PJ127: Just a Scone's Throw From Here!

is the 37th episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
It’s the day before Ash and Leon’s battle, and our heroes are meeting up with Leon, Sonia, and Professor Magnolia—and Eternatus! Leon has been working to calm the Legendary Pokémon’s rage, for which Goh is grateful. Ash and Goh then visit the scone shop where Goh first met Scorbunny, and the since-evolved Cinderace reunites with its Nickit friends. However, chaos ensues when Team Rocket joins forces with a Perrserker and two Galarian Meowth—but the Nickit evolve into Thievul, and with a little help from Goh’s Pokémon, they send Team Rocket blasting off again. Goh then receives a message from Project Mew: it’s time for his next mission!
==Episode plot==
Ash and Goh arrive at Wyndon Stadium, having been called over by Leon for a surprise. The two boys speculate that Leon intends to show them the Pokémon he intends to use in the finals as they meet with him, Sonia and Professor Magnolia. Leon takes out a Poké Ball and Eternatus appears, surprising the two boys. Goh recalls how violent Eternatus was in the past, yet it isn't doing anything at all now.
Sonia explains that they would have no future with Eternatus, while Magnolia continues by stating that the Dynamax phenomenon is linked to Eternatus, and thus believe that it would be best for it to coexist peacefully with humans, with Leon serving as its caretaker. Leon admits it took some time to control its emotions, but he still has a long way to go with its powers. Goh then asks Leon to take care of Eternatus for him, since it's a Pokémon that has great importance to the Galar region and wants it to accept Goh someday, and that he wants to be a trainer like Leon, which he gladly accepts.
With the meeting over, Ash and Goh bid farewell to Leon, who flies off on his Charizard. Ash reminds him not to get lost for tomorrow's match, although Leon tells him that Charizard would help him if that happened. Ash and Goh then walk around Wyndon City to find some good food to prepare for the match, where they get a whiff of delicious scones and follow the smell. As Goh looks on, Cinderace pops out of its Poké Ball, where Goh remembers the time he met it as a Scorbunny.
The boys greet the scone owner, who's glad to see them again. He becomes more surprised when he learns that Scorbunny evolved into Cinderace before someone screams. Hearing the commotion, they find a woman fighting with three Galarian Zigzagoon over a bag of scones when they pull it away from her, only for the Nickit to arrive and take the bag. The lead Zigzagoon snarls at the Nickit, but they aren't fazed and give a stern warning, causing them to back down. When they return the bag to the woman, she gives them a scone as thanks, while nearby witnesses give them some berries. The Nickit then give the scone and two berries to the Zigzagoon, who are grateful and leave the scene.
The scone owner explains that the Nickit are now popular in town, as they no longer steal, but instead help keep the peace, help people and punish mischievous Pokémon. Before they leave, Cinderace jumps in their way and reintroduces itself. The Nickit don't seem to recognize Cinderace at first, but only when it rubs its nose do they realize that their former leader had returned and evolved, delighted to see their old friend again.
As the Zigzagoon run through an alleyway, they bump into two Galarian Meowth and another unknown Pokémon. Nearby, Team Rocket plots to steal Ash and Goh's Pokémon when they hear commotion in the nearby alleyway. The unknown Pokémon intimidates the Zigzagoon into giving their food up which they take to eat. Jessie and James remark that they look a lot like Meowth due to their Charms, who believes otherwise until their Rotom Phone informs them that they're Galarian Meowth and and the other one is their evolved form, Perrserker. Seeing that they're strong, they decide to recruit them to their cause.
As Cinderace and the Nickit play, Goh recalls his past when he wanted Mew as his first Pokémon but instead changed his mind to have Scorbunny instead. Just then, the Galarian Zigzagoon return and inform the Nickit of the theft when the Perrserker and two Meowth arrive to steal items. Ash asks who the Pokémon are as the scone owner explains that they're Perrserker and Meowth, who just arrived recently and began causing trouble. Perrserker taunts the Nickit into following it, where they end up getting ensnared by a net.
