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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Battle (Season 8) · The Hoenn Grand Festival arc (AG121–AG123) |
| Episode | Season 8, episode 29 · English episode 394 · Japanese episode 398 · Bulbapedia code AG122 |
| English title | Deceit and Assist |
| Japanese title | 熱闘！グランドフェスティバル②！！ Nettō! Gurando Fesutibaru Tsū!! — “Fierce Fighting! Grand Festival (2)!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 7 April 2005 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 25 February 2006 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Pokémon Symphonic Medley – Pokémon Symphonic Orchestra · GLORY DAY ~Kagayaku Sono Hi~ (That Shining Day) – GARDEN |
| English opening | Unbeatable – David Rolfe |
| Pokémon Trainer’s Choice | Which is a Flying type? (Combusken / Tropius / Flygon) → Tropius |
| Previous episode | Hi Ho Silver Wind! (AG121) |
| Next episode | Rhapsody in Drew (AG123) |
Plot episodeHarley’s sabotageTop 32
Deceit and Assist is the 29th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, the eighth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 394th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 398, Bulbapedia code AG122). It first aired in Japan on 7 April 2005 and in the United States on 25 February 2006. It falls within the season’s The Hoenn Grand Festival stretch (EP121–EP123).
Synopsis
Nurse Joy returns May’s Pokémon after the preliminaries, and Harley sweetly suggests the two of them train together; May happily agrees. Brock explains that the next stage is a series of two-on-two Double Battles. Meanwhile Ash’s Snorunt sneezes a stray Ice Beam over a Coordinator named Anthony and his Swalot, freezing them both; once Torkoal has thawed him out, Anthony explains that three thieves have stolen his Contest Pass and Ribbon case. Team Rocket, of course, are the culprits: Jessie dreams of parading five Ribbons, although James points out that the Pass carries Anthony’s face. In practice with Harley, May’s Skitty uses Assist and calls up first Fire Spin and then Silver Wind, and Harley urges her to rely on that unpredictable move in the next round, a plan that Drew and Caroline both find worrying.
Max alerts Officer Jenny to the theft and reasons that the thief will try to compete, so they should look for an entrant whose face does not match the photo. In the second Appeals Round, Harley’s newly revealed Banette scores 89 and Anthony’s Swalot 82. Jessie enters disguised as Anthony, but the borrowed Swalot spits her out in front of everyone and Jenny moves in, only for James and Meowth to drag her away. May’s turn arrives, and Skitty’s Assist produces Silver Wind, then Solar Beam (revealing that Munchlax knows it), then Petal Dance, which leaves Skitty confused; May snaps it out of it with Double Slap and finishes with Blizzard for a nervy 79, far below the scores of her main rivals.
Backstage Drew reveals the truth: Harley deliberately steered May toward a risky strategy as revenge for his defeat at Purika City, and he has been playing the friend only to sabotage her. Drew tells her to trust her own judgement from now on. His Masquerain scores a perfect 100, as does Robert’s Milotic, which places first, while May scrapes into the top 32 by a whisker. When the electronic board shuffles the pairings for the first round of Double Battles, May finds herself matched against none other than Harley. As Harley’s Cacturne and Banette take the stage against Bulbasaur and Beautifly, May, furious at his trickery and no longer fooled by his smiles, declares that she is ready to play rough if she has to.
Major Events
- Grand Festival, part 2. Drew exposes Harley’s sabotage
- Skitty’s Assist reveals that Munchlax knows Solar Beam
- May scrapes into the top 32
- May vs Harley begins
- Anthony debuts
- Banette and Swalot debut
Pokémon making their anime debut
Swalot#0317 · AG122
Banette#0354 · AG122
Trivia
- The English title plays on "cease and desist".
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Drew and May dialogue added over the appeals montage
- Instrumental Advance Adventure and music from Mewtwo Strikes Back
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Battle guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.