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| Season | Pokémon: Johto League Champions (Season 4) · The National Park & the road from Goldenrod arc (EP161–EP172) |
| Episode | Season 4, episode 9 · English episode 166 · Japanese episode 168 · Bulbapedia code EP166 |
| English title | Two Hits and a Miss |
| Japanese title | カポエラーVSフシギダネ! かくとうたいけつ!! Kapoerā Tai Fushigidane! Kakutō Taiketsu!! — “Kapoerer vs. Fushigidane! Hand to Hand Showdown!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 28 September 2000 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 15 September 2001 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | OK! – Rica Matsumoto · Pokémon Hara Hara Rirē (Exciting Pokémon Relay) – Rikako Aikawa |
| English opening | Born to Be a Winner – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Slowking (US) · Hitmontop (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Hassle in the Castle (EP165) |
| Next episode | A Hot Water Battle (EP167) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeHitmontop debut
Two Hits and a Miss is the 9th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 166th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 168, Bulbapedia code EP166). It first aired in Japan on 28 September 2000 and in the United States on 15 September 2001. It falls within the season’s The National Park & the road from Goldenrod stretch (EP161–EP172).
Synopsis
Ash helps a dojo heir train her dancing Hitmontop to beat a travelling “Dojo Destroyer” and his Hitmonlee. After Bulbasaur’s Vine Whip and Sleep Powder calm a rampaging Tauros, elderly master Kenzo declares Ash the new head of his fighting dojo, to the fury of his granddaughter Chigusa, whose dance-like training he dismisses. Before the pair can settle it, Shiro arrives, having toppled eleven dojos already, and Kenzo’s bad back forces Chigusa to defend the school’s plaque.
Hitmonlee blocks every Rolling Kick, reads Hitmontop’s Rapid Spin and Triple Kick, and batters it with Double Kick, Jump Kick and High Jump Kick, until ninja-clad Team Rocket drop smoke and net both Fighters. Bulbasaur’s Razor Leaf cuts them loose, Victreebel’s Sleep Powder floors Hitmonlee, and Pikachu and Bulbasaur dispatch Arbok and Victreebel before the balloon is sliced open.
With the rematch set for morning, Ash spars with Chigusa and shows her that Hitmontop’s attacks are predictable because she cares how they look rather than whether they land. Next day Hitmontop dodges Rolling Kick, blocks Double Kick and finally connects with an improvised upright Rapid Spin into Triple Kick. Team Rocket’s boxing Meowth mecha is seen off by Razor Leaf, Rapid Spin and Thunderbolt, and Kenzo agrees to keep teaching Chigusa as his successor.
Major Events
- Hitmontop main-series debut (Chigusa’s)
- Kenzo’s dojo
- Ash is briefly named the dojo’s new master
Pokémon making their anime debut
Hitmontop#0237 · EP166
Trivia
- The English title plays on the two Hitmons and "Miss" Chigusa.
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Johto story.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Hitmontop in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Slowking in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- A shot of Hitmontop being struck by Hitmonlee’s High Jump Kick is replaced with an impact effect.
- Ash’s joke that “Shihan” is a new Pokémon becomes a joke about a Chinese restaurant dish.
- Hitmonlee’s High Jump Kick is called “High Jump Attack”.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.