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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · The final: Ash vs Leon arc (JN129–JN132) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 38 · English episode 1208 · Japanese episode 1218 · Bulbapedia code JN132 |
| English title | Partners in Time! |
| Japanese title | ファイナルⅣ 「相棒」 Fainaru IV "Aibō" — “The Finals IV: "Partner"” |
| First aired (Japan) | 11 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 |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Cinderace (US) · Cinderace (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Paring Pokémon While Parrying! (JN131) |
| Next episode | The Mew from Here! (JN133) |
Plot episodeAsh becomes MonarchWorld Champion
Partners in Time! is the 38th episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1208th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1218, Bulbapedia code JN132). It first aired in Japan on 11 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 8 April 2023.
Synopsis
Ash defeats Leon in the final of the Masters Eight Tournament, as Pikachu, rallied by every Pokémon Ash has ever travelled with, overcomes Charizard to make Ash the Monarch and World Champion. Above Wyndon Stadium, Eternatus fires a Dynamax Cannon into the sky that parts the dark clouds and stabilises the surging Galar particles, showing that it has come to protect Galar, then flies away, leaving Ash’s and Leon’s Dynamax Bands recharged. Leon uses his to Gigantamax Cinderace, an unprecedented second Gigantamax in one Full Battle, and Ash answers by Gigantamaxing Pikachu. G-Max Fireball and G-Max Volt Crash collide in two giant explosions, forcing both Pokémon back to normal size, and Cinderace collapses. With one Pokémon left on each side, Leon sends Charizard back out for a final clash of partners, and Ash declares that this battle sums up everything since he first met Pikachu.
Pikachu dodges Ancient Power to land Quick Attack and Iron Tail, escapes the blast of a Fire Blast after blocking it with Electroweb, and blasts apart a close-range Dragon Pulse with Thunderbolt. As Sonia remembers how much Leon has grown since their childhood battle, Pikachu races across the floating rocks of Ancient Power and runs upside down around the stadium’s arc, raining Iron Tails as Charizard chases it with Air Slash. But Charizard dodges the last Iron Tail, and Pikachu reacts too late to a Fire Blast, which hits it head-on. Pikachu collapses as the stadium falls silent, and even Team Rocket forget their scheme. In a white void, Pikachu remembers meeting Ash, and Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Butterfree and Pidgeot appear beside it, followed by every Pokémon Ash has ever owned, from the Orange Islands to Alola and his current team. Ash tells Pikachu that all their companions stand with them.
Strengthened, Pikachu rises with a huge surge of electricity, Ash turns his cap around, and Leon tosses his own hat aside. Both Pokémon dive at each other with Thunderbolt and Fire Blast and collide head to head. Pikachu wakes at a Pokémon Center and remembers the end: both were thrown back, Charizard roared defiantly and then collapsed, and Ash was declared the winner, the new Monarch and World Champion, as he scooped the exhausted Pikachu into his arms. Leon says the match reminded him of his first battle against Sonia, which taught him both the thrill of battling and the sting of losing; he is now just another challenger, and the two promise a rematch. Dawn and Chloe announce the awards ceremony, where Leon presents Ash with a trophy so heavy that his team must help him lift it, while Ash’s Pokémon at Professor Oak’s lab celebrate and Cynthia and Diantha decide to have a battle of their own. The next morning, Ash wakes at the hotel to a call from Goh, and happily answers, guessing it is about Mew.
Major Events
- Ash becomes Monarch. Eternatus recharges both Dynamax Bands
- Gigantamax Pikachu beats Gigantamax Cinderace, and Pikachu beats Charizard: Ash wins the Masters Eight Tournament and becomes Monarch and World Champion, Leon’s first defeat on screen
- Twenty human main characters appear, a record, among them May, Max, Cilan, Todd and Alexa
- All of Ash’s Pokémon appear together for the first time since EP013
- G-Max Fireball is the last move debut
- The last episode in Japan before Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Debuts of Gigantamax Cinderace and, in the main series, Brock’s Blissey
Captures and evolutions
Chansey → Blissey#0242 · Brock’s · off screen, seen in Wyndon
Trivia
- The English title plays on the phrase “partners in crime”, for Ash and Pikachu’s victory.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The muffling effect on Pikachu’s panting is removed
- Kingler and Nebby, audible in Japanese, are silent in the dub, while Larvitar, Melmetal and Naganadel are heard only in the dub
- Dub error: the closed captions garble the lyrics
- The 1997 Aim to Be a Pokémon Master plays in the final clash; the dub replaces it with the Pokémon Theme
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.