JN109

Aim For The Eight! (Japanese: VSキバナ！マスターズエイトをかけた戦い！！ VS ! Battle for Masters Eight!!) is the 109th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,194th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on May 6, 2022, in Australia on October 11, 2022, in Canada on October 15, 2022, in South Africa on December 6, 2022, in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2023, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
==Blurb==
It’s time for Ash’s battle against Raihan—the winner gets to compete in the Masters Eight Tournament! As Leon watches, the three-on-three battle begins with Raihan’s Flygon versus Ash’s Dragonite. But Flygon overwhelms Dragonite, and Raihan is in the lead! Then, Ash chooses Gengar. Flygon attacks fiercely, but after recovering from an attack, Gengar Gigantamaxes! Flygon is taken down, and then Gengar and Raihan’s Goodra knock each other out! With one Pokémon left on each side, Raihan chooses Duraludon, while Ash chooses Lucario. Although Duraludon Gigantamaxes, it’s no match for Ash and Lucario’s new technique: G-Max Aura Sphere. Ash wins the battle, officially becoming a member of the Masters Eight!
==Plot==
As a new day begins in the Galar region, and arrive at the city of Hammerlocke, eagerly waiting for their World Coronation Series entrance battle. Arriving in front of the Hammerlocke Stadium, Ash is greeted by his opponent and the local Gym Leader, Raihan. They both express their determination to win, only to be interrupted when they notice none other than waking up from behind a nearby bush, having come early so he wouldn't miss the match. He encourages Ash and Raihan to give their all in the upcoming battle. 
Inside the Stadium, the stands are filled with lots of people eager to witness the last entrance battle of the season, with Goh, accompanied by and , sitting amongst them. Ash and Raihan enter the battlefield and are introduced to the audience, with Raihan receiving plenty of cheering from the people of his hometown. Referee Dan explains that the match will follow the Masters Eight Tournament rules, with both sides using three Pokémon each and being allowed to switch them at any time as many times as they want. In addition, either side may only use one of either Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax per battle, with Goh predicting that Ash is going to use Mega Evolution with his Lucario. At Dan's signal, both sides send out their first Pokémon. Ash's choice is , while Raihan goes with , making the first round a clash between types.
Raihan makes the first moves by ordering a , while Dragonite uses the time to set up a , increasing its power and . With its increased speed, Dragonite evades Flygon's subsequent s easily. Raihan admits that Ash has his Dragonite well, but also reminds him that he's a Dragon-type expert, and orders a , which envelops the entire field. With its vision blinded by the , Dragonite is struck by a Dragon Claw and a flurry of Steel Wings from Flygon as the hides itself in the swirling sand, which is also slowly dealing damage to Dragonite over time. Ash decides on a new strategy and orders Dragonite to use , which sends meteors raining all over the battlefield. One of them manages to hit Flygon, giving away its location and allowing Dragonite to attack it with and Dragon Claw before it hides in the sandstorm again. Ash prepares to repeat his Draco Meteor strategy, but Raihan declares he won't fall for the same trick twice and has Flygon strike Dragonite with Steel Wing before the Draco Meteor can go off, taking Ash's Pokémon out of the fight.
After recalling Dragonite, Ash chooses as his second Pokémon. While Gengar manages to evade Flygon's Steel Wing, its fails to land, leaving Gengar just as vulnerable against Flygon's hit-and-run strategy as Dragonite had been. Following a series of Dragon Claws, Gengar is struck by a , dealing heavy damage to it. Goh grows worried, since losing Gengar now would leave Ash with just one Pokémon against Raihan's three, putting him at a severe disadvantage. As Gengar wearily stands back up, Raihan asks Ash why he wants to battle Leon, because to him, the desire to challenge Leon needs to be supported by a desire to defeat him, a desire that he has in spades. Ash, however, declares that he too wants to defeat Leon, and refuses to lose here in order to realize that goal.
Seeing that Gengar is getting tired, Ash changes his initial plans, apologizing to Lucario for not being able to Mega Evolve it now as he slips on his Dynamax Band and Gigantamaxes Gengar. Using Gigantamax Gengar's giant mouth, Ash has it suck away the sandstorm, leaving Flygon exposed and wide open for , which scores a direct hit. Raihan attempts a counterattack with Crunch, but Flygon is stopped in its tracks by , defeating it and evening the odds.
Raihan selects to be his second Pokémon and has it use , further demonstrating his weather-based strategies. Utilizing the rain to its advantage, Goodra launches a rapid-fire offensive with , , and , all of which deal devastating blows. Ash considers recalling Gengar, but as he sees its willingness to keep going, Ash decides to keep it out. Goodra attempts another Surf, but this time, Gengar is able to deflect it with its tongue. Gengar attacks with Max Starfall, while Goodra uses Hydro Pump, both moves hitting their targets. Gengar reverts to its normal size as both Pokémon collapse, resulting in a double knockout and leaving both s with one Pokémon each.
