442: Second Times The Charm
Dodgy Synopsis
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446: Batoru Tawa! Ishindenshin Batoru!
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Yesterday Ash.... lost! Yes his long running winning streak ended against Annabelle, the Battle Tower Trainer and Salon Maiden who can communicate silently with her Pokémon. Today finds him at the Pokémon Centre picking up a rejuvenated Pikachu as Scott shows up. The John Candy lookalike tells him he is sorry things went so badly, then surprisingly expresses surprise when he learns that Ash wants another go at Annabelle. Well hey, you know what they say....
Ash explains that he isn't actually going to change the Pokémon he plans to use, it is simply a matter of changing his tactics. Having left the Centre (and Scott), he proceeds to dump out the other twerps as well as he takes Corphish, Tauros and Pikachu for a run as the first part of their bonding process, while May notes that it's all so simple for him.... and, well, simple does kind of sum up Ash! Brock points out that it is always a good idea to be friendly with your Pokémon, and indeed they all seem to be enjoying Ash's latest bonding strategy of.... beating up a tree!
The poor defenceless tree turns out not to be so defenceless after all though, as a swarm of angry Beedrill immediately come out after them. They leg it in horror, Ash belatedly remembering this is where he encountered a Beedrill the previous day. He spots Annabelle as he runs and hilariously actually happily calls out to her that he "did it again!" She stares at him in horror and disbelief then starts running as well. He asks her if she can calm them down again and she cries out that they're too angry (and in a gang mentality!) so they run, while the Beedrill jam their stingers into Tauros' butt (oh it's THAT kind of nest), shocking the horrified Pokémon which zooms ahead even faster right into Annabelle and then Ash, causing a repeat of yesterday's clothes soaking.
After fishing themselves out of the lake (the Beedrill apparently being only capable of moving in a straight forward direction) we find Ash and Annabelle covered in green muck and sharing a laugh after pointing out that they both look funny. Ash figures he should get the soaking wet Tauros cleaned up and Annabelle says she'll help. Brock - reduced to living his romantic life vicariously through a ten year old boy - smiles knowingly at the two while May and Max share confused glances.
As Ash and Annabelle clean Tauros, Corphish happily splashes them with water so - since they're already soaked - they jump into the water to swim with the happy crab, which Annabelle translates as meaning that it hasn't had a chance to swim for awhile (also that it's a happy jerk!). May watches Annabelle and Ash splashing each other, while her Munchlax stares happily at the cookpot, and it is clear that love is involved in at least ONE of the longing looks.
Meanwhile underground, Team Rocket have dug a tunnel and are preparing for an underground attack on the twerps. But after Meowth Fury Swipes his way through the last few inches of dirt, they find their shovel poking into a big, wide Munchlax ass! The tunnel caves in on top of them, Munchlax sitting happily on top of them. Managing to poke their heads out through the ground, they spot the meal and instantly forget all about Pikachu, scoffing down as a knife wielding Brock demands to know what they're doing.
"A plate is one of my favourite places!"
"An evil like this delicacy!"
"Sent here to fulfil our empty bellies!"
"Meowth eats fah frees!!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jesse!"
"And James!"
"Now mix Meowth's wif da names!"
"Whenever there’s peace in the universe!"
"Team Rocket!"
"Will be dere!"
"To make everything a whole lot worse!" they finish together.
"WOBBBBBB-BUH!"
"Mime Mime!"
Ash roars at them to get away from Pikachu despite the fact they're nowhere near it! They reply angrily that they're only interested in dinner, and turn around.... only to see Munchlax happily running away with the table of food. Horrified that they're getting what they wanted to steal stolen, they hit a button and from their tunnel inflates a.... a giant Wobbuffet balloon/robot combo!
Well.... of course!
May calls out Eevee, which tackles the balloon-bot and bounces straight off the inflated blue blob. Team Rocket laugh, is that all it can.... and then they realise that Eevee must have a pointed head, since it has punctured the surface, and Team Rocket find themselves blasting off again!
With Team Rocket defeated, the twerps presumably have their delayed lunch despite Munchlax having run away with it earlier. Ash and May decide to try and emulate Annabelle's "sensing" talent. They stare at Corphish and Combusken respectively, staring deep into their eyes and thinking,"Harden, Harden," and "Peck, Peck," while both Pokémon start to sweat and look on with horror.... why the fuck are their trainers just staring at them!
Or maybe they can sense their thoughts after all and are terrified as to why these kids are thinking,"HARDEN PECK!" at them!
Annabelle explains she doesn't know how she is able to communicate so well with Pokémon, she just can, maybe because she was around Pokémon a lot as a kid. She points out a flower to Ash and says it is happily singing away, and Brock seems to know at least somewhat what she is talking about, saying she has her ear tuned into mother nature. Annabelle asks Ash to try and sense what is in HER heart and stares directly at the dim young boy, who spent several seasons travelling with Misty and never "got it". He stares back at her and then says he doesn't sense anything! Annabelle blushes and says he is just fine the way he is.
