SM139: Enter the Champion!

is the 47th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon - Ultra Legends.
==Synopsis==
As the Alola Pokémon League races toward the finish line, Gladion and Zoroark unleash the Z-Move Never-Ending Nightmare against Pikachu. But Pikachu stops in its tracks to meet the threat head-on with Breakneck Blitz: a strategy that’s pure Ash! The clash of Z-Moves leaves both Pokémon unable to battle, and Ash and Gladion both respond by sending out their Lycanroc for the final stretch of the match. The two Lycanroc battle to new levels of intensity, ending with a Counter-versus-Counter showdown—and a momentous, hard-earned win for Ash!
At long last, our hero is crowned the Champion of the first-ever Alola Pokémon League!
==Episode plot==
As Zoroark comes charging towards Pikachu, Gladion has it use Night Daze while Ash has Pikachu counter with Thunderbolt. Gladion then tells Zoroark to use Shadow Claw, which Ash then tells Pikachu to use Iron Tail, and both moves collide. Zoroark then keeps repeating to use Shadow Claw on Pikachu, but Pikachu dodges, however it manages to land a blow on Pikachu. Gladion then tells it to use Night Daze, which Ash orders Pikachu to dodge by jumping. However, Zoroark comes in close range and hits Pikachu high in the air with Shadow Claw. At that moment, Gladion presses the Z-Ring, triggering the Z-Power of his crystal. Zoroark uses the Ghost-type Z-Move, Never-Ending Nightmare, which causes the whole arena to change, and dark hands are emitted to the ground. Pikachu jumps on one of the hands, and gets affected as he falls down. As the attack continues, Ash tells Pikachu to run and orders him to use Quick Attack to shake it off, however, the Z-Move blocks their escape route.
Gladion declares that no one can escape the Ghost-type Z-Move. Instead, Ash has Pikachu stop running, and decides to counter with their Normal-type Z-Move, Breakneck Blitz. As Pikachu charges, he manages to break through most of the attack and is able to hit Zoroark. However, he gets hit with the rest of Ghost-type Z-Move as well, which causes an explosion. After the smoke clears, Pikachu and Zoroark have both fainted: Kukui declares that both of them are unable to battle. Ash and Gladion both run to their Pokémon; Ash smiles and picks up Pikachu, commending him for his hard work. Gladion returns Zoroark to its Poké Ball and praises it for its hard work as well. As they return to their places, the two sides glare at each other. Ash compliments Gladion for how both he and Zoroark were in sync, while Gladion states how Ash is unique to be able to break through his Z-Move like that. All of a sudden, both Ash and Gladion start laughing, which has everyone amazed that they're enjoying their battle. Lusamine and Delia are a bit happy to see their sons having a good time.
As they finish, Ash tells Gladion that this was their best battle yet, with Gladion agreeing on that. Without further ado, the two sides brace to send out their last Pokémon out. Ash and Gladion both send out their Lycanroc as their final Pokémon. Ash and Gladion then think about how they had their rivalry with each other along with their Lycanroc, like when Ash's Lycanroc first battled Gladion's Midnight Lycanroc when it was a Rockruff, Ash's Rockruff evolved into Dusk Form Lycanroc and was howling with Gladion's Lycanroc and Olivia's Midday Lycanroc, and both Lycanroc had their second battle on Poni Island. As Ash and Gladion finish their thoughts, they both tell their Lycanroc that they're going to settle this now, as both Lycanroc are ready to battle. As both sides remain silent for a moment, they both order their Lycanroc to use Stone Edge. Both sides collide with each other and cancel their attacks out.
Ash orders his Lycanroc to use Accelerock which Gladion's Lycanroc intercepts with Counter and punches Ash's Lycanroc away. Gladion then goes for another Stone Edge, which Ash's Lycanroc evades, then goes to use Bite. However, Gladion calls them Lycanroc is preparing to use Counter, so Ash tells his Lycanroc to stop its attack. Gladion calls them soft, and has his Lycanroc use Stone Edge. However, Ash's Lycanroc manages to dodge it, which Gladion is surprised about, thinking that its reaction speed had gotten better in its battle. Ash then tells his Lycanroc to keep on attacking. Gladion then tells his Lycanroc to use Stone Edge, which Ash's Lycanroc dodges and then uses Accelerock. Gladion then tells his Lycanroc to use another Stone Edge. However, Ash's Lycanroc jumps on top of the boulder and manages to hit Gladion's Lycanroc.
After realizing that Ash and his Lycanroc are better than he thought, Gladion orders his Lycanroc use Stone Edge as a footing. Gladion states he won't let that be repeated again, and the Midnight Lycanroc uses another Stone Edge. Dusk Lycanroc dodges and uses Accelerock again. Gladion has Lycanroc repeat its attack, which Ash's Lycanroc dodges that one as well. However, at a close range, Gladion's Lycanroc grins, as it uses Counter. Ash's Lycanroc nearly dodges, but Gladion's Lycanroc punches it away. As Ash's Lycanroc falls to the ground, Ash tells his Lycanroc to hang in there, and Lycanroc manages to get up and shrug the attack off. Gladion is surprised to see that Ash's Lycanroc was able to withstand his Lycanroc's Counter, and he happily states that their battle is so much fun; he and his Lycanroc are enjoying it, just as much as Ash and his Lycanroc do. As both Lycanroc continue to battle, they go head to head with each other with their own attacks, Accelerock, Stone Edge, and Bite.
