JN077

Ultra Exciting from the Shocking Start! (Japanese: 超電磁ハイパークラスバトル！ Super Electromagnetic Battle!) is the 77th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,162nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on August 20, 2021, in Canada on December 25, 2021, in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2022, in South Africa on February 15, 2022, in Australia on April 29, 2022, and in the United States on May 26, 2022.
==Blurb==
Ash is ready for his first Ultra Class battle, and he’s especially excited because his opponent is one of the strongest Gym Leaders in Sinnoh, Volkner! Ranked 99th, Ash is in for a challenge, and it’s soon obvious how formidable Volkner is. But as the three-on-three battle unfolds, Volkner expresses his admiration for Ash and his strength. Things are neck and neck until Ash and Pikachu invoke their 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt Z-Move! Ash clinches the victory, and he climbs even higher in the Ultra Class. But he still has to battle hard if he wants to face the Trainers in the Masters Eight—including Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!
==Plot==
's run in the World Coronation Series has led him to Sunyshore City in the Sinnoh region, where he's due to have an Ultra Class match against Volkner, the local Gym Leader whom he's battled before while he was journeying across Sinnoh. Walking together through the Sunyshore Gym and towards the battlefield, both Ash and Volkner are excited to get to battle each other again. Volkner notices Ash wearing an Alolan Z-Power Ring on his wrist, and is intrigued by the Z-Crystal on it, which Ash explains to be one specifically for him and .
Goh and his are in the stands, ready to cheer for Ash. Ash and Volkner enter the field and are introduced, although the applause Ash receives is not even close to the one Volkner gets. At Drone Rotom's signal, the first Pokémon are sent out, with Ash choosing and Volkner going with . Volkner begins the match by having Luxray set up an . Lucario attacks with , but Volkner counterattacks with , which both blocks the Aura Sphere and strikes Lucario, its power being increased thanks to Electric Terrain being in effect. Ash quickly recalls Lucario and sends out in its place. With its agile movements, Gengar easily dodges Luxray's before throwing it around with and hitting it with . Seeing that Luxray is outmatched against Gengar, Volkner recalls it and sends out his , which is fast enough to match Gengar's unpredictable movements. Rotom uses , which Gengar counters with Night Shade. Next up, Gengar attempts to use , but Rotom avoids it and uses , Gengar. Rotom follows up with , using its opponent's status condition to deal heavy damage on Gengar. While Gengar attempts to stay standing, it quickly collapses, fainting from the damage it has taken. Ash recalls Gengar and thanks it for a good match, just as the Electric Terrain wears off.
Ash next calls forth Pikachu, who steps onto the battlefield. Ash orders an , a move that Volkner is surprised to see Pikachu using, successfully trapping Rotom. However, just as Pikachu starts following it up with a , Volkner suddenly recalls Rotom and sends out to take the attack. As such, Pikachu's Thunderbolt ends up being completely absorbed by Electivire's Ability, leaving the unscathed and increasing its in the process. Using the Speed increase to his advantage, Volkner has Electivire use , which strikes Pikachu before he can react. Ash has Pikachu use , but Electivire counters with its own Iron Tail, using both of its tails to overpower Pikachu's one tail and winning the clash. With Pikachu getting overwhelmed, Ash withdraws him from the match for now and sends out Lucario. Lucario uses Aura Sphere, while Electivire uses Fire Punch, with both moves hitting the other and pushing both Pokémon back. Electivire follows up with , but Lucario's causes the attack to hit nothing but thin air. Lucario and all the Double Team clones use Aura Sphere, but Electivire uses its tails to hit them all back before using , hitting Lucario and paralyzing it.
To Ash's surprise, Volkner suddenly recalls Electivire and calls out Rotom, using Hex to take advantage of Lucario's paralysis. With Lucario's endurance running low, Ash tells it to use . Enduring Rotom's Air Slash, Lucario executes the attack, striking Rotom with a devastating Reversal and taking it out of the fight. Volkner is impressed, even noticing that Lucario actually managed to shake off its paralysis while using the move. He next up calls out Luxray, who sets up Electric Terrain once again. The two Pokémon then attack with Aura Sphere and Rising Voltage, striking each other simultaneously. For a few moments, they stare each other down, before succumbing to the damage they already have sustained and fainting on the spot, resulting in a double knockout.
Both sides are now down to their last Pokémon, so Pikachu and Electivire return to the battlefield once again to face each other. With Motor Drive limiting the move options that Pikachu can use, Ash goes for an Iron Tail, but Electivire easily overpowers it with Wild Charge, not even flinching at the recoil damage as the Electric Terrain's effect fades away again. Another Iron Tail clash follows, but this time, Pikachu manages to land a hit on Electivire's head, causing the big Pokémon to stumble.
Noticing that Pikachu is eager to use an move to finish the match, Ash tosses his hat to him and starts drawing Z-Power from his signature Z-Crystal, the Pikashunium Z. His and Pikachu's signature Z-Move, , flashes across the battlefield and strikes Electivire, who puts Motor Drive into overdrive in an attempt to absorb the powerful move. Eventually, a big explosion ensues, and when the smoke clears, Electivire falls over and faints, the Z-Move having overcharged its Motor Drive. As such, Drone Rotom declares Ash the winner.
With his victory, Ash finally earns an applause to match the one Volkner had received earlier, and his rank rises from 99 to 64. Volkner walks up to Ash, expressing how impressed he was of the 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. Ash says that he had chosen to finish the match with his strongest Electric move the moment he had learned that he'd be facing Volkner. Volkner predicts that Ash will become the "eye of the storm" that will shake up not just the Ultra Class, but even the Master Class, revealing that Sinnoh League is part of the Masters Eight.
==Major events==
* and Goh visit Sinnoh again.
* Ash meets Volkner again.
* Ash is revealed to have retrieved his Z-Power Ring and Pikashunium Z.
* Ash has a World Coronation Series against Volkner and wins, bringing his rank to 64.
* is revealed to be participating in the World Coronation Series and be in the Master Class.
* Bea is revealed to own a Dynamax Band.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* (fantasy)
* 
* Volkner
* 
* Bea
* Raihan
* Nurse Joy
* Trainers
* Audience
===Pokémon===
* (; World Cap)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Volkner's)
* (Volkner's)
* (Volkner's; )
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (Trainer's)
* (Drone Rotom)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* The Dare da? segment is replaced with eyecatches of , Goh, and for this episode.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Volkner in a episode since The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!, 517 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first appearance of in a Pokémon the Series episode since Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige!, 407 episodes ago.
* This is the first time Ash performs a Z-Move outside of .
* Volkner using a may be a reference to , where he uses one during the Pokémon World Tournament.
* This is the first time the Pikashunium Z has been referred to by name in the .
* Chrysa, Ren, Ash, Goh, Gizmo, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.
* The English dub title of this episode is listed as Excitement From the Ultra-Shocking Start! on most TV guides and in the iTunes Store.
===Errors===
* When recalls , the bottom half of 's normally black tails are miscolored yellow.
* When Volkner's uses on Ash's Lucario, the visual effects on the background are similar to .
===Dub edits===
* The Japanese text depicting Sunyshore City's name is edited out.
* The Japanese text depicting 's name when Pikachu is about to use the move is edited out in the dub.
==In other languages==
077
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
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 focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes in which a Champion appears
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Nervenkitzel vom Anfang bis zum Ende!
es:EP1166
fr:LV077
it:EP077
ja:新無印編第77話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第77集