Episode Guide #281 - #288

Taming of the Shroomish
You Said a Mouthful!
A Bite to Remember
The Lotad Lowdown
All Things Bright and Beautifly!
All in a Day’s Wurmple
Gonna Rule The School!
The Winner by a Nosepass

Taming of the Shroomish

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Machoke, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Shroomish, Cacnea, Seviper, Forretress, 
Torchic

Story:  

The group arrive in Rinchen Town, the first city they’ve come across for some 
time, Brock wants to stock up on supplies but May drags him into a shopping 
trip while Ash and Max go looking for a bite to eat.  
A group of workers are cutting down several trees around a mansion also to be 
taken down and Team Rocket is among the crew, Max gets Ash to look in an 
alleyway for city Pokémon and they find a Shroomish.  
Brock and May finish both their tasks when they hear about an apparent haunted 
mansion, the Green Lodge, where workers claim it to be cursed due to the 
mysterious appearance of footprints and occurrences of workers suddenly unable 
to breathe inside or passing out; Brock is scared about this yet May is 
intrigued.  
Max tries to befriend the Shroomish with food but it wards him and Ash away 
with Stun Spore, they return and Ash attempts the same with Brock’s food and 
is successful.  
Max is concerned that a forest dwelling Shroomish is in the city and gives it 
a white ribbon before taking it towards the Pokémon Centre, they come across 
the mansion on the way where May has dragged Brock into and where Team Rocket 
notice them while working.  
The Shroomish dashes into the mansion and the group is reunited but warned 
about the work going on here by a man who doesn’t believe that there could be 
Shroomish here.  
There were plenty of them when the man was a child and the mansion used to 
belong to his grandfather but the forests slowly disappeared to make way for 
new buildings and after his grandfather passed on the Shroomish disappeared 
and the town council decided to take down the disused mansion to make way for 
new buildings.  
He decides to check the mansion in case there really are Shroomish inside and 
the group join him.  
They find the Shroomish wearing Max’s gift and it’s shivering with fear along 
with other Shroomish, the man realises they must have moved in because their 
homes in the forest were being taken away from them.  
They find photos of the man as a child with all the Shroomish before an 
explosion indicates Team Rocket’s entrance.  
A battle is inevitable but before it truly starts the Shroomish yell out and 
hundreds of other Shroomish appear but are slowly attacked by Team Rocket’s 
Pokémon and defend themselves with Stun Spore.  
The group make it outside before they are affected and figure the footprints 
and strange affects reported are all doings of the Shroomish.  
Max is certain the Shroomish want to play and live with the man like they used 
to, the man is torn but explains he can’t do anything to prevent the 
demolition of the mansion.  
Team Rocket attack in a truck and ram the mansion to scare out the Shroomish 
and then throw them into a large basket at the back, Pikachu’s electricity has 
been foreseen and is ineffective against the vehicle while the man decides the 
mansion must be protected.  
Shroomish gather and use Stun Spore even against the airtight vehicle but 
Brock must use Forretress to blow the resulting winds away from the city.  
Team Rocket foolishly open the windows when it gets stuffy and are affected by 
Stun Spore followed by Leech Seed, Torchic frees the captured Shroomish and 
Pikachu lets loose with a Thunder attack to decimate the machine and send Team 
Rocket away.  
The man says he can’t prevent the mansion from being destroyed but that he’s 
going to restore the area into a new forest home for the Shroomish and 
promises to visit and play with his old friends often.  
Max says his goodbyes to all the Shroomish as do the group before moving on.  

My favourite Quote:  

May (after breathing in near a city):  “Ahhhh, that smells great.”  
Max:  “What smells great? The air pollution, garbage or the car exhaust?”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Another obvious title pun from the Shakespearian play “The Taming of the 
Shrew”.  

How come Meowth has to wear a helmet but the Machoke don’t? Or did he choose 
to wear one what with the paw print on his and maybe because Machoke have hard 
heads?  

Brock should change his attitude if he truly wants to be some girl’s 
boyfriend, dragging guys around clothes and fashion shops is one of many 
things to be expected from a relationship and I bet Brock would have been more 
interested in the latest fashions if female models were wearing them.  

On good authority, I’m informed that the song May briefly hums is from Cowboy 
Bebop titled “Cats on Mars”.  

The girl with the guy who explain the ‘haunted’ mansion is one of the few in 
the history of the series who Brock shows no interest in what-so-ever.  
Maybe Brock assumed the guy was her boyfriend and decided not to make a move 
on her, or perhaps May wore him out and he hadn’t the strength to flirt 
outrageously.  

Why is there a photo of the man as a child in the swing? Wouldn’t it have made 
more sense to have a framed picture of the scene where he was posing with 
everyone considering there was a camera visible in that flashback?  

Seviper and Cacnea attack in unison for the first time in the style of Arbok 
and Weezing, no prizes for the fact Seviper is so obviously similar to Arbok 
but Cacnea’s shape is kind of similar to Weezing or at least Koffing in the 
round aspect.  
It’s like the new generation of Pokémon are deliberately similar to the 
Pokémon Jessie and James recently gave up.  

New song alert; the battle theme of Regirock, Regice and Registeel which is 
another of my favourites from the game, this is the only occurrence within the 
series and is unfortunately played rarely in the future.  

Isn’t it dangerous for an attack like Leech Seed to affect humans considering 
it sucks away the victim’s energy? If it drains a Pokémon of their Hit Points 
what if it had a worse affect on humans like taking away a little of their 
life?  
And let’s not talk about the complete stupidity of sacrificing air-tight Stun 
Spore protection for the sake of relief from a little stuffiness.  

On several showings I’ve seen of this episode the credits at the end have the 
theme music but no lyrics being sung, it’s a nice change but there are gaps 
where the singer’s voice would provide that certain something and therefore it 
doesn’t sound quite right without it.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon looks serious, but acts kind and playful!)  
Snubbull

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

You Said a Mouthful!

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Pelipper, Treecko, Taillow, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Bellsprout, Magby, 
Magnemite, Zigzagoon

Story:  

After a recap of Ash’s journey through Hoenn, the group arrive in an area 
claiming to have a Gym with the world’s most powerful Pokémon.  
A child comes running out defeated and in disbelief of what just happened, Ash 
storms in and challenges Anthony and his acclaimed powerful Pelipper.  
Treecko is chosen and dodges a Wing Attack but Pelipper starts attacking with 
moves outside its usual Water and Flying range with Vine Whip, Ash substitutes 
Taillow and it navigates around Pelipper in the air but is hit hard by 
Flamethrower.  
Max is distraught that his studies didn’t say a thing about this while Pikachu 
takes the next fight, Pelipper attacks with Thunder to counter Pikachu’s 
(after a suspicious sound is briefly heard within Pelipper), both Pokémon take 
a fall and Anthony takes Pelipper away while Ash heads to the Pokémon Centre.  
Team Rocket have spied on the battle and soon confront Anthony and order him 
to give up his Pelipper, it attacks and Team Rocket suit up in protective 
costumes and activate a grabbing device that grasps its Vine Whip but yanks 
out a Bellsprout from Pelipper’s mouth.  
Anthony confuses Pelipper with multiple attacks and they occur one after 
another but cause disarray in Pelipper’s mouth so that Team Rocket can grab 
the Pelipper and for a Magby and Magnemite to fall out as well.  
Team Rocket have exposed Pelipper’s secret of concealing Pokéballs inside its 
mouth and Jessie threatens to tell the world about Anthony’s secret unless 
Pelipper obeys them.  
At the Pokémon Centre Ash’s Pokémon are healed while the group continue to 
question Pelipper’s abilities.  
May alerts Ash and Joy to the fact Anthony’s Pelipper has beaten several 
trainers and their Pokémon have been taken away.  
The group find Team Rocket in disguise offering any Pokémon a person desires 
if they beat Pelipper but on the condition they forfeit their own if they 
lose.  
They defeat a Zigzagoon with these methods but Meowth notices Ash and the 
others are coming, Jessie overloads Pelipper with Pokéballs and even stuffs 
Meowth inside to direct the battle.  
Ash challenges them regardless of the risk of losing his own Pokémon, Meowth 
uses Vine Whip, Smokescreen and Razor Leaf which Pikachu dodges while Max goes 
off alone and finds Anthony tied and gagged in a room.  
Pikachu dodges Flamethrower while Max frees Anthony who witnesses the battle 
and is about to explain himself.  
Meowth plans to soak Pikachu and then shock it with Magnemite’s electricity, 
when he can’t find a Water Pokémon, he has Pelipper use its own attack but 
this causes all the Pokéballs and Meowth to get flushed out.  
Anthony’s secret is revealed while Team Rocket attempt to escape and take home 
their winnings, but Pelipper is sent up to retrieve the sack of Pokémon.  
Team Rocket suit up and Pikachu’s electricity is useless not only against them 
but the balloon’s gadgets as well, Pelipper is directed to soak the balloon so 
Pikachu can strike it and send Team Rocket well on their way.  
The group will return all the Pokémon and complement Pelipper’s natural 
strengths and that with real training it will become stronger.  

My favourite Quote:  

James:  “Overpowering the worlds most powerful Pokémon requires a Pokémon with 
Even More power than the first one.”  
Meowth:  “That means we’d have ta catch a more powerful Pokémon than the Most 
powerful Pokémon.”  
Jessie:  “And that means we’d need to catch one with more power than the one 
that’s more powerful than the most powerful...”  
Meowth:  “Then we’d need a more powerful Pokémon than the more powerful-  Dol! 
I just bit my tongue.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

The narrator once again must recap on all the important events that have 
occurred before but since two incidents are two episodes apart was it accurate 
to say that Ash obtained Taillow And Treecko in the Petalburg Woods?  

“Agh! (Pant pant pant)...” another child actor! I know they try but they just 
don’t fit in with a crew of established adult voice actors.  

I don’t like it when Pokémon repeats names already used in past episodes, 
aren’t there enough names in the world to choose from?  
Anthony was the name of the guy who trained a Hitmonchan and adopted Ash’s 
Primeape in the P-1 Championship (“The Punchy Pokémon”); it’s coincidental 
that this Anthony has a championship belt of some kind around his chest along 
with a chiselled jaw.  

Keeping an Electric Pokémon inside a Water/Flying Pokémon is reckless; if any 
of the attack touched Pelipper it would likely deal it a lot of hurt due to 
both type weaknesses multiplying the damage.  

Given that Pikachu is seen sitting on the Pokémon Centre tray again 
since “Electric Shock Showdown” with the other Pokéballs, it’s a good thing 
Ash didn’t get a large Pokémon which wouldn’t go in its Pokéball or that 
Pikachu didn’t evolve; just a passing thought.  

Why can’t Team Rocket ever abandon a scheme while they’re ahead? Surely they 
would have done some good for Team Rocket if they’d given all the Pokémon they 
stole to the Boss but no, they got greedy and had to challenge Ash.  

How can Meowth tell what’s inside what Pokéball? They’re not marked and 
they’re all the standard red colour.  
On the other hand, he only uses Anthony’s Pokémon, so those were probably 
marked, it’s when he tries to find a Water Pokémon that he can’t find one 
probably due to there being too many Pokéballs.  
I could have told Meowth that using Pelipper’s Water attacks would clearly 
eject everything in its mouth.  

I’m surprised Pelipper didn’t choke today, it’s one thing to keep things in 
its beak but Team Rocket seemed to fill it up completely with Pokéballs (and 
Meowth) to the point that it could have easily swallowed one or have been 
unable to breathe.  

Out of all the Pokémon Team Rocket used in the final match (and probably all 
of the battles before that), Pelipper/Meowth only used Anthony’s Pokémon; 
Bellsprout, Magby and Magnemite.  
I’d understand if the Pokémon they stole wouldn’t help them by hiding in 
Pelipper’s mouth and launching attacks but Jessie stuffed it with other 
people’s Pokéballs (maybe all of them) regardless.  

Having a surprise Grass, Fire and Electric attack doesn’t necessarily make a 
Pokémon strong, it just makes them more diverse and if an opponent could only 
have dodged a lot and used type advantage to its fullest (namely Electric 
attacks if not Rock-types as an alternative) they could have easily won.  
Proof of this is the one Electric attack that hit Pelipper which caused it to 
become weakened and a draw to occur in the first match.  

Another name error in that Anthony shouldn’t have known Brock’s name 
considering the group didn’t introduce themselves to him, it can’t have been 
done between scenes since they only see him in the battle and then later when 
he’s freed and has knowledge of the group he shouldn’t.  

Since Team Rocket shielded themselves from Pelipper’s Water attack, it 
shouldn’t have made a difference if the balloon was soaked, they should have 
been protected unless the suits were faulty.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon has a connection to ancient hieroglyphs!)  
Unown

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

A Bite to Remember

Pokémon seen:  

Zigzagoon, Stantler, Beautifly, Pikachu, Aipom, Spinarak, Sentret, Furret, 
Sudowoodo, Shroomish, Mightyena, Forretress, Torchic, Poochyena, Meowth, 
Murkrow, Hoothoot, Wobbuffet, Tauros, Bellossom, Ninetales, Azurill, Pineco, 
Raichu, Eevee, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Paras, Taillow

Story:  