Gladion then orders his Lycanroc to boost up its power with Swords Dance and then use Outrage, which lands a hit on Ash's Lycanroc. Dusk Lycanroc uses Stone Edge, to which the Midnight Lycanroc manages to smash right through them. As Gladion's Lycanroc reaches Ash's Lycanroc, it stops an utters a howl: due to Outrage, it suffers confusion. All of a sudden, Gladion's Lycanroc then bites itself, which shocks the audience. Ash then takes this advantage and orders his Lycanroc to use Bite, however Gladion's Lycanroc snaps out of its confusion and hits Ash's Lycanroc with Counter. Ash is surprised to learn that Gladion's Lycanroc bit itself to snap out of its confusion, with Gladion stating that both he and his Lycanroc thought of that to achieve their win. Ash's friends are amazed by Gladion's strategy, thinking that they must have done a lot training to pull it off. Still, Ash's Lycanroc barely manages to stand up.
thumb|The last move to declare the winner.
Gladion declares Stone Edge, while Ash has his Lycanroc smash it with Bite. Gladion's Lycanroc repeats its attack, to which Ash's Lycanroc uses Accelerock to break through it and charges at Gladion's Lycanroc, who immediately uses Counter. As the Dusk Lycanroc takes the blow, Ash has its use its own Counter, which shocks Gladion. Ash's Lycanroc's eyes twitch: it back-flips and hits Gladion's Lycanroc with its horn, slamming it into the wall. Ash's Lycanroc's eyes return to normal, as it sees Gladion's Lycanroc having been defeated. Kukui is surprised for a moment, then nods: he declares Gladion's Lycanroc unable to battle and announces that the winner is Ash. Everyone then cheers for Ash's victory and the MC announces Ash as the first-ever Champion of Alola. As Ash is silent for a bit, his friends cheer him on, noting that he won against Gladion, who was a mighty foe. Professor Oak and Delia are delighted, while Burnet is happy to see Ash having won. Wicke is moved, and Faba is envious that he'll face the Masked Royal, while Lusamine remarks Gladion fought well, too.
As Ash is speechless, Gladion asks him why is he spacing out. Ash is a bit estranged that he won, amusing Gladion by his response, and congratulates him on becoming Champion. Ash thanks him, and Gladion's Lycanroc pets Ash's. The audience claps to both sides, as Gladion asks Ash they could battle again sometime, which Ash happily agrees with. Meanwhile, underground, Team Rocket is surprised to see that Ash has won the League. Jessie then asks James if their mech is finished; James puts on the final bolt and happily confirms that. Thus, the trio is ready to steal every single Pokémon at the Pokémon League. At Bewear's den, the Oranguru robot is completely destroyed and shut down, while Stufful and Bewear are nowhere to be seen.
Later, the Awards ceremony takes place, with Professor Burnet disappointed that Kukui isn't here to see this. The Masked Royal comes to the stage, and gives Ash his trophy and congratulates him on becoming Champion, which Ash thanks the Masked Royal for. Ash tells Pikachu to check the trophy, and he smells it instead. Ash smiles, stating that Pikachu probably wouldn't understand it. Ash then tells the Masked Royal that he is excited to battle him tomorrow in the exhibition match, to which the Masked Royal is looking forward to as well. Oak and Delia admit Ash is looking cool right now, while Rotom takes pictures of Ash. While the ceremony is taking place, Wicke then detects signs of an Ultra Wormhole, which is right above them. The Ultra Wormhole expands, gaining the attention of the audience. Suddenly, a huge Ultra Beast falls out, revealing itself to be a big-mouthed one: a Guzzlord.
Bewear and Stufful are running across on the water as they see the Ultra Wormhole appear and quickly head straight to the Manalo Stadium.
==Debuts==
===Move===
*Never-Ending Nightmare
==Trivia==
SM139 Dare da before.png
SM139 Dare da after.png
*"Who's That Pokémon?": Lycanroc (Dusk Form; JA), Chansey (EN)
*The host of this episode was Professor Burnet and the question was "Which Pokémon will be the winner in today's episode?" The answer is Ash's Lycanroc (green), the other choices given were Gladion's Lycanroc (blue), Zoroark (red), and Ash's Pikachu (yellow).
*Type: Wild is used as an insert song when Ash and Gladion reminisce about the history of the rivalry between their respective Lycanroc.
*This episode marks the second instance where a disaster occurs during a League Awards ceremony. The first was in "Down to the Fiery Finish!" where Team Flare used Zygarde's vines to attack the Lumiose League stadium.
*This marks the first time that Ash has won a Pokémon League Conference, as well as the first time he has won a game-original League.
** This caused National Ash Ketchum Day to become one of the official Pokémon traditions and celebrate it every year on September 15, in honor of Ash first Pokémon League victory in Alola since 2020.
*This episode's English dub title is a reference to the 1973 martial arts action film Enter the Dragon. This was also used for the title of a previous episode: "Enter the Dragonite". Coincidentally, both episodes are the only ones to involve Ash winning a League.
*This episode first aired just under a week shy of the twentieth anniversary of Ash's first Pokémon League victory.
** Also, Ash's League victories both take place in a setting that consists of a tropical archipelago featuring regional forms of Pokémon and is overseen by a team of four primary Trainers that must be battled in the lead-up to the main competition. However, unlike the Orange Crew, the Island Kahunas are not necessarily required to be battled in order to qualify for entry.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring a Pokémon League
Category:Episodes featuring Mythical Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Legendary Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Ultra Beasts
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Gladion
Category:Episodes featuring Champions
Category:Episodes featuring Elite Four members