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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends (Season 22) · The Manalo Conference arc (SM128–SM139) |
| Episode | Season 22, episode 39 · English episode 1065 · Japanese episode 1071 · Bulbapedia code SM131 |
| English title | The Battlefield of Truth and Love! |
| Japanese title | ムサシVSコジロウ！愛と真実のバトルフィールド！！ Musashi Tai Kojirō! Ai to Shinjitsu no Batoru Fīrudo!! — “Musashi VS Kojiro! Battlefield of Truth and Love!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 21 July 2019 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 23 November 2019 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Aya Matsui |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Kimi no Bōken (Your Adventure) – Taiiku Okazaki · Taipu: Wairudo (Type: Wild, 2019 version) – Shōko Nakagawa |
| English opening | The Challenge of Life – Dani Marcus and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Parasect (US) |
| Previous episode | Battling Besties! (SM130) |
| Next episode | Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Strategy! (SM132) |
Plot episodeFirst roundJames vs Jessie
The Battlefield of Truth and Love! is the 39th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, the twenty-second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1065th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1071, Bulbapedia code SM131). It first aired in Japan on 21 July 2019 and in the United States on 23 November 2019. It falls within the season’s The Manalo Conference stretch (EP128–EP139).
Synopsis
The first round concludes as Sophocles beats Mina, James defeats Jessie in their first official battle, Kiawe overcomes Acerola, and Gladion’s Umbreon ends Lillie’s run. Before the matches, Ash helps the nervous Sophocles calm down, and Lillie asks Gladion not to hold back. Sophocles’ Vikavolt chases Mina’s Ribombee through the sky, but Ribombee dodges Zap Cannon, peppers it with Pollen Puff and hurls it across the field with Psychic. Vikavolt recovers, circles behind its opponent, grabs it in its mandibles and finishes it with a close-range Signal Beam, and Nanu declares Sophocles the winner. Next come “Jessina” and “Jamesio.” Jessie’s Wobbuffet throws back Mareanie’s Spike Cannon with Counter and its Sludge Bomb with Mirror Coat, and the match stalls while James considers having Mareanie pretend to faint.
When he looks into Mareanie’s eyes, James sees that it wants to fight properly for him, and he commits fully. Mareanie’s relentless Spike Cannon barrage finally overwhelms Wobbuffet’s defences in a huge explosion, and James wins as a version of the Wedding March plays. Kiawe’s Marowak then faces Acerola’s Gengar, Rapooh. Marowak’s Bonemerang destroys a Shadow Ball and Shadow Bone blocks Shadow Punch, but Rapooh immobilises Marowak with Cursed Body and steals its bone with Thief, the first time the move has been used in the anime. Marowak breaks free with Iron Head, is swallowed into Rapooh’s body and emerges holding its bone again, then bats a returning Shadow Ball back at its opponent and wins with Shadow Bone. Kiawe advances to the quarterfinals.
Lillie’s Snowy summons Hail and vanishes into the frost with Snow Cloak, so that Umbreon’s Dark Pulse misses. Umbreon’s Shadow Ball breaks through Aurora Veil, and Lillie answers with Subzero Slammer, but Umbreon survives the Z-Move and knocks Snowy out with a super-effective Iron Tail. Hapu declares Gladion the winner, and Lusamine, proud of both her children, wishes that Mohn could have seen the battle. In all four matches, a male Trainer has beaten a female one. That night the screen at the Pokémon Center reveals the quarterfinal pairings: Gladion against James, Ash against Hau, Kiawe against Sophocles and Guzma against Lana. Rowlet and Hau’s Decidueye trade taunts, and Rowlet slips outside to ask a wild Wingull to carry a message to its foster family, the Toucannon flock.
Major Events
- Manalo Conference, part 4. First round: Sophocles’ Vikavolt beats Mina’s Ribombee
- James’s Mareanie beats Jessie’s Wobbuffet in their first official battle
- Kiawe’s Marowak beats Acerola’s Gengar, and Thief is used for the first time in the anime
- Gladion’s Umbreon beats Lillie’s Snowy
- The quarterfinal pairings
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Aya Matsui.
- 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
- Zap Cannon is called “Thunder Wave” (corrected for Netflix)
- Nanu calls a first-round match a semifinal
- Mendelssohn’s Wedding March plays as James wins; the dub uses an arranged version and only its first 20 seconds
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.