Curtain Up! Fight the Fights! (Japanese:開幕！マスターズトーナメント！！Opening!Masters Tournament!!) is the 115th episode ofPokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,200th episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 17, 2022, in Canada on November 26, 2022, in South Africa on January 17, 2023, in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2023, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Excitement is in the air as the Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament is about to start! Ash and Goh are there, of course, and so is Leon’s younger brother, Hop. After Hop challenges Ash to a quick unofficial battle (Hop loses), the tournament begins. The Masters Eight are introduced, and then the first match gets underway—it’s Leon versus Alain! Both Trainers are formidable indeed, but Leon’s command of his Pokémon’s skills give him the edge and the victory. Next up? It’s a battle between Lance and Diantha, and the winner will get to battle Leon. Who will be victorious?
Plot
No sooner haveAsh andGoh arrived atWyndon Stadium for the long-awaitedPokémon World Coronation SeriesMasters Eight Tournament that a boy runs up to them and demands abattle with Ash, despite being fully aware of his status as a member of the Master Class. Not one to turn down a challenge, Ash immediately accepts, but the match ends up being short-lived, asPikachu defeats the boy'sWooloo with a singleIron Tail attack. To Ash and Goh's surprise, the boy reveals that he'sLeon's younger brother,Hop. Having sworn to be the one to defeat his big brother, Hop challenged Ash to test out the strength of the person his elder sibling is always talking about. Hearing that Leon talks about him makes Ash super excited. Nearby,Team Rocket is hosting a live stream oftheir radio show to cover the tournament, although their main goal is to scout out strong Pokémon for them to steal.
The opening ceremony of the Masters Eight Tournament
After reuniting withIris on his way to the locker room and the rest of the Master Class in said room, Ash joins them for the opening ceremony. One by one, theannouncer introduces the Masters Eight to the audience: Ash, aPallet Town native and the firstChampion ofAlola; Iris, an aspiringDragon Master and the young Champion ofUnova;Alain, aMega Stone excavator and the winner of theLumiose Conference;Diantha, a world-famous actress and the Champion ofKalos;Lance, a member of thePokémon G-Men and the newly crowned Champion ofKanto andJohto;Steven Stone, the heir to theDevon Corporation and the Champion ofHoenn;Cynthia, the world's renowned authority in Pokémon archeology and the Champion ofSinnoh; and finally Leon, the undefeatedGalar Champion and the reigning Monarch. Leon invites all the other competitors to face him with their full strength, declaring he and his team will battle anyone and emerge victorious. With the introductions done, the matchups of the first round are selected via random shuffle. In the first battle, Leon will battle Alain; the second match will have Lance and Diantha facing each other; Cynthia will face Iris in the third match, much to the latter's worry; and Steven is pitted against Ash for the fourth match. Steven expresses positivity at the chance to finally have a battle against Ash. While the other Champions return to the locker room to wait for their respective turns, Ash joins Goh and Hop in the stands to experience the atmosphere of the battle first-hand, much to Cynthia's genuine surprise, as she thought Ash would be joining them in the locker room, though Diantha admits that sounds just like him. When questioned by Cynthia why she doesn't join them, Iris reveals her hopes to take apicture with her and Diantha, a request both women are fully happy to oblige. Lance and Steven, meanwhile, discuss the latter's familiarity with Alain. Though Steven acknowledges that Alain is a strongTrainer, facing Leon in the first round could be overwhelming for him.
Leon and Alain enter the battlefield to begin their match.Dan recites the rules: the matches in the first round will be three-on-three with no restrictions on time orexchanges. In addition, each Trainer is allowed only one use of eitherDynamax,Z-Moves, orMega Evolution. At his signal, the two Trainers send out their first Pokémon, with Alain leading withChesnaught and Leon choosingRillaboom, making the first match-up a clash betweenGrass types. Alain makes the first move withHammer Arm, which Rillaboom easily endures. Leon, at his end, surprises everyone by going for hisGigantamax right off the bat, summoning Gigantamax Rillaboom onto the battlefield. His first attack comes in the form of aG-Max Drum Solo. While theG-Max Move is able to partially penetrate Chesnaught'sSpiky Shield, theSpiny Armor Pokémon still withstands it, just like Alain had planned. Rillaboom next attacks withMax Airstream, which Chesnaught rides withGyro Ball. Chesnaught manages to land the attack on its foe, though backstage, Diantha notes that Rillaboom'sSpeed has now increased as a result of Max Airstream. After blocking Chesnaught'sPin Missile withMax Quake, Rillaboom reverts to its normal form and proceeds to use its Speed increase to outmaneuver Chesnaught's second Gyro Ball and defeat it withAcrobatics, giving Leon the firstknockout. Steven and Lance note that Leon was one step ahead of Alain in the Grass-type showdown, signaled by Rillaboom's knowledge of Acrobatics.
Alain's next choice is hisCharizard, drawing the excitement of Ash, who reveals to Goh and Hop that he has battled Alain's Charizardmany times in the past. Noticing the fire in Charizard's eyes, Leon is eager to test the strength of his next opponent. Charizard easily powers through Rillaboom'sDrum Beating withFlare Blitz and deals asupereffective hit, taking Rillaboom out and evening the odds. Leon responds by sending out his ownCharizard. However, after aDragon Claw is dodged and his Charizard takes a hit fromAir Slash, Alain figures he can't get close enough and recalls Charizard in favor ofMalamar, hoping to use it to turn things around. This hope is soon crushed, however, as Malamar'sPsycho Cut is blocked by aFire Blast, and the Overturning Pokémon's attempt to useThroat Chop ends with it being grabbed and taken down by a close-range Fire Blast, leaving Alain with just his Charizard, which rejoins the battle while Leon announces that he will keep his own Charizard out. Alain announces that it's his goal to surpass Leon's Charizard and uses hisMega Ring to Mega Evolve his partner into Mega Charizard X, much to Ash's thrill. Alain's Charizard powers through its opponent'sAncient Power with Dragon Claw and deals a successful hit, but its subsequent Flare Blitz results in it getting struck by a point-blank, supereffectiveDragon Pulse, defeating it and eliminating Alain from the tournament.
With Leon moving on to the semifinals, the first battle of the first round of the Masters Eight Tournament has come to a close. Alain accepts his loss with dignity and swears to redo histraining in preparation for a rematch. To decide Leon's next opponent, Lance and Diantha leave the locker room and step out onto the battlefield, preparing to start their own battle.
The start of the preview is changed fromTeam Rocket's usual one to a chibi-style version of Team Rocket in their radio show personadisguises.
Errors
When Steven talks to Ash, his right hand is missing its rings.
When Team Rocket decides to take notes on a Trainer's Pokémon, the sound of Wobbuffet's Poké Ball opening can be heard despite him already being outside it.
Dub edits
The Japanese text depictingWyndon Stadium's name is edited out.
Theannouncer introducesIris as aDragon Master in the English dub. However, in the Japanese version, he explicitly states that Iris is an aspiring Dragon Master.
