This episode is essential viewing because: Ash continues to battle in the League. Ash battles Gary.

The episode starts with a recap of the previous episode and then it moves onto the theme song.

Ash tells Heracross to dodge Blastoise’s hydro pump by hiding behind the rocks, but the hydro pump is just too powerful and destroys the rock, taking Heracross out of the match. Gary’s cheerleaders cheer, “Gary, Gary, number one. Show these losers how it’s done.” Misty nervously comments on how powerful that hydro pump was and Brock says that Ash couldn’t have done anything to defend Heracross against it. Pikachu, Togepi, Politoed, and Psyduck don’t seem worried, as they keep cheering Ash on.

Ash’s next move is to choose Muk. Gary orders a skull bash, which knocks Muk back a good few feet, but Muk looks ready for more. Ash tells Muk to use sludge bomb, but Blastoise defends with rapid spin. Gary then orders it to attack Muk, but Ash tells Muk to hold its ground. Blastoise gets stuck in Muk, allowing Muk to smother it. Professor Oak says that it isn’t a very pleasant experience and Delia continues to take pictures of the battle. Blastoise manages to escape from Muk by using hydro pump. Ash recalls it before it gets hurt more. Misty and Brock wonder what Ash will do next and Harrison watches from the top of the stadium’s stairs.

Ash sends out Bayleef. Gary isn’t surprised that Ash chose a grass type and orders a hydro pump. Ash tells Bayleef to use its vines to jump, allowing Bayleef to dodge the hydro pump and surprise Gary and everyone else. While in the air, Ash orders Bayleef to use razor leaf, but Blastoise once again uses rapid spin to protect itself. Ash then orders Bayleef to use body slam, a wise choice according to Brock. However, Gary orders Blastoise to use bite attack, and Blastoise bites down on Bayleef’s leaf. Gary then orders Blastoise to throw Bayleef, and Blastoise wins by throwing her against the wall. “Gary, Gary, he’s our man. If he can’t do it no one can.” Gary seems to have learned something from Ash’s strategy. Ash admits that Gary is a pretty good trainer, but isn’t too worried, as he thinks he’s good, too. Since three of Ash’s pokémon have been knocked out, there will be a five-minute intermission.

Pikachu really wants to battle, but Ash wasn’t planning on using him, and according to the rules, one must register all of the pokémon he or she will use before the battle. Pikachu is a little mad at Ash for not including him in the strategy. Delia says that Ash and Gary haven’t changed a bit. Gary was always more confident than Ash, and therefore always took the lead. Professor Oak says that Gary really values Ash as a friend even if he won’t admit it, and that Ash probably feels the same way about Gary.

Intermission over. Ash sends out Snorlax and Gary responds by sending out Arcanine. Misty wonders what Gary’s strategy is. Brock says that he will probably save his Blastoise for last. Ash orders a body slam, but Arcanine dodges. While Snorlax is off balance, Arcanine uses fire spin, immobilizing Snorlax. Ash orders a hyper beam and Arcanine is knocked out with one hit, despite Snorlax being trapped. Everyone is surprised at how powerful Snorlax is.

Gary’s next choice is Nidoqueen. Ash remembers that it knows how to use hyper beam and tells Snorlax to be on guard. Gary tells Nidoqueen to use its tail to jump and thanks Ash for teaching him that strategy. Nidoqueen lands a double kick. It attempts to use hyper beam, but Snorlax dodges. Ash tells Snorlax to use ice punch, taking Nidoqueen out. Gary wonders how a snorlax can be so fast. Misty and Brock are happy, as things are finally starting to look up for Ash.

Gary sends out Scizor next. Gary orders quick attack, which hits Snorlax several times. Ash tells Snorlax to use hyper beam, but Scizor dodges and takes Snorlax out with metal claw. Brock comments that Ash designed his team for power, which will make it difficult to battle Scizor’s speed.

Ash sends out Muk next. Gary orders another quick attack, but Muk just absorbs it, hurting Scizor. Ash orders sludge bomb, Scizor dodges, and Gary orders a metal claw. Muk absorbs the metal claw as well, giving Ash bragging rights, but Gary orders Scizor to send Muk flying. A swift from Scizor ends the round. All of Ash’s fans look worried, even his pokémon. He only has one choice left.

And that choice is Charizard. Gary is neither surprised nor worried. He orders Scizor to use steel wing. Ash orders a flamethrower and Gary tells Scizor to dodge, but Ash and Charizard won’t allow that to happen. One close-range flamethrower and Scizor is out of the match. Delia is disappointed that she missed another good shot, but Professor Oak assures her that the battle isn’t over yet.