Ash and Goh try to find the Nickit and arrive at a fountain where Goh recalls when he caught his Inteleon as a Sobble. He then calls him out and asks him to track the Nickit, which he quickly detects. They soon run into Team Rocket and believe that they were using Perrserker, although they insist otherwise. As Jessie states they'll take their Pokémon, James reminds her that they were supposed to take them during the finals, causing her to wonder if they shouldn't battle. Meowth is irritated by their indecision and states they'll just do it now, calling the Rocket Prize Master. Using Meowth, they take two Poké Balls, bringing out Hattrem and Morgrem.
Ash and Pikachu prepare to battle, but Cinderace stops both, which Goh interprets as a battle for him alone. Ash accepts and wishes him luck, with Goh using Cinderace, Inteleon and Grookey. Jessie laughs as James grabs the two Galarian Meowth, as their Charms are also compatible for the Rocket Prize Master as four more Poké Balls come out. They manage to call Stonjourner, Dubwool, Arrokuda and Cramorant as additional reinforcements. Alongside Perrserker's group, they have nine Pokémon to six. The Nickit tell Cinderace they'll handle the new group so Goh could focus on Team Rocket's Pokémon.
The Pokémon proceed to fight, with the Nickit running in circles around Perrserker's group. Goh's Pokémon struggle to fight Team Rocket's Pokémon, as Cramorant is using Arrokuda as a projectile to distract his Pokémon from the main battle. He sends Grookey to attack it, who uses its stick to hit Cramorant rapidly on the head. The Nickit end up evolving into Thievul and use their newly gained strength to fight their opponents, with the leader putting Perrserker on the defensive. It eventually manages to break its claws and knocks it out before the two Meowth fall.
Meanwhile, Grookey's constant bashing on Cramorant's head causes it to swallow Arrokuda, causing everyone to be stunned by what happened. Goh takes advantage of the confusion by having Cinderace use Pyro Ball on Stonjourner, causing it to fall and crush Hattrem in the process. Inteleon then uses Snipe Shot, knocking Dubwool and Morgrem out. Grookey then rides Cramorant to the fainted Pokémon and hits it one more time, causing it to spit out Arrokuda and faint too, leaving Team Rocket baffled by the loss.
In desperation, Team Rocket tries to use Perrserker's Charm to get more Pokémon, but they realize that its Charm is too big to fit in the slot. The Thievul swipe the Rocket Prize Master and Perrserker's group away before Goh orders a final Pyro Ball, which the Thievul help with and send them blasting away. The Rocket Prize Master proceeds to flee from the scene after this. Cinderace is pleased with its friends evolving.
Returning to the scone stall, the owner gives the Thievul a huge pile of scones to celebrate their evolution and asks them to keep protecting the city. One of the Thievul senses the Zigzagoon underneath the table and invites them to eat. Meanwhile, Perrserker and the Galarian Meowth look on before walking away, but the Thievul stops them and gives them a bag of scones, knowing that they were just hungry like the others and had no ill intentions, leaving them deeply touched by the gesture. The scone owner then gives Ash and Goh food as everyone eats together. 
After having their fill, Ash and Goh start walking back and are excited with tomorrow's battle. However, Goh gets a message on his Rotom Phone and sees the contents and becomes dismayed, apologizing to Ash as he can't watch his battle because he just got an urgent summons from Project Mew. Ash is not fazed and simply wishes Goh luck, who likewise returns the gesture as they share a fist bump and go their own ways.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Galarian Meowth
*Thievul
*Dubwool
*Cramorant
*Arrokuda
*Morgrem
*Perrserker
*Stonjourner
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?": Perrserker
*This marks the final appearance of the Rocket Prize Master.
*The title is a reference to the idiom "stone's throw".
*"After the story": 
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Legendary Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character releases or gives away a Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Goh
Category:Episodes featuring alternate colored Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions
Category:Episodes in which a main character leaves the group