JN124

Valor: A Strategic Part of Battling! (Japanese: セミファイナルⅢ　「武勇」 The Semifinals III: "Valor") is the 124th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,209th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 9, 2022, in Canada on February 11, 2023, in South Africa on March 7, 2023, in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2023, in Australia on April 28, 2023, and in the United States on June 23, 2023.
==Blurb==
The Masters Eight Tournament battle between Ash and Cynthia is underway, and Ash has three Pokémon left, while Cynthia has four. After switching her Pokémon repeatedly to gain the advantage, Cynthia calls Garchomp to the field, while Ash calls on Dracovish. Cynthia soon switches to Roserade, and it’s defeated by Dracovish, but Dracovish ends up poisoned. Refusing to retreat, Dracovish goes up against Cynthia’s Milotic. The two Pokémon clash, but Milotic wins, and Ash’s Sirfetch’d is up next. Overcoming hazards on the battlefield, Sirfetch’d defeats Milotic but falls to Garchomp. Now Ash is down to his final Pokémon, Lucario, and Cynthia switches out Garchomp for Togekiss—who starts to Dynamax!
==Plot==
The Masters Eight Tournament semifinals between and continues, with the former having three Pokémon remaining and the latter having four. Ash's fourth Pokémon is , and Cynthia sends out her fifth Pokémon, , causing Ash to wonder if she will Mega Evolve. Dracovish goes in for an , but Garchomp dodges and lashes it with , dealing supereffective damage on the . Garchomp follows up with , before Cynthia substitutes her for , whose from 's earlier has been healed thanks to its Ability, . Despite this, Dracovish is able to withstand Roserade's and strike back with a , though it ends up getting ed. Nonetheless, Dracovish's poison status gives it the anger, determination, and power to push through Roserade's with , knocking Roserade out.
Ash wants to recall Dracovish at this point due to the damage it is taking from poison, but, at Dracovish's insistence, allows it to stay in the battle. Cynthia sends out her sixth Pokémon, , whom Dracovish charges toward with Dragon Rush. Milotic uses to keep Dracovish at bay, before employing the same tactic it used against Iris's Dragonite and coiling around Dracovish to use a close-range . Dracovish, however, strikes back with Fishious Rend, and the attacks collide to create a big explosion. Although Milotic has taken visible damage, Dracovish ends up going down.
Ash recalls Dracovish and sends out , who immediately takes damage from Garchomp's Stealth Rock. Ash suddenly gets an idea and has Sirfetch'd use with its shield to eliminate the levitating stones, greatly impressing Goh, Hop, , Diantha, and Cynthia. Milotic attacks with a , but Sirfetch'd is able to dodge the attack by jumping into the air, retrieving its shield in the process. Sirfetch'd and Milotic both proceed to charge at each other as Milotic uses Iron Head. However, Sirfetch'd uses its shield to block Milotic's attack, before landing a flurry of s that pushes Milotic back. Milotic's next attack is Disarming Voice, but Sirfetch'd manages to endure it and blitz Milotic with , taking it down. 
Cynthia recalls Milotic and commends Ash on his cleverness at getting rid of the trap of stones created by Stealth Rock, before sending Garchomp back out and again forcing Ash to consider the possibility of Garchomp Mega Evolving. Sirfetch'd charges once more with Fury Cutter, knocking away a along the way, before clashing against Garchomp's Dragon Claw. Sirfetch'd ends up getting knocked back, but is able to avert a second Dragon Claw by using . Sirfetch'd goes in for a Meteor Assault, and Garchomp uses in response, both of which successfully land. Both Pokémon take heavy damage and, as the smoke clears, enter a standoff. Garchomp eventually stumbles, but remains conscious, while Sirfetch'd faints standing up, refusing to fall down, even in defeat.
Ash recalls Sirfetch'd as Cynthia calls Garchomp back. Ash sends out his final Pokémon, , and Cynthia sends back out. In the stands, Goh's Cinderace suddenly pops out of its to cheer on its friend. Lucario starts off with , and Togekiss tries to stop it in its tracks with , but Lucario is able to push through it and land its attack on Togekiss. Togekiss is still standing, however, as Lucario charges an . Togekiss beats it to the punch with another Air Slash, not only dealing a good amount of damage, but also negating Lucario's Aura Sphere, seemingly making it flinch. Togekiss uses yet another Air Slash, but Lucario uses Bullet Punch to neutralize the attack, resisting flinching thanks to its . After a brief moment of silence, Cynthia surprises the entire Wyndon Stadium by recalling Togekiss and Dynamaxing it, revealing that she has no intention of Mega Evolving Garchomp. Ash readies his Key Stone, and Lucario prepares to take on Dynamax Togekiss as the battle approaches its climax.
==Major events==
* and continue their Full Battle in the semifinals.
* Ash's Lucario is revealed to have as its Ability.
* Cynthia is revealed to own a Dynamax Band.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
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* Goh
* Jessie
* James
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* Diantha
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* Hop
* Dan
* Announcer (voice only)
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
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* (; female)
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* (; flashback)
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* (Team Rocket's; Rotom Phone)
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* ('s)
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* ('s; Dynamax)
* (Dan's)
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* This episode aired exactly 12 years after Memories are Made of Bliss!, where imagines himself battling against in place of Flint.
* Ash's strategy of using 's to remove is similar to his plan of using 's to remove in A Real Rival Rouser!.
* James's Morpeko is seen eating Old Gateaux during the battle, referencing Cynthia's home region of Sinnoh.
* and are the only two of at Professor Oak's Laboratory to not be present in this episode.
* As of this episode, at least one move of every type has been used during Ash and Cynthia's battle, making this the only battle in the to have this distinction.
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of Ash, Goh, and for this episode.
* Jessie, James, , and narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* In the dub, "" is called "Rozbrajający Cios".
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
124
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
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 animated by Izumi Shimura
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
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
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Wagemut: Ein strategischer Teil des Kämpfens!
es:EP1213
fr:LV124
it:EP124
ja:新無印編第124話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第122集