JN116

Pride of a Champion! (Japanese: チャンピオンの誇り！ワタルVSカルネ！！ Champions' Pride! VS !!) is the 116th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,201st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 8, 2022, in Canada on December 3, 2022, in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2023, in South Africa on January 24, 2023, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
==Blurb==
The Masters Eight Tournament continues as the action moves to the second match of the first round: Lance, Champion of Kanto and Johto, versus Kalos Champion Diantha! Ash, Goh, and Hop watch from the stands, and there’s plenty of action. It’s three on three, starting with Lance’s Dragonite and Diantha’s Aurorus. Both teams are skilled, but the first bout goes to Lance! Next, Diantha brings out Gourgeist, while Lance switches Dragonite out and sends in Gyarados. Diantha wins, and the battle continues until finally it’s down to Lance’s Dynamax Dragonite versus Diantha’s Mega Gardevoir. Mega Gardevoir is victorious, and Diantha advances to the semifinals! Next up? Iris versus Cynthia!
==Plot==
The second battle of the Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament's first round is about to get underway as and Diantha enter the Wyndon Stadium battlefield. In the stands, tells Goh and Hop how he's actually battled against Diantha before, much to Hop's amazement. Elsewhere in the stadium, is continuing their live coverage of the event, although Jessie refuses to acknowledge Diantha as a superior actress to her. Both s give speeches about how they shoulder the hopes of the s of their respective regions and look forward to facing each other. Dan explains the usual rules: the battle will be three-on-three, with substitutions allowed to be made at any time. Moreover, each competitor may only use one of either Dynamax, Mega Evolution, or Z-Moves per battle.
At Dan's signal, the first pair of Pokémon is sent out. Lance leads with his , while Diantha's first choice is . Lance makes the first move by ordering a , but it ends up being heavily weakened by Aurorus's . As Dragonite is forced to recharge after using Hyper Beam, Diantha uses the opportunity to hit Dragonite with a . Despite taking heavy damage from the attack, Dragonite is able to endure it, and, immediately after it has finished recharging, deals supereffective damage of its own with . The second Body Press, however, is softened up by , giving Aurorus a double layer of protective barriers to hide behind. In the locker room, Alain notes that the screen moves will fade eventually and only provide temporary defenses. Based on the current situation, both and believe Diantha has the advantage at the moment. Undeterred, Lance has Dragonite attack with , while Aurorus uses . Both attacks hit their mark, but unlike Dragonite, Aurorus is unable to withstand the hit and faints, giving Lance the first knockout of the match.
As Diantha recalls her fainted Pokémon, Lance decides to do the same and withdraws Dragonite. Diantha's second Pokémon choice is , which elates Jessie, as she once owned a as well. Against the opponent, Lance chooses his Red Gyarados. Gourgeist begins the round by using . Hop explains to Ash and Goh that Trick-or-Treat is Gourgeist's signature move, which adds Ghost to the opponent's type, meaning that Gyarados is now weak against Ghost-type moves. Gyarados attacks with , which pushes Gourgeist back, even through Reflect. Knowing that the effect of Light Screen will end soon, Lance orders a . Before the attack can go off, Gourgeist attacks first with , which, thanks to Trick-or-Treat, deals big damage on Gyarados. The Dragon Pulse is still successfully fired, however, hitting Gourgeist just as Light Screen fades away. Lance aims for a finishing blow with , but Gourgeist uses to evade it. Although Gyarados manages to hit Gourgeist with a Dragon Pulse afterward, the damage from Phantom Force is too much for it to withstand and it faints, evening the odds and making Team Rocket shed tears of joy at seeing a Gourgeist succeed.
Lance's third Pokémon is , which Diantha also feels prepared for, having Gourgeist use Trick-or-Treat on it. Ignoring this, Lance has Hydreigon use . Not only does the attack hit its mark just as Reflect fades away, but it also causes Gourgeist to flinch, leaving it open for another supereffective Dark Pulse. The attack is enough to defeat the , much to Jessie's dismay. Talking to Gyarados's , Lance thanks it for enabling this victory. Diantha's third and final Pokémon is her ace, , whom she immediately Mega Evolves. Diantha orders a , which Hydreigon successfully counters with . Lance follows up by calling for , which ends up being easily dispersed by Gardevoir's power. Gardevoir launches a , and though Hydreigon attempts to withstand the attack, it is engulfed by a massive explosion and knocked out, meaning that both Trainers now have just one Pokémon left.
