Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!"


Season	Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · Sword and Shield: the Darkest Day arc (JN042–JN045)
Episode	Season 23, episode 44 · English episode 1124 · Japanese episode 1130 · Bulbapedia code JN044
English title	Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!"
Japanese title	ソード&シールドⅢ「ムゲンダイナ」 Sōdo ando Shīrudo III "Mugendaina" — “Sword & Shield III – "Mugendina"”
First aired (Japan)	6 November 2020 · TV Tokyo
First aired (US)	5 March 2021 · Netflix
Screenplay	Shōji Yonemura
Opening / ending (Japan)	Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Nishikawa-kun and Kirishō · Pokémon Shiritori (Pikachu → Mew Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club
English opening	The Journey Starts Today – Walk off the Earth
Previous episode	Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day! (JN043)
Next episode	Sword and Shield… The Legends Awaken! (JN045)

Plot episodeSword and Shield, part 3Eternatus awakens

Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!" is the 44th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1124th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1130, Bulbapedia code JN044). It first aired in Japan on 6 November 2020 and in the United States on 5 March 2021. It falls within the season’s Sword and Shield: the Darkest Day stretch (EP42–EP45).

Synopsis

Goh and Sonia learn that Zacian and Zamazenta are the true heroes of the Darkest Day, and as Rose’s scheme awakens Eternatus at Hammerlocke Stadium, Goh retrieves the Rusted Sword and Shield while Ash takes on the chairman in a Double Battle. At the Stow-on-Side mural, Raboot takes a Max Steelspike and answers with Max Knuckle, then knocks out the Garbodor with Max Flare, and Oleana’s subordinate flees. Ash flies in on Dragonite, and a plaque identifies Zacian as the bearer of the sword and Zamazenta of the shield; Sonia concludes that two heroes and two Pokémon ended the crisis 3,000 years ago, and Goh deduces that the Darkest Day was itself a Pokémon. Fleeing more Macro Cosmos agents, Goh and Sonia drive towards the Slumbering Weald to seek the Legendaries’ help. When beams of red light shoot into the sky from Hammerlocke, Ash goes to investigate instead.

At the Energy Plant, Leon arrives as the core overloads and Eternatus bursts out of the reactor, and a phone call to Rose confirms that the chairman is behind everything. Eternatus flies up into Hammerlocke Stadium, where Team Rocket throw off their miner disguises and fire a net at it; it answers with a beam of Dynamax energy that turns Meowth into a giant Gigantamax Meowth, which promptly turns on its teammates. Ash arrives to find Jessie and James begging him to do something. A news crew’s footage reaches Sonia’s phone just as she and Goh reach the foggy Slumbering Weald, where Zacian and Zamazenta appear and then vanish into the mist. Raboot senses something, leading them to an altar holding the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, which Goh packs into his bag before they set off for Hammerlocke.

In the stadium, Leon and Rose arrive as Eternatus attacks Dragonite. Rose proudly reveals that Eternatus, named for its seemingly infinite energy, is the Darkest Day of legend and the key to Galar’s future, since the region is running out of energy; his father died in a mining accident, and he wants an energy source that will spare others such suffering. He wants Leon to catch and control Eternatus, but Leon says he will catch it only to calm it and seal it away. Eternatus blasts through the barrier with Dynamax Cannon and rises to the top of the stadium to absorb Galar particles. A disappointed Rose sends out Copperajah, Ash counters with Pikachu’s Iron Tail so that Leon can go after Eternatus, and when Rose adds Ferrothorn, Ash sends out Riolu for a Double Battle. Sonia crashes her car through the barricade and faces the Macro Cosmos agents’ four Steel types until Raihan arrives with Duraludon, while Goh is blocked by Oleana and her Milotic, who vows to defend Rose’s dream, and he chooses Raboot to battle her.

Major Events

Sword and Shield, part 3. Zacian and Zamazenta are revealed as the heroes of the legend
Eternatus bursts from the Energy Plant and the Darkest Day begins
Team Rocket’s Meowth Gigantamaxes
Goh finds the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield
Ash’s Pikachu and Riolu face Rose’s Copperajah and Ferrothorn, and Goh faces Oleana’s Milotic