SM118

(Japanese: 最上階を目指せ！爆音のドラゴンジム！！ Aim for the Top Floor! The Explosive Dragon Gym!!) is the 118th episode of the, and the 1,057th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 21, 2019.

Plot
For their second day in Malie City, and  plan to visit the Kantonian Gym. Ash is particularly pumped, while the others are curious about the Gym. reads that the Kantonian Gym is actually a tourist attraction based on the Gyms in the Kanto region. They step outside of the Pokémon Center and look for their tour guide, Chikuwa Anaaki. spots a fake wall from the corner of her eye and has Sandy attack it, but it turns out to be a decoy. An old man, sitting across the street, chuckles to himself. The man removes his disguise to reveal that he is in fact Chikuwa. He is pleased that his substitution technique fooled everyone and admits that entertaining his guests is part of being a tour guide. He then walks everyone over to the Kantonian Gym.

The tour group arrives at the unofficial Gym; a large decorated with hanging  and  faces. Chikuwa declares that the Kantonian Gym's architecture is based on the Kanto style. Ash doubts this, saying that he's not sure if Kanto has any Gyms like this, and Chikuwa is shocked to learn that Ash is actually from Pallet Town. Three other ninjas, Shirataki, Ganmo, and Hanpen, then land in front of the group, surrounding Ash and asking him what Kanto is really like. Chikuwa soon pushes them away, and they bow to apologize for their rudeness. Ash is keen to have a Pokémon battle with them, but Shirataki admits that their facility treats their guests to games instead. The ninjas explain that all entrants must complete the games on the first four floors before they can battle against the at the top. and her friends are excited, so they all decide to try the Kantonian Gym out. Chikuwa, Shirataki, and Ganmo drop smoke bombs and seem to disappear, although they're merely hiding behind a nearby statue.

Hanpen takes the group through to their first game. Everyone is surprised to see a large pond and fountain feature inside the Gym. Hanpen reveals that their first task is to cross the water. Lana decides to swim across, but Hanpen holds her back. He explains that a participant must cross the water's surface without swimming to avoid being disqualified. Hanpen presents the group with a box of tools, and adds that they can use them and their Pokémon to cross the water. He demonstrates a pair of water shoes, gliding over the pond's surface with ease. and Ash follow suit, but they quickly loses their balance, barely avoiding sinking into the pond. Lillie gets an idea and has Snowy freeze over the water with a. Lillie confirms the task rules and Hanpen affirms that Pokémon can be used to assist. With that, Lillie leads everyone across the frozen pond and Hanpen declares the first task is complete. The staircase to the second floor slides down from the ceiling, allowing everyone to progress on to their next challenge.

Ganmo greets his participants to a banquet-style meal. Mallow looks at the food and spots something particularly odd. Ganmo reveals that it is a, a jelly desert common in Malie City. Everyone soon begins eating, thoroughly enjoying all of the delicacies. With the food all polished off, Ganmo announces that they have completed the second floor task. Lillie is surprised that all they had to do was eat, but Ganmo corrects her and admits that the tasks was for participants to truly appreciate all that Malie City has to offer. The staircase to the next floor reveals itself and the group prepares to leave. However, Sophocles is wanting to eat more and Mallow is keen to learn the recipes of some of the dishes, so the rest of the group advance without them.

On the third floor, Shirataki reveals that the next task is to hit targets three times with. Ash picks up three shuriken, and lands his mark in one easy throw. has a go, and uses an to knock three shuriken into the targets. Kiawe is successful as well, and his swings it bone like a club to hit the targets. Lana goes above and beyond, landing a total of six shuriken in the center of three different target boards with one throw. Lillie is anxious, so she closes her eyes when she makes her throws, sending her shuriken flying wildly in random directions. Finally, Lana is forced to restrain Lillie's wrist after all her throws narrowly miss everyone else. Lillie shrieks when she turns around and sees Ash, Kiawe, Pikachu, and Marowak lying on the ground, surrounded by shuriken. Shirataki interrupts, and declares that Lillie still has no control. She allows Kiawe, Lana, and Ash to advance to the next stage, while Lillie will continue to practice her throwing technique.

Chikuwa greets the remaining trio on the fourth floor. He unveils their next task from behind a curtain; an obstacle course. Kiawe volunteers to go first. He leaps through a water obstacle, crawls across a giant rotating log, and swings through a set of monkey bars. Kiawe pauses for a moment at a balance beam obstacle. After a deep breath, he runs across, somersaults to dodge an incoming swinging ball, and clears the course completely. Ash breezes through the initial obstacles as well, before stopping to think about the balance beam section. He and Pikachu make a slow approach, and as the swinging pendulum heads towards them, Ash calls out his to assist. Meltan leaps onto the chain holding the large ball and eats through it within seconds. Ash ducks in time to avoid being hit, but the now-detached ball flies on and destroys the entire obstacle course, leaving Lana unable to attempt the task. Ash and Kiawe advance onto the final floor and the long-awaiting Gym match.

Ash and Kiawe arrive at a battlefield, and call out to the Gym Leader to announce their arrival. As billowing white smoke fills the air, Chikuwa guides the rest of the group to the spectators' seats to watch the unfolding battle. The Gym Leader Ryuki emerges from the haze and declares himself a star who is unwilling to change his red spiky style. Chikuwa alerts his "chief" to the challengers, but Ryuki demands to be called a "Leader" instead. Kiawe decides to take on Ryuki first. Chikuwa takes his position as referee, and he orders the opponents to call out their selected Pokémon. Kiawe chooses to use Marowak, while Ryuki calls out his, whose two heads instantly begin fighting. Ryuki screams into his microphone, and the pitch causes everyone to flinch and cover their ears. He goes into an air guitar performance as real music echoes through his stage setup. Zweilous's heads stop fighting each other and swing to the music. Kiawe tries to have Marowak attack, but it's too caught up in the music to listen. Ryuki has Zweilous attack with, and with Marowak distracted, the attack easily hits its target. Marowak is sent backwards and lands on its head, resulting in it getting knocked out. Chikuwa declares Marowak unable to battle, giving Ryuki the victory. Ryuki delivers a victory shout.

Ash goes up next. He calls out his, who simply floats down to the ground to continue napping. As Ash tries wakes it up, Ryuki is concerned about Rowlet's slow pace. Ash, however, assures him that Rowlet puts in the effort when it needs to, and soon enough, Rowlet stretches out its wings to prepare for the upcoming match. Ryuki starts the music again, but Rowlet is unaffected and advances forward with a attack. Zweilous charges up a, but it subsides when Rowlet’s Tackle hits. Ryuki has his Zweilous follow up with. Rowlet avoids the first head, but gets snapped up by the second one. Zweilous begins to head bang to the music, shaking Rowlet silly. Angered by Rowlet's treatment, Meltan walks over to Ryuki and begins chewing through the metal in his outfit. The momentary distraction puts the battle on a pause, and Zweilous's heads resume their infighting. Ash rushes over to pick up Meltan and apologize to Ryuki. Meltan is otherwise unpleased. Ryuki notices Meltan's drive and changes the match to a Double Battle. Mallow questions Ryuki's ability to challenge the rules so suddenly, and he responds by shouting at her that he's the Leader and gets to decide the rules. Ryuki calls for Ash to send his Meltan to battle, which he agrees to.

Ash's Rowlet and Meltan prepare to go up against Ryuki's Zweilous and. Ash orders Meltan to strike Druddigon with a, but the attack does nothing against Druddigon's rock-hard head. He then orders Rowlet to use, but Meltan unleashes a on its own. Ryuki has the two Dragon types sidestep to evade the attack, before ordering Zweilous and Druddigon to retaliate with Bite and respectively. Rowlet flies out of the way, but Meltan finds itself intimidated by Druddigon's sheer size. Meltan builds up its with, but it takes several direct Dragon Claws. Ash orders Rowlet to distract Druddigon with a attack, but Zweilous is waiting with its jaws wide open. Rowlet attempts to soar in several more times, but retreats to avoid being attacked. As Ash orders Rowlet to attack again, its Peck suddenly transforms into and strikes Ryuki's Pokémon. Rotom announces the new move, and Ash is thrilled by the development. Rowlet lands on the ground and Meltan rushes to hug its friend. Ash orders his Pokémon to attack together. The Brave Bird and Flash Cannon combo knocks Druddigon and Zweilous out, and Chikuwa declares Ash the winner of the match. Ryuki presents Ash with a Badge in recognition of the victory, featuring his face on it. Everyone is astonished by this, but understand that it's just a novelty item. Nevertheless, Ash and his supporting Pokémon perform a victory pose with their new Badge in hand.

As the evening rolls around, the group leaves Malie City's port and heads back towards Melemele Island by ferry. Kiawe swears to challenge the Kantonian Gym again and win. Ash is thrilled by his victory, while Pikachu notices Meltan eating something. Meltan turns around and reveals that it has already eaten half of Ash's Kantonian Gym Badge. Alarmed, Ash rushes in to save what's left of his souvenir.

Major events

 * and visit the Kantonian Gym and meet Ryuki for the first time.
 * battles Ryuki and loses.
 * Ash's Meltan is revealed to know.
 * Ash's Rowlet learns.
 * Ash battles Ryuki and wins.
 * Ash and his classmates return to Melemele Island.

Humans

 * Ryuki

Humans

 * Nurse Joy
 * Ryuki
 * Chikuwa Anaaki
 * Shirataki
 * Hanpen
 * Ganmo
 * Citizens
 * Ryuki
 * Chikuwa Anaaki
 * Shirataki
 * Hanpen
 * Ganmo
 * Citizens

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (Japan)
 * ('s; Sandy)
 * (Alola Form)
 * ('s; Alola Form; Snowy)
 * (Ryuki's)
 * (Ryuki's)
 * (Alola Form)
 * ('s; Alola Form; Snowy)
 * (Ryuki's)
 * (Ryuki's)
 * (Ryuki's)

Trivia

 * Poké Problem: Who are the ones who battle the Gym Leader in today's episode?
 * Host:
 * Choices: and, Kiawe and Ash,  and Kiawe,  and
 * Answer: Kiawe and Ash
 * Before Ryuki battles Kiawe, appears to have a face mark similar to that of, vocalist and lead guitarist for the rock band.
 * Ash-Greninja Appears! is used as an insert song as the song Ryuki uses to calm his.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of a Zweilous in the since its main series debut in A Village Homecoming!, exactly 300 episodes ago.
 * James,, and Jessie narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * The sponsors segment after the preview includes an version of Your Adventure.

In other languages
Saijōkai o Mezase! Bakuon no Dragon Gym!! EP1061 SL118 SM118 SM編第118話 精灵宝可梦 太阳＆月亮 第118集