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| Season | Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Summer special: Darkrai & Cresselia arc (JN074–JN075) |
| Episode | Season 24, episode 26 · English episode 1154 · Japanese episode 1160 · Bulbapedia code JN074 |
| English title | Nightfall? Nightmares! |
| Japanese title | ダークライ 真夏の夜の夢 Dākurai Manatsu no Yo no Yume — “Darkrai – A Midsummer Night’s Dream” |
| First aired (Japan) | 23 July 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 21 January 2022 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Michihiro Tsuchiya |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type), Version 2 – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Cresselia (US) · Cresselia (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Grabbing the Brass Ring! (JN073) |
| Next episode | A Midsummer Night’s Light! (JN075) |
Plot episodeSummer special, part 1Chloe meets Dawn
Nightfall? Nightmares! is the 26th episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1154th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1160, Bulbapedia code JN074). It first aired in Japan on 23 July 2021 and in the United States on 21 January 2022. It falls within the season’s Summer special: Darkrai & Cresselia stretch (EP74–EP75).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 21 January 2022 with the rest of Part 2; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 4 December 2021, followed by POP in the UK on 13 January 2022.
Synopsis
Ash and Goh investigate a wave of nightmares in Sinnoh caused by the wandering Darkrai, while Chloe, on a solo holiday, meets Dawn and the two girls find an injured Cresselia hunted by Team Rocket. Over Fullmoon Island, Team Rocket’s Matori Matrix airship blasts a Cresselia with electroshocks, but it escapes, and on Newmoon Island a Darkrai senses trouble and heads for the mainland. At the Cerise Laboratory, Professor Cerise hears of people across Sinnoh kept awake by terrible nightmares and suspects Darkrai, though it rarely leaves its island, so Ash and Goh go to investigate. Chloe returns from her end-of-term ceremony to find that her father has forgotten their family holiday because an Egg at the lab is about to hatch, Talia has work and Parker is off to camp. Annoyed, Chloe decides to go to Sinnoh on her own with Eevee, taking Talia’s well-packed travel bag instead of her overstuffed suitcase.
In Jubilife City, Chloe sees Top Coordinator Johanna on a giant screen promoting a Pokémon Contest in Eterna City and decides to go and watch, walking there through a Starly attack and a rainstorm. Ash and Goh learn from Officer Jenny that the nightmares are moving from town to town. Matori recruits the Team Rocket trio to hunt Darkrai and Cresselia on Giovanni’s orders, privately planning to let them take the blame if things go wrong. At a lakeside camp, Chloe’s cooking attracts Piplup and its Trainer, Dawn, who forgot to buy food. Dawn is heading to the Eterna Contest herself and tells Chloe about her Contests in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Unova and Johto, and the two agree to travel together. Back at the lab, meanwhile, Ash and Goh find Chrysa, Ren and Professor Cerise dressed as “Team Cerise,” ordering an all-out attack, until they wake up and realise they have shared a nightmare. Outside, Darkrai vanishes into the shadows.
The next day, Dawn keeps stopping for springs, Budew and flower fields, insisting there is no need to worry, until Chloe calls her thoughtless and Dawn calls her a spoilsport. Ash and Goh, meanwhile, work out that Darkrai is circling a certain forest, above which Team Rocket float in their balloon, searching for Cresselia. At sunset a sleep-deprived Rhydon blocks the girls’ path; Eevee’s Tackle barely scratches it, but Piplup’s Bubble Beam hits hard, and when Rhydon’s Rock Blast strikes Piplup, Eevee steps in, copies Bubble Beam and puts the Rhydon to sleep. Impressed by their teamwork, the girls find themselves holding hands. Ash and Goh enter the forest, wary of falling asleep and wishing for a Lunar Wing from Cresselia, while Dawn and Chloe follow a glow down the path and discover an injured Cresselia lying on the ground.
Major Events
- Summer special, part 1. The Matori Matrix hunts Cresselia and Darkrai on Giovanni’s orders
- Chloe, on her first visit to Sinnoh, meets Dawn, back for the first time in 409 episodes with a redesigned, blue-eyed Piplup
- Ash and Goh share a Team Cerise nightmare caused by Darkrai
- The first episode in which a former companion returns without meeting Ash
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Michihiro Tsuchiya.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The “Team Cerise” logo in Ash and Goh’s nightmare changes from “S” to “R”
Part of our Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.