The Fiery Road to Mastership! (Japanese: VSシロナ！アイリス、ドラゴンマスターへの道！！VS Shirona! Iris's Road to Dragon Master!!) is the 117th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,202nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 15, 2022, in Canada on December 10, 2022, in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2023, in South Africa on January 31, 2023, and in the United States on February 24, 2023.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Blurb
The third match of the Masters Eight Tournament is Sinnoh Champion Cynthia versus Unova Champion Iris. They already know each other well—Cynthia has been a helpful mentor to Iris for some time. The first win goes to Iris and Excadrill, using a powerful Horn Drill move on Cynthia’s Gastrodon. That’s followed by a victory for Cynthia’s Milotic, giving both sides one loss! Iris brings out Dragonite, who is defeated, so she calls on Haxorus, who eliminates Milotic. That leaves both sides with one Pokémon each! The last bout is Garchomp versus Haxorus, and the Dragon-type matchup is ferocious. But Mega Garchomp proves too much for Haxorus, and Cynthia wins!
At Dan's signal, the battle begins. Cynthia makes the first move by having her Gastrodon use Rain Dance to summon a rainstorm. Excadrill dashes through the rain with Metal Claw, but Gastrodon takes the hit without effort. Cynthia acknowledges Iris's improvement, while Iris thanks Cynthia for the advice she gave her the last time they battled, which helped her grow and become Unova's Champion, and now, she intends to beat Cynthia while bearing that title. Gastrodon attacks with Muddy Water, which causes Excadrill's Focus Blast to fail and deals a heavy blow on him. Cynthia makes it clear that on this stage, both of them are just Pokémon Trainers aiming for the top, and she intends to defeat Iris to test her own potential and move forward. Iris has Excadrill use Drill Run, but Gastrodon's Acid Armor boosts its Defense so that the blow barely fazes it before it uses a rain-boosted Muddy Water again. Caught in the middle of the vicious attack, Excadrill's situation is looking dire, so Iris decides to put all of her faith in one attack and orders a Horn Drill. The move connects, dealing a one-hit knockout and defeating Gastrodon just as the rain fades away. Further away, Team Rocket tries to take credit of Iris's success by saying it's her training with them that made her strong.
After recalling Gastrodon, Cynthia calls out Milotic as her second Pokémon. Iris orders a Drill Run, but Milotic effortlessly avoids it and strikes back with Hydro Pump, defeating Excadrill. For her own second Pokémon, Iris chooses Dragonite, whom Cynthia is happy to see again. Dragonite connects with a Thunder Punch to deal supereffectivedamage. Milotic endures the hit and retaliates with Disarming Voice, a Fairy move that causes Dragonite to stumble. While Dragonite is disoriented, Milotic wraps its body around him and uses Iron Head, defeating him and leaving Iris with just one Pokémon. For her final Pokémon, Iris calls out her ace and the Pokémon that won her her Champion title, Haxorus. Milotic uses Disarming Voice again, but Haxorus breaks it apart with Psycho Cut. A Hydro Pump from Milotic, in turn, is countered by a Breaking Swipe, which also makes contact with Milotic itself, sending it flying and taking it out of the fight.
Haxorus facing Garchomp
Unconcerned, Cynthia calls forth her own ace and the Pokémon that has won countless battles, Garchomp. She orders a Draco Meteor shower, to which Iris responds by ordering an Outrage attack. Powered by his attack, Haxorus cleaves his way through the meteor shower and exchanges some blows with Garchomp before the side effect of Outrage leaves him confused. Iris is prepared for this, however, and Haxorus quickly breaks out of the confusion by hitting his head on the ground. Impressed by Iris's performance, Cynthia pulls out a lipstick and reveals a Key Stone embedded in it, Mega Evolving her partner. In the locker room, Alain acknowledges that, despite this power-up, Haxorus also has a lot of potential, so the match could still go either way.
Mega Garchomp attacks with Dragon Claw, which Haxorus meets with a series of Psycho Cuts. Using this strategy, Iris has Garchomp lured into close-range combat, before unleashing a point-blank Dragon Pulse at her foe, scoring a direct hit. Feeling that the next hit will decide the match, Iris communicates with Haxorus on a spiritual level and asks him to put everything into his next attack. Cynthia, likewise, decides to finish the match with her next attack and orders a Draco Meteor. As the meteors start raining down again, Haxorus fires a Dragon Pulse, which splits up and starts taking down the falling rocks. Unfortunately, the meteors are too large in numbers, and many of them still hit the ground, creating a big cloud of dust. When the cloud clears, both Dragon Pokémon stare down at each other, until Haxorus falls down in defeat. Dan rules Haxorus unable to battle and declares Cynthia the winner. Both Trainers thank their respective partners and each other for an unforgettable battle. While Cynthia's advancement into the semifinals is made official, Ash silently leaves his seat.
Backstage, Ash meets Iris as she walks down the corridor. Iris tries to maintain a cheerful facade and compliment Cynthia's skills, but ends up breaking into tears as Goh arrives by Ash's side. After crying for a moment, Iris wipes the tears from her eyes and says she'll join Goh in rooting for Ash, with Goh being happy to accept her company. Thanking his friends for their support, Ash heads to the battlefield to start his match against Steven, wearing his Z-Power Ring, Dynamax Band, and Mega Glove.
This episode features the presence of five of Ash's main rivals in Pokémon the Series (Paul, Trip, Stephan, Alain, and Leon), the highest amount in any episode up to this point. The only ones not to appear in this episode were Gary Oak and Gladion.
In addition, as of this episode, every regional Champion, current or former, has appeared during this series as well.
Iris and Cynthia's battle in All for the Love of Meloetta! is featured as a flashback, having been redrawn to match the style introduced in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
This episode marks the first time at least one of Cynthia's Pokémon is defeated in an onscreen battle.
During the episode, Morpeko is occasionally seen eating food items related to various characters or elements in the episode by the regions they were introduced in: Casteliacones come from Unova, as does Iris; Old Gateau was introduced in Sinnoh, just like Cynthia; and both Shalour Sables and Mega Evolution originate from Kalos.
The Japanese title for this episode refers to the title for the second special episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
Errors
When Jessie, James, and Meowth recognize Iris, Wobbuffet also responds despite not having met her due to being absent from Jessie's party during Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
