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We’re joined by Fionnuala Jones again this week, and she’s brought a whole island’s worth of trashy Pokémon with her. (And, weirdly, we’re not talking about the islands of Ireland, Cork, or Bainbridge.) Meanwhile, the boys have found their way to a new island themselves—Ula'ula Island—where they face an ass-backward “Kantonian-style” gym, dodge golf balls on the side of a mountain, and encounter the most punchable face this side of the Festival Plaza. And what do they have to show for it? Well, a lovely home in Dublin and a budding romance with Jude Law, hopefully.

We're trying out the "route by route" versus "gym by gym" thing this season, and maybe we got it wrong this episode. The leg is short. We spend a lot of time discussing whether or not Pokémon like Hypno and Bewear are bad or chill guys, and encounter our first official (aka non-Pokémon Go) Ultra Beast, the least-hideous one Nihilego. Then, Parrothead & Skull Grunt have a rematch.

To partially quote Rob Thomas feat. Santana: man, this is a hot one. Like, hot as in stolen because there’s a bit of a stir this week when it’s uncovered that Tanner is playing on non-regulation equipment. But as Skull Grunt always says, "you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few Exeggcutes and you can’t catch a presumably neon pink or green Poliwrath without playing the game at 2x speed." Or was that an Elon Musk quote? We meet a handsome old friend along Route 9, some not-so-handsome old friends in Diglett tunnel, and five new friends who can be whatever you want them to be... even bad guys. Then we cap it all off with a roll in the mud with Kahuna Olivia. (Not a euphemism.)

Parrothead & Skull Grunt go their own way this week, with Parrothead keeping himself and his flock roosted on Akala while Skull Grunt takes to the sky with Charizard Glide and goes off on some misadventures back on Melemele. Then they explore the newly unlocked northern half of Akala, encountering a string of strange characters, past and present—from the robots to Colress's confounding hair, to Kukui's wife and some mysterious golfers who practice their swings in a parking lot outside of a jungle. Eventually they make their way into that jungle and go on a hunt for some soup ingredients, which somehow means you're a talented enough trainer to pass Mallow's Trial.

Notes: Features "Welcome to the Jungle (8 Bit Remix Cover Version)" by 8 Bit Universe.

Josh & Tanner are joined by actual Pokémon Lore Master, Daniel Dockery, author of the book "Monster Kids"! They chat about their own Pokémon origin stories; some of the most interesting anecdotes Daniel learned while writing the book about the series' beginnings; whether or not the anime is good; and of course learn his Sweetie and Barfy. Plus, he gives a vibe check on if Parrothead & Skull Grunt's teams actually fit the themes they're trying to embody. From there, we head down Route 6 for this week's journey "route by route." We encounter seemingly haunted doll Hapu, learn and quickly forget about Battle Royals, and then meet a lot of bad and or sexy guys in Wela Volcano Park. That's right, say "Alola!" to this season's first Fur Affinity Check.

Notes: Follow @dandock on Twitter for great Pokémon (and non-Pokémon) tweets alike, and buy his book detailing the first several years of the Pokémon and monster-catching frenzy, Monster Kids, wherever books are sold!

We say “Heya!” to Heahea City and the surrounding area this week, including what remains of Westworld now that HBO has decided they’re done with it; a big, mean spider who really put the hurt on us; and a disgusting/lovely little donkey (depending on which cohost you ask). We take on our third trial this week, and were promised a silly giant fish made out of silly small fish, but instead met a whole army of Barfy (and notably NOT bad-guy) Pokémon. Here’s a pitch: what if there was a Pokémon that was a sea cucumber, didn’t evolve into anything cooler, and primarily interacted with the world via barf. No brainer, right? Game Freak thought so too.

Okay, so we’re still calibrating with the whole “no gyms” thing, so an oddly short leg this week, made to feel fuller and richer by the presence of our guest, Tony Smith, returning for his Gen Seven debut much earlier in the season than we’re accustomed to. The only thing keeping us on this little rock called Melemele Island is the Kahuna’s Grand Trial, so that’s the one and only thing on the agenda this week, but first we have to get caught up on Tony’s journey, learn about the new and improved Ultra Skull Grunt, and look on in horror as Vullaby messes its little skull diaper AGAIN. Being a villain has its downsides, I guess.

Alola, Bug Catchers! We've made landfall on Melemele Island, and after a sort of strange interaction with a shirtless professor and his little sweetie Rockruff, we'll tell you about our new characters for this season. Although they're both Kanto transplants, their vibes couldn't be more different. One trainer is on a quest to find a like-minded flock to chill, grill, and hopefully not spill his drinks with; the other is looking to make his name in Alola's seedy underbellies. Join us for the SEASON SEVEN premiere, as we set off into a vibrant, tropical paradise to seek fame and fortune, or maybe just wherever the next round of Pinap Juices are coming from.

We’ve been tirelessly catching, training, battling, and in some cases even falling in love with Pokémon Go behind the scenes for the past 12 weeks, and we’ve brought our friend and Pokémon Go lifer David Sims on to discuss the ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, and bursting sticker books from our summer with the game. Have we enjoyed Pokémon Go? Yes! Very much so! Will we keep playing Pokémon Go daily as David has for the past six years? Almost certainly not! We got a lot of truly disgusting Barfies spoiled for us, but we also got some very enticing previews of the kind of Sweetie talent we can expect to see over the next couple of generations. But for now, the Yellow Wave subsides and order is restored to our quiet, sleepy Brooklyn and Connecticut neighborhoods.

With the Primal titans put back to bed, the criminal syndicate dispatched, and Steven still as sultry as ever, Admiral Squirt thought he and his beloved Mrs. Squirt could finally enjoy their golden years; Papa Cultura had already packed his bags and hopped on his personal Concorde, Latias, back to Italia—but it turns out there's a bit of an "Armageddon"/"Deep Impact" situation and they have to save the Pokéarth once again. While not as compelling as either of those films, the Delta Episode does take the trainers on one last ride from the edges of Hoenn to the edge of space. Will their Pokémon survive the journey? Will Josh's Mayor Cheat allegations against Tanner be vindicated? And who will win the final battle to determine the season's champion? Bug Catchers, we'll answer all those questions and more, other than whether either of us won the Contest Spectacular because honestly we forgot about that whole thing.