SM141

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Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

SM142 : A Full Battle Bounty! →

Exhibition Unmasked!

SM141   EP1080 ファイナルバトル！サトシ対ククイ！！ Final Battle! Satoshi VS Kukui!!

First broadcast Japan September 29, 2019 United States February 1, 2020

English themes Opening The Challenge of Life Ending

Japanese themes Opening キミの冒険 Ending タイプ：ワイルド

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard でんさおり Saori Den Assistant director でんさおり Saori Den Animation directors 柳原好貴 Yoshitaka Yanagihara 酒井裕未 Hiromi Sakai Additional credits

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

Exhibition Unmasked! (Japanese: ファイナルバトル！サトシ対ククイ！！ Final Battle! Satoshi VS Kukui!!) is the 141st episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,080th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 29, 2019 and in the United States on February 1, 2020.

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

Blurb

The Masked Royal is finally unmasked—he’s Professor Kukui! It’s time for the Alola Pokémon League’s exhibition match, and Ash is more excited than ever to battle his mentor in a six-versus-six Full Battle. First up are Torracat and Incineroar, and when Incineroar’s Blast Burn attack pelts Torracat with overwhelming flames, Torracat surprises everyone by absorbing the fire into its own body! But the heat becomes too much for Torracat, and it retreats from battle for the time being. Ash then sends out Lycanroc, who uses a shard from its Stone Edge attack to land a blow on Incineroar. Professor Kukui responds by sending out Braviary—what will happen next?

Plot

Following the shocking revelation that Professor Kukui is the Masked Royal, Ash is momentarily stunned, but is nevertheless excited that he will battle Kukui in the exhibition match tomorrow. Kukui promises to have the battlefield set up for tomorrow and requests a Full Battle, prompting Ash to add Naganadel to his team for a full set of six. Kukui urges Ash to give it his all, finishing off with his signature Masked Royal pose. Meanwhile, Tapu Koko observes the scene from above the Manalo Stadium.

The next day, Caster welcomes the gathered spectators to the long-anticipated exhibition clash between Alola's first Champion Ash versus the Masked Royal, making his true identity of Professor Kukui now public knowledge. In the lead-up, Ash has Melmetal perfect its Double Iron Bash technique by spinning around rapidly. Melmetal launches both of its fists into a tree, emitting a lot of force. Rotom offers its analysis, reporting that Melmetal's speed and force have vastly improved. Ash turns his attention to Torracat and hypes it up for a battle and yet another chance for it to showcase its strengths against Professor Kukui's Incineroar. Meanwhile, Kukui and Incineroar are meditating to sharpen their focuses. Burnet confronts her husband, admitting that she is annoyed that as a fan, she should have realized that Kukui was the Masked Royal. She wishes him all the best regardless and calls for him to give everyone a great show.

The Manalo Stadium erupts with cheers as Ash and Kukui make their way onto the battlefield. Hala prepares to referee the match, stating that the battle will be a six-on-six match, with substitutions permitted. Reminding that the battle will be over when all Pokémon on one side are defeated, Hala expects a great battle from both fighters. Ash and Kukui shake hands, then take their positions. Caster calls for everyone to turn their attention to the overhead screen, which will keep track of the battle’s progression.

Pikachu is raring to go, but Ash decides to call Torracat onto the field first, much to Pikachu's disappointment. Kukui predicts the selection, so he sends out Torracat's rival, Incineroar. Torracat's bell starts ringing, making clear that it is fired up for the round. Hala properly starts the battle, and Ash has Torracat rush forward with a Flame Charge. Incineroar bolsters its strength with Bulk Up and takes the brunt, sending Torracat backward. Torracat sprints into action with another Flame Charge, and its increased speed helps it dodge a retaliatory Darkest Lariat. With Incineroar's back turned, Torracat leaps in for a Fire Fang, though it gets knocked away by Incineroar. Torracat recovers and encircles Incineroar with an increasingly fast Flame Charge. However, a Throat Chop knocks Torracat away and finally breaks the ring of fire. Incineroar rushes to attack its opponent again, but Torracat lashes it with a Fire Blast.

Kukui is fully aware of Ash's speed-increasing strategy and declares that Incineroar has no blind spots because of its Battle Royal training. Kukui orders Incineroar to use Blast Burn. As the fireball approaches, Torracat's bell starts to chime and it runs directly into the attack. Ash realizes Torracat's plan is to absorb the power from the Blast Burn, so he has Torracat carry out its plan. Surprisingly, Torracat manages to absorb the entire Blast Burn into its bell, much to everyone else's surprise. Torracat bides its time to charge up the flame energy swirling through its body. Ash calls for Torracat to launch its own impromptu attack, "Blast Torracat", but the strategy backfires as smoke begins to billow from Torracat's bell. Torracat struggles with the searing pain and exhaustion, so Ash calls it back to its Poké Ball to recover.

Kukui decides to keep Incineroar on the field, so Ash sends out Lycanroc. With Incineroar still recharging from using Blast Burn, Lycanroc lands a direct hit on it with Accelerock. Lycanroc instantly follows up with Stone Edge, but at that moment, Incineroar finishes recharging and spins into action with Darkest Lariat, breaking the oncoming attack into shards. Kukui is startled as Ash orders Lycanroc to grab one of the Stone Edge shards with its jaws. Incineroar counters with a Throat Chop, but Lycanroc still emerges unscathed and has managed to injure Incineroar's arm with the pointed stone. At this, Kukui switches Incineroar out for his Braviary. Ash is confident Lycanroc can continue, so he keeps it on the field. Braviary unleashes a Rock Slide, with Ash and Lycanroc bracing themselves for the incoming attack.

