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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · The final: Ash vs Leon arc (JN129–JN132) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 37 · English episode 1207 · Japanese episode 1217 · Bulbapedia code JN131 |
| English title | Paring Pokémon While Parrying! |
| Japanese title | ファイナルⅢ 「最強」 Fainaru III "Saikyō" — “The Finals III: "The Strongest"” |
| First aired (Japan) | 4 November 2022 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 23 June 2023 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Satoshi & Go (Rica Matsumoto and Daiki Yamashita) · Batsugun Taipu (Supereffective Type) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | With You – Echosmith |
| Previous episode | Toying With Your Motions! (JN130) |
| Next episode | Partners in Time! (JN132) |
Plot episodeAsh vs Leon, part 3Eternatus appears
Paring Pokémon While Parrying! is the 37th episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1207th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1217, Bulbapedia code JN131). It first aired in Japan on 4 November 2022 and in the United States on 23 June 2023. It falls within the season’s The final: Ash vs Leon stretch (EP129–EP132).
Released on Netflix in the US on 23 June 2023 with the third part (JN118–JN136, without the clip shows); Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 1 April 2023. Australian iTunes released it the same day as Teletoon.
Synopsis
Leon turns the Masters Eight final around as his Rillaboom and Cinderace defeat Dragonite, Sirfetch’d and Dracovish, and when Ash’s Z-Move collides with Gigantamax Charizard’s G-Max Wildfire, the surge of energy draws Eternatus out of Hammerlocke and over Wyndon Stadium. Ash leads four Pokémon to three, but his team is tiring. Dragonite’s super-effective Hurricane meets Rillaboom’s Drum Beating, whose roots block much of the wind, pound Dragonite to the ground and lower its Speed. When Ash tries the “Dragonite Meteor” that beat Dragapult, Leon is ready: Rillaboom swats the meteors aside, slams Dragonite down with a root and dodges a flurry of Dragon Claws with Acrobatics before finishing it with an open-palm thrust, proving Leon can overcome a type disadvantage. Sirfetch’d’s Meteor Assault wins a contest of raw power against High Horsepower and sends Rillaboom flying, but leaves Sirfetch’d recharging.
Leaning on its drum, Rillaboom rises to strike back with High Horsepower and Drum Beating. Sirfetch’d rides its shield through the roots and readies Fury Cutter, but when it drops the shield to meet Rillaboom’s Acrobatics, Rillaboom catches it, hurls it back at its owner and slams Sirfetch’d to the ground for good. Leon thanks Ash for drawing out his full potential, a little sad that the battle will soon end, but Ash insists it is not over and sends out Dracovish, still glowing with its newly awakened spikes. Pushed back by Drum Beating, Dracovish pins the frozen roots with its spikes, shatters them with Ice Fang and charges with Dragon Rush for its fallen friend Sirfetch’d. Rillaboom meets it with High Horsepower, and as the attacks clash, Rillaboom’s stamina finally gives out, evening the count.
Leon’s Cinderace returns, becoming a Fighting type through Libero with High Jump Kick; its Pyro Ball cancels Dracovish’s Water Gun, its Iron Head sends Dracovish flying, and it leaps over a last Dragon Rush to finish it with High Jump Kick from above. With Ash down to Pikachu, Leon recalls Cinderace and sends out his ace, Charizard, his first catch and lifelong partner, and Ash vows to win with his own lifelong partner. Charizard Gigantamaxes; Max Rockfall’s sandstorm disrupts Thunderbolt, Pikachu’s Iron Tail to the head barely registers, and Max Wyrmwind traps Pikachu in a vortex. Ash tosses his hat to Pikachu, and as friends, family and his Alolan Pokémon watch on television, 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt clashes with G-Max Wildfire in a vortex of fire and lightning that shakes the stadium. Beneath Hammerlocke, Eternatus reacts to the Galar particles, fires a Dynamax Cannon and breaks free as Professor Magnolia fears another Darkest Day. Charizard’s Gigantamax fades, but the dark clouds over Wyndon do not clear, and Eternatus appears above the stadium and roars.
Major Events
- The final, part 3. Rillaboom beats Dragonite and Sirfetch’d, Dracovish beats Rillaboom and Cinderace beats Dracovish
- Pikachu’s Z-Move clashes with Gigantamax Charizard
- Eternatus appears over Wyndon
- Samson Oak’s last appearance
- Flapple’s TV-episode debut
Pokémon making their anime debut
Flapple#0841 · JN131
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 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt caption is removed
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.