CotD<\/b><\/u>: None.<\/p>\n Plot<\/b>: Ash laments over having to battle his new friend, Ritchie, in his fifth Pokemon League match. Misty shows him Ritchie\u2019s stats from the Pokemon League database, and they\u2019re quite impressive. He\u2019s gotten through all four prelim rounds not only without having a single Pokemon on his side KO\u2019d but also by using only three Pokemon \u2013 Pikachu, Charmander, and Butterfree.<\/p>\n The next morning, Ash bumps into Ritchie at the Pokemon Center. Ritchie and Ash agree to give it their all to make this the best match of their lives.<\/p>\n Team Rocket watch the two friends and cook up an idea. Using a voice changer, Jessie pretends to be Ritchie over the phone to Ash. She tells Ash that \u2018Ritchie\u2019 has something to tell Ash and to meet him somewhere alone with Pikachu to talk about it. Ash agrees and heads off.<\/p>\n At the meeting spot, Ash is met with a puppet Ritchie, and Team Rocket traps him and Pikachu in a net. They throw him in the back of a box truck and drive away.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the stadium is all set for Ash and Ritchie\u2019s match. Ritchie has arrived, but Ash hasn\u2019t, obviously.<\/p>\n Ash uses Squirtle\u2019s Water Gun to fill the box truck and flood the cab to cause it to crash. It works, the door opens, and Ash escapes, but Team Rocket takes chase on the axle and wheels of the truck. Ash uses Bulbasaur and Pikachu to knock them out and continue running back to the stadium.<\/p>\n Team Rocket catches up with him again, this time using bicycles, and they use Weezing to Smokescreen him. They give him the ultimatum of giving them Pikachu and getting to the stadium on time for his match or refusing to give up Pikachu and missing his match. Ash chooses to steal a bicycle from them and escape instead.<\/p>\n Back at the stadium, Misty rushes the field to smack Ritchie around, suspecting he has something to do with Ash\u2019s disappearance since the last thing he did was meet Ritchie. After hearing of the phone call he never made, Ritchie insists that he had nothing to do with Ash\u2019s disappearance. Misty believes him, leaving them all to wonder where Ash is.<\/p>\n As sunset washes over the stadium, Team Rocket once again cuts Ash off by grabbing his bicycle with a claw from their balloon. Pikachu shocks them, and they blast off. Ash uses Pidgeotto to pull the balloon to the stadium.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, so much time has gone by that the judges are planning to award Ritchie the win by default since Ash is absent. Ritchie begs the judges to hold out just a little while longer because he has faith Ash will arrive. The ref agrees to wait ten more minutes but no longer.<\/p>\n His patience is rewarded as Ash finally makes it back to the stadium just barely in time before he\u2019s disqualified. However, Pidgeotto is far too tired to partake in the battle, so Ash is down one Pokemon before the match even starts.<\/p>\n As the two friends finally face off, Ritchie calls his first pick, Happy \u2013 his Butterfree. Ash calls out Squirtle.<\/p>\n After exchanging a few blows, Happy puts Squirtle to sleep with Sleep Powder, and Squirtle declared unable to battle.<\/p>\n Pikachu rushes in next, despite being winded from attacking Team Rocket earlier. With a Double Edge and a Thunderbolt, Pikachu defeats Happy.<\/p>\n Ritchie calls out Zippo \u2013 his Charmander \u2013 who immediately starts shooting Flamethrowers at Pikachu. He dodges, but Pikachu is losing steam. With a Tackle, Zippo KOs Pikachu.<\/p>\n Ash is down to his final selection, so he rolls the dice by calling out Charizard.<\/p>\n Zippo attacks with a Flamethrower that Charizard barely pays any mind to. In retaliation, Charizard sends out his own Flamethrower, which overwhelms Zippo and sends him running all over the field.<\/p>\n Ritchie recalls Zippo and calls out his final choice, Sparky \u2013 his Pikachu.<\/p>\n Charizard is not intimidated at all by the tiny electric mouse. He plays with Pikachu by stomping on the ground repeatedly, causing the shockwave to knock Pikachu over each time. Then he blows Pikachu away with the power of the wind generated by flapping his wings.<\/p>\n Sparky won\u2019t give up, however, and rushes toward Charizard to continue the fight\u2026.<\/p>\n \u2026.Only to find Charizard lying down for a nap.<\/p>\n Everyone stares, baffled and confused while Ash begs Charizard to obey him and battle.<\/p>\n Charizard continues to refuse to budge since he doesn\u2019t find Sparky to be a worthy opponent. The ref has no choice but to call the fight in favor of Sparky, giving Ritchie the win.<\/p>\n Ash falls to his knees and recalls Charizard. He\u2019s clearly devastated by the loss, but he picks himself up and congratulates Ritchie for his win, genuinely happy his friend is moving on in the tournament despite knowing his own Indigo League journey has come to an end.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash: \u201cWhy\u2019s my next match have to be against Ritchie? Everything happens to me\u2026\u201d This dumpster fire of an episode starts with Ash whining.<\/p>\n Never has there ever been a more apt intro to an episode of Pokemon<\/i>.<\/p>\n \u2013 Oh! So the database thing I mentioned in the last analysis was actually from this arc, I just misremembered the episode\u2026\u2026\u2026They\u2019re only just NOW realizing there\u2019s a Pokemon League database with information on all the competitors?<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash continues to struggle with his inferiority complex \u2013 this time to his new BFF Ritchie. Brock says it\u2019s amazing that Ritchie got through all four prelim rounds without losing a single Pokemon, and Ash has to yell out in annoyance that he also got through all four rounds of the prelims.<\/p>\n \u2013 Misty points out that Ash was lucky to have made it through the rounds while Ritchie clearly knows what he\u2019s doing, and this seems to shut Ash up.<\/p>\n \u2013 What the frick? Ritchie got through all four prelim rounds without a single KO on his side and only using Pikachu, Charmander and Butterfree? That is most certainly insane. While I have no doubt Ritchie knows what he\u2019s doing, luck had to have played a part in his wins too because dear lord.<\/p>\n \u2013 There\u2019s a Grass icon on Butterfree\u2019s window when it\u2019s a Bug\/Flying type.<\/p>\n \u2013 Brock: \u201cAn Electric Type, a Flame (*Fire) Type, and a Flying Type? They\u2019re almost the same kinda Pokemon you use, Ash.\u201d<\/p>\n First of all, Brock, you\u2019re saying Ritchie is similar to Ash because he uses an Electric Type, a Fire Type, and a Flying Type so far in his battles?<\/p>\n \u2026..Ash has used Pikachu in one of these prelim matches.<\/p>\n He\u2019s never used Charizard in this tournament\u2026\u2026..So far.<\/p>\n And he hasn\u2019t used Charizard regularly since it evolved.<\/p>\n As for the Flying Type, I assume you mean Pidgeotto, who is mostly relegated to being a balloon popper and also hasn\u2019t been used in this tournament at all (That we know of, anyway. There are some Pokemon that were KO\u2019d offscreen.)<\/p>\n If anything, the types Ash typically uses nowadays are Electric, Water, and Grass since he tends to stick with Pikachu, Squirtle (And Krabby\/Kingler was his big first round sweep), and Bulbasaur.<\/p>\n Second, Brock, you\u2019re not going to point out the obvious in that Ash uses a Pikachu, had a Charmander, and had a Butterfree instead of just vaguely being like \u201cWow, Ash, you use these types of Pokemon, too!\u201d?<\/p>\n Third\u2026.\u201dThey\u2019re ALMOST the same kinda Pokemon you use.\u201d? You listed three<\/i> types! This line would apply to all Trainers if you\u2019re being that vague.<\/p>\n \u2013 Misty: \u201cThat means it all depends on which one is the better Trainer.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what it means from the start, Misty. If you\u2019re a better Trainer than someone else, it doesn\u2019t matter if you use the same types or not. Also, what makes you so sure Ritchie will keep using these three (types anyway) and nothing else? You\u2019re so amazed by his skills but you think he\u2019d be that predictable?<\/p>\n \u2026\u2026*sigh*\u2026..I mean\u2026.he winds up being that predictable for some dumb reason, but still.<\/p>\n \u2013 Honestly, it is a little nice to see Misty roast Ash a bit on his skills before this match starts. Not that it matters much, but still.<\/p>\n \u2026.Would be a perfect time to remind him of how much he screwed off in his pre-tournament training and how it would probably bite him in the ass. Maybe give him something to ruminate on. But alas.<\/p>\n \u2013 Why does Ritchie have six Pokemon in the Pokemon Center if he\u2019s only used three the entire tournament? Are the others just getting checkups and some R&R?<\/p>\n \u2013 Joy\u2019s comment about it being nice to have a battle against a friend because you can still be happy for your friend winning even if you lose is a sweet sentiment and a nice message to kids.<\/p>\n \u2013 Yeah, Team Rocket has a Ritchie puppet. Sure.<\/p>\n \u2013 I want to give Ash credit for the Squirtle idea\u2026\u2026.Yeah\u2026..I think I will.<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash: \u201cI choose you, Bulbasaur!\u201d Just shock them with Pikachu and leave.<\/p>\n *Pikachu Thunders at Team Rocket on his own*<\/p>\n *Team Rocket defeated*<\/p>\n *Bulbasaur recalled*<\/p>\n See?<\/p>\n \u2013 I do think it\u2019s sweet, in a messed up way, for Misty to start smacking Ritchie around because she thinks he had something to do with Ash not being there.<\/p>\n \u2013 Exactly how long are competitors expected to wait when an opponent doesn\u2019t show up? All of the remaining matches take place in this stadium, so they\u2019re probably holding up other matches to wait seemingly hours for a competitor to arrive. I mean, it\u2019s nighttime now and the match started at 5 O\u2019clock according to Brock.<\/p>\n \u2013 Wait, why are Misty and Brock waiting on a bench down on the field? Misty came out of the competitor tunnel earlier as if she was in the stands and got through that way. Are they acting as Ash\u2019s coaches again, or are they just watching from the field? If it\u2019s the former\u2026.that sucks, because Ash was insistent on doing the fourth round without their help. Now he wants it again? If it\u2019s the latter\u2026.why?<\/p>\n \u2013 So the ref outranks the judges? Because he\u2019s the one who allows ten more minutes of waiting without consulting the judges.<\/p>\n \u2013 It\u2019s also pretty funny that Delia yells to Ash to apologize for making everyone wait.<\/p>\n \u2013 Okay, so Ritchie chose Butterfree when Ash\u2019s Pidgeotto is too tired to fight and, obviously, it\u2019d be dumb as hell to choose Charizard. He knows one of Ritchie\u2019s main three includes a Charmander, so Squirtle needs to be in reserve, and Bulbasaur\u2019s a bad pick type-wise. Pikachu\u2019s the obvious choice he\u2013<\/p>\n Ash: \u201cI choose you, Squirtle!\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, fine, whatever, Dumbash.<\/p>\n \u2013 If Pikachu got a little winded from two Electric attacks, and Pidgeotto\u2019s down for the count from pulling the balloon, you\u2019d think Squirtle would be tired too from filling a box truck with his Water Gun.<\/p>\n \u2013 The match starts with Butterfree and Squirtle exchanging punches and kicks?\u2026..<\/p>\n \u2013 There really should be more leeway with the Sleep condition. The ref should tell Ash that he has to recall Squirtle and see if it wakes up later or something, because just calling Squirtle knocked out after a few seconds of it sleeping after a Sleep Powder is a bit bullshit. Like Dogasu<\/a> mentioned in their comparison of this episode, you could just sweep a whole match with a Jigglypuff or something if sleeping automatically counts you out.<\/p>\n Being entirely fair, though, the writers of the show really should allow for item usage during battles more often. I don\u2019t remember if that becomes a regular thing. If it does, it must be way, way, way down the line.<\/p>\n \u2026..Not that I can\u2019t believe Ash would have or use an Awakening, though.<\/p>\n I kinda understand why they have it this way in the anime. If they\u2019re not going to use items inside of battle, then the only way to wake the Pokemon up is to wait. In Gen I, this was a 1-7 turn wait (Nowadays, it\u2019s been reduced to 1-3) which translates to a long frickin\u2019 time if you\u2019re unlucky in the anime.<\/p>\n In the meantime, in the games and sometimes in the early anime, the Pokemon is still in play while asleep, and the opponent can still attack. This likely came off as cruel in the anime, so the writers flip-flopped back and forth between whether they should allow that or just call the Pokemon KO\u2019d\u2026\u2026..Or they didn\u2019t understand how the sleep condition worked. Who knows?<\/p>\n \u2013 Ah Pikachu chose itself. I agree that he\u2019s the best choice, but this is yet another shining example of how poorly trained Ash\u2019s Pokemon are.<\/p>\n Good thing that\u2019s the last example of that happening in this episode.<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash: \u201cI can\u2019t believe it. I thought Pikachu would be too tired to battle.\u201d Well, logically, he shouldn\u2019t be, but also, can you not see Pikachu panting like a dog in July over there after using one move and not even getting hit?<\/p>\n \u2013 I\u2019d like to note that Pikachu is also battling<\/i> on his own. Ash has not given a single command while Pikachu has been out during his battle with Happy.<\/p>\n \u2013 Oh good, now Zippo\u2019s attacking without command. You both suck, I guess.<\/p>\n \u2013 Also, isn\u2019t the ref supposed to be announcing the start of each new round so the Pokemon coming out can\u2019t give immediate sucker punches like Pikachu\u2019s Double Edge and Zippo\u2019s Flamethrower?<\/p>\n \u2013 Zippo went that entire round without a single command from Ritchie\u2026..<\/p>\n \u2013 Ya know, Ash, considering you had a head\u2019s up as to the Pokemon Ritchie would be most likely to use in this match, I imagine you got out Kingler or Muk. Kingler would be great here because it\u2019s strong against Fire. Though, I admit Ritchie\u2019s Pikachu would be a problem there. Kingler did handily beat a Pokemon it had a type disadvantage against when it was still a Krabby, though, so maybe it\u2019d have a chance.<\/p>\n And while Muk doesn\u2019t have a type advantage against either, it\u2019s a powerhouse on its own so it might be a good option.<\/p>\n I mean, hell, Tauros would be an okay option at this point.<\/p>\n Surely you have one of those, right?<\/p>\n Right, Ash?<\/p>\n Right?<\/p>\n \u2026.Alright, alright, enough of me being cheeky. Let\u2019s watch Ash make one of the biggest mistakes of his Pokemon training career.<\/p>\n Ash: \u201cI know it\u2019s risky, but it\u2019s my only hope!\u201d It literally isn\u2019t if you planned at all, but sure.<\/p>\n \u201cI choose you, Charizard!\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 So Misty and Brock really are<\/i> just watching from the bench without giving advice. I guess that\u2019s preferable, but why are they allowed to just sit on the bench on the field?<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash: \u201cWe did it, Charizard!\u201d CHARIZARD did it. You didn\u2019t even command him to dodge or use Flamethrower.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so happy Charizard is finally listening to me!\u201d You didn\u2019t say anything! Charizard acted entirely on his own!<\/p>\n Ritchie: \u201cMaybe it\u2019s risky, but it may be my only chance to win.\u201d I love\u2026.with all my heart, how this is basically just the line Ash had before sending Charizard out. They can\u2019t not make Ritchie an Ash clone at every turn. Only with Ritchie it doesn\u2019t make much sense. Pikachu is actually a pretty okay choice here because Charizard is part Flying type. Pikachu is also fast, so it would be good at dodging Charizard\u2019s attacks in the meantime.<\/p>\n Oh right, not to mention that it\u2019s not nearly as risky as Ash\u2019s move because Sparky actually LISTENS to Ritchie.<\/p>\n \u2026\u2026Although\u2026..Ritchie\u2026..Seriously\u2026.what other Pokemon do you have on you or at all if Pikachu is your only chance to win? I know you didn\u2019t actually bring only Happy, Zippo and Sparky with you if you had six Pokeballs at the Pokemon Center, so what gives?<\/p>\n \u2013 Ash: \u201cSparky?\u201d\u2026\u2026YES\u2026..SPARKY. Ya know, the last of the three Pokemon you know Ritchie uses seemingly exclusively?<\/p>\n \u2013 They try their damnedest to make you feel bad for Ash after he loses, and there is some part of me that does feel a little bad because this is still a ten-year-old boy who lost at something important to him, but considering I don\u2019t think he deserved to even get this far, my pity well is rather dry. Nice try, though, composers and animators.<\/p>\n If anything, I oddly feel worse for Ritchie. He begged and pleaded for them to wait so his new BFF Ash would have a chance to give Ritchie the best match of their lives like they promised, and what does he get? A Squirtle, a Pikachu who was already tired, and a Charizard who TOOK A NAP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BATTLE BECAUSE HE DIDN\u2019T WANT TO BOTHER FIGHTING WITH RITCHIE\u2019S DINKY LITTLE PIKACHU.<\/p>\n Also, screw that scoreboard, Charmander didn\u2019t actually get KO\u2019d so it was still in play to be called out later if Sparky was KO\u2019d.<\/p>\n He really has to feel like he didn\u2019t earn much of that win at all. Or, even if he did, it\u2019s still a weird match to be proud of winning. Like, imagine trying to reminisce on this fight in the future. Imagine Ritchie explaining how he won all four prelims without a single KO on his side, using the same three Pokemon. And then he gets to the one fight where he does get one (or two, if you want to follow the show\u2019s logic) KOs on his side, which would imply great strength and skill from his opponent in any other situation, and it\u2019s against a Trainer who had one Pokemon down before the match even started, one empty space in his party, I guess, one Pokemon he used was tired, and one just refused to battle because it thought Ritchie\u2019s Pokemon was a weakling.<\/p>\n I also feel bad for the audience in the stands. How much must it suck to sit there waiting for hours on a fifth round Pokemon League match just to have it be whatever the hell that was?<\/p>\n \u2013 Brock: \u201cFrom here, they both look like winners to me.\u201d *snort* Okay, Brock.<\/p>\n Oak: \u201cAsh should be very proud of himself.\u201d No, he shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n I know I\u2019m being a little shit here, because he does get some props for being a good loser and being happy for his friend when he\u2019s still sad he lost\u2026..<\/p>\n \u2026.But he\u2019s not a winner. And he shouldn\u2019t be proud. Not of this anyway.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n Well, did anyone die of secondhand embarrassment today?<\/p>\n I know I almost did when I watched this episode way back when.<\/p>\n Seriously, remember my disappointment at the Earth Badge<\/a> episode? Magnify that by about 100 and staple it onto child!Twix\u2019s face<\/p>\n Dear god, what a crock of shit this episode was. It\u2019s the finale to the Indigo League Tournament for god\u2019s sake, and it\u2019s horrid from start to finish.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s work our way backwards because we already know what the huge problem is here \u2013 Charizard. Or, more to the point, the fact that Ash called out Charizard at all even though he knows fully that Charizard doesn\u2019t listen at best and is a safety hazard for everyone around him at worst.<\/p>\n They act as if Ash really didn\u2019t have a choice here, but, like I already explained, he did. If he didn\u2019t play his main Water type against Butterfree when he knew Ritchie has a powerful Fire type on his main lineup and Pikachu was a better option, he would have had him to use against Charmander. If he bothered to get Kingler or literally anyone from his meager B-squad back at Oak\u2019s place, he would have had a suitable option. But he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n I thought he learned his lesson about that in round four when he revealed he thought ahead and took out Muk, but I guess lessons are like sidewalk chalk in a flood with Ash.<\/p>\n At the very least, Brock and Misty know how terrible of an idea this is and rightfully facepalm when he calls Charizard out, but that only counts for so much.<\/p>\n The fact that Ash once again just expected Charizard to obey and acted like he was obeying when Ash didn\u2019t give any commands just adds more frustration. It\u2019s even worse than the frustration I was experiencing before the League because 1) this is the Pokemon League where you\u2019d think Ash wouldn\u2019t want to take a risk with Charizard. Or, if he did, he\u2019d be smart enough to not use him as a final round trump card, leaving the entire match in Charizard\u2019s claws on the gamble of whether he\u2019ll bother to actually fight. And 2) you may have noticed, but he had MONTHS of downtime to train between the Earth Badge and the Indigo League. MONTHS where he could have been working on this one massive dragon-shaped problem he\u2019s struggled with for a long time to gain what would have possibly been a League-winning asset should he succeed.<\/p>\n I can handwave the lack of training during that gap if Charizard wasn\u2019t a factor. Well, for the most part. He most certainly should have still been training, and he definitely should have been training his \u2018never-used-in-battle-or-at-all-after-capture\u2019 B-squad. However, Charizard should have been priority number one for Ash during this gap.<\/p>\n But no.<\/p>\n As far as we see, he never once even lets Charizard out or acknowledges that that\u2019s a problem he should be working on. Just another instance of \u201cEh, he\u2019ll obey me next time for some reason. The best part about being a Pokemon Trainer is never training your Pokemon! I\u2019m Ash!\u201d<\/p>\n Hell, if Charizard was trained properly, Ash could have just ridden him back to the stadium without any problem.<\/p>\n Ash most certainly needed to lose this match. I\u2019m not saying that to be mean to Ash. I\u2019m saying that because he\u2019s a first-year rookie with a crappy capture rate and the training discipline of a sedated sloth. If he beat Ritchie and made it to round six, I\u2019d definitely feel like they\u2019re fudging the matches just to hand Ash wins. And after a season of several pity Badges on top of a tournament where one match was bullshitted and two more were mostly off-screen, I\u2019ve had quite enough of that malarky, thank you.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, I have argued back and forth about whether Ash deserved to go out like this. Probably one of the most humiliating defeats in Pokemon League history is on Ash\u2019s shoulders. There\u2019s much more bullshit to discuss with this match, but did he deserve that final nail in the coffin to go out in such an embarrassing manner?<\/p>\n Yes.<\/p>\n Actually, if you ask me, this was the most fitting way he could have gone out.