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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Battle (Season 8) · Mossdeep City: the Mind Badge & Drake arc (AG099–AG101) |
| Episode | Season 8, episode 9 · English episode 374 · Japanese episode 377 · Bulbapedia code AG101 |
| English title | Vanity Affair |
| Japanese title | 海の男！四天王ゲンジ登場！！ Umi no Otoko! Shitennō Genji Tōjō!! — “Man of the Sea! Genji of The Big Four Appears!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 4 November 2004 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 12 November 2005 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Masashi Sogo |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Challenger!! – Rica Matsumoto · GLORY DAY ~Kagayaku Sono Hi~ (That Shining Day) – GARDEN |
| English opening | Unbeatable – David Rolfe |
| Pokémon Trainer’s Choice | Which is Pikachu most effective against? (Torkoal / Wingull / Manectric) → Wingull |
| Previous episode | Shaking Island Battle! Dojoach vs. Namazun!! (AG101U) |
| Next episode | Where’s Armaldo? (AG102) |
Plot episodeAsh loses to DrakeElite Four
Vanity Affair is the 9th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, the eighth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 374th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 377, Bulbapedia code AG101). It first aired in Japan on 4 November 2004 and in the United States on 12 November 2005. It falls within the season’s Mossdeep City: the Mind Badge & Drake stretch (EP99–EP101).
Synopsis
On the road from Mossdeep, Ash’s Torkoal finishes a Trainer’s charging Scizor in one shot with a powerful Overheat, and a broad-shouldered sailor watches the battle closely from a distance. Later the group stop at a seaside restaurant where Team Rocket happen to be working as waiters. The sailor, a customer there who orders his milk with peppermint, notices Ash and his friends, invites them aboard his ship, and Max recognises him as Drake, a member of the Hoenn Elite Four. Ash, flushed with confidence after winning his seventh Badge, is thrilled at the chance to test himself against one of the strongest Trainers in Hoenn, and eagerly accepts when Drake challenges him to a three-on-three battle on the deck, with Drake’s first mate Fitzwilliam watching and a crew member serving as referee.
Pikachu opens against Shelgon, but its armour shrugs off a direct Thunderbolt, and it charges with Double-Edge. Pikachu dodges with Quick Attack and finally lands an Iron Tail, only for Shelgon’s Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw to knock him out. Grovyle comes next against Altaria, bounding between the masts with Bullet Seed and Leaf Blade, but Altaria ducks behind a mast and answers with Take Down, Dragon Breath and Sky Attack. Grovyle evades with Quick Attack, yet Altaria follows with Aerial Ace and finally a Solar Beam that knocks Grovyle out. Ash has been completely outclassed, and Drake tells him bluntly that he must concentrate fully on a battle, rather than on his own confidence, if he wants to beat the very best.
While May cradles the recovering Pikachu, Team Rocket distract her with a drink and make off with him in their balloon. Drake sends out his Salamence, whose Dragon Claw slashes the basket so that Jessie drops Pikachu; Salamence catches him in mid-air and blasts the trio away with Flamethrower. That night Drake and his crew host a dinner for the travellers, and the Elite Four member explains that Ash should go looking for stronger opponents to learn from instead of fixating on winning. Ash takes the defeat to heart and leaves with a new sense of how far he still has to go before the Hoenn League. It is the only time a member of the Hoenn Elite Four appears in the Ruby and Sapphire series, and the episode was moved forward in the Japanese schedule to fill the slot of the cancelled Whiscash episode.
Major Events
- Drake of the Elite Four debuts and beats Ash (Shelgon beats Pikachu, Altaria beats Grovyle)
- Drake’s Salamence rescues Pikachu from Team Rocket
- Fitzwilliam debuts
- Moved up in Japan to replace the unaired Whiscash episode
- First running change to Unbeatable
Pokémon making their anime debut
Salamence#0373 · AG101
Trivia
- The English title plays on “Vanity Fair”.
- The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- first running change to Unbeatable: Mime Jr. and Weavile painted out and the Mew-and-Lucario shot replaced by Pikachu’s Iron Tail
- 9 seconds of routine time cuts
- Drake takes his milk “with peppermint” (Japanese: sugar)
- Dogasu criticises the “godawful French accents” of Team Rocket’s maid disguises
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Battle guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.