|
Distant Blue Sky! is the fifth special episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series (the first four special episodes are part of Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles). It first aired in Japan on December 23, 2022, and in North America on September 8, 2023. This special takes place in the alternate continuity from Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, and Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle.
Plot[]
Ash Ketchum and Pikachu are doing what they love as they travel to different places. But when Ash’s mom asks to meet at a nearby Pokémon Center, he heads out right away—his dad will be there, too! On the way, Ash befriends a boy named Sunny, who eventually leads him to a berry patch near a house. There, Ash meets a man and woman who reveal that Sunny is their son who passed away a year ago. Ash returns Sunny’s hat to them, then helps Sunny pet Pikachu before they part ways. At the Pokémon Center, Ash’s dad has already departed, but he left Ash a present—a brand-new hat.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the fourth time that Ash's father has been mentioned in the anime.
- Unsho Ishizuka was added to the credits for this episode, with archived audio of his voice being used for the narrator.
- A Mankey stealing a hat from Sunny and Ash Ketchum is a reference to Ash getting his hat stolen from a Mankey in Primeape Goes Bananas.
- Ash also mentions this event with Mankey during the episode, which means that part of the events in said episode also happened in this timeline.
- Ash receives a new hat from Delia Ketchum at the end of this special, which is the same Pokémon League Expo hat that Ash wore in the original series.
- This is the last episode/special where James Carter Cathcart is the script adapter and a voice actor for the English dub, as he opted to retire from the anime following his diagnosis of cancer. Distant Blue Sky! is also marked Cathcart's final credited Nintendo role before his death in 2025.
- This episode does not have a title card segment, with the episode title instead appearing as part of the logo at the end of the episode.
- The English dub instead displays only the Pokémon logo, with the episode title appearing only in episode listings and television programming guides.
- Jessie's Wobbuffet is the only Pokémon introduced after the first generation to be featured in this special.
External links[]
- Distant Blue Sky! at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki
- Distant Blue Sky! at the Internet Movie Database