ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
756: Curtain Up, Unova League!	762: Kaimaku: Isshu Rigu Higaki Taikai! Satoshi tai Shuti!	Ash's final Trip?			The Unova League begins, and Ash takes on Trip already!	Nope	Things coming full circle isn't always desirable!

Today finds the twerps.... holy shit, they're at Vertress City! THEY'RE AT VERTRESS CITY! THEY'RE AT VERTRESS CITY! They say they can't believe they're there after such a long journey, and quite honestly I'm shocked because in only a handful of episodes they went from Iris' home village to another town to Vertress City and now they're ready for Ash to take part in the Unova League! Many other eligible trainers are also there, moving happily about amongst the merchandise and food stalls that latch on to these big events. Each one represents a potential rival for Ash, each has gotten their 8 badges and earned a spot. Iris tells Ash she wants him to beat them all, and he agrees, and they rush together to register his spot. Because the time wasting is over, and it's time to...



They stop by a fountain, Ash unable to stop looking at the various other trainers and wondering which of them he will battle. They spot the main battlefield and the sub-battlefields surrounding it - it sure is a good thing that nobody knew the location of the Unova League until very recently but they chose a city that just so happens to have a huge pre-existing multi-arena structure!

Ash is psyched, but not as much as Bianca who comes bursting onto the scene in typical fashion, smashing straight into Ash and sending him flying 10-15 feet through the air and into the fountain. He gets out and wrings the water out of his hat - he's gone from stripping to his underwear to just drying out his jacket to just wringing out his hat, is he developing a thin coating of oil over his skin?

Bianca has gotten her 8 Gym Badges, though it was a close run thing that required a hell of a lot of work from her (while the twerps have been bumming around at Cynthia's guesthouse). She tells them how excited she is to see them, and laughs off Ash's remonstration about knocking him into the water again. Stephan shows up as well, happy to see them but in some despair that Ash got his name wrong again... until he realises that Ash got it right! And then Iris says it and gets it right too, and Stephan does a happy dance while Ash and Iris insist that they are just saying it the same way they've ALWAYS said it (I told you so!).

A helicopter catches their attention and they look up to see Virgil arriving with Eevee on his shoulder, Davy flying the copter. They land and Davy wishes him luck and tells him to do him and their dad proud. The twerps arrive and introduce Virgil to Stephan and Bianca, and he offers to go and register all together. On the way they bump into Trip, who is surprised that Ash got his 8 badges but is otherwise surprisingly friendly. It seems he is still a somewhat less intense person following the lesson that Alder gave him, and he gives a jolly warning to Ash not to get knocked out of the tournament until he has a chance to have a match against him.

Well, very few people would have suspected this kind of attitude BEFORE the Unova League even began!

At the registration desk, Ash shows his Gym Badges to Nurse Joy and scans his Pokédex, which officially registers him. Stephan, Bianca and Virgil follow up, and then they head up the road towards the hotel towers where the League Participants are being put up (free of charge of course). Stephan wants to head to the sauna to let the stress wash away, amusing Iris who says he sounds like an old man. They spot a tent in the woods alongside the road and Ash thinks it is cool that a trainer is roughing it. A Riolu emerges from the tent and they wonder if that means the other occupant is Cameron - and it is! He is pleased to see Ash, asking what took him so long, he's been camped out for 3 days already. Iris asks why he is using a tent (this is wild child nature loving Iris asking this question!) when he would have been given a free room when he registered. Cameron proves he really is even stupider than Ash when he asks what a Registered is, a Pokémon? Even Ash can't believe the stupidity, Cameron has been in Vertress City for 3 days and he hasn't even registered yet!

Nurse Joy's voice travels over the loudspeakers set up around the city, informing everybody that the registrations for the Unova League have now closed. Ash is horrified, grabbing Cameron by the wrist and dragging the protesting idiot down the road. He explains that if he doesn't register, he CAN'T COMPETE and Cameron finally gets the message, freaking out as well. They return to the registration desk where Joy and Audino have packed up and are preparing to leave, where the two boys beg and plead with her to make an exception for Cameron, who has been in Vertress City for 3 days operating under the impression that he only needed to show up to compete. Joy finally takes pity, allowing Cameron to register.

If he is the one to beat Ash, I'm going to plotz.

They meet up the other twerps outside and Ash admits he's not that surprised that Cameron did this, openly saying to everybody that Cameron is a strong trainer but sometimes spaces out. Cameron laughs nervously, and then tells Ash that he has a something to tell him... only he can't remember what it was, so he snaps the sweatband on his head till he remembers - it's a secret weapon he is bringing along to help him win the Unova League. What is it? He's not telling, it's a secret! So the thing he had to tell Ash was... something he can't tell him!

