ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
738: All for the Love of Meloetta!	744: Utae Meroetta! Ai no Senritsu!	Sinnoh Surprise			The twerps meet Meloetta, two females from Ash's past return	Very slow hunters	Wearing a short skirt will get you your job back

Well it seems I spoke too soon, and last episode wasn't the end of Rival Destinies at all. This episode finds Ash and the twerps at the local Pokémon Center where Ash informs Nurse Joy he has his 8 Gym Badges and he wants to sign up for the Unova League. She is extremely pleased for him, but tells him that the Unova League isn't actually set to start for.... THREE MORE MONTHS!?! Oh what is this Johto shit? He actually makes surprising forward progress and gets his 8 badges relatively quickly and they pull the old "three months till the League starts!" nonsense on him? Boo! Booooo!

Ash is upset, of course, but quickly gets over it in typical Ash fashion by realising this gives him three months of hardcore training to do. Cilan suggests that since they're in Virbank they should go get some Bearticone! This leaves Iris a little shaken (Dragon-types don't like the cold, remember) until the idea of the delicious taste of ice-cream overwhelms her trepidation. Ash agrees and they all cheer, because it's easy to forget they're still kids and there is nothing greater in this world for kids than ice-cream!



The twerps arrive at a very pretty location - a large building with a huge, wide set of stairs leading down to a courtyard, fountain and public park. The drink in the scenery, and Cilan explains that this was the location of a famous scene from the movie "Princess Pokémon’s Holiday" in which the Pokémon Princess in question sat on the steps and ate a Bearticone. Cilan has always wanted to re-enact that scene himself, and Ash is just eager to eat ice-cream, till Iris points out that the local bureaucracy are a bunch of party-poopers. A sign warns that it is forbidden to eat ice cream on the stairs, as apparently enough unimaginative tourists in the past have cluttered up the stairs that they became a menace. A let-down Cilan figures they can at least still eat ice-cream, even if they can't do it on the stairs, and they head down to the bottom and make their way to the nearest stall, where a tall blond woman is struggling to make up her mind what she wants. Ash pulls up short, apparently recognising the shapely form in front of him, and rushes ahead calling out her name, a name that Cilan also recognises. The woman turns, camera centered right on her breasts before slowly rising up to reveal.... Cynthia! It's the Sinnoh Champion!

She recognises him of course, it's not every day you forget the REAL winner of the Sinnoh League. She is delighted to see him, and Cilan rushes up to ask Ash if this is really the Champion of Sinnoh, while in the background Iris stares in awe, blushing furiously at the willowy blond. Cilan stammers to introduce himself before Iris shoves between him and Ash to gasp out her own name as well, while Axew is happily ignorant of her celebrity and just beams with childlike innocence at her. Iris struggles to ask Cynthia a question but becomes overwhelmed when she realises that Cynthia is paying complete and total attention to her. She looks down and taps her fingers together nervously, and Ash blurts out over her to ask what Cynthia is doing in Unova. It seems she is soon to depart by plane to Eastern Unova, in preparation for her role in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. What the hell is that? It's a contest for trainers (presumably young ones!) where Cynthia will be performing in an exhibition match. The twerps are eager to go along and see her perform, but she says they should do more than that, they should compete. There are no entry requirements (apart from age, one would guess) and first prize is a match against Unova's Champion - Alder! All three twerps agree to take part, and there we go, we have our first distraction to fill in a chunk of time ahead of the Unova League!

But before all of that..... Cynthia's gotta have her ice-cream!

Meanwhile Team Rocket are making use of Zager's thermal goggles to locate the mysterious Pokémon they've been tracking the last few episodes. Somehow they've managed to find the needle in the haystack, tracking down the Pokémon to an open area of countryside hiding in a bush. Far enough away not to attract its attention, Team Rocket know that now is the perfect time to strike and send out Woobat and Yamask to attack. The Pokémon is blasted out of the bush, becoming visible to the naked eye as Meowth fires an electrified net after it. It manages to dodge being caught but takes a harsh zap of electricity and goes tumbling over the edge of the bank and down into the bushes below. Team Rocket head around to get down to the road, which Cynthia is currently driving up with the twerps along for the ride. Ash and Cilan are beaming over the ice-cream while Iris struggles to get up the nerve to talk to Cynthia again. Finally she manages to squeak out her name, and Cynthia looks up at the rear-view mirror to ask what she wants... when Pikachu spots the hurt Pokémon staggering out onto the road directly in their path!

Cynthia just manages to skid to a stop before smearing the Pokémon’s brains all over the road, and it collapses to the ground. The twerps jump out to check on it and Ash remembers it from the studio prop room a couple of episodes back. Cynthia checks on it and reveals its name for the first time - it is a Meloetta, and it is in a pretty bad way. Ash lifts her up as Cynthia heads off to prepare a blanket on the grass verge and get some healing gear out of her pack. Ash brings Meloetta over and lays her down, and Cynthia expertly applies a potion as Cilan drinks it all in, impressed at Cynthia's skill in handling the situation. Cynthia heals the wound but Meloetta is still weak and exhausted, and Cynthia asks them to find an Oran Berry. Iris and Cilan rush off to look, while Cynthia takes Ash down the bank to the nearby river. Calling out her Glaceon, she has it freeze a section of the river and they chip away some ice and collect it in a bucket. Preparing an ice-pack, Ash puts it beneath Meloetta's head as a pillow and dabs her face with a damp cloth. As Ash does this, Cynthia gets a phone- call on her mobile and answers, surprised and in disbelief.

She tells whoever is on the other end that she can't deal with this at the moment, but Ash assures her that he can look after Meloetta while she sorts out her business. She thanks him and gets back into her humvee, hauling ass out of there. Once she is gone, Meloetta wakes enough to smile happily up at Ash who she has taken a real shine too, then drift off to sleep again. Somebody else is awake too though, as Oshawott pops out of his Pokéball to snuffle about, having caught a scent of something pleasant. He toddles about, then turns and gets a good look at Meloetta for the first time and... falls deeply, madly in love!

Again!

Of course!

Ash notices that Meloetta's ice-pack has already melted and decides to head off to get some more ice, asking a very pleased Oshawott (he's lying on his back flailing his chubby little limbs about happily) to keep an eye on Meloetta.

Cilan and Iris are looking about for Oran Berries, searching for a sunny section of the forest where they'd be more likely to grow. They approach a stone cliff and Iris prepares to climb it, but the rock crumbles in her hands and Cilan suggests they try somewhere else. Iris has another idea though, calling out Emolga and having it catch the wind to glide up to the top of the cliff and collect the berry. They begin rushing back and reach the other side of the river, where they spot Ash and Pikachu collecting ice from the still frozen section of the water. They're confused as to what he is doing, so send Emolga on ahead to where they left Meloetta while they go to talk with Ash. He explains what Cynthia did to the river and asks about the Oran Berry, and they explain they sent Emolga on ahead.

The Pokémon in question lands across the road from Meloetta and is a trifle disconcerted to see Oshawott continuing to moon (not like that!) over Meloetta. She leaps into the sky to catch the wind, but a sudden gust blows her off course and she slams headfirst into Oshawott, dropping the Oran Berry besides Meloetta. As the two little Pokémon lie dazed on the ground, Meloetta picks up the Oran Berry, beams down at Oshawott and Emolga and then lifts into the air and floats away, disappearing into the bushes. The twerps return and spot that Meloetta is gone and their Pokémon are only just recovering from their KO. Oshawott and Emolga blame each other for the accident and Meloetta's disappearance, glaring at each other and then.... throwing down in the most adorably pathetic little slap-fight! D'awwwwww!

The twerps rush to stop them, but then Meloetta starts singing from the tree branches, and the song sweeps over the twerps, Pikachu, Oshawott and Emolga as Cynthia returns in her Humvee in time to hear the song. Everybody sighs in pleasure, and Oshawott and Emolga beam at each other in friendship, surprising Iris. Cynthia explains that Meloetta's song is meant to have a calming influence, but Ash starts to freshly worry that they haven't finished treating her. Cynthia tells him to relax, if she is singing then it means she is in good condition. Obviously she felt recovered enough to return to the woods, and they should respect that. Ash shouts out a farewell to Meloetta, then asks Cynthia if she completed the business back in town she needed to. Cynthia becomes serious at once, deciding to tell them truth, you see..... she forget to get the change for her Bearticone back in town when she bought some! Ash collapses, and Iris takes the opportunity to jump in and finally ask Cynthia what she's been gagging to ask her all episode.... she wants to battle Cynthia and her Garchomp with Axew!

Axew gonna die!

