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Battling the Enemy Within! (Japanese: バトルピラミッド！VSレジロック!! Battle Pyramid! VS Regirock!!) is the 178th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 452nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 25, 2006 and in the United States on December 6, 2006.

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

Synopsis

Ash and the others finally see the Battle Pyramid, and Ash is confident that he will win. However, they fall into a hole and plummet into an ancient ruin. Max spots a light source ahead, and Ash heads for it. Meanwhile, Team Rocket finds the pit Ash and the others fell through. The ground is unstable, and Team Rocket widens the pit, falling in as well.

Ash finds a Pikachu statue and grabs it, even though Max tries to convince him not to, causing the pillar it was resting on the rise. Nearby, a wall flashes, matching the Pikachu statue. Ash set off a boulder trap, forcing the group to run away. They run into an explorer, calling them foolish kids. He summons Regirock, using Focus Punch to destroy the boulder. The man identifies himself as Brandon and scolds Ash for his carelessness. Brandon talks about the ruins, called Pokélantis, where the king tried to control Ho-Oh. The king disappeared after Ho-Oh destroyed the village. Team Rocket overhears and misinterprets that Ho-Oh is in the ruins, so they set off to find it.

Ash is excited that he might run into Ho-Oh, but Brandon doesn't want them to follow. Ash reveals that he won six Battle Frontier symbols and runs off. Brandon and the others pursue Ash. Meanwhile, Team Rocket finds a Smoochum statue and sets off a boulder trap similar to the one Ash set off.

Ash runs into the door leading into the king’s chamber, and he manages to get inside. However, the others cannot follow as quickly. Brandon tries to find the mechanism that opens the king's chamber. Inside the king’s chamber, Ash finds the king's throne, the stone orb resting on it. He grabs it and holds the orb above his head. Brandon gets the door open and they get inside. Brandon tries to get Ash to set the orb down, but the orb activates. A dark voice chants a spell as dark energy envelopes Ash, causing him to fall to his knees. The others rush to him, and Ash starts to laugh, but it sounds deeper...

Team Rocket encounters a door, and Meowth looks into the keyhole, seeing a bird silhouette. They think its Ho-oh and open it, setting off a Pidgey.

Ash is enveloped with dark energy, which reaches out and grabs May's Poké Balls. May takes them back and everyone wonders what happened to Ash. Ash declares himself as the King of Pokélantis, and Brandon reveals that Ash is possessed. Brandon confronts the king due to his failure to imprison Ho-oh. Brandon steps forward and challenges the king to a battle. Brandon announces that he is the king of the Battle Pyramid. If the king wins, he will rule the world. The king accepts.

Team Rocket finds another passageway. They hear a roar, thinking its Ho-oh. They run down the hall, finding a Salamence instead. It uses Flamethrower to send them running. Meanwhile, Brandon takes the king and the others to the pyramid, meeting Scott. Inside, Scott finds out that Ash is possessed, while revealing that Brandon explores ruins as well as being the brain.

The battle is set for a one-on-one match. Brandon sends out Regirock. Ash wakes up inside another dimension. However, he does see what the king sees. Noticing the battle, Ash summons Sceptile, which the king replicates in reality. Ash orders Sceptile to use Leaf Blade, which the king replicates. Regirock uses Iron Defense to nullify the attack. The king orders Sceptile to use Bullet Seed, but Iron Defense also nullifies it. The king orders Sceptile to fire Bullet Seed at the ceiling. Sceptile is hesitant at first but obeys. The attack causes rocks to crash atop Regirock, burying it. The group notes that Ash would never attack in that manner. Brandon calls the king a coward for his tactic, but Ash hears the insult from his isolation. Ash breaks the spell, taking control of his body to counter the insult, but the king’s control quickly returns.

Regirock breaks out of the tomb and immediately uses Hyper Beam. The king orders Sceptile to use the referee as cover. Sceptile initially hesitates, not used to Ash using such dirty tricks, but the king tells him to obey and Sceptile is made to move behind the referee, forcing Brandon to cancel the attack. The king uses Sceptile’s Leaf Blade on Regirock’s leg, causing it to kneel down. Regirock uses Lock-On, targeting Sceptile. The king orders another Leaf Blade on the other leg, rendering Regirock immobile. Regirock uses Hyper Beam again, and although Sceptile attempts to dodge, Lock On ensures that Hyper Beam hits and it knocks Sceptile out. The king loses, but he refuses, ordering Pikachu to go. May, Brock, and Max block Pikachu and try to break through to Ash. The king appears resistant and orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but it refuses. Brandon reminds Ash that they’re his good friends, and Ash gets Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on his body. The attack frees Ash from captivity and purges the king from his body. Brandon uses the spell to abolish the king back to the orb.

Ash returns and the others are relieved. Brandon admits to Scott that Ash's friends freed him from the spell. Meanwhile, Team Rocket finds another hatch, opening it and finding a Hoothoot. Jessie throws a rock, angering Hoothoot and prompting it to attack. Team Rocket run into a spring trap and sends them flying out of the ruins.

As sunset occurs, Brandon tells Ash that his own carelessness and arrogance attracted the king and rendered him vulnerable. Ash admits that maybe he is still a foolish kid at times, but he still wants the chance to battle Brandon fair and square. Unfortunately, Brandon declines the challenge as he has some more ruins to visit but he tells Ash he will get in touch... when the time is right, and he advises Ash to train hard until that time. Brandon enters the Battle Pyramid, and Scott advises the group to stand back. The group discovers that the Pyramid can fly, allowing it to move to the ruins Brandon desires to explore. Ash spots the real Ho-oh flying in the distance, remembering how he saw it when he first started. He uses it to inspire himself to train for the rematch. But for now, the Grand Festival is on the horizon for May and she can't wait to put herself to the ultimate test...

Major events

• Ash is possessed by the King of Pokélantis Empire's evil spirit which comes from the stone sphere sealed in the Ancient Ruins, and Brandon agrees to battle in order to save Ash.
• Ash's Sceptile fights Brandon's Regirock in an informal battle and loses. Ash will return to the Battle Pyramid for a rematch with Brandon after the Grand Festival.
• At the end of the episode, the Battle Pyramid flies off for the next ruins and Ash sees Ho-Oh for the third time.

Debuts

• Brandon
• Samuel

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Template:Brandon
• Scott
• King of Pokélantis
• Samuel

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Sceptile (Ash's)
• Regirock (Brandon's)
• Ho-Oh (anime)
• Pidgey (Seiyū: うえだゆうじ Yuji Ueda)*
• Hoothoot (Seiyū: 三木眞一郎 Shin'ichirō Miki)*
• Salamence

* No official credit was given for this character.

Trivia

• Pokémon Symphonic Medley is used as background music.
• The Pokémon Red and Blue introduction music is used as background music for the next episode preview.
• The "Giant-Boulder-Rolling-Down-A-Narrow-Corridor" routine from the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark is seen twice in this episode.

Errors

Dub edits

• The original intended to make a pun by having Pokémon show themselves to Team Rocket that have similar names to Ho-Oh. These Pokémon included Poppo (Pidgey), Hoho (Hoothoot), and Bohmander (Salamance). This joke would not make sense in the English dub since most of the names sound nothing like Ho-Oh.

In other languages

• French: L'ennemi intérieur
• Italian: Il leggendario Ho-Oh
• Latin American Spanish: ¡La batalla contra el enemigo!

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