Gary’s last pokémon is Golem. Brock is worried, as Golem is strong against fire types like Charizard. Golem’s fist move is magnitude. The announcer says that although each magnitude attack is different, this one looks very powerful. Ash tells Charizard to pick Golem up and use seismic toss, but Golem is unsurprisingly too heavy. Gary orders a rollout when both pokémon land, but Ash tells Charizard to use dragon rage before Golem can connect. Golem is out.

The only pokémon Gary has left is Blastoise, who has an advantage over Charizard, but Ash doesn’t seem the least bit worried. Who’s that pokémon?! It’s Bayleef!!

Ash orders flamethrower, but Blastoise uses its usual rapid spin technique to defend. Ash looks worried. Gary’s next order is a hydro pump, which lands a direct hit, but Ash tells Charizard to fly before it can get hurt more. Ash tells Charizard to get behind Blastoise, but whatever strategy he had in mind was ruined when Blastoise hit it with a powerful skull bash. The announcer says that Charizard’s flamethrower is useless at this point. Macy, Jackson, and all of the audience members that had been cheering Ash on so far look worried. Ash orders Charizard to attack from above, but Gary orders Blastoise to use hydro pump. Charizard is too busy dodging hydro pumps to attack. Gary tells Ash that he can be a genius when he needs to be, but that can’t match Blastoise’s sheer power. Misty looks extremely worried. Brock says that although fire attacks aren’t so great against water types, they can be effective if it’s a direct hit. Charizard has managed to launch a few attacks, but none of them are actually hitting. Ash has figured out that it’s useless, as he can’t really do anything until he figures out how to stop the hydro pumps. When Charizard accidentally melts one of the boulders on the battlefield, Ash suddenly gets an idea. He tells Charizard to use flamethrower on the actual battlefield instead of Blastoise. Everyone wonders if he’s lost his mind, but Gary knows better. He looks more worried than anyone, including fans, has all battle and wonders aloud what Ash’s strategy is. The announcer also thinks Ash has lost his mind, but then notices that the battlefield has completely melted, leaving Blastoise nowhere to run. Gary tells Blastoise to cool the field down with hydro pump, making the whole place become invisible under the steam. The steam clears and it seems that Blastoise and Charizard are in hand-to-hand combat. Gary for once looks more worried than Ash does, seeing as Blastoise can’t use hydro pump at such a close range. Ash tells Charizard to use dragon rage, but Blastoise dodges by withdrawing its head. Ash then orders a seismic toss, but Blastoise bites Charizard while the two are in the air. Chrizard is still hanging on, but everyone including President Goodshow wonders if seismic toss will work this time. The pokémon land. They stare each other down for a few minutes, but then Blastoise collapses.

At first, Ash is stunned and speechless with the fact that he actually defeated his biggest rival. Gary doesn’t seem too upset and walks out of the stadium with a grunt. It isn’t until Pikachu jumps up on Ash’s shoulder that Ash snaps out of his daze and fully comprehends that he ACTAULLY DEFEATED GARY. He lets out a huge cheer along with Brock and Misty.

Jessie yells at Delibird for taking their money, but can’t stop it even by physically holding it back. Meowth points out to her that if their business keeps being as successful as it has been, they’ll be out of debt in no time. JessieCo start making plans for a chain of souvenir shops while Delibird makes its escape. Ash finds Gary late at night staring out over the lake. Gary hands him the half pokeball that they got into a fight over so long ago. Ash won’t take it at first, but Gary insists. He says that losing to Ash didn’t really feel like losing, as it was a great battle. He says that he always felt like a failure for tying with Ash over the pokeball fight, but he doesn’t feel that way now that he lost to Ash fair and square. Ash says that he got stronger by battling Gary. The two rivals shake hands and Gary wishes Ash luck. I’m on a master quest! Pokémon! Ash’s second battle is against Harrison on the grass field. Ash sends out Pikachu and Harrison tells Ash that he won’t go easy, even if they are friends. He sends out Kecleon. To be continued…

This episode guide has been written by KasumiMizuno.

Characters appearing in this episode

Ash

Misty

Brock

Jessie

James

Meowth

Ash's Pikachu

Pokémon appearing in this episode

• Pikachu belonging to Ash
• Meowth

There are currently 0 comments on this story... you could be first!