 |
|
| Season | Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension (Season 11) · Veilstone: Maylene, Reggie & Team Galactic arc (DP066–DP070) |
| Episode | Season 11, episode 15 · English episode 530 · Japanese episode 534 · Bulbapedia code DP067 |
| English title | Crossing the Battle Line! |
| Japanese title | ヒカリはじめてのジムバトル！！ Hikari Hajimete no Jimu Batoru!! — “Hikari’s First Gym Battle!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 14 February 2008 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 July 2008 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Together – Fumie Akiyoshi · Kaze no Messēji (Message of the Wind) – Mai Mizuhashi |
| English opening | We Will Be Heroes – Kirsten Price |
| Previous episode | Lost Leader Strategy! (DP066) |
| Next episode | A Triple Fighting Chance! (DP068) |
Plot episodeDawn’s Gym battleStaravia learns Brave Bird
Crossing the Battle Line! is the 15th episode of Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension, the eleventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 530th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 534, Bulbapedia code DP067). It first aired in Japan on 14 February 2008 and in the United States on 26 July 2008. It falls within the season’s Veilstone: Maylene, Reggie & Team Galactic stretch (EP66–EP70).
Synopsis
Maylene asks Dawn to postpone their Gym battle by a day so that she can prepare, and Dawn uses the time to train Piplup against Ash’s Buizel. She settles on her team: Piplup for its Peck, Ambipom for its battle experience and Buneary for its Bounce. Reggie invites Ash to train as well, and his Staraptor demonstrates Brave Bird by smashing a boulder, taking recoil damage in the process. Staravia’s first attempts fall apart in mid-air and end in crashes, so Reggie suggests a moving target to help it focus. Ash volunteers himself, sprinting across the field and diving out of the way, and Staravia lands its first successful Brave Bird. Ash’s hands-on approach impresses even Paul’s Electabuzz, and Reggie remarks to Brock how different Ash is from his brother, wondering why a Coordinator like Dawn would challenge a Gym at all. Brock replies that the battle will help both Dawn and Maylene.
At the Veilstone Gym, Maylene tries to meditate, but her growling stomach irritates Lucario; she asks Connally to referee. Team Rocket plan to steal Lucario, but after seeing its power Jessie settles for one of Maylene’s other Pokémon. That night Dawn admits her nerves, and Ash says he knows the feeling; Brock recalls how his own challengers at the Pewter Gym taught him things and suggests Maylene might learn from Dawn too. The next morning the three-on-three battle begins, with only the challenger allowed substitutions. Maylene opens with Meditite and Dawn with Buneary. Meditite’s Detect dodges Bounce and its Drain Punch hits hard, Maylene’s movements mirroring her Pokémon’s. Buneary freezes Meditite with Ice Beam, but Meditite breaks free with Confusion, flings the ice back and slams Buneary down; Buneary cushions its fall with its ears and springs straight into Bounce, and after the explosion it faints.
Ambipom surrounds Meditite with a ring of Swift in a Contest-style move, blocks Drain Punch with one of its tails and finishes Meditite with Double Hit. Recognising Dawn’s Contest flair, Maylene sends out Lucario, which blocks Double Hit with Bone Rush and hurls Ambipom to the edge of the field, knocking it out. Dawn’s last hope is Piplup. Lucario dodges Bubble Beam and hits back with Aura Sphere; Piplup traps it in Whirlpool and pecks at it, but Metal Claw frees Lucario, and Force Palm turns Bubble Beam back and paralyses Piplup. Piplup shakes off the paralysis, meets an Aura Sphere with Peck and blocks another with Bubble Beam, then charges through the smoke, only for Lucario to drop in from above with Force Palm. Piplup faints and Maylene wins. Everyone praises Dawn’s effort, and Maylene, her spirit renewed, thanks Dawn and turns her attention to Ash. It is the only time a main character other than Ash challenges for a Gym Badge.
Major Events
- Dawn loses her Gym battle to Maylene. The only Gym challenge by a main character other than Ash
- Buneary, Ambipom and Piplup against Meditite and Lucario
- Staravia learns Brave Bird with Reggie’s help, with Ash as its moving target
Trivia
- The English title plays on “crossing the line”, for a Coordinator stepping into a Gym battle.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Sinnoh storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- In Japan, Challenger!! plays as Staravia learns Brave Bird
Part of our Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.