*<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n His lack of training with Charizard needed<\/i> to bite him in the ass in a severe way for him to finally get the picture that he needs to train this thing. If he won\u2019t, he might as well leave Charizard with Oak and use the space for Kingler or Muk \u2013 or both given that another annoying aspect of Ash is that he never keeps a full party at this point.<\/p>\n His constant moronic view that Charizard will just up and obey one of these times he lets him out of his Pokeball was not going away, and he needed a cold dose of reality. Him losing his chance at winning the Pokemon League because he pulled that shit AGAIN was, in theory, absolutely perfect to make him learn this harsh lesson. He was lazy, he was stupid, he was cocky, and he paid for it. And that is the perfect crux for finally getting Ash to train Charizard.<\/p>\n *<\/b><\/span> Is what I would say if we weren\u2019t in Stupidville and the writers DIDN\u2019T have this be his big \u201cOh shit, guess I have to finally train Charizard.\u201d moment.<\/p>\n No, no, no. No. After this, he will still, for some braindead reason, still just let Charizard out and expect it to obey him.<\/p>\n Lesson not learned in the slightest.<\/p>\n It will take another 25 friggin\u2019 episodes for Charizard to finally \u201cchill\u201d, and they even manage to screw that up.<\/p>\n When Ash fails to learn minor lessons like battling a Pokemon before trying to capture it or basic type matchups, I get irritated. But that is, sadly, just an annoying facet of most long-running TV shows from the pre-00\/10s, especially ones aimed at kids and families. Boy Meets World<\/i> highlighted this hilariously.<\/p>\n However, when you have a huge moment like this in what is supposed to be one of the most important events of Ash\u2019s life, you\u2019d think the lesson would stick. But no. He\u2019s determined to be an idiot and basically solidify why he deserved to go out in such an embarrassing manner in front of thousands of people.<\/p>\n And, again, I would like to mourn the fact that Gary Oak was apparently not as skilled as ASH to make it through the prelims.<\/p>\n Absolutely bullshit.<\/p>\n How brutal would it have been if Ash and Gary were matched up for round five instead of Ash and Ritchie? Gary would never let Ash live this down. Not ever.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s pull back a tiny bit and discuss the match as a whole.<\/p>\n It is also absolute trash.<\/p>\n For a match that was hyped as being emotional because Ash would be facing off against his new friend and exciting because these two promised to have the best match of their lives, it wound up being one of worst matches in all of Indigo, if not the worst, if you ask me.<\/p>\n The match is marred badly before it even starts. On Ritchie\u2019s side, we know exactly who he\u2019s going to use, so there are no surprises. And his roster, let\u2019s be real, blows. I know his Pokemon are well-trained and powerful on their own, but these can\u2019t be his pick of the litter.<\/p>\n I like Butterfree just fine, but it should never be someone\u2019s main pick when in round five of the Pokemon League. Pikachu and Charmander are also well-trained and fine, but they\u2019re still base-evo pipsqueaks. The only reason Charizard even bothered fighting back against Charmander was because it was a fellow Fire type.<\/p>\n Like I mentioned last time, we learn in episode 80 that Ritchie does have at least one other Pokemon \u2013 a Spearow or a Tentacool\u2026..both of which are also base-evo pipsqueaks that should never be in round SIX of the Pokemon League. It is mind-blowing that Ritchie doesn\u2019t seem to have any powerhouse Pokemon outside of well-trained base-evo pipsqueaks when he\u2019s so much better than Ash \u2013 who has THREE fully evolved Pokemon, and that\u2019s still pathetic when you consider where he SHOULD be.<\/p>\n As a better Trainer, Ritchie should know to avoid using a predictable lineup, but he uses the same Pokemon each and every match. The only reason we see him using Tentacool\/Spearow in episode 80 is because that was a six v. six match and they needed at least three battle clips for a clip show before the final battle because two would be too short and look silly.<\/p>\n When I first watched this match, I was excited to see what other Pokemon Ritchie had, but I guess my excitement was poorly placed.<\/p>\n On Ash\u2019s side, you have the writers giving him a handicap from the start since Pikachu\u2019s tired, Pidgeotto\u2019s out before they even get to the stadium, and Ash just doesn\u2019t have any sixth Pokemon on him for no given reason.