SM042

Alola, Kanto! (Japanese: カントーでアローラ！タケシとカスミ！！ Alola at Kanto! and !!) is the 42nd episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 981st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 14, 2017 and in the United States on November 25, 2017 as part of a marathon including Mounting an Electrifying Charge! and I Choose You!.
==Blurb==
Ash’s Pokémon School class is taking a field trip to the Kanto region! Principal Oak is excited to visit his famous cousin in Pallet Town, and Professor Kukui says some special guests will be joining them. When those guests turn out to be Brock and Misty, Ash is delighted!
Everyone marvels at the many Pokémon living at Professor Oak’s lab, and Brock offers a demonstration of the difference between Kanto Pokémon and their Alolan counterparts. Of course, Team Rocket is up to their old tricks, but the “original Twerp trio” quickly sends them blasting off again. Tomorrow, Misty has big plans for everyone: a battle at her own Cerulean Gym!
==Plot==
Samson Oak informs the class that they will be having a special extracurricular activity to celebrate the Pokémon School's twentieth anniversary. When asks where they will be going, replies that they will be heading to the Kanto region and that there will be special guests meeting them there, exciting the class, particularly .
As they reach Kanto via plane, the students express their desires to meet certain Kantonian while notices Snowy not feeling well. A young man, later introduced to her as , asks Lillie if he can take a look at Snowy, stating that he is a Pokémon -in-training. also arrives in Kanto and is heading to the . Jessie becomes angry and fusses about Matori telling them to come there. James worries if they will get a lecture from her and . reassures himself that giving Matori a malasada will not make her angry.
Brock informs Lillie that Snowy is only experiencing motion sickness and that it will be fine after a while. Just then, Ash notices Brock and calls out to him. Ash runs toward Brock, but Brock runs past him and chases the female cabin attendant who walked past Ash. As Brock flirts with her, arrives to pull him away from the cabin attendant by the ear. Ash introduces to Misty and Brock, and they present themselves as the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean Gym and Pewter Gym, respectively. Ash's classmates also introduce themselves to Misty and Brock. When Ash asks what they are doing in the airport, Misty reveals Professor Oak asked them to meet the class. Professor Kukui and Samson Oak interrupt the conversation and tell them to head to the laboratory. Meanwhile, Team Rocket, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation, decides to head to the laboratory to steal all of the Pokémon residing there and give them to so that they do not get lectured.
Samuel Oak and Samson Oak are excited to meet each other; the former congratulates the latter on the school's twentieth anniversary. is surprised to see their identical appearances. Samson Oak introduces the class to his cousin. Professor Oak begins to recite a senryū and the class is impressed. Rotom recites its own senryū, and the Oaks praise its creation. Misty and Brock are made in charge of showing the class around the laboratory's Oak Corral. The class becomes excited at the vastness of the corral and expresses hopes of meeting certain kinds of new Pokémon. Lillie gets excited at seeing , but reminds her that Spearow are fairly common in Alola as well. Ash tells his classmates that his Pokémon are in the Oak Corral as well; he notices his herd of and starts running towards them. Tauros, excited to see Ash, run towards him as well, and knock Ash into the sky.
Kiawe and Rotom see a at the edge of a cliff. Rapidash dashes forward and Kiawe sends out his to follow and race with it. They increase their speed and Kiawe realizes that Rapidash wants him to ride on it; Kiawe jumps from his Charizard and climbs onto Rapidash. Mallow and her meet two and a . Vileplume greets her and uses ; Brock and Misty warn her and Mallow runs off with her Steenee. Meanwhile, Ash, Lillie, , and Sophocles see a . becomes excited at seeing the Mouse Pokémon and runs around in circles. She produces electricity and shocks Raichu unconscious, to which Sophocles apologizes. Later, the group notices a in a forested area and Snowy walks toward it. The Ninetales licks Snowy's head in greeting. They also see a jumping out of a lake. blows a bubble at the Dewgong, who bounces it on its forehead. Concurrently, Rotom is traveling around the corral, taking photographs of different Kanto Pokémon.
At the back of the laboratory, Brock and Misty send out a Kantonian and an , respectively. The Kantonian becomes surprised with its Alolan counterpart. The class comments on the major differences between the two regional Exeggutor. Both variants of and are sent out, with the Kantonian happy to see Ash. Both variants of are sent out as well. Kiawe is startled to see the Kantonian Dugtrio not having hair and gives it his wig. Lastly, Brock sends out a Kantonian , and Kiawe sends out his Alolan Marowak. Upon seeing their counterparts, the two Marowak begin to fight each other. Kiawe and Brock try to restrain the two Marowak, to no avail. Sophocles and Lillie comment on their different typing; Alolan Marowak being a and type, while Kantonian Marowak is a type. Pikachu tries to calm the two Marowak down, but is attacked instead, sending him flying in the air. Togedemaru becomes furious and attacks the Marowak, but is chased by them. Pikachu lands on the ground and uses , shocking everyone except the Kantonian Marowak, who is unaffected due to its type. Lana and Kiawe realize that Popplio and Marowak have gone missing and the group decides to look for them. On search, Ash, Misty, and Brock come across a , causing Misty to run away in fear, still having not overcome her fear of Pokémon. Afterwards, they reminisce about the adventures they used to have together. Just then, they hear a sound and head to find the source. They see the and 's evolutionary lines arguing, with Ash's Bulbasaur trying to pacify. Ash calls out to Bulbasaur, who is delighted to see Ash and jumps into his arms.
