ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
530: Crossing the Battle Line!	535: Hikari wa Jimete no Jimu Batoru!	Dawn can't do ANYTHING right			Dawn has her first ever Gym Battle.	Gathering intelligence then doing what they were gonna do anyway!	If you lose, say it was to teach somebody a lesson!

Last episodes saw the twerps arrive in Veilstone City, where they met Paul's older brother Reggie, a breeder (snicker) and Maylene, the young Veilstone Gym Leader. Maylene and her Lucario had been on the outs since Paul rolled into town just before the twerps and kicked the shit out of them, telling her how much she sucked in Paul's typical diplomatic fashion. After an encounter with Team Rocket and watching Ash battle Reggie, Maylene got fired up to have another shot at being Gym Leader. But before Ash would get his chance to battle her, Dawn surprised them all by demanding that SHE get the first shot in. Maylene has agreed, but she wants time to prepare (upsetting Lucario), but Dawn is happy enough with that. So they'll meet at Veilstone Gym tomorrow, and that's that! Dawn is....



Dawn has Piplup train by emulating Buizel's fighting practice, while Buneary and Ambipom warm up for their own part in the three on three battle to come. Reggie shows up to teach Ash's Staravia "Brave Bird" as Dawn explains her strategy to Brock - looking to negate Maylene's fighting Pokémon with flight, speed and jumping. Reggie's Staraptor meanwhile is demonstrating the impressive Brave Bird technique that is the equivalent of Pikachu's Volt Tackle.

Reggie warns that the move tests the mettle of Pokémon AND Trainer, while Electabuzz hangs around watching derisively and eating berries. Staravia's first attempt fizzles out halfway through, so Reggie suggests that they try with a moving target.... and Ash volunteers to be that target! They try again, and Staravia easily performs the move this time, just missing Ash as it zips by. Dawn is watching them train, impressed by Ash's dedication, and tells the gathered Pokémon (a mixture of hers and Ash's) that they're gonna show Ash (who isn't paying attention) what they can do.

Staravia seems to have Brave Bird down pat, chasing Ash around as a surprised Electabuzz watches on. Reggie notes to Brock that he feels like he should calm the overexcited Ash down, he's the exact opposite of Paul. He asks Brock what the deal with Dawn is, and Brock goes on about how he doesn't understand why a Coordinator would want a Gym Battle, even though Reggie probably meant,"So which one of you is banging the chick in the short skirt?"

Brock tells him that he thinks that Dawn may be doing this for Maylene's sake, in order to rebuild her confidence. All in all, that's a pretty nice way of saying that Dawn is going to get her ass absolutely kicked all over the arena. Back at the Gym, Maylene is struggling with meditation which is irritating Lucario, but she tells it that she intends to give it her all in the Gym Battle. This excites Connelly and the other black belts, who start sobbing with relief that the little girl who leads them is going to have her Kung Fu Wolf beat up another little girl's small fat penguin.

Just by the window, Team Rocket have popped up and spotted Lucario again. But while Meowth and James are excited at the thought of grabbing it, a more realistic Jesse points out that if they grab it, it will break them! Wobbuffet pops up to agree happily before sinking back down out of camera shot, and they sadly agree as they watch them working the punching bags inside. Jesse has an idea though, they always fail miserably to catch a really good Pokémon, so instead they'll catch a really weak Pokémon and train it up till it is really strong!

Well... that's... that's called Pokémon Training, Jesse; it's what everyone else does! It's not a scheme at all!

That night, an undressed Ash and Dawn are talking about getting sweaty and their hearts beating like crazy, and how things are like trains plunging inside, all while Brock sits watching and stroking what is in his lap andGETCHA MINDS OUTTA DA GUTTA! He's taken his jacket off (practically naked for Ash) and she is in her pyjamas, while Brock is holding Happiny, and he's telling her about how it feels just before a Gym Battle.

You sick, sick freaks!

As they talk about getting Maylene's confidence back as if they both know that Dawn is going to get her ass kicked, one can't help but notice that Dawn appears to be several inches taller than Ash! Brock tells them that when he used to Pewter City Gym Leader, at first he worried about how he was affecting the lives and careers of his challengers, much like Maylene worries now. The thought of derailing someone at the start of their training career was a tough one, until he realised that great Gym Leaders are shaped by their challengers. And after all, it was all roses, puppy farts and "here's your medal for participating" then no one would ever grow as a trainer!

The next day, Team Rocket are stationed on the roof opposite Veilstone Gym, watching through a laptop picking up signals that James has somehow managed to position all around the interior of the Gym.... meaning he was good enough to enter a Gym filled with highly trained martial artists and place cameras.... but can't steal Pokémon to save his life. But as they're looking around with their cameras, they spot the twerps approaching. Meowth actually moans,"Oh come on!" at seeing them AGAIN, while Jesse instantly thinks the worst and assumes they're here to steal Pokémon themselves, but why? They have so many! James knows better however, they're clearly here to battle. But moments later Dawn cries out a loud challenge before she and the others enter, surprising Team Rocket, since when does the "twerpette" fight Gym Battles?



Inside, Dawn faces off against Maylene, Lucario looking a little miffed at the whole thing and Connelly acting as referee. Reggie and Brock have taken off their shoes respectfully and are sitting cross legged on the sidelines, but Ash goofily has left his on and is sitting with his feet on the arena floor..... oh Ash.....

As usual, it's 3 on 3, with only the Challenger allowed to swap out Pokémon, and Maylene sends in Meditite first. But when it comes to Dawn's turn to make her selection... she seems to freak out, she doesn't know what to do! Suddenly Ash leaps up and shouts out to her to have fun, then yells to Maylene to show her strength. Both girls are surprised, but they finally get into the action, Dawn sending out Buneary, which shows off to Pikachu before bouncing from foot to foot, ready to fight.

