JN012

Flash of the Titans! (Japanese: ダイマックスバトル！最強王者ダンデ！！ Battle! , The Greatest of Them All!!) is the 12th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,097th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on February 9, 2020 and in the United States on June 12, 2020.
==Blurb==
The World Coronation Series is here, and Ash and Goh have tickets to watch the final match! In a thrilling battle, Lance of the Kanto Elite Four and his red Gyarados go up against Leon, the undefeated Champion of the Galar region, and his Charizard. The action kicks into high gear when Gyarados becomes Dynamax Gyarados and Charizard becomes Gigantamax Charizard. The two Pokémon trade overwhelming attacks, but Charizard’s G-Max Wildfire stops Gyarados in its tracks, giving Leon yet another victory! But just as the battle wraps up, a Gigantamax Drednaw appears and starts to wreak havoc on the stadium. What will happen next?
==Plot==
At the Cerise Laboratory, Professor Cerise hands and Goh a ticket each to the World Coronation Series finals. Ren and Chrysa explain that, like s around the having a regional , the World Coronation Series is where the Monarch is decided. Given that these are the finals, this means the winner will officially be the strongest in the world. Professor Cerise says that it takes place in Galar, hinting that the stadium where the battle takes place will be full of surprises.
As soon as Ash and Goh's plane enters Galarian airspace, the lights inside the plane suddenly go out. As a stewardess tries to keep the passengers calm, Ash and look out the window, sensing something coming closer. Just then, flies past the plane, its form obscured by the clouds. In response, Pikachu's tail sparks a little. As the Pokémon flies away and its silhouette disappears from view, the lights turn back on, leaving both Ash and Goh excited about Galar's unsolved mysteries.
The plane soon lands in Galar, and a short bus ride later, Ash and Goh arrive at their destination in Wyndon. Ash asks where the stadium is, and Goh informs him that they're right in front of it. Ash looks around, confused, until Goh directs his head upwards, and Ash is completely blown away by the sheer size of Wyndon Stadium. Goh is excited to go some Galar Pokémon, but Ash, jumping to the bits to see the match, drags Goh with him to the stadium. As the two take their seats, they're noticed by , who are sitting a few rows above them. However, unlike usual, they're not after Pikachu this time, having instead been assigned by to capture Galar's gigantifying Pokémon, having even received a Rotom Phone for this purpose.
The lights in the stadium turn off and a colorful light show starts as the announcer welcomes the audience to the finals of the World Coronation Series. The top eight Trainers certified by the Pokémon Battle Commission, known as the "Masters Eight", have participated in a fierce tournament, and now, only two finalists remain to compete for the title of Monarch. The first finalist is , a member of the Kanto Elite Four, the winner of the Driftveil City Pokémon World Tournament, an active member of the Pokémon G-Men, and an expert user. His opponent is , Galar's undefeated Champion and superstar, who once defeated 100 challengers from all over the world. The referee, Dan, enters the field on his and explains the rules: each side uses one Pokémon, and the battle is over when one side's Pokémon is unable to battle. Lance says that he's seen Leon's skills in his previous battles and expected him to get this far. Leon, in turn, talks how the audience can be a bit cruel, as they want nothing more than to see one of them lose. But he loves pushing through that fear to seize another victory. He says that his invincibility is the result of him learning from every battle he takes part in or sees. Lance declares that words are unnecessary, as it's time to battle and see which one of them is the stronger one.
Both Leon and Lance send out their Pokémon. Leon's choice is his ace, , while Lance sends out his , much to Goh and Ash's excitement. Dan gives the signal to start the battle, and Leon makes the first move, ordering a . Lance counters by ordering Gyarados to use . The two attacks clash, until Gyarados's attack finally overpowers the Flamethrower, but Charizard successfully evades it, causing it to instead hit the audience safety barrier. While Gyarados is recharging, Leon takes the opportunity and tells Charizard to attack with , but Lance, well aware of Hyper Beam's drawback, has Gyarados smack some rocks off of the battlefield to block the move. Leon orders another Flamethrower, but instead of blocking or dodging it, Lance orders Gyarados to use , increasing its power and , at the cost of the Flamethrower making a direct hit. Lance orders Gyarados to use , and the move scores a direct hit, knocking Charizard to the ground. Goh realizes that Lance knew that since Flamethrower was not very effective on Gyarados, it was worth to take the hit while increasing Gyarados's power and speed.
Lance orders Gyarados to use repeatedly. Thanks to the boosts provided by Dragon Dance, Gyarados is able to rapidly attack Charizard multiple times in succession, dealing notable damage. Leon disrupts the rapid fire attack by having Charizard use , trapping Gyarados in a vortex of fire. Lance has Gyarados put out the flames with Aqua Tail, before resuming the Ice Fang assault. However, at that moment, Leon reveals his secret trump card and has Charizard use , interrupting Gyarados's attack and inflicting great damage on the Atrocious Pokémon. Leon orders more Thunder Punches, but Gyarados blocks them all with Aqua Tails.
Both Leon and Lance are determined to keep the battle going and recall their Pokémon in preparation for their next moves. Lance activates the Dynamax Band on his wrist, causing Gyarados's to grow giant, before throwing it and sending out his now-Dynamaxed Gyarados. Ash and Goh are astounded to see Dynamaxing being used in Galarian Pokémon battles, and understand that this is what Professor Cerise had meant with the stadium being "full of surprises". Team Rocket is also excited to witness Dynamaxing with their own eyes. Leon responds to Lance's move by Gigantamaxing his Charizard, making the match a Dynamax battle.