The group are in a forest with an abundance of different Pokémon, Max is eager 
to meet them in person since it’s much different then just reading about 
them.  
A trio of Mightyena suddenly appear and attack, Pikachu is overpowered by one 
and Forretress and Torchic (not to mention Ash and Brock) are dealt swift hits 
by a forth opponent; a Poochyena.  
They are all stopped by a girl called Katrina who explains this is a Pokémon 
preserve and that she and her Pokémon thought they were poachers; speaking of 
which Team Rocket wander into the area and notice all the Pokémon.  
Katrina heals several Pokémon in her hut and Brock is tackled again by the 
mischievous Poochyena, Max figures it’ll evolve soon but Katrina explains that 
it was born at the same time as the other Pokémon which long evolved into 
Mightyena together.  
Max wants to help Poochyena evolve so it can be strong and take care of 
itself, Torchic’s evolution is looked into and Ash and Brock frown on the rush 
to see Pokémon evolve and explain these things take time.  
Ash’s Pikachu is questioned over evolution and the different kinds of 
evolution are explained by Brock (basic, stone-induced and branched), but this 
spurs Max on to help Poochyena evolve in order to witness it and he wants to 
remain here until it happens.  
He has it battle Torchic but Poochyena overuses Tackle rather than other 
attacks like Bite, Torchic gets wise to this and beats it with Ember (not to 
mention Max).  
Max requests Ash’s Pokémon to battle Poochyena but May warns him of his scheme 
to deliberately make them lose and Ash explains that these are empty wins for 
Poochyena.  
Max continues to help train despite Ash’s theory that some Pokémon like not 
being evolved when Katrina reports proof of poachers.  
Max chooses easy opponents and ones without advantages over Poochyena and 
advises it to use other attacks since Tackle is only effective against similar-
sized opponents.  
Team Rocket plant a machine in the forest and disguise themselves as 
scientists researching evolution claiming their machine can evolve Pokémon in 
strange ways, Meowth demonstrates but is actually putting on various Pokémon 
costumes in secret.  
Max gets wise to their game but Poochyena is snatched away from him and the 
balloon and a net full of Wild Pokémon are revealed from inside the fake 
machine, the group arrive but Pikachu is swiftly added to the captives.  
Taillow manages to get the balloon to lower but not stop its movement but Max 
is close enough to speak out and convince Poochyena to bite through the net, 
the Pokémon are freed as is Pikachu thanks to Taillow and Team Rocket are soon 
finished off.  
This results in Poochyena evolving right after Max accepts it’s a great 
Pokémon whether it ever evolves or not.  
Having witnessed a Pokémon evolution, Max can continue the journey happy with 
many more wonders surely in store for the group in the future.  

My favourite Quote:  

Brock (after a lecture on different types of evolution):  “So you see, what we 
call evolution can actually mean a lot of different things.  Ready for the 
test? Define Pokémon Evolution in an essay of nine thousand words...  Uh, just 
kidding, that’s all for today class!...”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

It’s quite clear to anyone watching that while the other Pokémon move around 
full of life, the ones in the background while Brock explains things are 
perfectly still and clearly stand out.  
There are times I was tempted to bring this same subject up in past episodes 
but it seemed too petty or unnecessary at the time.  

The way Max goes over the statistics of each Pokémon makes it sound like 
Pokémon have to be a certain size or weight, whatever happened to 
individuality? Just because books and the Pokédex classify these things 
doesn’t mean that all Pokémon are the size their kind tend to reach, some 
might not have grown fully or some might have outgrown their kind like we 
sometimes see in the series.  
Come to think of it I don’t think any one Pokémon has been exactly the same 
size throughout the series (as in not a single Pokémon but all Pokémon of one 
kind), this is especially clear in certain episodes where Pokémon are clearly 
bigger or smaller than others seen in earlier episodes.  

Another reused name in that the first Katrina in Pokémon was a girl with a 
Raichu who appeared in the episode “Lights, Camera, Quack-tion”.  

I dislike it when evolved Pokémon make appearances in the series before the 
pre-evolved form only for the Pokédex to state they are the evolved form of a 
Pokémon newcomers will know nothing about and therefore the group shouldn’t 
know either; only they do sometimes.  

Jessie shouldn’t have been able to name Furret, the only appearance of one in 
the series that was noticed by the group was in the Johto League without Team 
Rocket in sight, yet Jessie can’t seem to identify a Murkrow, and don’t try to 
tell me Team Rocket have read up on all Pokémon because they clearly haven’t.  

May’s got a strange image of an evolved Torchic which is basically the same 
Pokémon but with muscles, if she’d done any studying at all she’d know what 
it’d look like as a Combusken.  
I’m surprised she even bothered to check the Pokédex to confirm this as she 
eventually does this episode.  

Ash shouldn’t be the one to talk about experience and travelling being what 
evolves a Pokémon, just how many of his have ever evolved after being caught 
by him? Let’s count:  Caterpie to Metapod to Butterfree (but they’re known to 
evolve quickly), Charmander to Charmeleon to Charizard, Krabby to Kingler 
(though Ash never travelled with it), Pidgeotto to Pidgeot and Chikorita to 
Bayleef.  
That makes a total of five Pokémon and seven evolutions which isn’t much 
considering seven other Pokémon of Ash’s past and present could have evolved 
but haven’t at this point.  

What part of Brock’s lecture did or didn’t Max already know? Since he’s so 
well read on Pokémon (supposedly) he should know everything to do with 
evolution, including the methods to evolve Pokémon and that not all Pokémon 
evolve at the same speed.  

When Brock starts talking like a teacher handing out homework the background 
and the lab coat he wears is very similar to when Oak recites poetry and was 
possibly the look and dialogue used in the original translation.  

New song count and one I’d forgotten about since it’s so rarely used, when Max 
trains Poochyena in battle, the song playing is an important one in the games 
since it’s played on route to the Hoenn League and played between battles with 
the Elite Four.  

Ash shouldn’t talk about faking losses to help a Pokémon evolve; he’s guilty 
of the same crime back in “The Problem with Paras” when his Pokémon blatantly 
held back against Cassandra’s Pokémon to evolve it, although she wanted it to 
evolve for reasons other than making it stronger for battle (or selfishly 
witnessing evolution).  

The joke about houses (in that Jessie wants to buy one while James want to 
move out of his) would be more effective had we not seen the place James grew 
up in.  
Besides, James is always travelling with Jessie so why is his home a remote 
issue to him, he technically already moved away when he preferred to have his 
freedom back in “Holy Matrimony!”.  

The wrongful fact of Albert Einstein having invented the light bulb is again 
mentioned by Team Rocket, they said the same thing back in “Haunter Versus 
Kadabra”, however the correct fact that it was Thomas Edison is pointed out by 
Max.  

Whatever Max learned in the books is ineffective as he’s become as gullible as 
the others in believing Team Rocket’s outrageous evolution machine.  
Can’t he tell that the ‘Persian’ was Meowth in costume and why do the group 
hardly suspect anything anymore at the mere mention of a Meowth?  

The Sunflora costume makes its third appearance in the series and I can’t 
believe Max can’t see through it right away like those before him.  
Aside from the one below, he also dresses up like an Aipom (which actually 
makes him look like one) but the Murkrow is ridiculously fake in that Meowth’s 
head is sticking out of the beak (much like Wobbuffet’s Miltank costume back 
in “Ring Masters”).  
However, Meowth doesn’t know all his Pokémon; he’s dressed up like an Azurill 
but imitates the voice of its evolved form Marill.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon launches kicks while spinning!)  
Hitmontop

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

The Lotad Lowdown

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Lotad, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Taillow, Treecko, Forretress, Torchic, 
Persian, Beedrill

Story:  

The group take some time out to relax and play in the local lake but several 
Pokémon are residents here and float towards the group and drag them under 
temporarily, luckily they turn out to be friendly Lotad who immediately bring 
them to the surface.  
They welcome the group with a shower display except one that appears to be a 
slow starter but just as powerful, a young girl confronts everyone.  
Team Rocket are famished as they walk, James nearly collapses before the 
others find a Tamato Berry in a tree and devour it; but it’s extremely hot.  
Natalie is lectured by her sister Nicole in their flower shop, the group 
properly introduce themselves and they are invited to stay for some pie.  
Natalie gets jealous of Brock’s interest in her sister and then her other 
sister Rita who enters and is also treated to Brock’s serenade.  
Natalie clearly has a crush on Brock and lavishes him with attention and 
gifts; outside the group release their Pokémon and are shown around the 
sisters’ garden where berries are grown for different uses including food for 
the local Pokémon.  
Brock shows an interest in Sitrus Berries and in finding ripe ones in the 
forest and accepts Natalie’s offer for a detailed list on types and quantity 
of berries to use on Pokémon but she clearly expresses her desire for him to 
be her boyfriend.  
Rita is concerned about replacing the old pipes they use but the Lotad are 
happy to help by transporting water to the garden since the sisters take care 
of the Lotad and share their berries with them.  
The group offer their services while Team Rocket have a drink (and Meowth and 
Jessie recover from their Tamato Berry experience), they spy on the group on 
the other side of the lake and Meowth has a plan to use the Lotad to get on 
the Boss’s good side.  
The group notice the same Lotad as before having trouble and holding up the 
queue wanting to water flowers, Brock helps direct it and it’s grateful while 
everyone approves of how well he takes care of Pokémon.  
After the Lotad return to the lake later on Nicole reports that Natalie has 
disappeared, she is looking for Sitrus Berries to give to Brock.  
Most of the group search at night all over for her and find the ditsy Lotad 
who is seemingly concerned and joins Brock; meanwhile Natalie succeeds in her 
quest but is attacked by a lone Beedrill.  
Brock and Forretress drive it away and Natalie happily gives the berry to 
Brock after her sister briefly scolds her for running off so recklessly.  
Pikachu senses something and at the lake Team Rocket stand in a boat and drive 
it after the motto in order to catch the Lotad.  
Pikachu rides the lone Lotad to quickly catch up with the villains, its Water 
Gun propelling it so Pikachu can leap onto the boat.  
The Lotad blasts the shutter with Water Gun so the other Lotad can escape and 
Pikachu completes its usual task of finishing Team Rocket off.  
Natalie completes her list as a parting gift to Brock but before everyone 
leaves the lone Lotad makes it clear it wants to be Brock’s Pokémon who 
promises to take care of it well.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie:  “Where are we anyway?...”  
Meowth:  “We’re in the forest...”  
Jessie:  “I have eyes! I can see that! I want the Name of this forest!”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

This is the first time that the video game brand of Pokémon Berries have been 
mentioned in the cartoon, the Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Sitrus Berries and 
Tamato Berries are more or less accurate visually, the only major error is the 
dubbing of Pecha Berries to Pechan Berries unless the residents in Hoenn 
prefer to pronounce it that way, regardless May pronounces it as Pecha in “All 
in a Day’s Wurmple”.  

The three sisters are based on characters from the games who work in a flower 
shop, the Wailmer Pail is also a game concept used in conjunction with growing 
berries which can be obtained by the player.  

I figure the Sitrus Berry plot was done differently in the original 
translation since there don’t appear to be any Sitrus Berries at all (even if 
unripe) on the tree the group look at in the garden.  

Max claims Lotad can’t normally can’t use Water Gun which is usually true, 
however with certain breeding methods Lotad can potentially gain this attack; 
still I think this occurs because a normal Lotad’s attacks are mostly ones the 
cartoon has decided not to use such as Absorb in the case of both Lotad and 
Treecko.  

Um, Ash volunteers to help and the group cheer like they aren’t normal kids 
who would normally not offer to do hard work, something’s not right there.  

Meowth’s latest Dream moment for the Boss to use Lotad as a water basin from 
his bed is farfetched in that the Boss would have to go the bathroom 
eventually for obvious reasons as well as needing a mirror to look presentable 
since he’s the leader of a crime group.  

Either some of the conversation was cut out, Natalie’s or Brock’s memories are 
slightly altered or this is a plain old error in that the dialogue used less 
than ten minutes ago is altered and re-dubbed.  
Brock originally commented on how the Sitrus Berries didn’t look quite ripe 
and wanted to go look for some but in the flashback he says he’d love to see 
some ripe Sitrus Berries.  
The second line about expressing desire to learn all about breeding appears 
very subtly re-dubbed, given it is the exact same line there was no real need 
to do so.  

After deflecting Beedrill, Forretress clearly has some squash and stretch 
based animation as it bounces across the floor.  
This is a lot more evident than the one bounce in “A Tail with a Twist” and 
more noticeable here.  

When Team Rocket speed left and right across the screen in the boat, they 
clearly aren’t catching any Lotad and are just going left and right without 
moving closer or farther away to catch the Lotad in the foreground or 
background who are clearly just part of the backdrop and not doing anything.  

Just because Brock taught it how to pour water doesn’t explain how the Lotad 
got so good to the point it could bust through a metal shutter with Water 
Gun.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon’s body temperature is over 1100 degrees!)  
Magby

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

The three sisters might turn up at some point during the third series.  

All Things Bright and Beautifly!

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Persian, Flaaffy, Slugma, Beautifly, Venomoth, Meowth, Marill, 
Sentret, Seviper, Smeargle, Ninetales, Lotad, Poochyena, Elekid, Taillow, 
Treecko, Wobbuffet, Torchic

Story:  