Lillie, Lana, and Mallow climb up a slope, looking for Popplio, when they hear Misty calling out to them. Misty suggests looking for Popplio near the lake ahead of them. At the lake, a emerges from the water and frightens the girls, except Lana who stands firm. Lana changes to her swimsuit and jumps into the lake; Misty follows suit. At the bottom of the lake, they see Popplio hanging out with the Pokémon. The boys are looking for Kiawe's Marowak in a rocky area, where they run into an . Worried that the Onix might attack, Kiawe sends out his . Brock tells them to calm down, as to not anger the Onix. However, Kiawe's Marowak appears and throws its bone at the Onix, angering it, and the group flees from the Rock Snake Pokémon.
The two groups meet up, and a net appears and captures their Pokémon, which is revealed to be Team Rocket's doing. Misty and Brock get angry at Team Rocket for still being up to their usual schemes. Ash sends out and commands it to use . Team Rocket, in their mecha, deflects the attack back at the group. Brock and Misty send out their and , respectively. Together, they destroy the mecha, but Team Rocket refuses to give up, and Jessie sends out her ; Bulbasaur shudders from the Disguise Pokémon. Suddenly, a plane flies past and jumps down. It takes off with Team Rocket. The wreckage shakes and appears out of it. Mallow, Lillie, and Lana are happy to see a for the first time. Ash, Misty, and Brock, however, recognize the Jigglypuff and fear that it might . It does so, and everyone falls asleep to Jigglypuff's song. Jigglypuff becomes angry at its audience falling asleep again and uses its microphone-marker to draw on their faces. They wake up in the evening and laugh at the drawings on each other's faces. Just then, appears and tells them that the welcome party is about to start.
Back at the laboratory, the group eats the food prepared by Mimey. Delia welcomes them to Kanto and asks Kiawe if he would like to take a look at Ash's bedroom. Rotom becomes disappointed that it is missing a photo of one more Kanto Pokémon; a overhears it and flies away. Professor Kukui informs the class that they will be heading to the Cerulean Gym for a Gym battle the following day. The next day, they travel past the Cerulean Gym. Ash exclaims that he cannot wait for a battle.
==Major events==
* and travel to Kanto for an extracurricular activity and arrive in Pallet Town.
** In the process, Ash's classmates visit Kanto for the first time. 
* also travels to Kanto, but are later taken back to Alola by .
* Ash reunites with and , while Ash's classmates meet them for the first time.
* , , , , and meet and for the first time.
* Lana, Kiawe, and Sophocles meet for the first time.
* Misty and Brock meet , Samson Oak, and Bewear for the first time.
* Ash's Lycanroc is revealed to have learned .
* Ash and his classmates travel to Cerulean City to visit the Cerulean Gym.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
=====TV episode debuts=====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* 
* 
* 
* Samson Oak
* Matori (fantasy)
* Hiroki
* Trainers
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international), (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* (; ×30)
* ()
* (; unofficial; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* (; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; Ride Pokémon)
* ()
* (; Alolan form)
* ('s; Alolan form; Snowy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Mimey)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainers'; ×2)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; ×2; one Alolan form)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; Alolan form)
* (Trainer's; Alolan form)
* (Trainer's; ×2; one Alolan form)
* (Squirtle Squad)
* (Pink Butterfree; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* (×6)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (×4)
* (×5)
* (×4)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (×6)
* 
* (×3)
* (×2)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (×3)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (flashback)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (photo)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
* (fantasy)
==Trivia==
* Poké Problem: Where do we travel to in today's episode?
** Host: 
** Choices: Kalos, Johto, Kanto, Unova
** Answer: Kanto
* Samson Oak and narrate the preview for the next episode.
* This is the first time has returned to Kanto while in the middle of a regional .
* This episode marks the first physical appearance of in the main series since A Real Cleffa-Hanger, 573 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first physical appearance of in the main series since Memories are Made of Bliss!, 324 episodes earlier.
*** Furthermore, this is the first time one of Ash's previous traveling companions have made a physical appearance in the since Goodbye, Junior Cup—Hello, Adventure!, 231 episodes earlier.
*** In addition, Misty and Brock’s guest appearance in this episode also marks the first time one of Ash's traveling companions from a previous series that isn’t the most recent one has physically appeared since ’s cameo in Following A Maiden's Voyage!
* This episode marks several recurring Pokémon's first physical appearances in the main series after long absences:
** Misty's Staryu, whose previous appearance was in Entei at Your Own Risk, 722 episodes earlier.
** The recurring , whose previous appearance was in A Poké-BLOCK Party!, 668 episodes earlier.
*** As such, this marks the first appearance of Jigglypuff in person in a Pokémon Company International-dubbed TV episode, as well as Misty.