Dragonite reenters the battlefield, full of confidence. Lance wastes no time in using his Dynamax Band to Dynamax Dragonite, increasing its stamina in the process. Backstage, Alain notes that, unlike Mega Evolution, Dynamax has a time limit, which could end up being a decisive factor. Gardevoir's Moonblast powers through Dragonite's and scores a hit, which the Dragon Pokémon successfully endures. Max Hailstorm's secondary effect results in starting to fall over the battlefield, slowly chipping away at the stamina of both Pokémon. Confident that Dragonite can handle it, Lance orders a , which engulfs Gardevoir, but even while being pummeled by the Max Move, Gardevoir is still able to use Shadow Ball. Dragonite counters with , which, while useless against a type like Gardevoir, is still able to completely stop and dissipate the Shadow Ball before it can make contact. Both Diantha and Ash surmise that Lance is trying to keep Dragonite standing so he can attack as soon as its Dynamax state ends. This is proven true moments later as Dragonite returns to normal size and fires a Hyper Beam. Diantha is unconcerned and has Gardevoir attack with Moonblast, evading the Hyper Beam and dealing the finishing blow on its immobilized opponent. Dan declares Diantha the winner of the match, meaning that she'll be advancing to the semifinals to be 's next opponent, although Hop is confident that his brother is going to win. In Diantha's post-battle interview with Team Rocket, Diantha thanks her fans in Kalos, while Jessie gets up in her face and insists that she use Gourgeist as her final Pokémon in the next battle, much to Diantha's confusion.
Backstage, Ash meets with Lance, who seems positive, despite his defeat, and tells Ash to hang in there before leaving. As he watches Lance walk away, Ash is approached by a very excited , who is eager to let loose after witnessing two heated battles. Ash wishes her good luck against Cynthia, and she eagerly rushes to the battlefield. Once both competitors are in place, Dan gives the signal to send out the first Pokémon. Iris's lead is her trusted first partner Pokémon, , which Ash is excited to see again. On the opposite side of the field, Cynthia sends out as her first Pokémon, marking the start of the battle between the Sinnoh and Unova Champions.
==Major events==
* Diantha is revealed to own an and a .
* is revealed to own a .
* Diantha defeats Lance, advancing to the semifinals to face .
* and begin their battle.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
=====Main series debuts=====
* 
* (in person)
====Pokémon debuts====
=====Main series debuts=====
* Jimmy's Typhlosion
* Little Miss
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* Nurse Joy
* Ritchie
* 
* 
* Jackson
* 
* 
* 
* Alain
* Diantha
* 
* 
* 
* Sawyer
* 
* Dan
* Hop
* Announcer (voice only)
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* (; Dynamax)
* (; Red Gyarados)
* ('s)
* ('s; )
* (; Mega Gardevoir)
* (Diantha's)
* (Diantha's)
* (Ritchie's; Sparky)
* ()
* ('s; Little Miss)
* (Jackson's)
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (Dan's)
* (Hop's)
* (Team Rocket's; Rotom Phone)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; Galarian Form)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* using a could be a reference to , in which he uses one during the Pokémon World Tournament.
** This marks the first time since Rage of Innocence, 965 episodes earlier, that Lance has been shown owning a new Pokémon.
*** This also marks the first time since her debut in The Bonds of Evolution!, 374 episodes earlier, that Diantha has been shown owning a new Pokémon.
* This episode marks the first physical appearance of an in the since the species' debut in Coming Back into the Cold!, 379 episodes earlier.
** In addition, this marks the first time Aurorus has received a Pokédex entry in the animated series.
* This episode marks the first appearance of several human characters in after long absences:
** Ritchie, whose last main series appearance was in A Promise is a Promise, 979 episodes earlier.
** Jackson, whose last appearance was in Johto Photo Finish, 929 episodes earlier.
** , , , and Sawyer, whose last appearance was in Till We Compete Again!, 262 episodes earlier.
*** This episode also marks the final appearance of the aforementioned characters.
* Despite debuting over twenty years earlier, this episode marks 's first appearance in a main series episode.
** This episode also marks 's first physical appearance in a main series episode.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Lance's Dragonite in Pokémon the Series since The Scuffle of Legends, 829 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first appearance of 's since Aiding the Enemy!, 635 episodes earlier.
** Additionally, this episode also marks the first physical appearance of Iris's Excadrill in Pokémon the Series since Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit!, 405 episodes earlier.
* When Diantha sends out her Aurorus, is shown reacting to it without any signs of discomfort, suggesting she has gotten over her fear of types since the events of Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
* Despite the move having existed since Generation VI and being the signature move of and , both of which were featured heavily throughout Pokémon the Series: XY, this episode marks the animated series debut of .
* Shinji Miyazaki's music from Pokémon the Series: XY is reused as background music in this episode.
* Jessie's Gourgeist is referenced at various points throughout the episode.
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of , Goh, and for this episode.
* James, , Jessie, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* When Goh asks Ash about him knowing both Lance and Diantha, the inside of Hop's eye is colored black instead of white. This error is not present during the episode's preview at the end of the previous episode.
* When Lance's Gyarados faints, it has no eyes.
* In the dub, "" is called "Księżycowy Blask".
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
116
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiromasa Amano
Category:Episodes directed by Yui Ikari
Category:Episodes animated by Yoshitaka Yanagihara
Category:Episodes animated by Shōtarō Hamanaka
Category:Episodes animated by Kyōko Itō
Category:Episodes animated by Rei Yamazaki
Category:Episodes by one-time animation directors
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
de:Champ gegen Champ!
es:EP1205
fr:LV116
it:EP116
ja:新無印編第116話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第116集