XY090

Tag Team Battle Inspiration!

XY089   EP888 タッグバトルは友情バトル！イーブイ初参戦！！ A Tag Battle is a Friendship Battle! Eievui's First Time in a Fight!!

First broadcast Japan October 1, 2015 United States November 28, 2015

English themes Opening Be a Hero Ending

Japanese themes Opening ゲッタバンバン Ending ガオガオ・オールスター

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 面出明美 Akemi Omode Storyboard 樋口香里 Kaori Higuchi Assistant director 前園文夫 Fumio Maezono Animation directors 松田芳明 Yoshiaki Matsuda 中矢利子 Toshiko Nakaya 志村泉 Izumi Shimura 松永香苗 Kanae Matsunaga No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf Dub review thread on BMGf

Tag Team Battle Inspiration! (Japanese: タッグバトルは友情バトル！イーブイ初参戦！！ A Tag Battle is a Friendship Battle! Eievui's First Time in a Fight!!) is the 89th episode of the XY series, and the 888th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on October 1, 2015, in Canada on November 21, 2015, and in the United States on November 28, 2015.

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

Blurb

In Anistar City, where Serena is rehearsing for the next Pokémon Showcase, our heroes get a nice surprise when their friends Tierno and Shauna arrive with newly evolved Pokémon! Serena’s new friend Eevee is skittish and shy in the presence of so many others, and she suggests a Tag Battle so Eevee can gain some experience and confidence.

The matchup features Ash and Tierno versus Serena and Shauna! When Tierno and his Blastoise go into their usual battle dance, Eevee starts toe-tapping right along with them, and soon it’s leaping and whirling faster than Blastoise can follow! It gets one good hit in with Swift as Serena watches, starry-eyed...and then she asks everyone to put the battle on hold so her team can rehearse a new performance idea!

Ash and Tierno happily continue the battle on their own as Serena and Shauna go off to practice—because the next morning, it’s time to register for the Showcase!

Plot

This plot summary is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this plot summary to add missing sections and complete it.

The episode starts off with Serena, Pancham, and Braixen practicing for their upcoming Pokémon Showcase, with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie watching the performance, telling her that she is ready for her performance, but Serena tells them that she still needs a lot more work to be ready for the Showcase. Serena tells Eevee that she wants Eevee to watch the three of them perform so that the two of them can perform together next time. She also thanks Bunnelby for being around to help Eevee relax, but then Chespin emerges from its Poké Ball on its own, trying to get close to Eevee, but the scared Pokémon runs around Bunnelby trying to get away, making Chespin sad.

Major events

• Ash and his friends arrive in Anistar City and meet up with Tierno and Shauna again.
• Tierno's Wartortle and Shauna's Bulbasaur are revealed to have evolved into Blastoise and Ivysaur respectively.
• It is revealed that Tierno challenged the Anistar Gym and lost.
• Ash and Tierno have a Tag Battle against Serena and Shauna, which is called off.
• Ash has a battle against Tierno, but the result is unknown.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon Quiz

• Ash
• Serena
• Clemont
• Bonnie
• Tierno
• Shauna
• Trevor
• Aria (video)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Ivysaur (US and international)
Pokémon Quiz: Blastoise (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Dedenne (Clemont's)
• Frogadier (Ash's)
• Bunnelby (Clemont's)
• Chespin (Clemont's)
• Braixen (Serena's)
• Pancham (Serena's)
• Eevee (Serena's)
• Flareon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Leafeon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Umbreon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Glaceon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Espeon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Jolteon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Vaporeon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Sylveon (Serena's; fantasy)
• Blastoise (Tierno's)
• Ivysaur (Shauna's)
• Charmeleon (Trevor's)
• Delphox (Aria's; video)
• Aromatisse (Aria's; video)
• Lairon

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster: Raichu
• Serena narrates the preview of the next episode.
• Serena's Braixen, Pancham and Eevee remain outside of their Poké Balls throughout the episode.
• Shauna seems to be aware of Serena's crush on Ash.
• DreamDream is used as an insert song during the end of the Tag Battle.
• This episode's English dub title is listed on most TV guides as well as on the Pokémon website as "Tag Team Inspiration!", without the word "Battle".

Errors

• When Serena is showing Shauna and Ivysaur her Eevee, the insides of Ivysaur's ear is colored dark green rather than black. This error repeats again when Shauna orders it to use Energy Ball.
• When Serena tells Eevee to befriend with Pikachu, Frogadier, Dedenne and Chespin, Chespin's teeth are missing when it opens its mouth.
• In one scene, Dedenne's tooth is missing.
• When Blastoise is dancing with Eevee, its lower jaw is incorrectly colored blue rather than cream.
• When Serena, Panchan, Braixen, and Eevee went upstairs, Pikachu's brown spot on his tail is missing. This occurred again when Ash is chatting with Tierno.
• When the gang is running at the end of the episode, Serena has her bag on when she comes out of the door, however when it shows her close up her bag is missing and it then reappears in the last shot.
• In the dub, after Ivysaur gets hit by Pikachu's Iron Tail and Shauna asks it if it's alright, Ivysaur's mouth moves but no sound comes out.

• 

  Ivysaur's ear error

• 

  Chespin without its upper teeth

• 

  Dedenne's missing its tooth

• 

  Blastoise's lower jaw error

• 

  Pikachu's tail error

Dub edits

• The title card segment focuses on Ash in the dub instead of Serena.

In other languages

Language		Title
Dutch		Inspiratie voor het koppelteamgevecht!
European French		Un combat en double très inspiré !
German		Inspiration beim Zweiermatch!
Italian		Una lotta in coppia piena di ispirazione!

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