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like the writers couldn\u2019t come up with any fun or exciting match so they just made it so Ash practically couldn\u2019t win. Not that Pidgeotto\u2019s his trump card, and Pikachu did KO one Pokemon so he did pretty good all things considered, but it\u2019s clear that they didn\u2019t have it in them to at least try to make an epic finale here so they tweaked it to force Ash\u2019s hand into losing in the dumbest way possible.<\/p>\n He still made missteps anyway by starting with Squirtle when he knew Ritchie uses a Charmander and Pikachu would be a more logical choice, and, again, not having a B-squad backup, but they still stacked the deck against him. It gave them the excuse to basically cry that Ash lost mostly because of circumstances beyond his control instead of because he made the massive mistake of calling on his disobedient Charizard when that should be what matters most.<\/p>\n You can still have Ash make that same mistake with Charizard without having Ash hindered from the outset. It would not be unbelievable in the slightest for Ash to call out Charizard on a cocky gamble, especially if they bothered to give Ritchie an ace-in-the-hole powerhouse himself. I mean, he did promise to make this the best match they ever had, and for a ten-year-old boy with a sensitive ego, using a massive orange fire-breathing dragon would do the trick there.<\/p>\n Not to mention the fact that there was little strategy in this entire match, and most of the attacks were done of the Pokemon\u2019s own volition with no input from their Trainers. Pikachu even went out without being chosen by Ash. How can you be impressed by either Trainer if none of them are doing anything?<\/p>\n In fact, look at this Bulbapedia note: \u201cThroughout the entire battle between Ash and Ritchie, only one command was actually given to the Pok\u00e9mon.\u201d That is sad on levels I can\u2019t even process. Yeah, let\u2019s give it our all, Ash. And by that I mean let\u2019s just stand there and act as if we\u2019re doing something like we\u2019re early episode Beybladers.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s pull out even more and talk about the abhorrent pacing in this episode.<\/p>\n Five minutes of this episode is dedicated to Ash and Ritchie lamenting that they have to battle a friend and ultimately deciding to give it their all. This is fine. This is necessary.<\/p>\n TEN minutes of this episode is dedicated to Team Rocket shenanigans, Ash trying to get back to the stadium, and Ritchie and the others at the stadium twiddling their thumbs waiting for Ash.<\/p>\n Only the last five minutes<\/b><\/i> of the episode is the fifth round match, which is unacceptable.<\/p>\n Team Rocket\u2019s intrusion into this episode is, honestly, the least of this episode\u2019s problems. Like Dogasu said in the comparison, their interference didn\u2019t affect many of the main issues with the match itself outside of tiring out Pidgeotto. Pikachu was tired too, but, let\u2019s be real, it was defeated by a Bellsprout\u2019s kick to the head in round four. I could accept it being knocked out after fighting Butterfree and then Charmander, especially given how powerful they are, without Pikachu being a little winded from two Electric attacks being a factor.<\/p>\n Team Rocket shouldn\u2019t be blamed for the match going the way it did. From what little we got of the match, we can safely assume the match would have been a disappointment either way. It just would have happened in the daylight without Team Rocket.<\/p>\n They are still a major problem in this episode, though, because, goddamn, their section was so repetitive and boring. It brought the entire episode to a halt for no good reason.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just the perfect storm of \u201cWe\u2019re not even going to try.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t respect the audience\u2019s time or interest in this show\u201d and a middle finger. It\u2019s certainly iconic, I\u2019ll give it that. I have never once forgotten this match since it aired, but it\u2019s iconic in all the wrong ways and it\u2019s only gotten worse over time.<\/p>\n Luckily, from what I remember, the next episode is much better, so we won\u2019t fully end the Indigo League tournament on this wet fart.<\/p>\n Speaking of which\u2026.<\/p>\n Next episode, Ash tries to cope with his Indigo League loss, Ritchie competes in round six, and we close out the tournament.<\/b><\/p>\n![\"Charizard](\"https:\/\/fiddletwix.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-05-31-193600.png\")
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Misty: \u201cOh no!\u201d
Oh no, indeed, Misty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n