PJ043: Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!

Stylized as Sword and Shield: "The Darkest Day" on the English title card. is the 43rd episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
While Ash and Leon battle the rampaging Dynamax Pokémon, Goh and Sonia seek answers about the legends of Galar and the Darkest Day. Then, Ash meets Chairman Rose, the president of Macro Cosmos. Rose supported Leon as a young Trainer, but when he makes a similar offer to Ash, our hero politely declines.
Meanwhile, Goh and Sonia share their findings with Sonia’s grandmother, Professor Magnolia. Professor Magnolia previously worked with Rose’s company to create the Dynamax Band, but she now fears that Rose is somehow involved with the rampaging Pokémon. When Goh and Sonia head out to do more research, they’re confronted by a mysterious man—what happens next?
==Episode plot==
At the Energy plant, Team Rocket is working as miners there and hopes to catch the most evilest Pokémon. Meanwhile, Goh and Sonia reach the Turffield Geoglaph hoping to investigate its connection with the ancient hero legend. About 3, 000 years ago a dark vortex had engulfed the region of Galar which was known as the Darkest Day. A hero with the legendary sword and shield managed to calm the dynamax Pokémon. Looking that the exact similar situations are being faced now, Sonia estimates that Darkest day could reoccur. Meanwhile, Goh recalls a dark cloud appearing when he met Lugia. He estimates that maybe the reason behind the dark vortex in the darkest day is also a legendary Pokémon, a point Sonia had not thought of. Hearing this, Goh tells Sonia that he and Ash met that Pokémon she is talking about before, which surprise her.
Team Rocket going looking for the Pokémon then hear noise as Oleana keeps injecting more Dynamax particles in the energy core, which cause more Pokémon to Dynamax. This leads to a wild Coalossal getting Dynamaxed. Chairman Rose gets happy to see this saying that Eternatus will soon appear and save Galar's future. Team Rocket hears this and realized the Pokémon their looking for is inside that core. Oleana gets a call from her subordinate as he's chasing Goh and Sonia as she tells to not let them out of his sight, which he understood. Goh and Sonia head over to Wedgehurst so they can met up with Professor Magnolia, which surprises her because she her grandmother. At the sight of rampaging Pokémon, Ash and Leon reach the place in order to confront it. Sonia tells Goh that she and Leon have been friends since they were kids but drift apart when he met Chairman Rose. 
Ash and Leon start battling the Gigantamax Coalossal. With the help of Dragapult and Gengar, Ash and Leon defeat the Pokémon. As the miners start throwing stones on the Coalossal, Ash intervenes by defending the helpless Pokémon and explains to them that is wasn't its fault then left. Leon is impressed how Ash defended Coalossal like that then Chairman Rose and Oleana arrived, which surprises the Galar Champion. Chairman Rose asks about Ash to Leon as he introduces him to him and thanks him for his help. However, little did Ash know, Pikachu is sensing something off about Chairman Rose as he glares at him. Chairman Rose invites Ash to dinner, which he accepts, while Leon begins to question him when he say some things about the future. Meanwhile, Goh and Sonia have arrive at Wedgehurst along with Professor Magnolia research lab. However, before heading inside, Goh and Sonia see a Wishing Star falling out of sky then close to them as Professor Magnolia comes out to explain them about it.
Professor Magnolia realizes that Goh is with Professor Cerise then asks him how he has been and he tells him that he's great. Goh tells Professor Magnolia that he came to Galar in hopes of learning more about Dynamax and she understands that then tells him what he wants to know. Also, Professor Magnolia tells Goh that she went to Chairman Rose in order to create the Dynamax Band so they can control the power of it. Sonia comes in as she gives Goh his own Dynamax Band, which he greatly appreciates. Goh cursoaly asks why Pokémon Dynamax only in the stadiums and wild areas as Professor Magnolia tells him that they all contain power spots. Professor Magnolia asks Sonia about her homework as she gives her the information to her. Seeing the information, Professor Magnolia is impressed with Sonia's progress but does give some of credit to Goh for his help, which he appreciates. However, Professor Magnolia can't give Sonia a passing grade yet because she wants to know where the legendary sword and shield are. Despite it, Goh wants to keep helping Sonia in her research, which she greatly appreciates and they agreed to do it together. 
Meanwhile, Ash is having dinner with Chairman Rose as he tells him how he wants to help power the Galar region for years to come. Chairman Rose asks Ash for his help and he'll help him but he declines, which makes Oleana upset. Ash explains to Chairman Rose that he wants continue his journey on his own with his Pokémon, which he understands. Chairman Rose offers Ash a place to stay for the night, which he accepts. Ash gets a call from Goh as he gives him some information and agreed to meet at Stow-on-Side the next day. While walking, Leon is thinking about what Chairman Rose said before as he wonders what's he's up to.
The next day, Goh and Sonia get ready to head off to Stow-on-Side. However, before they leave, Professor Magnolia tells Goh and Sonia the reason why she cut her partnership with Chairman Rose was because she saw something off about him. Professor Magnolia tells Goh and Sonia that she needs the mystery solve as quick as they can, which they understood and told her not to worry as they'll get to the bottom of it. After arriving at Stow-on-Side, Goh and Sonia were confronted with Oleana's subordinate as he attempts to kidnapped them. However, Goh decides to battle him then they both used Dynamax to battle. However, during the battle, Raboot accidentally destroyed the mural, which revels a statue of two Pokémon. 
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Dreepy
*Dragapult (Leon's)
*Coalossal
*Gigantamax Coalossal
*Gigantamax Garbodor
===Move===
*Dragon Darts
*Max Flare
*G-Max Volcalith
*G-Max Malodor
===Item===
*Wishing Star
==Trivia==
*"After the story": 
*Goh receiving a Dynamax Band from Sonia acts as a reference to the events from the early stages of the Sword and Shield story line.
*When Goh's Raboot crashes into the mural, it revealed the statues of the two heroes. This parallels with the event where Bede uses Chairman Rose's Copperajah to destroy the mural.
*This episode, much like "Let Bagons Be Bagons", featured the debut of pseudo legendary from said generation in the main series, in the aforementioned episode's case, Salamence.
**Both were also the 43rd episodes of their season.
* The sentence after Sword and Shield, the Darkest Day shares the same title with the Power Rangers Turbo episode known as The Darkest Day.
===Mistakes===
*During the scene when the wild Coalossal was hit by a beam of Dynamax energy, a worker disappears briefly.
*Meowth was briefly shown with human hands in one scene.
==Gallery==
==Notes==
Category:Episodes featuring Legendary Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon learning a new move
Category:Episodes featuring Dynamax Pokémon