The group arrive at Rustboro Hall where trainers are preparing for a Pokémon 
Contest, a Beautifly becomes attached to May’s head until its trainer Janet 
arrives with her rival Chaz who owns a Venomoth.  
Ash is taught the rules of Contest Battles which focus more on the beauty of 
the attacks rather than the power, the official title of people who compete 
this way are Pokémon Co-ordinators and they compete in tournaments for the 
prizes of special ribbons.  
May is clearly interested with this type of training and later on with the 
running of the tournaments while Jessie manages to enter after getting her 
card renewed.  
May arrives shortly after and although the competing slots are all taken now 
May soon manages to get in on the show by becoming Janet’s assistant.  
Brock sees Chaz using Pokéblocks which are made from berries to develop a 
Pokémon’s statistics and inquires about them to help with his breeding 
studies.  
After finding out where he’s headed, Chaz questions Ash over his using Pikachu 
in Rustboro Gym since it’s an Electric-type and will have difficulty against 
Rock-types, Max does the same since May owns a Fire-type but she’s not even 
interested.  
Ash is invited by Chaz to teach Pikachu the Iron Tail attack, a Steel-type 
technique that has an advantage over Rock-types.  
Pikachu trains and builds its tail’s strength while Jessie reads up on the 
rules of the Contest in order to do well.  
The Contest begins and after the host introduces the judges and the conditions 
needed for co-ordinators to qualify for the Grand Festival the first round 
begins which is all about first impressions and for the trainer and Pokémon to 
use their talents and abilities to impress all.  
Pikachu trains with its fellow Pokémon in using its tail which briefly glows 
during the session, but Ash is saddened when he realises he’s missed Chaz’s 
first round, he arrives in time to see Janet and Beautifly along with May and 
Max’s assistance to stun the judges.  
Janet gets a perfect score of 30, and Ash soon congratulates Janet in the 
preparation area while Jessie is the final entry in the first round but her 
Seviper is unable to use any of the attacks she requests of it.  
Jessie goes with Poison Tail but she is hit by it and goes flying which 
results in the lowest score possible.  
Janet and Chaz are paired against each other in the final round while Jessie 
and Seviper cry over their loss but agree with the team that they should 
capture the winner of the Contest.  
The battle begins and Venomoth uses Stun Spore which is blown away by Gust, 
the energy levels on the screen are based on the judges’ opinion of different 
factors from each stage of the battle.  
A Hidden Power barrage is dodged by Venomoth but the beams are controlled by 
Beautifly and curve upwards to catch the opponent off guard.  
Venomoth’s Psybeam hits Beautifly so hard it takes a fall but a surprise 
Morning Sun technique cures it while releasing a beautiful light which 
impresses all and causes Chaz to lose points.  
Next Psybeam and Hidden Power combined cause an explosion and attacks like 
Flash and Confusion are used before the time runs out.  
Janet has slightly more points left than Chaz and wins the entire Contest, she 
is thanked by her friend but Team Rocket dress as a gratulatory committee and 
the flowers given to Janet release a thick smoke which Team Rocket uses to 
cloud their capture of Beautifly and Venomoth.  
Jessie’s Seviper attacks and Pikachu leaps to the rescue with Iron Tail but 
the attack fails to last long enough for Pikachu to strike, Torchic frees the 
captured Pokémon and the pair finish Team Rocket off with Gust.  
Janet is awarded the Rustboro Ribbon and May vows to compete in a Contest 
herself to win some ribbons of her own but doesn’t show as much interest in 
the traditional Gym Battles which Ash is psyched to compete in soon.  

My favourite Quote:  

Commentator (referring to Jessie’s and Seviper’s performance):  “Er...  I 
apologise to all of you for having to witness that atrocious spectacle.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

This comes as a surprise but the Flaaffy seen very briefly is the only one to 
have appeared in the series, the only time one has ever been seen before was 
the dream Flaaffy Molly concocted in the third Pokémon Movie.  
Apparently there was a Jynx in the episode but it was cut, the probable reason 
why is explained in the “Beauty is Skin Deep” (banned episode “The Ice Cave”) 
episode guide.  

The title pun is based on the name/line of a poem from James Herriot’s 
novels “All Things Bright And Beautiful”.  

Clearly another case of mistaken identity; one trainer’s Slugma has the 
dialogue of a Magcargo.  
I’m surprised this mistake wasn’t noticed since Magcargo is the answer to the 
silhouette and clue of this very episode’s Who’s That Pokémon feature.  

Contest participants in the series are dubbed as Pokémon Co-ordinators (the 
games used the term Contest Expert).  

The fact Jessie has an expired Contest card seemingly means that she once 
entered one before, that or she found or stole the card.  

Max is wrong for telling May to have Torchic learn Iron Tail with Pikachu 
since it cannot do so, only Pokémon with developed tails can initiate this 
Steel-type attack.  

Surely Jessie’s plan wouldn’t work; it’s one thing to get fans but surely only 
a small amount would throw away their morals and aspire to become Rockets even 
if Jessie asked them to.  

This episode introduces two judges who seem to appear at every Contest, 
Contesta and Sukizo who tend to be joined by the Nurse Joy of the town the 
Contest is hosted in.  
This must mean that no two Contests ever occur at the same time and that the 
former two travel around a lot.  

The Contests are run very differently to the games, firstly in that there are 
only four Contest locations in the games (but run five kinds of Contests 
focussing on the different Contest traits Beauty, Cool, Cute, Smart and 
Tough).  
The Rustboro Contest already proves that more towns in the series will have 
Contests than the games and contrary to just introducing the Pokémon and then 
all contestants taking turns the series has a better approach in having the 
Pokémon put on a show and then battling in a tournament.  
Note that all prior Beauty Contests in the series (“Beauty and the Breeder”) 
aren’t the same as the ones in Hoenn.  

Jessie seems to have read up only on attacks that might impress the judges; 
the obvious problem is that Sacred Fire, Water Pulse, Blaze Kick, Dragon Claw, 
Psywave and Luster Purge are completely out of Seviper’s range of attacks, 
especially Blaze Kick and Dragon Claw since Seviper has no limbs and more so 
with Sacred Fire and Luster Purge which are specialty attacks for legendary 
Pokémon Ho-Oh and Latios.  
Jessie dreams of the rewards of the Contest but clearly wasn’t prepared to do 
any of the work since she didn’t practice with Seviper one bit, else she’d 
have surely known it was incapable of these attacks.  
Meowth incorrectly states the above problem is because Seviper hasn’t learned 
any attacks but last time I checked Poison Tail, Bite and Haze qualify so he’s 
just phrasing things badly.  

When Max sees Janet and Chaz in the east and west sides of the tournament 
table he speaks as if the two competitors facing them don’t exist at all with 
certainty both will win their battles.  
I know they do and that Max is now friends with Janet and Chaz but he could 
have at least considered their opponents might actually pose a threat.  

If Chaz and Janet had battles and won to face each other, why is the group 
only now questioning and discussing the factors of Contest Battles? Weren’t 
they watching the last two battles?  

Okay, so Pikachu fails to complete Iron Tail attack but given it landed so far 
away from its target Seviper, it wouldn’t have worked unless the attack 
generates tremors.  

I’m surprised Torchic could deal such a powerful physical hit to Seviper, 
either it’s suddenly grown in strength or Seviper has gotten weak since 
becoming a fully fledged Rocket Pokémon.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon’s shell will break and spout flames!)  
Magcargo

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

Because I base the fanfic on the series the Rustboro Contest will probably be 
seen.   

