PJ080: Trial on a Golden Scale!

is the 32nd episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Goh has received his first Project Mew trial mission! He is to gather a Volcarona’s golden scales, so after a briefing from Professor Cerise, our heroes are off to the Desert Resort in Unova. Searching an abandoned gold mine, Ash and Goh meet Nito, who is also looking for Volcarona—but his motives are anything but honorable. In fact, Nito is a Pokémon hunter out to catch Pokémon to sell for profit. A battle ensues, and Ash and Goh appear to be trapped until Quillon and Danika appear! Nito is defeated and taken into custody, and Goh passes his first trial mission with flying colors!
==Episode plot==
The Project Mew lab flies over Mount Lanakila, seeing the Alolan Ninetales they had rescued in Sinnoh. The Ninetales gratefully yelps at the flying lab as Tsurugi and his Weavile watch the Ninetales on a screen, with Tsurugi silently hoping that Ninetales does not get captured by Pokémon hunters again. Asahi steps in, noticing Tsurugi's emotion towards the Ninetales and stating that it will be fine now. Tsurugi asks if there are any leads on finding the hunters who took Ninetales, while Asahi informs him that they have located them and are headed their way. Asahi asks in return if Tsurugi is curious towards Goh, the Trainer who caught Ninetales and had passed despite being disqualified. Tsurugi brushes off Asahi's question as she continues to tell him about Goh, noting that he is about to begin his first Trial Mission. Tsurugi walks out of the room as Asahi continues, thinking that Tsurugi is obviously curious about Goh.
At the Cerise Laboratory, Goh excitedly receives his first Trial Mission from Project Mew. Ash joins to see his mission as Goh finds he must complete a mission with a variety of Pokémon, given three choices between missions. He chooses one of the missions titled "Gather Volcarona's golden scales!", though Ash wonders what the meaning of "golden scales" is due to Volcarona's usual orange scales. The two go to Professor Cerise who says that it is a key part of the mission. Chrysa pulls up the information for Volcarona on the main monitor while giving details on the Pokémon. Ash thinks that the Ember scales it drops are golden while Ren speculates that Volcarona's scattered scales may be actual gold. Goh then uses his Rotom Phone to find the location of Volcarona, finding it to be the Desert Resort in the Unova region. Goh also notes it is the same place where he caught his Golurk in the Colossus Ruins and that there was a hidden golden room in the ruins as well, concluding Volcarona and its golden scales may be there. Now knowing the connection between the golden room and Volcarona, the two boys fly by plane to the Unova region to start Goh's first Trial Mission.
Ash and Goh arrive at the Colossus Ruins and quickly find the golden room along with the Group Leader they met on their previous ruins expedition. Ash informs the Leader that Goh is looking for a Volcarona for a Trial Mission after hearing of reports in the area. The Group Leader sadly informs them the Volcarona found in the ruins stopped visiting after Pokémon hunters used cruel methods to capture Pokémon in the area, shocking Ash and Goh. Despite the sad news, the Leader tells them that him and his excavation team have found an enchanting discovery: a mural within the golden tunnels showcasing Volcarona. The text on the mural mentions a "god of fire", which Ash infers is the Volcarona visiting the ruins. The text also mentions a "rage of the mountain", which Goh quickly thinks is a volcano, telling them that Volcarona may be in a volcanic area. The Leader nods at the boy's inferences, telling them there is a town past the ruins that was sealed off after a volcanic eruption. Ash and Goh decide to head to the town in order to continue the mission.
The two arrive at the empty town with nearly nothing but barely standing buildings and a large volcano in the distance. They then find a mining tunnel originally made in the town's gold rush and decide to head inside to find Volcarona, but are quickly scared by a cloud of Woobat flying from the cave. After getting back on their feet, Goh pulls out a lantern in order to traverse through the cave's darkness. As Ash and Goh travel through the tunnel, they come across a Roggenrola in the dark. Goh identifies the -type Pokémon with his Rotom Phone, though it quickly uses Rock Throw. The attack misses and Ash attempts to start a battle. However, Goh quickly butts in and, knowing Roggenrola's type weakness to , sends out Inteleon to use Snipe Shot. The attack hits Roggenrola and Goh throws a Poké Ball towards it, successfully catching another Pokémon.
