JN053

Healing the Healer! (Japanese: 伝説ゲット！？水の守護神スイクンを探せ！！ Catch the Legend!? Find the Guardian of Water - Suicune!!) is the 53rd episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,138th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on January 29, 2021, in Canada on July 10, 2021, in South Africa on August 31, 2021, in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2021, and in the United States on September 10, 2021.
==Blurb==
The Legendary Pokémon Suicune has been detected! Suicune is said to clean up polluted bodies of water and then leave, but for some reason, it’s lingering near a lake. And so, our heroes set off to investigate. Upon arriving, they discover the lake is being polluted by Pokémon hunters who want to catch Suicune. When Suicune appears, the hunters attack it—and to save it, Goh catches it! Weakened by the hunters, Suicune flees. But Goh heals its wounds, and the two form a bond as they defeat the hunters. Although Suicune disappears, it remains Goh’s Pokémon, and he trusts that it’ll always be with him, even when they’re apart.
==Plot==
In the Johto region, a storm mixes up a lake's waters, causing it to become muddy and brown. However, the Legendary Pokémon appears and uses its powers to make the water crystal clear again. The news of Suicune being sighted quickly reach the ears of Professor Cerise in Kanto, and he relays the information further to and Goh. Chrysa and Ren, however, point out that multiple sightings of Suicune have been made around the same lake, which is unusual, as it tends to move along after purifying a body of water. As such, Professor Cerise dispatches his research fellows to the site to investigate.
After arriving in Johto, Ash and Goh head to the lake where Suicune was sighted, but as they approach it, a disgusting smell reaches their noses. At the lake, they find out that it's thick with garbage and pollution, despite Suicune having been supposed to have purified it. Nearby, they spot a group of men dumping pollution and having their Pokémon use into the lake. Goh plans to contact Officer Jenny, but Ash rushes ahead to confront the polluters before Goh can do so. A almost breaks out between the two sides, before a man the polluters refer to as their boss arrives, pointing out that Suicune has appeared. Once again, Suicune's powers clean the lake, and it attacks the trucks that were dumping pollution into it. The boss, however, is not worried, as he sees that Suicune's repeated use of its powers has left it low on stamina. Ash realizes these men are , and Goh understands they purposefully polluted the lake multiple times in order to force Suicune to use its power repeatedly and leave it weakened for capture.
The hunters have their Pokémon bombard Suicune with Sludge Bombs, with one of them keeping Ash and Goh from approaching as Suicune is tied down with ropes and nets. Desperate to come up with a way to save Suicune, Goh pulls out a and tosses it at the Legendary Pokémon, sucking it in. The Ball lands back into his hands, shaking three times before Goh's Rotom Phone reports that Suicune has been successfully , much to everyone else's astonishment. The hunters, displeased about having their hard-worked catch taken away from them, intend to take it back by force. Ash calls out and urges Goh to run away while he battles the hunters. Goh agrees and flees to get Suicune to a Pokémon Center. However, in the middle of his escape, he ends up tripping and dropping Suicune's Poké Ball. The Aurora Pokémon emerges and glares at Goh, displaying a very clear distrust towards him. Goh tries to convince it to come to a Pokémon Center with him, but it simply freezes its Poké Ball with and climbs up to a nearby tree to rest. Goh climbs up after it and finds several forest Pokémon standing before Suicune in an attempt to protect it, as it had cleaned the lake up for them. Goh tells them he's not one of the hunters and leaves his and to watch after Suicune as he heads off with and . Ash, meanwhile, has managed to lose the hunters and wonders how Goh is doing.
Goh eventually returns to the tree, with his Raichu handing Suicune some Pecha Berries to cure the the hunters inflicted on it. The Berries work, and Goh also gives the forest Pokémon some other to eat and for Suicune to regain its stamina. The hunters inform their boss that they've managed to relocate their catch and move out to reclaim it. Meanwhile, Goh notices an injury on Suicune's back leg and uses a Potion to treat it before wrapping a cloth received from Chloe around it. Just then, Goh's Exeggutor alerts them that the hunters are arriving. Goh engages them with his Cinderace and newly caught , which he had caught in order to fight the hunters' Pokémon more effectively. Although Goh manages to hold his own for a while, the hunter boss then sends out his , which easily defeats Drowzee with a single while the boss mocks Goh for believing they only used Poison types. The hunters seize Suicune in a net and pull it down from the tree, beating it up as Goh begs for them to stop. Just then, Ash returns to help, and the two engage the hunters together. Although Cinderace ends up getting poisoned as well, Goh refuses to give up. Just as the boss tries to finish Goh off with Houndoom, Suicune, having observed Goh's determination, breaks free from the net and agrees to battle by his side. With a series of s and an Ice Beam, the hunters' Pokémon are defeated, and another Ice Beam s the hunters into a block of ice that Officer Jenny picks up and carts off soon after.
With the hunters dealt with, Goh places Suicune's Poké Ball on the ground and tells it to resume its important journey. However, as Suicune emerges from the Poké Ball, it looks at Goh in the eye for a moment, before willingly returning to its Ball, showing that it wishes to stay with him. Thanking for its decision, Goh brings it back to the Cerise Laboratory, where Professor Cerise, Chrysa, and Ren are astounded to see Goh having actually caught the Legendary Pokémon. Suicune races to a hill in Cerise Park and unleashes a powerful gust of wind that forces everyone to shield their eyes. As the wind dies down, Suicune has disappeared, but Goh says that it's still there, even if they can't see it.
==Major events==
* and Goh visit Johto again.
* Goh a and a .
* Goh attempts to his Suicune, but it chooses to remain his Pokémon while the .
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
* Goh's Suicune
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Officer Jenny
* Professor Cerise
* Chrysa
* Ren
* 
** Boss
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; ×5; )
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; Alolan form)
* (; new)
* (; new)
* (Ren's; Francois; image)
* (')
* (')
* (')
* (')
* (Boss's)
* (×2; one in a flashback)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (; fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
* (fantasy; silhouette)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* The English dub was released on the iTunes Store in Australia the day before the episode aired in Canada.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a Suicune in the since Drifloon On the Wind!, 644 episodes earlier.
* This episode marks the first time that a main character outside of has caught a pure Pokémon.
* The narrator, Goh, , , and narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* On Netflix, the dub of this episode uses the version of the opening, instead of the version in Portuguese.
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese text depicting the Johto region's name is edited out.
** As Johto is not mentioned anywhere else in the episode, this leaves the region the episode takes place in ambiguous in the dub. It is, however, mentioned in the description on Netflix.
==In other languages==
053
Category:Episodes written by Akemi Omode
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Noriaki Saitō
Category:Episodes directed by Shingo Tanabe
Category:Episodes animated by Makoto Shinjō
Category:Episodes animated by Yuki Masutani
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character attempts to release a Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Goh
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
de:Das Heilen des Heilers!
es:EP1142
fr:LV053
it:EP053
ja:新無印編第53話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第53集