SM124

Living on the Cutting Edge! (Japanese: 斬れ味バツグン！カミツルギ見参！！ Perfect Sharpness! has Arrived!!) is the 124th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,063rd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 2, 2019 and in the United States on October 5, 2019.
==Blurb==
Someone’s been slicing and dicing objects all over Melemele Island: a cabbage at Mallow’s Family Restaurant gets chopped up, a golden Viren statue is cut in half, and the trees in Lillie’s yard are shaped into perfect topiaries! These occurrences (and more) are the work of an Ultra Beast named Kartana, who can cut anything with its bladelike body. When the Ultra Guardians ask Kartana to stop its cutting spree, it ignores them—but later it saves the day by demolishing a meteor that’s barreling straight for the Pokémon School! Grateful for Kartana’s help, our heroes bid it farewell as it returns home through an Ultra Wormhole.
==Plot==
Overnight, an Ultra Wormhole opens up, and a emerges to look at its new surroundings. The glistening lights of Viren's latest development project, Viren Stadium, instantly attracts the . As Viren practices for the inauguration ceremony, showing off his gold statue to his henchmen, he orders a fireworks display. Meanwhile, Kartana promptly slices the statue in half and Viren's henchmen scramble to come up with a solution.
The following morning, Aina's Kitchen is preparing for another busy day of customers. At the same time, the radio announces that the meteor shower will appear overnight. prepares to slice up some cabbage when her father asks her to check on the pressure cooker. As she is away, Kartana soars into the restaurant and dices up the head of cabbage into thin pieces. Mallow returns to her work bench to find the sliced cabbage, but Abe is unable to explain anything. Meanwhile, and Snowy are preparing to leave home for Pokémon School, with Lillie bidding farewell. Outside, Hobbes is neatening up the hedge trees and plans to make them into Pokémon trees. However, Kartana gets in first and cuts the hedges into geometric designs, shocking both Lillie and Hobbes.
Later, prepares to teach his class how to use moves to cut objects. is intrigued by the and admits that it saw one during an episode of "Alolan Detective Laki". Kukui laughs at the Nogawa reference, admitting that makiwara are often used to practice sword skills. Attempts by , Mallow, and fail to fully cut the makiwara, and Professor Kukui admits that even sword masters struggle to cut down makiwara. Ash decides to try again with , but Kartana suddenly appears and cleanly cuts through the obstacle with ease before disappearing without being noticed. As everyone else is befuddled, Lillie and Mallow recall their strange experiences that morning.
Suddenly, rings the school bell and the students change into their Ultra Guardians uniforms. In the Ultra Guardians' base, and her staff show them a video of Kartana slicing through Viren's gold statue the previous night. Lillie instantly suspects that Kartana is an Ultra Beast, but admits that she hasn't located an Ultra Wormhole. Wicke adds that Ultra Aura was detected for a moment and affirms that the Aether Foundation is continuing its investigation. Lusamine orders the Ultra Guardians to capture Kartana before further damage is done. The still-multiplying horde of then present the Ultra Guardians with a box of Beast Balls before they fly out of the base aboard their Ride Pokémon.
Ash orders everyone to split up, and they cover the entirety of Melemele Island. Suddenly, Ash overhears a shrill scream, which leads him to the Hau'oli City fruit markets. There, he finds Anela, who is staring in shock at her sliced fruit. Meanwhile, Lillie arrives at 's salon, where Kartana has already trimmed and styled her clients' . At the same time, a and a are locked in in space. The Rayquaza fires a , but Deoxys transforms into its to protect itself. The deflected attack strikes a meteor instead, sending it towards the below.
At Bewear's den, watches Viren on his shopping channel as he advertises the "Bling Bling Gold Safe", a seemingly indestructible safe. Viren orders his and to attack the safe with and , respectively, to no effect. Just then, Kartana appears and slashes through the safe with ease. Viren recognizes Kartana as the one who destroyed his statue and demands that it own up to its deeds as his Pokémon surround the Ultra Beast. is in awe of Kartana's power and Jessie declares that it would make the perfect gift for .
Soon after, Lusamine alerts Ash and the others to the latest Kartana sighting, this time at Viren Tower. However, by the time they reach it, Kartana has already cut its way to freedom. During the pursuit, Lillie suggests leading Kartana to the mountains to avoid more havoc in Hau'oli City. Just then, Kartana prepares to attack the Pokémon School, forcing Ash and to intervene. Ash explains no one wants anything cut in his world, which Kartana appears to understand. With the Ultra Beast placated, throws out a Beast Ball, but Kartana slices through it. Realizing Kartana is unwilling to be caught, the Ultra Guardians battle it. Kiawe sends out and orders it to use , but the attack misses. Kartana then manages to cut Marowak's Ultra Guardian symbol as a warning.
