JN104

Taking Two For The Team! (Japanese: ハイパークラス！VS四天王ドラセナ！！ ! VS of !!) is the 104th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,189th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on April 1, 2022 as a one-hour special alongside JN103, in Canada on August 27, 2022, in Australia on October 4, 2022, in South Africa on November 1, 2022, in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2022, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
==Blurb==
The Pokémon World Coronation Series is in full swing! After training with his old friend Clemont, Ash is ready to battle with Dracovish and Sirfetch’d by his side. They’re facing Drasna of the Kalos Elite Four. She may seem sweet, but she’s totally serious about victory! As the battle progresses, Drasna becomes increasingly impressed with Ash and his Pokémon, and both sides show off intense moves. It doesn’t look good for Ash when Drasna has her Altaria Mega Evolve, but as usual, our hero comes up with a strategy to propel himself to victory and raise his Ultra Class ranking to ninth place!
==Plot==
At the Kalos League stadium in Lumiose City, is preparing for his World Coronation Series against Drasna when Wikstrom unexpectedly enters the room to greet him. He notices that Ash's has evolved and stops to admire for a moment. Drasna then enters the room as well and greets Ash with her partner Pokémon, . Ash grows nervous around Drasna's presence and shakes her hand. During said handshake, Drasna drops her gentle demeanor and squeezes Ash's hand while, under no uncertain terms, making it clear that she intends to put a stop to his winning streak. Both Ash and Wikstrom are left startled as Drasna leaves the room, musing that she's going to have fun in today's battle.
Both Ash and Drasna enter the battlefield as , , and Goh watch from the audience. Goh notes Drasna's pleasant smile, but Clemont assures him that it's just a facade. Bonnie can attest to that, since her big brother has actually faced Drasna in battle and was utterly defeated by her. Clemont, visibly embarrassed, tells his sister to not remind him of his disgrace. The Drone Rotom gives the signal, and the competitors choose their first Pokémon: Sirfetch'd and . Drasna makes the first move by ordering a , but Sirfetch'd uses its shield to block the attack before striking back with . Noivern follows up with a , which is strong enough to send pieces of the battlefield flying. One of these pieces strikes the shield out of Sirfetch'd's grip, leaving it open for a as it tries to retrieve it. The Dragon Pulse also knocks Sirfetch'd's leek sword away, leaving it with nothing to defend itself with as another Boomburst batters the battlefield. The powerful sound waves send pieces of debris and Sirfetch'd's sword and shield flying, so Ash tells Sirfetch'd to use the debris as footing to retrieve its weapons. Sirfetch'd succeeds in this and launches into a as Noivern starts charging for a Dragon Pulse. In a surprising move, Noivern uses its big wings to block the Meteor Assault before letting the Dragon Pulse loose and making a clean hit.
As Sirfetch'd is unable to move after using Meteor Assault, Ash decides to recall it and send out in its place. Noivern goes for a Super Fang, which Dracovish counters with . Both attacks hit their mark, cutting Dracovish's stamina in half and dealing a hit on Noivern, forcing Drasna to make her own recall and send out Altaria. Similar to how it was attracted by Sirfetch'd's leek, Dracovish now gets excited at seeing the swaying plumes on Altaria's head and charges forward without an attack command. While momentarily flustered, Ash decides to go with it and orders an Ice Fang, which, however, ends up being almost completely nullified by Altaria's . Bonnie notes that Drasna's defensive strategies were also what doomed her big brother's match against her, a fact that Clemont pleads Bonnie not to remind him of.
Drasna decides to unleash her full power and reveals the Key Stone on her wrist. Reacting with Altaria's Altarianite, the Key Stone triggers the Mega Evolution process and turns Altaria into Mega Altaria. Drasna orders a , easily avoiding a while the attack is charging and then outspeeding an Ice Fang to deal big damage on Dracovish, fully utilizing the increased speed and power provided by Mega Evolution. Altaria follows up with a , and Dracovish is too mesmerized by the softness of Altaria's plumage to fight back. As Dracovish is freed from the attack, Ash's eyes focus on Altaria's plumes, giving him an idea. He has Dracovish drench Altaria with a powerful , leaving its plumes soaking wet and canceling out an attempted Sky Attack. Seizing the chance, Ash tells Dracovish to attack with a . Clemont tries to tell Ash to stop, but it's too late, and the attack goes off, only for it to do absolutely nothing. While Altaria shakes itself dry, Drasna reveals that Mega Evolution turns Altaria into a type, meaning that Dragon-type moves are now useless against it.
Following a clash between and Ice Fang, which deals damage to both sides, Ash sees that Dracovish is getting tired, so he recalls it and sends Sirfetch'd back out. To everyone's surprise, Dracovish suddenly reemerges from its , eager to cheer for Sirfetch'd. Ash agrees to this and lets Dracovish stay out for moral support. Sirfetch'd meets Altaria's second Breaking Swipe with a Meteor Assault, resulting in an explosion. When the smoke clears, Altaria falls down onto the battlefield and reverts to its regular form, showing that it is unable to battle. However, as Sirfetch'd is being congratulated, it also collapses, likewise unable to continue after spending the last of its power on the Meteor Assault. Wikstrom sheds tears of joy at witnessing Sirfetch'd's chivalrous spirit as Ash recalls his Pokémon, only for it, like Dracovish before, to immediately come back out to cheer for its friend.
Drasna calls out her Noivern, admitting that Ash has pushed her farther than she could have ever anticipated, but now it is time to finish the match. Noivern uses Dragon Pulse, which overpowers Dracovish's Dragon Rush and pushes it back. Keeping up her relentless assault, Drasna orders a Boomburst, which pins the already battered Dracovish to the ground, battlefield debris continuously smashing into the . However, with Ash and Sirfetch'd cheering it on, Dracovish is able to muster its strength and stand back up again. Another collision of Dragon Pulse and Dragon Rush ensues, with both sides giving it their all as a big explosion covers the battlefield. The smoke clears to show Noivern and Dracovish staring each other down, until Noivern collapses. The Drone Rotom rules Noivern unable to battle and declares that Ash has emerged victorious against the Elite Four member. As Ash celebrates his victory and congratulates both of his Pokémon, his ranking is updated, rising from 15 to 9, meaning that he's now at the top of the Ultra Class and only a step away from the Master Class.
Later, Ash and meet up with Drasna and Wikstrom outside the stadium. Drasna congratulates Ash on his performance and warns him that the battles are going to get even harder from this point on. Both she and Wikstrom assure that they'll be cheering for him. Seeing how strong and responsible Drasna is, Bonnie suddenly falls on her knee and asks her to marry her brother. Drasna is left flustered and blushing by this offer, while Clemont, thoroughly embarrassed by his sister's , picks Bonnie up with his Aipom Arm and drags her away.
==Major events==
* and Goh meet Drasna for the first time and encounter Wikstrom again.
* is revealed to have d Drasna before and lost.
* Ash has a World Coronation Series match against Drasna and wins, bringing his rank to 9.
* Ash and Goh return to Vermilion City.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
=====Main series debuts=====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Goh
* Wikstrom
* Drasna
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (Drasna's)
* (Drasna's; Mega Altaria)
* (Drone Rotom)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* This episode, along with the previous one, marks the 25th anniversary of the .
** Due to this episode being aired alongside the previous one, the intro was omitted in the episode's initial release. 
* The opening animation is updated to include Goh's Froakie.
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of , Goh, and for this episode.
* Wikstrom's relationship with Ash's Sirfetch'd may be a reference to Pokémon Masters EX, where he can mention in his Pokémon Center dialogue.
* This episode marks the first time Ash has an official battle at the site of a from a previous series.
* This is Ash's only World Coronation Series battle after advancing to the Ultra Class where he doesn't utilize Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax.
** This is also Ash's only World Coronation Series battle against an Elite Four member.
* This episode marks the first time Ash has defeated an Elite Four member.
* As of this episode, Siebold is the only member of the Kalos Elite Four whom Ash hasn’t met.
* This episode marks the last speaking appearance of and .
* The English dub title is a play on the phrase "taking one for the team".
* Lisia, Chloe, Goh, Ash, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
104
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiromasa Amano
Category:Episodes directed by Rokusuke Okimitsu
Category:Episodes animated by Masaya Ōnishi
Category:Episodes animated by Chiaki Kurakazu
Category:Episodes animated by Hiromi Niioka
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Milestone episodes
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character leaves the group
Category:Episodes featuring Elite Four members
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
de:Zwei Pokémon, ein Team!
es:EP1193
fr:LV104
it:EP104
ja:新無印編第104話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第104集