SM119: A High-Speed Awakening!

is the 27th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon - Ultra Legends.
==Synopsis==
Sophocles and Vikavolt are entering a Vikavolt race! When they arrive, Sophocles learns that his rival Horacio is also competing with his newly evolved Vikavolt. The entrants get off to a rousing start, but when Sophocles enters the cave route, his fear of the dark leaves him petrified. Vikavolt offers him support, leading him to realize that if his Pokémon is determined to press on, he can be courageous as well. After an interruption by Team Rocket, the race is back on, and Sophocles wins by a nose! He receives a Buginium Z as a prize, and Hapu follows up by giving him a Z-Ring!
==Episode plot==
At school, Sophocles has equipped himself and Vikavolt with high-tech. Ash wants to know what that is, and is told Vikavolt is wearing a VR armor with a camera, linked to his VR goggles. This allows Sophocles to see what Vikavolt is seeing, and to give commands to his Pokémon, all to be used for the upcoming Vikavolt race. Mallow remembers they did participate in the Charjabug Race, and Sophocles exclaims this race will be much more thrilling, and more challengers will participate, too. Lana reads that the winner will get a Buginium Z, which amazes Mallow. Sophocles plans on using Z-Moves, and aims to get a Z-Ring after winning this race. Kiawe hopes to form a three-man team, but Sophocles explains this time only single participants are allowed. Still, he invites others to come and cheer him on, to which Mallow and Lillie plan on bringing food. Kiawe nods, but yells out that he has to aim for a victory if Kiawe is going to be on the sidelines. Sophocles braces Vikavolt for the race, who electrocutes everyone in excitement.
On the school grounds, Sophocles trains with Vikavolt. The latter flies around, which disorients Sophocles, since he can see what Vikavolt is looking at. To adjust himself to this vision, Sophocles has Vikavolt fly to Togedemaru, who greets it. Next, Sophocles asks of Vikavolt to fly over to Kiawe. Much to their surprise, Vikavolt passes by Kiawe, and flies to a tree to eat its sap, which disappoint Sophocles. Over time, Sophocles adjusts himself to Vikavolt's vision, even as it flies over to Professor Kukui, who notes the Pokémon being behind him, even as he is writing on the blackboard. As Sophocles is walking around town, he smells some delicious food, but gets pulled by Vikavolt away. At evening, Sophocles researches tomorrow's weather. Vikavolt goes up to him, which makes Sophocles smile, being confident in their victory. The next day, the heroes come to the race track. Ash notes how many people have come, while Mallow asks Sophocles is he nervous. The latter denies, stating he has revised every possible situation, even if Lillie reminds it was a bad idea to stay up all night.
thumb|Ash and the gang encountering Horacio and his friends.
Suddenly, the group sees Derossa, the winner of the last year's Vikavolt race. Sophocles reminds himself this should not make him nervous, even with other tough Vikavolt participants. Suddenly, he gets badmouthed by Horacio, who also came to compete. He shows his shiny Vikavolt, with whom he trained hard on Poni Island. He claims his "Red Comet" Vikavolt evolved into a white one. Pointing his finger at Sophocles, his "eternal rival", Horacio hopes his grudge will be resolved by the end of the race. Sophocles promises not to give up, either, and the two sides stare at each other. Team Rocket notices the twerps came to participate, too, and plan on stealing their Vikavolt as well. In fact, Jessie hopes the Vikavolt they'll steal should be a nice present for the boss, to have them pull his sleigh. Jessie and Wobbuffet leave James and Meowth (who is inside the Vikavolt mech) to handle the rest.
With all Vikavolt ready, the announcer, Anna, states it is time for the 34th Fini Cup Vikavolt race to begin. Hapu comes to the stage, and expects a heated race from everyone. Ana shows a display of the race: an ocean, forest, cave and beach courses, which lead to the finish line. Kiawe notes it is a long race track, but Lana has faith in Sophocles and Vikavolt to win it. Ana also shows the controllers, designed as Vikavolt, to have the trainers feel as if they are actually riding their Vikavolt through the race. James goes to the controller, and braces Meowth in the Vikavolt mech. He reminds Meowth of the plan, as they plan on stealing all the Vikavolt. With all the challengers ready, the lights turn green, and the race starts. The Vikavolt dash away, and Sophocles' friends cheer him on. At the ocean area, Derossa's Vikavolt takes the lead. Sophocles' Vikavolt speeds up, but Sophocles orders it to stay in its position, and asks for its trust on this decision.
