ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
711: A Call for Brotherly Love!	717: Dento to Poddo Kyodai Batoru! Baoppu Tai Yanappu!	Chilling with the Brothers			Cilan evaluates his brother	Doing dat defiling	The best defence is a good offense

Today opens with.... a battle? Is it a Gym Battle? Have they gotten their battle with Clay? YES! It's... oh, it's training. They're training in an arena, attacking targets as they wait for Clay to return and give him the greenlight to battle. Cilan and Iris are impressed with how well Ash is handling the delay, but it seems somebody else isn't as patient. A voice calls out to Cilan, declaring,"At last!" and he turns to see... one of his brothers!?! What is this?



Chili has arrived, confusing Cilan since he left him to run the Striaton Gym with his other brother - Cress. But it seems Chili has abandoned the Gym too and is on his own journey now, leaving Cress to run the Gym solo, alone and abandoned like his name was Misty. Chili insists (rather grumpily) that Cress is more than capable of handling the Gym by himself, then cheers up as he asks Cilan for a battle! He talks some nonsense about wanting to know if Cilan has given up his dream of mastering the art of the Connoisseur, but what it all boils down to is he wants to fight his brother! Cilan accepts, and with Ash in the unusual position of referee, the fight is on!

It's a one-on-one battle, Pansear vs. Pansage. Cilan says a happy hello to Pansear, and then the two Pokémon... rush up and shake each other’s hands happily! Good to see ya, brudda! Ash is happy to see them happy and shouts out a pleased good luck to both, and Iris has to remind him he's the referee, not a cheerleader!

Chili seems bemused that Cilan is STILL using a Pansage against his Pansear, which is the same battle style he used back at Striaton Gym. He points a finger at Cilan, burning with flames of passion and asks if he wants to stick with the same battle style forever. Cilan smirks and tells him to save his comments for AFTER the battle, and with that the battle is on!

Pansear opens with Flamethrower and Pansage dodges, then a Fire Punch. Chili tells him that battling isn't just about dodging, but a smirking Cilan tells him sorry, but dodging IS battling too. Chili orders another Flamethrower and then a Flamecharge, but Cilan was waiting for this and orders a Rock Tomb, forming a giant rock over his head and throwing it right into Pansear's face. Chili declares it is time for a comeback and orders a Fire Blast, throwing his own arms and legs wide in mimicry of the move. Pansear lets off a blast of the body-shaped flame, but Pansage uses Dig to dodge, freaking out Chili who doesn't know where it is now.

The answer - of course - is directly beneath Pansear! It blasts out of the ground, knocks Pansear over and then blasts it with Solar Beam and... knocks it out! Ash is alarmed and asks if Pansear is all right, and Iris reminds him he can't ask questions like that, he's the goddamn referee! Startled, Ash quickly declares that Pansear is unable to battle, and that's it, the winner is Cilan!

Pansage helps Pansear up and shakes its hand, and Chili tries to recall it, but it dodges aside and starts grumbling at Chili. He asks if it is angry they lost, and then complains that they lost because it missed its Fire Blast! Well, Pansear doesn't take too kindly to that!



They begin arguing, or at least as much as you can when one of the participants can only say syllables of its own name. Ash and Iris walk over and tell them to stop fighting, and he seems confused when Iris says it looks bad. Cilan approaches and tells him that it is Chili's fault, but he insists that it's all down to Pansear, which reacts by flame-throwing him in the face, almost ruining his glorious hair!

Pansear rushes away and over the wall after Chili yells at it, and the twerps ask if he'll go after it. He grunts that if Pansear doesn't want to be his Pokémon then fuck it, and storms off himself. Cilan says he won't go after him, he knows his brother and trying to talk to him now will just make him retreat further into his point. He calls up Cress to find out if he can shed any light on the situation, and is startled to learn that Chili... ran away from home!?!

Wait, isn't he a legally recognized adult who is free to come and go as he pleases?

