SM093

Lillier and the Staff! (Japanese: 勇者リリエルとアローラの杖！ The Hero and the Staff of Alola!) is the 93rd episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,032nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on October 21, 2018, in Canada on March 2, 2019, and in the United States on March 23, 2019 as the first episode of the twenty-second season, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends.
==Blurb==
Today is the sole performance of the Pokémon School play, and everyone’s so excited! Lillie stars as Lillier, a brave adventurer who is charged with restoring Alola’s lost energy using a staff imbued with the power of Legendary Pokémon. But Act Two takes an unexpected turn, as Jessie, in disguise as Jessa Bergère, crashes the performance to steal the spotlight for herself! After some confusion, Rotom Dex writes a magnificent new script on the fly, bringing the crowd (including Ash’s mom) to applause for a job well done!
==Plot==
Outside the Pokémon School, is busy selling their honey-glazed donuts when a play script flies into Jessie's face. She reads the script and fantasizes about being an actress, while James, , and look on in concern. Meanwhile, inside the Pokémon School, and are getting ready for their play. Ash is unable to find his script, and gives him its own copy. Everyone begins practicing their lines in costume, but they soon become nervous after Rotom informs them that their families are waiting in the crowd. Ash and take a quick look, just as and Mimey arrive. After Samson Oak welcomes the student's families and close friends to the school, the curtains open and the spotlight shifts as the play begins.
Mallow narrates as the play's protagonist, Lillier—played by —arrives before King Sosophocles and Queen Tsareena, played by and , respectively. The King and the Queen grant Lillier the Staff of Alola to gather the power of the Legendary Pokémon. In the next scene, Lillier meets the guardian deities, played by Ash, Mallow, , and Sophocles. Lillier asks the quartet to bestow power on her. Delia calls out to her son, causing Ash to become nervous and temporarily forget his lines, but Mallow reminds him, and the guardian deities call for the Pokémon of Alola, who all start dancing. The play continues with a dance scene between the King and the Queen, then Lillier travels far and wide, until eventually, she meets the Legendary , played by , atop a mountain.
Jessie makes a grand entrance and flies onto the stage disguised as with James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet holding the supporting rope. The crowd is in awe, but the students are left shocked by the unexpected appearance and Rotom declares the end of Act One before closing the stage curtains. Kiawe demands answers, to which Jessie claims herself to be the great actress Jessa-Bergère and insists the play continues with her re-written lines that gives Jessie all the scene time. The kids are against it, but Rotom solves the problem by deciding to come up with a new script and begins scanning its database for ideas. The students soon spot the rest of Team Rocket trying to sneak away and rope them into joining the school's play.
Act Two opens with a baseball scene. Soon enough, the play descends into a mismatch of themes and multiple acts starring Ultra Beasts, s, shadows, and Alolan Detective Laki, but the crowd loves it.
Eventually the play reaches its final scene where Lillier seeks the power of the moon from Lunala. Jessie spins around while rose petals are blown around her to create a mystical and enchanting performance. Meowth suddenly loses grip of the rope holding Jessie, but thankfully appears and stops her from falling. After Jessie bestows the moon's power onto Lillier and declares that she must now return to the moon, Bewear tugs on the rope and sends her flying out of the school's concert hall. Bewear scoops up James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet in her arms before jumping out of the building. She soon reaches Jessie mid-air before leaping into the distance. Despite Jessie's sudden exit, the play goes on and Lillier declares that Alola has been saved and peace has been restored. As the applause and cheers grow louder, the students and their Pokémon assemble onstage and thank the audience.
==Major events==
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* 
* 
* Samson Oak
* 
* Sima
* Rango
* Mimo
* Abe
* Hobbes
* Anela
* Nina
* Lana's mother
* Harper and Sarah
* Sophocles's parents
* Nina's fiancé
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international), (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; Alolan form)
* ('s; Alolan form; Snowy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Mimey)
* (Samson Oak's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* ()
==Trivia==
* Poké Problem: Who wrote the play's script in today's episode?
** Host: 
** Choices: Samson Oak, , , Hobbes
** Answer: Rotom Pokédex
* This is the season premiere of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends.
** As of this episode, the "To be continued" text of various international dubs is no longer displayed on a black bar.
* The Challenge of Life replaces Under The Alolan Moon as the opening theme in the English dub.
* This episode ended with the first segment from Where Are You Going, Eevee?, marking the debut of a recurring Eevee.
* Jessie recites the alone in this episode.
* , Acerola, , Sophocles, , Lillie, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
* Kenyu Horiuchi takes over the role of Samson Oak from the late Unshō Ishizuka as of this episode.
* Ash and do not wear their default outfits for the majority of this episode.
* Ash, his classmates and Jessie read the Who's That Pokémon? segment in the dub.
===References===
* Near the beginning of the episode, Jessie is seen dressed as Chigusa Tsukikage from .
* The Japanese name for Jessie's fake persona, Musabarbara, is a reference to her Japanese voice actress, Megumi Hayashibara. It and her costume may also be references to Hayashibara's role as the (whose real name is Barbara Gordon) in the Japanese dub of .
* Jessie's outfit choices when she introduces her fake persona are references to some of her Japanese voice actress's roles throughout her career.
** Himiko Shinobibe from .
** The female version of Ranma Saotome from .
** Atsuko "Nuku Nuku" Natsume from .
** from .
** from .
** Lime from .
** Faye Valentine from .
** Ai Haibara from .
** Minky Momo from .
** Dr. Atsuko "Paprika" Chiba from .
** from .
* Lillie and Mallow's embrace during the play is a reference to the series .
** Incidentally, Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena was voiced by Rachael Lillis, Jessie's original voice actress for the English dub.
* The clash between 's mecha and Sophocles's Charjabug in a mechanized suit is a reference to .
* During the Poké Problem extra scene, Rotom shows a picture that is a reference to a poster for the .
File:SM093 Glass Mask reference.png|The Glass Mask reference
File:SM093 Hayashibara roles.png|Collection of Megumi Hayashibara's roles
File:SM093 Slayers reference.png|The Slayers reference
File:SM093 Revolutionary Girl Utena reference.png|The Revolutionary Girl Utena reference
File:SM093 Tetsujin 28-go reference.png|The Tetsujin 28-go reference
File:Poké Problem extra scene SM093.png|The Star Wars poster reference
===Errors===
===Dub edits===
* In the dub, when Jessie is dressed as Lina Inverse from Slayers, she is voiced by Lisa Ortiz, who had voiced Lina in the Slayers English dub.
==In other languages==
093
Category:Episodes written by Jun'ichi Fujisaku
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes directed by Masahiko Watanabe
Category:Episodes animated by Yuki Naoi
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
de:Lillier und der Stab!
es:EP1036
fr:SL093
it:SL093
ja:SM編第93話
zh:宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第93集