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JN147

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← JN146 : Ash and Latios
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
HZ001 : The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) →
The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!
JN147.png
JN147   EP1232
虹とポケモンマスター！
The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!
First broadcast
Japan March 24, 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 タイプ：ワイルド
Credits
Animation Team Kato
Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka
Storyboard 尼野浩正 Hiromasa Amano
Assistant director 中田誠 Makoto Nakata
Animation directors 柳原好貴 Yoshitaka Yanagihara
倉員千晶 Chiaki Kurakazu
Additional credits

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, the final episode of Pokémon the Series, and the 1,232nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on March 24, 2023, in Canada on July 22, 2023, in South Africa on August 1, 2023, and in the United States on September 8, 2023.

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

The time has come for Ash, Misty, and Brock to part ways and head home. In Pallet Town, Ash eagerly tells Delia about his adventures and then helps find a wayward Charmander. During the search, he encounters Gary, who asks Ash if he’s closer to becoming a Pokémon Master. Later, in Viridian Forest, a regrouped Team Rocket attacks, but their strategy is unexpectedly thwarted by Ash’s Pidgeot! Team Rocket blasts off, and Pidgeot rejoins Ash’s team. Then, Ash thinks about Gary’s question and realizes that he still hasn’t achieved his goal. Vowing to become a Pokémon Master someday, he sets off on a new journey with Pikachu by his side.

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 first partner 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 first partner Pokémon to the lab. While Professor Oak does a check-up on all three first partner Pokémon, Gary prepares to head out again, though not before taking the time to congratulate Ash on his victory at the Masters Eight Tournament. For one last thing, he 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

Dare da?

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Pikachu

Trivia

Errors

Dub edits

  • The text saying "Next Time... A New Beginning!" at the end of the episode is removed.

In other languages


References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZccKUMgLRE8


← JN146 : Ash and Latios
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
HZ001 : The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) →
Project Anime logo.png This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.
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