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| Season | Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Mega Evolution & Bea arc (JN084–JN088) |
| Episode | Season 24, episode 37 · English episode 1165 · Japanese episode 1171 · Bulbapedia code JN085 |
| English title | Battle Three With Bea! |
| Japanese title | ライバル対決！サトシVSサイトウ！！ Raibaru Taiketsu! Satoshi VS Saitō!! — “Rival Showdown! Satoshi VS Saito!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 October 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 May 2022 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type), Version 1 – Pokémon Music Club (on TV Tokyo, with a live-action dance video in place of the animation) |
| English opening | Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | An Adventure of Mega Proportions! (JN084) |
| Next episode | A Battle of Mega Versus Max! (JN086) |
Plot episodeAsh vs Bea, part 1Leon arrives
Battle Three With Bea! is the 37th episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1165th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1171, Bulbapedia code JN085). It first aired in Japan on 29 October 2021 and in the United States on 26 May 2022. It falls within the season’s Mega Evolution & Bea stretch (EP84–EP88).
Released on Netflix in the US on Thursday 26 May 2022 with the rest of Part 3; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 19 February 2022, followed by e.tv in South Africa on 12 April 2022 and Australian television on 11 May 2022.
Synopsis
Ash’s World Coronation Series rematch with the Fighting-type expert Bea begins in Galar’s Stow-on-Side Stadium, where Lucario refuses to Mega Evolve when Ash tries it in a panic. The day before the match, Ash and Goh find Bea training at the stadium; she greets Ash as “Riolu’s Trainer,” and when he sends out Lucario to show that Riolu has evolved, she simply switches to “Lucario’s Trainer.” The boys decline her invitation to train because they are meeting Korrina, who arrives looking stern; Goh remembers Bea once calling Korrina overconfident. Instead, Korrina rushes to hug Bea and apologises over and over for failing to get the Lumiose Galettes Bea loves, offering Poké Puffs and Laverre chocolates instead. Korrina explains that although Bea does not share her view that battles should be fun, she admires Bea’s kindness to Pokémon and her martial arts, while Bea admits she appreciates the sweets. Ash and Bea shake hands and promise a good battle.
The stadium is packed for the Ultra Class match, and the announcer notes Bea’s Dynamax Band and Ash’s Key Stone, explaining that each competitor may use only one of Dynamax, Mega Evolution or Z-Moves in a battle. Pikachu leads against Grapploct, which dodges Quick Attack with Detect, but Pikachu traps it in Electroweb; Grapploct stretches its tentacles through the net to interrupt Iron Tail with Close Combat and tears itself free. Ash switches to Lucario, determined to settle the score after Riolu’s earlier draw with Grapploct, but Grapploct spins and sprays Liquidation to wipe out every Double Team copy and dodges Aura Sphere with Detect again. Bea switches to Hawlucha, which hits hard with High Jump Kick, a barrage of Wing Attacks and Sky Attack; Goh notices how much faster it has become, and Korrina says Bea improves every day, but Goh replies that Ash does too.
Lucario gets back up, and Bea brings in her ace, Machamp, which Goh guesses can Gigantamax. Its Bullet Punches overpower Lucario’s Force Palm, it seizes Lucario in its grip, and it pounds it with more Bullet Punches and Cross Chop. In desperation, Ash taps his Key Stone to Mega Evolve Lucario, but Lucario rejects the light and breaks free by headbutting Machamp. Ash apologises, admitting that he panicked and stopped thinking clearly, and the announcer wonders aloud whether their bond is too weak. Then Leon appears beside Ash, apologising for being late and stunning the stadium. He explains that the bond is not too weak but too strong: Lucario knows that Mega Evolution will come when it is truly needed and sensed that the moment had not yet arrived. Fired up by Leon’s arrival, Ash and Bea both vow to win, and the episode ends as Machamp’s Strength and Lucario’s Reversal are about to clash.
Major Events
- Ash vs Bea, part 1. Stow-on-Side Stadium, Galar
- Bea and Korrina are friends
- In the Ultra Class each Trainer may use only one of Dynamax, Mega Evolution and Z-Moves
- Lucario refuses to Mega Evolve
- Leon arrives and explains why
- The battle ends on a cliffhanger
- Machamp’s first Pokédex entry
- The Journeys announcer debuts
- Eyecatches replace Who’s That Pokémon?
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.