JN027

Toughing It Out! (Japanese: 英雄伝説！ダンデ最強バトル！！ Legends of Heroes! 's Greatest Battle!!) is the 27th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,112th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 5, 2020, in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2020, and in the United States on December 4, 2020. It was initially intended to air in Japan on May 24, 2020, but was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
==Blurb==
With tickets to see Leon battle Galar’s Dragon-type Gym Leader Raihan in the World Coronation Series, our heroes couldn’t be more excited! Both competitors are strong, but the undefeated Leon wins again!
Then, after hearing about a young hero who once saved Galar from the effects of a devastating storm, Ash and Goh come across a Galarian Farfetch’d. Although it’s similar to Goh’s Farfetch’d from Kanto, this regional form carries a huge leek that it uses in battle. The Galarian Farfetch’d has been challenging any Trainer who crosses its path—and after battling it and being impressed by its tenacity, Ash welcomes it as the newest member of his team!
==Plot==
 and Goh's with and , respectively, is cut off by Professor Cerise appearing and handing them tickets to a World Coronation Series Master Class in Galar, with himself taking part in the match. Excited to see Leon battle, the two immediately head off to Galar. When they arrive at Wyndon, Ash and Goh rush towards the Wyndon Stadium, almost being late for the battle due to them stopping for food. Ash and briefly stop to look at a statue, but Goh tells them to hurry up. Once they reach the stands, they let Riolu and Farfetch'd out of their s to watch the match. The announcer explains the World Coronation Series has over 10,000 participants, but only the Top 8 can stand in the Master Class and be referred to as the Masters Eight. The first to enter the battlefield is Raihan, a Galarian Gym Leader who is currently ranked seventh in the competition, having climbed his way up into the Master Class as soon as he joined the event. His opponent is Leon, the undefeated of Galar and the current Monarch. As the referee explains that the battle will be one-on-one, Raihan tells Leon that he joined the event to end his winning streak. Leon is undeterred as the two Trainers take their places and send out their Pokémon. Leon sends out his ace , while Raihan chooses .
At the referee's signal, the match begins, with Duraludon making the opening move with . The attack connects, with Duraludon moving surprisingly fast despite its metal-covered body. Charizard responds by using its own claw move, . Ash and Goh notice that Leon has changed up his Charizard's moves since last time. Duraludon uses , blocking the move with its impressive defensive capabilities. Duraludon attacks with another Metal Claw, but Charizard uses before the attack can connect, dealing notable damage on Duraludon while avoiding its attack. Charizard continues the assault with , but Duraludon counterattacks with . Raihan's attack makes contact, dealing damage on Charizard. Raihan decides to finish the match and calls for the ultimate attack; . As the move charges, Ash and Goh check its info on Goh's Rotom Phone, learning that Steel Beam sacrifices the user's stamina for immense destructive force. The attack fires and overpowers Charizard's , slamming it down to the ground. However, despite all the damage it has taken, Charizard still stands up.
Raihan responds to Charizard's resilience by recalling Duraludon and Gigantamaxing it, with Leon also Gigantamaxing Charizard in response. Duraludon uses , which Charizard counters with , both countering the attack and dealing damage on Duraludon. Raihan next issues a , but before the attack can make contact, Charizard uses its signature G-Max Move, , slicing through the spikes before hitting Duraludon. The move's secondary effect damage is too much for the weakened Duraludon to handle, as it falls down, defeated, meaning that Leon's winning streak still remains unbroken. Raihan thinks to himself that he needs to polish his skills at his Gym before rechallenging Leon. As the two shake hands, Raihan tells Leon that he's still going to break his winning streak someday. Ash suddenly cuts in on this, yelling down from the stand that he intends to be the one to defeat Leon, much to Goh's embarrassment. Leon recognizes Ash and waves at him, but then starts waving in another direction, with the announcer acknowledging Chairman Rose's presence in a skybox.
At the entrance hall, Ash and Goh observe the statue that Ash had noticed upon their arrival earlier. As they wonder if it depicts Leon, a young woman nearby catches their attention. She tells the two that the statue actually depicts a legendary hero from Galar's past, and starts detailing the legend to them. A long time ago, a great black storm covered the region, and giant Pokémon ran rampant, but the chaos was eventually stopped by a single young hero wielding a sword and a shield. The young woman admits that many details of the legend remain unclear, like who the young hero was, where did the sword and shield go, and what relation the event has to Dynamax. She remarks that she's doing this research as homework for her grandmother, who's a Pokémon Professor, being her assistant. Ash and Goh introduce themselves, and the young woman introduces herself as Sonia.
