EP005
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Showdown in Pewter City
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First broadcast
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Showdown in Pewter City (Japanese: ニビジムのたたかい！ Battle of Nibi Gym!) is the fifth episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 29, 1997 and in the United States on September 14, 1998.
Synopsis
The episode opened with a brief cameo by Team Rocket. They dug a hole, but after covering it, they forgot exactly where they put it. They looked around in the general area, and found the hole by falling into it.
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu have reached the end of the Viridian Forest and arrived in Pewter City. Ash was tired enough that he decided to take a rest on some conveniently placed rocks. However, a nearby man told him that there was a fee for sitting on the rocks. His name is Flint, and he was trying to sell rocks as souvenirs of Pewter City. Neither Ash nor Misty were interested.
They headed to the Pokémon Center, where Ash was surprised to see Nurse Joy, who explained that she and the Nurse Joy from Viridian City are related; the Joy in Viridian is her little sister. Nurse Joy then showed Ash a poster which promotes a tournament called the Pokémon League Championship. Ash decided to sign up, but before he can enter, he needs to beat eight Pokémon Gym Leaders in order to enter. Flint entered and told Ash about Pewter City's Gym Leader, Brock. He laughed at the idea of Ash beating Brock.
Ash and Misty discussed it over a meal. Misty warned Ash that Gym Leaders were tougher than average trainers. She offered to help him out, but he declined. This upset her, and she stormed out, leaving Ash with the bill.
Ash stopped by the Pokémon Center again to pick up his healed team, and then got to the Pewter City Gym. He walked inside, finding it dark inside. After Ash called out to see if anyone was inside, a spotlight switched on to reveal the Gym Leader, Brock, who was sitting cross-legged on a platform. Ash challenged Brock, who got over the official tournament rules where both trainers must choose two Pokémon to battle. He stood up and asked about Ash's Pikachu, which he remarked is cute but couldn't win against him.
Despite this, Ash started off with Pikachu, while Brock started off with Onix. Pikachu was terrified of the giant rock snake and tried to convince Ash to send out his Pidgeotto instead. Pikachu's ThunderShock didn't harm it at all. Onix crushed Pikachu with a Bind, preventing Ash from recalling it. Ash didn't want Pikachu to be hurt more, and so he surrendered.
After leaving the Gym, Ash encountered Flint again. He went with the man to his home, and over tea he complained that he was upset over his loss to a better trainer. Flint mentioned that Brock could become much more than just a local Gym Leader. Ash asked why he didn't, and Flint decided to let Ash see for himself.
They headed to Brock's home, and spied into his house, where they saw Brock in a pink apron, taking care of his nine little brothers and sisters. They walked away, and Flint explained that after Brock's parents both left home to become Pokémon trainers, Brock was left to take care of his siblings. Despite this, Ash was now determined to beat Brock. Flint mentioned that he knows a way Ash can super-charge Pikachu.
They go to a hydro-electric plant, and Flint hooked up the generator to the Electric sacs in Pikachu's cheeks. Ash ran on a huge wheel to generate electricity, which flowed into Pikachu. Misty showed up and offered to lend Ash her Template:Type2 Pokémon, but Ash refused, wanting to defeat Brock with his own Pokémon. He continued charging Pikachu until the generator overloaded and Pikachu's electricity lighted up the sky.
The next day, Ash returned with confidence to the Pewter City Gym for a rematch. Brock was also confident from the last battle, and the two quickly started the rematch. Brock sent out Geodude, while Ash sent out Pidgeotto. However, the Template:Type2 couldn't seem to harm the Rock-type, so Ash recalled him and sent out Pikachu. Misty was seen in the rafters, cheering for Ash, only to be crowded by Brock's siblings.
Brock commented on how weak Pikachu and Ash were, and Ash retorted by commanding Pikachu's attack, which easily knocked Geodude down. Both Brock and Misty were stunned, staring open-mouthed. Brock recalled his Geodude and sent out Onix, and a fearful Pikachu tried to do another Electric attack, damaging the gym itself instead. Onix wrapped Pikachu with Bind, but Pikachu made a comeback with his new attack, Thunderbolt, which managed to hurt Onix but still couldn't take it out. Just as Pikachu was about to pass out, Brock suddenly spared him by calling Onix off. He told Ash to forfeit again, not wanting to cause further damage to Pikachu. Ash protested, wanting to fight the match to the end.
