Country of origin Japan Original network TV Tokyo | No. of episodes 49 | |
Original release September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22) – October 4, 2012 (2012-10-04) | ||
This is a list of episodes of Pokémon: Black & White: Rival Destinies (advertised as Pokémon: BW: Rival Destinies), the fifteenth season of the Pokémon animated series, covering the continuing adventures of series protagonist Ash Ketchum as he continues traveling though Unova with Cilan and Iris to take on his remaining five gym badges. In Japan, this is still considered the Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! (ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ, Poketto Monsutā Besuto Uisshu, literally "Pocket Monsters: Best Wish") series.
In Japan, starting with the episode airing on June 21, 2012, a new sub-season began under the title Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! Season 2 (ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ シーズン２, Poketto Monsutā Besuto Uisshu Shīzun Tsū). Beginning its premier run on June 21, 2012 (the week after Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 were released in Japan), its first 13 episodes comprise the final quarter of Rival Destinies. In these episodes, Ash and his friends travel over to the eastern side of Unova, where they begin a new set of adventures. They reunite with Ash's old friend Dawn. Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia houses them as they all prepare for the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, which is hosted by Unova League Champion Alder. They train for the upcoming Unova Pokémon League conference and meet the legendary Pokémon Meloetta. The Best Wishes! Season 2 episodes continue through the subsequent international season BW: Adventures in Unova.
The Japanese opening songs are "Best Wishes!" by Rica Matsumoto, and "Be an Arrow!" by Rica Matsumoto. The ending songs are "Can You Name All the Pokemon? BW" by Takeshi Tsuruno, "Seven-colored Arch" by Aki Okui, Toshiko Ezaki, and Fumie Akiyoshi, and "Look Look*Here" by Momoiro Clover Z. The English opening song is "Rival Destinies" by Alex Nackman and Kathryn Raio.
Overview
The division between seasons of Pokémon is based on the English version openings of each episode, and may not reflect the actual production season. The English episode numbers are based on their first airing in the United States either in syndication on Cartoon Network, or in Canada on the YTV TV channel, currently owned by Shaw Media and Corus Entertainment after the acquisition of Canwest. Other English-speaking nations largely follow either this order or the Japanese order.
The first episode of this season aired on September 22, 2011 in Japan and premiered in the United States on February 18, 2012. It premiered in Canada on April 7, 2012, and in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2012. The airing in the United Kingdom is shown on CITV and Disney XD respectively, each beginning to air it on the same day. There is a difference, however, in their scheduling: CITV airs a new episode once a week on a Saturday morning, whereas Disney XD air two new episodes a week, one on a Saturday morning and one on a Sunday morning.