JN011

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Best Friend...Worst Nightmare!

JN011

EP1096

コハルとワンパチと、時々、ゲンガー
Koharu, Wanpachi, and Sometimes Gangar Too

First broadcast

Japan	February 2, 2020
United States	June 12, 2020

English themes

Opening	The Journey Starts Today
Ending

Japanese themes

Opening	１・２・３
Ending	ポケモンしりとり（ピカチュウ→ミュウVer.）

Credits

No additional credits are available at this time.
Animation	Team Kato
Screenplay	松井亜弥 Aya Matsui
Storyboard	齋藤徳明 Noriaki Saitō
Assistant director	牧野吉高 Yoshitaka Makino
Animation directors	広岡トシヒト Toshihito Hirooka
Animation directors	八田木瀧 Taki Yatagi

Best Friend...Worst Nightmare! (Japanese: コハルとワンパチと、時々、ゲンガー Koharu, Wanpachi, and Sometimes Gangar Too) is the 11th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,096th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on February 2, 2020 and in the United States on June 12, 2020.

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

Blurb

It’s a typical morning as Professor Cerise and his family prepare for their day, and Yamper is excitedly waiting—it won’t accept food from anyone but Chloe, much to her surprise! Later, at the Cerise Laboratory, an aggressive Gengar is up to no good! As Chloe thinks about her own future, Gengar wreaks havoc in the lab, and no one seems to be able to stop it. When Chloe gets home from school, Gengar turns its attention to her, but Yamper is ready to battle! At her dad’s suggestion, Chloe tells Yamper to use Spark against Gengar—it works, and Chloe and Yamper’s bond is now stronger than ever!

Plot

The alarm clock starts ringing, but Chloe switches it off and refuses to get up. Yamper tries yapping to wake her up, but after this fails to work, it fetches Parker to wake her up. However, this also doesn't work, so he calls in their mother Talia, who reminds Chloe that she won't have time to braid her hair for school. Hearing this, Chloe immediately springs out of bed and gets her hair fixed by her mother. Afterward, she goes to have breakfast, with her father Professor Cerise reminding her to feed Yamper. Her parents remark that it is strange that Yamper likes Chloe most out of everyone, despite being the coldest towards it. Soon, the Professor and his daughter leave home to get to work and school respectively.

At the Cerise Laboratory, Ash and Goh shout good morning to all their Pokémon. Goh turns his attention to Ash's Dragonite, and notices it talking with his Scyther and Stantler. He prepares to rush over to intervene in a potential fight, but Ash asks him to wait, and Goh is surprised to see Dragonite hug the other Pokémon. Pikachu and Scorbunny are alarmed to see Goh's Taillow circling around the three Wurmple. Ash and Goh rush over to assist and are surprised to see the Wurmple beginning to evolve. Goh hopes his decision to catch three Wurmple so he will get both a Cascoon and Silcoon will pay off. However, they all simultaneously evolve into Cascoon, much to Goh's dismay.

Meanwhile, the power goes out in the lab so Ren heads down to the basement to investigate the cause. He calls out his Magnemite to assist, when they are suddenly ambushed by a Gengar. Ren orders a Thunder Wave, but tangles Magnemite in some cords before lashing them both with a Night Shade. Outside, just as Chloe is saying farewell to her father, Ash and Goh jumpscare her. The boys are both excited to show off their new Pokémon, but Chloe reminds them that she still has to get to school. Chloe gets away as Chrysa arrives for work, keen to discuss a project with the Professor. Seeing Yamper left alone, Ash turns to Goh and asks about Chloe's apparent coldness towards Pokémon. Goh replies that she wasn’t always this way, but shrugs it off as different people having different approaches.

Chrysa and Professor Cerise step into the particularly dark Laboratory and are startled by Magnemite who is still entangled in electrical cords. After regaining their composure, Magnemite shows them to Ren, who is lying lifeless on the floor. As Professor Cerise examines his lab assistant, the answer becomes clear when a Gengar moves right through them. Yamper also notices Gengar hovering above, and attacks it instantly. Goh consults his Rotom Phone for further information, which warns of Gengar's abilities to move between dimensions and absorb heat from its surroundings. As Gengar uses Shadow Ball, Pikachu deflects the attack with an Iron Tail. Gengar resorts to using Psychic, causing many things in the room to float. Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the Shadow Pokémon, causing the floating items to drop and Gengar to disappear after hitting the ground.

Meanwhile, at school, the homeroom teacher asks her students to announce their dreams for the future. While much of the class is chatting away, Chloe isn’t so enthused. After a few moments to consider, the teacher call for someone to go first. She selects Yeardley at random, and he admits that his dream is a work in progress, making the class laugh at the open-ended response. Chloe is next, and before she can speak, many of her classmates assume that she is just going to follow in her father's footsteps and become a Pokémon Professor. The class jeers at Chloe after she admits that she only has Yamper and has never battled before. Chloe starts contemplating whether she likes or dislikes Pokémon before the homeroom teacher intervenes and calls for the class to stop asking questions.

Later, Talia arrives at the school to give Chloe her forgotten lunch but realizes something is up. The pair sits on a park bench to talk things over, and Chloe admits that she felt pressured by others to follow her father's footsteps and like Pokémon. Chloe admits she really doesn't know what she wants to do and turns to her mother to ask when she decided to become an illustrator. Talia reveals to her daughter that she wanted to actually be a comic artist in high school, and despite her best attempts to practice she was preparing to give up on that dream. However, a young Professor Cerise pleaded with Talia not to give up on her drawing as she seemed to be having fun. Chloe is surprised to learn of this, and her mother explains that while she needed the encouragement, ultimately she was the one who decided to become an illustrator. Talia reminds her daughter that she is only ten years old, and still has plenty of time ahead of her to decide. Chloe smiles in agreement.

Ash and Goh encounter Gengar again, this time down one of the Institute's corridors. Goh sets about catching it, but Gengar simply uses Psychic to repel the barrage of Poké Balls. As the boys pursue Gengar, Mimey is forced to use Psychic to levitate his neatly folded sheets into the air to avoid them being ruined. Gengar unleashes a Shadow Ball, which Pikachu slices with his Iron Tail. Gengar retaliates with an Ice Punch, but Yamper gets caught in the crossfire as Pikachu leaps out of the way, leaving the Puppy Pokémon frozen. Goh immediately has Scorbunny use its heated feet to thaw Yamper from the ice. Gengar fires an even larger Shadow Ball at the boys, with Pikachu using an Electroweb to block it. However, the resulting smoke allows Gengar to escape again.

Meanwhile, the Professor and his assistants are analyzing the Institute's recorded temperature distribution for any sudden drops to find Gengar's location. Chloe arrives from school, where she is greeted by Yamper. Gengar, however, is watching, and the Professor detects a drop in temperature coming from the lobby. Gengar unleashes a large Shadow Ball, though Yamper leaps in the way to defend Chloe from the attack. Chloe immediately scoops Yamper from the ground and prepares to get away, but Gengar is determined to stop her and blocks her path. As the Ghost-type charges up another Shadow Ball, Ash and Goh run into the room with enough time for Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to defeat the attack. Gengar retaliates by immobilizing the boys and Pikachu with its telekinetic powers. Seeing Gengar's Cheshire grin, Yamper rebounds from the earlier blow and snarls at its foe. Professor Cerise barges into the room and calls for Yamper to use Spark. However, Yamper ignores the command and continues to snarl at Gengar. Cerise is certain that Yamper will listen to his daughter, so he orders Chloe to issue the command. She is reluctant, admitting that she has never called an attack before. Her father reminds her of the dire situation, and after some consideration, she orders Yamper to use Spark. Yamper charges straight through an oncoming Shadow Ball, sending Gengar out of the Institute. Everyone is relieved to see Gengar is gone, while Chloe and Yamper embrace each other in celebration.

That night, Yamper affectionately licks Chloe's face while in bed, and she doesn't seem to mind. Cerise and his wife peek through the doorway and are pleased to see their daughter is happy. Meanwhile, over at the Institute, Ash remarks that Gengar was a tough opponent. Goh agrees, admitting that he hopes they’ll see it again as he still wants to catch it. It turns out Gengar isn't completely gone, rather it is seen standing atop the Institute's spire awaiting its next moment to strike.

Major events

Goh's three Wurmple each evolve into Cascoon.
Ren is revealed to own a Magnemite.
The Cerise Laboratory is revealed to be haunted by a Gengar, which Goh unsuccessfully tries to catch.

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

Debuts

Humans

Pokémon debuts

Gengar (anime)

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

Ash
Goh
Chloe
Professor Cerise
Chrysa
Ren
Talia
Parker
Yeardley
Chloe's homeroom teacher
Chloe's classmates

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Magnemite

Trivia

Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: Magnemite
Goh, Ash, and Chloe read the title card of this episode.
This is the first episode where Goh doesn't catch a new Pokémon since he started catching Pokémon in Mind-Boggling Dynamax!.
This episode marks the first appearance of a Dustox in the anime since Jessie released hers in Crossing Paths, 557 episodes earlier.
- This episode also marks the first appearance of a Beautifly in the anime since its cameo in Genesect and the Legend Awakened, over six years earlier.
This is the first time in the anime where more than two Pokémon belonging to main characters have evolved in a single episode and the first time where more than one Pokémon belonging to a single main character evolve in the same episode.
Goh, Ash, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

During the scene where Chloe encounters Ash and Goh outside the lab, Chrysa's lab coat appears and disappears between shots.

Dub edits

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		小春與来電汪、還有神出鬼没的耿鬼
Dutch		Beste vriend... ergste nachtmerrie!
Finnish		Paras ystävä ja pahin painajainen!
European French		Mon meilleur ami... et mon pire cauchemar !
German		Bester Freund, schlimmster Albtraum!
Hebrew		!החבר הכי טוב... הסיוט הכי נורא
Italian		Migliori amici, peggior incubo!
Brazilian Portuguese		Melhor amigo... pior pesadelo!
Russian		Лучший друг, худший кошмар!
Latin American Spanish		El mejor amigo... ¡la peor pesadilla!