ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
662: The Bloom Is On Axew!	668: Boso Pendora! Kibago o Sukue!	Iris' Excadrill Headache #9			Iris reveals her origin and ANOTHER Pokémon!	Getting a new (temporary) member?	Go at your own pace... and don't let your pet rat beat you up, that's just wrong.

Today finds the twerps.... fighting!?! On the way to Nacrene City, they've suddenly stopped so that Iris can fight.... Cilan!?! Ash is sitting next to Pikachu, grumpy and flustered because he wants to be the one fighting! He asks to get in on the action, but just like every other male has experienced in the past, the girl only has eyes for Cilan! She grumpily tells Ash that he'd just try to win; confusing the poor dim boy who points out that this is kind of the entire idea behind battling. She snaps that he'd just use Volt Tackle to insta-win and she doesn't want Axew getting hit with volt Tackle, so he eagerly agrees not to use it, and she shouts at him to just shut up and watch, and Cilan tells Pansage they're going to give her what she wants!

We're just dripping with Double Entendres today, Gentle Dodgers.

Iris orders Axew to use Scratch, and it rushes in - the center of attention, today is its time to shine, today....



It.... stumbles awkwardly forward, clearly not used to moving about on the ground on its hind legs by itself but eager nonetheless. Cilan has Pansage approach and GENTLY use Bullet Seed, and a confused Ash watches as Pansage spits slow, arcing single shots of Bullet Seed at Axew.... and kicks its ass! Axew flinches in horror as seeds gently bounce off of its head and tears fill up its eyes as Iris rushes up to check on it. Ash finally comes to grips with the idea that this is a Training Battle to get Axew used to the idea of battling. Cilan explains that he agreed to go easy on Axew by having Pansage use its moves at barely 20% of their normal power, and Ash is even more confused, surely a battle - even a training one - is more fun if you go at it full tilt? Iris roars at him that this is why he's a little kid, and then beams at a bowing Cilan and Pansage, telling Ash that THEY are gentlemen.

Ash realises that this is the first time he's seen Iris and Axew battle, and Cilan gently suggests to Ash that he shut the fuck up and let Iris handle things how she wants to. She asks Axew if it is able to continue and it gets its game face on, and Ash shouts out encouragement to it before it goes charging (well, stumbling) in to attack Pansage. Cilan quietly, gently has Pansage block the attack, and Axew flails wildly like a fat kid fighting his long suffering older brother. Ash isn't impressed, and Iris yells at Cilan to get serious, but he tells her that's exactly what he is doing, this is how a Gym Battle would go.... just at a vastly reduced pace and power. He tells Pansage to use Solar Beam, and it begins drawing in sunlight as Axew flails away uselessly, eyes squeezed shut and little chubby arms pinwheeling wildly. Ash calls out to Iris, asking if Axew knows any other moves than Scratch, but she nervously says they wouldn't do any good. He demands to know why she doesn't use them and she yells at him to mind his own business... and then her own comes back to bite her on the ass as Pansage unleashes the full force of Solar Beam.... kinda.

A slow, gentle ball of light lazily wafts out of Pansage's hand and drifts across to Axew, bopping it on the nose and causing it to fall backwards and roll back to Iris' lap. Ash is hardly impressed, even by the amazing control of its own powerset that Pansage is demonstrating, and starts shouting out advice to Iris, giving her a taste of what it's like to have somebody backseat driving. As Axew staggers up still ready to fight, Ash calls out to Iris that learning which moves to learn is an important part of training so she should try a different move. Gritting her teeth angrily, she snaps at him that she knows that, but he insists that she has to battle like it's for real, it's the only way for Axew to get strong. Rising to the bait, Iris yells that she'll show him a REAL move, shocking Axew who obviously wasn't really keen on the idea. But he'll back her play, and agrees to go along with it as she orders him to unleash... DRAGON RAGE!



Ohhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!

A massive explosion of.... smoke....? blasts up over the forest, and when it clears Axew is standing confused at the center of a small crater and everyone else is dazed and confused by the blast. Ash tumbles off of his rock and Iris sighs that they've messed it up... again! "Once again?" asks Ash, as in the center of the crater Axew giggles in embarrassment.... dawwwwwww.

Meanwhile in a dilapidated old building somewhere other than the forest, Team Rocket are making contact with Giovanni. James reports that "all units are assembled" and he instructs them to move to the Desert Report and locate a part of a "Meteonite", the name for a large meteor that broke up over the Earth long ago and spread fragments across the globe - the largest section going to the Unova Region. Giovanni wants them to find that fragment, he believes that with it in his possession he can alter the flow of energy throughout the world, as the energy signature of the Meteonite corresponds to the energy readings that they already took for him at the Dream Yard. They're to rendezvous with a NEW Team Rocket Agent for the operation.... it's all getting very mysterious! But will it be mysterious in the good Team Galactic way or the terrible Team Magma/Aqua way? Only time will tell!

Meanwhile, Iris and Axew are sitting on a broken, half-uprooted tree trunk going over the failed training battle. Iris is upset that they still haven't gotten Dragon Rage right yet, and things aren't helped when Ash cheerfully mocks her and the "Gentleman" Cilan happily joins in, as they proclaim that a better name for Dragon Rage would be Dragon Sneeze, and that's what they're going to call it from now on!

Eyes bugging out of her head, Iris snaps at the horrible boys that's it not a sneeze, see! And if they haven't noticed she is VERY upset about it! Cilan quickly backtracks, cheerfully telling her he was only joking, and Ash just changes the subject (slightly) and asks if Axew knows any other moves. Nope, just the two, and only one of them correctly, Dragon Rage is supposed to unleash balls of energy, but when Axew uses it the energy balls just explode into smoke. As she talks, Axew stumbles down off of her lap and clambers up a tree followed by Pikachu, grabbing a couple of apples and cheerfully bringing them back to Iris impaled on its tusks. She takes a bite and happily thank it, petting it on the head, and a delighted Axew heads back to get some more. Cilan notes that Axew enjoys the positive reinforcement, which is why it is going back to get more, and it's certainly moving a lot smooth too, easily balancing along the tree branch when it stumbled earlier on the ground. Both Ash and Cilan note that Axew's Dragon Rage has plenty of potential power that just isn't being used right, so maybe she SHOULD battle Ash. Why? Well Cilan says it will feel like the real thing, since he obviously knows that Ash is far too dim to do anything but go full force, while Ash doesn't give a fuck what the reason is, he gets to battle yaaaaaay!

Iris doesn't seem overly eager to take on Ash though, with good reason since he's a fucking monster of a battler. She gulps uneasily, takes another bite of the apple and then declares.... no! No she doesn't want to battle Ash, she doesn't want to lose!

This is the type of person who disconnects in an online game when they realise they're about to lose a game..... ughhhhh.

Ash is appalled, with that attitude she is NEVER going to battle and Axew is never going to get any better, but she refuses. Changing the subject again, Ash asks her how she get Axew in the first place, and she tells them that it was a gift, from an Elder. Ash seems confused about what an Elder is (it's like the dude who is banging your mum RIGHT NOW, Ash), but before we can learn....

WHO'S THAT POKEMON!?!?! IT'S.... oh, oh hey it's Axew. Hey Axew....

Iris tells them about her hometown, a quiet little village where they specialise in raising Dragon Pokémon (wow they really fucked up on their choice of training specialisation if they wanted to live in a quiet village), where an Old Woman gave her Axew only a few days after it had hatched. She told Iris that the time of her own great trial was here, she was to take Axew to train, journey with and eventually lead it to its final Evolution. She tells her that the path she chooses is her own, but if she comes to understand Axew's heart then it will grow truly strong. She also tells her that the key to becoming an adult is in raising a Pokémon successfully, which means this old biddy is probably a virgin, possibly explained by the Charlie Brown looking shirt she's wearing.

But now Iris has been travelling for awhile and she and Axew don't seem to be making any progress, which is why she asked for Cilan's help to battle. Ash, still trying to get to grips with basic facts beyond,"WANNA FIGHT!?!" and,"OKAY LET'S FIGHT!" asks her if the old lady was her Grandma, and Iris sighs that no, it was the leader of their village like it should be common knowledge.

Meanwhile, Axew is freaking Pikachu out as it struggles to grab apples while standing on a very, very thin branch. It gets hold of the apple but then the branch snaps, and Axew falls down into the bushes and on top of the back of.... a horrible monster! A giant caterpillar like Pokémon with dangerous looking red and black colouring, it rears up and tries to fling Axew loose. Concerned, Pikachu leaps down and uses Iron Tail.... making absolutely no impact on the monstrous caterpillar which flings Pikachu clear and knocks it into a tree trunk, then charges for it. It hits with such force that the tree is sent flying through the air, but Pikachu seems to have gotten clear and runs in a panic down the path followed by the monstrous caterpillar which apparently also has legs like some kind of demented horse. Alarmed to see Pikachu in danger, Axew does the only thing it can think of, it uses Dragon Rage.

Back at the tree trunk, Iris had earlier noticed that Axew wasn't around but has seemingly gone nowhere and done nothing about it. A burst of smoke in the distance changes that though, as Ash leaps up and cries out that it's Axew's "Dragon Sneeze!", irritating Iris who leaps down and sets off towards the source of the smoke. Ash and Cilan follow, Pikachu leaping out of the bushes in utter batshit insane panic, squeaking its own name and flailing about in terror. Ash tries to get it to communicate what happened and where Axew is, and it resorts to the old French standby of physical comedy, imitating first the bizarre monstrosity's rage and Axew's terrified clinging on and Dragon Rage.

Ash tells it to slow down, he can't understand (saying its own name slower isn't going to exactly make it turn into English), but then Axew's frightened cries get their attention. They spot the monstrous Pokémon, Axew still riding on its head, and Ash uses Dexter to learn that the Pokédex even has an entry for such a monster from hell, it's a Scolipede! What's worse, according to the Pokédex, once they start battling they won't stop till knocked out or victorious. It charges THEM and they run in a panic, and a blast of Toxic.... MELTS THE ROCK IT HITS!

Jesus Christ this thing IS a demon from hell!

Having seen that the demon monster has ACID SALIVA they figure they should stop to fight it now. Cilan sends out Pansage and Ash calls out Snivy, the former stopping Scolipede in its tracks with Bullet Seed before Snivy grabs its horns with Vine Whip... and gets swung around angrily for its troubles.

Cilan notes that the power difference between Scolipede and their Pokémon is too great, but it’s still coming so they need to do something. So up steps Iris to the plate, crying out to Axew that she'll save it and grabbing out... another Pokéball? She has another Pokémon!?! Ash is amazed, but Iris is hesitating, why? Finally she grits her teeth and calls it out and.... oh.



....oh.

It's an Excadrill, a powerful Pokémon with steel claws that can tear through iron.... only it's in the form it would normally be in for digging through the ground. Iris sighs that it is "still in a bad mood", and begs Excadrill to help because they need it. It lays there as motionless as a Metapod though, and with a growl she snaps that she'll do it herself and asks Cilan to keep Scolipede there while she throws down with the Hell-Demon. Cilan asks if she is sure, and she tells them that this is part of the trial that the Elder told her about, she needs to do this. Climbing a tree, she waits as Ash has Tepig and Pikachu blast the ground in front of Scolipede to stop its forward momentum, then Cilan to have Pansage blast it with Solar Beam. Momentarily distracted, Scolipede doesn't see as Iris swings in and grabs Axew by the foot, swinging it to safety.

Wait... why didn't they just get Snivy to use Vine Whip to pull Axew to safety back at the start?

Iris is delighted though, she saved Axew! It beams up at her with gratitude and love, and she gasps excitedly over how worried she was while the twerps happily recall their Pokémon.... but, uhhh.... Scolipede is still there, you know. It stomps the ground angrily, pawing at it and accidentally knocking Excadrill backwards. The bizarre drill-like Pokémon rolls backwards, hits a rock, bounces up through the air and lands drill first in the rock.... then begins spinning and digs down deep... then emerges from the ground beneath Scolipede and drills right against its chin!

Bursting out of its drill from, we see Excadrill for the first time, a bizarre badger/mole-like Pokémon with giant steel claws for hands! It lands and glares angrily at Scolipede, which glares back just as angrily, and Ash yells at Iris to stop goofing off and give it some orders. Iris just sighs though, moaning that there's no point, Excadrill never listens to her anyway!

Scolipede blasts Toxic at Excadrill, which smacks the attack away with contempt, and Cilan explains to Ash that as a Steel Type, Scolipede's Poison Attacks can't do anything to it. Excadrill reforms into its drill-form and smashes into Scolipede again, as Ash stares with wide exultant eyes, loving what he is seeing.... battling!

Scolipede charges and Excadrill, lowers its head and rears back, using Scolipede's forward momentum to send it flying through the air and..... on and on and on and on through the air, disappearing into the far distance. Iris cries out to it as it plummets towards crippling pain that she's sorry they startled it, then turns to thank Excadrill. Ash cries out that it's awesome, but it could care less what any of them think, especially Iris, and drops back into its drill form to sulk some more about having a trainer it doesn't feel deserves it. Sighing, she returns it to its Pokéball and tells it that she knows one day they'll battle together. Looking down at Axew, she tells it she is sorry if it got scared. Cilan tells her that battling is an art form like cooking and needs to be timed right and at the proper pace, so she should relax and go at the pace that suits her. She happily tells Axew they're going to relax, and Ash confuses this for HIS concept of relaxation and thinks they're going get to have their battle now. Iris sighs that he wasn't listening, she is going to relax and take training at HER pace, and if Ash wants to fight so badly he should just fight Pikachu himself... and he agrees!

Before Iris and Cilan's horrified eyes, he starts to actually physically FIGHT Pikachu, charging it and letting it hit him with Thunderbolt and Volt Tackle and HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE DOING IT! Cilan notes happily that they are who they are, and Ash is doing what is right for him, and they stand and watch as a small boy gets the shit kicked out of him by his delighted yellow rat.

Is there really any better way for an episode to end than that?

Previous Episode Next Episode Episode List