Lance orders a , but Leon counters by having Charizard use , disrupting the Max Geyser and dealing massive damage on Gyarados. Lance follows up with , which Leon counters by telling Charizard to use , which not only pushes Charizard out of the attack's way, but also hits Gyarados, dealing even more damage. Deciding to finish the match, Leon calls out for Charizard's signature G-Max Move, . Lance desperately calls for a , which successfully stops the G-Max Move. However, Leon's confidence remains unfaltering, and as soon as the Max Guard dissipates, G-Max Wildfire's secondary effect kicks in, engulfing Gyarados in flames to deal additional damage. Having already suffered a lot of damage in the battle, Gyarados is unable to withstand this and faints, reverting to its normal size as a result. Dan makes the official judgement, declaring Gyarados unable to battle and Leon the winner, making him the Monarch. In the stands, Ash and Goh are amazed at Leon's strength.
Lance recalls his defeated Pokémon and smiles at Leon. Leon compliments Lance's Dynamax, and Lance reveals that he had once trained at Galar's Dragon Gym, and had been so influenced by the Gym's uniform and its rich history, that he had based his current outfit on it. He adds that while he lost, he's still happy to have witnessed the rise of a new Monarch. He raises Leon's hand in the air, officially announcing him as the Monarch. As the announcer soon reconfirms this statement, Ash declares that he wants to battle Leon, much to Goh's astonishment.
Outside the stadium, Team Rocket is also feeling excited about the battle they just witnessed, but realize that they must also get back to catching Pokémon. Just then, notices something, and the trio sees a emerging from behind a nearby bush. They use their Rotom Phone on it, but it doesn't provide them with much information of it. Still, they figure that since it's a Galar Pokémon, it must be able to grow giant, and they decide to capture it. As such, they call for , who drops them the Rocket Prize Master. As has become a custom by now, they use 's coin to vend some Pokémon, but only one Poké Ball comes out. James remembers how the last time they got only one Poké Ball, the Pokémon inside had turned out to be a . Jessie excitedly throws the Ball, only for just a small to emerge. The trio is dumbstruck, but Jessie nevertheless decides to go with what they have, and calls for a . Despite its small size, Bellsprout quickly proves its strength by dealing heavy damage on Drednaw. Jessie tells Bellsprout to keep attacking, but Drednaw dodges the second Power Whip, causing it to hit the ground instead. From the forming cracks, a sudden red light emerges and engulfs Drednaw, causing it to Gigantamax, much to Team Rocket's horror. Jessie tries to throw a Poké Ball at it, but her throw is completely off and the Ball falls to the ground. With Bellsprout being too afraid to attack anymore, the Rocket trio is left with no choice but to flee into the stadium, with Drednaw following them by extending its long neck after them. Drednaw's head pushing through the narrow corridors results in the whole stadium shaking, causing panic inside.
==Major events==
* learns about the World Coronation Series, a competition used to decide the strongest in the .
* Ash and Goh travel to Galar again.
* Ash and Goh see .
* is revealed to have traveled to Galar for the first time and received a Rotom Phone from .
* reappears and is revealed to have obtained a Dynamax Band.
* Team Rocket witnesses Dynamaxing for the first time.
* Galar League defeats Lance in the finals of the World Coronation Series, becoming the Monarch in the process.
* Ash decides to challenge Leon.
* Team Rocket tries and fails to a , inadvertently causing it to Gigantamax and start attacking Wyndon Stadium.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* 
* Dan
====Pokémon debuts====
* ()
* Gigantamax ()
* (Gigantamax)
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* Professor Cerise
* 
* 
* Chrysa
* Ren
* Dan
* Announcer (voice only)
* Copilot
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Mimey)
* ()
* ()
* (; Red Gyarados; Dynamax)
* (; Gigantamax)
* (Dan's)
* (Team Rocket's)
* (Team Rocket's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (; debut)
* (; Gigantamax; debut)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* This episode marks the first appearance of in the since The Scuffle of Legends, 721 episodes earlier.
*This marks the first time that a regional (current or former) has been defeated in an on-screen .
* Both Lance and use many of their lines from the during the match. Lance uses some of his pre- and post- lines from Generation II and , while Leon uses some of his pre- and in-battle quotes from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
* This is the first episode since Mind-Boggling Dynamax! where Goh doesn't have a change in his party.
* This is the first time a sparkling effect has been used for a Shiny Pokémon exiting their Poké Ball since A Pokémon of a Different Color!, 304 episodes earlier.
* The episode's English dub title is a reference to the 1981 film and . This was also the basis for the English dub title of a later episode.
* The announcer refers to the as having evolved from a . While this is normally true, Lance's Gyarados evolved from a regular Magikarp due to one of Team Rocket's experiments, something the announcer would likely not have known about.
* This episode marks the first appearance of an in the main series since Sawyer's last appeared in Till We Compete Again!, 158 episodes prior.
* Unlike his previous appearances, Lance is referred to as an Elite Four member instead of a , implying he lost his Champion status since his last appearance.
* The Gym battle theme from Pokémon Sword and Shield is played during Lance and Leon's battle.
* The logo on James's recurring casual disguise from this episode and the next bears a strong resemblance to that of .
* Goh, Leon, Ash, , and Leon's Gigantamax narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* In the scene where Leon Gigantamaxes his Charizard, his Dynamax Band is facing downwards. In the next shot, however, it is shown to be the other way around.
** Also, Ash's right hand is shown to have six fingers.
* When Team Rocket is exiting the stadium, is between James and . However, in the next shot, he is between Jessie and James.
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese texts depicting 's and name are edited out.
* The Japanese text depicting Wyndon Stadium's name is edited out.
==In other languages==
012
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
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 a Legendary Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes featuring Elite Four members
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
de:Auftritt der Titanen!
es:EP1101
fr:LV012
it:EP012
ja:新無印編第12話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第12集