| The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!
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虹とポケモンマスター！
The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!
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First broadcast
| Japan
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March 24, 2023
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| United States
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September 8, 2023
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master! (Japanese: 虹とポケモンマスター！ The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!) is the 11th and final episode of Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master, the 147th and final episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,232nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on March 24, 2023, in Canada on July 22, 2023, and is scheduled to air in South Africa on August 1, 2023, and in the United States on September 8, 2023.
Plot
Ash and his friends are traveling along a road at dusk. At certain crossroads, Misty and Brock bid farewell to Ash in turns and head back to their respective hometowns. Ash himself soon arrives back in Pallet Town and returns to his home, where his mother Delia immediately has him and Pikachu take a bath while she washes his clothes and prepares dinner for them. After the bath, Ash joins his mother and Mimey at the dinner table and starts telling her stories of his travels with Misty and Brock. Later, while laying down in his bed, Ash wonders out loud how Latias and Latios are doing, before falling asleep with Pikachu.
The next morning, Delia wakes Ash up and reminds him of his planned visit to Professor Oak's Laboratory, as well as of dressing up properly as he almost rushes out in his pajamas. She also offers him a new pair of shoes to replace his current worn-out pair, but he holds off on wearing them for now as he runs off. At the lab's entrance, Ash meets up with Tracey, who's heading out to run an errand for Professor Oak. He tells Ash that the starter Pokémon he had come to see just arrived, so Ash rushes inside, where it turns out that Charmander is missing. Ash starts searching for it outside the laboratory with the help of his Pokémon, but initially has no luck. Finally, though, Pikachu locates it at the bottom of a small cave. Ash descends down and helps it get back up. While climbing out himself, he receives an unexpected helping hand from Gary, who reveals that he's actually the one who brought the starter Pokémon to the lab. While Professor Oak does a check-up on all three starters, Gary prepares to head out again, though not before taking the time to congratulate Ash on his victory at the Masters Eight Tournament. He then asks Ash how much closer is he to reaching his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master now that he's a World Champion. The question causes Ash to fall deep into thought. Gary, noticing this, simply smiles and waves him goodbye without waiting for an answer. The question keeps distracting Ash even as he walks back home, though he eventually pushes it aside for the time being.
While Ash spends the following days enjoying his mother's food and spending time with his Pokémon at Oak's lab, Jessie, James, and Meowth have been reduced to working at Team Rocket HQ's cafeteria, making and serving food to dozens of Team Rocket Grunts. The work is hectic, and even the breaks they have seem short. The three are still harboring animosity towards each other after their previous argument and refuse to talk to one another, much to the worry of Wobbuffet.
Ash reuniting with Pidgeot
One day, Ash decides to venture out to Viridian Forest. While he enjoys taking in the environment and Pokémon around him, Meowth is secretly sneaking through the tall grass nearby in the hopes of nabbing Pikachu. Unexpectedly, he bumps into Jessie and James, who had also gotten the same idea of coming here. Tired of working at the cafeteria, the Team Rocket trio rekindles their friendship and decides to work together once more. They launch their attack, snatching Pikachu in a net and reciting their motto to celebrate their reunion. At the same time, Ash realizes, much to his horror, that he had left all of his other Pokémon at Oak's lab, meaning he's got nothing to fight with. The Rocket trio mockingly laughs at his misfortune and fends off his desperate charge, but they're suddenly cut off by a gust of wind and a loud cry. A Pidgeot swoops down from the sky and cuts the net open with Wing Attack, freeing Pikachu. Ash is elated at the sight of Pidgeot, whom the Rocket trio recognizes as the evolved form of Ash's Pidgeotto. Pikachu delivers the usual blast-off Thunderbolt, though the Team Rocket trio is happy to be together again and vows to never give up on chasing after Pikachu as a team as they disappear into the distance. Ash, meanwhile, properly greets Pidgeot for the first time after a long while. Pidgeot's flock also shows up, having grown up a lot since Ash last saw them. He invites Pidgeot to come along with him once more, which it happily agrees to after receiving approval from its flock, properly reuniting Ash with one of his oldest partners.
