ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
726: Commanding The Clubsplosion Crown!	732: Kessen Donnamaito! Nageki tai Dageki!	Sawk, Drop and Roll!			The Clubsplosion comes to an end	Huh?	Muscles aren't everything, except for when they are

The Clubsplosion is still going, but things are down to the semi-finals now and the business end of the tournament. Bianca is facing Stephan and Ash will face Montgomery, and then it's all down to the final match and victory! Who will win? Who is going to be....



Don George has introduced the first semi-final (getting Stephan's name imperceptibly wrong) and now it is time to get into things. The twerps and their rivals/associates are watching with great interest, though Burgundy tries to get in some digs at Cilan while Georgia and Iris take great delight in mocking each other despite Axew's attempts to make peace. Ash could give a shit about any of that, there's a battle going on! A battle! BATTTTTTTTLE!

Stephan orders Bulk Up and Sawk begins flexing those biceps, but Bianca is able to resist her natural desire to lose her goddamn mind over all the muscles and send in Emboar with a Hammer Arm. Sawk dodges and Bianca yells that dodging is for cowards! Sawk hits a Karate Chop on Emboar but it is able to keep fighting, trying an Arm Thrust that Sawk dodges. Bianca can't believe he is still dodging rather than fighting, but Stephan quickly accommodates by having Sawk use Close Combat to smash a number of quick, hard attacks on Emboar. Bianca sees her opportunity though and has Emboar grab Sawk while in close, then throw it over its shoulder and into the ground, much to her delight and Stephan's horror.



Sawk gets up and uses Bulk Up again, and Bianca orders a long range Flamethrower attack. Sawk is able to dodge it again, Bianca moaning that dodging isn't fair, but changes her turn when Sawk leaps in with a Karate Chop and squawks for Emboar to get out of the way. It isn't fast enough though, taking a savage chop directly to the head and getting knocked out - Emboar is out, Bianca is out, Stephan is going to the final of the Clubsplosion!

Burgundy was impressed by the power of the Karate Chop, but Cilan waxes far more lyrical than her, succeeding in pissing her off again. Bianca is on her knees before Emboar's unconscious body, thanking it for fighting so hard before recalling it to its Pokéball. Iris is surprised that Bianca lost, while Ash yells out happily to Stephan that he'll meet him in the final before Cilan reminds him that he has to get to his own battle.

Don George introduces Ash and Montgomery and the battle quickly begins, with Scraggy using Leer on Throh... which uses Leer back? Only not, as Montgomery explains, Throh isn't using Leer, it's just that intimidating naturally! Scraggy backs up in alarm, but Ash tells him not to be upset, and promises that he'll use Leer too! Scraggy heads back in, while Ash glowers at a completely unimpressed Throh, which beckons Scraggy to come on and fight.

Ash orders Focus Blast, but Montgomery doesn't bother to order Throh to dodge, and it just stands there and watches as the Focus Blast approaches, then wavers off to the side harmlessly. Cilan figures that Montgomery paid attention to Ash's battles and learned from it (see Trip!), and Ash figures that if it didn't work once, if he does it multiple times maybe it will! So Scraggy lets rip with a number of Focus Blasts, each of which sail harmlessly past the motionless Throh and Montgomery.

Montgomery offers Ash the chance for some in-your-face battling by ordering Superpower from Throh and instructing it to grab Scraggy. Ash is delighted, he loves in-your-face battling! He sends Scraggy in with Hi Jump Kick, but this is exactly what Montgomery wanted. With a condescending,"Perfect!" he orders Throh to grab Scraggy out of midair with one huge paw, then use Circle Throw to send Scraggy flying backwards, his own momentum used against him. Scraggy gets back up and is still ready to fight though, and rushes in with Headbutt and..... well, that works just as well as you might expect!

Scraggy is tossed clear again, but the two of them are fairly close together and Ash sees the chance to use Focus Blast again. If it hits it is sure to do plenty of damage, but once again Throh doesn't move and Montgomery doesn't order it to. The Focus Blast approaches, wavers, turns and sails harmlessly past once more.

Scraggy tries to dash clear but he isn't fast enough, and Throh grabs him by the pack of the pants, hauls him in close and leaps high into the air, then spins around and tosses Scraggy to the ground with Seismic Toss - Montgomery wins and is through to the final! Ash is out, Scraggy is down and only Stephan stands between Montgomery and victory now! Don George calls a lunch break, everybody is going to need some time to settle down in time for the final battle.

In the Pokémon Center, Bianca feels up a less than pleased Sawk while Ash - indifferent to his loss since he did the best he could - happily chows down on food and wonders why Stephan isn't doing the same. Cilan brings in a plate of food for Stephan and a bowl for Sawk, telling them that he has made them a specially prepared, easily digested meal ahead of their battle. They both set to scoffing it down, Georgia noting that they can calm down, nobody is going to steal their food. Burgundy points out that if they eat too fast, their easily digestible meal won't be so easy to digest. Stephan agrees and begins eating more slowly, shocking everyone when he says he isn't planning any particular strategy against Montgomery and Throh, he's just going to take it to them in in-your-face battling. Sawk remembers Throh shoulder-bumping it earlier and seems fired up to finally get to throw down, while Ash counts off the moves that Throh has demonstrated so far - Circle Throw, Superpower and Seismic Toss. That's only three, maybe there is another move that they are planning to surprise everybody with? Stephan laughs at the suggestion though, reminding them that he rang the Wishing Bell and wished for victory.

Lunch is over and it's time for the final to begin. Don George introduces the finalists - Stephan vs. Montgomery, Sawk vs. Throh. Don George tells Freddy that they should expect a no-holds-barred face to face attack fest. The twerps all shout their encouragement, all of them getting Stephan's name perfectly right while he moans that they all got it wrong.

The battle is finally on and Sawk goes straight in with Low Sweep. Throh is able to grab Sawk out of midair though and use Circle Throw, but Sawk rolls with it, landing safely and leaping straight back to its feet. Stephan sends Sawk straight back in with Karate Chop, but Throh is able to grab its hand with its own, blocking the attack then uses Circle Throw again. Once again, Sawk is able to drop and roll with the attack, but Throh is expecting that and has slipped behind Sawk with surprising speed and grabs it up with Bind. Ash was right! ASH WAS RIGHT!

Sawk struggles for breath as Stephan yells for it to prise free, when suddenly he has an idea - Bulk Up! He poses himself and breathes steam out of his nose, and Sawk hears and performs the move, bulking up and breaking Throh's grip before using Close Combat and smashing Throh with elbows and headbutts before tossing Throh overhead and then following up with Low Sweep, this time connecting. Throh is on the backfoot for the first time, but retains presence of mind enough to grab up Sawk with another Bind, pinning Sawk's arms to its side and squeezing tight in a bearhug. Montgomery orders Throh to toss Sawk with Superpower and it does, then chases after and tries to land a blow on Sawk which dodges aside just in time, Throh's fist smashing into the ground. Don George is near tears of joy at the muscular display going on, while the crowd applauds and Ash and Iris clap along with them. Burgundy tries to wax lyrical on the beauty of the battle, only for Cilan to once again upstage her, much to Georgia's delight.



Sawk uses Bulk-Up again but Throh comes right in and grabs Sawk by the face, grabs it around the arms and leaps into the air for Seismic Toss. As they plummet towards the ground though, Sawk fights free and both Pokémon fall to the ground and crash down at the same time. Both remain lying motionless as Montgomery and Stephan cry for them to get up. Both start moving again and Throh is the first to get up, delighting Montgomery who sees a change to grab Sawk before it can recover. He sends it in to use Bind as Sawk struggles to rise, but Throh is moving slow from the damage it has taken as well. Stephan orders Close Combat and Sawk responds, launching a series of attacks despite facing the other way, and Throh is sent flying backwards. To its credit, it staggers back up pretty much immediately, and focuses through the sweat before it starts to approach. Sawk watches it coming, then nods its head slowly, turns and.... WALKS AWAY!?! Freddy can't understand but Don George is too experienced to be confused, he knows that Sawk is walking away because the battle is over - Throh just doesn't know it yet. As Sawk walks away, Throh struggles to follow, then collapses to the ground... it's over! Stephan wins! Stephan and Sawk win!



Dawwww!

Montgomery is surprisingly gracious in defeat. He recalls Throh and approaches Stephan, saying that brute strength wasn't enough for him today. He extends a hand and promises that he will beat him next time, but for now Stephan is the worthy winner. Stephan shakes his hand back, then grins and says he still means to win the next time too! The crowd applauds, as do the twerps, while Don George is ecstatic that his Clubsplosion was such a success despite only having 16 participants.

Stephan is given a poster of the Pokémon Vitamin Drinks he has won a year's supply of, and Don and Freddy ask the crowd to give Stephan a hand. He shuts them all up though, roaring that they got his name wrong (they didn't), but... uhh... it's cool!

With the Clubsplosion over and the sun setting, the twerps and their rivals/associates prepare to part ways for a time. Burgundy warns Cilan that she will be an A-Class Connoisseur when they next meet, and Cilan - completely missing the implied threat - happily tells her he looks forward to it. As she fumes, Georgia demands to know when Iris is going to become a Dragon Master so she (Georgia) can beat her up. Iris cheerfully admits it will probably be quite some time, but she'll let her know. Ash and Stephan promise that the next time they meet they'll get to battle since they didn't have a chance this time, and Ash reveals he is heading for his 7th Badge now. Bianca is impressed, not mentioning how many badges she has yet, and with that they're all on their way. The Clubsplosion is over, Stephan is the winner (he closes the episode screaming at the narrator for getting his name wrong) but we're back next week to the adventures of Ash, Cilan and Iris!

Who knows, maybe Team Rocket will exist again!?!

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