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| Season | Pokémon: Battle Frontier (Season 9) · Fennel Valley & the Brave Symbol arc (AG183–AG190) |
| Episode | Season 9, episode 42 · English episode 459 · Japanese episode 463 · Bulbapedia code AG187 |
| English title | The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! |
| Japanese title | ハルカVSシュウ！ライバルよ永遠に！！ Haruka Tai Shū! Raibaru yo Eien ni!! — “Haruka VS Shū! Rivals Forever!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 10 August 2006 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 January 2007 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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 | Overjoyed! (AG186) |
| Next episode | Pinch Healing! (AG188) |
Plot episodeFirst mention of SinnohDrew’s farewell
The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! is the 42nd episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier, the ninth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 459th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 463, Bulbapedia code AG187). It first aired in Japan on 10 August 2006 and in the United States on 27 January 2007. It falls within the season’s Fennel Valley & the Brave Symbol stretch (EP183–EP190).
Synopsis
Soaking in a hot spring after his loss to Brandon, Ash wonders what he can teach himself that nobody else can. May, meanwhile, is in a slump in the Pokémon Center’s Contest Hall: Ash’s defeat has brought back the pain of her own loss to Solidad, and even Skitty and Beautifly, whom she has had sent over from Petalburg City after learning that Beautifly now knows Psychic, cannot lift her spirits. A snowy tornado created by Skitty’s Blizzard and Beautifly’s Psychic leaves her unimpressed, and Scott and Brock worry that her style has become too much like Ash’s. When Brock and Max suggest she and Ash practise together, she flatly refuses. Then Professor Oak arrives in Fennel Valley, bringing gifts from home: a banner of footprints made by Tracey and Ash’s Pokémon, a fishing lure from Misty, a huge box of food from Delia, and a postcard from Gary, who is now doing research in a region called Sinnoh.
Remembering Gary’s advice not to dwell on a loss, Ash resolves to train harder for his rematch, and Oak recites one of his poems. May stays glum until she spots a Roselia and realises that Drew is nearby. Drew sees straight through her insistence that she is fine; since the Grand Festival, he says, he has been concentrating on caring for his Pokémon and has even added a new one, and May is stuck dwelling on her weaknesses. He proposes a battle to clear her head, and Ash and Brock urge her to accept. Team Rocket offer to judge, disguised as Mr. Sukizo, Raoul Contesta and Nurse Joy, but a Bullet Seed from a Cacturne exposes them and Harley storms in, declaring that nobody gets to bother May but him, and makes the trio sit in the audience.
With Professor Oak and Scott judging and Nurse Joy announcing, May’s Combusken and Beautifly face Drew’s Roselia and his new Butterfree. Their opening combination of Fire Spin and Psychic is scattered, and Butterfree’s Confusion and Gust hit both of May’s Pokémon hard. They regroup, and Combusken lands Sky Uppercut, but Butterfree’s Protect blocks a full-power Overheat, and Roselia’s Solar Beam and Butterfree’s Psybeam knock out both of May’s Pokémon to give Drew the win. Afterward May admits she grew overconfident and wants to find a style of her own. Drew reveals he is heading to Johto for its Contests, as Solidad is, and Harley announces he is going too, blasting Team Rocket off with Bullet Seed when Jessie turns down his invitation to join him. Drew leaves looking forward to seeing May’s new style, and May, no longer confused, encourages Ash as he prepares for his own rematch.
Major Events
- Gary’s postcard from Sinnoh. Skitty and Beautifly rejoin May
- Professor Oak visits Fennel Valley
- The anime’s first mention of Sinnoh
- May loses a practice battle to Drew and his new Butterfree
- Drew, Harley and Solidad leave for Johto
- Drew’s and Harley’s last speaking roles
- The lowest-rated Ruby and Sapphire episode in Japan
Trivia
- The English title plays on the Milan Kundera novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Drew’s command for Confusion cut
- Professor Oak says he recognises Scott from photos
- “A Small Thing”, a ballad Advance Adventure and the first use of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew music, replaced in the dub
Part of our Pokémon: Battle Frontier guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.