PJ083: Star Night, Star Flight!

is the 35th episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
When Ash and Goh hear that a small town in Johto has been plunged into perpetual darkness, they’re off to investigate…and it’s true! For about a week, it’s been nighttime all the time. But a girl named Tiara describes some Pokémon she saw when it all started: Unown. They heard Tiara yearning for darkness so she could see her beloved Cleffa, who she believes is now a star in the sky. Along with Cynthia, Ash and Goh battle the Unown, and Tiara realizes her wish was selfish. Daylight returns, and the Unown show Tiara a happy illusion of Cleffa to help her say goodbye to her departed friend.
==Episode plot==
In the Johto region, a day in a small town suddenly turns into a night. Later in Kanto, Professor Cerise, Ren, and Chrysa tell about this to Ash and Goh, mentioning how the perpetual night is messing up the townspeople's daily rhythms. Ash and Goh decide to investigate and depart immediately.
Ash and Goh later arrive at the small town, where, despite it being morning, they find themselves in the middle of a nightly setting. An old man greets them and points out how the darkness, which has been going on for a week now, is leaving people tired and causing flowers to wilt. He also points at a Murkrow on a nearby tree and mentions how people dislike its kind due to the belief that seeing one in nighttime will bring bad luck. Goh feels sorry for Murkrow and asks it if it wants to come with him. Murkrow agrees to this, so Goh tosses a Poké Ball at it and catches the Darkness Pokémon. The old man, feeling tired, heads back home with his Sudowoodo. After witnessing a shooting star, Ash and Goh are approached by a little girl who introduces herself as Tiara and asks them if they're looking at the stars, too. She tells them that she is looking at the stars to find Cleffa, who, according to her, had become a star. Tiara's mother then approaches them and tells her daughter it's time to go home, but, at Tiara's request, agrees to let her watch the stars for a bit longer.
While Tiara watches the starry sky, her mother explains to Ash and Goh that Tiara and Cleffa used to be good friends, until they had to say farewell to it several days ago. She had told the upset Tiara that Cleffa had become a star, and Tiara has been stargazing ever since. She also mentions that Tiara had seen a strange Pokémon when the endless night had started, although she suspects it to be just a coincidence. When Tiara prepares to head home, Goh asks her to describe the strange Pokémon she saw. She describes it as being small and black, having a big eye, and being shaped like a stick. Later, when Ash and Goh go to eat lunch at a restaurant, Goh looks through his Rotom Phone to find the Pokémon that Tiara described, and suddenly finds something and runs off, hurrying Ash and Pikachu to follow him.
Goh leads Ash to an archeology museum, where he plans to look into something. When they walk past a room filled with people, Pikachu suddenly catches a familiar scent, running into the room and jumping into the arms of Cynthia, who immediately recognizes him while giving Pikachu a hug. Ash and Goh enter the room as well, and Cynthia greets Ash, telling him how it has been some time. She asks Pikachu if he's been great too, with him affirming that he's been doing great too. Cynthia says she's heard of Ash having entered the World Coronation Series. As Pikachu goes back to Ash, he promises to one day get into the Masters Eight as well, and Cynthia says she's looking forward to it. Goh is excited at being in the presence of the Sinnoh League Champion and introduces himself before asking what Cynthia is doing here. Cynthia explains that despite her Champion title, her forte is archeology, dedicating her time to researching history, myths, and rare Pokémon, as well as traveling around the world to study ruins, which is what had led her here. This leads Goh back to why he had come to the museum in the first place, pointing at a picture of the Pokémon that matches Tiara's description; Unown, which are found near ruins and exhibit mysterious powers when in a group. Ash and Goh share Tiara's story with Cynthia, who deduces that it's likely that a group of Unown had started the endless night based on Tiara's wish. She then requests to get to meet this girl.
Later, Ash, Goh, and Cynthia meet Tiara and her mother, who have come back to the town's park to look at the stars. Cynthia asks if they can join her in doing so, showing that she bought some doughnuts for them to eat. While Ash, Goh, Cynthia, and Tiara sit down to eat the doughnuts, Goh shows Tiara a picture of Unown, which she affirms is the Pokémon she saw. She describes how she had wished she could watch the stars forever, and a group of Unown had appeared and started the endless night to make her wish come true.
Ash and Goh ask Tiara if she knows where the Unown went since the endless night is causing people trouble and they're looking for a way to fix it. Tiara, however, angrily declares that she wants to keep watching the stars and refuses to let the dawn come. In response to her strong emotions, the Unown suddenly appear and surround her in a dark cloud of mist, which pushes Ash, Goh, and Cynthia back. From the mist emerges an illusionary Pikachu, which responds to Thunderbolt and Iron Tail attacks from Ash's Pikachu with the same moves of equal power. Goh sends out his Cinderace, which the Unown respond to by creating an illusion of a Cinderace to oppose it. Like with Pikachu, Cinderace finds its moves evenly matched by its illusionary counterpart. Cynthia steps in and sends out her Garchomp, which the Unown predictably replicate. Once again, the copy's move is equal in power with the real Pokémon's attack, so Cynthia has Garchomp use Sandstorm, which the illusionary Garchomp copies. This hides Cynthia's Garchomp from her copy's gaze and allows her to take to the sky, from where she attacks the Unown and the illusions with Scale Shot, causing the Unown to disappear and the illusions to disperse.
Tiara, now having calmed down, apologizes for having tried to make the night last forever. Goh asks Cynthia why the Unown didn't create an illusion of Cleffa, since seeing it again was Tiara's biggest wish. Cynthia figures that Tiara simply needed some time to accept parting with Cleffa. Tiara thinks that since Cleffa became a star, it must have a lot of friends now up in the sky, so she asks it to not worry about her, although she does wish to see it one more time. The Unown reappear and show Tiara memories of her times with Cleffa, before creating an illusion of Cleffa. Tiara hugs Cleffa and assures her that she'll be fine. The illusion vanishes, along with the endless night, restoring the town's daylight. Ash and Goh tell Tiara that she and Cleffa are always friends, no matter how much apart they are, and Cynthia assures her that the stars are always shining, even when they can't be seen. The Unown have vanished again, and Cynthia remarks that there's still a lot about them that's not known.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Goh's Murkrow
===Move===
*Scale Shot
==Trivia==
*Who's That Pokémon?: Unown (letter "I")
*As of this episode, Shogo Sakata replaces Katsuyuki Konishi's role as Cynthia's Garchomp's voice actor.
*The title is a reference to the nursery rhyme "Star Light, Star Bright".
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Champions
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon