The Guardian's Challenge! (Japanese:守り神カプ・コケコ登場！挑戦、オレたちのZワザ！！The Guardian DeityKapu-Kokeko Appears! Challenge, Our Z-Move!!) is the second episode ofPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 941st episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on November 17, 2016 as a one-hour special alongsideSM001, and in the United Kingdom as a sneak peek preview of the full series on November 20, 2016 as a one-hour special alongsideAlola to New Adventure!. It aired in the United States as a sneak peek preview of the full series on December 5, 2016 as part of a marathon withVolcanion and the Mechanical Marvel andAlola to New Adventure!. The final version of the episode was broadcast in the United States on March 17, 2017, and was later broadcast in sequence on May 12, 2017.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Now that Ash has decided to become a Pokémon School student in the Alola region, his classmates throw him a welcome party! Three of them challenge him to various competitions—a balloon-popping contest versus Sophocles and his Togedemaru, a land-and-water race between Pikachu and Lana’s Popplio, and a Tauros race against Kiawe.
Finally, Professor Kukui challenges him to a Pokémon battle, but Tapu Koko interrupts. It wants to battle Ash instead—and it wants him to try out his very first Z-Move, Gigavolt Havoc! As Pikachu unleashes an astonishingly powerful burst of electricity, Ash’s Z-Crystal shatters. He decides to undergo an island challenge trial to earn a new one!
Plot
At thePokémon School, the students are playing with their Pokémon.Lana tells herPopplio to make a balloon, which pops, whileSophocles putsTogedemaru in a wheel to charge his computer program. Meanwhile,Lillie walks up toMallow and recommends to her that she should add someBerries to thePokémon food in her new recipe. However, as Mallow thanks Lillie for the suggestion,Bounsweet jumps up in front of Lillie, scaring her.Kiawe walks in, tired from a delivery toUla'ula Island.Professor Kukui enters and greets the class, withAsh andPikachu behind him. Kiawe notices the newZ-Ring that Ash is wearing. Professor Kukui reveals that Ash will be attending the Pokémon School and tells the class not to hesitate to help him out with any questions he has. Ash introduces himself tohis new classmates and proclaims his intention of becoming aPokémon Master.
Soon afterward while Ash is talking to his new classmates, Sophocles and Mallow notice the Z-Crystal on Ash's Z-Ring, with Kiawe identifying it as anElectrium Z. He asks where Ash got it, as he has not taken part in any trial of theisland challenge. Ash explains thatTapu Koko had given it to him, which surprises the class. Ash explains that he had heard Tapu Koko's voice, so he had taken off after it, and when he found Tapu Koko, the ring had come floating down to him. Kiawe wonders how Tapu Koko had obtained the Z-Ring, but Ash says it simply felt like Tapu Koko had been telling him the ring was for him. Lillie explains to Ash that she has read about Tapu Koko, and that it is very well known as the guardian who likes to help travelers, but also likes to play tricks and can punish people if it thinks it is necessary. Upon hearing that on rare occasions, Tapu Koko can provide gifts to people, Mallow realizes that Tapu Koko must really like Ash. Sophocles checks with Kiawe who reveals that he got his Z-Crystal from clearing theAkala Island's grand trial. Ash becomes excited that he can now useZ-Moves just like Kiawe, but Kiawe objects strongly, telling Ash about the duties of Z-Move users. Ash says he doesn't understand what Kiawe said but reassures Kiawe that he will do his best. Professor Kukui tells the class thatSamson Oak will be their teacher for the next lesson. Later, Samson Oak, wearing anExeggutor costume, teaches the class about the different appearances and types of the Pokémon in different regions as Sophocles comments on certain Pokémon's heights being totally different. Oak explains that the reason Exeggutor is different in Alola is because of the local climate. He says that theAlolanExeggutor they are looking at is aregional variant, and explains the biology of Exeggutor - they are usuallyGrass/Psychic. This surprises Lillie who mentions that in Alola, Exeggutor areGrass/Dragon. Ash is surprised about the typing of Alolan Exeggutor and runs forward to stroke its tail. Lillie tries to warn Ash about this, but he ends up getting thrown up a ladder before Lillie explains that the tail has a mind of its own.
