Harley Rides Again (Japanese: ゴンベのデビュー戦！ハーリーと真剣勝負！！, Hepburn: Munchlax's Debut Battle! An Earnest Fight with Harley!!) is the 15th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
Synopsis[]
May is preparing for the Pokémon Contest in Wisteria Town when her old rival Harley shows up and vows to beat her. He's even got one more Ribbon than she does! Harley also runs into Team Rocket, who offer to help him beat May if he'll help them steal Pikachu. Harley just laughs and laughs at the idea, infuriating Jessie.
May starts the Contest with a dazzling display from Squirtle, and Harley brings out Ariados for an impressive but scary show. During the appeal, Wobbuffet suddenly falls onto the stage, then runs away. As May and Harley move on to the next round, Pikachu and Ash investigate this odd occurrence. Chasing after Wobbuffet, they find Team Rocket busy stealing Pokémon—Wobbuffet fell onto the stage because it fell out of their balloon. Team Rocket tries to convince Ash they're really big May fans, but Pikachu quickly sends them packing.
Harley and May make it to the Contest finals, and Harley's brought his Octillery. Moves like Constrict and Octozooka hit hard, but Munchlax strikes back with Metronome. Harley has Octillery use Rest to restore its health, so now Munchlax must knock it out before it wakes up! But at the last minute, Octillery wakes up and defeats Munchlax with Octazooka. May's not too upset about her loss, though. She has her next Pokémon Contest to look forward to—and a message from an anonymous admirer. Could it be Drew...[1]
Episode plot[]
The heroes have arrived to Wisteria Town. May sends a ball and Munchlax uses Focus Punch to pop it, letting small pieces of paper in different colors out. May decides to use Munchlax, even if it is its first time in the Contest. Brock tells her not to repeat the same mistake she did last time, so she promises not to. Eevee wants to be in the Contest, though May tells it needs some practice first. She decides to use Squirtle, then Munchlax. Suddenly, they hear a group of girls gushing over Brock's Bonsly and how cute it is. Brock is very happy, but the girls run away as Harley comes. Harley then turns to May, promising to defeat her. She tells him that she has two ribbons, but is shocked when she sees three ribbons in Harley's ribbon case. They both bicker that they will win. Harley goes away to get prepared. May is angry, but she still wants to win the ribbon.
Harley passes and Team Rocket (dressed as merchants) offer him Pokéblocks. They come to give him info, so Harley recognizes them as the ones who May makes them blast off. They offer him info about May, but they want him to help in their plan to get Pikachu. Harley laughs about this deal - if they are losers, helping them will also make him a loser, so he declines. Team Rocket is mad and promise vengeance on Harley. The announcer explains the rules, while Ash, Brock, Max, Eevee and Pikachu want to see the performance. First is May. May sends Squirtle - it begins with Rapid Spin, then follows with Bubble, filling the building with beautiful bubbles. Harley still thinks he can do better than that. Squirtle uses Ice Beam, popping the bubbles and making an ice sculpture.
After other performances, it is Harley's turn. He sends Ariados. Ariados begins with Spider Web. Ariados goes on the web and onto the top. Ariados falls, but does not hit the ground, but goes up and down. The audience is impressed, but Ariados spins and covers itself in web, scaring the audience, the announcer and the judges. Harley goes to finish, but suddenly Wobbuffet falls to the stage. Wobbuffet stands up and runs in terror, seeing Ariados. Pikachu and Ash go to see what happened exactly. The screen displays the next eight contestants, among which are May and Harley. Harley still wants to defeat her, but May thinks how funny it'll be when she defeats him, so she goes to prepare herself.
The Contest battles begin. A Coordinator sends Politoed and May her Munchlax. Munchlax uses Solar Beam, so Politoed counters with Water Gun. However, Munchlax fires and Politoed's attack is stopped, as well as Politoed defeated. Meanwhile, Team Rocket take other Coordinator's Pokémon, pulling them up while they are distracted. Wobbuffet comes, so they remark it is unscathed and healthy. However, Ash and Pikachu come. Team Rocket explains they wanted to help May beat Harley, but are blasted off when they couldn't explain why the Pokémon they took.
The final fight is Harley vs. May. May sends Munchlax and Harley his Octillery. Munchlax starts with Focus Punch, but Octillery jumps and uses Constrict. Octillery wraps Munchlax, making it unable to see anything. Octillery uses Octazooka, knocking Munchlax and depleting May's points. Munchlax uses Solar Beam, but is disrupted by Sludge Bomb. Harley taunts May to go home, however May tells him it is not over yet. Munchlax uses Metronome, spinning its fingers, but nothing is done. However... Octillery is struck by lightning - Metronome turned to Thunder! Harley is upset, but calms himself down, as he orders Octillery to rest. Octillery renews itself, so Munchlax tackles it. Munchlax follows with Focus Punch and tackles it.
However, Octillery wakes up and uses Octazooka. Munchlax is knocked out and defeated, so Harley is the winner. Harley receives the ribbon. Later, May gives Munchlax a lot of food for giving its best. Lillian comes and gives May a poster, in which she can compete in Chrysanthemum Island's Pokémon Contest. May tells she will be there. Also, Lillian gives her a letter and a rose. The heroes believe that it must be from Drew, who anticipates May at the Chrysanthemum Pokémon Contest.
Debuts[]
Pokémon[]
Trivia[]
- This episode's title is a reference to the film, Herbie Rides Again.
Cultural references[]
- After finding out that May managed to land a Move on his Octillery, the face Harley makes is reminiscent to the historical painting, The Scream by Edvard Munch back in 1893.
Mistakes[]
- When the camera shows May and Squirtle from behind after their appeal, her skirt is red instead of white.
- Lillian said that the Trainer who earns five Ribbons moves on to the Grand Festival, when she should have said "Coordinators".
References[]
- ^ (n.d.) . "Harley Rides Again | Pokémon TV (pokemon.com)". From The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024.
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| See also | ||
| Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire | ||