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| Season | Pokémon: Battle Frontier (Season 9) · Fennel Valley & the Brave Symbol arc (AG183–AG190) |
| Episode | Season 9, episode 38 · English episode 455 · Japanese episode 459 · Bulbapedia code AG183 |
| English title | Aipom and Circumstance! |
| Japanese title | エイパムと王様！ Eipamu to Ōsama! — “Eipam and the King!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 6 July 2006 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 14 December 2006 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Junki Takegami |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Supāto! (Spurt!) – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · Watashi, Makenai! ~Haruka no Tēma~ (I Won’t Lose! ~Haruka’s Theme~) – Haruka (KAORI.) |
| English opening | Battle Frontier – Jason Appleton |
| Previous episode | Channeling the Battle Zone! (AG182) |
| Next episode | Strategy Tomorrow – Comedy Tonight! (AG184) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeAipom the king
Aipom and Circumstance! is the 38th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier, the ninth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 455th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 459, Bulbapedia code AG183). It first aired in Japan on 6 July 2006 and in the United States on 14 December 2006. It falls within the season’s Fennel Valley & the Brave Symbol stretch (EP183–EP190).
The last new episode of 2006: after the weekday run ended on 14 December the series took a holiday break.
Synopsis
On the way to Fennel Valley and Ash’s rematch with Brandon, the newly caught Aipom makes herself a flower crown to get Ash’s attention, and when he starts training Pikachu instead, she gets jealous, pulls Ash over, grabs his hat and runs off. Ash and Brock chase her, leaving May and Max with the other Pokémon, and lose her near a shrine and a village. A villager named Hank explains that the village chooses a new king every year: whoever is holding the golden ritual crown at sunset takes the throne. Brock enters at once, dreaming of adoring village girls, and Team Rocket join in too, planning to steal the crown for Giovanni. When the gate opens, the crowd races up a pyramid, but just as Team Rocket reach for the crown with a mechanical hand, Aipom snatches it, takes Ash’s hat back from them for good measure, and flees. The village elder declares that if she keeps the crown until sunset, Aipom will be king.
Hiding in the bushes, Aipom tries the crown on, but it keeps slipping, and when she jams it down in frustration it covers her eyes and will not come off. Pikachu finds her and nudges it up so she can see, and the two run from the angry villagers until Hank’s Nosepass points the way north and the group learn that Aipom has reached the North Cliff. Pikachu leads her through a cave to safety, and she reunites with Ash as sunset approaches. Frightened, she clings to him, and Ash promises that if she becomes king he will stay with her for the year, even if it means missing his rematch. Aipom is touched to realise how much he values her.
A robotic Fearow suddenly swoops down and grabs Aipom, crown and all. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt drives it off, but Meowth summons a whole “Turbo Fearow Flock” by remote control. Swellow cannot handle so many, and the robots see through Aipom’s Double Team, until Hank has Nosepass hit the remote with Thunder Wave, sending the flock off course. Aipom’s Swift and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt then blast Team Rocket away. With minutes to spare, Hank offers Aipom a sour Belue Berry, and as she pulls a face and pushes at her head, he slips the crown off. When the villagers arrive at sunset, it is Hank who is holding it, and they bow to their new king. Hank is unsure at first, but May and Brock point out that he has shown real leadership, and Ash looks ahead once more to the Battle Pyramid.
Major Events
- Aipom grabs a village’s ritual crown
- Ash promises to stay with Aipom if she becomes king
- Hank becomes king instead
- Aipom’s Double Team revealed
- The last episode in Japan before the ninth movie
Trivia
- The English title plays on the Pomp and Circumstance marches of Elgar, named after a line in Othello.
- The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto story.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Japanese pun on ōkan (crown) and bottle caps replaced
Part of our Pokémon: Battle Frontier guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.