SM133

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Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

SM134 : The Road to the Semifinals! →

Battling on the Wing!

SM133   EP1072 鳥上決戦！ブレイブバードVSゴッドバード！！ Bird Battle! Brave Bird VS God Bird!!

First broadcast Japan August 4, 2019 United States December 7, 2019

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 藤咲淳一 Jun'ichi Fujisaku Storyboard 中田誠 Makoto Nakata Assistant director 中田誠 Makoto Nakata Animation directors 高橋優 Yū Takahashi 八田木瀧 Taki Yatagi No additional credits are available at this time.

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

Battling on the Wing! (Japanese: 鳥上決戦！ブレイブバードVSゴッドバード！！ Bird Battle! Brave Bird VS God Bird!!) is the 133rd episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,072nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on August 4, 2019 and in the United States on December 7, 2019.

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

Blurb

The Alola Pokémon League quarterfinals continue at a lightning pace, and Ash and Rowlet are in the midst of their battle with Hau and Decidueye. The attacks fly furiously—just like the competitors themselves—until it appears that Rowlet is unable to battle. But Hala notices that Rowlet hasn’t lost yet…it’s actually just sleeping! The battle restarts, and after mastering a new move, Rowlet ends up victorious! Then, Kiawe and Charizard face off against Sophocles and Vikavolt, and the latter two successfully pull off a Z-Move—will Charizard be able to escape the devastating attack?

Plot

After Nanu takes Rowlet's cloak away from the battlefield, Ash orders Rowlet to fly over Decidueye. Decidueye speeds past it before approaching with Leaf Blade, which Rowlet narrowly evades. Hau orders Decidueye to follow up with Razor Leaf, but Rowlet soars through the oncoming leaves and stops behind Decidueye. Rowlet uses Seed Bomb, but Decidueye again counters the attack with Leaf Blade. The pair exchanges Razor Leaf attacks, but they cancel each other out. As Ash orders Rowlet to fly to the right, Kiawe declares Ash is setting up for a single knockout with Brave Bird, and Lana expresses her concern about potential recoil damage.

As Rowlet approaches, Decidueye kicks it aside several times, effectively blocking any attempt to attack. Rowlet manages to evade two barrages of Razor Leaves, but is knocked onto the field by a direct Leaf Blade. Hau then has Decidueye strike Rowlet with Spirit Shackle, immobilizing its opponent. Afterwards, Decidueye uses Leaf Blade and slams Rowlet directly into the wall. Rowlet, however, is still able to fight despite feeling dizzy after having finally mastered Feather Dance, a tactic that limits the amount of damage done. Decidueye uses Razor Leaf, but Rowlet flies up and prepares to use Brave Bird. Decidueye uses Sky Attack and subsequently collides with Rowlet. When the dust clears, both sides appear motionless on the battlefield. While Decidueye stands up moments after, Rowlet is still on the ground. Since Rowlet isn't moving, Nanu declares Hau the winner, but suddenly, Hala reveals his objection to Nanu's verdict, revealing it has actually not fainted. At that moment, Rowlet rolls over, revealing itself to be merely asleep.

Ash is unimpressed and orders Rowlet to wake up so they can finish the match. Rowlet wakes up, to which Hau admits that Rowlet is always catching him off guard. Hau declares that he and Decidueye came to defeat him. Ash thanks Hau, while Nanu apologizes to Ash for the bad judgment, before giving the signal for the battle to resume. Rowlet flies up and uses Razor Leaf, to which Decidueye counters with the same move. After the moves collide, Rowlet uses Seed Bomb, which gets reflected by Leaf Blade. As Rowlet tries to pick up its Everstone, Decidueye uses Spirit Shackle to bind Rowlet to the field. Decidueye follows up with a Sky Attack, while Ash and Toucannon's flock flap their arms and wings to prompt Rowlet to use Feather Dance. Rowlet follows through and Decidueye's attack instead strikes the feathers, while Rowlet is unharmed. Hau realizes Rowlet is in the air above, but Decidueye is then knocked out by Rowlet's direct Brave Bird attack. Nanu checks on Decidueye before announcing that Ash and Rowlet have won the round. Ash's supporters and other Pokémon cheer him on while Meltan wanders off to a rooftop and begins spinning its hex nut to signal to its friends. Afterwards, Hau congratulates Ash and Rowlet on the victory. Ash replies that Decidueye was a strong opponent. Hau admits his defeat and requests a battle with Ash someday, and the pair shake hands on it. As Hau makes his way backstage, Hala approaches his grandson and commends him on his efforts. Hau bursts into tears and accepts a hug from his grandfather.

Team Rocket reopen their food van for the influx of orders, and they are soon swamped with hungry customers. Meanwhile at Bewear's den, Bewear and Stufful exit their hot spring. The pair are greeted by a mecha Oranguru, who hands them a fruit drink to enjoy. After a quick sip, Bewear and Stufful return to relaxing in the water.

