JN129

A Flood of Torrential Gains! (Japanese: ファイナルⅠ　「激流」 The Finals I: "Torrent") is the 129th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,214th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on October 21, 2022, in Canada on March 18, 2023, in South Africa on March 28, 2023, in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2023, in Australia on May 3, 2023, and in the United States on June 23, 2023.
==Blurb==
Following an emergency communication from Project Mew, Goh is off to Hoenn, while Ash battles Leon in the Masters Eight Tournament finals. It’s a six-on-six Full Battle, and although each Trainer can typically use Dynamax, a Z-Move, or Mega Evolution only once, Leon insists that Ash use all three. Leon first sends out his Cinderace, who spars with Pikachu, and then Leon’s Inteleon battles Ash’s Gengar. After Gigantamaxing, Gengar takes down Inteleon, but Leon’s Mr. Rime manages to defeat it. Ash and Leon are now back on equal footing, and this massive battle promises to keep going strong!
==Plot==
Following an urgent summons by Project Mew, Goh has arrived in Slateport City in Hoenn, where he is quickly reunited with his fellow Chasers Horace and . Gary understands that Goh must feel disappointed for missing the finals of the Masters Eight Tournament, but Goh assures he's fine, given that he and Ash promised to smile the next time they meet. As the three of them move to join Professor Amaranth, Danika, and Quillon at Project Mew's mobile laboratory, Goh wishes Ash good luck. Back in Galar, Ash is also wishing Goh good luck as he enters Wyndon Stadium. In his dressing room, he gives a pep talk to his team to get them pumped up, only to be interrupted by the unexpected appearance of and Chloe, who have come to cheer for him in person. In his own dressing room, muses how this occasion reminds him of his first-ever against Sonia as a child.
The entire stadium is filled with excitement as the finals are about to begin, with Dawn's Piplup even donning the cheerleader outfit he used while cheering for Ash during his Sinnoh travels. Eager to join in, Chloe's Eevee also starts waving a pom-pom, which Chloe finds cute. Finally, the two finalists enter the field: Ash, the first of Alola and a native of Kanto, who defeated Hoenn Champion in the quarterfinals and Sinnoh Champion in the semifinals; and Leon, the reigning Monarch and the undefeated Galar Champion. The cheering Ash gets is enough to make give up on their broadcast and focus on cheering for him as well. In the stands, Hop is joined by Sonia to cheer for Leon.
Ash and Leon are both feeling excited about finally getting to face each other in a serious battle. As usual, Dan starts explaining the rules, declaring the match to be a six-on-six Full Battle with no time limit or switching restrictions. However, his usual explanation of only one of either Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax being allowed per is interrupted by Leon, who wants to see Ash at his full power in this climactic battle and urges him to use all three of them so he can face and beat all of them with his own full power. The entire stadium unanimously agrees to this, including Hop. Chloe, intimidated by the sound of the roaring crowd, asks Dawn what that means, and she says that it will be a great battle. After a brief discussion with the World Coronation Series management, Dan officiates this exception of the usual rules, which Ash also approves.
With this established, Ash and Leon send out their first Pokémon, Ash leading with and Leon starting off with . At Dan's starting signal, both Pokémon launch their first moves. Cinderace's hits faster than Pikachu's and deals damage, though Pikachu's attack still goes off and scores a hit. To Ash's shock, however, Cinderace shrugs off the hit without as much as a hint of damage. Leon reveals that his Cinderace has the Ability, which changes its type to match the type of the move it uses, meaning that, at the moment, Cinderace is a type. Seeing that Pikachu is at a clear type disadvantage now, Ash recalls his buddy while Leon does the same with Cinderace.
