SM041

Mounting an Electrifying Charge! (Japanese: ダッシュ！デンヂムシ Dash! ) is the 41st episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 980th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 7, 2017 and in the United States on November 25, 2017 as part of a marathon including Alola, Kanto! and I Choose You!.
==Blurb==
Sophocles has wanted to enter a Charjabug race for a long time, and now with Ash and Kiawe on his team, he finally can! The huge event features tough competitors, including the arrogant Red Comet team and a disguised Team Rocket.
Red Comet is favored to win, and it starts out strong! But when it’s time to confront a giant sheet of ice, everyone has problems—except for a quick-thinking Sophocles, who uses his Charjabug’s String Shot move to maintain traction. As Red Comet looks on in horror, the Sophocles Lab team reaches the finish line and becomes the happy winner!
==Plot==
, , and are watching an advertisement showing racers. Sophocles explains what they do and reveals that he is joining an annual race they set up, but he requires a team of three to enter. Ash and Kiawe promptly agree to enter the race with him. After school, Sophocles shows them a kit for the race and they decide who gets which jobs. Once they have decided, Sophocles places his into the Charjabug racer and they go for a test run, but Charjabug isn't able to go fast. Kiawe suggests they do some training, allowing them to bond as a team. They do so as Sophocles continues to make changes to the car, and soon, their times improve.
The day of the race arrives and many teams are taking part in the race, but they soon make rivals with the Red Comet team led by Horacio and their Charjabug. Both teams vow to win as enter as well with inside a fake Charjabug racer. The teams gather in the stadium where provides the commentary and explains the rules and introduces the Pokémon who'll be creating obstacles for the teams. The terrains are brought out. Anna explains that a pit stop is available between each terrain as everyone takes their positions. The race begins and everyone heads out, but a crash on the first corner knocks out a few players, which Ash manages to avoid and enter the first terrain, where a causes disruption by making cliffs appear.
With a bit of cheating, Team Rocket is able to pass through the terrain and take the lead, while Ash and several other teams come to a stop at the cliff. Sophocles comes up with a suggestion for getting over it which Ash does. Other teams follow their lead. Team Rocket and Red Comet reach the first pit stop and change their tires for the next terrain. Ash arrives at the pit stop, and Kiawe quickly changes the tires. After a quick refill of Moomoo Milk, Kiawe provides them with Safety Goggles and they set of over the desert terrain. Meowth launches an attack on Red Comet, only for it to give them a speed increase. Meowth makes another attempt, but he ends up being ejected, resulting in them being disqualified. The terrain has left Red Comet's Charjabug tired but they soon exit followed by Ash and Team Electric Princess.
Outside, Team Rocket is refusing to leave, only for to come in and take them away. The race continues through city terrain, but changes rain to hail, making the track slippery. Team Electric Princess lose control and are about to crash into Sophocles' Charjabug, but Ash dives between them and gets knocked out. Sophocles and Kiawe rush to Ash's aid, while Red Comet aren't getting enough traction on the ice. The Electric Princess Team apologize for what happened. Sophocles joins Kiawe and Ash and decides to replace Ash as the runner. The Red Comet team isn't going anywhere, causing Sophocles and Charjabug to race past them, having used String Shot on the tires and shoes to get traction. 
Sophocles and Charjabug soon cross the line and are declared the winners. Anna interviews them about the victory (with Kiawe taking the opportunity to advertise his Moomoo Milk on television) and then presents them with their shared prize.
==Major events==
* Sophocles's Charjabug is revealed to know .
* Sophocles, , and meet Horacio, Sophocles's rival.
* participates in a Charjabug race with Ash and Kiawe and wins.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Horacio
* Yansu
* 
====Pokémon debuts====
* Horacio's Charjabug
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* Samson Oak
* 
* Horacio
* Yansu
* 
* Team Electric Princess
* Team Twin Starmie
* Team Science Speed
* Trainers
* Spectators
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Alolan form; Snowy)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s)
* (; )
* (Team Electric Princess's)
* (Team Twin Starmie's)
* (Team Science Speed's)
* (Trainers'; multiple)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; )
* ()
==Trivia==
* Poké Problem: What is my 's Nature?
** Host: 
** Choices: Calm, Timid, Gentle, Mild
** Answer: Mild
* The car that Horacio's drives is based on the high-speed flight form of a Shiny and the Red Zaku II from , from the horn on top of Charjabug's head and the team that it belongs to, being called "Red Comet".
* The Japanese title of this episode is a reference to the series . When cheering on as it crossed the finish line, the faces that , , and made reference some of its main characters (Sophocles as Dankuro Toda, Ash as Yonkuro Hinomaru, and Kiawe as Shinkuro Minami).
* The disguises which Jessie and James wear in this episode are a reference to the series , with Jessie's outfit based on the character of Retsu Seiba, and James's outfit based on Gō Seiba.
* The contraption that Kiawe wears on his body during the montage scene of Ash, Kiawe, and Sophocles preparing for the Charjabug race is a reference to the sports anime , where the main character wore a similar contraption on his body, in order to straighten out his arms, making him better at playing baseball. wore a similar device during a flashback in Pulling Out the Pokémon Base Pepper!.
* Pose is used as an insert song during Charjabug's training montage for the race.
* This episode marks the first instance of Natures being mentioned in the , despite them being introduced in Generation III.
* Akko Kagari, a character from , can be briefly seen in the crowd.https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/6ypftw/so_akko_made_a_cameo_in_the_pokemon_sunmoon_anime/
* , Ash, , Kiawe, , and Sophocles narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
* When Charjabug first uses , Sophocles is hit despite him standing behind the Battery Pokémon.
* Right when is about to change from its to its Snowy Form, it is colored as its Normal Form.
===Dub edits===
* The references to Sophocles and Horacio's Charjabug's Natures are removed from the dub.
==In other languages==
==References==
041
Category:Episodes written by Akemi Omode
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Kaori Higuchi
Category:Episodes directed by Junya Koshiba
Category:Episodes animated by Noriko Itō
Category:Episodes animated by Taki Yatagi
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes focusing on Sophocles
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
de:Ein spannungsgeladenes Rennen!
es:EP984
fr:SL041
it:SL041
ja:SM編第41話
zh:宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第41集