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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Adventures (Season 21) · Ultra Beasts & everyday Alola arc (SM078–SM086) |
| Episode | Season 21, episode 34 · English episode 1012 · Japanese episode 1018 · Bulbapedia code SM078 |
| English title | Twirling with a Bang! |
| Japanese title | 激突ウルトラビースト！ドンドンバチバチ大作戦！！ Gekitotsu Urutora Bīsuto! Dondon Bachibachi Daisakusen!! — “Ultra Beast Clash! The Great Crackling Rumble Operation!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 7 June 2018 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 10 November 2018 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mirai Konekushon (Future Connection) – ЯeaL · Jarī Bōi Jarī Gāru (Twerp, Twerpette) – Taiiku Okazaki |
| English opening | Under the Alolan Moon – Haven Paschall and Ben Dixon |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Blacephalon (US) |
| Previous episode | Guiding an Awakening! (SM077) |
| Next episode | Showering the World with Love! (SM079) |
Plot episodeLillie and Lana catch Ultra BeastsBlacephalon and Xurkitree
Twirling with a Bang! is the 34th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Adventures, the twenty-first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1012th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1018, Bulbapedia code SM078). It first aired in Japan on 7 June 2018 and in the United States on 10 November 2018. It falls within the season’s Ultra Beasts & everyday Alola stretch (EP78–EP86).
Synopsis
Two Ultra Beasts, the explosive Blacephalon and the electric Xurkitree, turn Melemele Island into a battleground of light, until the Ultra Guardians distract them with a fireworks display of their own and Lillie and Lana catch them. During a fireworks festival, one stray “firework” refuses to fade, bounces back to a strange creature dancing on a rock at sea, and explodes; further blasts open an Ultra Wormhole through which a Xurkitree lands on the shore. The next day, Komala’s frantic bell summons the Ultra Guardians, and Lusamine identifies the dancer from festival footage as an Ultra Beast that explodes its head and feeds on people’s reactions. Then the base’s lights go out—Togedemaru’s sparks calm Sophocles until Clefable switches on backup power—and the team traces an Ultra Aura to the power lines on Route 3 and flies out on its Ride Pokémon.
There they find Xurkitree draining the power lines. Wicke cuts the electricity, and as Lillie predicted, the Ultra Beast begins to convulse, so Ash and Sophocles lure it down from the tower with Pikachu’s Thunderbolt, Charjabug’s Discharge and Togedemaru’s Zing Zap. Just as Kiawe, Lillie, Lana and Mallow ready their Beast Balls, Blacephalon appears and explodes, and the two Ultra Beasts turn on each other in a dazzling clash of light. The glow pulls the Beast Balls off course, Xurkitree’s electric whirlpool merges with Blacephalon’s blasts into a galaxy-like display, and Lusamine warns that the rivals will keep escalating until they threaten Alola. Ash then proposes that the Ultra Guardians put on a firework show of their own to grab the Ultra Beasts’ attention.
Everyone joins in: Togedemaru’s Zing Zap and Charjabug’s Discharge merge with Pikachu’s Electroweb, Popplio adds Bubble Beam, Steenee Magical Leaf, Kiawe’s Charizard and Turtonator Flamethrower, the Ride Pokémon Garchomp, Altaria and Flygon Fire Blast, Snowy Powder Snow and Poipole a shower of red sparkles. The two Ultra Beasts stop to watch, and Ash seizes the moment for Lycanroc’s exclusive Z-Move, Splintered Stormshards. Both Ultra Beasts stagger, Lana throws her Beast Ball, and Lillie follows with help from a whip of Steenee’s sepals, catching them both as Lusamine, Wicke and Professor Burnet praise the team’s growth. The next day, while Tapu Koko watches, Xurkitree and Blacephalon return to their worlds. Back at school, Professor Kukui reports that several event venues want the “Super Special Pokémon Fireworks” repeated, and Lana sees a business opportunity.
Major Events
- Blacephalon and Xurkitree. The Ultra Guardians’ third mission, as Blacephalon and Xurkitree duel on Route 3
- The “Super Special Pokémon Fireworks”
- Lycanroc’s first Splintered Stormshards
- Lillie catches Blacephalon and Lana catches Xurkitree, the only Ultra Beast catches not made by Ash, and both are sent home
- TV-episode debuts of Blacephalon and Xurkitree
Pokémon making their anime debut
Blacephalon#0806 · SM078
Xurkitree#0796 · SM078
Captures and evolutions
- Blacephalon#0806 · Lillie · in a Beast Ball, sent home the next day
- Xurkitree#0796 · Lana · in a Beast Ball, sent home the next day
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Alola storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Japanese version: Future Connection insert during the fireworks and Splintered Stormshards
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Adventures guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.