For their respective second Pokémon, Ash and Leon choose and , making Ash feel like he's battling Goh's partners. Inteleon outspeeds Gengar's with , before proceeding to swat the attack apart with its tail and prepare a . While Gengar manages to avoid the attack by hiding in its own shadow, Leon remains unfaltering and has Inteleon use while spinning in place, creating a spiral of water. Ash and Dawn both recognize this tactic as Counter Shield, which Ash used against Cynthia in the semifinals and impressed Leon enough for him to copy it. With Ash's own tactic being turned against him, Gengar is in a dire strait, but eventually, it manages to break free and uses , evaporating the water and covering the field in a cloud of steam. While Inteleon is momentarily blinded, Ash recalls Gengar and Gigantamaxes it just as the mist fades away. What follows is a clash between Gengar's and Inteleon's dual Snipe Shot, with both sides succeeding in hitting the other. Due to G-Max Terror's effect, Inteleon becomes unable to switch out, though Hop remains confident that his big brother can manage it. The next exchange of attacks comes in the form of a from Gengar and a dual Dark Pulse from Inteleon. While Inteleon does its best to avoid the Max Move and succeeds in landing a critical hit with Dark Pulse in the middle of Gengar's mouth, it still ends up being hit, while Gengar returns to normal size as a result of the critical hit. Observing Inteleon, Dan declares it unable to battle, giving Ash the first knockout of the finals and sparking celebration both in the crowd and amongst at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Recalling Inteleon, Leon promises to build up on the work it did and declares he'll catch up to Ash. In the crowd, Sonia notices how Leon is getting fired up. For his third Pokémon, Leon chooses , while Ash sticks with Gengar and orders a . Leon counters with , which not only freezes and shatters the Sludge Bombs but also freezes the battlefield and covers Gengar in frost. Gengar suddenly shivers, which also occurs with Mr. Rime, making Ash smirk. A failed attempt at using Freeze-Dry again confirms Leon's suspicion: Gengar's Ability has activated, temporarily disabling Freeze-Dry. However, the first Freeze-Dry was still enough to leave Gengar , giving Leon the opportunity to have Mr. Rime set up and attack his immobilized opponent with a powered-up , defeating Gengar and evening the playing field. While Ash recalls Gengar, Leon declares that he's dedicating this victory to Inteleon, reminding Ash that, in a Full Battle like this, the important thing is to build up damage on the opponent and achieve each victory as a team.
==Major events==
* Goh travels to Hoenn and meets , Horace, Danika, Quillon, and Professor Amaranth again.
* and Chloe travel to Galar, with Dawn traveling to the region for the first time.
* reunites with Dawn and Chloe.
* is revealed to have returned to Johto.
* allows Ash to use Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax in the finals.
* Ash and Leon begin their Full Battle in the finals.
* Leon is revealed to own a , an , and a .
* Ash's Gengar is revealed to have as its Ability.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
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* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* 
* 
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* 
* 
* 
* 
* Alain
* Mairin
* Diantha
* Chloe
* 
* Dan
* Raihan
* Sonia
* Horace
* Danika
* Quillon
* Professor Amaranth
* Allister
* Piers
* Marnie
* Hop
* s
* Announcer (voice only)
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
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* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
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* ()
* ()
* (; Gigantamax)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ('s; flashback)
* ()
* (Mairin's; Chespie)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s; debut)
* (Professor Amaranth's)
* (Danika's)
* (Quillon's)
* (Marnie's; )
* (Hop's)
* (Team Rocket's; Rotom Phone)
* (Dan's)
* (Trainers'; ×2)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainers'; ×2)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; male)
* (Trainer's)
* (Drone Rotom; multiple)
* (Rotomi)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* and read the title card for this episode.
* If 's participation in the Masters Eight Tournament is excluded, this marks the first time that one of Ash's former has traveled to watch one of Ash's battles at a major tournament in person.
* Leon's use of Counter Shield after witnessing Ash use the strategy in a previous battle is reminiscent of when Paul did the same against Ash during the Lily of the Valley Conference.
** This also marks the first time that Counter Shield has been used by a character that did not appear in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
* Shinji Miyazaki's music from Pokémon the Series: Black & White and Pokémon the Series: XY is reused as background music in this episode.
* For audiences outside of Japan and South Korea, this episode marks the reveal of the last three members of Leon's team.
** Albeit in different circumstances, this is the first time a character's Pokémon is first seen in different episodes between the Japanese version and the dub since Ash's Tauros, all of which were caught in EP035, but were first seen by most other audiences in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral.
* This episode marks the final appearance of , , , Alain, Mairin, Raihan, and Allister.
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of Ash, Goh, and for this episode.
* James, , Jessie, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* In the first scene showing at Professor Oak's Laboratory, 's sunglasses are missing the red frame.
* When Ash's Pokémon are cheering at Professor Oak's Laboratory in the dub, Pikachu's voice can be heard, despite him not being present.
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese texts depicting Slateport City and Wyndon Stadium's names are edited out.
==In other languages==
129
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Satoshi Shimizu
Category:Episodes directed by Junya Koshiba
Category:Episodes animated by Chiaki Kurakazu
Category:Episodes animated by Toshihito Hirooka
Category:Episodes animated by Toshiko Nakaya
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character joins the group
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored 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 the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Sintflutartige Gewinnfälle!
es:EP1218
fr:LV129
it:EP129
ja:新無印編第129話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第125集