They head to the hotel together where they share a big meal, Cilan staring with despair at the other three boys making pigs of themselves while he, Iris and Bianca show a little bit more class. Stephan and Cameron go to the sauna, where Cameron struggles to put up with the heat as well as Stephan, and then Ash goes to contact Juniper and organise swapping out Pokémon. That night, they settle down to get some sleep - Ash, Cilan and Iris are sharing a room of course despite the room only being in Ash's name and Iris being a girl alone with two young men. Ash has trouble sleeping, getting up and standing with Pikachu on the balcony looking out over the lit up stadiums, and talks with Pikachu about how far they've come, remembering all the various Gym Leaders they've faced along the way. He and Pikachu get all fired up, waking up Iris who tells him to go to sleep, he won't do well tomorrow if he's too tired to do anything!

The next day the Unova League begins (this is really happening, they're not pulling some last minute hold up bullshit!). Fireworks go off, a large number of trainers are inside the main arena which is packed with every seat taken. Freddy the Scoop has a dramatic entrance, leaping out of a helicopter and parachuting down to the arena floor and running to his announce desk. He welcomes everybody, bringing their attention to Officer Jenny who lights the torch to signal the start of the Tournament. Before the MAIN main event can start, qualifying rounds have to take place the thin the herd somewhat - there are a lot more than the comparatively lame amount of competitors that we've seen in previous Unova contests, and they need to be winnowed down to a manageable number. Each trainer will get one Pokémon to use in these preliminary qualifying round, and they will be randomly paired off now. On the big screen, we see that there are 128 trainers who have managed to get 8 Gym Badges (and remembered to register!), and only 64 of them will make it through to the "proper" tournament.

The twerps and their friends quickly scan over the match-ups, looking for their opponents. Stephan is facing off with a non-descript fellow in khaki and a backwards cap; Bianca is up against a tired looking nerdy dude (not quite Conway); and Ash is....



Oh shiiiiiit.

Either Ash or Trip is getting knocked out in the preliminary qualifying round!

Cilan suggests this might work to Ash's benefit, he's so pumped up currently that the challenge of taking on Trip might be the best thing for him. Trip approaches Ash and tells him he's looking forward to facing him, giving him a smile before moving on - it feels so odd that Ash doesn't have a heated rival whose defeat would prove a defining moment for him, because the guy who was going to fit that role has had HIS defining moment already and moved on and become a better person without Ash!

Stephan is the first of the twerps to have his battle, facing off against Radley who has what sounds like a poor excuse for a British accent. He's using a Braviary against Stephan's Zebstrika, with both Pokémon managing to dodge the other's attacks until Zebstrika finally gets hit in the face with an attack. Radley tries to press the advantage, but Zebstrika recovers and turns things around, blasting Braviary from range and then closing in to finish it off - Radley got his 8 badges but he gets no further, he's out of the Unova League.

The nerdy Michael has his Watchog face off with Bianca's Emboar and.... Watchog takes an asskicking early. Watchog shows itself to be surprisingly resilient and Michael tries to stay on the offensive, but Emboar's designed to take a beating and keep on ticking, and Michael has to break off his offensive strategy. While they continue to battle, Virgil is using Vaporeon against a punky looking kid called Ultimo and his Crustle. Vaporeon is able to dodge every move Crustle makes with ease, and blasts the fuck out of it as Ultimo is left powerless to do anything but watch.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this new buddy of Ash's.

Cameron and his Ferrothorn after facing a lean, muscular young kid called Keno's monstrous Eelektross, but while Cameron has his faults as an idiot, he is capable of battling, even if he does surprisingly blame Ferrothorn for getting hit by a move. Keno seems to be getting the better of the match, with Cameron continuing to blame Ferrothorn for taking hits. But as their battle continues, the REAL main event of the preliminary qualifiers is taking place elsewhere - Ash vs. Trip!

Iris and Cilan wonder what Pokémon Trip will use, figuring he has probably picked up all kinds by now. Trip goes with what brought him to the dance though, using his Serperior, the first Pokémon he ever got. Ash was there that day that it all began for Trip, and he's been thinking carefully about what Pokémon he wants to use too. The best Pokémon from a type point of view would be Pignite, but Ash sends in his number one buddy Pikachu, saying that it was always his intention to use Pikachu in the opening round of the Unova League. Iris is surprised but Cilan is pleased despite the type disadvantage, confident that Ash has a plan.



Trip seems curious too, while Ash insists that Pikachu is every bit as fast as Serperior. This doesn't really seem to be the case though, as Serperior is able to dodge Pikachu's fastest moves, and in fact Pikachu actually looks a little clumsy in comparison. Ash won't let up though, Quick Attack and Iron Tail didn't work so he goes with Electro Ball, but Serperior is even able to dodge that, spinning herself into a circle that the Electro Ball sails harmlessly through. The crowd is impressed by Serperior's speed and grace, while Trip has decided it is time for him to go on the offensive. He orders a Dragon Tail and Pikachu isn't able to dodge it in time, getting sent flying backwards. Ash can't believe it, while Trip beams happily - the show has come full circle and it seems like it is going to end as it began... with Trip and his first Pokémon putting a beating on Ash's Pikachu!

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