JN135

Heroes Unite! (Japanese: ポケモン！きみにあえてよかった！ Pokémon! I'm Glad I Got to Meet You!) is the 135th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,220th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on December 9, 2022, in Canada on April 29, 2023, in South Africa on May 9, 2023, in Australia on May 11, 2023, and in the United States on June 23, 2023.
==Blurb==
Now that Ash has won his battle against Leon and Goh has encountered Mew, our heroes have reunited. But Goh wants to become a more capable Trainer, so he contemplates going on his own journey, unsure of what Ash’s reaction might be. The two go camping with Chloe, and they all catch up and share memories of their lives with Pokémon. Suddenly, Ash declares that he wants to start a new journey with Pikachu, causing Goh to storm off in anger. After a heart-to-heart talk with Chloe, Ash meets back up with Goh, and all is peaceful again—but then Lugia appears! That means it’s time for a raid battle!
==Plot==
Following 's victory against in the finals of the Masters Eight Tournament, he has returned to Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town to meet all of there and thank them for their help in reaching what he's now achieved. congratulates Ash on how far he's come since his first started at this very same place, while , knowing her son well, can tell he is already planning on leaving again for a long while, which Ash confirms. Later, in Cerise Laboratory, Goh gathers his Pokémon and thanks them for having helped in allowing him to meet . Smiling somberly, he sits down and admits he wants to go on a new journey, which is overheard by Chloe, who had come to fetch him for a camping trip between her, him, and Ash. Goh notices her, but is not mad at her for having unintentionally eavesdropped, instead just explaining that he wants to take a page out of Ash's book and travel to other regions to grow as a who could hopefully one day properly stand up to Mew. He also admits he plans to go alone so he wouldn't be relying on Ash, but he hasn't broken the news to him yet, both because he figures Ash would accept his choice anyway, but also because Goh is feeling this decision is a betrayal of their friendship.
Just then, Ash shows up, and he and Goh fulfill their promise of reuniting with a smile. While taking the bus ride and walk to the campsite, Ash tells Goh and Chloe all about his with Leon, while Goh takes his time in describing his meeting with Mew. They finally arrive in the forest that Chloe and her father visited the other day and is filled with wild Pokémon. Eventually, they reach their campsite and set up their tent and table before heading out to gather some . Along the way, they see many different Pokémon, with Goh reciting bits of information about each of them. Seeing an ing away brings back memories for him, and he recounts a tale of how an Abra had started visiting him during his childhood days of being home alone, even once leading him to the local park, where he had seen loads Pokémon he hadn't known to live there before. Ash, meanwhile, tells that his childhood was him wanting to make friends with every Pokémon he came across. Upon finding a Pecha Berry tree, they see a knocking down a Berry from the tree, only for it to hit a , angering it and causing it to attack. quickly defeats it, but in response, an entire Spearow flock comes out and starts chasing them. They eventually spot a at the side of a river, and Chloe has its , putting all the Spearow to .
Returning to the campsite, the group sits down to eat, with Poliwag briefly returning to thank them for saving it with some Pecha Berries as they wrap up their meal. Chloe notes how much Ash and Pikachu resemble each other, which Ash attributes to them having been together ever since he set off on his journey, during which he's met many Pokémon and even said goodbye to some of them. Goh, meanwhile, admits that meeting as a that was willing to protect its friends had taught him to help out his own friends too, leading him to realizing how fun it actually is to make friends. Chloe also admits that meeting Eevee helped to broaden her horizons and spark her interest in Pokémon. All three of them express their gratefulness for having met their respective partners.