Just then, Team Rocket arrives inside a Meowth robot. Right after Team Rocket ends their , Kartana is revealed to have sliced the robot in half already. Lusamine contacts the Ultra Guardians again, this time to abort the mission because one of the Stufful meteor shower's comets is headed directly at them. Faba issues an evacuation order for everyone within a mile of the school. Principal Samson Oak orders the Ultra Guardians to run, but Ash and declare they will not abandon the school. Team Rocket notices the comet quickly approaching, but arrives before they can enjoy the cataclysm. Bewear throws the trio into the Meowth robot, crushing the two halves together, and launching the mecha back to the den.
Ash and the others use their Ride Pokémon to reach the comet. They decide to rapidly cool the comet to make it brittle before crushing it into smaller fragments. Lillie orders Snowy and to use and , respectively, while Lana has add its own Ice Beam. As frost begins to encase the comet, Ash, Mallow, Kiawe, and Sophocles's Pokémon follow up with their own attacks, but their efforts only destroy the ice and not the comet. Kartana then soars upwards and cuts the comet into smaller fragments, which land in the ocean and cause a rainbow to appear in the sky. As Lusamine and Burnet check on the Ultra Guardians, Kartana's frantic attempts to cut the immaterial rainbow result in it inadvertently opening a new wormhole, allowing it to leave the Alola region.
==Major events==
* The are revealed to be multiplying.
* and go on their eighth Ultra Guardians mission.
* The Ultra Guardians attempt to a , but fail as it slices the Beast Ball to pieces.
* Kartana opens itself its own Ultra Wormhole, allowing it to return home.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* 
* Samson Oak
* 
* Wicke
* 
* 
* Hobbes
* Abe
* Anela
* Laki (flashback)
* Viren
* Viren's henchmen
* 
* Nogawa (flashback)
* Female announcer
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Sandy)
* (; Ride Pokémon)
* ()
* (; Alolan form)
* ('s; Alolan form; Snowy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Samson Oak's)
* ()
* (Laki's; flashback)
* (Viren's)
* (Viren's)
* (Ride Pokémon)
* (Ride Pokémon)
* (Ride Pokémon)
* (Ride Pokémon)
* (Ride Pokémon)
* ()
* ()
* (; multiple)
* (anime)
* (Alolan form; multiple)
* (; )
* (; debut)
* ()
* 
* (×3)
==Trivia==
* Poké Problem: The Ultra Beast that appears in today's episode is...?
** Host: 
** Choices: , , , 
** Answer: Kartana
* speaks fragmented human language in reverse throughout the episode, most commonly repeating random fragments of the phrase "" ("Once again, I have cut a worthless object"). This phrase is often said by in old , as well as by Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a character from the long-running manga and anime series . The English dub translates this line as "Once again, I cut a worthless object."
** Its voice actor, Daisuke Namikawa, is also the same voice actor for Goemon Ishikawa XIII as of 2011.
** In addition, the animation in 's is in the same style as Lupin the Third.
* This episode features the most Mythical Pokémon out of any animated series episode to date, with four.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a in the animated series since PK21, nearly nine years earlier.
* , , and narrate the preview for the next episode.
* Kartana breaks the fourth wall twice, first when it slices the background at the end of Team Rocket's motto, and then when it cuts a hole and appears from the black background at the end of the episode.
* The English dub title is a play on the phrase "living on the edge".
* This episode marks the last appearances of and in their Ultra Guardians uniforms.
* This is the last episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon to feature a character of the day.
===Errors===
* In the first preview for this episode, when is shown riding on his after Kartana, he is seen in his normal clothes rather than his Ultra Guardian uniform. This is corrected in the actual episode.
* In the original version, when the Ultra Guardians notice Kartana heading towards the Pokémon School, 's lower jaw is colored purple like its body instead of red. This is fixed in the dub.
* Sophocles's Vikavolt is shown with its Ultra Guardian symbol before the animation of the symbols appearing starts.
* After the Ultra Guardians say "Ultroger", Primarina's bow is colored red instead of yellow.
* When arrives to throw Team Rocket back into their Meowth robot, the top of her head is colored white instead of pink.
** Shortly after, the edges of 's front ears are cream-colored instead of black.
Ultra Guardians Pokémon.png|Primarina's bow error
SM124 error.png|Bewear's miscolored head
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
124
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Yasuhiro Noda
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yasuhiro Noda
Category:Episodes directed by Yasuhiro Noda
Category:Episodes animated by Masaya Ōnishi
Category:Episodes by one-time animation directors
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which a Mythical Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which an Ultra Beast appears
Category:Ultra Guardians episodes
de:Auf Messers Schneide!
es:EP1067
fr:SL124
it:SL124
ja:SM編第124話
zh:宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第124集