They return to the Battle Tower where Ash prepares for a second shot at his sixth symbol. It is the same rules as before, three Pokémon each, but only Ash able to substitute. Annabelle calls out Alakazam and Ash calls out Corphish, exactly the same as their last battle. Corphish uses Crabhammer which clashes with Alakazam's Focus Punch, then the crabby Pokémon tries Bubblebeam only for it to be deflected by Psybeam, kicking up smoke just like in their last battle. This time Ash doesn't wait around like last time, sending in Corphish to use Vice Grip.... but before it can it is lifted up with Psychic and tossed about. Ash stares on in concern and then gapes as he seems to share a "moment of understanding" with Corphish (which is probably both of them thinking,"Man it sucks to be getting the shit kicked out of me!") and orders it to use Bubblebeam. Despite still flying backwards, Corphish lets rip with Bubblebeam and Alakazam is caught by surprise, as well as Annabelle who wasn't expected Corphish to be able to attacking while in the process of being knocked back. She orders Alakazam to use Recover, and Ash "senses" that Corphish wants to use Crabhammer so sends it in, only for Alakazam to prepare to block with Focus Punch.... but Corphish knew it was coming, dodges and uppercuts Alakazam right in the goddamn face!
Alakazam stumbles back and then blasts Corphish with Psybeam, confusing it before rushing in to use Focus Punch. But despite being confused, the wide-eyed Corphish leaps forward to intercept and slams Alakazam with a Crabhammer, much to the delight of the twerps!
As the two fall through the air away from each other, Ash grabs out Corphish's Pokeball and calls it back, then sends it right back out to use Bubble Beam and blast the fuck out of Alakazam, knocking it out.... Ash wins the first fight of the rematch! Scott is rather impressed, noting that Ash cured Corphish's confusion by returning it to its Pokeball.
The cool, calm collected psychic aptitude of Alakazam has failed Annabelle, so she goes for an abomination against nature as her second choice, calling out Metagross! Corphish is tired and panting and Ash knows it can't survive a close-up encounter, so tells it to use Bubblebeam to hit from a distance. But Metagross closes the distance and blasts Corphish with a Meteor Mash, knocking it right out with one shot and giving Annabelle the win back!
Ash returns Corphish to its Pokeball and calls out Tauros, Max noting that a Normal Pokémon like Tauros won't be very effective against an abomination against nature like Metagross. Tauros tries Take Down and hits hard against Metagross' Iron Defence, then tries Horn Attack before dodging Meteor Mash and throwing the monstrous Pokémon into the air. It charges again and Annabelle calls for a Hyperbeam, but Tauros responds by using Double-team, forcing Annabelle to waste the Hyperbeam on all the illusory Tauros before hitting the real deal. Tauros is sent stumbling back but is still okay, able to charge forward again and smash Metagross with Horn Attack. Both Pokémon charge each other again, Metagross tries Meteor Mash and Tauros trying Takedown, and they crash together and..... knock each other out!
This leaves Ash and Annabelle with one Pokémon each, and Annabelle's choice is Espeon, which Scott has informed the twerps is her favourite Pokémon. Ash sends in Pikachu, which tries a Quick Attack, but Espeon dodges and uses Quick Attack itself, which Pikachu can't quite dodge. Pikachu then tries Iron Tail, but again Espeon dodges and uses Iron Tail. Pikachu then tries Thunderbolt, which Espeon sure as hell can't emulate.... only it kind of does! Espeon uses Zap Cannon, blasting through Thunderbolt and sending Pikachu flying. Pikachu jumps straight back up looking pissed as hell, and Ash says he knows it doesn't want to lose to an electric attack, so try another Thunderbolt! Espeon dodges and uses Psychic to slam Pikachu into the ceiling, but it doesn't get knocked out and lands safely before trying another Quick Attack while Annabelle calls for Espeon to be ready to use Psychic, and it does, sending Pikachu straight towards the ceiling again... but Pikachu bounces off the roof and lands on a light fixture, then uses Thunderbolt which blasts out the lights in the arena before smashing into Espeon.
Espeon tries Zap Cannon but Pikachu dodges again and again before firing back with Thunderbolt, while Annabelle's vaunted "sense" is completely wasted as neither she nor Espeon can see a thing in the darkness, and Espeon is hit with another blast of Thunderbolt. Pikachu leaps through the darkness with an Iron Tail as Annabelle urges Espeon to try and relax, and then the power comes back on just in time for Espeon to get smashed by Iron Tail. Pikachu charges forward with Volt Tackle and Espeon tries desperately to use Zap Cannon, but it seems to either just miss or actually deflect off of the rushing Pikachu which charges straight into Espeon and.... BOOM!
Espeon hits the ground hard and is out... it's over, Ash wins!
ASH WINS!
Yes, his winning streak came to an end last episode, but today he has shown why he is so successful at what he does. A trainer/Gym Leader/Frontier Brain etc appear to focus on a particular way of training/particular type of Pokémon. It is a very effective strategy, but if you take away their advantage they flounder about trying to figure out what to do next. Ash, meanwhile, despite a penchant for trying to power his way through matches, also has a wide range of different Pokémon and tries different strategies, adapting to what he is taking on and getting to grips with changes in style and technique as needed.
The twerps cheer while Scott thinks to himself that Annabelle got a little carried away in the heat of the battle by relying on a move like Zap Cannon, which is never very accurate. Annabelle doesn't seem to be second-guessing herself though, as she tells Espeon to take a nice rest, then approaches Ash and hands him the Ability Symbol, his sixth Frontier Symbol
As the sun sets, the twerps stand outside while Scott tells him the Battle Pyramid will be his last battle, and the information about its location can now be found in Max's PokeNav. They are surprised to see it is near Pewter City, Brock's Hometown, but Scott chuckles that it is only there "for now", and tells them they'll soon see what he means.
Ash and Annabelle shake hands and part ways as Annabelle grins, then stares at her hand before holding it tenderly with the other. She thinks to herself that Ash doesn't have the hang of sensing feelings just yet, or else he would sensed her feelings.... for him!
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