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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon (Season 20) · A guardian rematch & Litten arc (SM019–SM022) |
| Episode | Season 20, episode 21 · English episode 956 · Japanese episode 961 · Bulbapedia code SM021 |
| English title | One Journey Ends, Another Begins… |
| Japanese title | ニャビー、旅立ちの時！ Nyabī, Tabidachi no Toki! — “Nyabby, Time to Begin the Journey!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 6 April 2017 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 1 July 2017 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Alola!! – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) with Pikachu (Ikue Ōtani) · Pōzu (Pose) – Taiiku Okazaki |
| English opening | Under the Alolan Sun – Jannel Candrice and The Sad Truth (featuring Ben Dixon and the Vestigial Horns) |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Stoutland (US) |
| Previous episode | Partner Promises! (SM020) |
| Next episode | A Shivering Shovel Search! (SM022) |
Plot episodeAsh catches LittenStoutland’s farewell
One Journey Ends, Another Begins… is the 21st episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the twentieth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 956th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 961, Bulbapedia code SM021). It first aired in Japan on 6 April 2017 and in the United States on 1 July 2017. It falls within the season’s A guardian rematch & Litten stretch (EP19–EP22).
Premiered on Saturday 1 July 2017 as the last of six new episodes (SM016–SM021) in a three-hour Disney XD special.
Synopsis
Litten’s elderly companion Stoutland falls ill and passes away, and after a long, rainy vigil the grieving Litten joins Ash as his newest Pokémon. Leaving a shopping trip, Rotom drops a bag and a doughnut rolls out; Anela returns it to Ash, but Litten snatches it and carries it to Stoutland under a bridge, the pair’s old hideout. There Stoutland is teaching Litten Fire Fang, and although Litten builds up enough power, it loses control at the last moment. Litten refuses the food Ash offers until Stoutland scolds it, and Ash notices that the old Pokémon’s health is failing. That night Professor Kukui watches Rotom’s footage of the training and remarks how rare it is for two different species to develop a move together so closely. After school the next day, Ash sets out to visit Litten again, but Jessie and James appear. Litten drives them back with Ember and leads Ash away, while Pikachu’s Electro Ball covers their escape and Meowth follows Litten.
Under the bridge Stoutland has collapsed and is struggling to breathe. Ash carries it to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy and her Pokémon begin treatment and Litten slips into the treatment room; Joy senses that Litten understands how serious Stoutland’s condition is. Outside, Meowth watches silently as a nearby tree sheds its leaves. Kukui gives Ash permission to stay overnight, but late that night Ash finds the ward empty and meets Meowth, who tells him Litten must be protected. Stoutland has gone back to their home, and the two try Fire Fang one more time; Litten fails again, and they fall asleep side by side. Litten dreams of chasing Stoutland through a white void without ever catching it, and wakes to find the old Pokémon gone. It searches all of their old haunts and returns to find the couch where Stoutland slept broken, just as the tree’s last leaf falls.
Litten howls into the pouring rain. Ash and Kukui arrive with umbrellas, and Kukui apologises for Stoutland’s disappearance, while back at the hideout Meowth pushes away Bewear’s comforting hug. Anela brings food and tells Litten it can visit her any time, but Litten will not eat, and Ash stays by its side through the downpour as Meowth’s Ballad plays in the Japanese version. When the rain stops, a rainbow and a cloud shaped like Stoutland help Litten accept its loss. Ash offers a Sitrus Berry and asks Litten to come with him and master Fire Fang together. Litten answers with Ember; after a battle with Pikachu fought to a standstill, Litten accepts Ash as its Trainer and enters his Poké Ball. Meowth leaves, calling Litten his rival, and Ash’s team shares a meal with its newest member.
Major Events
- Litten joins Ash. Stoutland teaches Litten Fire Fang, falls ill and passes away
- Litten’s vigil in the rain, with Meowth’s Ballad in the Japanese version
- Ash catches Litten after a battle with Pikachu, his last first-partner and last Fire-type catch
- Meowth declares Litten his rival
Captures and evolutions
Litten#0725 · Ash · after Stoutland’s death and a battle with Pikachu; his last first-partner catch
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Alola storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Meowth’s Ballad plays during Litten’s vigil in the rain, the first song from an earlier series used as an insert since BW109
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.