Life Skills (Learning League): Difference between revisions

May and Max are getting ready for an upcoming Pokémon contest, as there will be many new trainers and coordinators there. All of a sudden, a frightened {{P|Ralts}} shows up and hides behind May. Its trainer, a young girl, follows it and meets May and Max. The girl introduces herself as Vanessa and says that she's a new trainer and she's having trouble with her Ralts. Max mentions that [[AG109|he's worked with a Ralts once before]]. Vanessa is impressed and says that she can't keep it from running away, getting frustrated or even from crying. Max mentions that Ralts are capable of copying the emotions of people. Vanessa wants to know how she could get Ralts to copy good emotions. Max suggest that they contact Quinn. They explain the situation to Quinn, and he suggests that in addition to telling how they feel, they also must show how they feel in a constructive empathetic manner.

Ash and his friends, along with {{TP|May|Squirtle}} and {{TP|Brock|Forretress}} are at a [[Pokémon Center]]. They decide to call [[Professor Oak]] to ask some questions and to check on Ash's Pokémon. When they call him, the group discovers that [[DJ Mary]] is with him. They ask if they're going to air another Pokétalk show, but find out that trainers are now watching a new show instead of training their Pokémon, or tuning into Pokétalk. The new show in question is called "The New Pokémon Training Show", and it asks the viewers to send their Pokémon in for "special training". Oak has a hunch that they're obviously up to no good. A clip of this training show is shown to the group, which stars a "Red Trainer" and a "Blue Trainer" that have scarves over their faces, and a very badly disguised "Pikachu" as proof that their training techniques work. Ash's Pikachu obviously doesn't buy it, and neither does anyone else. Professor Oak and DJ Mary say they'll try to find out more about the show and hang up. Ash decides to get to the bottom of it, but wonders how this show is affecting how people behave. They call Quinn and learn about the different forms of the media and how to be aware of their messages. Will the trainers of [[Goldenrod City]] get the message and learn the truth of the trainer show?

The episode begins right after the first part, Media Part 1. Ash and his friends had come up with broadcasting their own message asking who are the trainers behind the masks, but right when the trainers were revealed, their message gets sabotaged. Part 2 begins with The New Pokémon Trainers show still airing in {{ci|Goldenrod}}. With the show cutting to a commercial advertising Puff Snacks. Our heroes are obviously annoyed at the new show, because not only are their messages questionable, but everyone is too busy watching the show to battle anymore. They wonder about if the messages being portrayed by the show are fact or merely opinion, they contact Quinn to learn more about this.

It's revealed that the trainers are in fact Team Rocket, and just like in the anime, they get blasted off by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. The episode ends with The Pokétalk radio show back on the air and Oak reciting a poem about the media:

May and Ash are at a contest hall. Ash can't want for it to start, while May is feeling a bit glum. Ash asks her what's wrong, May explains that there's a trainer telling everyone that the younger trainers, including May, are babies who can't do well at contests and shouldn't even try. Ash tries to console her, but May is starting to believe she isn't good enough to compete. Ash concludes that the trainer is the one with the problem. They call Quinn to talk about appreciating differences and how judging people based on stereotypes is wrong.

*various extras, including the discriminating trainer

The model used for the discriminating trainer is nearly the same as May's father [[Norman]].

May is preparing for a contest, this time with Beautifly, as she has decided to use its {{M|Silver Wind}} in a unique way, but she isn't sure if she's practiced enough. Ash and Max try to make her feel better, but May is reminded of [[AG035|the time Beautifly lost to a Milotic]]. She begins to panic over the contest. Ash and Max try to distract her, but their attempts were unsuccessful. It turns out that there ''is'' a trainer that has entered with a Milotic. May freaks out and snaps at Ash and Max. Ash decides to contact Quinn, who gives tips on stress management.

May is competing in a [[Pokémon Contest]] with her {{TP|May|Eevee|Glaceon}} against a trainer named Jessandra, who is really [[Jessie]] in disguse, with her {{TP|Jessie|Seviper}}. Seviper uses a {{m|Poison Tail}} attack, which generates cheers from the crowd. May decides to launch a counterattack, while James and Meowth plan on disrupting her. James orders {{TP|James|Cacnea}} to use {{m|Pin Missile}}, which hits Eevee from behind. May asks her Pokémon what's wrong, Eevee isn't too hurt but is feeling a bit saddened. James's deed hasn't gone un-noticed though: [[Nurse Joy]] and an extra in the audience notices it as well. While Seviper attacks with another Poison Tail, Jessandra begins to gloat. Max tells May to not to listen to her and to focus on the match. Eevee gets its confidence back and tries to attack. However, Cacnea shoots another Pin Missile from the sidelines, knocking Eevee off balance again. Jessandra insults May, and Meowth joins in. Round one is over with Jessandra as the winner, which causes her to gloat even more. May thinks about telling the judges that it's Jessandra's fault and that she should be disqualified for teasing her. Max reasons that even if she's a bad sport, doesn't mean that May should be one as well. However, May is too worked up about Jessandra to listen. Max calls Quinn up and he explains good sportsmanship to May and Max.

