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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends (Season 22) · Poni Island & the last grand trial arc (SM104–SM109) |
| Episode | Season 22, episode 13 · English episode 1039 · Japanese episode 1045 · Bulbapedia code SM105 |
| English title | Showdown on Poni Island! |
| Japanese title | ルガルガン決戦！サトシVSグラジオ！！ Rugarugan Kessen! Satoshi Tai Gurajio!! — “Decisive Lugarugan Battle! Satoshi VS Glazio!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 20 January 2019 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 11 May 2019 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Kimi no Bōken (Your Adventure) – Taiiku Okazaki · Kokoro no Nōto (Notebook of the Heart) – Hino City Nanaomidori Elementary School Choir |
| English opening | The Challenge of Life – Dani Marcus and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Mudsdale (US) |
| Previous episode | That’s Some Spicy Island Research! (SM104) |
| Next episode | Evolving Research! (SM106) |
Plot episodeGladion beats AshAsh’s last defeat
Showdown on Poni Island! is the 13th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, the twenty-second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1039th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1045, Bulbapedia code SM105). It first aired in Japan on 20 January 2019 and in the United States on 11 May 2019. It falls within the season’s Poni Island & the last grand trial stretch (EP104–EP109).
Premiered on 11 May 2019; Disney XD then showed no new episode on 18 or 25 May.
Synopsis
Lillie reunites with her brother Gladion on Poni Island, and Ash challenges him to a Lycanroc battle that Gladion wins with the Z-Move Devastating Drake as Tapu Fini looks on. While his classmates train, shop, fish and study the island’s Pokémon, Ash goes looking for Hapu. At the Ruins of Hope, Hapu prays for her late grandfather’s guidance, wondering why Tapu Fini has not chosen her as kahuna, but no answer comes before the tide covers the entrance. Lillie and Snowy, photographing wild Pokémon, follow a hunch to Gladion, who is training on the island. On her way home, Hapu’s Mudsdale steps on a sharp Corsola fragment and goes wild with pain; Ash spots the shard and Pikachu knocks it loose with Iron Tail. Hapu thanks him, but when Ash eyes her Z-Ring, a gift from her grandfather, she pulls away.
Overlooking Seafolk Village, Gladion tells Lillie that he plans to challenge Tapu Fini’s grand trial, hoping that the guardian can let him see their father, Mohn, who vanished in an accident while researching Ultra Wormholes and whom neither sibling truly remembers. Lillie suggests a battle to draw out Tapu Fini, but Ash comes flying in, kicked away by Mudsdale after pestering Hapu for a match, and Hapu scolds him for treating grand trials as a game. When he calls her stubborn she chases him, until Lillie stops her and introduces herself and her brother. Gladion asks Ash for a battle instead, proposing a contest between their Lycanroc, and Hapu agrees to referee. Ash’s Dusk Form Lycanroc opens with Accelerock, but Gladion’s Midnight Form Lycanroc answers with Counter and keeps evading.
Ash explains that Tapu Bulu helped his Lycanroc overcome its fear of dirt, and Lillie tells Hapu how the challenge of becoming a kahuna draws out a Trainer’s strength. Gladion’s Lycanroc raises its power with Swords Dance and attacks with Outrage, and the two Pokémon clash repeatedly until Outrage leaves Gladion’s Lycanroc confused. Ash seizes the opening with Splintered Stormshards, but the blow also snaps his opponent out of its confusion, and Gladion reveals his Dragonium Z: Devastating Drake knocks Ash’s Lycanroc out. It is Ash’s final defeat of the Sun & Moon series. Ash checks on his battered partner and vows to catch up next time, and Gladion smiles as the two Lycanroc bump fists. As Hapu reflects on what she has seen, a cry sounds overhead and Tapu Fini soars above the group.
Major Events
- Lycanroc against Lycanroc. Lillie is reunited with Gladion on Poni Island
- Gladion’s Lycanroc beats Ash’s with Devastating Drake, Ash’s last battle loss of the Sun & Moon series
- Mohn’s backstory and his debut in flashback
- Tapu Fini appears
- The first wild Granbull
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Alola storyline.
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.