At Professor Kukui's house, Kukui treats Ash and Pikachu to dinner, where both of them finish their food very quickly. Ash and Pikachu petRockruff, and Kukui explains that it has taken a liking to Ash. As Ash continues to pet Rockruff, Kukui receives a phone call from Mallow and agrees to proceed with a welcome party planned for Ash on the following day. The next morning, Ash and Pikachu are late to school and rushing to make it on time. As they arrive, they are greeted with confetti and Popplio's bubbles, and Mallow explains that they had planned a surprise party for Ash. Sophocles and Togedemaru start by issuing a challenge to Ash and Pikachu, which Ash mistakes for a battle. However, he soon finds out that it is actually a balloon popping challenge. Sophocles uses Togedemaru's spikes to gain the lead, and Lillie tells Ash that he can also use moves to burst the balloons. Ash commands Pikachu to useThunderbolt, but it is absorbed by Togedemaru'sLightning RodAbility. She usesZing Zap to burst the remaining balloons, easily winning the challenge for Sophocles. Lana and Popplio challenge Ash and Pikachu to a race, unknowingly being watched by a yellow Pokémon from afar. Although off to a strong start, Pikachu starts to fall behind, and Popplio eventually wins the challenge with its superior swimming speed.
Next, Ash is up against Kiawe in aTauros race, with Kukui and Samson Oak watching them from the balcony. Oak asks the professor if he will take part in the party, to which Kukui replies that he is the fifth surprise. The race ends with Kiawe winning in a photo finish. Kukui walks up to Ash for his surprise, but Mallow says that it is time for lunch first. As they all eat, Ash hears a Pokémon'scry and Tapu Koko appears, much to everyone's surprise. Ash thanks it for bestowing him the Z-Ring, but Tapu Koko grabsAsh's hat and flies off towards the forest with it, with Ash on its heels.
Tapu Koko and Ash race to the forest and everyone else follows behind. In the middle of the forest, Tapu Koko returns his hat and reveals its will to battle him. Tapu Koko'sElectric Surge activates, causingElectric Terrain to come into effect, and it lunges at Pikachu. Pikachu manages to dodge Tapu Koko'sDazzling Gleam and proceeds with Thunderbolt, but this has little effect. Tapu Koko charges at Ash and activates his Z-Ring. Ash realizes Tapu Koko wants him to use a Z-Move. Ash prepares to launch his first Z-Move, as everyone watches nervously. Ash and Pikachu make the required pose and Pikachu fires a strongGigavolt Havoc, causing a huge explosion. However, Ash's Electrium Z shatters as the explosion settles, and Tapu Koko flies away. Mallow is impressed at how powerful Ash's first Z-Move was, but Kiawe notices that Ash's Z-Crystal had disintegrated. He explains that it was still too early for Ash to fully utilize Z-Moves, as he had not taken a trial. Upon hearing this, Ash decides to participate in the island challenge to prove his worthiness, and his classmates agree that they will be cheering for him.
Back at Kukui's house, Ash receives anAlola Pokédex from Professor Kukui while having dinner, as Ash looks forward to his island challenge.
During the first airing onTV Tokyo as one-hour special, viewers could take part in athree-characters keyword quiz, in which ten viewers could win a Nintendo New 3DS XL Pokémon Solgaleo Lunala Black Edition and copies ofPokémon Sun and Moon. The second character was ワ and the third ザ.
When the Watch Disney XD site and Disney XD app were updated to include episodes fromPokémon: Indigo League on February 11, 2017, the final version of this and the following episode were made available, replacing the special preview previously available through the service.
As the screen flashes between Ash and Pikachu just before Pikachu fires offGigavolt Havoc, Pikachu can be heard talking but not actually opening his mouth.
When Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on the balloons, Sophocles has a little pile of balloons left to pop, but when Togedemaru is charged up after Pikachu's attack, there's only one layer of balloons left instead of a pile.
The Japanese text depictingGigavolt Havoc's name when Pikachu is about to use the move is edited out in the dub.
The text saying "To Be Continued" when Ash receives theRotom Pokédex from Professor Kukui is edited out in the dub.
This only occurred for the sneak preview. For its official debut, the text saying "To Be Continued" was put back in.
In the official debut of this episode's dub, a large portion of the original music is replaced with dub music. However, this was not the case in the preview airing, in which the episode used all of the original music.
