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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Battle (Season 8) · The Ever Grande Conference arc (AG124–AG131) |
| Episode | Season 8, episode 34 · English episode 399 · Japanese episode 403 · Bulbapedia code AG127 |
| English title | From Brags to Riches |
| Japanese title | 開幕！サイユウ大会！！ Kaimaku! Saiyū Taikai!! — “Opening! Saiyu Tournament!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 5 May 2005 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 11 March 2006 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| 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 counts as a Legendary Pokémon? (Salamence / Entei / Milotic) → Entei |
| Previous episode | Saved by the Beldum (AG126) |
| Next episode | Shocks and Bonds (AG128) |
Plot episodeDouble Battle qualifierLast original motto
From Brags to Riches is the 34th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, the eighth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 399th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 403, Bulbapedia code AG127). It first aired in Japan on 5 May 2005 and in the United States on 11 March 2006. It falls within the season’s The Ever Grande Conference stretch (EP124–EP131).
Synopsis
Nurse Joy explains the next stage of the Ever Grande Conference: a series of Double Battles in which a Trainer needs three wins to earn a place in the Victory Tournament. Ash’s first qualifier is set for Stadium C, while Morrison is delighted to find his own match moved up, so Ash, Tyson and the others watch him take on Gavin of Ganga Town in Stadium E. Morrison sends out Growlithe and Gligar against Marowak and Machamp. Growlithe’s Take Down and Flamethrower are answered by Headbutt and Bone Club, while Gligar trades Guillotine, Steel Wing and blows with Machamp’s Karate Chop, Dynamic Punch and Cross Chop. Marowak freezes Growlithe’s legs with Ice Beam and knocks it out with Bone Club, but a flurry of Steel Wings and a second Guillotine bring Machamp down.
Left alone against Marowak, Gligar collides with it in a clash of Guillotine and Headbutt, has one wing frozen by Ice Beam as both fall, and takes Bonemerang and a head-on Bone Club before winning with Iron Tail. On his way to his own match, Ash falls into a Team Rocket pit with Pikachu, but the trio’s new employer at the stadium smashes through the wall and chases them back to work. In Stadium C Ash sends out Torkoal and Corphish against Dominick of Inua Town and his Tropius and Swalot. Tropius rains down Razor Leaf and Bullet Seed, which Torkoal blocks with Iron Defense, while Swalot fires Sludge Bomb and Tropius’s Gust blows Torkoal aside. Torkoal lands a Flamethrower but misses with Overheat, and Corphish’s Bubble Beam slides off Swalot’s rubbery body.
Ash changes tactics and has his Pokémon gang up on Tropius: Crabhammer and Flamethrower interrupt its Solar Beam charge, and when it fires, Overheat meets Solar Beam in an explosion that knocks out both Tropius and Torkoal. Swalot pounds Corphish with Shock Wave, Body Slam and a barrage of Shadow Balls, but Corphish blocks a Shock Wave with its claw, grabs Swalot by the whiskers, throws it and fires a Bubble Beam into its open mouth, and Swalot faints. That evening Team Rocket are rewarded with food for their hard work, while Ash and Morrison argue over whose win was better until Max’s PokéNav shows that Tyson has won his first qualifier too. This is the last episode with Team Rocket’s original motto.
Major Events
- Double Battle qualifiers. Torkoal and Corphish beat Dominick’s Tropius and Swalot
- Morrison beats Gavin
- First anime use of Guillotine
- Last episode with Team Rocket’s original motto
- Tropius debuts
Pokémon making their anime debut
Tropius#0357 · AG127
Trivia
- The English title plays on "from rags to riches".
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Cheerleaders’ chanting removed
- Melonpan become cheeseburgers
- Ash’s order to gang up on Tropius becomes a “combined attack”
- Instrumental Advance Adventure
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Battle guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.