ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
515: Smells Like Team Spirit!	520: Taggu Batoru! Fainaru!	Idiot and Asshole vs Short Skirt and Creepy!			Ash and Paul try to win the Tag Battle Tournament despite being a horrible team.	If they can't beat 'em, they'll cheer for 'em!	A team of top trainers beats a top trainer team!

Last episode, Ash and Paul continued on as a tag team from hell in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Tournament. Unlike the teams of Brock/Holly and Dawn/Conway; Ash and Paul continued to completely fail to get along or work together, though not from lack of Ash trying. Paul revealed grudgingly the reasoning behind his assholish treatment of Chimchar, but when Paul went too far in their Second Round battle and had Chimchar hurt Turtwig to take the advantage, then turned his back on Chimchar when it needed him most.... Ash had had enough. He took control of the entire battle, directing Turtwig AND Chimchar, and against all odds achieved victory.

But after the fight, Paul released Chimchar and told it that they were through. He told the horrified twerps that he'd seen potential greatness in Chimchar and it had never again realised it, and he was done with it. As he walked away, though, Ash knelt down and asked the tearful Chimchar to join him and his Pokémon, surprising everyone. So what will Chimchar's choice be, and whatever it is, how will Ash and Paul act together in the final round of the Tournament where they must face either Dawn's team or Brock's team or even both? Will everyone turn their noses up and say that Ash and Paul reek of singular effort, or will they proclaim....



Ash kneels before Chimchar, asking if it will come with him. It stares up at him, scarred and scuffed while Ash smiles, and Pikachu and Turtwig encourage it to join them. Brock and Dawn watch on, Paul off to the side staring back over his shoulder, and Ash tells Chimchar that the way it fights and gives everything it has impresses him; he wants it to join him. Paul sneers that they deserve each other, they're both pathetic, and Dawn snaps angrily at him before realising to her surprise that for once Ash isn't rising to Paul's bait, in fact he's completely ignoring him. He tells Chimchar to ignore Paul, and together they can prove him wrong, and Paul just barks out a contemptuous laugh and walks away. Ash smiles at Chimchar which slowly smiles back, then laughs and reaches out with its paw to take his hand...... and they get blasted with a thousand fucking needles of PAAAAIIIINNNN!



Brock shouts that someone is using a combination of Bullet Seed and Pin Missile, and Dawn asks who. Well who else, you idiot, it's Team Rocket! Carnivine and Cacnea are responsible for the blasts, and Chimchar has been caught up in a mechanical arm dangling beneath the Happy Buddha Face Meowth Balloon.

"Is that Chimchar calling for Pikachu I hear?"
"Calling for us might bring you more cheer!"
"On the wind!"
"Past the stars!"
"In yer ear!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place."
"A rose by any other name's just as sweet."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete."
"Jesse!"
"And it's James!"
"Meowth's da name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place."
"We're Team Rocket!"
"In your face!" they finish together, Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. eagerly chiming in at the end.

Having performed their motto - the delightful "Jesse is touching herself" version - they explain to Ash that THEY are the ones to smooth out Chimchar's rough edges, and once they have the Sooth Bell they'll all be pleased with the situation.... and in fact, if Chimchar joins them within the next sixty minutes, they'll even throw in its very own stanza in the Team Rocket motto!

Chimchar doesn't want any part of their poetry though and struggles to get clear, while Cacnea and Carnivine blast at the twerps to cover their escape. Ash yells at Chimchar that they'll get them out of there, and Chimchar smiles, then bursts up into HARDCORE MOTHERFUCKER NUMBER ONE!

Jesse is terrified to see its flame burning so bright, but James optimistically declares that surely it means to give their hot air balloon a little extra burst of flame. Indeed it does..... in that it blasts a massive cone of flame up through the air, over the basket, over Team Rocket and over the balloon itself, a blast so powerful that.... even Paul notices!

Team Rocket blast off covered in soot, Cacnea hugging tightly to James and Carnivine chomping down on his head. Chimchar falls through the air and Ash leaps forward, catching it and tumbling along the ground, saving it from even MORE damage. He sets it down and asks it if it is ready to come with him now, and it happily agrees, so he tosses a Pokéball into the air and it leaps after it, giving it a high five and being sucked up inside.

Ash just caught a Chimchar.... Paul's Chimchar!

That night at the Pokémon Centre, Ash contacts Professor Oak who is very interested to learn he has a Chimchar now. Chimchar is sitting on his shoulder opposite Pikachu, looking a lot better now, Ash having obviously treated it at the Pokémon Centre. Professor Oak reminds Ash that Pokémon and Trainers rely on each other to get better, but trainers need each other too. He reminds Ash that he'll have to work with his partner at the Tag Tournament, but tells him if he does his best, he'll beat the rest. Dawn is delighted, that was a poem!

The next day, the first battle is already over and.... Dawn and Conway have won! Next out is Brock and Holly, and they're facing Ash and Paul! Ash tells Chimchar to watch what happens and it jumps down alongside Pikachu, while Paul is concentrating purely on Brock and Holly. Holly tells Brock that despite being friends with Ash, he'll have to be at his best, and Brock agrees, saying that as a former Gym Leader he knows that you can't give people breaks. Conway is delighted watching it all, having already qualified alongside Dawn to get to the Final, and now he gets to scout out his potential opponents.

Watching from the stands and once more employed as concession workers, Team Rocket are also surprised - it's a twerp free-for-all! It's a two sided twerp-fest! They should call it on account of stupidity!

Everyone calls out their Pokémon - Staravia/Torterra for Ash/Paul, and Croagunk/Farfetch'd for Brock/Holly! Dawn checks out Farfetch'd, and we learn from the Pokédex that not only do they not mention it being delicious anymore, but its leek has become an onion!

Ash declares he isn't going to take it easy on Brock and tells Staravia to hit an Aerial Ace on Croagunk, and it dives down, while Croagunk prepares a Poison Jab Counter. Farfetch'd powers up an Air Slash but Paul counters immediately with Hyperbeam, Torterra smashing through the move, almost hitting Staravia as it crashes into Farfetch'd. Staravia crashes backwards to Ash's panic, but Max from the future (Conway) ponders the power of the Aerial Ace at its disposal, if it connects, the match could be over.

The smoke clears and Farfetch'd is down and out, and Ash turns to shout at Paul for putting his Staravia at risk. He didn't need to send his attack through Staravia, but Paul just grunts back that Staravia is too slow. Holly turns to apologise to Brock, but he's concentrating on the fight, and roars at Croagunk to rush in and hit Brick Break on Torterra. The creature in question simply stands in place and Dawn can't understand why, till Conway explains that Hyperbeam takes a lot out of it and it needs time to recover, leaving it open to an attack from Croagunk. But while Paul is only thinking of himself, Ash is still trying to work as a team and has Staravia come in from behind with Aerial Ace.



Brock calls out a warning to Croagunk but it doesn't slow down, just keeps charging at Torterra.... then baseball slides underneath the massive monster, causing Staravia to pull up to avoid hitting Torterra.... and Croagunk leaps up from behind Torterra, in its blind spot and...



BAM!

Brock orders a Poison Jab as Ash yells at Staravia to get around behind Croagunk, but Paul snaps angrily at Ash to stay out of it. He tells the finally recovered Torterra to use Leafstorm as Croagunk leaps up onto the tree on its back... a tree filled with leaves that glow green with energy and send Peter Lorre flying into the air and crashing back down, knocking it out and.... Paul and Ash win!

Well.... that kind of sucks.

Brock calls back Croagunk and tells it that it did its best, and Holly bows and apologises to Brock for basically being useless, but he tells her that these things happen in battle. Staravia drops back down to the ground in front of Ash and he kneels to tell it that it did a great job, and Paul sneers back, asking what they did anyway?

Well, dragged Paul's ass through to the final round, that's what!

Ash, Staravia, Pikachu and Chimchar all turn angry looks on Paul, but when he turns his own contemptuous look back, Chimchar panics and crouches down lower behind Ash, still frightened of its former trainer.

So the final battle is now scheduled for later in the afternoon - Dawn/Conway against Ash/Paul - but first it's time to rest up ahead of the match. Brock returns to the Pokémon Centre and picks up his Pokéballs, but it’s his balls that shrivel up into his gut when he learns that Holly has.... left! She's gone!

