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| Season | Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Chloe’s Eevee & a new year of research arc (JN049–JN055) |
| Episode | Season 24, episode 3 · English episode 1131 · Japanese episode 1137 · Bulbapedia code JN051 |
| English title | Trials of a Budding Master! |
| Japanese title | カモネギ大いなる試練！ Kamonegi Ōinaru Shiren! — “Kamonegi’s Great Trials!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 January 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 10 September 2021 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Fushigi na Fushigi na Ikimono (Strange and Wonderful Creatures) – Tortoise Matsumoto (first TV Tokyo airing), then Pokémon Shiritori (Mew → Zamazenta Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Gurdurr (US) · Gurdurr (Japan) |
| Previous episode | A Pinch of This, a Pinch of That! (JN050) |
| Next episode | How Are You Gonna Keep ‘Em Off of the Farm? (JN052) |
Plot episodeAsh vs Dozer, rank 381Rinto beats Farfetch’d
Trials of a Budding Master! is the 3rd episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1131st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1137, Bulbapedia code JN051). It first aired in Japan on 15 January 2021 and in the United States on 10 September 2021. It falls within the season’s Chloe’s Eevee & a new year of research stretch (EP49–EP55).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 10 September 2021 with the rest of Part 1; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 26 June 2021, followed by e.tv in South Africa on 17 August 2021 and POP in the UK on 3 September 2021.
Synopsis
Ash’s Farfetch’d smashes through a Gurdurr’s girder to win a World Coronation Series battle, then is humbled by the skilled Trainer Rinto and his Gallade. Goh hears of a huge Geodude outbreak in the Rock Tunnel and wants to catch one so that he can raise it into a Golem, and Ash brings his Farfetch’d along to train. The tunnel seems empty until Farfetch’d shatters a boulder with its leek and a Geodude tumbles out, and Goh catches it at once. Ash explains that Farfetch’d dreams of becoming a Leek Master, a Pokémon that has mastered every leek technique, but when he says he supports that dream, Farfetch’d simply knocks him aside. Ash’s Rotom Phone then reports a World Coronation Series competitor nearby: a muscular man named Dozer, whose Gurdurr blocks Farfetch’d’s leek with its steel girder. A Drone Rotom arrives to referee a one-on-one match between Ash, ranked 415th, and Dozer.
Farfetch’d opens with Night Slash, but Gurdurr overpowers it with High Horsepower. Farfetch’d answers with another Night Slash, cuts through Gurdurr’s Focus Blast with Fury Cutter, and keeps attacking until Gurdurr dodges and slams it into a wall with Brutal Swing, burying it under rubble. Unnoticed, a Trainer with a Gallade watches from the cliff above. Farfetch’d climbs out of the rocks full of fight, builds power with Focus Energy and charges in without waiting for orders; Gurdurr answers with Bulk Up, and the two trade Brutal Swings in a test of strength. In the final clash, the leek breaks clean through the steel girder and knocks Gurdurr out. The Drone Rotom declares Ash the winner, lifting his rank from 415 to 381. Dozer takes the loss well, promises to forge Gurdurr a new girder from the broken pieces, and lends it his pickaxe in the meantime, to the Muscular Pokémon’s delight.
Still hungry for battle, the exhausted Farfetch’d walks off to train somewhere quieter, and the watching Trainer and his Gallade step forward. Introducing himself as Rinto, he tells Ash that Farfetch’d’s style is rough and undisciplined, relying on raw force without awareness of its surroundings, and asks for a battle with Gallade. Farfetch’d accepts eagerly, but Gallade calmly sidesteps every Night Slash, and when Farfetch’d tries Brutal Swing, Gallade’s False Swipe lands first and leaves it unable to continue. Rinto remarks that Farfetch’d is not yet good enough, though he hopes to face it again once it has refined its skills, and departs. The loss shakes Farfetch’d but also sharpens its resolve. Later, back at Cerise Park, Goh is puzzled to find Ash and Pikachu each holding a leek: Ash explains that he wants to understand Farfetch’d better, so he is trying a little leek training of his own.
Major Events
- World Coronation Series: Dozer and Rinto. Ash, ranked 415th, beats Dozer’s Gurdurr with Farfetch’d and rises to 381st
- Goh catches a Geodude in Rock Tunnel
- Farfetch’d shows Fury Cutter and Focus Energy
- Rinto debuts, and his Gallade beats Farfetch’d in an unofficial battle — Ash’s last defeat in a Trainer battle for 87 episodes
- No female humans appear
Captures and evolutions
Geodude#0074 · Goh · in Rock Tunnel, hoping to raise a Golem
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The closed-caption error in one lyric of the English opening is fixed from this episode
Part of our Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.