** Brock's Geodude and Crobat, both of whom last appeared in Grating Spaces!, 530 episodes earlier.
** Ash's Squirtle, whose previous appearance was in Pace - The Final Frontier!, 517 episodes earlier.
** Ash's Totodile and , both of whom last appeared in An Old Family Blend!, 333 episodes earlier.
* This is the final appearance of Misty's Togetic and Brock's Crobat.
* This is the first-ever physical main series appearance of a . While a Mew appeared in A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine!, its appearance was only in a fantasy.
** As a result, as of this episode, all 151 Generation I Pokémon have physically appeared in the main series.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a number of Pokémon species in the main series after long absences:
** , who last appeared in From Cradle to Save!, 551 episodes ago.
** , who last appeared in Historical Mystery Tour!, 375 episodes ago.
** , who last appeared in Dawn of a Royal Day!, 344 episodes ago.
** A Kantonian , who last appeared in Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama!, 342 episodes ago.
** A Kantonian , who last appeared in An Old Family Blend!, 333 episodes ago.
** , who last appeared in The Mystery of the Missing Cubchoo!, 236 episodes ago.
** , who last appeared in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!, 208 episodes ago.
* This episode marks the first time that any of Ash's friends have visited Professor Oak's Laboratory since The Right Place and the Right Mime, 574 episodes earlier.
* Despite having made multiple appearances in the animated series ever since the first season, this is the first time a Pokédex entry for it is shown.
** Furthermore, the way Rapidash runs in the open field is a reference to a similar scene from the first Pokémon opening, Aim to Be a Pokémon Master, and its English counterpart, Pokémon Theme.
* This episodes features reanimated flashbacks to Bye Bye Butterfree, Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, Charizard's Burning Ambitions, Entei at Your Own Risk, and Gotta Catch Ya Later!.
* When Misty dives with , she is seen wearing a bikini similar to the one her game counterpart is seen wearing in the Generation I games (excluding ).
* When Lana fantasizes about seeing , it is depicted with two fins, which could be a reference to .
* Jessie breaks the fourth wall by pushing away her thought balloon depicting Matori.
* An instrumental version of Aim to Be a Pokémon Master -20th Anniversary- is used as an insert song when Snowy meets a .
** Also, the manner in which Ninetales appears (where it was seen standing still under the sunlight) resembles another Ninetales that appeared in Just Waiting On a Friend.
* When Professor Oak recites the senryū of , the Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture's format is used.
* recites their in this episode. As a result, this motto has been recited at least once in every series so far. They also use the original Team Rocket logo instead of the streamlined model that has been in use since Pokémon the Series: Black & White, while James is seen having his famous rose. The background music of the motto was the same as in Pokémon the Series: XY.
* The Japanese opening for this episode includes ad-lib lines by Misty, Brock, and Professor Oak, much like the original version of the opening.
* The inside of the mecha Meowth pilots in the episode appears to resemble the controls of the mobile suits that appear in , specifically the head and wrist attachments resembling the Mobile Trace System.
* 's wig from Getting the Band Back Together! makes a reappearance.
* The Pokémon School's 20th anniversary is a reference to the 20th anniversary of .
* Despite this episode mostly taking place at Professor Oak's Laboratory, where Tracey currently resides, he isn't seen or mentioned at all throughout the episode.
* The fight between the and evolutionary lines that tries to break up in this episode, is similar to that of Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, where he is also seen trying to stop a conflict between two families, being the Oddish and lines.
* In the original version, Team Rocket's line when grabs them is spoken by Misty instead of Team Rocket themselves.
* The narrator is only heard at the end of this episode, while the beginning lacks narration completely.
* All of the Western dub titles are the same as the English title.
===Errors===
* When uses on everybody, gets zapped despite having as her Ability.
* When Brock's Crobat uses , it opens its mouth. When the scene changes to the Supersonic hitting Team Rocket's mecha, its mouth is closed.
* When Jigglypuff puffs up in anger, the black band and silver base on the bottom of Jigglypuff's microphone turns silver and dark-gray respectively for a split-second, while the band's width is smaller than normal.
===Dub edits===
* When Team Rocket is discussing their reasons for traveling to Kanto in the airport, Matori's name is replaced with the nickname "loser locks" in one of Meowth's lines.
* During the party, the drinks , Professor Oak, and Samson Oak are holding have their colors changed to green.
SM042 dub edit original.png|Orange drinks in the original version
SM042 dub edit.png|Green drinks in the dub
==In other languages==
042
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes directed by Maki Kodaira
Category:Episodes animated by Shūhei Yasuda
Category:Episodes animated by Maiko Katsuki
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Misty
Category:Episodes focusing on Brock
Category:Episodes in which a main character joins the group
Category:Episodes in which a Mythical Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
de:Alola, Kanto!
es:EP985
fr:SL042
it:SL042
ja:SM編第42話
zh:宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第42集