Suddenly, the gym's sprinklers were set off by a fire caused by Pikachu's earlier Electric attack. Water sprayed all over Onix, weakening him and allowing Pikachu to fight back with another Electric attack. Just as Ash was about to command Pikachu to finish Onix off, he finds he couldn't move. Brock's brothers and sisters were all holding Ash in place, which Ash believed was his conscience. Brock ordered his brothers and sisters to not get involved, but they protested, knowing that Brock's love of Pokémon made it painful for him to continue the match and watch his Onix get hurt further.
Ash called back his Pikachu. He explained that if he defeated Brock now, it would only be because of the sprinklers being set off. He decided he wanted to win his badge fair and square, much to Misty's disappointment since he was giving up a lucky advantage.
Ash left the Pewter Gym, and on his way out of Pewter City, he apologized to Pikachu for being so tough. He heared someone calling him, and turned to find Brock running to catch up with him and gave him the Boulder Badge. Ash says he couldn't accept the badge, but Brock insisted Ash earned it through his kindness to Pokémon. Brock continued to explain that rather than becoming a great Pokémon trainer, his dream is to become a Pokémon breeder, but can't do so because of his family duties. He gave Ash the badge, and asked him to fulfill his dream, and Ash agreed.
Suddenly, Flint shows up again, and revealed that he is Brock's "good-for-nothing" father. He explained that he didn't want to return to his family as a failure of a Pokémon trainer. Ash puzzled over the fact that Flint helped him instead of his son, Brock, and Flint explained that Ash's helplessness reminded him of himself. Flint was ready to take back the responsibilities he abandoned, which Brock returned to him, along with a long list of tasks for him to remember while taking care of the children.
That evening, Ash and Brock traveled on the road out of Pewter City. Brock asked to make sure it's okay that he joins Ash on his Pokémon journey, and Ash insisted that he is glad to have him along. However, Misty is a different story, and from several paces behind she yelled at him to not forget about her bike. Ash and Pikachu tried to ditch Misty, followed by Brock and the angry girl herself.
Team Rocket showed up at the end for a final cameo, trampled by Ash and his friends as they ran over the hole in the ground, unaware of the people underfoot.
Major events
- Ash reaches Pewter City.
- Ash and Misty meet Brock.
- Ash gets a Boulder Badge.
- Ash has his first Gym Battle.
- Ash has his first loss.
- Ash's Pikachu learns Thunderbolt.
- Brock joins Ash and Misty.
Debuts
Humans
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Trivia
- This episode introduces Team Rocket's hole gag.
- This is the first of few episodes where Team Rocket appears but has no bearing on the plot.
- This episode introduced the most named, recurring characters in the entire anime. However, given that it introduced Brock's siblings, it has an unfair advantage over other episodes. If Gary's cheerleaders had ever been named, the honor would go to the first episode.
- This is one of the few episodes where Ash tries to return Pikachu to its Poké Ball.
- The poster in the Pokémon Center uses type symbols from the TCG, specifically (from top to bottom) the lightning, psychic, grass, fire, and water symbols.
Errors
- Ash's advantage over Brock should not have technically worked. Template:Type2 Pokémon are always immune to Template:Type2 moves, no matter how strong the attack or how weakened the opposing Pokémon. This is the first of many times Pikachu's Electric attacks defy type match-ups to change the results of the battle.
Dub edits
- Flint charges a $2 fee for sitting on his rocks, or 50 ¥ in the Japanese version.
- Various pieces of text were changed to English:
- The unreadable (due to the position of the camera) signs at Flint's shop were changed to "SALE".
- The poster in the Pokémon Center was translated, emulating the font and style of the letters exactly.
- The restaurant bill was changed from ¥1150 to $1150. The bottom of the bill is changed from "Restaraunt Nibi" to "Thank You".
- The "Nibi Gym" sign was changed to say "Pewter Gym".
- The sign outside Flint's house changed from "We have rocks" to "ROCKS FOR SALE".
- Instead of saying Brock's mother left the family to Brock's care, Flint tells Ash that she died after trying to raise the family on her own. This resulted in an inconsistency in the English dub, as Brock's mother, Lola appears in A Family That Battles Together, Stays Together! as well as in several other episodes afterwards.
- Also, originally there were nine brothers and sisters, not ten as the dub would lead one to believe.
In other languages
- Czech: Zápas v Cínovém městě
- Brazilian Portuguese: Exibição na Cidade de Pewter
- Dutch: Krachtmeting in Pewter City
- European Portuguese: Confronto na cidade de Pewter
- Finnish: Välit selviksi Pewter Cityssä
- French: Confrontation à Argenta
- German: Showdown in Marmoria City
- Italian: La grande sfida
- Latin American Spanish: ¡Batalla en ciudad Plateada!
- Iberian Spanish: Combate en la Ciudad Plateada
- Mandarin: 尼比市的决斗
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |