SM042

Alola, Kanto! (Japanese: カントーでアローラ！タケシとカスミ！！ Alola at Kanto! and !!) is the 42nd episode of the, and the 981st episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on September 14, 2017 and in the United States on November 25, 2017 as part of a marathon including Mounting an Electrifying Charge! and I Choose You!.

Blurb
Ash’s Pokémon School class is taking a field trip to the Kanto region! Principal Oak is excited to visit his famous cousin in Pallet Town, and Professor Kukui says some special guests will be joining them. When those guests turn out to be Brock and Misty, Ash is delighted!

Everyone marvels at the many Pokémon living at Professor Oak’s lab, and Brock offers a demonstration of the difference between Kanto Pokémon and their Alolan counterparts. Of course, Team Rocket is up to their old tricks, but the “original Twerp trio” quickly sends them blasting off again. Tomorrow, Misty has big plans for everyone: a battle at her own Cerulean Gym!

Plot
Samson Oak informs the class that they will be having a special extracurricular activity to celebrate the Pokémon School's twentieth anniversary. Ash gets excited and Mallow asks where they will be going. replies that they will be heading to the Kanto region. The class, except Ash, gets excited with the news. asks Ash if Kanto is where Ash comes from. asks if that is where 's laboratory is located, which Principal Oak confirms. Professor Kukui tells them that there are special guests who shall be meeting the class in Kanto, and Ash gets excited as well. They board a plane to Kanto; Ash cannot wait to get there. Kiawe asks Sophocles how the plane flies, to which Sophocles replies that riding on his is a lot scarier than being on a plane.

As they reach Kanto, the class members express their desires to meet certain Kantonian Pokémon. notices Snowy not feeling well; a man, later introduced to her as, asks her if he can take a look at Snowy and that he is a Pokémon in training. Lillie gives the man consent. also arrives in Kanto and is heading to the. Jessie becomes angry and fusses about Matori telling them to come there. James worries if they will get a lecture from her and. tries to comfort himself by reassuring that giving Matori a doughnut will not make her angry.

Brock informs Lillie that Snowy is only experiencing motion sickness and that it will be fine after a while. realize that she is missing. As they look behind, Ash notices Brock and calls out to him, catching the attention of Jessie. Ash runs toward Brock; however Brock chases after the cabin attendant who walked past Ash. As Brock flirts with her, pulls his ear and away from the cabin attendant. Ash is excited to see Misty and so does, who jumps onto Misty. Team Rocket sees Misty and Brock. Ash tells his classmates about the friends he used to travel with. Misty and Brock introduce themselves to the group as the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean Gym and Pewter Gym respectively. Ash's classmates also introduce themselves to Misty and Brock. Ash asks them what they are doing there, to which Misty replies that Professor Oak asked them to meet the class. Professor Kukui and Samson Oak interrupt the conversation and tell them to head to the laboratory lest Professor Oak should be worried. Team Rocket overhears them and decides to head to Professor Oak's laboratory, to steal all the Pokémon residing there and give them to so that they do not get lectured.

Samuel Oak and Samson Oak are excited to meet each other; the former congratulates the latter on the school's twentieth anniversary. is surprised to see their identical appearances. Samson Oak introduces the class to his cousin. Professor Oak begins to recite a senryū and the class is impressed. Rotom recites its own senryū, and the Oaks praise its creation. Misty and Brock are made in charge of showing the class around the laboratory's Oak Corral. The class becomes excited at the vastness of the corral and expresses hopes of meeting certain kinds of new Pokémon. Lillie gets excited at seeing, but reminds her that Spearow are fairly common in Alola as well. Ash tells his classmates that his Pokémon are in the Oak Corral as well; he notices his herd of and starts running towards them. Tauros, excited to see Ash, run towards him as well, and knock Ash into the sky.

Kiawe and Rotom see a at the edge of a cliff. Rapidash dashes forward and Kiawe sends out his Charizard to follow and race with it. They increase their speed and Kiawe realizes that Rapidash wants him to ride on it; Kiawe jumps from his Charizard and climbs onto Rapidash. Mallow and her meet two  and a. Vileplume greets her and uses ; Brock and Misty warn her and Mallow runs off with her Steenee. Meanwhile, Ash, Lillie, and Sophocles see a. becomes excited at seeing the Mouse Pokémon and runs around in circles. She produces electricity and shocks Raichu unconscious, to which Sophocles apologizes. Later, the group notices a in a forested area and Snowy walks toward it. The Ninetales licks Snowy's head in greeting. They also see a jumping out of a lake. blows a bubble at the Dewgong, who bounces it on its forehead. Concurrently, Rotom Dex is traveling around the corral, taking photographs of different Pokémon.

At the back of the laboratory, Brock and Misty send out a Kantonian and an respectively. The Kantonian becomes surprised with its Alolan counterpart. The class comments on the major differences between the two regional Exeggutor. Both variants of and  are sent out, with the Kantonian Muk happy to see Ash. Both variants of are sent out as well. Kiawe is startled to see the Kantonian Dugtrio not having hair and gives it his wig. Lastly, Brock sends out a Kantonian, and Kiawe sends out his Alolan Marowak. Upon seeing their counterparts, the two Marowak begin to fight each other. Kiawe and Brock try to restrain the two Marowak, to no avail. Sophocles and Lillie comment on their different typing; Alolan Marowak being Fire and while Kantonian Marowak being. Pikachu tries to calm the two Marowak down, but is attacked instead, sending him flying in the air. Togedemaru becomes furious and attacks the Marowak, but is chased by them. Pikachu lands on the ground and uses, shocking everyone except the Kantonian Marowak. Lana and Kiawe realize that Popplio and Marowak have gone missing and the group decides to look for them. On search, Ash, Misty and Brock come across a, causing Misty to run away in fear. Ash asks her if she has still not overcome her fear of Pokémon, to which Misty agrees. Afterwards, they reminisce about the adventures they used to have together. Just then, they hear a sound, and head to find the source. They see the and 's evolutionary lines arguing, with Ash's Bulbasaur trying to pacify. Ash calls out to Bulbasaur, who is delighted to see Ash.

Lillie, Lana, and Mallow climb up a slope, looking for Popplio, when they hear Misty calling out to them. Misty suggests looking for Popplio near the lake ahead of them. At the lake, a emerges from the water and frightens the girls, except Lana who stands firm. Lana changes to her swimsuit and jumps into the lake; Misty follows suit. At the bottom of the lake, they see Popplio hanging out with the Pokémon. The boys are looking for Kiawe's Marowak in a rocky area, where they run into an. Worried that the Onix might attack, and Kiawe sends out his. Brock tells them to calm down, to not anger the Onix. However, Kiawe's Marowak appears and throws its bone at the Onix, angering it, and causing the group to flee from the Rock Snake Pokémon.

The two groups meet up, and a net appears and captures their Pokémon, which is revealed to be Team Rocket's doing. Misty and Brock get angry at Team Rocket for still being up their usual tactics. Ash sends out and commands it to use. Team Rocket, in their mecha, deflects the attack back at the group. Brock and Misty send out their and  respectively. Together, they destroy the mecha, but Team Rocket refuses to give up, and Jessie sends out her ; Bulbasaur shudders from the Disguise Pokémon. Suddenly, a plane flies past and jumps down. It takes off with Team Rocket. The wreckage shakes and appears out of it. Mallow, Lillie, and Lana are happy to see a for the first time. Ash, Misty, and Brock, however, recognize the Jigglypuff and fear that it might. True that, and everyone falls asleep to Jigglypuff's song. Jigglypuff becomes angry at its audience falling asleep again and uses its microphone-marker to draw on their faces. They wake up in the evening and laughs at the drawings on each other's faces. appears and tells them that the welcome party is about to start.

Back at the laboratory, the group eats the food prepared by Mimey. Delia welcomes them to Kanto and asks Kiawe if he would like to take a look at Ash's bedroom. Rotom Dex becomes disappointed that it is missing a photo of one more Pokémon; a overhears it and flies away. Professor Kukui informs the class that they will be heading to the Cerulean Gym for a Gym battle the following day. The next day, they travel past the Cerulean Gym. Ash exclaims that he cannot wait for a battle.

Major events

 * and travel to Kanto for an extracurricular activity and arrive in Pallet Town.
 * also travels to Kanto, but are later taken back to Alola by.
 * Ash reunites with and.
 * ,, , , and meet Misty, Brock, , and  for the first time.
 * In addition, Misty and Brock meet, Samson Oak, and Bewear for the first time.
 * Lana, Kiawe, and Sophocles meet for the first time.
 * Ash's Lycanroc is revealed to have learned.
 * Ash and his classmates travel to Cerulean City to visit the Cerulean Gym.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Samson Oak
 * Matori (fantasy)
 * Hiroki
 * Trainers
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Samson Oak
 * Matori (fantasy)
 * Hiroki
 * Trainers
 * Samson Oak
 * Matori (fantasy)
 * Hiroki
 * Trainers
 * Trainers

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (×30)
 * ('s; Ride Pokémon)
 * (Alola Form)
 * ('s; Alola Form; Snowy)
 * ('s; Mimey)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainers'; ×2)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; ×2; one Alola Form)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; Alola Form)
 * (Trainer's; Alola Form)
 * (Trainer's; ×2; one Alola Form)
 * (Squirtle Squad)
 * (Pink Butterfree; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (×6)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×4)
 * (×5)
 * (×4)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×6)
 * (×3)
 * (×2)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×3)
 * (flashback)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×3)
 * (flashback)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (flashback)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (photo)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)
 * (fantasy)

Trivia

 * Poké Problem: Where do we travel to in today's episode?
 * Host:
 * Choices: Kalos, Johto, Kanto, Unova
 * Answer: Kanto
 * Samson Oak and narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * This is the first time has returned to Kanto while in the middle of a regional.
 * This episode marks several characters' first physical appearances in the main series after long absences:
 * , whose previous appearance was in Memories are Made of Bliss!, 324 episodes earlier.
 * , whose previous appearance was in A Real Cleffa-Hanger, 573 episodes earlier.
 * , whose previous appearance was in Pace - The Final Frontier!, 517 episodes earlier.
 * The recurring, whose previous appearance was in A Poké-BLOCK Party!, 668 episodes earlier. This is the longest absence a recurring wild Pokémon has ever had in the main series.
 * Misty's Staryu, whose previous appearance was in Entei at Your Own Risk, 722 episodes earlier. This is the longest absence a Pokémon belonging to a main character has ever had in the main series up to this point. This record was later broken in SM102 by Misty's Corsola, who returned after an absence of 723 episodes, just one episode more than Staryu.
 * Furthermore, this is the first-ever physical main series appearance of a.
 * As a result, as of this episode, all 151 Generation I Pokémon have made a physical appearance in the main series.
 * This episode marks the first time that any of Ash's friends or classmates have visited Professor Oak's Laboratory since The Right Place and the Right Mime, 574 episodes earlier.
 * Despite having made multiple appearances in the anime ever since the first season, this is the first time a Pokédex entry for it is shown.
 * Furthermore, the way Rapidash runs in the open field is a reference to a similar scene from the first Pokémon opening, Aim to Be a Pokémon Master, and its English counterpart, Pokémon Theme.
 * This episodes features flashbacks to Bye Bye Butterfree, Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, Charizard's Burning Ambitions, Entei at Your Own Risk, and Gotta Catch Ya Later!.
 * When Misty dives with, she is seen wearing a bikini similar to the one her game counterpart is seen wearing in the Generation I games (excluding ).
 * is seen with two fins, which could be a reference to its original Generation I artwork.
 * Jessie breaks the fourth wall by pushing away her thought balloon depicting Matori.
 * An instrumental version of Aim to Be a Pokémon Master -20th Anniversary- is used as an insert song when Snowy meets a.
 * Also, the manner in which Ninetales appears (where it was seen standing still under the sunlight) resembles another Ninetales that appeared in Just Waiting On a Friend.
 * When Professor Oak recites the senryū of, the Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture's format is used.
 * recites their in this episode. As a result, this motto has been recited at least once in every series so far. They also use the original Team Rocket logo instead of the streamlined model that has been in use since the, while James is seen having his famous rose.
 * The Japanese opening for this episode includes ad-lib lines by Misty, Brock, and Professor Oak, much like the original version of the opening.
 * The inside of the mecha Meowth pilots in the episode appears to resemble the controls of the mobile suits that appear in , specifically the head and wrist attachments resembling the Mobile Trace System.
 * 's wig from Getting the Band Back Together! makes a reappearance.
 * The Pokémon School's 20th anniversary is a reference to the Pokémon anime's 20th anniversary.
 * This marks the first appearance of Misty in person in a Pokémon Company International-dubbed TV episode.
 * In the original version, Team Rocket's line when grabs them is spoken by Misty instead of Team Rocket themselves.
 * This and the next episode feature thirteen main characters, the most amount in the overall series so far.
 * The narrator is only heard at the end of this episode, while the beginning lacks narration completely.
 * All of the Western dub titles are the same as the English title.

Errors

 * When uses  on everybody,  gets zapped despite having  as her Ability.
 * When Brock's Crobat uses, it opens its mouth. When the scene changes to the Supersonic hitting Team Rocket's mecha, its mouth is closed.
 * When Jigglypuff puffs up in anger, the black band and silver base on the bottom of Jigglypuff's microphone turned silver and dark gray respectively for a split second. Also, the band's width is smaller than normal during this goof.

Dub edits

 * When Team Rocket are discussing their reasons for traveling to Kanto in the airport, Matori's name is replaced with the nickname "loser locks" in one of Meowth's lines.
 * During the party, the drinks, Professor Oak, and Samson Oak are holding have their colors changed to green.

In other languages
Alola, Kanto! EP985 SL042 SM042 SM編第42話 精灵宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第42集