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| Season | Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands (Season 2) · Prima & the road to Trovita arc (EP99–EP102) |
| Episode | Season 2, episode 19 · English episode 99 · Japanese episode 101 · Bulbapedia code EP099 |
| English title | The Mandarin Island Miss Match |
| Japanese title | してんのうカンナ! こおりのたたかい!! Shitennō Kanna! Kōri no Tatakai!! — “Elite Four Canna! Ice Battle!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 3 June 1999 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 15 April 2000 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Raibaru! (The Rivals) – Rica Matsumoto · Type: Wild – Rica Matsumoto |
| English opening | Pokémon World – Russell Velázquez |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Machop (US) · Cloyster (Japan) |
| Previous episode | A Way Off Day Off (EP098) |
| Next episode | Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon? (EP100) |
Plot episodeAsh loses to PrimaWithdrawn from rotation (Jynx)
The Mandarin Island Miss Match is the 19th episode of Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 99th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 101, Bulbapedia code EP099). It first aired in Japan on 3 June 1999 and in the United States on 15 April 2000. It falls within the season’s Prima & the road to Trovita stretch (EP99–EP102).
Synopsis
Ash is just finishing a battle against another trainer on the pier of Mandarin Island, infact it’s the third straight victory he’s won since he got there, but all that battling has made him hungry and the group go for something to eat. As Ash and Misty are open Tracey comes over and says he understands why everyone on the Island wants to battle, apparently theres a Pokémon lecture and Battle demonstration taking place on the island hosted by Prima, just as they’re talking about Prima the woman herself approaches and introduces herself. Meanwhile Team Rocket are watching in the bushes, and they recognise Prima from somewhere but can’t work out why.
Ash decides to demand a battle with Prima but shes too busy listening to the wind, ignoring everyone and staring out over the ocean. Ash tells Prima shes just scared to battle and rushes off to challenge another nearby trainer, who accepts. Prima moves to a position where she can watch and Ash starts a 2v2 battle, the trainer sends out a Persian and Ash uses Squirtle, unfortunately for Ash the Persian is able to use electric attacks, but Squirtle manages to withstand them and defeats the Persian with a skull bash. The trainer then sends out Tauros which rapidly defeats Squirtle, Ash responds by sending out Charizard, who attacks Ash with his flamethrower. The enemy trainer orders Tauros to use its takedown attack, this prompts Charizard into obliterating Tauros with the flamethrower and then Charizard attacks the other trainer, then Ash, Ash tries to get Charizard to return but it won’t. Prima then sends out a Slowbro to try and control it, her Slowbro promptly uses its disable attack on Charizard and lowers it to the ground, instructing Ash to return Charizard to it’s Pokéball, Prima has to go, but invites Ash and co to her demonstration.
Prima is ready to begin one of her battle demonstrations and takes on multiple strong opponents in front of a capacity crowd, beating them all with ease. Ash and friends are watching on in the audience and Team Rocket are there working undercover as food vendors. Later on Prima invites Tracey, Ash and Misty back to her house for tea and explains her training philosophy and that the most important thing is truly knowing where your true strength lies. Misty and Tracey are really impressed with her speech, but Ash isn’t convinced and challenges her to battle again. Prima and Ash head to Prima’s arena and begin a 1v1 match, Primarina sends in Cloyster against Ash’s Pikachu and takes advantage of Cloysters powerful defence. Pikachu manages to deal some damage to Cloyster on the second attempt, but gets hit by an Aurora Beam followed by a takedown, and Pikachu is out of the match, Victory goes to Prima. Ash protests that he must be a really good trainer because he already won lots of badges, Prima reminds him that it was his Pokémon that won those battles too, and that they fought so hard for him as a sign that they care a lot for him, she also tells Ash that losing is a very important part of becoming a Pokémon master.
Just as Prima finishes her speech and Ash vows to try to win an honourable trainer trophy by competing in the Orange league, Team Rocket appear in their balloon and interrupt, again trying to steal Pikachu. Just as Ash is about to send Pikachu to battle, Prima sends out Jynx, freezes Team Rocket with an Ice Beam and then sends them flying away with an Ice Beam.
Prima tells Ash that the nearest Gym is Trovita on the other side of the Island, Ash and friends vow to always remember the advice that Prima gave them, and wave goodbye as they continue on the path to their next journey.
Major Events
- Prima (Lorelei) of the Elite Four debuts
- Ash loses as Cloyster beats Pikachu
- Slowbro’s Disable stops a rampaging Charizard
- The Trovita Gym is revealed
- Withdrawn from English-language rotation (Jynx)
- Last dubbed episode with Jynx’s original design
Trivia
- The English title plays on a mismatch, and a match against a "Miss".
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Orange Islands storyline.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Cloyster in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Machop in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- A 38-second stretch of Ash taunting Prima, with her chest in frame, re-edited in Japan after broadcast and cut from most US airings and the early-2000s US DVDs
- Withdrawn from English-language rotation because of Prima’s Jynx — missing from Netflix, Pokémon TV, the 2015 DVD and the 2025 YouTube upload
- Lorelei renamed Prima and all nine Elite Four references removed
- Ice Punch called “Ice Beam”
- Keeps Shinji Miyazaki’s cues but only about 14 of 30 musical moments once the dub’s silence-filling is counted
Part of our Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.