The Battle of the Badge – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 63

Plot episodeEarth Badge – eighth badgeMewtwo’s TV debut

The Battle of the Badge is the 63rd episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 63rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 65, Bulbapedia code EP063). It first aired in Japan on 17 September 1998 and in the United States on 25 September 1999. It falls within the season’s Cinnabar, Cerulean & Viridian: the last badges stretch (EP58–EP63).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

Ash and friends finally arrive at Viridian City, it’s been a whole year since they were last here and the Pokemon Center has reopened, and the Viridian Gym is in sight. Ash is determined to obtain his final badge to get into the Pokemon League.

As Ash is getting fired up to enter the gym and challenge, Gary and his squad of cheerleaders arrive, Gary immediately starts taunting Ash and flashes his ten badges before proceeding into the Viridian Gym for battle. Ash and Pikachu try to follow but the guards say only one trainer at a time and Ash has to wait outside, Togepi is inadvertantly flipped into a Fearows mouth and it begins flying off, the Fearow flies over a rooftop where Team Rocket happen to be spying on people and spits Togepi out right next to them. Togepi starts crossing rooftops over dangerously narrow planks with Jessie chasing after it, but she breaks the plank and falls. Togepi jumps down and Jessie catches it.

Meanwhile inside the Viridian Gym Gary begins a 3 vs. 3 battle against the gym leader. Gary’s Nidoking takes on the leaders Golem first and wins convincingly, next up is Giovanni and Gary recalls Nidoking and instead sends out Arcanine who defeats Kingler with an impressive Fire spin, followed by a Fire Blast. Gary shows his arrogance, and the gym leader; who turns out to be Giovanni from Team Rocket sends out his most powerful Pokemon, one that isn’t recognised by Gary’s PokeDex, he even invites Gary to use all of his Pokemon against it. The mysterious Pokemon makes short work of Gary’s Nidoking and Arcanine and Gary leaves without the badge.

Jessie and James arrive to the Viridian Gym shortly after with Togepi and offer it to Giovanni, but they don’t even know what it does, and while he’s telling them off Togepi escapes. Giovanni takes a call, theres been an accident and he needs to go immediately, he leaves Jessie, James and Meowth in control of the gym and throws them some Pokeballs before heading into the Catacombs beneath the gym where it’s Pokemon are kept. He approaches the mysterious Pokemon that defeated Gary and tells it they have an emergency assignment for it.

Misty, Ash and Brock are still running around Viridian City looking for Togepi but are unable to find it, they start arguing outside the doors of the Viridian Gym and they hear its voice, opening the doors and finding it, but they also find Gary and his cheerleading squad passed out on the floor of the gym. Ash picks up Gary and he wakes up, Gary says its a Pokemon who did this, and the Pokemon wasn’t just powerful, it was evil, he also says he doesn’t think anyone will ever beat that Pokemon. Team Rocket then emerge from under the gym floor and announce themselves as the new leaders of the Viridian Gym and issue a challenge to Ash, in a specially prepared ring. Misty and Brock suspect a trap but Ash is determined to secure his eighth badge. Jessie calls a 3 vs. 3 battle, all at the same time and sends out Rhydon, Machamp and Kingler, also making reference to a secret weapon. Ash sends out Squirtle and Machamp attacks it immediately, the box is rigged so that any pain the Pokemon feel shock it’s trainer. Ash manages to send out Bulbasaur to attack Kingler, sending Pidgeotto out next who targets Rhydon, this starts shocking Jessie. Meowth sees the potential for them to lose and tries to use the secret weapon but Gary stops him. James sends Weezing and Arbok to attack making it 5v3 but Ash sends in Pikachu whose thunder wins the match. Gary’s cheerleaders cheer for Ash, Gary watches in the distance, quietly acknowledging that Ash did well.

Ash demands the earth badge from Jessie who refuses to give it to him. Togepi plays with the controls of Meowths secret weapon and blows up the platform Team Rocket are standing on, sending them blasting off and the Earth Badge straight into Ash’s hands, the building begins to collapse and everyone runs, getting out just in time as the Viridian Gym crashes to the earth. Brock wonders if the gang will ever get to see the powerful Pokemon that Gary was talking about. Ash and friends decide to head home to pallet town to see Professor Oak.

Note: Plot elements of this episode tie in with Pokemon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes back.

Major Events

• — Earth Badge (8th): Gary (10 badges) loses to Giovanni’s armoured Mewtwo (TV debut
• First of three M01 preludes)
• Team Rocket as temporary Leaders rig a pain-link battle and refuse the badge
• Togepi detonates the platform and the badge falls to Ash. Debuts: Arcanine (Gary’s), Mewtwo. Giovanni’s face first shown. Lecture: Charmander.

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Arcanine#0059 · EP063
• Mewtwo#0150 · EP063

Trivia

• The English title plays on the Battle of the Bulge.
• The screenplay is by Hideki Sonoda.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Arcanine in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Mr. Mime in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• Giovanni never says his name, and loses the voice filter the dub had given him
• Mewtwo is called “evil”
• Oak’s “Number Four” rivalry thread dropped
• Dub ending: Pikachu’s Jukebox — 2.B.A. Master (DVD) / Double Trouble (Pokémon TV)
• The Japanese version is the first TV episode to use Mewtwo Strikes Back music (replaced in the dub)

Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.