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| Season | Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series (Season 25) · To Be a Pokémon Master: old friends arc (JN137–JN141) |
| Episode | Season 25, episode 43 · English episode 1213 · Japanese episode 1223 · Bulbapedia code JN137 |
| English title | The Road Most Traveled! |
| Japanese title | はじまりのかぜ！むげんのみち！！ Hajimari no Kaze! Mugen no Michi!! — “Winds of Beginning! The Endless Road!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 13 January 2023 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 8 September 2023 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mezase Pokémon Masutā -with my friends- (Aim to Be a Pokémon Master) – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · Hyakugojūichi (One Hundred Fifty-One) – Professor Oak (Unshō Ishizuka) and the Pokémon Kids |
| English opening | Gotta Catch Em All – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Noivern (US) · Noivern (Japan) |
| Previous episode | This Could be the Start of Something Big! (JN136) |
| Next episode | A Fated Face-Off! (JN138) |
Plot episodeTo Be a Pokémon Master beginsLatias
The Road Most Traveled! is the 43rd episode of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1213th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1223, Bulbapedia code JN137). It first aired in Japan on 13 January 2023 and in the United States on 8 September 2023. It falls within the season’s To Be a Pokémon Master: old friends stretch (EP137–EP141).
Released on Netflix in the US on 8 September 2023 with the fourth part, Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master (JN137–JN147 and JNS05) — episode 1 of 12 in that listing; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 13 May 2023. The first episode of To Be a Pokémon Master, released on Netflix 25 years to the day after the first English episode aired on US television (8 September 1998).
Synopsis
Traveling on with no fixed destination and a rotated team from Professor Oak’s lab, Ash rescues an injured, invisible Latias from Team Rocket and wins its wary trust. Ash and Pikachu wander from road to road: Ash tosses a twig to choose a path at a crossroads and then takes the other one, earning a few playful zaps from Pikachu, is bitten on the backside by three Magikarp after falling into a river while watching a Starly, and crashes into a tree while swinging on vines, catching a falling Kakuna that evolves into a Beedrill in his arms and flies off without attacking. In Pallet Town, Professor Oak visits Delia, who admits she has not heard from Ash; Oak sees his own youthful wandering spirit in Ash’s aimless journey, and when Delia adds that Ash hopes to make new friends, Oak recites a senryū about the idea.
Resting under a tree, Ash and Pikachu are ambushed by Team Rocket, who trap Pikachu in a net that resists both Thunderbolt and Iron Tail. Ash sends out Noivern, whose Boomburst Wobbuffet reflects with Mirror Coat, only for Donphan’s Rollout to block it, and Sceptile’s Leaf Blade slices open the net so that Pikachu can blast the trio away. Flying off, the trio collide in midair with an invisible Pokémon that crashes through the branches into a lake. Ash sees a wing appear, recognises a Latias, and swims out with Buizel to bring it ashore. Too weak to resist but clearly distrustful, Latias lets Ash treat its injured wing with a Potion and bandages, and that night he rewraps the loosened bandage while Team Rocket, learning that it is a Legendary Pokémon, resolve to capture it.
In the morning, Latias wakes in a panic and tears off the bandage despite Ash’s protests, and a giant vacuum on Team Rocket’s balloon suddenly sucks it up, with Ash diving in after it. Both land in a glass tank that fills with cold air to weaken the Dragon type, and Team Rocket decide to keep Ash as a hostage to deter his Pokémon. Following Ash’s plan, Pikachu shatters the tank with Thunderbolt, and as Ash and Latias fall he urges it to take his hands; seeing how far he will go to save it, Latias trusts him and catches him before they hit the ground. Noivern’s Boomburst defeats Team Rocket, and Latias sets Ash down gently, gives him a sad look and vanishes from sight. Ash wonders whether he will see it again as he and Pikachu continue their journey, unaware that Latias is watching him from the sky.
Major Events
- To Be a Pokémon Master begins. Ash travels with Donphan, Sceptile, Noivern and Buizel
- He rescues an injured Latias, which begins to follow him
- The new Japanese opening Mezase Pokémon Master -with my friends- and the ending One Hundred Fifty-One
- The English opening becomes Gotta Catch Em All
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar & beyond storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Professor Oak’s senryū caption is removed
- From this episode the “To Be Continued” text is removed
- The Japanese opening becomes Mezase Pokémon Master -with my friends- and the ending One Hundred Fifty-One
- The English opening becomes “Gotta Catch Em All” (Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth)
- Team Rocket’s motto music includes vocals for the first time
Part of our Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.