SM134

This article is about an episode of the Pokémon animated series that has not been dubbed into English. As such, its coverage may contain romanized Japanese names, rather than dub names.

← SM133 : Battling on the Wing!

Sun & Moon series

SM135 : The Final Four! →

The Road to the Semifinals!

SM134   EP1073 みんなゼンリョク！準決勝への道！！ Everyone's Fully Powered! The Road to the Semifinals!!

First broadcast Japan August 11, 2019 United States December 14, 2019

English themes Opening The Challenge of Life Ending

Japanese themes Opening キミの冒険 Ending タイプ：ワイルド

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 大久保昌弘 Masahiro Ōkubo Storyboard 齋藤德明 Noriaki Saitō Assistant director 牧野友映 Tomoe Makino Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf

The Road to the Semifinals! (Japanese: みんなゼンリョク！準決勝への道！！ Everyone's Fully Powered! The Road to the Semifinals!!) is the 134th episode of the Sun & Moon series, and the 1,073rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on August 11, 2019 and is scheduled to air in the United States on December 14, 2019.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

As the Alola Pokémon League quarterfinals continue, Sophocles and Vikavolt seem to have the upper hand in their battle against Kiawe and Charizard—but their fiery opponents are ready to fight back with everything they have! Then, Lana and Primarina go up against Team Skull’s Guzma and his Golisopod. Guzma has something to prove to Professor Kukui, and he seems willing to use any means necessary to get his point across. Can Lana overcome Guzma’s intense determination?

Plot

Vikavolt successfully performs Savage Spin-Out on Kiawe's Charizard. However, Charizard escapes with ease as its flames scorch through the threads. Sophocles isn't fazed as he notices that Charizard is still paralyzed from an earlier Zap Cannon attack. He orders a Signal Beam, but Charizard uses Fire Punch on the ground to escape. The opponents exchange stares, and then, Vikavolt fires Signal Beam, which Charizard dodges. Vikavolt follows up with String Shot, though Charizard evades it. Vikavolt then chases Charizard and repeats its move, slowly covering its opponent in the threads. Charizard uses Slash to repel another String Shot. Vikavolt takes the opportunity to attack, but Charizard fires Flamethrower. Once it does so, Vikavolt has seemingly disappeared.

A moment later, Vikavolt appears behind Charizard and successfully wraps it in String Shot. Declaring this to be the day he will defeat Kiawe, Sophocles has Vikavolt use Wild Charge, though Charizard manages to stop the attack with a Fire Punch. The pair subsequently dives into the battlefield from the collision. As the dust clears, Charizard promptly tosses Vikavolt into the ground. Charizard is beginning to show signs of exhaustion, but neither side are prepared to give up. Vikavolt uses String Shot, but it is forced to evade Charizard's Flamethrower. Kiawe builds up his Z-Power and passes it onto Charizard, who unleashes a powerful Supersonic Skystrike. Vikavolt attempts to intercept the attack with Wild Charge, and it manages to hold out against the Z-Move for several moments. However, Charizard's force overpowers Vikavolt and slams it to the ground, knocking it out. Hala calls the match in Kiawe's favor. Afterwards, Sophocles and Kiawe shake hands.

Sophocles and Kiawe visit Lana to cheer her up before her match Guzma. Just then, Guzma, Plumeria, and several Team Skull Grunts walk by, and Tupp hurls an insult. Lana retorts that strength alone isn't always the key to victory, and Kiawe supports her. Tupp claims their Z-Moves are nothing compared to Guzma's strength, a sentiment echoed by Guzma himself. As Team Skull makes their way past them, Kiawe asks Lana to be careful because Guzma is rather unpredictable.

Lana facing Guzma

For the fourth match of the second round, Lana sends out Primarina against Guzma's Golisopod. After remembering Golisopod's First Impression from Ash's battle with Guzma, Lana warns Primarina to be on the lookout for it. As the battle starts, Lana braces Primarina for impact, but to her surprise, Golisopod remains still. Lana prepares to make the first move with Sparkling Aria, but Golisopod suddenly strikes first with Throat Chop, rendering Primarina unable to use its voice. Lana then has Primarina use Aqua Jet, but Golisopod blocks it with its arms. It then grabs a hold of Primarina before unleashing a series of Poison Jabs, damaging Primarina and poisoning it in the process. Golisopod drops Primarina before Guzma orders it to pick it back up by the tail and hit it with another merciless series of Poison Jabs. Primarina manages to escape after blasting Golisopod with Icy Wind, but it is already debilitated by the poison. Golisopod continues attacking Primarina with more Poison Jabs despite the latter's attempts to defend itself. Golisopod momentarily releases Primarina from its clutches before hitting it with a Throat Chop.

Guzma briefly looks at Professor Kukui before resuming the battle. Primarina stands up as Lana declares the battle isn't over yet. Guzma has Golisopod use Pin Missile, but Primarina summons Surf to stop the attack. Moreover, Golisopod's legs get stuck in ice from Lana's previous Icy Wind attacks, while Primarina's voice has seemingly recovered as it goes on to perform Oceanic Operetta. As Guzma declares that he will destroy the Z-Move, Golisopod's Liquidation slashes the large bubble in half. Primarina is then struck down, and Olivia declares Guzma the winner of the match. The crowd is shocked, with only the Team Skull Grunts cheering over the result. As Lana tends to Primarina, Guzma insults her and recalls Golisopod. Olivia asks Guzma to show respect for his challenger, though Guzma continues to walk away, only stopping momentarily to glare at Kukui.

Later, Lana's friends visit her as she is tending to Primarina. Mallow has Shaymin use Aromatherapy to cure Primarina's poison symptoms. Though Mallow and Lillie are annoyed by Guzma's conduct, Lana says he didn't break any rules, and Kiawe confirms Guzma merely found a weak spot in Primarina. Lana admits that she is now more she determined to work harder to overcome future opponents. At the Pokémon Center, the Nurse Joy quartet heals Primarina, just as the television screen reveals the semifinal match-ups, with Kiawe going up against Gladion, while Ash will take on Guzma.

Major events

The Manalo Conference semifinalists

• Sophocles's Vikavolt is revealed to have learned Wild Charge.
• Kiawe defeats Sophocles, advancing to the semifinals.
• Guzma defeats Lana, advancing to the semifinals.
• Shaymin is revealed to know Aromatherapy.
• Kiawe and Ash are revealed to face Gladion and Guzma, respectively, in the semifinals.

For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Lana
• Kiawe
• Lillie
• Sophocles
• Mallow
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joys (×4)
• Professor Kukui
• Hala
• Olivia
• Nanu
• Hapu
• Guzma
• Plumeria
• Team Skull Grunts
  • Tupp
  • Rapp
  • Zipp
• Sophocles's parents
• Caster
• Trainer
• Crowd

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Golisopod (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Rotom (Rotom Pokédex)
• Lycanroc (Ash's; Dusk Form)
• Torracat (Ash's)
• Meltan (Ash's)
• Primarina (Lana's)
• Eevee (Lana's; Sandy)
• Charizard (Kiawe's; Ride Pokémon)
• Turtonator (Kiawe's)
• Marowak (Kiawe's; Alolan)
• Vulpix (Lillie's; Alolan; Snowy)
• Togedemaru (Sophocles's)
• Vikavolt (Sophocles's)
• Tsareena (Mallow's)
• Comfey (Nurse Joy's)
• Golisopod (Guzma's)
• Machop (Trainer's)
• Butterfree (Trainer's)
• Wingull (Trainer's)
• Sableye (Trainer's)
• Bulbasaur (Trainer's)
• Pichu (Trainer's)
• Shaymin (anime)

Trivia

• Poké Problem: What will the result be in Kiawe and Sophocles's match in today's episode?
  • Host: Melemele Island Nurse Joy
  • Choices: Contestant Sophocles wins, contestant Kiawe wins, a draw, a postponement due to a storm
  • Answer: Contestant Kiawe wins
• Kiawe, Sophocles, and Ash read the episode's title card.
• Mimo, Kiawe, and Gladion narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

• When Lana does her pose for Oceanic Operetta, there is a split-second shot where storyboard outlines can be seen on her right.

• 

  Storyboard outlines visible

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		大家的全力！通往準決賽的道路！！

← SM133 : Battling on the Wing!

Sun & Moon series

SM135 : The Final Four! →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.