DP131: Difference between revisions

Pedal to the Mettle!

DP131   EP597 フルバトル！シンジVSサトシ！！-前編- Full Battle! Shinji VS Satoshi!! -Part 1-

First broadcast Japan June 11, 2009 United States November 7, 2009

English themes Opening Battle Cry - (Stand Up!) Ending

Japanese themes Opening ハイタッチ！ Ending もえよ　ギザみみピチュー！

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 古賀一臣 Kazuomi Koga Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Pedal to the Mettle! (Japanese: フルバトル！シンジVSサトシ！！-前編- Full Battle! Shinji VS Satoshi!! -Part 1-) is the 131st episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 597th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on June 11, 2009 and in the United States on November 7, 2009.

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

Synopsis

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It's a beautiful day at Lake Acuity and Ash, Dawn and Brock, fresh from their adventures in Snowpoint Temple and aboard the Ampharos Train, have finally arrived for Ash's full battle against Paul that Reggie suggested they have ten days earlier. As Ash looks out at the gorgeous view, Dawn recalls the legend the gang heard about during the Wallace Cup that says the legendary Pokémon Uxie lives in Lake Acuity. Ash likes the thought of Uxie watching the battle, and the gang head for the nearby Pokémon Center where they are due to meet Paul and Reggie.

Ash hands in all of his Pokémon to be checked over by Nurse Joy and Brock, never one to realise that there's not really much point, begins to flirt with Nurse Joy until he's taken down... but not by Croagunk's Poison Jab but by Chansey's Pound. Nurse Joy apologises for her overprotective Pokémon as Croagunk drags Brock away. Ash learns that Paul has already arrived, and quickly heads out for the Center's battlefield...

Outside, the battlefield isn't exactly in a usuable condition as it's mostly a pile of rubble and working construction are none other than Team Rocket. They say their motto, which is mostly centered around their new jobs. Suddenly Ash arrives and, although he nearly catches them out on their use of the word 'twerp', doesn't see through their disguises. It turns out the battlefield is out of commission for a few days due to overuse. Ash begins to worry as he doesn't know where to meet Paul until a referee named Olivier arrives, having being asked by Reggie to officiate the full battle. He tells Ash that as the regular battlefield can't be used Reggie has selected another location.

On a clearing beside the lake, Paul is practicing with Electabuzz under Reggie's watchful eye. Reggie notes how well Paul has polished his Pokémon's moves since the battle against Brandon, prompting Paul to ask Reggie why exactly he suggested the full battle in the first place. Reggie explains that the battle against Brandon had a major effect on Paul, making him realise it was the perfect time for a full battle between him and Ash.

At the Pokémon Center Ash picks up Pikachu, Staraptor, Grotle, Chimchar, Buizel and Gliscor who are all ready and willing to battle Paul, Chimchar especially so. Brock reflects on Cynthia's words back in Celestic Town, when she told Chimchar it had a bigger and better destiny. Brock knows that Chimchar is at the very center of Ash and Paul's rivalry, and that Chimchar will be instrumental in what happens between them. And so, with everyone ready to go it's time to meet Paul and Reggie.

At the lakefront, Reggie thanks Ash for coming and explains that part of the reason that he asked for the battle is how alike Ash and Paul are. Both are intent in growing strong alongside their Pokémon, only their training methods differ and that as a full battle between them is inevitable it's a good time for them both to compare each other's strengths and weaknesses. Just then Olivier arrives in a balloon... only it's not just a balloon but a portable scoreboard. Helping him man the scoreboard and make the necessary changes as the match progresses are Team Rocket.

Now the match is about to begin and Olivier officially states the rules; the battle will be a full battle, six-on-six with substitutions freely allowed on both side. Coin Toss is used to decide who goes first, and Ash wins meaning he gets to choose his Pokémon before Paul. Ash sends out Buizel first, and Paul sends out his Torterra. The referee begins the match... only for Ash to instantly recall Buizel, similar to how Paul recalled his first Pokémon during the match against Brandon when he didn't like the type-matchup. Ash apologises to Buizel and promises he'll call on it soon, and sends out Gliscor to replace him.

The battle then begins properly. Gliscor used Sand-Attack to make it harder to see while Paul commands Torterra to use Giga Drain, which was easily dodged. Brock suspects that Paul used the attcked knowing it would miss. Reggie agrees, and believes that Paul does so to make Ash let his guard down. Ash orders his Pokémon to use X-Scissor, successfully hitting, and pushes Torterra backwards. Paul orders to use Frenzy Plant, but it was again dodged by Gliscor. Reggie noted that Toterra can't move after using Frenzy Plant. Gliscor then uses Fire Fang. This hits Torterra badly. The Fang Scorp Pokémon followed it up with an X-Scissor. Hoping to finish Toterra off Ash commands Gliscor to use Steel Wing, but when the attack hits, Gliscor's tail dangled down and was bitten by the big turtle Pokémon, pinning it in one spot and giving Torterra the chance of wrapping it with Giga Drain. Ash's commands Gliscor to use Fire Fang on the Giga Drain attack to break it free, but it was already badly injured so Ash returned it back into its ball.

