Suffering the Flings and Arrows! (Japanese:ヘラクロスロス、恋するカイロスTheHeracros Loss and theKailios in Love) is the 94th episode ofPokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,179th episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on January 21, 2022, in Canada on June 18, 2022, in South Africa on August 23, 2022, in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2022, in Australia on September 20, 2022, and in the United States on October 21, 2022.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
When Lilligant joins the other Pokémon at Cerise Laboratory, Heracross, who was infatuated with Pinsir, is now smitten with Lilligant! While Goh tries to cheer Pinsir up, Chloe discovers a Pokémon flower-arranging class. It seems like a great way to lift Pinsir’s spirits, so our heroes want to join in, too! Guided by Celadon City’s Gym Leader, Erika, the group learns about the importance of flower decorating with Pokémon! But Team Rocket wants to “pick flowers,” too…and steal Pikachu. Team Rocket attacks, but when Pinsir steps in to protect Heracross, their relationship is restored! Now no one will ever forget the connection between Pokémon and flower arranging!
Plot
Ash andGoh return toCerise Park from a trip toUnova, with Goh presentinghis Pokémon with their newest playmate:Lilligant. The Pokémon of Cerise Park find Lilligant's sweet aroma very soothing and charming, but none more so thanHeracross. WhenPinsir comes to bring Heracross a flower wreath it has made for him, it's distraught to see its beloved being in love with someone else. Goh soon notices Pinsir's depression, and after witnessing Heracross being smitten by the scent of Lilligant's flower, he realizes that Pinsir must been distraught over Lilligant "stealing" Heracross's love from it.
While thinking of a solution for Pinsir's problem, Ash and Goh overhearChloe tellingProfessor Cerise about aPokémon Flower Arrangement class she andEevee are planning to attend in order to meet aLeafeon. Goh latches onto the idea that learning about flowers could help Pinsir win over Heracross again and decides to attend as well. Chloe is initially confused by Goh suddenly inserting himself into her plans, but an explanation during the bus ride toCeladon City makes her understand the situation.
Ash, Goh, and Chloe arrive at theCeladon Gym, where they sign up for the class and are greeted byGym LeaderErika, who recognizes Ash as the person who savedher Pokémon back whenthe Gym caught fire. She tells Chloe that the Celadon Gym researches aromas emitted by flowers and Pokémon, such as her Leafeon, and makes perfumes out of them. As per usual, Eevee eagerly mimics her evolved form's movements, with Chloe explaining to Erika that her Eevee is unsure what she wants toevolve into, so they're trying to get as much experiences as they can. Moving over to the Gym's greenhouse, Erika explains to the group the concept of Pokémon flower arranging, which uses decorating Pokémon with flowers as a way to express the bond between them and theirTrainers, with her decorating her Leafeon as an example. Erika's attention is drawn to Goh when he mentions he wishes to use the flowers to make his Pokémon fall in love with each other. At first, Goh thinks Erika is judging him over this, but instead, she finds the idea lovely and offers to support it in any way she can.
Outside the glass wall of the greenhouse,Team Rocket is plotting to make yet another attempt to stealPikachu. As such, they infiltrate the class indisguise, looking for a chance to snatch Pikachu unnoticed while pretending to decorateMeowth andWobbuffet. When Erika recommends everyone to come up with performances that'll make use of their Pokémon's characteristics, Ash gets the idea to use a box filled withChristmas decorations to his advantage, while Goh comes up with an idea involvingGrookey. When the time to present the finished works arrives, Team Rocket sneaks outside under the pretense of going to pick some flowers. Since Pikachu stuck too close to Ash to be snatched without being noticed, they decide to grab theMouse Pokémon by force and call down theRocket Prize Master, which gives them aLurantis and aLeavanny.
Back inside, Chloe, Ash, and Goh each present their Pokémon in turns. Eevee is decorated with the same kinds of flowers Erika had decorated her own Leafeon with earlier; Pikachu is decorated withChristmas lights that he powers up with aThunderbolt; and Pinsir has donned a flowery dress and decorations, with Grookey using its powers to make the buds in the costume bloom and thus make it even more beautiful. Goh reveals that he brought Heracross along too so he could see Pinsir with its flower decorations. However, just as he calls Heracross out, Team Rocket snatches Pikachu with Leavanny'sString Shot and takes off their disguises, causing everyone's attention to focus on them. James tells Leavanny to use String Shot again to catch more Pokémon, but Erika has Leafeon useRazor Leaf to cut the strings before they reach anyone, while Pikachu frees himself withIron Tail and joins thebattle.
While Lurantis and Heracross exchange blows, Eevee usesCopycat to mimic Leafeon's Razor Leaf, which, combined with Pikachu's Thunderbolt, is enough to defeat Leavanny. Lurantis pushes Heracross back withPetal Blizzard, before charging up aSolar Beam. Seeing its beloved is in trouble, Pinsir jumps in front of the Solar Beam just as it's fired, taking the hit for Heracross. Goh has Pinsir useX-Scissor, which sends Lurantis flying into Team Rocket and causes them to blast off again. While Pinsir's flower costume was destroyed by the Solar Beam, the bravery Pinsir just showed was enough for it to win back Heracross's love.
As the group prepares to leave, Erika gives Chloe a bottle of Leafeon perfume, and Pinsir, flustered by Heracross trying to hold its hand, suddenly grabs him with its pincers as a form of hug, causing both Heracross and Goh to panic in surprise.
Major events
Ash andGoh are revealed to have visitedUnova off-screen.
Notably, Erika appears in the outfit she wears inPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which is the same outfit that she wears by default in Pokémon Masters EX.
This is one of the very few instances ofChristmas being referenced in the animated series, asAsh spots a box of Christmas decorations and uses them to decoratePikachu.
Jessie and James appear at the beginning of the preview instead of Ash andGoh, and the previewtitle card has aTeam Rocket theme.
The English dub title could be a reference to the phrase "whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" fromWilliam Shakespeare'sHamlet.
