Battling in the Freezing Raid!

JN102   EP1187 トライアルミッション！氷結のレイドバトル！！ Trial Mission! A Freezing Raid Battle!!

First broadcast Japan March 18, 2022 United States October 21, 2022

English themes Opening With You Ending

Japanese themes Opening １・２・３ Ending バツグンタイプ

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 米村正二Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 樋口香里Kaori Higuchi Assistant director 佐々木純人Sumito Sasaki Animation directors 五十嵐俊介Shunsuke Igarashi 南伸一郎Shin'ichirō Minami KプロダクションK-Production Additional credits

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

Battling in the Freezing Raid! (Japanese:トライアルミッション！氷結のレイドバトル！！Trial Mission! A Freezing Raid Battle!!) is the 102nd episode ofPokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,187th episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on March 18, 2022, in Canada on August 13, 2022, in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2022, in Australia on September 30, 2022, in South Africa on October 18, 2022, and in the United States on October 21, 2022.

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

Blurb

Goh’s quest to join Project Mew continues in high gear! His next mission? A Raid Battle!

A Raid Battle is a team effort, but who else is competing? Goh’s friend Horace, and Ash’s friend—and former rival—Gary Oak!

While Goh catches several Pokémon along the way, they head into a maze of caverns, where they discover Articuno! A fierce battle ensues and everyone’s Pokémon battles valiantly, but Articuno wins. All along, Gary pokes fun at Goh, who is not amused.

But Gary is really trying to impress Goh with the idea of discipline, and as their mutual frostiness melts, Goh and Gary now look forward to meeting again!

Plot

Goh has received information regarding his newestProject MewTrial Mission, but for the first time, said information has left him in low spirits. The mission this time is to have aRaid Battle against theLegendary PokémonArticuno.Ash finds the idea exciting, but Goh, who's not that good at teamwork, is displeased with the idea. Ash reminds Goh about theRaid Battle againstGolurk he participated in, and manages to restore some of his confidence.Professor Cerise,Ren, andChrysa advise them to look for Articuno at theSeafoam Islands in southernKanto, since the islands are connected by apermafrost cave, which seems like a suitable place for Articuno.

Following Professor Cerise's advice, Ash and Goh travel to the Seafoam Islands. While crossing a stone bridge, they're attacked by aGolbat, but Goh deals with it by swiftlycatching it. Next, they find themselves in a natural maze, where they run into dead ends, aggressivewildGeodude, and other Project Mew challengers who have exhausted themselves and their Pokémon too much to have a Raid Battle with Articuno. Eventually, Ash and Goh come across a crystalline stone spike, whichGrookey hits with its stick, creating a ringing sound. This gives Goh an idea, and he has hisInteleon use its head crest toecholocate the correct path based on the sound, eventually leading them to a cave entrance.

After Goh hasrecalled his Pokémon, he and Ash enter the cave. Just as they reach a dead end, aGraveler pops out of the ground and startsrolling towards them, but Goh catches it with aPoké Ball before it can reach them. He and Ash then descend down the hole Graveler left behind by usingCaterpie'sString Shot. At the bottom, they spotHorace, Goh's childhood friend, battling against a wildCloyster with hisBayleef. Goh calls out hisCinderace and has it attack Cloyster withPyro Ball, after which Horace allows Goh to catch theBivalve Pokémon for himself. Horace is introduced to Ash, and it's revealed that Horace is a Project Mew challenger as well. Goh is surprised to learn this, since Horace's target isCelebi. Horace explains that sinceMew, like Celebi, is aPsychic-type Pokémon, he's made it a part of his quest to track down every Psychic Pokémon to lead him to Celebi one day, a goal that Ash notes to be similar to Goh's.