Both sides recall their Pokémon and send out their last fighters, Lucario and . While Ash has already used his once-in-a-battle power-up, Raihan still has his Dynamax to use, and he puts it to use by immediately Gigantamaxing Duraludon. Lucario uses to confuse Duraludon, before using , which, however, doesn't faze the Gigantamax Pokémon at all. After a second Aura Sphere provides equally lackluster results, Raihan starts his counteroffensive with , which Lucario is unable to completely avoid. Raihan then has Duraludon unleash its strongest attack, , which envelops Lucario in a swirling tornado of energy. To Raihan's surprise, however, Ash is perfectly calm about this situation, as is Lucario, who is standing still inside the vortex and charging up an Aura Sphere.
Ash and Lucario's Auras are in perfect sync as Lucario raises the growing Aura Sphere over its head, causing the G-Max Move to dissipate around it. Goh realizes that this Aura Sphere is similar to what Lucario did after its training with , except that it's even bigger. Drawing power from the Aura of its teammates, Goh and his partners, and even Greninja all the way back in Kalos, Lucario's Aura Sphere grows to a gigantic size, and Ash dubs it "Giant Aura Sphere". Duraludon attempts a counterattack with , but Lucario's attack easily powers through it and strikes the Gigantamax Pokémon head-on, causing it to topple and revert to normal size. Dan judges Duraludon as unable to battle, meaning that Ash has won the entrance battle. Ecstatic, Ash runs over to Lucario and congratulates it on a well-fought battle. Raihan approaches Ash and admits that he lost. After taking a with Ash, Raihan swears to defeat both him and Leon someday and tells him not to lose until then.
With the season's final entrance battle completed, the eight Trainers advancing to the Masters Eight Tournament have been decided. In addition to Ash, who is now ranked eighth, said Trainers include Unova ; Lumiose Conference winner Alain; Kalos Champion Diantha; the combined Champion of Kanto and Johto, ; Hoenn Champion ; Sinnoh Champion ; and Leon, the undefeated Monarch and Galar Champion.
==Major events==
* and Goh visit Galar again.
* Ash meets Raihan and again.
* Raihan is revealed to own a and a .
* Ash's Gengar uses for the first time.
* Ash has a World Coronation Series with Raihan and wins, bringing his rank to 8 and advancing him to the Master Class.
* The Masters Eight is revealed to consist of Leon, , , , Diantha, Alain, , and Ash.
** In the process, Steven, Diantha, and Alain are revealed to be competing in the World Coronation Series, while Iris is revealed to have climbed into the Master Class and Flint is revealed to have fallen out of it.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* (image)
* Goh
* (image)
* (image)
* (image)
* Diantha (image)
* 
* Raihan
* Alain (image)
* Dan
* Announcer
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
* ()
* (formerly )
* ()
* (; Gigantamax)
* (; Mega Lucario; Mega Lucario in a flashback)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* (Raihan's; Gigantamax)
* (Raihan's)
* (Raihan's)
* (Raihan's; Rotom Phone)
* (Dan's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; Alolan form)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of , Goh, and for this episode.
* This episode marks the first time Ash's Dragonite is seen getting defeated in battle.
* This is Ash's smallest change in rank after defeating someone in a World Coronation Series battle.
* is referred to as the of Kanto and Johto in this episode, whereas in Flash of the Titans!, he was referred to as an Elite Four member. It is later specified that he's a new Champion, implying he had lost his Champion title at some point, but reclaimed it sometime before this episode.
* In Japan, this episode aired 364 days, one day shy of a full year, after the episode where Ash rose into the Ultra Class.
* Danika, Goh, Ash, Horace, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.
* The English dub title is a reference to the tennis manga .
===Errors===
* The written title says मास्टर एइट Master Eight instead of मास्टर्स एइट Masters Eight, though it is spoken correctly.
===Dub edits===
* In the Japanese version, Ash calls 's giant "G-Max Aura Sphere" (Japanese: キョダイはどうだん Wave Bomb), likening it to a G-Max Move. In the English dub, this comparison is removed, simply calling the move "Giant Aura Sphere". This comparison is maintained in the Pokémon.com blurb for this episode, though, contradicting the name used in the episode itself.
==In other languages==
109
Category:Episodes written by Akemi Omode
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiromasa Amano
Category:Episodes directed by Fumihiro Ueno
Category:Episodes animated by Takashi Shinohara
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes in which a main character's Pokémon learns a new move
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
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:Kampf um Platz acht!
es:EP1198
fr:LV109
it:EP109
ja:新無印編第109話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第109集