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The Ties That Bind (Japanese: けっしょうリーグ！フルバトル６VS６!! League Finals! Full Battle 6 vs 6!!) is episode 269 of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on October 10, 2002 and in the United States on September 20, 2003.

Ash and Gary's rivalry heats up as the two prepare to face each other in battle.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

Ash is preparing to finally face his all-time rival, Gary. To bulk up his team's strength, Ash has Charizard sent from the Valley.

Before the match begins, Ash searches through his backpack and finds a broken Poké Ball. A flashback reveals that he and Gary found the Poke ball while fishing and accidentally split it in half. Both trainers have carried half of it ever since.

Next morning, the match between rivals begins!

Ash sends out Tauros first off, while Gary counters with Nidoqueen. Tauros uses a Fissure attack, but Nidoqueen charges up a Hyper Beam and Tauros is knocked out with a single hit!

Ash then calls on Heracross, and Gary recalls Nidoqueen to send out Magmar. Magmar uses its Flamethrower attack, dealing a fair amount of damage. But Heracross is able to overcome the damage, using a Megahorn to knock out Magmar.

Gary, unafraid, sends out a Blastoise. Misty and Brock realize that Blastoise was likely the Pokémon Gary received from his grandfather when he first left Pallet Town.

Gary orders Blastoise to use Hydro Pump while Ash commands Heracross to keep fighting.

The episode ends in a cliffhanger, with Heracross' fate in question...

Major events

• Ash is reunited with Charizard.
• Harrison gets through to the second round.
• Ash begins his battle with Gary.

Debuts

Characters

Humans

• Ash Ketchum
• Brock
• Misty
• Jessie
• James
• Gary Oak
• Professor Oak
• Delia
• Harrison
• Crowd (includes Macey and Jackson)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Umbreon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Charizard (Ash's)
• Tauros (Ash's)
• Heracross (Ash's)
• Nidoqueen (Gary's)
• Magmar (Gary's)
• Blastoise (Gary's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's; flashback)
• Cyndaquil (Ash's; flashback)
• Magneton (Jackson's; alternate color; flashback)
• Meganium (Jackson's; flashback)
• Sneasel (Harrison's)
• Machamp (Unknown trainer's)
• Magikarp (flashback)

Seen on Gary's profile:

• Pinsir
• Houndoom
• Fearow
• Alakazam
• Umbreon
• Skarmory
• Arcanine
• Nidoqueen
• Magmar
• Kingdra

Trivia

• Gary's starter is revealed to have been a Squirtle - the Pokémon Ash originally intended to start with.
• When Ash is looking for his half of the broken Pokéball, you can see the rubber gloves Delia gave him in the very first episode when he had to hold onto Pikachu with them to avoid being shocked.

Errors

• The 'Broken Pokéball' scene is stated to have happen after Ash started his journey despite the fact that a look back at Ash's beginnings shows that this could not have happened then.
• In Harrison's battle, his Sneasel knocks out a Machamp, but both the offical and the announcer refer to it as a Machoke.

Dub edits

In other languages

• French: Mon meilleur ennemi

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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.