Backstage at the Manalo Stadium, Kiawe removes the saddle from Charizard, while Sophocles calls for his attention. Sophocles admits he believed there was no way to defeat Kiawe being the first to get a Z-Ring and Kiawe's grandfather being an island kahuna. However, through battles, Sophocles admits he has begun to enjoy battling. In a swell of confidence, Sophocles swears he won't lose, and Kiawe supports his determination. The conversation is interrupted as an announcement calls the pair to the battlefield. As Caster introduces the two boys as fellow Pokémon School students and rivals, Ash rushes to join the girls in the sidelines to watch the clash between Kiawe and Sophocles begin. As Ash's Pokémon take the opportunity to greet their Trainer, Ash realizes Meltan is missing. Rotom points at the tower, where Meltan is spinning its nut, ever since Ash's battle has ended.

Hala starts the battle between Kiawe and Charizard against Sophocles and his Vikavolt. Charizard uses Flamethrower, to which Vikavolt dodges. Charizard flies in for a Fire Punch, though Sophocles has Vikavolt speed by and follow up with a barrage of String Shots. Charizard, however, dodges all of the sticky threads. Sophocles realizes his timing must have been off, but nonetheless he urges his Vikavolt to continue on. Charizard tries another Fire Punch, but it is forced to twist around to evade Vikavolt's oncoming Signal Beam. Kiawe has Charizard fly upwards and prepare to launch an Aerial Ace. Much to Kiawe's surprise, Vikavolt switches to Zap Cannon and lands a direct hit on Charizard, leaving the Flame Pokémon paralyzed. Sophocles sees an opening in this and wields his Z-Ring, having Vikavolt entangle Charizard in sticky threads for a powerful Savage Spin-Out attack.

Major events

Kiawe facing Sophocles

• Ash's Rowlet masters Feather Dance.
• Ash wins his battle against Hau, advancing to the semifinals.
• Ash's Meltan starts calling for its fellow Meltan to meet up with it.
• Kiawe and Sophocles begin their second round battle.

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

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

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

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Pikipek (US and international), Trumbeak (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Rotom (Rotom Pokédex)
• Rowlet (Ash's)
• Lycanroc (Ash's; Dusk Form)
• Torracat (Ash's)
• Meltan (Ash's)
• Primarina (Lana's)
• Charizard (Kiawe's; Ride Pokémon)
• Vikavolt (Sophocles's)
• Tsareena (Mallow's)
• Munchlax (Professor Burnet's)
• Decidueye (Hau's)
• Ditto (Trainer's)
• Cleffa (Trainer's)
• Chansey (Trainer's)
• Politoed (Trainer's)
• Espeon (Trainer's)
• Delibird (Trainer's)
• Dratini (Trainer's)
• Slowpoke (Trainers'; ×2)
• Azumarill (Trainer's)
• Snubbull (Trainer's)
• Smeargle (Trainer's)
• Jigglypuff (Trainer's)
• Herdier (Trainers'; ×2)
• Vaporeon (Trainer's)
• Oricorio (Trainer's; Pom-Pom Style)
• Brionne (Trainer's)
• Abra (Trainer's)
• Cyndaquil (Trainer's)
• Psyduck (Trainer's)
• Bounsweet (Trainer's)
• Clefairy (Trainer's)
• Bewear (anime)
• Pikipek (anime; ×4)
• Trumbeak (anime)
• Toucannon (anime)
• Stufful (anime)
• Shaymin (anime)

Trivia

• Poké Problem: What will the result be in Ash and Hau's match in today's episode?
  • Host: Lillie
  • Choices: Ash wins, a draw, Hau wins, a cancellation due to rain
  • Answer: Ash wins
• This is the only episode in which Sophocles appears but his Togedemaru does not.
• This episode marks the first appearance of a Delibird in the main series since Memories are Made of Bliss!, 415 episodes earlier.
• The Nurse Joys of all four Alolan islands narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

• In the Polish dub, "Powietrzny As" is called "Podniebny As".

Dub edits

• The Japanese text depicting Savage Spin-Out's name is edited out.

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	鳥之決戰，勇鳥猛攻對戰神鳥猛擊
	Mandarin	鳥之決戰！勇鳥猛攻VS神鳥猛擊！！
Danish		En Kamp På Vinger!
Dutch		Een bevlogen gevecht!
Finnish		Ottelu kohoaa siiville!
German		Ein beschwingter Kampf!
Hebrew		!נלחמים בתעופה
Italian		Sulle ali della vittoria!
Korean		공중에서의 결전! 브레이브버드 VS 불새!!
Polish		Uskrzydlona bitwa!
Brazilian Portuguese		Batalhando nas alturas!
Russian		Битва в четыре крыла!
Latin American Spanish		¡Batalla aérea!
Turkish		Havada Maç!

← SM132 : Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Strategy!

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

SM134 : The Road to the Semifinals! →

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