Cress says that Chili just disappeared one day and he hasn't heard ANYTHING from him at all, and has been so worried that he hasn't made any contact with Cilan to tell him their brother is missing, presumed dead. Cilan tells him that he said he went out on a journey to train harder, and Cress thinks he's figured it out. He tells him about the time he found Chili lying on the battlefield at night staring out the skylights. Chili was depressed about his frequent back to back losses, and Cress told him this was part of the job. Chili countered that a Gym Leader is supposed to be a strong challenge though, and he HAS been losing far too much. Cress reluctantly said he guessed you could say that, and Chili leaped on it instantly as an accusation that he sucks big fat hairy balls as a Gym Leader! He demanded to know why he sucks as a Gym Leader, and Chili told him (reluctantly) that he concentrates on offense without any defence. Furious, Chili accuses him of declaring he sucks at EVERYTHING and shouts out that they're no longer brothers and ran off.

Cilan tells Cress not to worry, Chili just needs time to think about what he's been told. He promises to look after Chili, hangs up and tells Iris and Ash that Chili has always been like this and it's part of what makes him an individual. That's the great thing about having brothers, he says, they've always been able to cover the deficiencies that each of them have. He tells them they need to go see Chili, but Ash and Iris don't understand, how does he know where Chili is? Cilan says there is always one place you can guarantee to find Chili when he's upset.... eating donuts!

They soon find him scarfing his face, and the food seems to have somewhat carved him though he's still irritated when he hears about Cress. He almost fires up again when Iris tells him he sounds like a kid for complaining that Cress is probably happy he's gone, but Cilan defuses the situation. Speaking for himself AND Cress, he tells Chili that they all care about each other and have a strong family bond. Chili has to admit he is right, and he's frustrated because he can't find answers to the questions that have been on his mind.

They all sit down and get some drinks, and Chili explains that he let himself get upset about Cress' all-offense "accusation" and started thinking about changing his techniques. When he arrived in Driftveil he heard Cilan was in town and decided to go challenge him to see how well his techniques worked. Cilan ponders and suggests that Chili show him what he has learned on his brief journey, and suggests an evaluation - that IS what he does, after all! Chili is delighted with the idea, but doesn't he need Pansear first? Chili laughs that he knows exactly where Pansear is.... angrily scarfing his face!

Yes, like trainer like Pokémon. He calls out an apology to Pansear which angrily tosses an apple at him, so Cilan suggests that Pansage sort it out. It rushes up the tree and begins chatting to Pansear, and Ash and Iris are delighted at how similar to Cilan and Chili they are. Pansear doesn't seem to be taking it onboard the way Chili did earlier though, so Chili takes the next step. Clambering up the tree like a monkey himself, he apologises again to Pansear and then tells it his dream - he wants to open the first Fire-Type Gym in Unova, and he wants Pansear to help him achieve his goal. It stares at him with a frown, then grins and they Predator Man-Shake to seal the deal!



MEANWHILE, TEAM ROCKET! At another shrine, James pulls out the Lightning wedge and smashes it against a rock. The shrine glows bright and Meowth says it won't be long now till Thundurus appears.... and they can't wait! Spooky!

But back in Driftveil, it's Evaluation Time! Sitting under a tree in a small park, Cilan discusses the perfect match between Chili and Pansear - high temperatures, gluttonous, spicy hot attacks, anger into strength.... they're delicious! Cilan moves on to Pansear's moves, pointing out that ALL of Pansear's attacks are fire-type moves - it's too simple a recipe. They need balance, instead of always using the same moves why not learn something different? Something that counters Pansear's weakness to water, and a grass-type move would be perfect... so why not Solar Beam?

Iris is confused, wouldn't a defensive move be better? Cilan (sounding cheerfully irritated with the interruption) tells her HE'LL tell HER what HE thinks.... and that's that a defensive move wouldn't fit in with Chili and Pansear at all. No no, for Chili, the best defence is a good offense! Chili is ecstatic, THAT is good connoisseuring! Cilan understands the two of them perfectly!