All in a Day’s Wurmple

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Wurmple, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Bellossom, Weedle, Kakuna, Beedrill, 
Torchic, Seviper, Cacnea, Heracross, Ariados, Yanma, Treecko, Lotad, Forretress

Story:  

The group are closing in on Rustboro City as they cross through a forest, May 
encounters a Wurmple and after learning that it can evolve into Beautifly she 
hurries off to catch it.  
She briefly loses sight of it and explains to the group how impressed she was 
with Janet’s Beautifly and that she wants to compete in a Contest someday.  
The group settles down for a rest while May dashes off alone to find the 
Wurmple, Team Rocket spy on the group and Jessie is just as excited about 
catching a Wurmple while the rest of the team compromise in that they should 
catch many Wurmple and evolve them for the Boss.  
May stops in a field of Bellossom while Team Rocket look for Wurmple, Jessie 
kicks a Weedle out of a tree, followed by a Kakuna, the pattern holds true and 
several Beedrill drop down and chase Team Rocket right into May.  
They all take a fall and the Beedrill leave, May ditches Team Rocket in the 
middle of the motto to chase down Wurmple but Jessie catches up and May’s 
Torchic is soon attacked by Seviper.  
Torchic fails to impress and Cacnea teams up against it, luckily a Heracross 
appears and beats them back, it belongs to a boy called Franklin who has his 
Pokémon finish them properly and defeat the team in full.  
While May is offered help in finding and catching the Wurmple, Ash attempts to 
teach Pikachu Iron Tail attack again but the charge wears off twice before it 
hits its mark, Ash is challenged by an identical boy who is also called 
Franklin.  
The Franklin with May explains he’s a ranger around here as they scale a 
mountainside while Ash is taught the rules of Double Pokémon Battles which is 
a well known system in the Hoenn region.  
Pikachu and Treecko battle Ariados and Yanma, String Shot is dodged by the 
pair as is Yanma’s Sonic Boom, but Ariados’s binding Pikachu’s foot threatens 
it with another tornado attack.  
Treecko frees it and moves it aside, Night Shade and Swift are dodged and 
Pikachu shocks Yanma but is hit by another Night Shade before Treecko pushes 
it aside.  
There’s more dodging before Treecko’s Quick Attack lures both of Franklin’s 
Pokémon’s attacks, Ash has Pikachu use Iron Tail and pulls off its first 
successful hit against Yanma, defeating it.  
It falls short against Ariados though and it’s knocked aside by String Shot 
but Treecko gets a Pound attack in to finish the battle.  
Franklin congratulates Ash on his Pokémon’s skill and vice versa before Brock 
invites him to join them for stew.  
May finds Pecha Berries for her and Franklin and they sit to eat while 
Franklin considers possibly joining May on her journey.  
The Wurmple passes by again and Torchic is called to attack it, May’s first 
Pokéball is unsuccessful and May is advised to weaken it some more especially 
with Ember attack.  
May catches it this time but the Pokéball is stolen by Team Rocket in their 
balloon, it’s soon returned after Heracross pops it.  
Seviper and Cacnea quickly leap into attack, they dodge Torchic’s Ember attack 
and Cacnea hurts it but before Seviper can follow up it is stopped by 
Heracross.  
May’s Wurmple is added to the battle and its String Shot binds the Pokémon so 
Torchic can attack with Ember and Heracross can finish with Megahorn.  
Team Rocket are blasted off, May and Franklin return to the group with the 
other Franklin who just explained he got back to the woods not too long ago.  
The resemblance is immediately noticed and the Franklin Brothers, Forest and 
Forester, explain they are twins who decide among themselves for Forest to now 
go on a journey while Forester takes his turn to serve as the forest ranger.  
Lunch is shared with all but when Wurmple appears it greedily chows down on 
all the Pokémon’s food and then makes short work of the stew before curling up 
to sleep.  
Team Rocket hang over a chasm once again where another Wurmple is discovered 
nearby, with a simple Pokéball Jessie manages to catch it for herself; right 
before Wobbuffet’s blundering once again causes them all to take a fall.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie (to the rest of Team Rocket as they all hang from a branch over a 
chasm):  “Every time we have the perfect plan we end up in a scenario similar 
to this one and I now blame You!”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

The group are pretty sure Wurmple evolves into Beautifly but they shouldn’t 
assume that’s all it can become since it has branched evolutions and they 
definitely shouldn’t be confirming their opinions to May.  
What if May’s had evolved differently like someone else’s Wurmple does in a 
few episodes time?  

This episode shows that May’s a little more open minded than Misty ever was, 
regardless of the fact she tends to be scared of most Pokémon.  

The title pun is based on the phrase “All in a Day’s Work”.  

The Bellossom dance scene seems pointless since it doesn’t go anywhere plot-
wise.  

This is awry, given Torchic’s big hit to Seviper last episode, it’s suddenly 
gone back to being weak and pathetic against it, first it acts afraid of it 
when it first appears (probably due to its harassment in “A Tail with a 
Twist”) and then it doesn’t get a real hit in, it just ineffectively jumps 
around Seviper as if it were shouting.  

Brock’s notion on May catching a Pokémon by herself being a good thing falls 
flat on its face since she receives help from Forest not only in finding 
Wurmple but being practically directed by him while she fights and captures 
it.  

May’s blushing suggests that Forest said something else to her in the original 
translation since his comment about her independence wouldn’t realistically 
get that kind of result from a girl.  

This is the first time an official Double Battle has been staged; the one 
in “Pokémon Double Trouble” doesn’t count since it’s not quite the same in 
that only one Pokémon in either team had to be defeated for a win.  

May’s catching of Wurmple is yet another similarity with Ash in that his first 
Pokémon capture was the Bug-type Caterpie who evolves into a butterfly 
Pokémon.  

Forest is a hypocrite; he moans at Team Rocket for their two-against-one 
battling but advises May to use her Wurmple when her Torchic and his Heracross 
are already battling against Team Rocket’s two Pokémon.  
May’s Pokémon are possibly low level but that’s still no excuse, besides, I’m 
certain his Heracross would have prevailed if not for Wurmple and not just 
because I have a liking for the former Bug-type.  

Not to be rude, but the roles of the brothers seems mixed up, at least when 
looking at their Pokémon.  
Forest who travels with May wants to go on a journey and has a powerful 
Heracross who succeeds in all the battles seen, while Forester who has been on 
a journey has a Yanma and Ariados who are outmanoeuvred and defeated by Ash’s 
Pokémon (even with Pikachu’s high level, Treecko beats Ariados with its first 
natural attack).  
Surely it should have been the other way around since Forest’s Heracross 
shouldn’t have been as skilful as it was what with its training being confined 
to the forest for so long.  

This and the next episode are the only ones so far in that Cacnea hasn’t hurt 
James via its hugging, “Tree’s a Crowd” almost counted except it hurt James 
during the blast off by simply holding onto him.  

Brock’s ‘joke’ about good looks taking one far is questionable, who is he 
referring to? Cute Pokémon in general, all the girls he’s ever fallen for or 
himself? The latter is probable but either way it doesn’t get him far with the 
ladies.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon is known as the ruler of the seas!)  
Lugia

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

Gonna Rule The School!

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Poliwag, Magby, Rattata, Pidgey, Marill, Teddiursa, Bellossom, 
Squirtle, Mareep, Elekid, Poliwhirl, Psyduck, Farfetch’d, Oddish, Sentret, 
Skiploom, Sneasel, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Voltorb, Venonat, Jigglypuff, 
Staryu, Arbok, Hitmontop, Jumpluff, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, 
Caterpie, Wartortle, Wooper, Eevee, Cubone, Shellder, Mudkip, Scyther, 
Metapod, Sunflora, Smeargle, Houndoom, Sandshrew, Nidoran Male, Charmander, 
Ditto, Taillow, Treecko, Forretress, Lotad, Swinub, Beedrill, Hoppip, Weedle, 
Smoochum, Seviper, Wurmple, Cacnea, Bulbasaur, Geodude

Story:  

The group finally arrive at Rustboro City and do a little sightseeing, after 
Ash embarrasses himself Max finds a Poliwag hiding under a bench and gains its 
trust.  
On its tail is a symbol that’s seen right before a girl called Roxanne 
reclaims it and returns it to Kenny; one of her students.  
At the mention of the Training Academy Max wants to check it out and the group 
are invited to have a look around, the Gym is nearby but Ash is overruled by a 
guided tour of the school first.  
The group are shown around different areas of the school (a Pokémon Doctor 
Class, Co-ordinator Class and Battle Class) before ending up at Roxanne’s 
Beginner Class.  
Meanwhile Team Rocket plan on another souvenir selling scheme while the group 
are surprised to find Oak speaking to a class via videophone and Max is 
finally introduced to him.  
Oak spills the beans and reveals Roxanne to be the Gym Leader who arranges 
with Ash to battle later since she’s got some teaching of this class to do 
until then.  
Max is challenged by a boy called Tommy who quizzes him on Pokémon; he manages 
to answer all of the questions.  
The next room on the tour is the Pokéball storage area where the Pokémon here 
are trained to obey anyone who chooses them for battle, Team Rocket spy in and 
find this factor appealing and useful to their schemes.  
At night Ash and Pikachu practice Iron Tail again, it still hasn’t quite got 
the hang of it but trains regardless.  
In the morning Max joins a study group in the Beginner Class and converses 
with a girl called Anita who doesn’t particularly like Pokémon, the same goes 
for Kenny (who is afraid to even touch them).  
Tommy attempts to wind up Max who’s congratulated by Anita for making him mad 
by answering all his questions the day before.  
Ash and Brock agree to let out their Pokémon and are credited for their 
efforts (Ash’s League places and Brock’s former Gym Leader status).  
Ash tries to introduce Pikachu to Kenny but Tommy steps on Poliwag’s tail who 
nearly hits Max and Kenny with Water Gun, he’s accused of doing this on 
purpose but it’s not clear either way, however he doesn’t show any remorse for 
it.  
May walks out on a quiz while Max has a battle against Tommy, his Pokéball 
releases Poliwag who faces Magby but during the battle Max clearly overuses 
stat enhancing techniques with Defence Curl and Belly Drum and is looking to 
lose the fight.  
The alarm goes off before Tommy can finish the battle as Team Rocket have 
managed to steal the school’s Pokémon and now attack in a giant Wurmple 
robot.  
They close their protective shutters whenever Pikachu launches a Thunderbolt 
at them, Forretress attacks but is deflected by Seviper.  
May has her Wurmple join the battle and its String Shot is torn apart by 
Cacnea, this provokes Jessie to show off with her own Wurmple but she returns 
it immediately after deciding she doesn’t want the adorable thing to get 
involved.  
Max and Poliwag decide to fight too but he’s advised by a more outspoken Kenny 
to use an offensive attack and the flaws in his previous battle in only 
powering up Poliwag.  
Poliwag blasts Seviper which provokes a jealous Tommy to have his Magby burn 
Cacnea.  
Roxanne stops Ash from intervening in order to let the kids devise their own 
plans with promises to get involved if it becomes too dangerous.  
Poliwag’s Water Gun is blocked by the shutters and it uses Protect against 
Cacnea’s needles, meanwhile Tommy and Magby have been secretly heating up the 
robot.  
Anita and Pidgey’s Wing Attack cuts the Pokéballs down and Roxanne uses her 
Geodude and its Rollout attack to damage and explode the latest Team Rocket 
contraption.  
The group of youngsters congratulate each other on their parts in the battle 
and all four have changed, learned something and become friends.  
Ash is psyched after witnessing Roxanne’s strength and is dead set on facing 
her in the morning.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie (to her Wurmple before returning it to its ball no sooner than it has 
appeared for battle):  “Aw, you’re too cute for this icky battle, buh-bye...”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Max shouldn’t be saying ‘Awesome’ even once after the moaning he gave his 
sister two episodes ago when she overused the word.  

Another child named Tommy since “The Kangaskhan Kid”; surely there were many 
other names to choose from other than previously used ones or at least 
variations of the name like Tom or Thomas.  

Max doesn’t answer Tommy’s first question fully, he only states the obvious 
Electric weakness Flying Pokémon have (clearly because of hanging with Pikachu 
for so long) and fails to add that Ice and particularly Rock attacks are 
equally if not more effective.  

Some of the Pokémon only used in the background are of strange sizes, there 
are some unusually big Pokémon that are small and vice versa which makes it 
seem like background art isn’t a high priority nor given as much care and 
effort as the foreground characters, check out a small Sunflora in May’s class 
and the gigantic Weedle and Hoppip before and throughout Max’s battle and the 
Team Rocket incident.  

Roxanne is aware of Brock’s role as the Pewter City Gym Leader and compliments 
the Gym as the flagship for Rock Pokémon; clearly she’s not aware of the 
changes that were made to it in Pokémon Chronicles (“A FAMILY THAT BATTLES 
TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER”).  

Okay, not only does Max clearly overuse techniques to boost stats rather than 
attack, he’s technically using the wrong ones to do so.  
With Magby constantly using Flamethrower, Defence Curl and Belly Drum are so 
not the ways to stop it, since they raise attack and defence power but both 
Flamethrower and Water Gun are special attacks!  

It’s been a while since James’s red rose has been seen, however it is only 
seen in a small portion of the motto so it’s questionable if it was really 
present or just imaginary as most of the backdrops and props seem to be 
sometimes.  

Another colouring error in that the top area of the robot Wurmple’s head 
changes from red to pale yellow like its lower head and underside during 
Pikachu’s initial assault, it’s got nothing to do with the electricity if 
anyone’s thinking of asking.  

I’ve been waiting for this one to happen ever since Brock dropped all his 
Pokémon for Forretress, it should not have been harmed by Seviper’s Poison 
Tail attack.  
Steel-types are completely invincible against Poison attacks, they not only 
can’t be poisoned but they aren’t damaged at all by attacks of the type, 
what’s worse is that Forretress doesn’t make a comeback later so it’s likely 
Brock recalled it because it was supposedly defeated, at best the impact might 
have done something but that still speaks badly of Forretress if one physical 
hit could defeat it.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon is the second evolutionary stage of Totodile!)  
Croconaw

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

Of course I’ll be including the Training Academy much like each other region’s 
school.  