After the new catch, a strange noise emerges from behind the two. A horde of Roggenrola marches forward and uses Rock Blast, sending sharp rocks towards Ash and Goh's way. They run alongside Inteleon and eventually come across a minecart, hopping in while rushing across the tracks. Everyone enjoys the ride at first until the tracks begin to sharply turn and the cart speeds up after going across declining tracks. Ash then notices that the rails ahead are missing, though Goh tells Inteleon to quickly shoot at a nearby lever, switching the tracks so the minecart continues. The minecart begins to slow down as Goh returns Inteleon. Everyone hops out and they come across an elevator without electricity. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on the machine to power it up, causing the bulbs in the mine to light up and the elevator to function. The elevator descends deeper underground and the boys are met with an open area. They hear commotion coming from a tunnel and decide to investigate.
Inside the tunnel is a man running from an angered Ferrothorn using Bullet Seed. The man runs past the boys as Ferrothorn prepares Power Whip, though Goh quickly sends out Cinderace to have an advantage over the enraged Pokémon's / type. Cinderace uses Pyro Ball, instantly knocking Ferrothorn to the ground as Goh throws a Poké Ball its way, successfully catching a second Pokémon, which Ash excitedly comments on. Goh thanks Cinderace and returns it to its Poké Ball as the man running from Ferrothorn, named Nito, approaches Ash and Goh. He states that he is researching the Pokémon in the area while Ash and Goh introduce themselves. The two boys state they are looking for Volcarona while Nito states he is also looking for the Sun Pokémon. Goh notices a gleam in Nito's eyes and grows suspicious of him, but allows him to follow along on Goh's research. The group comes across a railway station which Nito informs was used during the Unova gold rush to travel to the next mine over. Goh comments on Nito's knowledge, getting a surprised reaction from him.
Ash then notices a group of Eggs underneath the railway's stairway, to which Nito responds that they may be Larvesta Eggs. Ash and Goh conclude that, due to the presence of Larvesta Eggs, that Volcarona may be near. Nito stands up, knowing that the Sun Pokémon is near, and quickly sends out his Galvantula, ordering to use Sticky Web to trap Ash, Goh, and their Pokémon to the wall. Nito is revealed to be a Pokémon hunter, catching Pokémon in the ruins and planning to sell the Larvesta Eggs for money. The captures squirm in the web, watching as the Pokémon hunter loads the Eggs into a wheelbarrow. Nito tells the boys to shut it while he continues down the rails to see if there are more Eggs. Two Larvesta emerge from a tunnel, catching Nito's attention as they will sell for a high price. Nito orders Galvantula to use Sticky Web on the Larvesta, though the two Pokémon spit fire, burning the web and causing Galvantula to faint. Galvantula is returned to its Poké Ball as Nito grabs another Pokémon to send out, though a large burst of flames from the tunnel nearly hits Nito. He moves about, dodging the fire while carrying the wheelbarrow full of Eggs and attempting to retreat. The fire gets close to the web holding Ash, Goh, and their Pokémon, eventually burning the tips and releasing them as they burst out. Now free, Goh tells Ash to pursue Nito while he attempts to settle down the flame-spewing Larvesta.