Cilan explains he learned this from his journey with Ash and Iris - yes it seems he has actually been benefiting from hitching his wagon to Ash's star. Before he left the Gym, he went for balance in all things, so his Pokémon would be able to deal with any threat from any other Pokémon. But meeting Ash and Iris and seeing how they dealt with things has taught him that you need to take into account trainer, personality, compatibility and bond, and the distinct way they use moves. Chili is impressed with Cilan's growth, and asks Pansear if it wants to work on Solar Beam with him. It agrees, and soon he and Pansear are watching a demonstration by Cilan and Pansage. Ash tells Pikachu they should join in too, and Iris and Axew decide to as well, and before you know it you've got a mini T'ai chi demonstration! Hooray for a Chinese martial art demonstrated by Japanese kids dubbed by an American company for an international audience!

Cilan asks Chili is he can hear the voices of the grass and trees. Chili can't, but Cilan says he will once he opens his heart. Iris and Ash lie and say that they think they can, and Chili pretends that he does as well - it's soft and gentle but it is there. Cilan tells them to concentrate the absorbed sunlight into a single point and then unleash it. Pansage does it, and Pansear follows through and.... nothing happens. Chili can't understand why, but Cilan laughs that he does need to allow a little time.

So how best to quickly show a passage of time? A montage of course... and even better, a ROCKY montage! Soon we see Pansear undertaking a series of Rocky-esque training sequences - running for stamina, one-armed push-ups, sit-ups on a bench, working the punching bag (a fruit in the tree branches) and then successfully running up the stairs and jumping up and down in victory - yo Chilidrian I did it!

Regathering, they try again - Pansage and Pansear opening their hearts to the voices of the grass and trees, gathering the sunlight and releasing it in... dual solar beams! Pansear did it! It learned Solar Beam in like 2 hours or something! But now that it has learned a new move, Cilan says it is time to look at the other moves it has. He suggests that Flame Charge raises Attack Speed but can be used to dodge attacks too - he needs to learn to endure attacks, turn his anger into energy and strengthen his moves.

Chili is delighted, and roars that he wants to have a battle now! Ash wants some practise too, so he insists that HE and Chili battle, which the hot-headed brother is more than happy to do. They head to a battlefield to throw down, and Oshawott leaps out of his Pokéball eager to show off. This suits the twerps perfectly, since Oshawott will have an advantage over Pansear.

The battle begins and Chili instantly opens with a Fire Blast, blocked by a Water Gun from Oshawott. Next is Fire Punch against Razor Shell, and the two moves seem to be even. Cilan is pleased with the way the battle is going, and next up is a Flame Charge against a Tackle... and Pansear gets the best of the moves. Before Oshawott can recover, Pansear hits a Fire Punch and sends Oshawott flying... but it recovers in mid-air and Ash eagerly calls for an Aqua-Jet. Pansear uses its speed to dodge the attack, but Oshawott can control Aqua-Jet now and comes back around for more. Chili declares offense IS the best defence and counters with a Fire Punch. The two moves break off, even again - Iris can't understand, Oshawott's moves should be super-effective against Pansear. Ash sends in Oshawott with back to back Razor Shells for some close combat, but all Pansear does is block and block, taking the hits which are super-effective. Iris doesn't understand because apparently she DOESN'T LISTEN, while Cilan is delighted that Chili is taking his words to heart. Chili calls out to Pansear to take the hits and let its anger build and convert it to energy. With a roar, Pansear blasts out an aura of fire and then unleashes Solar Beam. Oshawott is astonished, unable to dodge despite Ash calling out to do so, and takes a full blast of Solar Beam and gets knocked the fuck out - Chili wins! Pansear wins! Cilan's evaluation wins!

As the sun sets, Cilan and Chili say goodbye, with the latter saying he'll return home and make up with Cress. With a wave he heads away, Pansear on his back and the bond between the two of them greater than ever. As the twerps wave their goodbye, Nurse Joy rushes out all excited to tell some little kid she doesn't know that Clay called and said he could come get his ass kicked. Ash is delighted, he gets his Gym Battle! So the episode ends with everybody happy, in particular Cilan who got to help his brother and demonstrate his own character growth.

They're not the only ones happy though - Team Rocket will be too. Because at Milos Island at the latest defiled shrine, thunder rolls and lightning strikes. The elements are unhappy and Thundurus cannot be far behind - this storyarc is....

BEST QUOTES

"You're the referee Ash, not the cheerleader!" "I'll pull it out!"

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