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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends (Season 22) · The Manalo Conference arc (SM128–SM139) |
| Episode | Season 22, episode 47 · English episode 1073 · Japanese episode 1079 · Bulbapedia code SM139 |
| English title | Enter the Champion! |
| Japanese title | 誕生！アローラの覇者！！ Tanjō! Arōra no Hasha!! — “Birth! The Alola Champion!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 September 2019 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 18 January 2020 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Jun’ichi Fujisaku |
| 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? | Chansey (US) |
| Previous episode | Final Rivals! (SM138) |
| Next episode | Z-Move Showdown! (SM140) |
Plot episodeAsh wins the LeagueAlola’s first Champion
Enter the Champion! is the 47th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends, the twenty-second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1073rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1079, Bulbapedia code SM139). It first aired in Japan on 15 September 2019 and in the United States on 18 January 2020. It falls within the season’s The Manalo Conference stretch (EP128–EP139).
Premiered on 18 January 2020, four months after Japan; UK iTunes had released it on 12 January.
Synopsis
Ash defeats Gladion in a battle of Z-Moves and Lycanroc to win the Manalo Conference and become Alola’s first Champion, but a Guzzlord crashes into the awards ceremony. Gladion’s Zoroark trades Night Daze and Shadow Claw with Pikachu’s Thunderbolt and Iron Tail, landing several blows. Gladion then activates his Ghostium Z, and Zoroark unleashes Never-Ending Nightmare, plunging the arena into darkness as countless hands rise towards Pikachu. Quick Attack cannot outrun them, so Ash answers with Breakneck Blitz, and Pikachu charges through the wall of hands into Zoroark. Both Z-Moves connect, and the explosion knocks out both Pokémon. With one Pokémon each remaining, the two rivals praise each other’s skill and burst out laughing, agreeing that this is their best battle yet, and both send out Lycanroc for the decisive round.
Their Stone Edges cancel out, Gladion’s Lycanroc catches Ash’s Accelerock with Counter, and Ash’s Lycanroc runs alongside a second Stone Edge, stops itself short of a Bite when Ash spots another Counter coming, and climbs the boulders for an Accelerock that Gladion’s Lycanroc meets with an uppercut. Gladion raises his Lycanroc’s power with Swords Dance and smashes through Stone Edge with Outrage, then shows that his partner can snap itself out of confusion by biting its own paw before landing another Counter. When Gladion calls for Stone Edge again, Ash’s Lycanroc bites through the rocks, breaks through with Accelerock and answers Counter with a Counter of its own, sending Gladion’s Lycanroc into the wall. Kukui declares Ash the winner and the first Champion of Alola.
Ash is speechless until Gladion confirms the victory, shakes his hand and asks for a rematch someday, which Ash eagerly accepts. Underground, Team Rocket are stunned by the result but vow to steal every Pokémon at the League with their finished mecha, while back at the den the Oranguru robot lies smashed and Bewear and Stufful are nowhere to be seen. That night, Professor Burnet is disappointed that Kukui cannot attend the ceremony, and the Masked Royal presents Ash with the Manalo Conference trophy; Ash says that he is looking forward to their exhibition match the next day. Then Wicke detects an Ultra Wormhole opening above the stadium, and an Ultra Beast falls onto the battlefield. Ash recognises it with alarm: it is a Guzzlord, just like the one he fought in the ruined world of the Ultra Ruin.
Major Events
- Manalo Conference, part 12. Pikachu and Zoroark knock each other out with Breakneck Blitz and Never-Ending Nightmare, and Ash’s Lycanroc beats Gladion’s with Counter: Ash wins the Manalo Conference and becomes Alola’s first Champion
- Gladion’s Ghostium Z
- A Guzzlord crashes the trophy ceremony
- The last appearances of Ilima, Acerola and Mina
Trivia
- The English title plays on the film <em>Enter the Dragon</em>, as Ash becomes Alola’s first Champion.
- 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
- Type: Wild plays as an insert song over Ash and Gladion’s Lycanroc memories, its first insert use since DP188
- A serious “There’s Trouble!” jingle in the Dare da?
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.