Major events

Ash facing Kukui

• Professor Kukui's identity as the Masked Royal becomes public knowledge.
• Ash and Professor Kukui decide to make their exhibition match a Full Battle.
• Naganadel rejoins Ash's party.
• Ash begins his exhibition match against Professor Kukui.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series, please see the timeline page.

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Lana
• Kiawe
• Lillie
• Sophocles
• Mallow
• Professor Oak
• Delia
• Professor Kukui
• Professor Burnet
• Gladion
• Lusamine
• Wicke
• Faba
• Hala
• Olivia
• Nanu
• Hapu
• Hau
• Caster
• Trainers
• Crowd

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Naganadel

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Rotom (Rotom Pokédex)
• Rowlet (Ash's)
• Lycanroc (Ash's; Dusk Form)
• Litten (Ash's; flashback)
• Torracat (Ash's)
• Naganadel (Ash's; rejoins)
• Melmetal (Ash's)
• Primarina (Lana's)
• Eevee (Lana's; Sandy)
• Charizard (Kiawe's; Ride Pokémon)
• Turtonator (Kiawe's)
• Marowak (Kiawe's; Alolan form)
• Vulpix (Lillie's; Alolan form; Snowy)
• Togedemaru (Sophocles's)
• Charjabug (Sophocles's; flashback)
• Vikavolt (Sophocles's)
• Tsareena (Mallow's)
• Mr. Mime (Delia's; Mimey)
• Litten (Professor Kukui's; flashback)
• Incineroar (Professor Kukui's)
• Braviary (Professor Kukui's)
• Umbreon (Gladion's)
• Decidueye (Hau's)
• Bounsweet (Trainers'; ×2)
• Jigglypuff (Trainer's)
• Growlithe (Trainer's)
• Buneary (Trainer's)
• Diglett (Trainers'; Alolan form; ×2)
• Shellder (Trainer's)
• Sandygast (Trainer's)
• Drifloon (Trainer's)
• Staryu (Trainer's)
• Bagon (Trainer's)
• Pichu (Trainers'; ×2)
• Elekid (Trainers'; ×2)
• Poliwag (Trainer's)
• Munchlax (Trainer's)
• Fletchling (Trainer's)
• Slowpoke (Trainers'; ×2)
• Stufful (Trainer's)
• Kirlia (Trainer's)
• Espeon (Trainer's)
• Politoed (Trainer's)
• Machop (Trainer's)
• Psyduck (Trainers'; ×2)
• Herdier (Trainer's)
• Caterpie (Trainer's)
• Goomy (Trainer's)
• Lillipup (Trainer's)
• Castform (Trainer's)
• Charjabug (Trainer's)
• Spinda (Trainer's)
• Zorua (Trainer's)
• Magnemite (Trainer's)
• Tapu Koko (anime)
• Tapu Lele (anime)
• Tapu Bulu (anime)
• Tapu Fini (anime)
• Shaymin (anime)
• Fletchling
• Wingull (×3)

Trivia

• Poké Problem: What Pokémon does Professor Kukui send out first in today's episode?
  • Host: Kiawe
  • Choices: Lucario, Incineroar, Trevenant, Braviary
  • Answer: Incineroar
• Although SM140 and SM142's Japanese titles were fully announced on September 5, 2019, this episode's Japanese title was not publicly unveiled until September 21, over two weeks later. This was done to avoid spoiling the fact that Ash would win the Manalo Conference.
• With this episode, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon becomes the first series to surpass the preceding series in terms of total episode count.
• This episode marks the first appearance of a Zorua in the anime since its cameo in The Island of Illusions!, 296 episodes ago.
• Ash's strategy of having Lycanroc grab a piece of its Stone Edge and use it to attack is similar to the strategy he used with his Krokorok in Caution: Icy Battle Conditions!. Both episodes where this strategy was used were written by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This episode was followed by a preview for Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
• Professor Burnet and Faba narrate the preview for the next episode.
• Ash, Professor Kukui and Naganadel read the Who's That Pokémon? segment in the English dub.

Errors

The Incineroar error

• In the original version, when Incineroar is sent out, the black stripes on its torso are miscolored red. This error is fixed in the dub.
• Faba is surprised by the revelation of Kukui being the Masked Royal, despite already knowing by this point.

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	最終對戰，小智對戰庫庫伊
	Mandarin	最終對戰！小智VS庫庫伊！！
Danish		Masken falder!
Dutch		Een vriendschappelijke match zonder masker!
Finnish		Näytösottelu ilman naamiota!
German		Ganz ohne Maske!
Hebrew		!המסכה יורדת
Italian		Amichevole a viso aperto!
Korean		파이널 배틀! 지우VS쿠쿠이!!
Polish		Zdemaskowany!
Brazilian Portuguese		Exibição desmascarada!
Russian		Выставочный бой без маски!
Latin American Spanish		¡Exhibición desenmascarada!
Turkish		Maskesiz Gösteri!

← SM140 : Z-Move Showdown!

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

SM142 : A Full Battle Bounty! →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.