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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Battle (Season 8) · The Ever Grande Conference arc (AG124–AG131) |
| Episode | Season 8, episode 35 · English episode 400 · Japanese episode 404 · Bulbapedia code AG128 |
| English title | Shocks and Bonds |
| Japanese title | 決勝トーナメントへ！熱き戦いの日々！ Kesshō Tōnamento e! Atsuki Tatakai no Hibi! — “To the Tournament Finals! Every Day a Heated Battle!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 12 May 2005 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 18 March 2006 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| 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 has at least two evolutions? (Gulpin / Spheal / Wailmer) → Spheal |
| Previous episode | From Brags to Riches (AG127) |
| Next episode | A Judgment Brawl (AG129) |
Plot episodeVictory Tournament beginsAsh vs Katie
Shocks and Bonds is the 35th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, the eighth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 400th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 404, Bulbapedia code AG128). It first aired in Japan on 12 May 2005 and in the United States on 18 March 2006. It falls within the season’s The Ever Grande Conference stretch (EP124–EP131).
Synopsis
Ash’s third and final qualifying Double Battle pits Grovyle and Glalie against Clark’s Quilava and Charizard, a dangerous match-up for two Pokémon weak to Fire. Heat Wave and Flame Wheel scorch Ash’s pair, and Icy Wind does nothing to the Fire-types. Glalie and Grovyle fight back with Headbutt and Pound, Grovyle blocks a Quick Attack, and a Heat Wave meets an Icy Wind in an explosion. Grovyle’s Pound knocks out Quilava, but Charizard’s Steel Wing takes down Grovyle. Left alone, Glalie raises pillars of ice with Ice Beam to block Charizard’s Flamethrower, ricochets around the frozen field after a Steel Wing, and slams Charizard with a blistering Headbutt that the announcer calls a critical hit. Charizard faints, and Ash is into the Victory Tournament.
Morrison wins his last qualifier too, and Tyson reveals a Sceptile, which dodges Johnny’s Aggron with Detect and knocks it out with a Solar Beam charged while Aggron uses Harden; his Donphan is also revealed. The next day is a rest day before the Victory Tournament begins. Ash and Morrison spend it competing at everything from training drills to swimming races, May, Tyson and Max sample the local food stalls, and Brock is distracted by the many Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys staffing the event. Back in Pallet Town, Misty, Tracey, Professor Oak and Delia follow the tournament closely on television, cheering Ash on as the field narrows to the final thirty-two Trainers. For the rest of the Conference the battles will be full six-on-six matches.
The Victory Tournament uses six-on-six Full Battles, and in the first round Ash faces Katie of Lilycove City on a craggy rock field, his first Full Battle against a female Trainer outside the movies. Katie’s Venomoth opens with Stun Spore and Disable before she switches to Golduck, whose Hydro Pump and Fury Swipes knock out Torkoal. Her Dugtrio then burrows with Dig and traps Pikachu in Sand Tomb, shrugs off Thunderbolt and knocks Pikachu out with Double-Edge after taking an Iron Tail. Glalie’s Headbutt forces Dugtrio to the surface and Ice Beam finishes it, but Katie’s Misdreavus survives an Ice Beam and Headbutt long enough to drag Glalie down with Destiny Bond. At the halfway point Ash has three Pokémon left to Katie’s four.
Major Events
- Grovyle and Glalie beat Clark’s Quilava and Charizard
- The Victory Tournament begins with Ash vs Katie, his first Full Battle against a female Trainer outside the movies
- Tyson’s Sceptile completes every form of the Hoenn first partners
- Sceptile debuts
Pokémon making their anime debut
Sceptile#0254 · AG128
Trivia
- The English title plays on "stocks and bonds".
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Spicy bread becomes a “peanut butter and cactus burrito”
- Pokémon Symphonic Medley scores the day-off montage in Japan; the dub uses “You & Me & Pokémon” from Totally Pokémon
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Battle guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.