BW143: Best Wishes Until We Meet Again!

is the 44th episode and penultimate episode of Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond.
==Synopsis==
As our heroes and Alexa wrap up their shipboard tour of the Decolore Islands, they spot several Pokémon native to the Kanto region. Porter says that’s a sure sign that their final stop, Vermilion City, is close by! They all have plans for Kanto: Ash can’t wait to get home, Iris and Cilan really want to see some Pokémon that are new to them, and Alexa has plans to interview Professor Oak.
Of course, Team Rocket is close behind, and the villains have plans of their own—to finally capture Pikachu! From their Basculin submarine, they try to stop the cruise ship by entangling its propellers, and when that doesn’t work, they succeed in floating the ship up into the sky with giant balloons! The passengers panic, and in the confusion, Team Rocket manages to net Pikachu, Axew, and an impressive haul of Poké Balls from our heroes and the other passengers!
Trapped in the cargo hold, Ash, Iris, and Cilan make several attempts to escape before they’re successful, and then come at Team Rocket with a vengeance! It isn’t long before the hapless trio is overpowered, and all the Pokémon are safely returned, as the ship glides down to a safe and gentle splashdown. Alexa has been working in her cabin with headphones on the whole time, so she has no idea of what’s been happening—but when she finds out, she wants to write an article about it!
The Decolore Queen finally docks in Vermilion City, and Iris and Cilan can’t contain their excitement—they want to set out on the next leg of their journey right away! Iris wants to go to Blackthorn City to train with Gym Leader Clair, and Cilan plans to attend a fishing competition in the Hoenn region. Ash and Alexa go to the train station to see them off, and as they say goodbye, it’s a bittersweet moment as Ash thinks back on all the adventures they’ve had together.
But after a long journey, he’s nearly home, and it’s time for Ash and Alexa to set off for Pallet Town!
==Episode plot==
Ash, seeing a Gyarados swimming in the ocean, is certain he is close to his home, Kanto. Cilan tells Iris Gyarados is a water/flying-type Pokémon. Despite not being a dragon, Iris is interested in Gyarados and other Pokémon living in Kanto. Alexa is also pleased to arrive to Kanto, intending on interviewing Prof. Oak. Ash is glad to hear that, since he knows Oak since the day he got Pikachu. As the cruiser sails, Team Rocket, in their submarine, decides to launch their plan. They release two cuffs, which stop the propellers under the cruiser, causing the entire ship to stop. Team Rocket starts paddling, pulling the ship, thinking to cause every passenger to be dizzy from spinning, allowing them to grab strong Pokémon. The captain issues the orders to start the propellers at full power. The propellers spin, causing Team Rocket and the submarine to be spin away and to surface on the ocean. The heroes see it, thinking it is a giant Basculin, which got stuck in the engine.
Since their original plan backfired, Team Rocket comes to the cruiser in the balloon. The heroes see them, but Team Rocket attaches four cuffs to the cruiser, which, at the other end, balloons appear and inflate, rising the entire ship into the air. The ship's crew and passengers are shocked at this event, so the captain issues the engines to start at full power, while Porter tells the passengers to return to the cabins and remain calm. Meowth and Jessie, who is partially disguised as James, descend down, telling this is "a Unova after-party", where the twerps will give away their Pokémon. Porter arrives, asking the heroes to check their Poké Balls for safety. The heroes take out their Poké Balls, which Meowth sucks into his storaging machine. Pikachu and Axew go to rescue the Poké Balls, but James releases the net and catches both of them. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, which only hits Axew, since the net is electric-proof. The real Porter arrives, while the fake one is actually James, who takes off his disguise.
Jessie removes her James' mask uniform. The heroes and Porter run to rescue their Pokémon, but Jessie sends Frillish and James sends Amoonguss, who use Bubblebeam and Hidden Power. Porter is knocked away, while the heroes fall onto something. Meowth tells they should be going, but he, Jessie and James have bigger goals: to catch each and every passenger's Pokémon. The heroes stand up and see they are out of the reach from the deck of the ship. Cilan sees some boxes and proposes they can just stack them up and climb their way out of here. Team Rocket chases the passengers away, but encounter Porter, whose job is to protect the people. Frillish uses Bubblebeam and Amoonguss Hidden Power, nearly knocking Porter down the ship. The heroes, however, pile boxes, as they need to reach the crane to get out.
Meowth uses the machine to get more Poké Balls from the passengers, vacuuming them in. After piling the boxes, the heroes are ready to go. However, the boxes collapse, so Ash grabs the crane and his friends, who are hanging. Iris starts swinging, so they can be launched away. Team Rocket climbs the ladder to board onto the balloon, but the heroes are launched from the crane, pull Team Rocket and fall down. The heroes collect their Balls back and try to untie the net containing Pikachu and Axew. Jessie sends Frillish, who uses Bubblebeam, but misses. Ash sends Charizard, who defeats Frillish with Wing Attack. James sends Amoonguss to use Hidden Power, but is also defeated by Flamethrower. Meowth has a last plan, pulling out a box, but claiming he needs time to work on. However, Ash managed to untie Pikachu and Axew, who use Thunderbolt and Dragon Rage, along with Charizard's Flamethrower and Pansage's Solar Beam, to blast Team Rocket off.
Ash sends Snivy, who uses Leaf Storm to pierce the balloons. This causes the entire ship to descend down, waking up Helioptile and alerting Alexa, who was writing an article. The passengers raise Porter back, praising him for bravery. Alexa comes to the heroes and is told what happened, since she did not have a clue trouble arose on the ship. Ash notices a Magikarp swimming, while Iris and Cilan notice Lapras, Slowpoke and Slowbro. Porter points out they are close to Vermilion City. Ash sees Iris and Cilan, who are looking at the region they never saw before. The heroes and Alexa unboard the ship and Porter thanks them for choosing to travel with them. A flock of Pidgey flies by, making Iris even more excited to be in Kanto. Iris reveals she intends on going to Johto and challenging Clair to a battle, as part of her training. Cilan has similar plans, thinking of going to Hoenn and participating in a fishing rally with Mr. Briney.
Ash sees this all makes sense, seeing his friends with their wishes. Ash admits he also felt the same when starting his journey, since Cilan and Iris are, for the first time, away from Unova. Cilan checks out Iris can take the Magnet Train from Saffron City to reach the Johto region. Cilan also feels he can go for a ride. In Saffron City, before leaving, Alexa gives Iris and Cilan Cloyster lunchboxes. Cilan admits his goal is to become the greatest Pokémon Connoisseur, while Iris intends on being the Dragon Master. Ash feels they both would do great, since Iris and Cilan enjoyed this journey and learned much from it. Axew also bids farewell to Pikachu. With a sound from the train station, the doors close and the friends bid each other best wishes. Ash remembers when he met Iris and Cilan and they joined the journey, when Cilan showed his skills as fishing and detective connoisseur, the moment when they cosplayed as Prof. Juniper and Elesa, partnering up with Cilan to defeat Rocko and Soren, when Iris calmed Shannon's Hydreigon and when Ash and Iris apologized for the feud.
As the train left the station, Ash and Pikachu treasure these memories. Alexa places her hand on his shoulder, reminding they should be moving as well.
==Trivia==
*Who's that Pokémon?: Gyarados
*Like in The Ghost of Maiden's Peak, Jessie had to recite the Team Rocket motto by herself.
* This episode marks Iris' last appearance in the main series until "Thrash of the Titans!" and currently marks Cilan's final appearance in it overall.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character leaves the group
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Iris
Category:Episodes focusing on Cilan
Category:Milestone episodes