Ash, May and Max are heading towards [[Pallet Town]]. Ash and May are psyched because they're going to have a Double Battle, and Ash hopes that [[Professor Oak]] is able to see him preform. May adds that even if he wasn't there, At least all the new trainers can watch him. Max wants to meet him to talk about what it takes to be a great [[Pokémon Trainer]], and hopes he didn't forget anything. May says that his memory is like a book, which gives him an idea to write a book about the experiences of Pokémon training, and of his adventures with Ash. Ash decides to use Pikachu for the battle, while May chooses Eevee. They prepare for the battle while Max writes what happens. Later on, it's revealed that both of them were sorely beaten. Max is saddened by the loss, so much so that he isn't able to write about it any longer, he even considers to change the ending. However, Ash and May don't seem to mind the loss: Ash just likes to battle while May got some great ideas for her next contests. Max wonders how he could feel good even after a defeat like that. Ash mentions that there were times when a loss would bum them out, but then they realized that it shouldn't get them down. They call Quinn up to explain things better. He then teaches the group about Self Esteem.

The episode starts off with [[Roxanne]] telling everyone how proud she is of how everyone is working in her Future Trainer's Workshop. She's also especially proud of Max, who didn't miss a single question on the test on Pokémon native to [[Hoenn]]. As a reward, there's a traveling Pokémon battle Team coming and the whole class are the special guests at the battle. This gets the class very excited. Later on, Max is at a drinking fountain with one of his classmates, Max is excited and talks about how they could study how trainers train. However, his classmate wonders how he could be a Pokémon trainer when he does poorly on his tests. Max suggests that they should talk to some real trainers and coordinators, since that's the best way he can study. He then mentions that his sister and his friend are trainers. A little while later, May and Ash are training with {{TP|Ash|Pikachu}} and {{TP|May|Squirtle}}. Max and his friend talk about how much preparation is done before the actual battle or contest can begin. May and Ash meet them and Max introduces his classmate as Brent. They ask him what he knows so far, and tells them that he knows he has a long way to go. Ash and May have to continue training, so Ash suggests they call Quinn. Max follows Ash's advice and call Quinn up. Quinn shows them the new wheels for his skateboard that {{OBP|Siara|Learning League}} made. He proceeds to ride his skateboard and ends up crashing into a wall. Luckily he's wearing a helmet, so he can practice all he wants. Brent explains his problem, and Quinn gives some tips on how to study effectively.

Ash and Brock are watching a trainer and his {{p|Machop}} preform a {{m|DynamicPunch}}. Both of them are impressed by its intensity, by how much muscle it has and by its {{m|Karate Chop}}. Ash looks up Machop in the Pokédex, which mentions how much it trains to master all kinds of martial arts, and its unbelievable strength. Ash wishes that he were that strong, so Brock suggests that he should build up his muscles as well. So Ash decides to run for a bit to build them up. Brock then suggests that he should have something against his muscle, so Ash does some push-ups and slips. Brock mentions that he has to do more then that. So they decide to call Quinn up to see if he has any advice on how to exercise properly.

Ash and Dawn have chosen a good spot to rest in the middle of the woods at night. As they sit, Ash listens to the {{p|Hoothoot}} calling, Dawn would also love to listen, but she's far too busy thinking about her contests. Ash decides to teach Dawn a thing or two about Pokémon training. As Ash starts talking about what it takes to be a great trainer (Putting your Pokémon first, ensuring their happiness comes above winning competitions, etc.) Dawn is increasingly becoming distracted by thoughts about contests. Ash becomes a little annoyed that Dawn isn't paying attention, so Dawn apologizes. So Ash decides to listen to Dawn's goals. As Dawn shows Ash [[Johanna|her mother]]'s ribbon, it seems like Ash is also getting distracted by the Hoothoot. They realize that they are good listeners, just not to each other. So they call Quinn up and learn about listening skills.

*Various trainers

There's a trainer parade that's about to begin and Ash and his friends found a wonderful spot to see everything. Suddenly, Team Rocket who are in disguise show up and intentionally block the twerp's view of the parade. They ignore their requests to move, so Ash and his friends decide to move to another spot. While there isn't a particular rule against it, they felt that they were pretty rude. Suddenly some other people bump into them and they get jostled about. They call Quinn and learn about manners and how they are applied to everyday life.

At one point, an announcer announces that someone is going to ride on the final float as the crowned trainer. Jessie automatically assumes it's her. In her attempt to make herself known, she knocks over a girl. Dawn rushes over to her and helps her up. The announcer notices this and chooses Dawn to be the crowned trainer. Team Rocket wonders how she got chosen, and Ash just tells them that it's part off the "code".