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Once More with Reeling! (Japanese: サトシVSハルカ！ラストバトル!! Satoshi vs. Haruka! Last Battle!!) is the 191st episode of the Advanced Generation series. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 7, 2006 and in the USA on February 24, 2007.

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

Synopsis

With Ash’s victory at the Battle Pyramid past, the group arrives at Terracotta Town. Everyone plans to go back home: May and Max taking a ship to Hoenn, Brock returning to Pewter, and Ash returning to Pallet. As the group checks out the town, May finds a sign for a special Pokémon Contest. Obviously, May signs up for it. Ash shocks everyone by deciding to enter as well since it is not an official contest, meaning he doesn’t need a pass.

Ash and May go to the contest hall and register. Ash signs Pikachu for the appeals round and Sceptile for battle. May chooses Eevee for the appeal and Combusken for the battle. This contest is special in which the top two in the appeals round will move to the battle.

The appeals round begin with the local Nurse Joy judging. May takes the stage first with her Eevee. It uses Dig to form several holes on the battlefield. From underground, Eevee launches Shadow Ball through the holes to create a fireworks display, impressing the crowd. Other contestants take the stage, some appealing better than the others.

Finally Ash takes the stage. Even though this is his first contest, the crowd cheers him own for being in the Top Eight of the Hoenn league. Pikachu executes Quick Attack and Thunderbolt to create an electric ring before using Iron Tail to send it bouncing across the field. Pikachu repeats the move to create a group of bouncing electric rings. The appeals round ends, and the top two are decided. May took first place with Ash as the runner up.

During the break, Ash and May take time to practice. Team Rocket arrives in a giant ship float, attracting the competing Pokémon with food. They capture the Pokémon with a giant net. Ash and the others confront them, and James launches another net to capture Pikachu. Combusken frees the Pokémon with Mega Kick, and Sceptile catches the net, sending them to safety. Combusken collapses, seeming exhausted, but it evolves into Blaziken. It easily dodges Team Rocket’s net and uses Blaze Kick to destroy the float, sending them flying.

The contest battle pits May's Blaziken against Ash's Sceptile. Max doesn't want either of them to lose. May and Ash shake hands before the contest battle begins. It appears that May has the advantage, but the match is fairly even, both Pokémon matching opening executions.

Sceptile opens with Pound, Bullet Seed, and Leaf Blade. Blaziken dodges them all, and Ash loses points. To make up for it, Sceptile chases Blaziken towards the wall, preventing it from dodging Pound. Sceptile fires Bullet Seed, but Blaziken’s Fire Spin neutralizes it and hurts Sceptile. Blaziken attacks with Sky Uppercut, but Sceptile dodges, taking May's points. Sceptile’s Leaf Blade and Pound attack knock down Blaziken, setting points even at the halfway mark. Sceptile follows up with Bullet Seed and Pound. It tries Leaf Blade, but Blaziken dodges. Blaziken attacks with Sky Uppercut, but Sceptile matches it with Leaf Blade, negating both attacks. Blaziken uses Blaze Kick but Sceptile’s Pound matches it as well.

With one minute left, the points are identical, but both Pokémon are exhausted. Sceptile activates Overgrow, and Blaziken matches with Blaze. Neither Pokémon can gain an advantage, with moves evenly matched. Sceptile’s Leaf Blade and Pound match Blaziken’s Sky Uppercut and Blaze Kick. Ash and May lose points fairly evenly. With ten seconds left, Sceptile unleashes Solarbeam while Blaziken fires Overheat. The attack creates a big explosion covers the scoreboard. Time expires, but it is unclear who won. The outcome will be revealed in the next episode.

Major events

• Ash enters his first (though unofficial) Pokémon Contest.
• May achieves first place in the first round with Eevee, while Ash achieves second place with Pikachu.
• May's Combusken evolves into Blaziken during a battle with Team Rocket.
• May's Blaziken learns Blaze Kick.
• Ash and May enter the final round with Sceptile and Blaziken respectively.
  • Both Pokémon use their abilities (Overgrow and Blaze respectively) in the last minute of battling.

Debuts

• May's Blaziken

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Announcer (Seiyū: 堀川仁 Jin Horikawa)
• Pokémon coordinators
• Audience

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Sceptile (Ash's)
• Combusken (May's; evolves)
• Blaziken (May's; newly evolved)
• Eevee (May's)
• Charmeleon
• Weedle
• Pidgey
• Rattata
• Spearow
• Sandshrew
• Nidoran♀
• Jigglypuff
• Clefairy
• Zubat
• Oddish
• Gloom
• Paras
• Venonat
• Growlithe
• Poliwag
• Abra
• Tentacool
• Doduo
• Seel
• Magikarp
• Noctowl
• Hoppip
• Wooper
• Octillery

Trivia

• An alternate cut of 私、負けない！ ～ハルカのテーマ～ I won't lose! ~Haruka's theme~ is used as background music during May's appeal.
• An alternate cut of Spurt! is used as background music during Ash's appeal.
• Pokémon Symphonic Medley is used as background music during the battle between Ash and May.
• May's Combusken and Blaziken are both listed in the credits separately, as they have different voice actors.
• The flag on the Team Rocket mecha depicts a variant of the Flag of Japan and Mount Fuji.
• The Japanese version featured a banner promoting the unofficial contest using a recolored version of the American logo for the Pokémon franchise (the shows it being the word "Pokémon" in red letters bordered in a yellow outline, while the actual logo has yellow letters that are bordered in blue). Also, no Generation III Pokémon appear on the poster.
• This episode's title is a pun on the saying "once more with feeling".
• In Going for Choke, it was established that contest battles ending in ties would result in an extra battle. Ash and May did not have an extra battle even though they tied. It is possible that an extra battle was not held because it was an unofficial contest.

Errors

Dub edits

In other languages

• French: Coordinateur surprise
• Italian: Una partenza da rimandare
• Latin American Spanish: Una vez más en suspenso.
• Iberian Spanish: Un Día más de Emociones

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