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Pokémon Anime Daily: Sun & Moon Episode 41 Summary/Review

Ash, Kiawe and Sophocles enter a Charjabug race! Can they take out the top spot in the race?

This week’s episode sees Ash, Kiawe and Sophocles entering a Charjabug race.

The episode opens with the boys watching television and seeing an advertisement for the upcoming Charjabug race. This is a new concept to Kiawe and Ash, but Sophocles has watched them before. Excited by the prospect of a new challenge, the three decide to enter the upcoming Charjabug race.

Sophocles explains that each member of the team of three has a different role. The Mechanic performs maintenance on the vehicle and switches tyres between portions of the course depending on the terrain. The Support Runner runs alongside Charjabug, helping it to overcome obstacles as it races in a small car. The Director has an aerial view of the course, giving instructions to their teammates. For their race, Sophocles decides to be Director, Kiawe volunteers to be the Mechanic, and Ash the Support Runner.

Sophocles and Charjabug, ready to race!

Later, Sophocles reveals a car he has created for his Charjabug, and the boys practice their racing. When Sophocle’s Charjabug gets in the car, it moves at a snail’s pace. Sophocles reveals that his Charjabug has a Mild nature, which means it moves slow. He hopes that as it gets used to the machine, it will be able to move faster. To try and speed up the learning process, the three friends run alongside Charjabug’s car to get it used to moving fast. Meanwhile, Lana, Lillie and Mallow drink tea and eat, laughing that of course the boys enjoy racing.

The team that trains together stays together!

As the day of the race begins, the boys are astounded by the amount of participants and regular entrants. Sophocles isn’t fazed though, and believes that since they trained like regulars, they’ll be good enough to win. A rival team, Team Red Comet, introduce themselves to Ash, Kiawe and Sophocles, taunting the boys and saying that they don’t stand a chance. Team Red Comet have a shiny red Timid Charjabug in a red custom-made car frame, indicating that it’s a fast competitor and will be tough to beat. Meeting Team Red Comet only motivates Sophocles to win even more. We also briefly meet another group of competitors, Team Electric Princess. Team Rocket are also entering with Meowth masquerading as a Charjabug packed with added features. The boys have entered under the name Team Sophocles.

Everyone knows red means faster – this Charjabug will be a fierce competitor.

As the teammates split up to their various stages, an announcer explains how the race will work. There are three obstacle Pokémon along the track, which itself is divided into three different terrains. A Boldore will be in the mountainous track, a Sandygast in the desert portion of the course, and a Castform in the city terrain. There are pits before each area to perform maintenance on the cars. Using attacks to hinder opponents’ progress is banned.

The race begins, and Team Red Comet get off to a blistering start. However at the first turn a huge crash occurs, wiping out most of the teams from the race. Team Red Comet, Team Rocket and Team Electric Princess all avoid the crash, having passed the turn earlier, alongside a few other teams. Team Sophocles also avoided the crash, but only because they were too slow to be caught up in it.

The teams then make their way to the mountainous terrain, with huge rocks jutting out of the ground. As the racers drive, Boldore uses Stone Edge to make even more rocks rise from the ground, creating barriers in the course and slowing down racers. The only way to progress is to jump above the rocks – Sophocles uses the launch pad of the custom car he made for his Charjabug to launch Charjabug above the rock that blocked them, allowing them to progress to the next part of the race.

The only way to scale that cliff is to go up!

Before entering the sandy terrain, the racers make a short pit stop to switch their tyres. Kiawe is lightning-fast at changing tyres, relying on muscle memory from swapping out lids of MooMoo Milk growing up. During their pit stop, Team Rocket decides that they need to take out Team Red Comet if they have a chance of winning.

Driving through the sandy terrain during Sandygast’s Sandstorm is a slow effort. Meowth, in his Charjabug costume, blows a blowdart at Team Red Comet, hoping it will stop their Charjabug from racing. However it has the opposite effect, causing Team Red Comet’s Charjabug to speed up dramatically. Frustrated, Team Rocket accidentally eject Meowth from the car, revealing that they had broken the rules by not using an actual Charjabug in the race. As a result, they are disqualified from the race.

Ash & Charjabug: racing fast and looking good while doing it.

Meanwhile, Ash and Sophocle’s Charjabug are largely unaffected by the sandstorm thanks to goggles they had put on during the pitstop. While other teams begin to tire, Ash and Sophocle’s Charjabug still have heaps of energy, thanks them drinking MooMoo Milk during the last pitstop. As we leave the sandy terrain, only three teams are left: Team Red Comet, whose Charjabug is beginning to tire, Team Electric Princess, and Team Sophocles.

The wipe-out that almost ended Ash’s racing career.

The final terrain is a city, with changing weather controlled by Castform. The roads are slippery after Castform used Rain Dance, but it then uses Hail, causing the course to begin to freeze. During the excitement, Ash gets hit by Team Electric Princess’s car, with the latter being unable to finish and Ash being knocked out. Team Red Comet continue driving, getting stuck in ice right before the finish line. Their Charjabug is too tired to try and get unstuck, and as it is against the rules to touch the cars, it looks like it might be a stalemate.

String Shot to the rescue!

Sophocles has an idea and rushes out to the course, saying that he’ll help Charjabug finish the race. He uses an instant solution of Charjabug’s String Shot threads to create a grip on the car’s tyres and on Sophocle’s shoes, allowing them to continue racing and reach the finish line, winning the race. The prize for winning? Heaps of Charjabug merchandise, of course!

The face of victory.

How did you find this fast-paced episode? Next week’s episode will see Ash and the other students from the Pokémon School travelling to Kanto and meeting some old friends from the past, Brock and Misty.

Edited by SirBoglor and Z25.