BW122

← BW121 : Team Plasma and the Awakening Ceremony!

Best Wishes series

BW123 : Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures! →

What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals!

BW122   EP779 レシラム対Ｎ！理想と真実の彼方へ！！ Reshiram VS N! Beyond Truth and Ideals!!

First broadcast Japan April 18, 2013 United States July 20, 2013

English themes Opening It's Always You and Me Ending

Japanese themes Opening やじるしになって！2013 Ending サクラ・ゴーラウンド

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 川田武範 Takenori Kawada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane No additional credits are available at this time.

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

What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals! (Japanese: レシラム対Ｎ！理想と真実の彼方へ！！ Reshiram VS N! Beyond Truth and Ideals!!) is the 122nd episode of the Best Wishes series, and the 779th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 18, 2013, and in the United States on July 20, 2013.

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

Blurb

Team Plasma’s quest to awaken and control Reshiram continues, while our shackled heroes watch helplessly. Axew sneaks out of Iris’s hair, where it’s been safely concealed, and manages to free Iris and Cilan from the metal bands that hold them. Then, Concordia and Anthea appear from their mysterious fog and ask N to come back into hiding with them. But N vows to stay in the “real” world and fight for his ideals. Dr. Colress’s device has taken control of their Gothitelle and Gardevoir, along with the newly awakened Reshiram, and things are looking very bleak indeed.

Now is the moment for Team Rocket to step in! They’ve been watching the goings-on from a safe distance, but when Looker spots them and asks for their help in destroying the device and freeing all the controlled Pokémon, they agree. Meowth jumps in to distract the other members of Team Plasma while Ash and Pikachu go after the device. Colress tries desperately to take control of Pikachu, but Pikachu’s willpower—and its bond with Ash—proves too strong, and Pikachu aims a Thunderbolt at Reshiram to break it free as well. The device is destroyed, and Team Plasma is defeated, thanks to an unusual bit of teamwork between our heroes and Team Rocket!

Reshiram is free, but it’s still very angry. N speaks to it in an attempt to calm it down, and it soon becomes clear that he’s changed his tune when he tells Reshiram that people and Pokémon can live in harmony and work together. He promises Reshiram that he’ll keep fighting for an ideal world for everyone, people and Pokémon alike, and seems pleased with Reshiram’s answer. Iris wants to know what the Legendary Pokémon told him, but Ash disagrees—he wants to meet Reshiram again someday and hear its answer for himself!

Plot

The story begins immediately after the events of the previous episode, with Ghetsis performing a ritual to awaken Reshiram. As the Light Stone begins to float, Ash prepares to intervene, only for a mysterious fog to fill the White Ruins. The Team Plasma grunts holding N are suddenly scattered by a Psybeam, followed by a Magical Leaf that destroys N's bonds. From the heart of the fog, Anthea and Concordia call out to N, asking him to return with them.

While Axew tries to release Iris, N explains that Team Plasma is trying to awake Reshiram, which he fears will repeat the tragedy he saw years ago. Anthea and Concordia again ask him to return, saying that he is too important to lose, but N refuses - he has to find out why Reshiram is so angry, or humans and Pokémon will never be able to understand each other. He begs Anthea and Concordia to help him defeat Team Plasma, prompting Anthea and Concordia's Gardevoir and Gothitelle to appear from the fog. However, Colress uses his Pokémon-controlling machine on the Psychic Pokémon, bringing them under Team Plasma's control.

As the brainwashed Pokémon subdue Anthea and Concordia, Reshiram finally awakens from the Light Stone, causing everyone to stare at it in awe. Axew releases Iris and begins working on Cilan's bonds as N tries to speak to Reshiram, only to find that the dragon is still filled with rage over its previous awakening. Welcoming Reshiram back to their world, Ghetsis declares that the Vast White Pokémon will obey him, with Colress using his machine to take control of Reshiram. At Ghetsis's command, Reshiram attacks with Fusion Flare, scattering friend and foe alike. Professor Juniper and Ash's friends run for cover as Team Plasma's brainwashed Pokémon are blown away by the force of Reshiram's attack, while Ghetsis berates his minions for their incompetence.

Ecstatic at the success of his experiment, Colress commands Reshiram to launch another Fusion Flare, declaring that its true power is yet to be revealed. As Cilan sends out his Crustle to free Professor Juniper, Ash resolves to find a way to save the Pokémon from Team Plasma's control. Watching from above, Team Rocket prepares to steal Colress's machine, both to further their own plans and to derail Team Plasma's. However, Looker finds them and asks them to help him destroy the machine. After a moment's thought, Team Rocket agrees to help, declaring that this will be their "time to shine".

Colress aims the control ray at Ash's Pikachu, but Ash stands in his way, vowing to protect his Pokémon. Colress simply readjusts his aim, only for Meowth to drop in and use Fury Swipes on some of Team Plasma's Pokémon. Leading Ash and Pikachu behind some cover, Meowth explains that Team Rocket is helping Looker to destroy Colress' device. Ash asks Pikachu to stay hidden while he distracts Colress, but Pikachu rushes to his aid when Aldith sends the brainwashed Pokémon to stop him. Seeing that Pikachu is coming to help, Ash orders a Quick Attack preventing Colress from locking on to the Mouse Pokémon. While Iris, Axew, and Team Rocket battle the brainwashed Pokémon, Ash and Pikachu make a break for the machine, forcing Ghetsis to send Reshiram to stop them.