Now that Torterra's exhausted, Ash sends out Staraptor. Reggie asks if Staraptor evolved from Staravia. Dawn adds that it beat Paul's honchkrow in a Poké-ringer match. Ash commands him to use Brave Bird while Torterra countered it with Stone Edge. The latter stops Staraptor mid-air and sends him crashing to the ground. Paul then returns Torterra. Reggie asks Dawn and Brock if Ash was going to switch Pokémon for the battle. Dawn tells him that Ash was going to use his six Pokémon anyway and Brock adds that Ash caught all his Pokémon in Sinnoh except Pikachu. Reggie then explains that Paul picked Pokémon he used against Ash before. Paul then sends out Weavile, then the battle continues. Ash orders Staraptor to use Quick Attack, but Weavile protected itself. It then used Swords Dance while the Flying-type was commanded to use Aerial Ace. Weavile switches to Blizzard, hitting Staraptor and making its Aerial Ace fail, but it still continues to fly. The Sharp Claw Pokémon jumped to Staraptor's back and used Metal Claw, making him crash again to the floor. Everyone was suprised to see that Weavile was faster than Staraptor. Ash and Paul then told them to use Metal Claw and Close Combat respectively, making a close battle of slashes and blows, but Staraptor gets the upper hand and takes the control over its opponent. Reggie remarks that Staraptor now had the advantage. Weavile used Blizzard but Staraptor dodges and countered it with Brave Bird, being hurt in the process but finally taking Weavile down of the battle, and giving Ash his first victory on the 6-on-6 fight, but Ash notes Weavile's speed.

Ash decides to return Staraptor and send Grotle out, while Paul chooses Electabuzz. Ash is suprised at Paul's choice. Grotle was told to use Energy Ball but Electabuzz protected itself by using Light Screen. Dawn wonders why Electabuzz took it and Brock explains that Light Screen decreases the power of Special Attacks and that Energy Ball was a Special Attack. Paul quickly substitutes his Pokémon with Honchkrow. Brock tells Reggie that Grotle battled with Honchkrow before and that Grotle evolved from aTurtwig, which explains why Grotle is angry. To Dawn's suprise Ash sticks with Grotle,while Paul grins. Ash tells Grotle to use Razor Leaf but Honchkrow easily dodges them all and uses Night Slash which successfully hits. Ash orders Grotle to use Energy Ball the second time, but Electabuzz's Light Screen was still in effect, so the attack did nothing. Dawn realizes Light Screen protects other Pokémon as well, while Brock realises Paul is trying to overwhelm Ash. Then, Honchkrow uses Haze to blind Grotle. Dawn notices that Paul's battle style is different. Brock mentions that usually Paul tests a Pokémon's strength, though not in this battle. Ash orders his Pokémon to use Razor Leaf but, before it could hit, Honchkrow used Night Slash again. Reggie says that a battle tests the intellectual ability of a trainer and that Paul wants a complete victory. Grotle is too exhausted, so Ash told it to use Synthesis. Honchkrow quickly prepared itself to attack with Sky Attack, and Grotle was told to use Rock Climb. However, the honch Pokémon's attack arrived first and knocked it's opponent out. Paul then returned Honchkrow to its Poké Ball. Reggie says that Ash miscalculated the time to use synthesis, which allowed Honchkrow to finish the battle. Brock remarks that Ash wanted Grotle to beat Honchkrow so badly he wasn't focusing properly, concerning Dawn.

Pikachu told Ash that it's ready to battle, so he chooses him to battle the next round, while as everyone's surprise, Paul sends out his recently evolved Magmortar. The episode ends with the battle between both Pokémon about to begin, and one Pokémon of each trainer being out of the battle.

Major events

• Ash and company reach Lake Acuity.
• Ash and Paul begin their full battle.
• Paul's Magmar is revealed to have evolved into a Magmortar.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Magmortar (Paul's)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Paul
• Nurse Joy
• Reggie
• Olivier
• Cynthia (flashback)

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Grotle (Ash's)
• Staraptor (Ash's)
• Chimchar (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Gliscor (Ash's)
• Torterra (Paul's)
• Electabuzz (Paul's)
• Weavile (Paul's)
• Honchkrow (Paul's)
• Magmortar (Paul's)
• Chansey (Nurse Joy's)

Trivia

• Music from Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is used as background music.
• This is the first time Pikachu was chosen to battle Paul since When Pokémon Worlds Collide!
• The disguises used by Jessie, James and Meowth in this episode are the same that were used in Holy Matrimony!, which first aired in Japan exactly eleven years before the debut Japanese airing of this episode.
• This is the first episode in which Paul's Weavile is seen using a move which is not an Template:Type2.
• When Ash, Dawn, and Brock arrive at Lake Acuity, there is no snow by the lake despite it being surrounded by snow in the games and in May and Zoey's flashback in Pruning a Passel of Pals!.
• The dub's title is based on the saying "Pedal to the metal".
• Cartoon Network's standard-definition feed switches back to showing the anime in a 4:3 aspect ratio, after showing the previous five episodes in their original 16:9. Due to the opening credits now being formatted with the 16:9 aspect ratio in mind, the names in the opening credits are now cut off when seen in standard definition.
  • However, if one watched the episode on Cartoon Network's High Definition feed, the episode aired in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Errors

• When Honchkrow hits Ash's Grotle, the Score Board does not show Honchkrow at all, and shows Electabuzz being out. Seconds later, when the Score board is being updated with Grotle's KO, Honchkrow is seen.

Dub edits

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