Team Rocket, meanwhile, are still on Meloetta's track, having apparently gone the loooooong way around to try and find it. As they scan about in search for it, Cynthia and Iris are facing off in a clearing for Axew's murder by the terrifying monster that is Garchomp. Cilan and Ash know that Axew doesn't stand a chance, but see the battle as a chance for Axew to show how much it has grown. The battle opens with Axew using Scratch, charging ahead and letting rip with every ounce of force he can extract from his puny little limbs. Garchomp simply stands and takes the attack, completely unaffected in every way as Axew Scratches away and finally drops back down to the ground.... where Iris orders her big gun attack - Dragon Rage! Axew lets rip, sending forth a huge burst of power that smashes directly into Garchomp, creating a huge burst of smoke that shields Garchomp from view. Iris is ecstatic, it was a direct hit with Axew's most powerful move an-



Oh shiiiiiiiiiit.

The twerps are horrified, that was the best shot that Axew had and it did absolutely nothing! Garchomp smirks at the amusing little attack, then at Cynthia's command uses Dragon Rush. Leaping into the air, it comes at Axew like a torpedo, knocking the little baby dragon over before Cynthia orders a Draco Meteor. It blasts into the sky and unleashes a number of meteor strikes on the battlefield, Axew scrambling frantically to escape but getting hemmed in and unable to avoid a direct blast from a final meteor. Ash screams out to Axew to give up and Iris is horrified, but as the smoke clears she discovers that while Axew is absolutely hammered.... he isn't going down! Struggling to keep his feet, he gives Iris a reassuring grin and she realises her little baby dragon is trying to grow into a badass! Reassured and proud, she yells out to Cynthia that Axew can continue, impressing Cynthia who agrees. Axew glares at Garchomp which seems impressed by the fight in the little toddler, and then suddenly Axew glows golden! Is it evolution? NO! Axew lifts into the air and hovers there before Iris' startled eyes, before he suddenly shoots straight forward and smashes right into Garchomp's chest and... the impossible happens!



Garchomp just got knocked on its goddamn ass! Iris is a better trainer than Paul!

Cilan shouts out that it is Giga Impact, delighting Iris who can't believe that Axew just used a brand new move! Cynthia is impressed too but now it's business time, as her humiliated Garchomp jumps back to its feet and she orders a Brick Break. It zooms forward at a remarkable speed and brings one deadly glowing claw down directly towards Axew's horrified face.... and then stops with pinpoint accuracy at Cynthia's perfectly timed command.



Cynthia declares the battle over, much to Cilan and Ash's relief. They call out their encouragement to Axew for such a great battle, while Iris picks him up and gives him a hug, telling him how proud she was of his Giga Impact. Cynthia tells Iris that she is very impressed by how well Axew has been trained and raised, and that she has no doubt that Iris has what it takes to be a Dragon Master. Iris gasps her thanks, and so she should, because when Cynthia takes an interest in your career path (ala Ash) it isn't lightly given, this is the Sinnoh Champion, after all!

Team Rocket have continued in search of Meloetta, which has managed to keep well ahead of them. They have no idea that she has been treated and recovered well from the exhaustion of their previous hunts, and are surprised at how fast she is and how she has managed to keep ahead of them. They've arrived at the edge of the forest, and down below are the docks where a seaplane is waiting to pick up passengers and fly them to East Unova. Down by the plane, the twerps and Cynthia board the plane, with the invisible Meloetta gliding along behind them. Meowth spots Meloetta with his goggles and tells Jesse and James that she has just joined the twerps on the plane, and that means trouble - if Meloetta is with the twerps, they're going to have to take on the twerps to get her.... maybe. There is nothing they can do but make their own way to Eastern Unova and catch up to the twerps again, since wherever they are they'll find Meloetta too.

Ash settles down on the plane and tells Pikachu they're going to win the Junior Cup and battle Adler. Iris and Cilan remind him that they'll be taking part too and this time they're all going to be rivals. Ash of course loves the idea of battling anybody, and is enthusiastic about getting to take on his two buddies. Cynthia approaches her seat in front of theirs, but stops to tell Ash that a surprise is waiting for him when they arrive in Undella Town. What is it? She won't say any more, leaving Ash confused, what surprise could there possibly be? Will we have to wait till next week to find out?

Not quite, since as the episode ends we see the plane flying in to Undella Town, spotted from the ground by the last person you'd expect to see in Unova. A familiar set of boots, a familiar short skirt and white beanie.... a proud little penguin as well! Can it be? Is it? YES IT IS! IT'S DAWN! Dawn is back! And you know what that means?



Oshawott is going to meet Piplup!

BEST QUOTES

"Junior Tournament Pokémon Cup of World... Junior?"

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