The Winner by a Nosepass

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Geodude, Treecko, Nosepass

Story:  

Ash and Pikachu seem to have perfected Iron Tail attack on a large rock 
structure, but it can’t handle an immediate repeat attack.  
May is forced to finally come clean in that she’s not interested in competing 
in Gym Battles but after explaining herself and her reasons (including the 
selfish ones she originally had) the group support her decision to become a 
Pokémon Co-ordinator.  
Team Rocket discover who Roxanne truly is and despite their track record they 
go ahead in digging a tunnel to steal her Pokémon from the Gym.  
Ash and the others enter the Gym where May’s decision is also accepted and 
supported by Roxanne, several students serve as assistants here and Ash 
accepts Roxanne’s request to videotape the battle for her classes.  
It soon begins and Max is excited about seeing a Gym Battle (his father never 
let him so as not to distract challengers), Ash chooses Treecko to face off 
against Geodude but he makes an error in that although Treecko is a Grass 
Pokémon, it currently has no Grass-type attacks yet so type advantage will not 
work.  
Treecko doesn’t power through with physical attacks and is thrown into the air 
by Mega Punch, it comes down with a pounding tail attack from a great height 
with added speed along with its body weight which catches Roxanne off guard 
but this doesn’t defeat her Geodude completely.  
It unearths itself and Rollout gets it high and close enough to take Treecko 
out with Mega Punch.  
Pikachu is next and begins with Thunder which despite all estimations manages 
to decimate the majority of the rocky field.  
This doesn’t hinder Geodude though and Quick Attack must be used to dodge a 
barrage of rocks from Rock Throw and Mega Punch hits Pikachu, however when it 
tries to use Rollout it discovers that the now uneven terrain makes it 
impossible to resolve in a steady line.  
Thunder at close range defeats it and Nosepass is the next Pokémon which 
Pikachu immediately hits with its new Iron Tail attack.  
Pikachu dodges a stomping attack but its second Iron Tail charge wears off 
before it hits and it’s realised by everyone else that Pikachu can’t handle 
two Iron Tail attacks in a row.  
Nosepass uses Rock Tomb attack to encase Pikachu in a spire of stone and crush 
it, Thunder is used to blast its way out but now Pikachu’s energy is running 
low.  
As Team Rocket dig upwards, Nosepass uses Sandstorm to cloud the field, it 
negates the effects on itself using its electromagnet nose as a compass to 
locate Pikachu and presses its weight against it before attempting to step on 
it.  
Pikachu escapes and dodges around more Rock Tomb attacks and more of 
Nosepass’s physical attacks in order to wear it out and daze it, as it tries 
to locate Pikachu with traditional sight it appears above and attempts to use 
Iron Tail but falls short again, it is confirmed that Pikachu needs time to 
charge this particular attack for a successful hit.  
Nosepass jumps and uses Thunder Wave but Pikachu dodges and James’s shovel is 
hit, blasting Team Rocket out of their tunnel.  
Roxanne underestimates Ash’ confidence and Pikachu’s vitality in that they’re 
still able to battle on.  
Pikachu charges head on and Roxanne retaliates with Zap Cannon but Ash has 
Pikachu receive the attack head on and get in close so some of the energy is 
redirected onto Nosepass; paralysing it.  
This gives Pikachu the perfect opportunity to charge up a finishing blow in 
the form of another Iron Tail attack.  
Everyone is impressed, Ash is awarded the Stone Badge and already his thoughts 
are on getting to the next Gym to continue his quest in Hoenn.  

My favourite Quote:  

Ash (to Roxanne):  “The tougher the battle; that just means the harder we 
fight, we’re just gettin’ warmed up.”  
May:  “Wonder where he gets all of that confidence?”  
Brock:  “Especially since he has nothing to base it on.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

The title pun comes from the racing term “Winner by a nose”.  

I think everyone knew May would give up on Gym Battles after her obvious 
attraction to the Contests, that and the fact it might get boring if Ash 
fought in a Gym Battle and then May did so too.  
The same could be said for my stories but as readers know, the main 
characters’ Gym Battles are done in the main storyline while the others 
involving side characters are kept separate for optional reading.  

Max claims his dad never let him watch any of the Gym Battles in case he 
distracted the trainers, the claim is slightly falsified in that he watched an 
unofficial match against Ash with the rest of the family (and talked plenty 
during which) in “There’s no Place Like Hoenn”.  
Judging by his behaviour in “Balance of Power”, it’s no wonder why he was 
banned.  

Treecko should very well have learned a Grass attack seeing as it’s gone past 
the point it should have done considering it knows Quick Attack which is 
normally learned after Absorb.  
The reason why this isn’t apparent is probably because Absorb has never been 
used in the series before and they probably don’t know how they would go about 
visualising the attack.  

Again the most basic mistake is made! I first thought the scriptwriters might 
have learned something when Pikachu’s initial Electric assault appears useless 
on Geodude but then it goes and defeats it with Thunder.  
Using Pikachu in a Rock Gym is always frowned on but for the wrong reasons 
since it’s the Ground aspect that Pikachu is weak against, not the Rock side.  
Unfortunately, unlike Nosepass, Geodude is also a Ground-type and the mistake 
already made in “SHOWDOWN IN PEWTER CITY” is repeated again in that Pikachu 
should not be able to defeat Geodude with electricity (and it doesn’t matter 
if Pikachu was at close range, it shouldn’t have made a difference).  

Roxanne is the first Gym Leader since Brock and Misty that uses the same 
Pokémon as her counterpart character role in the games (excluding spin-off 
games like Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Emerald which sometimes base the line-up 
on the series’ Gym Leaders’).  

Roxanne’s dubbed comment about not falling for a second Iron Tail attack is 
slightly off in that there’s no known rule that says Iron Tail doesn’t work 
twice in a row; her Nosepass was hit dead on technically by Pikachu’s tail so 
had it been more experienced with the attack it would certainly have damaged 
the foe.  

Roxanne’s partly wrong about the surprise aspect of Nosepass’s Thunder Wave 
attack, it’d be a surprise if she’d taught it via a TM (Technical Machine) but 
Nosepass learns Thunder Wave naturally, had Ash merely done a little more 
research he’d have known this (take it from me; surprise attacks are one of my 
specialties).  

What happened to the large hole in front of Pikachu? It doesn’t move while Ash 
converses with Roxanne but when Pikachu charges directly forward the gap 
doesn’t affect it in the slightest.  

I’ll accept the energy of Zap Cannon could be redirected and paralyse 
Nosepass, but the 50/50 accuracy flaw of the attack is meant to be made up by 
the fact a successful hit causes paralysis every time; therefore Pikachu 
should have been paralysed also (unless Pikachu managed to somehow redirect 
both the majority of the attack and its added effect onto Nosepass).  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

(This Pokémon has a shell like sheet rock!)  
Pupitar

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

Roxanne will appear but may or may not be the Gym Leader considering Series 3 
takes place 20 or so years after this episode.  

Episodes #273 - #280
Episodes #289 - #296
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