Ash, Goh, and Horace make their way deeper into the cave, finding a waterfall flowing down to a basin they can even see. Once again using Caterpie's String Shot, they lower themselves to a lower floor, discovering a huge cavern covered in snow and ice. Unexpectedly,Gary appears behind them, much to Goh's irritation. Gary suspects Articuno being on the other side of the body of water before them, but hasn't crossed it yet, since a Raid Battle requires multiple participants. While Goh is ticked off by Gary's mere presence, he still boards theinflatable boat he deploys, taking everyone to the other side. Almost immediately after they've made land, a wall of ice suddenly shatters, revealing Articuno. A drone sent by Project Mew appears to record the Raid Battle, stating that each participatingTrainer is allowed to use three Pokémon. Ash, Goh, Gary, and Horace start out by sending outSirfetch'd,Darmanitan,Tyranitar, andIndeedee, respectively, but a singleBlizzard from Articunodefeats all of them before they can do anything.

Not wasting a moment, the four send out their next Pokémon:Lucario, Cinderace,Umbreon, andGardevoir. Umbreon successfully usesConfuse Ray on Articuno, but even whileconfused, it manages to retaliate withSheer Cold, which takes Umbreon downin one hit. Lucario and Cinderace manage to land a hit with anAura Sphere and a Pyro Ball just before Articuno's confusion wears off, and its subsequentIce Shard is blocked by Gardevoir'sReflect. While Gary replaces his fainted Umbreon withArcanine, the other Pokémon strike Articuno with a combination of Aura Sphere, Pyro Ball, andMoonblast. When Articuno attacks again, Gardevoir casts another Reflect, but Articuno'smove,Triple Axel, manages to break through it, although not without being weakened in the process. Gary tells Cinderace and Lucario to grab onto Articuno. Goh is irritated by Gary telling him what to do, but Ash tells him to do it, so he reluctantly repeats Gary's command. However, while Cinderace manages to get onto Articuno's back, Lucario fails to grab a hold of its tail and falls down. Nevertheless, Gary orders Arcanine to useFlamethrower, which scores a direct hit, as do Cinderace's subsequentBlaze Kick and Lucario'sSteel Beam. When Cinderace jumps down, Horace has Gardevoir heal it withHeal Pulse.

Before Lucario and Cinderace can attack again, Articuno launches another Blizzard, which pushes through Gardevoir'sLight Screen and defeats every Pokémon present, excluding Arcanine. As their final Pokémon, Ash, Goh, and Horace choosePikachu,Boldore, and Bayleef. Horace and Gary keep reminding Goh that Raid Battles are about teamwork, despite his insistence that he understands that. Gary takes charge of the battle, telling Horace to have Bayleef hold Articuno in place withVine Whip while the others attack it. The plan works, but Articuno then manages to escape from Bayleef's grasp and prepares to attack again. Gary fears that it might be using Sheer Cold and tells everyone to scatter, but Goh tells everyone to line up behind Boldore in case the move is Blizzard. Unfortunately, Gary's guess about Sheer Cold turns out to be accurate, leading to Pikachu and Arcanine being taken down. Articuno easily shrugs off Bayleef'sEnergy Ball and defeats it with Blizzard, bringing the battle to an end.

As Articuno flies away, the drone tells the challengers to wait for a call from the HQ. Goh admits that without help, he would've stood no chance. Horace, though, says that Goh taking the front line allowed him to focus on using protection and healing moves, while Gary criticizes Goh for his selfish actions. Just then, each of them receives a call fromQuillon, who informs them that they've earned three tokens each. In addition, Gary receives an extra token for his leadership skills, while Horace receives an extra one for his dedication to teamwork. Goh asks if teamwork is necessary for finding Mew, which Quillon responds to by telling him to think about it.Danika enters the conversation, revealing that Quillon used to be selfish and bad at team play too, and yet, he managed to become a Chaser.

Back on the mainland, Horace prepares to part ways with Goh, giving him encouragements and assuring he can make it. Gary, on the other hand, says that giving someone hopes and dreams for something they're not yet ready for can lead to the worst possible outcome, specifying that, in his eyes, strictness is an important factor in reaching Mew. Gary's words make Goh start to understand his mentality better, and he addresses him in a respectful tone before parting ways with him and Horace for now.

