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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 17 · English episode 1043 · Japanese episode 1049 · Bulbapedia code SM109 |
| English title | A Grand Debut! |
| Japanese title | しまクイーン誕生！サトシの大試練！！ Shima Kuīn Tanjō! Satoshi no Daishiren!! — “The Birth of an Island Queen! Satoshi’s Grand Trial!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 17 February 2019 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 22 June 2019 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Jun’ichi Fujisaku |
| 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? | Shaymin (US) |
| Previous episode | Memories in the Mist! (SM108) |
| Next episode | Keeping Your Eyes on the Ball! (SM110) |
Plot episodeFourth grand trialSteelium Z
A Grand Debut! is the 17th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, the twenty-second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1043rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1049, Bulbapedia code SM109). It first aired in Japan on 17 February 2019 and in the United States on 22 June 2019. It falls within the season’s Poni Island & the last grand trial stretch (EP104–EP109).
Premiered on 22 June 2019; released on Google Play on 1 June, iTunes on 2 June and Amazon Prime Video on 3 June.
Synopsis
Hapu is inaugurated as island kahuna of Poni Island and faces Ash in his final grand trial, where Pikachu defeats her Mudsdale with a soaked-and-shocked Gigavolt Havoc to complete Ash’s island challenge. At the Ruins of Hope, Hapu dances for Tapu Fini in a blue dress, and the guardian sprinkles her Z-Ring with sacred water as fountains rise from the canals to confirm her role. Hapu then leads the group to Poni Breaker Coast, where an ancient battlefield emerges at low tide, and declares that Ash’s grand trial will be a one-on-one battle against Mudsdale. While they wait, the friends play on the beach: Lycanroc digs up a buried Rowlet, Snowy and Shaymin splash in the waves, and a water fight ends when Ash steps on Pikachu’s tail and Lana, Brionne and Ash are shocked. Kiawe and Sophocles wonder which Pokémon Ash will choose.
At nightfall Ash surprises everyone by choosing Pikachu despite its type disadvantage, and Kiawe referees. Mudsdale’s Stamina Ability raises its Defense with every Quick Attack it takes, and its Double Kick and Bulldoze send Pikachu flying, topple ancient pillars into the sea and drench the spectators. Hapu then unleashes the Z-Move Tectonic Rage, splitting the ground into a huge fissure that swallows Pikachu before Mudsdale emerges and the crack seals shut. Pikachu bounces between the pillars with Quick Attack, and an Electroweb cushions its fall, though the rebound throws it into the water. Recalling the afternoon’s accidental shock on the beach, Ash suddenly comes up with a plan. He lures Mudsdale into using Bulldoze beside the sea, and the collapsing pillar drenches it in seawater.
Pikachu’s Electroweb now traps Mudsdale and visibly hurts it, and Rotom realises that the seawater has had the effect of Soak, turning Mudsdale into a pure Water type. Pikachu’s Gigavolt Havoc finishes the battle, and Kiawe declares Ash the winner of his fourth grand trial in Alola. Hapu praises Ash’s unconventional strategy and opens a chest of Z-Crystals, and Pikachu chooses the Steelium Z. Tapu Fini flies overhead, singing, and when Ash trips into the ocean trying to thank it, he surfaces still clutching his prize. The next morning, Professor Kukui arrives to collect his students, and Nurse Joy reports that everyone completed their research. Hapu sees them off with a gift of radishes and a promise of another battle. As the ship sails for Melemele Island, a group of Meltan secretly climb aboard and hide in the cargo hold.
Major Events
- Ash’s fourth grand trial. Hapu is inaugurated as kahuna
- Pikachu survives Tectonic Rage and beats her Mudsdale with seawater and Gigavolt Havoc
- Pikachu chooses a Steelium Z, and Ash’s island challenge is complete
- Professor Kukui collects the class
- A group of Meltan stow away on the ship
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Jun’ichi Fujisaku.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Alola storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Japanese on-screen caption naming the Z-Move is removed
- The “grand trial” kanji on the VS screen becomes “VS”
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.