The next day, Ash sets out to wander around without a clear destination. After observing a group of Poliwag and a Poliwhirl floating on their backs on a river, Ash lays down on the riverbank with Pikachu, pondering about Gary's question. He and Pikachu fall asleep but are awakened when a rainstorm starts pouring down, so they seek shelter under a big tree. As more and more Pokémon show up around them to do the same, Ash starts talking with Pikachu about what he thinks about what Gary had asked him. Becoming a World Champion was never his ultimate goal, and he still considers himself a challenger. Every single meeting and adventure he has every day matters when he's working towards his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master, which he believes to be about befriending every Pokémon in the world. This is also why his meeting with Latios and the Eon Pokémon's refusal to truly befriend him had affected him so much. The rain eventually ends and the clouds part, revealing a beautiful rainbow. Ash asks Pikachu to be by his side when he eventually does become a Pokémon Master, and his partner happily accepts this request as he runs off.
The following morning, Delia goes to wake Ash up, only to see that he's already headed out and left behind his old shoes in favor of the new ones. She wishes her son safe travels as he walks down a road, with Team Rocket still in relentless pursuit nearby. Reaching a crossroads, Pikachu offers Ash a twig, and he tosses it into the air to decide which way his journey will take him and his partner next.
Major events
Ash resuming his journey with Pikachu
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: Pikachu
Trivia
- Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!! - Episode Paldea: Sprigatito
- There was no "After the story" artwork posted for this episode.
- This is the last episode of the anime to feature Ash and Pikachu as main protagonists.
- This is also the last episode of the anime to feature the Team Rocket trio as main antagonists.
- This episode aired a week shy of the 26th anniversary of the anime.
- To promote the episode, highlights of Ash's journey were displayed at Shinjuku Station.[1]
- Shinji Miyazaki's music from the original series and Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire is reused as background music in this episode.
- An instrumental of Team Rocket's Team Song is used in this episode.
- This is the only episode of To Be a Pokémon Master to not feature Latias, due to her leaving with Latios in the previous episode.
- The scene in the beginning of the episode where Misty and Brock part ways from Ash is similar to the scene from Gotta Catch Ya Later!, where Misty and Brock go their separate ways from Ash.
- This episode marks the first time since Ignorance is Blissey where a bathroom is seen in the anime.
- The scene depicting the day after Ash returned home resembles the first day of Ash's journey, including a Dodrio crowing on the roof, Ash sleeping in, and Ash (almost) running to Professor Oak's Laboratory while still in his pajamas.
- This episode marks Tracey's first speaking appearance since Home is Where the Start Is!, 766 episodes earlier.
- As of this episode, Max is the only one of Ash's male friends that he did not reunite with in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
- Noctowl is the only one of Ash's regional bird Pokémon to not appear in this episode.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Tracey's Venomoth and Scyther in the main series since Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, 1,007 episodes earlier.
- This marks the first time one of Tracey's Pokémon has evolved under his ownership.
- This is also the first time Tracey has had a change in his party since he caught Scyther in Tracey Gets Bugged, 1,135 episodes earlier. With this, Tracey has taken the longest out of any main character in the anime to have a confirmed change in his party.
- James is seen drinking Komala Coffee from Pokémon Sun and Moon during his break.
- Jessie and James break the fourth wall by shushing the camera while trying to sneak up on Ash and Pikachu.
- This episode marks the first physical appearance of Ash's Pidgeot since it was released in Pallet Party Panic, 1,151 episodes earlier.
- As of this episode, Ash has reunited with all of his non-temporary Pokémon that he has formally caught and released.
- Ash examines a Poliwag swimming on its back, which could be a reference to his Japanese namesake, Satoshi Tajiri, and his favorite Pokémon being Poliwag.
- The scene of Ash and Pikachu running from the rain to find cover is similar to a scene in the original Aim to Be a Pokémon Master opening.
- Ash reveals his definition for the term "Pokémon Master" in this episode: someone who's befriended every Pokémon in the world.
- The shoes that Ash wears at the end of the episode have the Pokémon League Expo logo on them, which is notably the same logo that is on Ash's hat from the original series.
- Ash and Pikachu coming across a crossroads with Ash tossing a twig into the air to decide which way to go is a nod to the first episode of the To Be a Pokémon Master arc.
- Similar to the final episode of the first four series, the usual To be continued is replaced with Next Time... A New Beginning!.
- This also marks the first time since Pokémon the Series: Black & White in which this ending message was used for the final episode of a series.
- The font used for the text is similar to the text from the original series, with the arrow that follows it.
- This is one of the few episodes where the English dub title is a direct translation of the Japanese title.
- In the English dub, this episode is followed by Distant Blue Sky!.
Errors
- The Meowth's balloon's burner is missing while Team Rocket is spying on Ash near the end of the episode.
Dub edits
- The text saying "Next time, a new beginning" at the end of the episode is removed.
In other languages
References
