BW131

The Path That Leads to Goodbye! (Japanese: サトシとアイリスが絶交！？別れの１本道！！  and Iris's Severed Relationship!? The Path of Separation!!) is the 131st episode of the, and the 788th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on June 20, 2013 and in the United States on September 21, 2013.

Blurb
What starts out as a beautiful day touring Capacia Island soon takes a turn for the worse. As our heroes follow the path across the island, Iris is distracted by a meadow full of beautiful flowers. As Ash and Cilan wait for Iris to decorate her hair with the blossoms, they spot a Dunsparce—a Pokémon known for being very cautious and hard to find—and Ash decides he has to catch it! Dunsparce responds with a Screech that knocks Iris’s flowers to the ground, where Ash accidentally crushes them. Trying to get away from the terrible noise, Axew bumps into Pikachu, giving the shy Dunsparce a chance to escape.

Ash blames Iris and Axew for the missed opportunity, and things turn a little chilly between them. When Ash finds a fruit tree and tries to make peace with Iris by sharing his discovery, he accidentally gives her a very bitter piece of fruit. She thinks he did it on purpose, and a real fight breaks out between them! After some heated words, she declares that she’s not going to travel with Ash anymore, and storms off...although, since there’s only a single path across the island, they’re still traveling in fairly close quarters.

That night, Ash and Cilan make camp, and Iris decides to sleep in a tree a bit farther away. Ash calls his Pokémon out for dinner, and Scraggy gets worried when it can’t find its good friend Axew. Ash explains that Iris has decided to travel alone, which makes Pikachu and Scraggy very sad. Early the next morning, the two Pokémon set off to find Iris and Axew and bring them back. But Jessie, James, and Meowth have set up an ambush along the path, and they leap out of hiding and grab Pikachu and Scraggy!

The commotion quickly draws Ash and Cilan—soon followed by Iris and Axew! Together, they send Team Rocket blasting off again. At Cilan’s advice, Ash finally apologizes to Iris, and offers her a new flower for her hair. Iris apologizes too, and gives Ash a much sweeter piece of fruit than the one he found for her. Our heroes are reunited, and the journey continues!

Plot
The episode begins with and  arguing; Iris telling Ash off for being "such a little kid", and Ash retorting that Iris isn't much better off. Iris finally storms off in anger, declaring that she and Ash are no longer friends. Furious, Ash doesn't stop her, much to the worry and dismay of, and. Cilan narrates to the viewers that hours ago, he'd never have imagined this to happen.

At the beginning, the gang had just reached Capacia Island, which Porter introduces as the largest island in the Decolore Islands, and is home to many wild Pokémon. As the group makes their way through the main path to reach the other port on the island's opposite end, Ash expresses excitement in hopes of what Pokémon might appear. Iris remarks on Ash being a kid, before being distracted by flowers growing nearby, deviating from the path despite Cilan's advice. Ash and Cilan comment on Iris tending to lose herself around flowers as she picks a few and places them in her hair. Shortly after, a wild emerges from nearby grass, which Ash scans on his Pokédex. Iris is excited to see a wild Dunsparce, but Cilan hushes her, pointing out that Dunsparce rarely show themselves in front of people. Ash is motivated by this and decides to challenge Dunsparce and catch it, ignoring Iris's suggestion of coming up with a plan first.

Sneaking up behind Dunsparce, Ash boldly declares his challenge to Dunsparce, who releases a loud in its panic. Everyone covers their ears in pain; the sheer force of Screech sends Ash tripping into Iris, knocking Axew and the flowers out of her hair. Ash orders Pikachu to use, but a dazed Axew crashes into Pikachu and throws the attack off balance. Fearfully, Dunsparce flaps its small wings and escapes on the air to Ash's dismay. Cilan admits that they probably won't encounter Dunsparce again. Upset, Ash blames Iris for letting Axew disrupt Pikachu; Iris yells back that Ash was reckless in his approach. Ash suddenly notices the flowers he accidentally crushed, and feels guilty. Fuming, Iris picks up Axew and walks past Ash and Cilan, determined to walk separately. Cilan watches in concern, knowing that an unresolved argument could easily lead to a much larger fallout.

As the group continues down the path, Cilan encourages Ash to get over Dunsparce and patch things up with Iris. Picking on this lead, Ash plucks some fruit off a nearby tree, sharing some with Cilan and declaring how delicious it is. As a peace offering Ash tosses one over to Iris, but as she bites into hers, she cringes from how incredibly bitter it is. Infuriated, Iris throws the fruit at Ash (which Cilan catches), accusing him of childishly getting back at her by making her eat bitter fruit. The argument escalates with Iris berating Ash for being a little kid, and Ash hits back saying Iris gets angry over anything and everything. Iris angrily says that she no longer wishes to travel with Ash, and Ash doesn't stop her from leaving. With Iris gone, Ash continues ranting over Iris's accusation, but Cilan takes a bite from Iris's fruit and realizes she was right, shuddering from the taste. Ash, taking a sample himself, is equally horrified. Cilan explains that fruit growing on the same tree can still vary in ripeness depending on which branch they're from. Ash is upset that he was wrong about Iris's accusation, but remains adamant that she shouldn't have lashed out at him for it.

Meanwhile, lie in wait ahead on the path. explains to the viewers that they're getting ready to capture Pikachu when the twerps inevitably walk by.

Ash, Cilan and Iris continue walking along, Cilan worriedly narrating that the big argument ended up with the two friends cutting off ties - but despite this, everyone is still travelling together, due to the single linear path to their destination. Sure enough, Iris begins accusing Ash of following her "like a little kid", and Ash retorts that there's only one path. Iris shouts that she'll take a separate path, and disappears into the trees while Ash turns his head away in anger. Later that evening, Ash and Cilan set up for camp, letting out their Pokémon while preparing to make dinner. As the Pokémon are given their food, immediately starts looking around. Ash is confused at this until Cilan cheerily reminds him of Scraggy and Axew's friendship. Uneasily, Ash explains to Scraggy that Iris will be traveling separately and Axew had to go with her, saddening Scraggy. Aside, the rest of Ash's team looks to Cilan, also concerned about Iris. Whispering, Cilan reassures them that he believes Ash and Iris will eventually reunite and make up, since they're all headed for the other port on the island, and he knows that despite their argument they still really care for each other. Ash encourages the Pokémon to resume eating as he sets the table, but pauses as he realizes he's prepared an extra set of utensils for Iris; Cilan smiles knowingly, having confirmed his suspicions.

Some distance away, Iris and Axew have fruit for dinner as they watch the setting sun. Iris brags about how delicious the fruit she picked is unlike the one Ash picked out for her, remarking that Ash doesn't know how to tell the difference between sweet and bitter fruit. At this she pauses, realizing that Ash hadn't given her bitter fruit on purpose, but declares loudly that it doesn't matter since they're no longer friends. Axew looks down sadly and eats his fruit.

Nightfall comes, as does a sudden shower of rain. Ash looks for his team to recall them, but spots all of his Pokémon sitting on a tree stump, gazing into the distance while shields everyone from the rain with large leaves. Ash realizes that they're all looking out for Iris, worried that she might be caught in the rain; Pikachu and Scraggy confirm this as they sadly nod back. Ash decides to climb the nearby tree with his sleeping bag and keep vigil himself, as Cilan comforts a worried Pikachu. Still in their tree, Iris remarks to Axew that their present state reminded her of when she started her journey, and promises Axew that she's happy as long as she and Axew have each other.

Morning has come, and Scraggy is first to rise, followed by Pikachu and Snivy. Scraggy is determined to find Iris and Axew and leaves for the path. Pikachu gestures to Snivy before chasing after Scraggy. Snivy sighs as she notes that Ash is still asleep, but Cilan reassures her that Ash will eventually follow as well. Unfortunately Team Rocket already has their sights on Pikachu and Scraggy...

Snivy eventually wakes Ash up by prodding him with her, who turns to see that everyone has awoken and is ready to leave. Ash gets down from the tree, but Snivy starts pushing him forward with her Vine Whip. Pignite and join in, forcing Ash into a run down the hill as  neatly puts his backpack on. Ash is confused as to what everyone is doing until Cilan starts explaining their intentions. Cilan asks if Ash would ever leave his Pokémon behind if he had an argument with them, to which Ash emphatically answers in the negative. Making his point, Cilan says that likewise Ash wouldn't give up on a friend just because of a fight they had. Ash begins recalling all the fun times he had with Iris, and realizes what he needs to do: find Iris and sincerely apologize. He declares this to the others much to their happy approval.

Still trying to find Iris and Axew, Pikachu and Scraggy continue down their path but are intercepted by Team Rocket, who recite their motto. Pikachu uses Electro Ball to stop the net and Scraggy tries attacking Team Rocket with his but misses, and he and Pikachu are caught in another net just as Ash and Cilan show up. Ash tries to send out Charizard but is quickly netted with Cilan, leaving Team Rocket to fly away in their balloon. Meowth gloats to the viewers, earning him admonition by Jessie and James. Just then, a erupts from the nearby trees, severing the rope tying Pikachu and Scraggy's net to the balloon. Iris jumps out to catch the falling Pokémon and frees them from their net, calling to Ash who then orders a from Pikachu to blast off Jessie, James, and Meowth of the balloon.

Awkwardly, Iris and Ash face each other, and after a gentle prod by Cilan both of them profusely apologize. Pikachu finds some flowers while Axew picks some fruit, which they pass to their Trainers to exchange as peace offerings. Ash is amazed at how delicious the fruit is, while Iris is happy with the new flowers in her hair, and both of them make up. Cilan and Pikachu happily conclude the story to the viewers, saying that the friendship between Ash and Iris was restored as the episode ends.

Major events

 * tries and fails to capture a.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Porter (flashback)
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Porter (flashback)

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Summer Form; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Summer Form; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Summer Form; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Summer Form; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Summer Form; flashback)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster:
 * Instead of Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster, Oak shows a promotion about the event from the upcoming Pokémon movie.
 * This episode aired on September 17, 2013 in Italy (on K2), four days before the US airdate.
 * and both break the fourth wall while telling their sides of the story.
 * The Japanese version of this episode has notably few music tracks, as excluding the cold open, it does not feature any background music until first spot  and  approaching, which is three quarters into the episode.

Errors

 * The flower that gives to  disappears from her head after Axew pops up from her hair. Shortly after, the flower reappears. This also happens later with the flower  gives Iris.

Dub edits

 * In the dub, apples are referred to as.

In other languages
Ein Streit mit schlimmen Folgen! EP793 BW131 BW編第131話 精灵宝可梦 超级愿望 第131集