After witnessing a shooting star in the sky, Goh stands up and tries to tell Ash about his decision to travel alone, but is unable to muster his courage to say it out loud and instead says it's nothing. To the surprise of Goh and Chloe, Ash suddenly admits that he wants to set off on a new journey with Pikachu. Goh finds Ash's out-of-the-blue declaration an insult towards their friendship and runs off, declaring they're through. Chloe tells the surprised Ash about Goh's earlier decision to travel alone and admits he's the first true friend Goh ever made. Ash and Chloe set out to look for him, with Chloe attempting to contact him with her phone, but Goh refuses to answer her calls. Eventually, though, Cinderace gets fed up with Goh's attitude and snatches his Rotom Phone away before running off. Pikachu and Cinderace eventually lead their respective Trainers back together next to a pond. At first, Goh wants to keep his distance, but when they witness a group of evolving into on a nearby tree, the sight relieves the tension between the two, although they do start lightheartedly bickering about each other's respective decisions to travel alone while their partners and Chloe observe them with a smile.
The bickering is unexpectedly interrupted by an alarm from Goh's phone and the wind picking up. A ball of storm clouds forms in the sky and bursts apart to reveal . Ash and Goh run after it as it flies off, eventually leading them to a cliffside next to a mountain. They send out and , respectively, and challenge Lugia to a .
==Major events==
* returns to Kanto and visits Pallet Town before reuniting with Goh in Vermilion City.
* Ash and Goh reveal they each intend to set off on a new alone.
* Ash and Goh re-encounter and challenge it to a .
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* Goh
* Chloe
* 
* 
* Erika (fantasy)
* Professor Cerise
* Chrysa
* Ren
* Kiley (fantasy)
* Soleil (fantasy)
* Regina (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* Harmony (fantasy)
* Citizens
* Children (flashback)
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ('s; Mimey)
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* (; unofficial; fantasy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; female)
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* ()
* (; fantasy)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* (; fantasy)
* (; fantasy)
* ('s; Sandy; fantasy)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone; ×2)
* (Erika's; fantasy)
* (Kiley's; fantasy)
* (Harmony's; fantasy)
* ('s; fantasy)
* (Soleil's; fantasy)
* (Soleil's; fantasy)
* (Regina's; fantasy)
* (Pink Butterfree; fantasy)
* ()
* (anime; ×3; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* (×5; two in flashback)
* (×4)
* (×2)
* 
* (×2; one in flashback)
* (×2; one in flashback)
* (flashback)
* (flashback)
* (flashback)
* (×2; flashback)
* (×5; flashback)
* (multiple; flashback)
* (flashback)
* (flashback)
* (flashback)
* (flashback)
* (×2; one in flashback)
* (multiple)
* 
* (flashback)
* (multiple; evolve)
* (multiple; newly evolved)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
** The riddle and the answer were only posted on the official anipoke_PR Twitter account.
* Team Rocket Expedition which stands by the evils of love and truth: 
* , Goh, and Chloe read the title card for this episode.
* The Japanese title is a reference to the very first episode of the .
** In addition, like in that episode, Ash is chased by a flock of and sees a member of the tower duo in this episode.
* Out of all the Pokémon that Ash has officially owned for longer than one episode up to this point, , , , and are the only ones to not appear in this episode in any capacity.
** and are the only one of Ash's Pokémon residing at Professor Oak's Laboratory to not physically appear in this episode.
* This episode marks the final appearance of Ash's Noctowl, , , and .
* During the flashback to his childhood, Goh is seen checking his father's Pokédex, which is of the same model as Ash's original Pokédex from Kanto and the Orange Islands.
* This is the first episode in which Masaaki Iwane is credited as the sole animation director since Forming a More Perfect Union!, 285 episodes earlier.
* Starting this episode, Mimey is colored differenly, with its head, arms, and legs changed to more closely resemble its model in and .
* Ash, Goh, , and narrate the preview for the next episode.
File:Mimey new colors JN135.png|Mimey's new appearance
File:Spr 8a 122.png|Mr. Mime's model in 
===Errors===
* The English dub subtitles mistakenly refer to Mr. Mime as "Mrs. Mime".
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese text depicting Professor Oak's Laboratory's name is edited out.
==In other languages==
135
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
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 focusing on Goh
Category:Episodes in which a main character joins the group
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Helden vereinen sich!
es:EP1224
fr:LV135
it:EP135
ja:新無印編第135話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第131集