EP216

← EP215 : Octillery The Outcast

Original series

EP217 : The Perfect Match! →

Dueling Heroes

EP216   うずまきカップ！みずのコロシアムでだいバトル！！ Whirlpool Cup! A Big Battle in the Water Colosseum!!

First broadcast Japan September 20, 2001 United States October 26, 2002

English themes Opening Believe in Me Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター (Whiteberry) Ending 前向きロケット団！

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 原口浩 Hiroshi Haraguchi Assistant director 原口浩 Hiroshi Haraguchi Animation director はしもとかつみ Katsumi Hashimoto Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Dueling Heroes (Japanese: うずまきカップ！みずのコロシアムでだいバトル！！ Whirlpool Cup! A Big Battle in the Water Colosseum!!), is the 216th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 20, 2001, and in the United States on October 26, 2002.

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

Blurb

As the final round of the Whirl Cup begins, Ash and Misty must each face formidable opponents. Ash has his Kingler transferred from Oak's lab in preparation, but when he and his Totodile begin their first battle, they must face an opponent with a powerful Kingdra. Misty also faces a challenging duel with an experienced opponent and his Qwilfish. Meanwhile, Team Rocket sets about stealing an ancient jewel used in a reward ceremony to be performed for the tournament's victor.

Plot

A large crowd has gathered in the stands and the participating Trainers are in gondolas as the Whirl Cup tournament's opening ceremony begins. The announcer explains the history of the event and brings everyone's attention to the Sea Priestess, Maya. She greets the contestants and wishes them good luck. Maya shines her Great Sea Spirit Sapphire towards the sun, and Team Rocket who are working as food vendors, spots their next target to steal. Maya evokes the Sea Spirit Union, and a blue light washes over the entire stadium complex to bring forth the energy of all Water Pokémon. The announcer declares that the prize given to the crowned Alpha Omega will be a Mystic Water pendant.

In the lead-up to the tournament, Ash and Misty get into a heated argument over who will win. Brock cools down the argument and then reminds Ash that he only has one Water Pokémon, so Ash calls Professor Oak from the Pokémon Center. At Oak’s suggestion, Ash sends through his Bayleef and receives Kingler. Back at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Oak calls out Bayleef, but Bayleef's obsession with being with Ash causes her to go into a panic, and she eventually rams into Oak.

The sixth match of the first round pits Ash against Christopher. Ash uses Totodile for this round and his opponent calls out a Kingdra from its Lure Ball. Ash scans Kingdra with his Pokédex and is pleased to see a tough opponent. However, Brock, who is in the bleachers, comments that Ash might not have a good time with this one because it's a dual Water and Dragon-type, making Totodile's Water attacks practically useless. Ash takes the lead and commands Totodile to dive under the water, but Kingdra counters with a Twister. Christopher orders Kingdra to stop the Twister causing Totodile to freefall. Kingdra aims a Water Gun blast, but Totodile lands on one of the platforms. Christopher decides that a Hydro Pump attack is in order, but Totodile dodges the attack and gets close enough to Headbutt the Dragon Pokémon. Kingdra dives to evade and Totodile does the same. Kingdra releases a Smokescreen to cloud the water. With no other option, Ash tells Totodile to jump out of the water. The battle comes to a standstill as Ash anticipates Kingdra's next move. Totodile begins to dance around, and Ash takes that as a sign that everything will be fine. Fed up, Christopher has Kingdra resurface and try another Hydro Pump attack. However, Totodile Bites onto Kingdra's snout, effectively stopping the Hydro Pump. With Kingdra being unable to release the water, it swells to enormous proportions as a result. After a while, Totodile releases his jaw and Kingdra goes flying across the stadium. It hits the water field hard and floats to the surface, knocked out. Ash wins the match and can advance to the next round. After the match, Team Rocket is still devising a plan to get Maya's staff, but they are interrupted when another staff member tells them that there are more hungry customers to serve.

Overnight, Misty stares at the Colosseum from her Pokémon Center room window. Ash offers her some reassurance, and Misty declares that she is simply excited about the upcoming match. Day two of the Whirl Cup begins, and Misty goes up against Harrison in the ninth match. Harrison is one of the older Trainers, so he has a snobbish attitude when he steps up to the arena. The match is on, Corsola against Qwilfish. Qwilfish begins the match by shooting a Water Gun, but Corsola reflects it back with a Mirror Coat. Seeing that this tactic won't work, Harrison orders Quilfish to start swallowing water. As the announcer says that this is used for preparing a volley of spikes, Misty thinks fast. Qwilfish soon releases a Pin Missile barrage and so Corsola counters with Spike Cannon. The two attacks explode in mid-air knocking Corsola back, but Qwilfish took refuge in the waters. Taking advantage of this, Qwilfish strikes Corsola with a Take Down attack. Worried that Corsola is going to burn out anytime, Misty tells it to use Recover, but Qwilfish has already prepared to use Take Down again. By the time Corsola has recovered its stamina, Qwilfish's attack hits. Corsola and Qwilfish dip into the water, but the pair resurface and Quilfish is revealed to be stuck in Corsola’s crown of horns. Misty finally gets an idea and tells Corsola to use Spike Cannon. Corsola fires a close-range Spike Cannon blast which sends Qwilfish sky-high, and Misty wins the match. During the battle, Team Rocket makes their move toward Maya's staff, but Officer Jenny orders them to leave the restricted area, which foils their attempt.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Ash and Misty congratulate each other on making it to the second round. A large commotion alerts the group to the screen featuring the matchups for tomorrow's second-round battles. It turns out that Ash is up against Misty for the next round, and the two friends stare at each other in shock.

Major events

• Ash sends Bayleef to Professor Oak's Laboratory in exchange for his Kingler.
• Ash defeats Christopher and advances to the second round.
• Misty defeats Harrison and advances to the second round.
• Ash and Misty learn that they are set to battle each other in the second round.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Humans

• Maya

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Kingdra
• Qwilfish

English dub debuts

• Dragonair

Characters

Humans

Pocket Monster TV

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Professor Oak
• Nurse Joy
• Officer Jenny
• Maya
• Christopher
• Harrison
• Whirl Cup competitors

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Aipom (US and international), Kingdra (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Bayleef (Ash's)
• Totodile (Ash's)
• Corsola (Misty's)
• Kingdra (Christopher's)
• Qwilfish (Harrison's)
• Squirtle (Trainer's)
• Wartortle (Trainer's)
• Psyduck (Trainer's)
• Golduck (Trainer's)
• Poliwag (Trainer's)
• Poliwhirl (Trainer's)
• Tentacruel (Trainer's)
• Slowpoke (Trainer's)
• Seaking (Trainer's)
• Staryu (Trainer's)
• Magikarp (Trainer's)
• Gyarados (Trainer's)
• Lapras (Trainer's)
• Dragonair (Trainer's; English debut)
• Marill (Trainer's)
• Azumarill (Trainer's)
• Quagsire (Trainer's)
• Remoraid (Trainer's)

Trivia

• This episode included music from the Mewtwo Strikes Back.
• This is one of the few episodes in which Team Rocket does not blast off.
• Bayleef's behavior after being stored and seeing Professor Oak is similar to Aipom's own behavior in Overjoyed!.
• Dragonair, ineligible for the Whirl Cup due to being only Dragon-type, is depicted while Maya gives her opening speech.

Errors

• Brock says that Corsola, being part Rock, would have been in serious trouble if Qwilfish's Water Gun hit it. This is incorrect, as Corsola receives neutral damage from Water-type moves.
• In the Polish dub, Qwilfish's Take Down is called Headbutt.

Dub edits

• Ash's Totodile's Headbutt was referred as Skull Bash in the dub. In addition, Totodile cannot legally learn Skull Bash in the games.

In other languages

Language		Title
Bulgarian		Участници в дуел
Mandarin Chinese		漩渦列島大賽，在水的運動場大戰鬥！
Dutch		Strijdende Helden
European French		Héros de duel
German		Duell der Helden!
Hebrew		סיבוב ראשון Sivuv rishon
Hindi		समुंदर की पुजारिन Samundar ki Pujarin *
Italian		La prima fase
Polish		Pojedynek herosów
Portuguese	Brazil	Duelo entre Heróis
	Portugal	Duelo entre Iguais
Spanish	Latin America	¡Duelo de héroes!
	Spain	Héroes del duelo

← EP215 : Octillery The Outcast!

Original series

EP217 : The Perfect Match →

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