With the legendary dragon blocking their way, Ash tells Pikachu to use Electro Ball on Colress' machine. However, Colress uses the opportunity to blast Pikachu with a mind-control beam, interrupting its attack. To everyone's surprise, Pikachu appears to be resisting the effects of the machine, prompting Ash and his friends to offer words of encouragement. Colress gloats that Pikachu's struggles are futile, but his confidence turns to astonishment as it manages to turn around and begin advancing on the scientist. As Colress stares in bewilderment, Pikachu releases a powerful Thunderbolt at Reshiram - suddenly, N declares that he can hear Reshiram's voice as well. Cilan realizes that Reshiram is using Pikachu's electricity to try to escape from Team Plasma's control.

Frustrated and confused by this turn of events, Ghetsis commands Colress to secure their control over Pikachu. In response, Colress blasts Pikachu with his machine's full power, but this only stalls the Mouse Pokémon for a moment before it continues advancing on Team Plasma, even firing another Thunderbolt that comes dangerously close to the device. As Colress and Ghetsis look on, stunned at Pikachu's resistance to their control, Ash commands Pikachu to launch an Electro Ball at Colress' machine. Reshiram adds a Fusion Flare to the assault, which Colress narrowly evades as his machine is finally destroyed. With the device in ruins, all of the brainwashed Pokémon return to normal. A distraught Colress wonders what went wrong, to which N explains that he underestimated the power of the bond between Ash and Pikachu. Colress insists that he won't give up, only to be interrupted by an enraged Reshiram igniting its tail. Stunned and disbelieving, Colress declares that Reshiram's power is rising even higher than when it was under his control, emphasized by the legendary dragon using Blue Flare to destroy Team Plasma's jet.

Before Reshiram can continue its rampage, N begs it to stop. Having observed the strong bonds between Ash and his Pokémon, N tells Reshiram that his ideal world - a world where humans and Pokémon can learn to accept each other - can exist alongside Reshiram's world of truth. This serves to calm the Vast White Pokémon down, even as an infuriated Ghetsis rages at it. As Aldith and Barret attempt to convince their leader to flee, Ash and his friends spring into action, using their Pokémon to imprison the villains in a ring of rock and ice.

With Team Plasma contained, Reshiram prepares to leave, but N halts it with one last question: how does it feel after seeing humans and Pokémon come together against evil? After a moment, N smiles at Reshiram's unheard answer and bids it farewell, telling it that they will meet again someday. As Reshiram flies away, Iris asks N what Reshiram told him, but Ash says that it doesn't matter - they'll find out the answer when they next meet Reshiram, giving them something to look forward to.

The International Police arrives to arrest Colress, Ghetsis, and the Team Plasma Grunts. Despite their failure, Colress has regained his spirits with the thought of a new project: a machine to allow humans to understand Pokémon. Meanwhile, Ash, Iris, and Cilan part ways with N, who convinces Anthea and Concordia to travel with him on their quest to create their ideal world - a world where humans and Pokémon can truly understand each other.

Major events

• Ghetsis summons and takes control of Reshiram.
• Anthea and Concordia arrive at the White Ruins to aid in the battle against Team Plasma.
• Colress's machine is destroyed, freeing all the Pokémon.
• Looker arrests Ghetsis, Colress and the other Team Plasma members, thereby bringing down the team.
• N leaves with Anthea and Concordia.

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

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Iris
• Cilan
• Jessie
• James
• Looker
• Cedric Juniper
• N
• Ghetsis
• Colress
• Anthea and Concordia
• Team Plasma Grunts
  • Aldith
  • Barret
  • Schwarz (cameo)
• Cedric Juniper's assistants

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Reshiram

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Axew (Iris's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Krookodile (Ash's)
• Dragonite (Iris's)
• Crustle (Cilan's)
• Woobat (Jessie's)
• Yamask (James's)
• Gothitelle (Anthea's)
• Gardevoir (Concordia's)
• Golurk (Cedric Juniper's assistants; multiple)
• Conkeldurr (Cedric Juniper's assistants; multiple)
• Timburr (Cedric Juniper's assistants; multiple)
• Liepard (Team Plasma Grunts'; multiple)
• Reshiram

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Simisear
• This episode concludes the "Episode N" arc.
• The background music used for Team Rocket's motto is the original Unova motto music that previously played from BW002 to BW006, instead of the usual Sinnoh motto music re-arrangement that has played from BW035 onwards.
• Instead of a normal preview, this episode was followed by a trailer of the upcoming Decolora Adventure saga.

Errors

• In the scene when Reshiram is being controlled and everyone is shocked, Looker's eyes are colored black instead of gray.
• During one scene, Concordia's white dress is given the same light blue coloration that her vest has.
• In the scene where Aldith and Barret tackle Ghetsis, the interior of the loop in Colress's hair briefly turns solid black.

• 

  Looker's eyes are black

• 

  Concordia's dress is light blue

Dub edits

• The Sinnoh motto music is added in place of the original Unova motto BGM. This is the first time Team Rocket's motto background music is changed in the dub.
• In the Japanese version, Jessie breaks the fourth wall by saying, "But we're the true main characters!"

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		雷希拉姆對N！理想和真實的那一方！！
Dutch		Voorbij waarheid en dromen!
Finnish		Mitä on totuuden ja ihanteiden tuolla puolen?
Greek		Αυτό που Υπάρχει Πέρα απο την Αλήθεια και τα Ιδανικά!
Italian		Oltre la verità e gli ideali!
Korean		레시라무 VS N!! 이상과 진실의 저 편으로!!
Norwegian		Det som ligger bak sannhet og idealer!
Polish		Między prawdą a ideałami!
Brazilian Portuguese		O Que Existe Além da Verdade e dos Ideais!
Russian		Что лежит за правдой и идеалами!
European Spanish		¡Lo que Hay tras la Verdad y los Ideales!
Swedish		Bortom sanning och ideal!

← BW121 : Team Plasma and the Awakening Ceremony!

Best Wishes series

BW123 : Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures! →

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