JN018

Destination: Coronation! (Japanese: サトシ参戦！ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップス！！ Participates! The !!) is the 18th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,103rd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on March 22, 2020 and in the United States on September 11, 2020.
==Blurb==
Ash has entered the World Coronation Series so he can have a rematch with Leon! But first, he needs to challenge a strong Trainer with a high ranking so he can work his way up the competitive ladder. Luckily for him, the acting Vermilion Gym Leader, Visquez, is hoping to challenge someone, too! Each Trainer can use two Pokémon, so Ash chooses Pikachu and Gengar, while Visquez teams up with Raichu and Electrode. Visquez has outstanding battle skills, but as always, Ash is thinking outside the box when it comes to strategies. He wins the match, immediately raising his rank to 3,763! On to the next challenge!
==Plot==
At the Cerise Laboratory, learns that the World Coronation Series has over 10,000 participants, with new ones joining in all the time. Since his first step towards reaching is to get to the Great Class, he has to win a lot of s. Ren suggests he should take on a high-ranking opponent to quickly climb the ranks. Ash searches from his Rotom Phone for any strong s in Vermilion City, and he settles on the Trainer ranked as the 2,109th: Visquez, the substitute Gym Leader of the Vermilion Gym. Professor Cerise informs him that the official Vermilion Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, is away for at the moment, and Visquez, his substitute, is also a strong Trainer.
As Ash and Goh head towards the Vermilion Gym, Goh asks Ash if he already has the , which Ash confirms, recalling how he beat Surge and his to earn his third Badge. A flies by, and Goh and chase it to it, while Ash keeps traveling to the Gym.
At the Vermilion Gym, Visquez is lecturing a challenging Trainer about his lack of spirit, but also compliments his skills, and shows her respect by finishing off the Trainer's with her 's , ending the match. Afterwards, Visquez's assistants, Steve and Tony, inform her that this was the last challenger for the day. Visquez's Raichu still seems eager for more battling, though, and she expresses her hopes of a World Coronation Series participant showing up. Just at that moment, her Rotom Phone alerts her of the presence of one such participant, with Ash knocking on the Gym door seconds later. Visquez, Steve, and Tony open the door for him, and Ash introduces himself, requesting a battle with Visquez. She accepts, and an official battle appointment is made on their Rotom Phones. Inside the Gym, Ash is surprised to hear that Visquez has heard of him, his , and his Vermilion Gym battle from Surge. As Visquez explains that her Raichu was also trained by Surge, Goh shows up. Ash introduces him to the others, and Goh reveals that he succeeded in catching the Spearow from before. Visquez is honored to learn that Ash has chosen her as his first World Coronation Series opponent. Just then, a Drone Rotom flies in to act as the official referee of the battle.
Ash and Visquez soon take their places at the ends of the battlefield, while Goh, Steve, and Tony move to the stands. The Drone Rotom explains that the battle will be two-on-two, with both sides allowed to make substitutions. Both of them choose their first Pokémon at Drone Rotom's signal, with Ash picking Pikachu and Visquez choosing Raichu. Goh checks Raichu's Pokédex entry and encourages Pikachu not to lose. The battle begins with a clash of two s, before Raichu goes into its strongest move, Volt Tackle, right after. Ash has Pikachu use for a grounding effect, repeating his strategy from his Gym battle with Lt. Surge. Still, Raichu eventually pushes through and sends Pikachu flying. Mid-fall, Raichu surprises Ash by using its tail to catch and fling Pikachu. Ash quickly counters by having Pikachu use Iron Tail while spinning, bouncing off a wall to hit Raichu. However, just before the attack hits, Visquez has Raichu use to shield itself, avoiding a lot of damage. She compliments Ash's skills, and Ash remarks that he's used to turning challenging situations into opportunities. Seeing that Pikachu is tiring out, Ash calls him back for a rest, sending out to replace him.
