PJ137: The Road Most Traveled!

is the 1st episode of of .
==Synopsis==
Ash and Pikachu are on their own, visiting new places and meeting different Pokémon, and their discoveries have them bursting with excitement! Professor Oak and Delia approve, too. The Professor previously loved to wander and discover new things, and Delia is excited about her son's goal to make more Pokémon friends. While Team Rocket plots to steal Pikachu, Ash comes across the Legendary Pokémon Latias, and it's injured! Our hero administers first aid, but Latias remains wary. The next day, Team Rocket targets Latias, but Ash and Pikachu put an end to their plan, and the trio blasts off. As Latias departs, Ash wonders if he'll ever see it again…
==Episode plot==
As Ash and Pikachu continue on their journey, they arrive at a crossroads. To decide which path to take, Ash takes a twig and spins it, causing it to fall left. Ash and Pikachu prepare to go left, but Ash inexplicably decides to go right. Pikachu is upset by this and uses Thunderbolt on Ash's cap before playing dumb. Ash realizes what he's up to and continues going forward, causing Pikachu to rapidly catch up to his owner. 
Arriving at a forest, Ash and Pikachu navigate through a river via stepping stones when Ash loses balance and falls off. He is subsequently nibbled on by three Magikarp and Pikachu laughs at the scene before using Thunderbolt to remove the Pokémon off him. As they continue navigating the forest, Ash swings on a branch and spots a Kakuna before crashing into a tree. The crash shakes the Kakuna off its webbing, but Ash manages to catch it in time. The Kakuna then evolves into a Beedrill and puts its two stingers out, scaring Ash. Ash then realizes that Beedrill is actually thanking him for saving it from the fall and touches its stingers before it flies off.
Ash and Pikachu take a rest at a tree while Professor Oak stops by his home and asks Delia where he went. Delia tells him that she doesn't know as he wanted to go out and make more friends. As Oak recites a poem, Mimey, who had been tidying up, sweeps dust into his face.
Back at the forest, Ash and Pikachu marvel at the Pokémon before finding a Meowth appears, though they quickly realize that it's Team Rocket's. Nets ensnare Pikachu as Jessie and James appear. Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt and Iron Tail, but James tells him that the net has been designed to specifically counter Pikachu. As they walk off, Ash sends out Noivern and has it use Boomburst. Wobbuffet uses Mirror Coat to reflect the attack, but Ash sends out Donphan, who uses Rollout and negate the attack, leaving them baffled. Ash then follows up with his Sceptile, who uses Leaf Blade to slash the netting before Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off with Thunderbolt.
As Pikachu and Ash thank their friends for the rescue, Jessie laments over another failure while James states that he hadn't accounted for Ash's other Pokémon. As Meowth states that they'll be ready next time, an invisible Pokémon collides into them, sending it crashing into the forest and Team Rocket in another direction. Ash and Pikachu heard the crash and head to investigate, where Noivern finds an invisible object in the water. As it fades, it reveals a red wing, which Ash immediately recognizes as a Latias and swims towards her. Latias regains consciousness and is scared of Ash, but is unable to escape due to being severely injured, before Ash somewhat calms her down. Ash then sends Buizel to paddle them back to shore, where they begin to treat Latias.
Team Rocket navigates the forest and encounters Ash with a strange Pokémon. Meowth takes their Rotom Phone and learn that Latias is a Legendary Pokémon and resolve to capture her for their boss. The following morning, Latias wakes up and is still scared of Ash and his Pokémon, trying to rip the dressing off her wing. However, she is still injured and unable to fly while Ash tries to reassure her before Pikachu hears something. A large suction appears and grabs Latias, with Ash leaping in with her. Meowth then begins to apply liquid nitrogen to the sphere to freeze Latias, since Dragon types are weak to Ice. They then hear Ash inside and believe that they can get away, as without Ash to command his Pokémon, they wouldn't be able to act.
As Ash brainstorms what to do, he suddenly has an idea and has Pikachu use Thunderbolt on him as he touches the sphere, allowing the energy to superconduct and shatter it, leaving Team Rocket baffled and making Latias realize that Ash truly does care for her. Ash has Noivern use Boomburst on Team Rocket to send them blasting off again. As they fall, he calls out for Latias, who grabs his hands, and they manage to land. Ash thanks Latias and allows her to leave as he and his Pokémon say goodbye to her, wondering if he'll see her again.
Ash and Pikachu continue their journey across the wilderness; unbeknownst to either, Latias is following them.
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?": Noivern
*As of this episode, all Pokémon introduced in Generation III have made an appearance in the main anime.
*The scene where Professor Oak rides his bike to Ash's house while Delia and Mimey are cleaning resembles a similar looking scene in The Power of One.
*This episode changed the English opening theme from With You to Gotta Catch Em All, which is used for all 11 episodes of the season that were produced as part of Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master in the original Japanese version. 
*This and "Enter Pikachu!", being the first episode of the series, are the only two episodes of to not receive a next episode preview at the end of their respective previous episodes.
*Despite not physically appearing throughout the entire sub-season, Lucario and Dracovish are Ash's only two Pokémon currently in rotation to be seen only in his photo in this episode.
*The title is a reference to Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken".
**"Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!" is another episode with a title that references the same poem.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Legendary Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions