JN115

Curtain Up! Fight the Fights! (Japanese: 開幕！マスターズトーナメント！！ Opening! !!) is the 115th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,200th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 17, 2022, in Canada on November 26, 2022, in South Africa on January 17, 2023, in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2023, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
==Blurb==
Excitement is in the air as the Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament is about to start! Ash and Goh are there, of course, and so is Leon’s younger brother, Hop. After Hop challenges Ash to a quick unofficial battle (Hop loses), the tournament begins. The Masters Eight are introduced, and then the first match gets underway—it’s Leon versus Alain! Both Trainers are formidable indeed, but Leon’s command of his Pokémon’s skills give him the edge and the victory. Next up? It’s a battle between Lance and Diantha, and the winner will get to battle Leon. Who will be victorious?
==Plot==
No sooner have and Goh arrived at Wyndon Stadium for the long-awaited Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament that a boy runs up to them and demands a with Ash, despite being fully aware of his status as a member of the Master Class. Not one to turn down a challenge, Ash immediately accepts, but the match ends up being short-lived, as defeats the boy's with a single attack. To Ash and Goh's surprise, the boy reveals that he's 's younger brother, Hop. Having sworn to be the one to defeat his big brother, Hop challenged Ash to test out the strength of the person his elder sibling is always talking about. Hearing that Leon talks about him makes Ash super excited. Nearby, is hosting a live stream of their radio show to cover the tournament, although their main goal is to scout out strong Pokémon for them to steal.
After reuniting with on his way to the locker room and the rest of the Master Class in said room, Ash joins them for the opening ceremony. One by one, the announcer introduces the Masters Eight to the audience: Ash, a Pallet Town native and the first of Alola; Iris, an aspiring Dragon Master and the young Champion of Unova; Alain, a Mega Stone excavator and the winner of the Lumiose Conference; Diantha, a world-famous actress and the Champion of Kalos; , a member of the Pokémon G-Men and the newly crowned Champion of Kanto and Johto; , the heir to the Devon Corporation and the Champion of Hoenn; , the world's renowned authority in Pokémon archeology and the Champion of Sinnoh; and finally Leon, the undefeated Galar Champion and the reigning Monarch. Leon invites all the other competitors to face him with their full strength, declaring he and his team will battle anyone and emerge victorious. With the introductions done, the matchups of the first round are selected via random shuffle. In the first battle, Leon will battle Alain; the second match will have Lance and Diantha facing each other; Cynthia will face Iris in the third match, much to the latter's worry; and Steven is pitted against Ash for the fourth match. Steven expresses positivity at the chance to finally have a battle against Ash. While the other Champions return to the locker room to wait for their respective turns, Ash joins Goh and Hop in the stands to experience the atmosphere of the battle first-hand, much to Cynthia's genuine surprise, as she thought Ash would be joining them in the locker room, though Diantha admits that sounds just like him. When questioned by Cynthia why she doesn't join them, Iris reveals her hopes to take a picture with her and Diantha, a request both women are fully happy to oblige. Lance and Steven, meanwhile, discuss the latter's familiarity with Alain. Though Steven acknowledges that Alain is a strong , facing Leon in the first round could be overwhelming for him.
Leon and Alain enter the battlefield to begin their match. Dan recites the rules: the matches in the first round will be three-on-three with no restrictions on time or exchanges. In addition, each Trainer is allowed only one use of either Dynamax, Z-Moves, or Mega Evolution. At his signal, the two Trainers send out their first Pokémon, with Alain leading with and Leon choosing , making the first match-up a clash between types. Alain makes the first move with , which Rillaboom easily endures. Leon, at his end, surprises everyone by going for his Gigantamax right off the bat, summoning Gigantamax Rillaboom onto the battlefield. His first attack comes in the form of a . While the G-Max Move is able to partially penetrate Chesnaught's , the still withstands it, just like Alain had planned. Rillaboom next attacks with , which Chesnaught rides with . Chesnaught manages to land the attack on its foe, though backstage, Diantha notes that Rillaboom's has now increased as a result of Max Airstream. After blocking Chesnaught's with , Rillaboom reverts to its normal form and proceeds to use its Speed increase to outmaneuver Chesnaught's second Gyro Ball and defeat it with , giving Leon the first knockout. Steven and Lance note that Leon was one step ahead of Alain in the Grass-type showdown, signaled by Rillaboom's knowledge of Acrobatics.
Alain's next choice is his , drawing the excitement of Ash, who reveals to Goh and Hop that he has battled Alain's Charizard many times in the past. Noticing the fire in Charizard's eyes, Leon is eager to test the strength of his next opponent. Charizard easily powers through Rillaboom's with and deals a hit, taking Rillaboom out and evening the odds. Leon responds by sending out his own . However, after a is dodged and his Charizard takes a hit from , Alain figures he can't get close enough and recalls Charizard in favor of , hoping to use it to turn things around. This hope is soon crushed, however, as Malamar's is blocked by a , and the Overturning Pokémon's attempt to use ends with it being grabbed and taken down by a close-range Fire Blast, leaving Alain with just his Charizard, which rejoins the battle while Leon announces that he will keep his own Charizard out. Alain announces that it's his goal to surpass Leon's Charizard and uses his Mega Ring to Mega Evolve his partner into Mega Charizard X, much to Ash's thrill. Alain's Charizard powers through its opponent's with Dragon Claw and deals a successful hit, but its subsequent Flare Blitz results in it getting struck by a point-blank, supereffective , defeating it and eliminating Alain from the tournament.
With Leon moving on to the semifinals, the first battle of the first round of the Masters Eight Tournament has come to a close. Alain accepts his loss with dignity and swears to redo his in preparation for a rematch. To decide Leon's next opponent, Lance and Diantha leave the locker room and step out onto the battlefield, preparing to start their own battle.
==Major events==
* and Goh travel to Galar again.
* Ash and Goh meet Hop, 's brother, for the first time.
* Ash battles Hop and wins.
* Ash reunites with again.
* Ash and Iris meet again.
* Ash meets , , Diantha, Alain, and Leon again, while Iris meets them for the first time.
* Alain is revealed to have obtained a new Mega Ring and Charizardite X, as well as own a and a .
* The Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament begins.
* The match-ups of the first round are revealed to be:
** Leon versus Alain
** Lance versus Diantha
** Cynthia versus Iris
** Steven versus Ash
* Iris is revealed to have obtained a Rotom Phone.
* Leon is revealed to own a .
* Leon defeats Alain, advancing to the semifinals.
* Lance and Diantha prepare to start their battle.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Hop
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (Galarian Form)
* (Galarian Form)
* Gigantamax 
=====TV episode debuts=====
* 
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Alain
* Mairin
* Diantha
* 
* Dan
* Hop
* Announcer
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (; Mega Charizard X)
* (Alain's)
* (Alain's)
* ()
* ('s; Gigantamax)
* (Mairin's; Chespie)
* (Dan's)
* (Hop's)
* (Team Rocket's; Rotom Phone)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's; Galarian Form; debut)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's; Galarian Form; debut)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; Alolan form)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Flying Taxi)
* (Drone Rotom; ×5)
* (×3)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* The English dub was released on the iTunes Store in Australia on November 13, 2022, 13 days before the episode aired in Canada.
** This release occurred within two days of the Masters Eight Tournament's conclusion episode's premiere in Japan.
* This episode begins the thirteen-part Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament arc.
* The opening animation is updated for the final time, replacing Raihan with Hop and his .
* This is the only episode to have more than one "After the story" artwork posted for it.
* This episode marks the first physical appearance of Diantha in the since Forming a More Perfect Union!, 265 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first appearance of and Mairin, as well as the first physical appearance of and Alain, in the animated series since Till We Compete Again!, 261 episodes earlier.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a in the since A Watershed Moment!, 293 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first appearance of a in the since Facing the Needs of the Many!, 262 episodes earlier.
* This episode marks the first time all current regional s are seen in person together.
** This also marks the first time Ash is recognized as the Alola Champion outside of Alola.
* As of this episode, Wallace is the only regional Champion, current or former, that has not met.
* Shinji Miyazaki's music from Pokémon the Series: XY is reused as background music in this episode.
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of , Goh, and for this episode.
* This episode features Alain's first loss in an onscreen Pokémon battle since Mega Evolution Special I against Siebold, as well as his first loss in a main series episode.
** This episode also marks the first time has lost a Pokémon in a Trainer battle onscreen.
* As of this episode, Anairis Quiñones takes over the role of Iris from Eileen Stevens.
* The English dub title is similar to that of a previous episode, which also marked the beginning of a major tournament.
* James, , Jessie, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
** The start of the preview is changed from 's usual one to a chibi-style version of Team Rocket in their radio show persona disguises.
===Errors===
* When Steven talks to Ash, his right hand is missing its rings.
* When Team Rocket decides to take notes on a Trainer's Pokémon, the sound of Wobbuffet's Poké Ball opening can be heard despite him already being outside it.
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese text depicting Wyndon Stadium's name is edited out.
* The announcer introduces as a Dragon Master in the English dub. However, in the Japanese version, he explicitly states that Iris is an aspiring Dragon Master.
==In other languages==
115
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Noriaki Saitō
Category:Episodes directed by Mayu Numayama
Category:Episodes animated by Chiaki Kurakazu
Category:Episodes animated by Hiromi Niioka
Category:Episodes animated by Toshiko Nakaya
Category:Episodes animated by Tomoki Ogawa
Category:Episodes animated by Hiromi Sakai
Category:Episodes by one-time animation directors
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which a main character joins the group
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes focusing on Alain
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 the United Kingdom before the United States
de:Vorhang auf! Die Kämpfe beginnen!
es:EP1204
fr:LV115
it:EP115
ja:新無印編第115話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第115集