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Showdown at Dark City (Japanese: たいけつ!ポケモンジム!, HepburnShowdown! Pokémon Gym!) is the 42nd episode of Pocket Monsters of Pocket Monsters (1997 series), Season 1 of Pokémon the Series, and Pokémon: Indigo League of Pokémon the Series: The Beginning.

Synopsis[]

In the middle of a terrible desert, our heroes inadvertently wandered into Dark City. With no name but Dark, the city has fallen into ruin. The streets, even at midday, are vacant of people. But suddenly, a rare figure appears and begins to throw stones at Ash and friends. They had heard at a restaurant in town, that this town contains two authorized Pokémon gyms, but that their Masters try to battle traveling Pokémon trainers anywhere within the town. This is said to be the cause of the town's desolation. Will our heroes also be caught up in the whirlwind of these battles?[1]

Episode plot[]

As our heroes enter Dark City, they find themselves unwelcomed as most citizens attempt to avoid them, or some even attacking them. When Pikachu is struck by a stone, Ash commands him to defend himself, which results in the mouse pokemon frying three kids who proceed to attack the trio with sticks and flee. It is then that a restaurant owner invites everyone in. The owner feeds the group while explaining the situation to them. He states that the town is in the middle of a rivalry between two gyms, the Yas Gym and the Kaz Gym. As he speaks, a group of trainers outside get into an altercation with their Pokémon. The owner explains that a Pokémon League Gym Inspector is coming to validate a Pokémon gym, but as there can only be one official Pokémon Gym per town, the two gyms are fighting, hoping of driving the other out of business. To that end, each gym is recruiting people in hopes of beating the other. The fighting causes a lot of property damage to the rest of the town. At that moment, Team Rocket, who had been hired by the Kaz gym, burst in demanding food. The owner doesn't respond to their demands though and so Team Rocket attacks him. Brock's Vulpix drives them off however, which catches the eye of a Yas gym recruiter. The recruiter tries to get them to join their cause, but Misty says they shouldn't, as it would ruin their reputation to take sides. This causes Ash to come up with the aliases, Tom Ato, Ann Chovy and Caesar Salad. They're taken to Yas who decides to test Ash in a battle, but when his Scyther gets ketchup in its eyes from Pikachu's bottle, the Sycther attempts to attack Yas, to which he recalls it. Impressed, he asks Ash to join him. Ash asks why he wants to be a gym leader, and when Yas' response is for monetary gain, Ash declines it out of disgust. Yas commands his underlings to attack Ash, but Ash is saved just in time by his friends. Back at the restaurant, Ash is being treated for his injuries when he states that both gyms are equally brutal, and both should be shut down. So they plan to utilize the weakness they discovered in Scyther and Electabuzz that they go bonkers when they see the color red. As fighting breaks out in the streets, the heroes cover all sides in ketchup to send the Scyther and Electabuzz into a frenzy. The two pokemon then knock each other out when they two are covered in ketchup. Yas and Kaz however do not give up, and instead make a united effort to attack Ash and his friends. However, Nurse Joy reveals herself and declares neither gyms worthy of the title granted by the Pokémon League. However, she offers them a second chance if they can learn from Ash's example. Ash commands them to repair the damage the did, and so Yas and Kaz begin doing so. As the heroes leave, the children that once attacked Pikachu show their affection and admiration, and decide that they want to be Pokémon trainers like Ash. Elsewhere, a ketchup-covered Team Rocket is chased out of the town by an angry Electabuzz and Scyther.

Debuts[]

Characters[]

Pokémon[]

Moves[]

Quotes[]

"We don't care who you are! If you have your Pokémon, you get out of our town now!" - Child
"Why? What's wrong with Pokémon?" - Ash
"Stop it, boys!" - Restaurant owner
"I apologize. These children won't cause you any trouble. Come to my restaurant and I'll explain everything." - Restaurant owner
"Well, okay." - Ash

"I'm... Ketchup." - Ash
"Ketchup?" - Yas Gym Recruiter
"Uh, no. My name is Tom Ato." - Ash
"Well, my name is Ann Chovy." - Misty
"Uh... Oh, and my name is Caesar Salad." - Brock

"Oh Tom, Ann, Caesar! Would you consider joining our cause at the Yas Gym? Unlike those animals from the Kaz Gym, we at Yas are truly worthy of becoming a Pokémon gym." - Yas Gym Recruiter
"Uh, well you better ask Ann Chovy." - Ash
"Well we can't do it. Isn't that right, Caesar Salad?" - Misty
"We'll do anything we can to help." - Brock
(Ash, Misty, and Pikachu faint to their chagrin)
"Pika!" - Pikachu
"Brock just can't say "No" to a pretty girl." - Misty

"Hold it right there." - Restaurant patron to Kaz and Yas
"What?" - Yas
"And who are you?" - Kaz
"I am the official inspector for the Pokémon League." - Restaurant patron while holding up a Poké Ball
"Aaah!" - Kaz and Yas
"Poké Ball, go!" - Pokémon League Inspector
"Chansey, Chansey!" - Chansey
"Chansey? That must mean..." - Brock
"That's right. My true identity is... Nurse Joy!" - Nurse Joy
"Aah.." - Brock (who blushes at seeing her)
"I could never allow people who use Pokémon for nothing but street fighting to open an official Pokémon Gym." - Nurse Joy to Kaz and Yas

Trivia[]

Scyther- Who's That Pokémon
  • The town style makes it look like an old Western era town.
  • The "Who's that Pokémon?" in this episode is Scyther.
  • This episode marks the beginning of Pikachu's strong fondness for ketchup.
  • The name that Ash, Misty, and Brock came up with are all food: Tomato (Tom Ato), Anchovy (Ann Chovy), and Caesar Salad (Caesar Salad) respectively.
  • Ash breaks the fourth wall by saying, "Well, Pikachu IS the star."
  • The three dark city boys are each voiced by Megan Hollingshead, Lisa Ortiz, and Veronica Taylor.

Mistakes[]

  • In one of the ketchup scenes, Pikachu's red cheeks are missing.
  • There is an error on the location type name. The location is called Dark City. However, the Narrator says that it's a town.

Dub differences[]

  • During the ketchup scene, Pikachu was voiced by Rachael Lillis because the lines are muffled by the human conversation.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ^ (n.d.) . "Showdown at Dark City | Pokémon TV (pokemon.com)". From The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024.
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