AG016

← AG015 : Gonna Rule The School!

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

AG017 : Stairway to Devon →

The Winner by a Nosepass

AG016   EP290 カナズミジム！ノズパスの秘密兵器！！ Kanazumi Gym! Nosepass's Secret Weapon!!

First broadcast Japan March 13, 2003 United States January 10, 2004

English themes Opening I Wanna Be a Hero Ending

Japanese themes Opening アドバンス・アドベンチャー Ending そこに空があるから

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 木村竜二 Ryūji Kimura Assistant director 大町繁 Shigeru Ōmachi Animation director たけだゆうさく Yūsaku Takeda Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de Dub review thread on BMGf

The Winner by a Nosepass (Japanese: カナズミジム！ノズパスの秘密兵器！！ Kanazumi Gym! Nosepass's Secret Weapon!!) is the 16th episode of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and the 290th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on March 13, 2003, and in the United States on January 10, 2004.

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

Blurb

Pikachu is getting pretty good at its Iron Tail attack and that's a good thing. Ash is finally about to take on Roxanne, the leader of the Rustboro City Gym. He's going to need all the help he can get to take down her Geodude. May, on the other hand, isn't really looking forward to the battle. In fact, she announces that she's not going to be a trainer anymore. She wants to become a Pokémon Coordinator and compete in contests instead. When the battle begins, it doesn't look like Ash has much of a chance. Roxanne's Geodude knocks out Treecko pretty quickly. It's all up to Pikachu. Electric attacks aren't going to help much against a strong Rock Type—but Ash is very clever and Pikachu not only brings down Geodude, but it wipes out Nosepass with its newly perfected Iron Tail Attack. Ash defeats Roxanne and receives his Stone Badge.

Plot

A day after their adventure at the Pokémon Trainers' School, Ash and Pikachu have some last-minute training with Iron Tail. Over breakfast, Ash confides that Iron Tail is still hit-or-miss, but what is more surprising is that May wants to pass up on the Gym battle. When the others ask why, May admits that she started her journey as an excuse to travel, and not having liked Pokémon when she began, but later had found her true calling in Pokémon Contests. Thus, she decides to become a Coordinator. Ash is particularly supportive of her decision, and he, Max, and Brock agree to do whatever it takes to help. Meanwhile, at a nearby playground, Team Rocket learns that Roxanne is the Rustboro Gym Leader, and vows to take their revenge for yesterday's defeat.

At the Gym, May and Max remark that it is different compared to the Petalburg Gym, they are greeted by Roxanne and some of her senior students working at the Gym as interns. Expecting two battles in succession, Roxanne respects May's decision to pass and become a Coordinator instead. After exchanging more formalities, including allowing the battle to be filmed for the Pokémon Trainers' School, Ash and Roxanne begin their two-on-two Gym Battle. Max is also excited because this will be the first Gym match he has seen as his father, Norman didn't allow either of his children to watch his battles since he believed that they would distract the challenger.

Roxanne leads off with Geodude, while Ash sends out Treecko. Though Treecko has the type advantage, Brock notes that Treecko does not know any Grass attacks, rendering the point moot. Ash starts with Treecko using Quick Attack, which Geodude replies with a Mega Punch, sending Treecko flying. Treecko recovers from the fall and it hits back with a midair Pound, which makes its mark, but does not knock it out. Geodude recovers with Rollout, but when Treecko tries to jump and dodge, Geodude follows, and it knocks out Treecko with another Mega Punch.

Ash decides to send in Pikachu, surprising the senior students and Roxanne. Undeterred, Pikachu starts by destroying the rock field with Thunder. Meanwhile, Team Rocket begins their plan to tunnel into the Gym and stealing Pikachu by shoveling by hand — as James notes, this would save them money because they waste so much with their more elaborate schemes. Back at the battle, though Pikachu has destroyed the field, he has yet to damage Geodude. Roxanne notes that it allows Geodude greater maneuverability, and better use of Rock Throw. Pikachu dodges the rocks with Quick Attack, but takes a Mega Punch. When Roxanne tries to use Rollout to finish Pikachu off, though, Geodude gets stuck on the softer battlefield, making an opening for Pikachu to get close with Quick Attack and get the knockout with Thunder. Roxanne admits that Ash has talent, as Geodude had never been knocked out by an Electric-type attack alone.

Roxanne calls out her Nosepass, a Pokémon unfamiliar to Ash. Pikachu starts off with Iron Tail, which makes its mark, but when Pikachu tries to use it again, it fails. Nosepass responds with a Rock Tomb, trapping Pikachu in boulders. However, Pikachu breaks free with Thunder. Nosepass uses Sandstorm, making Pikachu unable to find Nosepass, and allowing Nosepass to pin Pikachu to the battlefield. Pikachu soon escapes, and manages to evade another Rock Tomb with a Quick Attack. Pikachu runs circles around Nosepass in an attempt to disorient it, which allows another shot with Iron Tail. However, the move fails yet again. Brock notes that Pikachu is too worn out from running around, and thus does not have the time to store up energy for a successful Iron Tail. Nosepass tries to finish off Pikachu with Zap Cannon, but Pikachu dodges in time. The attack, however, hits James' shovel as it breaks through the Gym floor, shocking Team Rocket and sending them flying out of their tunnel.

While Ash ponders how Nosepass could use an Electric attack, Roxanne tells him that Zap Cannon was inspired by Ash's own strategy of keeping a surprise attack - as was the case with Pikachu and Iron Tail. Pikachu, however, though exhausted, can still battle. Anticipating another Iron Tail, Nosepass uses Zap Cannon again, to which Ash tells Pikachu to take the hit head-on. As he is low on power, the Zap Cannon recharges Pikachu instead, paralyzing Nosepass and allowing it to be struck by another Iron Tail. This time, Iron Tail is successful, and Nosepass is knocked out. This earns Ash the match victory and the Stone Badge.

Major events

Ash holding the Stone Badge

• May reveals her intentions to participate in Pokémon Contests instead of Gym battles.
• Pikachu masters Iron Tail.
• Ash defeats Roxanne in a Gym battle and earns his first Hoenn League Badge, the Stone Badge.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Nosepass (Roxanne's)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Roxanne

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Pupitar

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Treecko (Ash's)
• Geodude (Roxanne's)
• Nosepass (Roxanne's; debut)

Trivia

• The English dub title is based on the saying "the winner by a nose".
• This episode is featured on the Volume 10: Rock copy of Pokémon Elements.
• Team Rocket doesn't recite their motto in this episode.
• Despite Geodude being featured heavily throughout the original series as one of Brock's party members, this is the first time one has received a Pokédex entry in the anime.

Errors

Pikachu on Ash's shoulder

• For a brief second, when Pikachu is using Thunder on the entire field, Pikachu is seen on Ash's shoulder if one looks very carefully.
• Pikachu successfully uses Thunder on Geodude, but Geodude is a Ground type and is immune to Electric-type attacks.
  • In Tree's a Crowd, it is mentioned that Ground-type Pokémon are only immune to Electric-type moves when they are grounded, but not when they are levitating.
• While the Pokédex identifies Nosepass, Pikachu doesn't appear on the battlefield. Right after the scene, Pikachu appears to be tired, but this time, Ash doesn't appear behind him.
• In the English dub, Zap Cannon is briefly referred to as Thunder Wave. This was corrected later on in the episode.

Dub edits

• In the dub, Roxanne calls out Thunder Wave instead of Zap Cannon, which was what Roxanne had called out in the Japanese version.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		卡那茲道館！朝北鼻的秘密武器！
Danish		Pas på Nosepass
Dutch		Winnaar met een neuslengte!
Finnish		Voitto kärsän mitalla
European French		Des Pokémon de pierre
German		Der erste offizielle Kampf
Hebrew		מי ינצח את הנוזפאס Mi yenatzehakh et ha'Nosepass
Hindi		Ash ने जीता पहला Hoenn region बैज! Ash ne jeeta pehela Hoenn region Badge! *
Italian		La prima Palestra
Korean		금탄체육관의 코코파스
Norwegian		Vinner med en neselengde
Polish		Kto wygra z Nosepassem
Portuguese	Brazil	Por uma Cauda de Vantagem
	Portugal	Vencer o Nosepass
Russian		Ноузпасс в рукаве
Spanish	Latin America	¡Una batalla contra Nosepass!
	Spain	Ganando a Nosepass
Swedish		Roxanne och Nosepass!
Thai		คานาสึมิยิม! อาวุธลับของโนสพาส!!

← AG015 : Gonna Rule The School!

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

AG017 : Stairway to Devon →

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