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| Season | Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · Sword and Shield: the Darkest Day arc (JN042–JN045) |
| Episode | Season 23, episode 45 · English episode 1125 · Japanese episode 1131 · Bulbapedia code JN045 |
| English title | Sword and Shield… The Legends Awaken! |
| Japanese title | ソード&シールドⅣ「最強の剣と盾」 Sōdo ando Shīrudo IV "Saikyō no Ken to Tate" — “Sword & Shield IV – "The Ultimate Sword and Shield"” |
| First aired (Japan) | 13 November 2020 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 5 March 2021 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Michihiro Tsuchiya |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Nishikawa-kun and Kirishō · Pokémon Shiritori (Mew → Zamazenta Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | The Journey Starts Today – Walk off the Earth |
| Previous episode | Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!" (JN044) |
| Next episode | Getting More Than You Battled For! (JN046) |
Plot episodeRiolu evolves into LucarioRaboot evolves into Cinderace
Sword and Shield… The Legends Awaken! is the 45th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1125th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1131, Bulbapedia code JN045). It first aired in Japan on 13 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
Riolu evolves into Lucario and Raboot into Cinderace as Ash and Goh defeat Rose and Oleana, and when Eternatus reaches its Eternamax form, the boys raise the Rusted Sword and Shield to summon Zacian and Zamazenta and catch Eternatus together, ending the Darkest Day. Jessie, James and Wobbuffet flee their rampaging Gigantamax Meowth until a mention of Giovanni snaps him out of it, and he scales the stadium after Eternatus with his teammates clinging to his tail. On the rooftop, Leon’s attempt to Gigantamax Charizard and Meowth’s G-Max Gold Rush both fail because Eternatus has absorbed the surrounding Galar particles, and a Dynamax Cannon blasts Team Rocket away. Below, Rose’s Ferrothorn guards with Iron Defense while Copperajah strikes with Heavy Slam, but Ash separates them with Quick Attack and Double Team, and when Rose orders a double Power Whip, Pikachu and Riolu leap clear so that his Pokémon strike each other.
In the foyer, Milotic’s Water Pulse batters Raboot, which insists on using only Ember, and Oleana mocks Goh as a fool and demands that he forfeit. When Eternatus fires a Dynamax Cannon at the complex and Rose follows with another Power Whip, Riolu shields Ash and Pikachu, blocks the vines with its paws and evolves into Lucario; it communicates with Ash through Aura, and its new Aura Sphere defeats Rose’s Pokémon. Goh has Raboot bounce Embers off the walls and ceiling to strike from every angle, and Raboot evolves into Cinderace, whose new Pyro Ball knocks out Milotic. Raihan’s Duraludon clears away the Macro Cosmos agents with Breaking Swipe, and he tells Sonia he would ask her on a date if he did not have Dynamax Pokémon to deal with. On the summit, Leon’s Charizard weakens Eternatus with Air Slash and his Ultra Ball briefly holds it, but Eternatus breaks free, the exhausted Leon collapses, and Eternatus rises into its huge Eternamax form, scattering Pikachu, Lucario and Cinderace with Eternabeam.
The Rusted Sword and Shield in Goh’s bag glow blue and red, and the boys raise them as the legend describes. Zacian and Zamazenta race from the Slumbering Weald, take the relics and become their Crowned Sword and Crowned Shield forms, striking with Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash; a stray Eternabeam damages Rose’s helicopter rotor and sends it spinning. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt, Lucario’s Aura Sphere and Cinderace’s Pyro Ball land before the Legendaries combine their power, and Ash and Goh throw an enlarged Poké Ball together to catch Eternatus. Zacian and Zamazenta clear the dark clouds, the Dynamax Pokémon across Galar return to normal, and Leon thanks the boys, who insist that the Legendaries are the real heroes. Later, Magnolia tells Sonia that Rose and Oleana have vanished, with Leon hunting for them, and that Eternatus has been sealed deep underground, while Sonia receives her own lab coat as a Pokémon Professor. Ash and Goh return the Rusted Sword and Shield to the altar and thank the Legendaries, who briefly appear behind them to see them off.
Major Events
- Sword and Shield, part 4. Riolu evolves into Lucario and learns Aura Sphere to beat Rose
- Raboot evolves into Cinderace and learns Pyro Ball to beat Oleana
- Eternatus becomes Eternamax Eternatus
- Zacian and Zamazenta take their Crowned forms with the Rusted Sword and Shield
- Ash and Goh catch Eternatus together, and Professor Magnolia seals it away
- Sonia becomes a Pokémon Professor
- Meowth uses G-Max Gold Rush, his first new move since EP008
Pokémon making their anime debut
Cinderace#0815 · JN045
Captures and evolutions
Eternatus#0890 · Goh and Ash · caught together in Goh’s Poké Ball, then sealed away
Riolu → Lucario#0448 · Ash · shielding him from Rose’s Power Whip; learns Aura Sphere- Raboot → Cinderace#0815 · Goh · against Oleana’s Milotic; learns Pyro Ball
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Michihiro Tsuchiya.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.