Pikachu’s knack for finding an opening in a crisis, Cynthia sends Spiritomb back out, but this time Ash is ready: Pikachu spins while using Thunderbolt, creating an electric vortex that blocks Hypnosis and hits Spiritomb at the same time. Cynthia recognises Counter Shield, the technique Ash developed in Sinnoh, from the Sinnoh League, and Ash tells her he has grown much stronger since then. Pikachu traps Spiritomb in Electroweb and dodges Sucker Punch, but as it goes for a final Iron Tail, Spiritomb retreats into its Odd Keystone and dark energy bursts out to bind Pikachu. The move is Destiny Bond, and Pikachu faints along with Spiritomb. With Ash’s ace and his 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt gone, Cynthia is firmly in control, holding four Pokémon to Ash’s three.
Major Events
- Ash vs Cynthia, part 1. Cynthia plans to retire
- In the Full Battle Spiritomb beats Dragonite and Gengar, Pikachu beats Gastrodon, and Pikachu and Spiritomb fall together to Destiny Bond, Pikachu’s last official defeat
- The Counter Shield returns
Trivia
- The English title plays on the song “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, as JN030’s title had been.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.