"Jamestron' Meowmeow" Vikavolt passes by a curve, amazing Ana by how they performed that. It speeds up, but the wind blows away a lot of Vikavolt away, causing them to crash into each other and fall into the sea. Sophocles' Vikavolt uses String Shot to gain more control, and it takes the lead; Sophocles predicted that a gust of wind would occur. As Sophocles' Vikavolt speeds up, it gets approached by Horacio's Vikavolt. Sophocles anticipated his rival, as they compete against each other and go to the forest area. As the other Vikavolt close up on them, Sophocles navigates his Vikavolt to avoid crashing into a tree. Horacio and Vikavolt do the same, and keep up the pace. Sophocles' friends cheer him on, as do Horacio's team, while Hapu watches this intense race. The Vikavolt enter the cave area, where Jessie has Wobbuffet turn off the lights.
Horacio has his Vikavolt slow down to keep an eye on the surroundings, but wonders where Sophocles' Vikavolt is. The latter is stopped in place, as Sophocles is terrified of the dark. This causes him to phase out, as he didn't anticipate this situation. James and his "Vikavolt" aren't slowed down, as the latter has infrared vision. Jessie warns them they will soon reach the desired spot. Sophocles is frightened, but his Vikavolt discharges electricity to make some light. Seeing that the latter is doing this to comfort Sophocles, he thanks Vikavolt. Sophocles admits he had to overcome this fear eventually, as he wants to become an astronaut, to be in a place of darkness. With this, Sophocles orders Vikavolt to fly in the darkness. The other Vikavolt are flying, which makes Horacio wonder where could Sophocles' Vikavolt be. Suddenly, his Vikavolt and the rest are trapped in a net. Jessie has Wobbuffet turn the light back on, and is glad they captured a lot of them. Meowth, who is flying in the Vikavolt mech, presses a button to cast a net to seal the Vikavolt, preventing their escape.
Sophocles is adjusting to the darkness, but notices something wrong. Horacio's Vikavolt flies out of the net, and Meowth attempts to catch it, but its mecha gets damaged by Sophocles' Vikavolt. The latter holds Meowth's mecha back, while Horacio's Vikavolt damages it, as Horacio refuses any outside interference. His Vikavolt fires Charge Beam, electrocuting Meowth and his mecha, while Sophocles' Vikavolt cuts through the net to release the other Vikavolt. In a moment, Stufful lands on Meowth's mecha, and it, James, Jessie and Wobbuffet are soon taken away by Bewear. Sophocles' friends are uncertain what is going on in the cave, but are relieved to see the Vikavolt coming out of it. The Vikavolt regroup outside the cave, and have a final sprint towards the finish line.
Horacio and Sophocles' Vikavolt take the lead, as they are on the beach area. The two Vikavolt start sparking out electricity, as they speed up. Horacio's Vikavolt speeds up, but Sophocles' Vikavolt takes the advantage as they go past a curve. Hapu becomes excited, while Sophocles' friends cheer him on. In the end, Sophocles' Vikavolt crosses the finish line first, and wins the race. Sophocles dismounts the controller, and hugs Vikavolt in happiness for having won. The former's friends congratulate him. Horacio comes to Sophocles, and extends his hand, admitting his defeat. However, he promises not to lose the next time, and so does Sophocles, as they shake hands. At evening, the heroes admire Sophocles' Buginium-Z, and note he needs a Z-Ring to activate its power. He is uncertain if he could meet the Island Kahuna's standards, but Ash supports him that he can do that.
Suddenly, they encounter Hapu, who was expecting Sophocles. Hapu has heard of Sophocles' righteous deed to save other Vikavolt during the race. For those deeds, Hapu gives him a Z-Ring, to which Sophocles thanks her. Hapu expects of him to continue working like that, and he gets praised by his friends. Sophocles equips the Z-Ring, and is amazed to finally have one.
At night, Sophocles, sleeping with his illuminating Togedemaru, has a dream about Vikavolt. The latter goes atop Sophocles, slightly disturbing him, but he pets Vikavolt.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Derossa
===Pokémon===
*Horacio's Vikavolt
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?:" Vikavolt (JA; Shiny), Zweilous (EN)
*The Poké Problem segment hosted by Sophocles asks what he gets after winning the Vikavolt race in today's episode. The correct answer is the blue answer, Buginium Z. The other answers are a year's supply of Malasadas (red), Vikavolt merchandise (green), and a silver medal (yellow).
*This episode is the last episode of the Pokémon anime to air in the Heisei era.
*The episode's title in the original is a reference to that of the 16th movie.
*James's facial reactions around the time a gust of wind blows in is in the style of the manga series Initial D. This is an inside joke as James Japanese voice actor Shin-ichiro voices Takumi Fujiwara from Initial D.
*During the race, a sound effect of the Endor speeder bike from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi can be heard in the background.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Sophocles
Category:Episodes featuring Mythical Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring alternate colored Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Island Kahunas
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a Z-Crystal