Joy tells Brock that Holly blamed herself for their loss and decided to head off and train until she was the tag partner that Brock deserved. Dawn and Ash think that is pretty cool of her, but Brock simply stands with his head hanging disturbingly to the side, moaning that he finally found a girl who liked him for him and... she's gone! He rounds on Ash with a roar, telling him to get out there and win the Final, show them who the Boss is and do it for HIM!

Ash smiles and says he will (he doesn't even know what's going on!) and when Dawn tells him he sounds psyched he whirls around to her and shouts that she does too!

.....no.... no she doesn't....?

They hear Nurse Joy giving Paul his Torterra back and wishing him luck in the final. He thanks her, turns, sees them and smirks, then walks away.

Soon they're all back at the Stadium, Mayor Enta declaring it's time for the final battle, and lifts high the thing they're all fighting for (well, except for Paul) - that pair of balls! The Sooth Bell!

James and Meowth are delighted by the soothing sound of the bell, and James happily moans that since Chimchar is working with the twerps now, they'll need the bell more than Team Rocket does. Wobbuffet calmly agrees, but Jesse is left unaffected by the bell this time around, screaming at her compatriots that she's looking out for number one.

Ash calls out his Pokémon... it's Chimchar! Paul makes no reaction (in fact Dawn is more excited) and calls out Elekid, which panics Chimchar until Ash reminds it that it's with him now. Conway is creepily intrigued by the choice of Pokémon, and then he and Dawn call out Buizel and.... Heracross!

Bulbasaurs across the land duck their bulbs under tables and couches.

Ash is pleased at their choices, and orders a Flamethrower on Heracross, followed up Paul ordering a Thunder from Elekid. Dawn calls for Aquajet on Chimchar and Buizel bursts through Chimchar's Flamethrower and crashes headfirst into it, knocking it down, but then realises it has left itself open for Elekid's Thunder.... until Heracross leaps into the way!

Heracross takes the attack using a move called Revenge, which lets it power up and smash over Elekid. Ash turns to Paul and shouts at him that if they don't work together they'll lose, and Paul replies..... who cares!>!

Ash is once again left confused and angry, and yells that he doesn't care what Paul does, he intends to win! He tells Chimchar to use Dig, leaving it hidden from Dawn and Conway's view. Dawn turns to Conway and asks what they can do now, and he replies that they can't worry about Chimchar, they have to deal with Elekid as planned.

Buizel bursts into Aquajet and comes right for Elekid, and Paul smugly orders Protect.... but Conway and Dawn were waiting for this! Buizel changes direction, leaving a burst of water in the way that Heracross bursts through with Feint.... and Elekid comes face to face with the nightmare that follows young Bulbasaurs into sleep on dark and stormy nights.

Paul finally breaks his normal sneering indifference with shock... Heracross knows Feint!?! Protect disappears and Heracross swoops Elekid through the air with its Horn, as Conway creepily chuckles over getting one over Paul, setting him up perfectly. Dawn follows through with a Water Gun from Buizel, smashing right into Elekid that struggles valiantly against the burst of water... but then Buizel loses its footing as the ground beneath its feet sinks, and Chimchar bursts out of the ground and PUNCHES BUIZEL RIGHT IN THE FACE!



THE BUIZELSTER TAKES A DIRECT SHOT FROM THE MACHO CHIMCHAR! THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUIZELMANIA ARE CRUMBLING, MEAN GENE!

Buizel is sent flying and Conway yells at Buizel to Counter Attack, and Buizel uses Aquajet to come back and smash Chimchar flying.

WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER! THE BUIZELSTER DON'T LAY DOWN FOR NOBODY, DUDE!

Chimchar staggers back up and Ash asks if it is all right, and it squeals bravely and a massive burst of flame sprouts from its tail. It blasts Flamethrower at Heracross but Buizel blocks with Water Gun, the two moves clashing against each other and exploding into steam. Paul orders a Thunder Punch from Elekid and it leaps over the steam, Heracross coming back with a Megahorn, and the two moves crash together in the air with dramatic effect.

Again smoke bursts up and Elekid is sent stumbling back beside Chimchar. Chimchar looks concerned, but Elekid brushes it off and roars angrily... then glows white and... evolves! It's become an Electabuzz.

"So it all starts here," smirks Paul.

Dawn checks it out with her Pokédex as Paul orders Thunder, and as it begins gathering power, Conway tells Dawn they need to attack fast. Heracross tries a Megahorn against Electabuzz as Buizel powers up for a Water Gun on Chimchar, but Chimchar leaps up to block Heracross' attack with Flamethrower, while Electabuzz releases a massive blast of Thunder on Buizel which can't quite dodge in time. Buizel and Heracross are sent flying in a flaming, buzzing burst of fire and electricity and crash together, Ash excited, thinking they're doing great, and compliments Chimchar as it stands beside Electabuzz waiting for the smoke to clear and....



THE MEGAPOWERS ARE STILL STANDING, BROTHER!

A small smirk crosses Buizel's face.... and then their Pokémon fall, crashing to the ground, it's over! IT'S OVER! THE TAG TOURNAMENT IS OVER AND THE WINNER IS THE TEAM THAT..... NEVER ONCE ACTED AS A TEAM! They don't even get their victory animations synchronised! Ash is hopping about like a retarded monkey, joined in his delight by Pikachu while beside him, Paul still doesn't seem to give a shit.

Team Rocket hug and cry in delight at the victory, Wobbuffet saluting and crying tears of joy, while Chimchar runs into Ash's arms for a hug and Buizel and Heracross are checked on by Dawn and Conway. Ash turns excitedly to Paul and tells him that things changed for the better when Elekid evolved into Electabuzz, and Paul responds by.... calling him pathetic. He tells Ash that if Chimchar's Flamethrower had any worth it would have put out Heracross, but it was still standing and needed Electabuzz's Thunder to put it down.... he was right, the two of them really do deserve each other.

And Ash's reaction to this?

He laughs!.

Paul looks taken by surprise when Ash laughs that he can say what he wants, but Chimchar did great out there, and he pets its head as it beams happily, lapping up the attention and for once being allowed to enjoy its victory!

Paul grunts and walks away, leaving them to enjoy themselves, and shortly after the rest of the trainers are gathered as Ash, Paul and their Pokémon are presented with a Sooth Bell each. Ash thanks the Mayor as he takes his but Paul simply takes the prize without a word. The trainers clap and Conway notes it is ironic that the Tag Battle was won by the team least capable of acting as a team. Brock notes that for Paul the real reward was his Elekid evolving, while Dawn notes not a little bitterly that he only entered to train his Pokémon anyway. Watching in the stands, James and Meowth happily comment that it's nice to end nicely, and they turn and walk away, Jesse happily agreeing until she suddenly remembers... they came for the bell!

Later at the Pokémon Centre, Dawn dangles Ash's ball (oh my) and tells him he deserves the Sooth Bell, and then tells Piplup they'll be more successful next time. They all agree that the tag battle was a really nice change of pace, but then they spot Paul came walking in. He stares at them with that blank, slightly aggravated expression they've come to know so well.... then tosses his Sooth Bell into Ash's surprised hands.

Ash asks what that was for and he replies he has no need for it and walks away. Ash looks frustrated for a moment, then grins and turns to Chimchar, telling it they don't need to worry about him, they have each other. Then a chuckling creepy voice interrupted their celebrations, and Ash turns to see Conway, leaning over an orange drink that may or may not be whiskey, lenses glinting creepily - Max from the future out for one last attempt at revenge for being dumped after Battle Frontier.

He tells them they should try out the Pokémon Gym at Veilstone City, then goes back to chuckling menacingly over his (possibly) alcoholic drink. Brock notes that Veilstone City is where Paul is from, and that seems to be enough for Ash who declares that will be their next stop and THAT is where he will get his third badge. Everyone happily agrees and Piplup slides across the table to join in, then falls over the side and crashes into the seat.

And so the first Diamond and Pearl season ends, with the new girl settled in, Max back in a creepy future format, and Ash has a Chimchar now too, which laughs happily along with everybody else, finally having a family of its own.



We'll see you for the next season soon, Gentle Dodgers!

BEST QUOTES

"It's a twerp free-for-all!" "Yeah, a two-sided twerp-fest!" "They should call it on account of stupidity!"

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