JN142

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Pokémon Journeys: The Series

JN143 : Ride, Lapras, Ride! →

The Same Moon, Now and Forever!

JN142   EP1227 そして、おなじ月をみている！ And We're Looking at the Same Moon!

First broadcast Japan February 17, 2023 United States September 8, 2023

English themes Opening Gotta Catch Em All Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター -with my friends- Ending ひゃくごじゅういち

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 中田誠 Makoto Nakata Assistant director 小柴純弥 Junya Koshiba Animation director 安田周平 Shūhei Yasuda Additional credits

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

The Same Moon, Now and Forever! (Japanese: そして、おなじ月をみている！ And We're Looking at the Same Moon!) is the sixth episode of Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master, the 142nd episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,227th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on February 17, 2023, in Canada on June 17, 2023, in South Africa on June 27, 2023, and in the United States on September 8, 2023.

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

Blurb

What starts as a nap for our heroes ends up going horribly wrong when Team Rocket fires a net at Ash and Pikachu! Ash manages to send Team Rocket blasting off, but Pikachu is sent along with them! Pikachu and Meowth then find themselves in a dangerous situation and must team up in the search for their friends. Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Brock must deal with a flock of Spearow, a clutch of Venipede, and Ash’s sadness over his missing partner. Jessie and James feel the same way about being apart from Meowth—but luckily Ash is reunited with Pikachu, and Meowth is picked up by the Team Rocket balloon shortly after!

Plot

Ash and his friends are relaxing on a field when Team Rocket suddenly shows up in one of their giant robots and seizes both Ash and Pikachu in a net. Ash calls out Snivy and has her use Leaf Storm, cutting the net and attacking the robot. Unfortunately, Pikachu is stuck in the net and thus gets caught in the blast radius when the robot explodes, sending him blasting off with Team Rocket. Mid-air, one of the robot's components explodes, separating Pikachu and Meowth from the rest and sending them falling into a river below. After narrowly escaping from a Gyarados and making it to shore, Meowth swears to uphold a truce until they've made their way back to their partners, though he secretly plans to have Jessie and James nab Pikachu the instant he reunites with them.

Ash and Pikachu both start running toward each other, their gut feelings telling them where the other is. Meowth, however, soon grows tired from all the running and plans to eat some Oran Berries from a tree, but when he tries to drive away the Pidgey eating the same Berries, the rock he throws instead hits a Spearow. Ticked off by this, Spearow attacks, but Pikachu easily defeats it with a Thunderbolt, charring the Oran Berries in the process. Spearow calls others of its kind for help, and Pikachu and Meowth escape the flock into a cave, though in the process, the Spearow blow off the hat Pikachu was wearing and send it flying through a hole in the back of the cave. While Pikachu insists on following after it and gets help in doing so from a Caterpie that saw it floating away, Ash and his friends find the charred Oran Berries and a Spearow feather, allowing them to deduce what happened. They're forced to run away from the Spearow flock, eventually leaving them alone with just the injured Spearow. After Brock heals its injuries with a Potion, a hungry Rattata tries to steal some cheese from Ash's backpack. Ash, the compassionate person he is, voluntarily gives the cheese to Rattata. Rattata catches a scent on Ash, and Brock realizes that it must've smelled Pikachu, given that both Pikachu and Rattata are Mouse Pokémon. Ash asks Rattata to help him find Pikachu, which it agrees to do, with Spearow also tagging along. Nearby, Jessie and James are following them, waiting for the moment when they find Pikachu and Meowth to strike.

Caterpie eventually leads Pikachu and Meowth to a tree that Ash's hat currently rests on top of, though the tree is also infested by a group of sleeping Venipede. Pikachu successfully retrieves the hat, but Meowth sneezing wakes up the Venipede. The three Pokémon narrowly escape, though not without Meowth being struck by Venipede's Poison Sting in the process. Later, Ash and his friends also find the same tree, and the Venipede attack them as well, but thanks to Rattata, Spearow, and Spearow's flock holding them off, the group is able to get away unscathed. With Pikachu's group, an Oddish helps them in finding a Pecha Berry to cure Meowth's poison. Both groups settle down for the night, with Ash and Pikachu looking at the Moon and reminiscing about their many adventures together.

In the morning, both groups gather some Leppa Berries to eat for breakfast. Ash and Pikachu split their Berries apart simultaneously, causing them to sense each other. They rush towards each other, soon reuniting in a happy embrace. It takes them a few seconds to realize that their reunion occurred right on top of a ravine that they're now falling into. Fortunately, Latias swoops in just in time to rescue them and bring them back up, though due to her invisibility, Ash has no idea who or what saved them. Jessie and James also show up in their balloon and pick Meowth up, deciding to leave quietly this time and allow Ash and Pikachu to enjoy their reunion in peace.

Major events

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

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Iris (flashback)
• Jessie
• James
• Professor Oak (flashback)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Caterpie

• Pikachu (Ash's; World Cap)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Snivy (Ash's)
• Frogadier (Ash's; flashback)
• Fletchinder (Ash's; flashback)
• Hawlucha (Ash's; flashback)
• Goomy (Ash's; flashback)
• Raichu (Sho's; flashback)
• Spearow (anime; flashback)
• Latias (anime)
• Gyarados
• Pidgey (×2)
• Spearow (multiple)
• Zubat
• Caterpie
• Venipede (multiple)
• Rattata
• Oddish
• Cutiefly (multiple; flashback)
• Comfey (flashback)

Trivia

The "After the story" artwork for this episode

• Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!! - Episode Paldea: Greavard
• Like the previous episode, there was no Dare Da? segment in the initial airing of the episode, instead having the series logo on the screen before and after the commercial break.
• This episode features the reappearance of Team Rocket's Meowth bubblegum robot, which first appeared in Good 'Quil Hunting, 1,086 episodes earlier.
• Shinji Miyazaki's music from the original series, Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and Pokémon the Series: XY are reused as background music in this episode.
• Goodnight, My Pikachu -2017 ver.- is used as an insert song in the Japanese version of this episode, whereas the English dub uses an instrumental version of the ending theme from I Choose You!.
• This is the only episode during Brock's return in Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master where none of his Pokémon appear.
• Pikachu blasts off together with Team Rocket in this episode.
• When Brock and Misty flinch while they and Ash are being chased by a flock of Spearow, they briefly do poses similar to the ones their game counterparts make in Pokémon Red and Blue.
• There are a few references to Pokémon - I Choose You! in this episode:
  • The scene where Meowth throws a rock at a Spearow is similar to the scene where Ash throws a rock at a Spearow in that episode. Like Ash and Pikachu were in the first episode, Meowth and Pikachu get chased by a flock of Spearow.
  • A Rattata steals food from Ash's backpack, just like a Ratatta did in that episode.
  • Ash and Pikachu are about to fall in a river before being saved by Latias. In Pokémon - I Choose You!, they fall into a river while being chased by the flock of Spearow.
• Pikachu and Caterpie looking at the moon is similar to the scene in Ash Catches a Pokémon.
• The scene where Pikachu hands the fruit over to Meowth is similar to the scenes in Bound for Trouble and A Scare to Remember! where they share an apple.
• This episode features the following flashbacks of Ash and Pikachu:
  • Ash receiving Pikachu from Professor Oak and Ash and Pikachu later being chased by a flock of Spearow in Pokémon - I Choose You!.
  • Pikachu refusing to evolve into Raichu with a Thunder Stone in Electric Shock Showdown.
  • Pikachu running into Ash's arms after choosing to stay with him in Pikachu's Goodbye.
  • Ash cradling a sick Pikachu after arriving in Hoenn in Get the Show on the Road!.
  • Pikachu defeating Sho's Raichu in Pika and Goliath!.
  • Pikachu attacking Ash while being under Colress's control in Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot!.
  • Ash and his Kalos team at the Coumarine City festival in Under the Pledging Tree!.
  • Ash and Pikachu on Treasure Island in Partner Promises!.
  • Ash embracing Pikachu after defeating Leon in Partners in Time!.
• This is the only episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series in which scenes from series prior to Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon retain their original style in flashbacks rather than being reanimated to match the style introduced in this series.
• As of this episode, every previous anime series has been featured in a flashback in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
  • In addition, as of this episode, all of Ash's outfits from previous series have appeared in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
• Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Ash, and Lapras narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

• Starting from this episode, the English dub's broadcast shows the "Who's That Pokémon?" segment in its entirety after the commercial break or when it shows the answers before the commercial break, instead of in two parts before and after it.
• After Team Rocket retrieves Meowth, the Meowth balloon's burner is missing.
• During the opening of this episode, while showcasing Ash's Sinnoh team, Ash's Gible is shown as female instead of male.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		然後，我們望着同個月亮！
Brazilian Portuguese		A mesma Lua agora e sempre!

← JN141 : A Squad’s Worth of Passion!

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

JN143 : Ride, Lapras, Ride! →

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