The Battlefield of Truth and Love! (Japanese: ムサシVSコジロウ！愛と真実のバトルフィールド！！Musashi VS Kojirō! Battlefield of Truth and Love!!) is the 131st episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,070th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 21, 2019 and in the United States on November 23, 2019.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Blurb
As the Alola Pokémon League continues, it’s time to decide on four more competitors to move to the next round! First up is Sophocles and Vikavolt against Mina and Ribombee, and while Ribombee is powerful, it’s no match for Vikavolt’s Signal Beam! Then, it’s a Team Rocket showdown as James and Mareanie take on Jessie and Wobbuffet. The match is close, but James decides to give it his all—and wins! After that, Kiawe and Marowak defeat Acerola and Rapooh in a ghostly clash, and Lillie and Snowy face off against Gladion and Umbreon. Lillie’s skills are impressive, but Gladion still pulls off the win. On to the next round!
Plot
While his friends offer him support, Sophocles nervously waits for his match against Mina to start. Following Ash's suggestion, Sophocles settles down after taking some deep breaths. Lillie asks her older brother Gladion to not hold back during their match, declaring that she wants to demonstrate Snowy's full power, and Gladion agrees. Meanwhile, Jessie imagines her Manalo Conference victory speech while James dozes off, much to her displeasure.
Once Sophocles's match begins, his Vikavolt pursues Mina's Ribombee through the sky. Vikavolt uses Zap Cannon, but Ribombee easily dodges it. After a quick dive and change of direction, Ribombee throws a series of Pollen Puffs and strikes Vikavolt several times. After the bombardment, Ribombee tosses Vikavolt into the battlefield with Psychic. Vikavolt quickly recovers and uses another Zap Cannon, but Ribombee again dodges it. In its moment of disorientation, Vikavolt zips behind and grabs a hold of Ribombee with its mandibles. With its opponent immobilized, Vikavolt defeats it with a close-range Signal Beam. Nanu makes the official ruling and declares Sophocles the winner.
Jessie facing James
Jessie and James's match begins, with them going by "Jessina" and "Jamesio", respectively. Once Nanu signals for the sixth match to begin, James's Mareanie uses Spike Cannon, but WobbuffetCounters the move. James orders Mareanie to use Sludge Bomb, but Wobbuffet simply reflects the attack back with Mirror Coat. Wobbuffet's defenses continue to prevent any damage from being inflicted on him, and the battle goes nowhere. James realizes that the match will continue on indefinitely like this, so he whispers to Mareanie to pretend to be incapacitated. However, when Mareanie turns to him, James looks into her eyes and realizes that she wants to battle properly for him. He then decides to take the battle just as seriously and orders Mareanie to use Spike Cannon. Wobbuffet manages to use Counter in time, but Mareanie's continued onslaught of attacks eventually causes the defensive barrier to weaken. In a massive explosion, Wobbuffet is thrown into the air and knocked out, giving James the win, much to Jessie's dismay.
Kiawe facing Acerola
Next, Kiawe and Acerola call out their Pokémon, Marowak and Rapooh, respectively. Acerola orders Rapooh to use Shadow Ball, though the attack is destroyed by Marowak's Bonemerang. Rapooh then uses Shadow Punch, but Marowak manages to block it with Shadow Bone. Rapooh retaliates with another Shadow Punch, which strikes Marowak, who is then immobilized by Rapooh's Cursed BodyAbility. Acerola orders Rapooh to use Thief, and it promptly steals Marowak's bone club, instantly limiting Marowak's move-set. Rapooh takes the opportunity to lash Marowak with a Shadow Ball-Shadow Punch combination. As Rapooh readies another Shadow Punch, Marowak is freed from Cursed Body and slams into its opponent with Iron Head. The impact winds Rapooh, who then absorbs Marowak into its body. However, Marowak emerges from Rapooh's body with its bone club in hand. Acerola orders another Shadow Ball, but Marowak retaliates, batting the Shadow Ball back at Rapooh before striking it with Shadow Bone, defeating it and allowing Kiawe to advance to the next round.
Lillie facing Gladion
Caster announces the next battle between Gladion and Lillie. Lillie has Snowy summon Hail, instantly changing the battle conditions to suit Snowy's Icetype. Gladion quickly orders Umbreon to attack with Dark Pulse, though Snowy is uninjured as it hides amongst the growing frost. Gladion is mildly impressed by Snowy's Snow CloakAbility, admitting that Lillie is growing as a Trainer. He orders Umbreon to use Shadow Ball, which smashes through Snowy's Aurora Veil and strikes its target. As the hail finally clears up, Lillie decides to use her Z-Move, and Snowy successfully lashes Umbreon with Subzero Slammer. Umbreon, however, is mostly unscathed and knocks Snowy out with a supereffectiveIron Tail. As Lillie comforts Snowy in her arms, Hapu declares Gladion is the winner. Despite the outcome, Lusamine expresses pride in her children, admitting that she wished her husband Mohn could be there to watch.
That night, the next match-ups are revealed on the Pokémon Center screen: Gladion and Jamesio, Ash and Hau, Kiawe and Sophocles, and Guzma and Lana. Hau is particularly excited by his match-up, with his Decidueye and Ash's Rowlet exchanging a series of fighting words. Soon after, Rowlet flies out of the Pokémon Center to call for its family. It notices a wildWingull passing by and promptly orders it to deliver the message.
Major events
The match-ups of the second round
Sophocles defeats Mina, advancing to the second round.
James defeats Jessie, advancing to the second round.
Rapooh's Cursed Body immobilizes Marowak after Rapooh hits it with Shadow Punch. This is not how said Ability works in the games; it can only activate after its user has been hit by an opponent with a move that makes contact, at which point said move becomes temporarily disabled.
