A One-Stick Wonder!

### Written by

Sonic876, Punkasaurus0530, Frogadier55, NegimaLover, TMNTHedgehog5, and DragonSpore18

### Directed by

Sonic876 and NegimaLover

***A One-Stick Wonder!*** is the 11th episode of *Josh's Adventures of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys the Series*.

## Plot

Ash and Goh are exploring the Wild Area to find Pokémon for Goh to catch, but Grookey's enthusiasm has so far inadvertently prevented him from catching anything. They decide to use curry as a lure, but end up eating the first potful by themselves. The scent does, however, lure in a Thwackey, which has only one stick instead of the two its kind usually has. Goh tries to catch it, but it easily deflects his Poké Ball back at him before running away.
After getting new curry ingredients from a bypassing Hiker, Ash and Goh prepare a new potful of curry to act as a lure. The one-stick Thwackey from before returns, but before Goh can try to catch it, Grookey eagerly runs up to it and tries to impress it, but ends up falling flat on its face, making it sad. Thwackey calms Grookey down by grooming it as a sign of friendship and trust, before taking it away from the campsite. Ash and Goh follow them and find Thwackey teaching Grookey how to crack nuts open with its stick, although the Chimp Pokémon isn't having much success. Goh sees Thwackey as a good mentor figure for Grookey, but just as he tries to invite it to come with him, a whole pack of Thwackey, led by a Rillaboom, appears and starts drumming the rocks and trees around them. The one-stick Thwackey, however, is unable to keep up with the others due to having only one stick and runs off in disappointment.

Ash and Goh find Thwackey trying to find a substitute for its missing stick, but nothing feels quite right. Surprisingly, Grookey is willing to give up its own precious stick to make Thwackey happy. Thwackey seems to consider taking it for a moment, but ultimately refuses. Grookey starts drumming a rock with its stick to convince its mentor figure to change its mind, even crying when Thwackey stubbornly refuses to accept its offer. Grookey's desperate drumming grows faster and faster, until Ash and Goh suddenly realize that Thwackey could compensate its lack of a second stick by just learning to drum twice as fast. While Thwackey trains with Ash's Pikachu and Sirfetch'd, Goh joins Thwackey's wife and her Grookey child in getting them some Nanab Berries to eat when they eventually take a break. Once the break is over, Goh also joins the training with his Greedent.

While Ash and Goh ultimately fall asleep, Thwackey keeps practicing all night. By morning, it finally masters its faster drumming style, much to the pleasure of Ash and Goh when they wake up. They reunite with Thwackey's pack, and the one-stick Thwackey joins them for a drumming session. This time, it manages to keep up with the others, even exciting Rillaboom enough for it to join in as well. Ash and Goh congratulate Thwackey, who comes to say hi to them one last time before rejoining its pack. Seeing how much Grookey likes Thwackey, Goh offers it a chance to stay as well, but Grookey jumps onto his head and starts grooming him to show that it very much wants to stay with him, much to Goh's pleasure.

## Major events

* Goh tries and fails to catch an Applin and a Thwackey.
* Goh tries to release Grookey, but Grookey decides to stay with him.
* Ash and Goh return to Vermilion City.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash
* Goh
* Hiker

### Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Thwackey

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Sirfetch'd (Ash's)
* Greedent (Goh's)
* Grookey (Goh's)
* Rotom (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* Applin (flashback; debut)
* Thwackey (multiple; debut)
* Grookey
* Rillaboom

## Transcript

*Main article: A One-Stick Wonder!/Transcript*
## Trivia

* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: Thwackey
* The opening animation is updated to include Goh's Gossifleur.
* As of this episode, all forms of the Galar starter Pokémon have appeared in the anime.
* The English dub title is a play on the term "one-hit wonder".
* Ash, Goh, Horace, Gary, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.