Buneary bounces up and goes for a kick on Meditite, but it uses Detect to dodge the move, then uses Drain Punches, Maylene actually emulating the move herself. Reggie tells Brock and Ash that this is how Maylene does things, she acts as one with her Pokémon. Dawn tells Buneary to spin and dodge, much like Ash often does with Pikachu, but instead.... Buneary gets clocked!

Watching through their hidden cameras, Team Rocket wonder if Meditite is worth capturing, but Jesse seems a little unsure, as if she knows they'd fail to capture it as well.

Back inside the Gym, Buneary comes back with a direct shot of Ice Beam that captures Meditite, but Maylene is unworried, having it use Confusion to burst free and direct the shards of ice at Buneary instead.

Buneary manages to dodge, but then Meditite uses Confusion on Buneary itself, then drops it towards the ground. But this time Buneary uses Bounce to leap back up and come down for a kick, hitting Meditite's Punch and sending them both back to their original positions, and the Drain Punch sucks out too much energy and causes Buneary to collapse.

It's 1-0 to Maylene!

Dawn calls out Ambipom and has it use Swift, it's Contest Styling actually working to advantage as instead of a direct stream of stars, the Swift surrounds Meditite and then attacks from all directions. Maylene orders another Drain Punch, but Ambipom is ready for it and blocks the shot with one of its ridiculous udder-handed ass-arms. Ambipom uses Double Hit to smack Meditite into unconsciousness with its udders (yes, that IS what happened) and Meditite is out, it's 1-1!

Lucario is surprised when Maylene seems amused, noting that Dawn fights with Contest-Like moves, but warns her it isn't going to get any easier. She sends in Lucario, and Ash notices it seems "different", Reggie pointing out that it can detect Maylene's growing confidence. She orders a Bone Rush, and it forms a bone club or pure energy and goes toe to toe with Ambipom, slamming its mental bone against Ambipom's udders.



Freud would have a field day with this.

Lucario gets the better of it, slamming it's bone hard against Ambipom's face and knocking it out, while Freud puffs heartily on his pipe and scribbles furiously in his notebook. Dawn doesn't seem put down though, excited by the competition and sending out Piplup, which blasts at Lucario with Bubble Beam. But Lucario dodges and smashes Piplup with a direct shot of Aura Sphere..... that.... that.... has no effect!

Wha?

Piplup fires back with Whirlpool and traps Lucario inside before diving in with Peck. Reggie is impressed, she's using Contest Moves to deal with the bad matchup between Piplup and Lucario. But as Piplup dives in, Maylene has Lucario use Metal Claw to go all Wolverine and slice through the Whirlpool before Piplup can get to it. Dawn is impressed with Maylene who is impressed with her, and Piplup tries Bubble Beam again, but Lucario rushes between the blasts and then...... blasts Piplup with a nuclear explosion!

Holy shit!

It was Force Palm, explains Reggie, a Fighting Type move that blasts a focused burst of energy at a Pokémon once past the opponent's defences. Reggie is crediting Dawn's fired up attitude to renewing Maylene's confidence, though you could just as easily say the way she is kicking Dawn's ass is doing wonders for Maylene as well. Piplup isn't done yet though, fighting off the residual blast and wanting to keep fighting, too brave and proud to accept defeat. Outside, Jesse seems determined to catch Lucario once more, but now it is Meowth and James who are pointing out what she told them earlier - if they go for it, it'll kick the crap out of them!

Inside, Maylene tells Lucario she hasn't had this much fun in a while, causing Reggie to speculate that THIS Maylene might not have been beaten by Paul. Maylene orders an Aura Sphere, but Piplup Pecks right through it, catching them by surprising and staggering Lucario for a moment, though it seems to appreciate getting caught on the hop.

Dawn proves she has been paying attention, because she recognised that Peck is a Flying Type move effective against Lucario. Maylene and Lucario seem to communicate silently though, deciding to break down Piplup's combinations. It uses Aura Sphere and Piplup explodes it with Bubble Beam and leaps through the smoke with Peck to hit it by surprise, but when it comes out the other side, Lucario is missing! It's leapt into the air and comes down on top of Piplup with Force Palm, blasting the fuck out of it and knocking it out... and it's over, Maylene beats Dawn.... 3-1!

An asskicking!

Connelly declares Maylene the winner with tears streaming down his face, while Dawn rushes to Piplup's side. Brock says this was great for a first Gym Battle while Maylene thanks Lucario, Ash telling Dawn that she did a great job for her first Gym Battle, and really psyched him up for his shot at Maylene. Outside, Team Rocket have wasted their time, their technology and the episode watching the inside of the Gym only to discover what they already knew, that Lucario is a tough sumbitch. Meowth decides they should check things out in person for a better idea, and they happily agree.

Inside the Gym, Maylene thanks Dawn for the battle, saying it fired her up and she had more fun than she'd had in a long time. Dawn says she'll have just as much fun in a battle against Ash, and Maylene finally figures out that Dawn was trying to get her confidence back up all along so she'd stay on as Gym Leader.

Yeah, that's exactly what Dawn had planned all along, she just didn't bother to tell anyone until after she lost 3-1. Also Mike Tyson planned to go crazy and bite Evander Holyfield's ear to revitalise Holyfield's flagging career and just forgot to mention it!

But Maylene has got her confidence back now, and has realised that she needs to treat every Gym Challenge the same no matter how good her opponent is or isn't. It is a good thing for her though that she got this win under her belt and this newfound philosophy, because her next opponent.... well he doesn't intend to do anything but win!

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