A Timeless Encounter! (Japanese:サトシ、時を超えた出会い！Satoshi, Encounter Beyond Time!) is the 125th episode ofPokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,064th episode of thePokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 9, 2019 and in the United States on October 12, 2019.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
While Ash and his Pokémon train for the upcoming Alola Pokémon League, they accidentally startle a nearby Celebi. The Mythical Pokémon flees back in time—and brings Ash and Torracat with it! Unaware that he’s in the past, Ash meets a young boy who, unbeknownst to him, is actually a younger Professor Kukui. The boy wants to learn about Pokémon moves, and Ash and Torracat demonstrate some of their skills, even receiving a Firium Z from a Totem Trevenant. But the fun suddenly ends when Celebi transports our hero back to the present day. Ash wonders where the boy went, but he’s also happy to see all his Pokémon again!
Plot
ACelebi flies through aTime Ripple and stumbles acrossAsh and his Pokémon while they are in the middle of a practicebattle. Meanwhile, over at the Professors' residence,Professor Burnet showsher husband one of his childhood photos. Kukui is embarrassed by it, admitting that he was only five years old at the time, but Burnet finds it adorable. He asks where she found it and Burnet pulls out an old book she found in a storage closet. Kukui is thrilled to see his old "Book of Pokémon SuperMoves" and reminisces about the times he used to spend watchingHala's battles. He reveals that, as a child, he tried to challenge Hala, but theisland kahuna admitted that he was still too young at the time. Kukui, however, was unfazed and proudly showed off hisFirium Z. Burnet then spots theLitten in the photo, and Kukui explains that Litten was actually his parent's Pokémon.
Meanwhile,Torracat usesFire Blast andLycanroc counters withStone Edge. The resulting explosion whips up a powerful gust that prompts Celebi totime travel in order to escape. However, it also accidentally transports Ash and Torracat into the past along with it. Torracat encounters a Litten and recognizes it as Kukui's Incineroar, after which a younger Kukui emerges from the bushes. Kukui is thrilled to see a Torracat in person and tries to pat it, but Torracat is intimidated and distances itself. As Ash pats Torracat to settle it down, Kukui spots Ash'sZ-Power Ring and asks if he is participating in theisland challenge. Kukui shows off his own Firium Z and Ash admits that he doesn't even have thatZ-Crystal yet. The young Kukui declares himself the winner before asking Ash to show him a fully-fledgedInferno Overdrive. Though initially hesitant, Ash borrows Kukui's Firium Z and aims an attack at a rock. Ash takes a moment to recall howKiawe performs theZ-Move and, to his surprise, his own attempt at it works. The Inferno Overdrive destroys the rock into small fragments, astounding Kukui, who gives Ash the nickname "Move Kahuna". He then challenges Ash to a battle, and Ash accepts.
As a crowd ofwild Pokémon assembles around them, Ash nicknames Kukui "Roarie" because of his signatureIncineroar hat, which Kukui accepts. He orders Litten to useEmber, but Torracat swats away the move with its front paw before usingFlame Charge and following up with Fire Blast. Roarie struggles to think of a counterattack, but Litten is quickly knocked out. He starts crying at his loss, but Litten begins licking his face to cheer him up. Ash walks over and tells Roarie that they can battle another time, but Roarie claims using Fire Blast was unfair. Ash admits that it was Roarie who wanted a full-power battle but says there is always the chance of Roarie winning next time. The advice invigorates Roarie, who tells Litten that they will continue to get strong enough to beat the Move King.
Torracat tugs on Ash's shorts to alert him that they are being watched, but Roarie admits the wild Pokémon are his friends and waves them over. The Pokémon quickly run out of the woods and surround the two Trainers. Shortly after, aTotemTrevenant approaches them. Roarie runs towards Trevenant, referring to it as Elder. As he leaps onto one of Elder's roots, Roarie admits that the Totem Pokémon gifted him with the Firium Z. Elder suddenly sneezes, and Roarie has Litten useScratch to ease its symptoms.
Suddenly, a rainstorm approaches, forcing Elder to manipulate the trees into forming a shelter for all of the Pokémon, Ash, and Roarie. Ash's attention turns to the book in Roarie's hands, and he explains it is his move index. Roarie says seeing moves in-person is much better and asks Ash how Torracat learned Fire Blast. When Ash says he practiced, Roarie is curious about Ash's battling experiences, and Ash explains that before coming toAlola, he traveled to many cities to compete inGyms. Ash adds that a successful Trainer earns aBadge, and with enough Badges, they can compete in the region'sPokémon League. The sound of a battle festival excites Roarie, and he asks what happens after if one wins a League. Ash doesn't answer, instead, he mentions his goal of becoming aPokémon Master. Roarie doesn't understand the concept but declares that he wants to become a Master too.
When the rain recedes, Ash and Roarie thank Elder for its help, but it begins sneezing again and Scratch doesn't work this time. Litten urges Torracat to assist it, and together, the pair climb up into Elder's head canopy. Ash and Roarie also reach the top of Elder's head, where they find a horde ofCutiefly seeking refuge inside. He and Ash lift them out of Elder's shrubbery before using their Fire Pokémon to dry off their wet wings. The Cutiefly fly away and Elder is feeling relieved. Elder produces a Firium Z, and it lands in Ash's hand. Roarie admits that he got his Z-Crystal after he first helped Elder, and as a result, Ash accepts the gift.
Celebi soon flies by and notices an aura radiating from Ash and Torracat. It promptly whisks the pair back to their own timeline, which is not witnessed by Roarie, who is perplexed by the occurrence. Back in his own timeline, Ash finds a tree trunk with overgrown remains in Elder's place. Ash's other Pokémon greet their Trainer, and Ash notices that Lycanroc and the others arecovered in dirt. Rotom then returns after trying to chase down Celebi for a snapshot. The group returns home to see Burnet preparing lunch. Rotom happily shows Burnet its picture of Celebi; she is startled to see theMythical Pokémon, believing it must have been drawn to the forest's natural beauty. Meanwhile, Ash calls Kukui over for lunch. Kukui slots in his childhood photo as a bookmark before closing his move guidebook.
The English dub was released onGoogle Play on October 8, 2019, four days before the episode aired inthe United States. However, the episode was pulled later that day.
The English dub title of this episode is also nearly identical to the official Japanese title for the same movie, along with the Japanese title forTime After Time!.
The plot of the episode also has similar elements to themovie, with Ash meeting a young version of aProfessor and theirFire-type first partner Pokémon due to the actions of aCelebi. The episode also focuses on Kukui's book on Pokémonmoves, as it did withSam's sketchbook to identify the past and present versions of the Professor as one and the same.
This episode marks the first use of the moveIce Ball sinceThe Great Eight Fate!, 680 episodes earlier. This is also the first time the move has been used by a Pokémon outside of theSpheal evolutionary line in theanimated series.
This episode marks the first appearance of a Celebi in the animated series since its cameo inMeloetta's Moonlight Serenade, nearly seven years earlier.
This is one of the rare times in which a Pokémon is shown as deceased, with the Totem Trevenant now resembling an old ordinary tree.
When thewild Pokémon are about to watch Ash and Kukui'sbattle, the threeDiglett have a lighter mound of stone underneath them than in the wide shot before they rush towards the two, where the mound is black.
Dub edits
The Japanese text depictingInferno Overdrive's name is edited out in the dub.