Pikachu uses Thunderbolt in an attempt to hit Nito, though he lets go of the wheelbarrow and Ash grabs onto it. He intimidates Nito with Pikachu's great electrical power, causing the Pokémon hunter to flee. Ash returns to Goh with the Eggs, though it doesn't seem that the angered Larvesta are settling down. Goh announces to the Larvesta that their Eggs have returned, though they still charge their flames. As Goh stands his ground, the two Larvesta cease their attacks and the boys carefully return the Eggs to them. Despite the Eggs being returned, the fire attacks used by the Larvesta begin to burn the railway station. Goh sends out two -type Pokémon, Inteleon and Krabby, to help put out the fire while Ash helps by using Dracovish. Inteleon uses Snipe Shot, Krabby uses Bubble, and Dracovish uses Water Gun, attempting to put out the burning station with their moves. The moves do not seem to work, though the Pokémon keep attempting to extinguish the flames. The fire gets close to the Larvesta's Eggs, so Goh covers them while being bombarded with embers. The structure then begins to fall on top of Goh, the Larvesta, and the Eggs, though a large burst of flames from a nearby tunnel destroys the falling structure.
Out from the tunnel emerges a Shiny Larvesta, surprising Ash and Goh. The Larvesta shouts and begins to glow, evolving into a Volcarona. The boys are amazed at the sight of the newly evolved Shiny Pokémon as it begins to collect the flames from the burning station into the move Fire Spin. The station is left black and charred as the flames disappear, though the Shiny Volcarona flies around the cave to spread the golden scales from its wings. The boys now realize what the mission meant by "golden scales" and Goh gets out a jar to collect the sparkling scales falling from Volcarona.
Now with the Shiny Volcarona's golden scales collected, the boys head out of the mines and are met with strong winds. They suddenly hear a voice congratulating them, which reveals itself to be Nito. He reveals that he watched the Shiny Volcarona spread its scales after he fled and decided to call in henchmen to help with Volcarona's capture. He and his henchmen send out their four Pokémon to battle Ash and Goh while Nito demands that they hand over their Pokémon to be sold. The henchmen's Krokorok suddenly uses Sludge Bomb, which nearly hits Grookey and Pikachu. As Ash and Goh are surrounded, Asahi suddenly emerges from the sandstorm, calling the henchmen and their Pokémon pitiful. Tsurugi also arrives on the scene to help with the poachers, angering Nito as he commands Zweilous, Krokorok, and Eelektross to use Crunch. The henchmen's Conkeldurr is told to use Poison Jab while Tsurugi sends out his Urshifu. Asahi also sends out her own Urshifu, which is in a Rapid Strike Style form. Asahi's Urshifu uses Surging Strikes while Tsurugi's Urshifu uses Wicked Blow, causing the Pokémon and their henchmen to fall to the ground fainted. Goh also identifies the Rapid Strike Style Urshifu with his Rotom Phone, as he has never seen it.
Asahi approaches Ash and Goh, asking if they are okay. The boys are thankfully untouched, though Asahi asks if Goh was able to gather the golden scales from the mine. He shows off the jar of sparkling Volcarona scales which are then scanned. With them coming back positive for Shiny Volcarona scales, Asahi tells Goh he has completed his first official Trial Mission. Goh receives a Project Mew token on his Rotom Phone to which Asahi informs him that he will need many more in order to pass. Goh is happy that he completed his first mission, though also disappointed that he needed saving. Tsurugi tells that he and Asahi only fought off the Pokémon hunters, raising Goh's spirits again. Professor Hodaka also waves to Goh and Ash again from the lab and says that he, Asahi, and Tsurugi will take care of the Pokémon hunters while their Pokémon will be temporarily cared for before being released into the wild. Asahi tells Goh not to worry as he agrees and heads off with Ash.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Urshifu (Rapid-Strike Style)
==Trivia==
*The preview for the episode showed a normal-colored Larvesta evolving instead of a Shiny Larvesta.
*Despite having debuted in "Iris and the Rogue Dragonite!", this marks the first time Ferrothorn has received a Pokédex entry.
*This marks the first episode in which a Shiny Pokémon is seen evolving.
*The Larvesta Eggs resemble 12 km Eggs from Pokémon GO, a game in which the Project Mew Trial Missions take inspiration from.
**Despite this, Larvesta does not hatch from 12 km Eggs, or any type of Eggs, in Pokémon GO.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Legendary Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Project Mew
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions