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A One-Stick Wonder! (Japanese: スティック一本、バチンキー！ One Stick, Bachinkey!) is the 101st episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,186th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on March 11, 2022, in Canada on August 6, 2022, in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2022, in Australia on September 29, 2022, in South Africa on October 11, 2022, and in the United States on October 21, 2022.

Blurb

Ash and Goh are in the Galar region’s Wild Area as Goh continues his quest to catch every kind of Pokémon. They make curry for dinner, hoping the delicious smell will attract wild Pokémon. A Thwackey appears, and it gets along well with Goh’s Grookey, but it has a problem—it has only one stick instead of the usual two, so it can’t keep up with the drumming of the other Thwackey in its troop. Inspired by Grookey, the Thwackey practices until it’s able to tap just as fast—or faster—using its single stick. As it rejoins its troop, Goh considers letting Grookey stay with them—what will it decide?

Plot

Ash and Goh are exploring the Wild Area to find Pokémon for Goh to catch, but Grookey's enthusiasm has so far inadvertently prevented him from catching anything. They decide to use curry as a lure, but end up eating the first potful by themselves. The scent does, however, lure in a Thwackey, which has only one stick instead of the two its kind usually has. Goh tries to catch it, but it easily deflects his Poké Ball back at him before running away.

After getting new curry ingredients from a bypassing Ingredients Seller, Ash and Goh prepare a new potful of curry to act as a lure. The one-stick Thwackey from before returns, but before Goh can try to catch it, Grookey eagerly runs up to it and tries to impress it, but ends up falling flat on its face, making it sad. Thwackey calms Grookey down by grooming it as a sign of friendship and trust, before taking it away from the campsite. Ash and Goh follow them and find Thwackey teaching Grookey how to crack nuts open with its stick, although the Chimp Pokémon isn't having much success. Goh sees Thwackey as a good mentor figure for Grookey, but just as he tries to invite it to come with him, a whole pack of Thwackey, led by a Rillaboom, appears and starts drumming the rocks and trees around them. The one-stick Thwackey, however, is unable to keep up with the others due to having only one stick and runs off in disappointment.

Ash and Goh find Thwackey trying to find a substitute for its missing stick, but nothing feels quite right. Surprisingly, Grookey is willing to give up its own precious stick to make Thwackey happy. Thwackey seems to consider taking it for a moment, but ultimately refuses. Grookey starts drumming a rock with its stick to convince its mentor figure to change its mind, even crying when Thwackey stubbornly refuses to accept its offer. Grookey's desperate drumming grows faster and faster, until Ash and Goh suddenly realize that Thwackey could compensate its lack of a second stick by just learning to drum twice as fast. While Thwackey trains with Ash's Pikachu and Sirfetch'd, Goh joins Thwackey's wife and her Grookey child in getting them some Nanab Berries to eat when they eventually take a break. Once the break is over, Goh also joins the training with his Greedent.

While Ash and Goh ultimately fall asleep, Thwackey keeps practicing all night. By morning, it finally masters its faster drumming style, much to the pleasure of Ash and Goh when they wake up. They reunite with Thwackey's pack, and the one-stick Thwackey joins them for a drumming session. This time, it manages to keep up with the others, even exciting Rillaboom enough for it to join in as well. Ash and Goh congratulate Thwackey, who comes to say hi to them one last time before rejoining its pack. Seeing how much Grookey likes Thwackey, Goh offers it a chance to stay as well, but Grookey jumps onto his head and starts grooming him to show that it very much wants to stay with him, much to Goh's pleasure.

Major events

• Goh tries and fails to catch an Applin and a Thwackey.
• Goh tries to release Grookey, but Grookey decides to stay with him.
• Ash and Goh return to Vermilion City.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Applin
• Thwackey

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Goh
• Ingredients Seller

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Thwackey

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Sirfetch'd (Ash's)
• Greedent (Goh's)
• Grookey (Goh's)
• Rotom (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
• Applin (flashback; debut)
• Thwackey (multiple; debut)
• Grookey
• Rillaboom

Trivia

• Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: Thwackey
• The opening animation is updated to include Goh's Gossifleur.
• As of this episode, all forms of the Galar first partner Pokémon have appeared in the anime.
• The English dub title is a play on the term "one-hit wonder".
• Ash, Goh, Horace, Gary, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

Dub edits

• The Ingredients Seller is simply referred to as a Hiker in the dub.

In other languages

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