Japanese Title: Celebi: A Timeless Promise
Original Airdate: August 9, 2020
US Airdate: December 4, 2020
A vacation trip to Johto with his parents leads to Goh recalling a time where he met a boy named Horace and how they searched for the Time Traveling Pokémon, Celebi.
- A Day in the Limelight: This is a Goh-focused episode; no Ash and Pikachu seen at all!
- Bait-and-Switch: Goh thinks that Horace abandoned him...turns out Horace fell ill with a fever and couldn't make it.
- Constantly staying in his room to monitor Mew? Again, a focus to not make new friends and to never feel hurt or pain.
- Chekhov's Skill: Sunflora's use of Razor Leaf, which a young Goh used to cut through the tall grass.
- Foreshadowing: What caused Goh and Horace to return home for the night is seeing Horace shiver. This is a hint as to why he couldn't see Goh the following day; he was ill with a fever.
- Forgiveness: After reading a letter from Horace and realized why he broke his word when they were little, Goh decided to forgive him and gets to see him again as a Pokémon Trainer.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: This is the first episode in the main anime that neither Ash nor Pikachu appear.
- Grey Rain of Depression: It starts raining when Goh realizes that Horace isn't showing up.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Goh realizes he had been a total jerk to Horace when he finds a letter in Celebi's shrine and learns that Horace fell ill and didn't intentionally stand him up.
- Never Be Hurt Again: Implied to be why Goh captures lots of Pokémon; to never be hurt when human friends reject him.
- Poor Communication Kills:
- Horace couldn't arrive to meet up with Goh due to a sickness. When he finally got better a few days later, the latter had already gone. He returns a year later to drop a letter in Celebi's shrine, despite not considering the idea that Goh may never return to Ilex Forest. If he had asked his parents tell Goh's parents the truth, or he actually traveled to Vermillion City himself, this mess probably could've been avoided.
- On the same vein, Goh never told anyone what happened, who probably would've helped reassured him that it was all a mistake.
- The Promise: Both Goh and Horace promised to meet up again to search for Celebi. But when Horace didn't show up, Goh took it badly. It takes Goh finding a letter in Celebi's shrine to learn the truth — Horace fell ill and couldn't make it.
- Skyward Scream: Goh unleashes one when he realized that Horace wasn't going to see him again.Goh: HORACE, YOU'RE A LIAR!!!!!
- Titled After the Song: The dub title is named after the Cyndi Lauper song.
- Wham Line: Goh finding Horace's letter which reveals the truth as to why he couldn't make it.
- Whole Episode Flashback: This episode shows Goh three years in the past when he befriended another boy named Horace.