Gengar opens up with , which Raichu tries to counter with Thunderbolt, only for Gengar to dodge it and deal a direct blow on Raichu. Gengar moves on to use , easily phasing through Raichu's tail and dealing another hit. Visquez tells Raichu to use Volt Tackle, but it gets stopped in its tracks by Gengar's , which sends Raichu slamming into a wall, taking it out of the fight. While Ash compliments Gengar, Visquez recalls Raichu and sends out her second Pokémon, . She commands it to use , which not only raises it off the ground, but chunks of the battlefield as well. Visquez explains that they've developed this strategy to counteract the moves most challengers use here. Electrode starts bouncing around the floating floor pieces, rapidly striking Gengar from all directions. Even Gengar's attempt at flinging Electrode away with Psychic only momentarily slows down the assault. Gengar tries to use Night Shade, but Electrode evades the attack and uses , knocking Gengar out. While Ash recalls Gengar, the effects of Magnet Rise wear off and the battlefield returns to normal.
Ash sends Pikachu back out to face Electrode. Visquez is determined to finish the battle and tells Electrode to use , which strikes Pikachu time and time again, getting stronger and faster with each hit. Before Pikachu can be defeated, however, Ash tells him to jump on Electrode and use Iron Tail, quickly bringing the Ball Pokémon's rolling to a stop. Pikachu then starts running on top of Electrode to spin it in the opposite direction and gain control over its momentum. Just before Electrode hits a wall, Pikachu jumps off of it, and as Electrode is sent bouncing off the wall, Pikachu lands a finishing Iron Tail. However, Electrode suddenly starts to detonate, the final blow having activated its Ability. Ash quickly tells Pikachu to use , and when the explosion clears, Pikachu is shown to have used the Electroweb to shield himself, leaving Electrode as the only one to have gone down. Drone Rotom officially rules Ash as the winner of the match.
Ash and Visquez shake hands, with Visquez admitting her defeat and telling Ash that she's going to tell Lt. Surge of this battle, saying that he's sure to want to battle the new and stronger him. Ash is also excited of the possibility of battling Lt. Surge again. Drone Rotom flies off to update the World Coronation Series rankings, and Goh rushes to the battlefield as well, complimenting Ash's battle. Just then, Ash receives a message on his Rotom Phone, informing him that his ranking has shot up all the way to 3,763 as a result of defeating Visquez. Visquez, meanwhile, is devastated to see her ranking having gone down. With this victory, Ash has taken his first step towards facing Leon in the Master Class.
==Major events==
* registers for the new season of the World Coronation Series.
* Goh a .
* Ash battles Visquez in his first World Coronation Series match and wins, bringing his rank to 3,763.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Tony
====Pokémon debuts====
* (Drone Rotom)
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* (silhouette)
* (silhouette)
* Goh
* (silhouette)
* Lt. Surge (fantasy; silhouette; flashback)
* Erika (silhouette)
* Koga (silhouette)
* Sabrina (silhouette)
* Blaine (silhouette)
* Professor Cerise
* (fantasy)
* Chrysa
* Ren
* Visquez
* Steve and Tony
* 
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; new)
* (; fantasy; flashback)
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone; ×2)
* (Visquez's)
* (Visquez's)
* (Visquez's; Rotom Phone)
* (Trainer's)
* (Drone Rotom)
* (×6)
* 
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* This marks the first time Blaine's in-game design has been used in the .
* The Drone Rotom narrates the Dare da? segment.
* This episode marks the first appearance of an Electrode in the animated series since its cameo in The Future Is Now, Thanks to Determination!, 242 episodes ago.
* Visquez's name and design may be based on the character of Private Vasquez from the 1986 sci-fi action film .
* Ash's Pikachu running on top of Electrode is a possible reference to the Tunnel stage of Pokémon Snap.
* The introductory clip at the start of the episode is updated to reflect 's evolution into . However, its cry wasn't heard until Panic in the Park!.
* , James, , and Jessie narrate the preview for the next episode.
** The preview title card has a theme instead of the usual one.
===Errors===
* When Visquez receives 's challenge to a , her glove is missing.
** In the same scene, part of the background shows through Ash's hat.
* In a couple of scenes, Steve's gloves are missing.
* While Electrode is bouncing around after being flung away by 's , one of the shots used is a mirrored version of the shot of Electrode first hitting the wall due to Psychic, showing the effect of Psychic around it, despite not being affected by it at this point.
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese text depicting the Vermilion Gym's name is edited out.
==In other languages==
018
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes directed by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes animated by Masaaki Iwane
Category:Episodes animated by Izumi Shimura
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
de:Endstation Krönung!
es:EP1107
fr:LV018
it:EP018
ja:新無印編第18話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第18集