RS072: The Bicker The Better

The Bicker The Better (Japanese: タッグバトル！サトシＶＳハルカ！？, Hepburn: Tag Battle! Ash VS May!!) is the 32nd episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge.

Episode Plot

Ash, Max and Brock are out of the Pokémon Center, to go to Fortree City. Max sees on his PokéNav that a path through the forest is the fastest way to there. Pikachu warns them they forgot May, so Ash goes to get her to get as soon as possible for his Gym Battle. May sees a mirror and looks at herself. Ash is mad, saying he never looks upon himself in the mirror. May thinks Ash should change, to which he gets even more angry. Ash and May bicker even more...

Two people appear, introducing themselves as Oscar and Andi. They mistake them to be in love, challenging them. Ash and May accept the battle as a practice to the Gym battle and Contest. Andi and Oscar explain the rules and Brock goes with the flirting scheme with Andi, so he'll be the judge of the battle. Andi sends Nidoqueen and Oscar Nidoking. Ash sends Corphish and May her Skitty. Corphish uses Bubble Beam and Skitty Assist - Assist turns to Ember. However, Skitty's and Corphish's attacks meet a spot, negating both attacks. Corphish "yells" at Skitty, so Skitty uses Ember on Corphish as well. Nidoqueen and Nidoking use Dynamic Punch, hurting them both. Corphish is about to use BubbleBeam, but is frozen by Skitty's Blizzard.

Skitty uses Assist, but it turns to String Shot. Skitty uses Assist, turning to Silver Wind - Corphish turns into a statue. Skitty uses Assist once more and it turns to Ember, defrosting Corphish. Corphish goes after Skitty, so May is angry at Ash for not stopping him. Nidoqueen and Nidoking use Submission, hitting Corphish and Skitty and defeating them. Oscar and Andi go away, leaving May and Ash in anger. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is depressed when they did not steal anything in quite some time. Andi and Oscar come to challenge them to a battle, so Jessie tells them to steal Nidoqueen and Nidoking.

Cacnea uses Needle Arm and Seviper Wrap, but Cacnea is wrapped when Nidoqueen and Nidoking pushed Cacnea onto Seviper. Nidoking and Nidoqueen use Hyper Beam, blasting them off. The gang is walking, this time May and Ash argue whose fault it was for losing the last battle. Jessie and James argue as well, with the same reason - whose fault was for losing the battle. After some arguing and insults, Team Rocket and the gang meet up. Jessie joins with May and James with Ash to have a tag battle.

Jessie's Seviper uses Poison Tail on Corphish and May's Skitty uses Blizzard on Cacnea. Cacnea uses Pin Missile on Skitty and Corphish Harden. Corphish deflects the attack, while Cacnea and Skitty get hurt by the attacks. Seviper uses Wrap on Cacnea while Skitty Assist on Corphish. Cacnea uses Needle Arm and Corphish Bubble Beam. Cacnea hits Seviper and Corphish Skitty. Seviper goes to bite Corphish, while Corphish uses Crabhammer. Skitty uses DoubleSlap and Cacnea Pin Missile. Corphish dodges and attacks Seviper, while Pin Missile hits Skitty. Jessie is super mad, sending Dustox to use Whirlwind.

Cacnea and Corphish are blasted, even if it was against the rules. Dustox uses Pin Missile on Cacnea and Seviper Poison Tail on Corphish. Cacnea attacks with Pin Missile while Dustox uses Whirlwind. Chaos rampages when the battle goes out of control. Brock (and Jessie's Wobbuffet) declare the battle over, but Dustox uses Whirlwind, knocking them out. The others are terrified by the battle, but Meowth sees Pikachu near him, so plans to steal him. After some bickering, Jessie and James see Mewoth using "body language" to see that they should capture Pikachu.

Seviper uses Haze and Cacnea Sandstorm, dimming the vision while Meowth takes Pikachu. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but the net is electric proof. Skitty uses Assist, using String Shot to slow Team Rocket down. Seviper uses Poison Tail, but is stopped by Corphish's Bubble Beam. Cacnea uses Pin Missile, but the attack is negated when Corphish used Harden. Skitty uses DoubleSlap, huring Team Rocket's Pokémon. Pikachu is free, so Skitty uses Blizzard, freezing Team Rocket. They re blasted off with Skitty's Tackle and Corphish's Crabhammer.

Ash and May apologise to each other for the words and actions. Everyone is happy again.

Quotes

• May: "Incredible, raising your voice to a girl just cause she's looking in the mirror."

Ash: "Talk about nerve, standing around gazing at yourself while your friends are all waiting."
May: "What did you say?!"
Ash: "YOU HEARD ME!"
May: "You know what your problem is?"
Ash: "I already know!"

• May: "I can't stand you Ash Ketchum!"

Ash: "Gee I'm heartbroken!"

• "We're not a couple, and we're not happy either!"

Ash and May to Oscar and Andi.

• Ash: That was the worst battle ever."

May: "Yeah, you were pretty pathetic alright."
Ash: "Excuse me?! You were the one who lost it for us!"
May: "You got something to say?!"
Ash: "I just did!"
May; "Oh yeah?!"

• May: "Men! They're always trying to project their insecurity onto girls."

Ash: "Me insecure? Why don't you try looking in that mirror you love so much?"

• May: "Augh! You're impossible! You make me so mad sometimes I just wanna scream!"

Ash: "Yeah? So knock yourself out!"
May: "No, It's not even worth my breath."
Ash: "Puh-lease."

• "I can't tell you how much I hate men/women!" - Jessie and James

"Me too!" - Ash and May

• Max: "Oh no. Not again."

Brock: "Must be some crazy new trend."
Pikachu: "Pika."
Meowth: "Save us!"

Trivia

• Featured Pokémon: Ariados, Blaziken, Onix, Raichu.
  • Onix is misspelled as Onyx in the Pokémon Trainer's Choice for this episode.
• In the beginning of the episode, a classic Pokémon identification can be seen. In this case, it is a Sandshrew.
• This episode wasn't aired in some countries due to the fact that the episode was regarded as a "battle of the sexes".
• The episode's dub title is a pun on the phrase "the bigger the better".
• Blaziken is also legally correct on the Pokémon Trainer's Choice because Ariados is half Bug type and Fire moves are super effective.
• Instead of voices, Nidoqueen and Nidoking have stock bear roars in this episode.

Gallery

Ash, mad at May

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