DP133: Uncrushing Defeat!

Uncrushing Defeat! (Japanese: ユクシーの影！, Hepburn: The Shadow of Uxie!) is the 29th episode of Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles.

Synopsis

Following his loss to Paul, Ash, guilt-ridden over his Pokemon who are all being treated in the aftermath of the intense six-on-six battle slips into depression and begins considering his future as a trainer. It now falls to Dawn to cheer Ash up but will she succeed? Or will this latest loss against Paul prove to be the one that prompts Ash to give up his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master forever?

Episode Plot

The heroes watch as Blissey and Nurse Joy treat Ash's Pokémon, which got badly hurt in his previous battle with Paul. Dawn and Brock know everything will be fine when Nurse Joy heals the Pokémon, though Ash's spirit is broken. Dawn goes to him, but Brock stops her, as he needs some time alone. Team Rocket still works on their job. Meowth and James are very amazed by yesterday's fight, even if the twerp's Pokémon lost. Jessie demands to get the Pokémon as soon as possible, as the twerp is feeling bad.

Ash is thinking about his battle with Paul, how his strategy actually worked. Meanwhile, Brock and Happiny treat Ash's Pokémon, haping Joy and Blissey. Dawn feels down as well, so Piplup makes gestures that make her smile. Dawn has an idea and goes with Piplup. Brock is treating Ash's Pokémon and hearing Joy's compliment about helping her, he flirts with her. Croagunk immediately prepares himself to stab Brock, but Brock gives him excuses he is helping her. Croagunk leaves, while Brock is exhausted by this tension. Joy asks Brock to get some Cheri Berries for Monferno, as it is not recovering as fast as it should. Brock came to Lake Acuity, as he still did not find the berries. He sees a spirit in the lake, which soon vanishes. While Brock is baffled, he sees the berries he was looking for.

Dawn trains her Pokémon for a special event. Monferno eats the mashed berries and it wakes up, feeling much better. Ash is still brooding of his battle, which caused his Pokémon to be defeated. He turns around and sees his Pokémon, though still hurt, came to visit him. They cheer him up, but soon feel exhausted. Ash is nevertheless happy about it and knows Paul is a tough opponent, but this only means that he worked harder, so they need to work harder. Hearing these words, the Pokémon glomp Ash. As they go, Ash starts to get hungry, so they go to eat. Team Rocket sees the Pokémon got the twerp cheered up.

As he came to the Center, Ash is informed Brock saw "it". Researching a bit, they discover that it was Uxie, though as a spirit, similar to what Ash saw Azelf and Dawn saw Mesprit. Joy reads that Azelf brings power to defeat enemies, Mesprit to comfort other and Uxie that brings knowledge to solve problems. With all three, they keep the world in balance. Brock suspects that it might not be a coincidence they saw this. Ash laughs at this, as he thinks it is fun. Dawn wonders if Ash is doing too much. Ash heard this, but Dawn wants show something to him. Inside the storage room, Team Rocket is making an electric-proof net to catch the Pokémon.

Dawn comes to the stage, welcoming everyone. Nurse Joy whispers to Ash that Dawn has practiced this Circus performance to cheer him up. Pachirisu and Buneary make grimasses and slide down on Mamoswine's tusks, then pull his face. Mamoswine raises one leg and drops its tongue. Piplup comes in a costume, being confident. He jumps, but bangs into the ceiling, so Pachirisu and Buneary juggle him. Dawn is about to make a next act, but Team Rocket came, trying to get Ash depressed. As they end their "act", Team Rocket capture Pikachu with their handmade net and Team Rocket takes off their disguises.

Team Rocket escapes, but gets chased by Ash and his Pokémon. Jessie sends Seviper, who uses Haze to dim the vision. Buizel uses Water Pulse, clearing the smoke. Pikachu attempts to use Thunderbolt, but the net is electric-proof. Next, Gliscor uses Sand-Attack to create a sandstorm around Team Rocket, but Jessie sends Yanmega, whose knocks Gliscor down with her SonicBoom. James sends in Carnivine, who uses Bullet Seed. Grotle uses Energy Ball, which hits Yanmega, while Staraptor wounds Canrnivine with Aerial Ace. Monferno blocks off Team Rocket and attacks them with Mach Punch, setting Pikachu free. Jessie wants the one who told the twerp was an easy target, so James and Meowth tell her it was indeed she who wanted this. Jessie blames them for not stopping her.

They forgot Ash is still present, so he exitedly orders Buizel, Staraptor, Grotle, Gliscor, Monferno and Pikachu to hit Team Rocket with Aqua Jet, Aerial Ace, Energy Ball, X-Scissor, Flamethrower and Quick Attack respectively. With so many attacks, Team Rocket are blasted off away easily. Noticing the restored confidence, Dawn tells her Pokémon they need to be ready for her next Contest. Joy advises her to go to Lilypad Town, which she shows on the map. Dawn is excited to see this, but before they go, Nurse Joy tells them to eat.

Debuts

Pokémon

Uxie (spirit)

Trivia

• Ash's Monferno is added to the opening sequence. Despite this, Dawn's Ambipom still has not been removed, and the ending has also not been updated.
• Darkrai and Giratina get replaced by new images of Palkia and Dialga respectively in their appearance before and after the preview of the next episode.
• This is the first time since Ignorance is Blissey that a Nurse Joy owns a Blissey. In fact, Happiny and its evolutionary stages are in this episode as well.
• All of the main characters' Pokémon appeared, except James's Mime Jr.
• Piplup wore the same clown outfit as Pikachu did in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, only in a different color. The color scheme may have been based on Jessie and James's clown outfit from Jirachi: Wish Maker.
• This episode marks the first time Brock orders his Croagunk not to Poison Jab him before he does, due to his need to treat Ash's Pokémon alongside Nurse Joy with Croagunk complying and backing off to let Brock carry on.
• All of the Pokémon Ash has on hand remained outside of their Poké Balls for the entire episode, except for the last minute.
• Cartoon Network returns to displaying the show on its standard-definition feed in its original 16:9 aspect ratio, after showing the previous two episodes zoomed in to fill a 4:3 frame. However, they would reverse themselves again two episodes later, not returning to the 16:9 aspect ratio until Cartoon Network stopped their cropping practices sometime during the week prior to Sticking With Who You Know!.
• When Ash's Pokémon are each seen close-up just before the group attack, they appear in reverse order to which they were obtained by Ash: Gliscor, Buizel, Monferno, Grotle, Staraptor, and Pikachu.

Mistakes

• Monferno's ears were the wrong color in one scene at the Pokémon Center; they were the color of a Chimchar's ears.
• When Team Rocket interrupted Dawn's circus, Mamoswine was behind them, on stage. During Team Rocket's motto, Mamoswine was standing beside the stage, watching Team Rocket.

Gallery

Template:Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl