SM124

Living on the Cutting Edge!

SM124   EP1063 斬れ味バツグン！カミツルギ見参！！ Perfect Sharpness! Kamiturugi has Arrived!!

First broadcast Japan June 2, 2019 United States October 5, 2019

English themes Opening The Challenge of Life Ending

Japanese themes Opening キミの冒険 Ending 心のノート

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 野田泰宏 Yasuhiro Noda Assistant director 野田泰宏 Yasuhiro Noda Animation directors 金振英 Kim Jin-Yeong 黃星元 Hwang Seong-Won 朴唱煥 Park Chang-Hwan 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

Living on the Cutting Edge! (Japanese: 斬れ味バツグン！カミツルギ見参！！ Perfect Sharpness! Kamiturugi has Arrived!!) is the 124th episode of the Sun & Moon series, and the 1,063rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on June 2, 2019 and in the United States on October 5, 2019.

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

Blurb

Strange things are afoot on Melemele Island when all sorts of objects end up mysteriously sliced and diced with incredible precision! Everyone is perplexed as to what could be causing the strange phenomenon, but it’s soon discovered to be the work of Kartana, a newly discovered Ultra Beast that has just emerged from an Ultra Wormhole. The Ultra Guardians are called into action to catch the wayard Ultra Beast, but they soon learn that Kartana’s mastery of the blade might just save the day!

Plot

Overnight, an Ultra Wormhole opens up and a Kartana emerges to look at its new surroundings. The glistening lights of Viren's latest development project, Viren Stadium, instantly attracts the Ultra Beast. As Viren practices for the inauguration ceremony, showing off his gold statue to his henchmen, he orders a fireworks display. Meanwhile, Kartana promptly slices the statue in half and Viren's henchmen scramble to come up with a solution.

The following morning, Aina's Kitchen is preparing for another busy day of customers. At the same time, the radio announces that the Stufful meteor shower will appear overnight. Mallow prepares to slice up some cabbage when her father asks her to check on the pressure cooker. As she is away, Kartana soars into the restaurant and dices up the head of cabbage into thin pieces. Mallow returns to her work bench to find the sliced cabbage, but Abe is unable to explain anything. Meanwhile, Lillie and Snowy are preparing to leave home for Pokémon School, with Lillie bidding Magearna farewell. Outside, Hobbes is neatening up the hedge trees and plans to make them into Pokémon topiary trees. However, Kartana gets in first and cuts the hedges into geometric designs, shocking both Lillie and Hobbes.

Later, Professor Kukui prepares to teach his class how to use moves to cut objects. Rotom is intrigued by the makiwara and admits that it saw one during an episode of "Alolan Detective Laki". Kukui laughs at the Nogawa reference, admitting that makiwara are often used to practice sword skills. Attempts by Ash, Mallow, and Kiawe fail to fully cut the makiwara, and Professor Kukui admits that even sword masters struggle to cut down makiwara. Ash decides to try again with Pikachu, but Kartana suddenly appears and cleanly cuts through the obstacle with ease before disappearing without being noticed. As everyone else is befuddled, Lillie and Mallow recall their strange experiences that morning.

Suddenly, Komala rings the school bell and the students change into their Ultra Guardians uniforms. In the Ultra Guardians' base, Lusamine and her staff show them a video of Kartana slicing through Viren's gold statue the previous night. Lillie instantly suspects that Kartana is an Ultra Beast, but Professor Burnet admits that she hasn't located an Ultra Wormhole. Wicke adds that Ultra Aura was detected for a moment and Faba affirms that the Aether Foundation is continuing its investigation. Lusamine orders the Ultra Guardians to capture Kartana before further damage is done. The still-multiplying horde of Meltan then present the Ultra Guardians with a box of Beast Balls before they fly out of the base aboard their Ride Pokémon.

Ash orders everyone to split up, and they cover the entirety of Melemele Island. Suddenly, Ash overhears a shrill scream, which leads him to the Hau'oli City fruit markets. There, he finds Anela, who is staring in shock at her sliced fruit. Meanwhile, Lillie arrives at Yoko's salon, where Kartana has already trimmed and styled her clients' Furfrou. Elsewhere, Deoxys and Rayquaza are locked in battle. Rayquaza fires a Hyper Beam, but Deoxys transforms into its Defense Forme to protect itself. The deflected attack strikes a meteor instead, sending it towards the planet below.

At Bewear's den, Team Rocket watches Viren on his shopping channel as he advertises the "Bling Bling Gold Safe", a seemingly indestructible safe. Viren orders his Electivire and Pangoro to attack the safe with Thunder Punch and Fire Punch, respectively, to no effect. Just then, Kartana appears and slashes through the safe with ease. Viren recognizes Kartana as the one who destroyed his statue and demands that it own up to its deeds as his Pokémon surround the Ultra Beast. Meowth is in awe of Kartana's power and Jessie declares that it would make the perfect gift for the Boss.

Soon after, Lusamine alerts Ash and the others to the latest Kartana sighting, this time at Viren Tower. However, by the time they reach it, Kartana has already cut its way to freedom. During the pursuit, Lillie suggests leading Kartana to the mountains to avoid more havoc in Hau'oli City. Just then, Kartana prepares to attack the Pokémon School, forcing Ash and Garchomp to intervene. Ash explains no one wants anything cut in his world, which Kartana appears to understand. With the Ultra Beast placated, Lana throws out a Beast Ball, but Kartana slices through it. Realizing Kartana is unwilling to be caught, the Ultra Guardians battle it. Kiawe sends out Marowak and orders it to use Flare Blitz, but the attack misses. Kartana then manages to cut Marowak's Ultra Guardian symbol as a warning.

Just then, Team Rocket arrives inside a Meowth robot. Right after Team Rocket ends their motto, Kartana is revealed to have sliced the robot in half already. Lusamine contacts the Ultra Guardians again, this time to abort the mission because one of the Stufful meteor shower's comets is headed directly at them. Faba issues an evacuation order for everyone within a kilometer of the school. Principal Samson Oak orders the Ultra Guardians to run, but Ash and his classmates declare they will not abandon the school. Team Rocket notices the comet quickly approaching, but Bewear arrives before they can enjoy the cataclysm. Bewear throws the trio into the Meowth robot, crushing the two halves together, and launching the mecha back to the den.

Ash and the other Guardians use their Ride Pokémon to reach the fast approaching comet. The quickly formulate a plan to rapidly cool the comet to make it brittle before crushing it into smaller fragments. Lillie orders Snowy and Altaria to use Powder Snow and Ice Beam respectively and Lana has Dragonair add its own Ice Beam to the freezing combination. Frost begins to encase the comet so Ash and Mallow have Rowlet and Tsareena use Razor Leaf and Magical Leaf. Kiawe and Sophocles follow up with a Slash attack from Charizard and Metang tries a Metal Claw. However the efforts only destroy the ice surrounding the comet and it continues to descend towards the school. Kartana decides to take up the challenge. It soars upwards and it cuts the comet into smaller fragments. The remnants make a landing in the nearby ocean and the resulting splash makes a rainbow appear in the sky overhead. Kartana notices the rainbow and prepares to slice it as well, but Sophocles admits that even it can't cut a rainbow. Lusamine makes an urgent call through to the Ultra Guardians and is instantly relieved to see that they are uninjured. Burnet scolds them for making such a rash move, before adding her gratitude. Everyone's attention soon averts to a newly opened Wormhole, courtesy of Kartana's own sword mastery. Burnet and the others are mildly impressed, and Kartana's display adds more information to the Aether Foundation's Ultra Beast database. As Kartana leaves the Alola region for its Ultra Space home, the Guardians all thank Kartana for its assistance.

Major events

• The wild Meltan are revealed to be multiplying.
• Ash and his classmates go on their eighth Ultra Guardians mission.
• The Ultra Guardians attempt to catch a Kartana, but fail as it slices the Beast Ball to pieces.
• Kartana opens itself its own Ultra Wormhole, allowing it to return home.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Kartana

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Lana
• Kiawe
• Lillie
• Sophocles
• Mallow
• Jessie
• James
• Professor Kukui
• Samson Oak
• Lusamine
• Wicke
• Professor Burnet
• Faba
• Hobbes
• Abe
• Anela
• Laki (flashback)
• Viren
• Viren's henchmen
• Yoko
• Nogawa (flashback)
• Female announcer

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Kartana (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)
• Eevee (Lana's; Sandy)
• Charizard (Kiawe's; Ride Pokémon)
• Turtonator (Kiawe's)
• Marowak (Kiawe's; Alola Form)
• Vulpix (Lillie's; Alola Form; Snowy)
• Togedemaru (Sophocles's)
• Vikavolt (Sophocles's)
• Tsareena (Mallow's)
• Komala (Samson Oak's)
• Clefable (Lusamine's)
• Smeargle (Laki's; flashback)
• Electivire (Viren's)
• Pangoro (Viren's)
• Garchomp (Ride Pokémon)
• Metang (Ride Pokémon)
• Flygon (Ride Pokémon)
• Dragonair (Ride Pokémon)
• Altaria (Ride Pokémon)
• Bewear (anime)
• Stufful (anime)
• Meltan (anime; multiple)
• Shaymin (anime)
• Exeggutor (Alola Form; multiple)
• Magearna (anime)
• Kartana (anime; debut)
• Deoxys (Normal and Defense Forme)
• Rayquaza
• Furfrou (×3)

Trivia

• Poké Problem: The Ultra Beast that appears in today's episode is...?
  • Host: Professor Burnet
  • Choices: Kartana, Buzzwole, Celesteela, Guzzlord
  • Answer: Kartana
• As of this episode, Melmetal is the only Generation VII Pokémon that has yet to make an appearance in the anime.
• Kartana constantly repeats random fragments of the phrase "また、つまらぬものを斬ってしまった" ("Once again, I have cut a worthless object") in reverse. This phrase is often said by samurai in old samurai movies, as well as by Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a character from the manga and anime series Lupin the Third.
  • Its voice actor, Daisuke Namikawa, is also the same voice actor for Goemon Ishikawa XIII as of 2011.
  • In addition, the animation in Team Rocket's motto is in the same style as Lupin the Third.
• This episode features the most Mythical Pokémon out of any anime episode to date, with four.
• This episode marks the first appearance of a Deoxys in the anime since PK21, nearly nine years earlier.
• Ash, Professor Kukui, and Rowlet narrate the preview for the next episode.
• Kartana breaks the fourth wall twice, first when it slices the background at the end of Team Rocket's motto, and then when it cuts a hole and appears from the black background at the end of the episode.
• The English dub title is a play on the phrase "living on the edge".

Errors

• In the first preview for this episode, when Kiawe is shown riding on his Charizard after Kartana, he is seen in his normal clothes rather than his Ultra Guardian uniform. This is corrected in the actual episode.
• Sophocles's Vikavolt is shown with its Ultra Guardian symbol before the animation of the symbols appearing starts.
• After the Ultra Guardians say "Ultroger", Primarina's bow is colored red instead of yellow.

• 

  Primarina's bow error

Dub edits

In other languages

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