Later, while Ash and Goh are thinking about the legend, a Trainer carrying a fainted asks them for directions for the local Pokémon Center, telling them that he was defeated by a strong Pokémon at a nearby bridge. The two decide to investigate and go to the bridge, where they encounter a carrying a huge leek. Goh's Rotom Phone informs them that this is Farfetch'd's regional form. Goh throws a Poké Ball at it to it, but it simply slaps the Ball away. As such, Goh sends out his Kantonian Farfetch'd to battle it and issues a . The Galarian Farfetch'd responds with the same move and easily defeats Goh's Farfetch'd.
Farfetch'd seems eager for more battling, but before Ash can send Pikachu in, Riolu emerges from its Poké Ball on its own to battle. As such, Ash decides to put Riolu's earlier training to the test. Riolu opens with , but Farfetch'd blocks it with its leek, before winding up for another Night Slash. While it's winding up, Riolu hits it with a , but despite the hit, Farfetch'd charges in. Ash counters with another move Riolu picked up during training, , causing the Night Slash to miss its mark. Riolu then bombards Farfetch'd with a flurry of Vacuum Waves, but after a moment, it sweeps them all aside with yet another Night Slash. Riolu uses Double Team again, but Farfetch'd uses , dispelling all the copies and hitting the real Riolu. Despite the powerful hit, Ash knows that Riolu still has strength left, and issues a . The move hits Farfetch'd hard, but it's still not down. To Goh and Riolu's bafflement, Ash suddenly starts encouraging Farfetch'd to go on as well. Farfetch'd stands up, ready to go on, but as Ash and Riolu prepare to continue, they see Farfetch'd's leek slumping down, showing that it has fainted while still standing.
Ash and Goh bring all of their exhausted Pokémon and the Galarian Farfetch'd to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy and her two treat them all back to full health. Afterward, outside the Pokémon Center, the Galarian Farfetch'd displays its eagerness to still battle more. Seeing this, Ash asks it if it wants to join his team, so that it could get stronger with his other Pokémon. After a moment of consideration, Farfetch'd accepts the offer, and Ash throws a Poké Ball at it, making his first capture in the Galar region. As soon as he lets out of its Poké Ball, it immediately starts training with Riolu. As Goh joins in, a camouflaged appears behind him, momentarily observing the action, before being scared away by the loud noises of the training.
==Major events==
* Ash's Riolu is revealed to have learned , , and .
* and Goh travel to Galar again.
* has a World Coronation Series with his rival, Gym Leader Raihan, and wins.
* Ash and Goh see Chairman Rose for the first time.
* Ash and Goh meet Sonia for the first time and learn about the Darkest Day.
* Goh's Farfetch'd is revealed to know .
* Goh tries and fails to a .
* Ash catches the Galarian .
* A starts to follow Ash and Goh.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Raihan
* Rose
* Sonia
====Pokémon debuts====
* (Gigantamax)
* 
* (; Galarian Form)
* (both genders)
* (Rotomi)
* (anime)
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Nurse Joy
* Professor Cerise
* 
* Rose
* Raihan
* Sonia
* Dan
* Announcer (voice only)
* Trainers
* Crowd
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ('s; Mimey)
* ()
* (; Galarian Form; new; debut)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (; Gigantamax)
* (Raihan's; Gigantamax; debut)
* (Nurse Joy's; male; debut)
* (Nurse Joy's; female; debut)
* (Dan's)
* (Trainers'; ×2)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; debut)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Rotomi; debut)
* (anime; debut)
* (Gigantamax; silhouette)
* (Gigantamax; silhouette)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* The between Raihan and mirrors the one in the Pokémon Sword and Shield opening cutscene.
* During the battle between Raihan and Leon, a remix of the Galar Gym Leader theme plays in the background.
* This marks the first time has a regional form .
* Despite it having existed in the since Generation II, this is the first time has been used in the .
* One of the icons on Goh's Rotom Phone resembles that of Pokémon GO.
* This episode marks the first appearance of the Galar Nurse Joy design. 
** This episode also reveals that Nurse Joys working in the Galar region use as assistants.
* When Goh's Farfetch'd gives him the thumbs-up after telling it that he could come with him to Galar, the Nintendo Switch clicking sound effect is heard.
* In the scene that 's talks to Ash and Goh, there is a fountain similar to the one seen in the Pokémon Direct that announced Pokémon Sword and Shield and revealed the Galar first partner Pokémon. It also appears in the next episode.
* Goh, Ash, James, Jessie, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* In the English dub, while Ash battles the , he mistakenly says it is using , instead of . This is fixed in foreign dubs based on the English dub.
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
027
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Noriaki Saitō
Category:Episodes directed by Hiromichi Matano
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes animated by Makoto Shinjō
Category:Episodes animated by Yuki Masutani
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
de:Hart im Nehmen!
es:EP1116
fr:LV027
it:EP027
ja:新無印編第27話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第27集