Major events

• Gohcatches aGolbat, aGraveler, and aCloyster.
• Goh meetsHorace again, whileAsh meets him for the first time.
• Horace'sChikorita is revealed to have evolved intoBayleef, and he's revealed to own a femaleIndeedee and aGardevoir.
• Horace is revealed to be aProject Mew challenger.
• Ash and Goh meetGary again.
• Gary is revealed to have obtained aTyranitar.
• Ash, Goh, Gary, and Horace have aRaid Battle against anArticuno.
• Goh, Gary, and Horace clear aTrial Mission, earning Goh three Project Mew tokens, while Gary and Horace earn four each.

For a list of all major events inPokémon Journeys: The Series, please see thetimeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Goh
• Gary
• Professor Cerise
• Chrysa
• Ren
• Leader (flashback)
• Horace
• Danika (screen)
• Quillon (screen)
• Kira (flashback)
• Shane Seeker (flashback)
• Challengers

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Lucario (Ash's)
• Sirfetch'd (Ash's)
• Scorbunny (Goh's; flashback)
• Cinderace (Goh's)
• Caterpie (Goh's)
• Darmanitan (Goh's;Standard Mode)
• Golurk (Goh's;giant; flashback)
• Inteleon (Goh's)
• Boldore (Goh's)
• Grookey (Goh's)
• Golbat (Goh's; new)
• Graveler (Goh's; new)
• Cloyster (Goh's; new)
• Arcanine (Gary's)
• Umbreon (Gary's)
• Tyranitar (Gary's)
• Rotom (Gary's;Rotom Phone)
• Rotom (Professor Cerise's;Rotom Phone)
• Litwick (Leader's; flashback)
• Bayleef (Horace's)
• Indeedee (Horace's; female)
• Gardevoir (Horace's)
• Rotom (Horace's;Rotom Phone)
• Meditite (Kira's; flashback)
• Psyduck (Shane Seeker's;Shiny; flashback)
• Typhlosion (Trainer's)
• Geodude (multiple)
• Articuno

Trivia

• Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!:Articuno
• Theopening animation is updated to includeGoh'sDurant.
• TheDare da? segment is replaced witheyecatches ofAsh, Goh, andPikachu for this episode.
• This episode marks the first appearance of a number of Pokémon species in the main series after long absences:
  • Typhlosion, who last appeared inPoetry Commotion!, 858 episodes earlier.
  • Articuno, who's last physical appearance was inThe Symbol Life!, 777 episodes earlier.
  • Arcanine, who last appeared inKeeping in Top Forme!, 553 episodes and exactly 12 years earlier.
• This episode marks the first appearance of bothGary's Arcanine andUmbreon in the main series sinceCan't Beat the Heat!, 917 episodes earlier, andThe Needs of the Three!, 570 episodes earlier, respectively.
• Gary owning aTyranitar could be areference toPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen andPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, wherehis game counterpart uses a Tyranitar in hisrematches with theplayer.
  • This marks the first time Gary has revealed a new Pokémon in his possession sinceHome is Where the Start Is!, 721 episodes earlier.
• As of this episode, Goh andCinderace have battled all threelegendary birds. Ash and Pikachu have also done so within this series.
• This is the first timeGary's Umbreon is seen being defeated in battle.
• Articuno'scries in this episode are recycled cries ofLugia fromThe Power of One.
• Ash, Pikachu, Goh,Clemont, andBonnie narrate the preview for thenext episode.
  • A special preview for the next two episodes;JN103 andJN104, was aired after this episode.
• Barrett Leddy replaces the lateBilly Kametz's voice role as Goh's Inteleon starting from this episode.

Errors

• When Arcanine and Pikachu are defeated by Articuno'sSheer Cold, they both get frozen. However, when they fall to the ground, the ice surrounding them has disappeared.
• In thePolish dub, "Księżycowy Błysk" is called "Księżycowy Blask".

Dub edits

• The Japanese text depicting theSeafoam Islands' name is edited out.

In other languages

This episode article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Pokémon Journeys: The Series episodes
• Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
• Episodes storyboarded by Kaori Higuchi
• Episodes directed by Sumito Sasaki
• Episodes animated by Shunsuke Igarashi
• Episodes animated by Shin'ichirō Minami
• Episodes animated by K-Production
• Episodes by multiple animation directors
• Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
• Project Mew episodes
• Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
• Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
• Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
• Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
• Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States