DP128

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Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP129 : Pillars of Friendship! →

A Pyramiding Rage!

DP128   EP594 バトルピラミッド！シンジVSジンダイ！！ Battle Pyramid! Shinji VS Jindai!!

First broadcast Japan May 21, 2009 United States October 17, 2009

English themes Opening Battle Cry - (Stand Up!) Ending

Japanese themes Opening ハイタッチ！ Ending もえよ　ギザみみピチュー！

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 小山賢 Masaru Koyama Assistant director 小山賢 Masaru Koyama Animation director 広岡歳仁 Toshihito Hirooka Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

A Pyramiding Rage! (Japanese: バトルピラミッド！シンジVSジンダイ！！ Battle Pyramid! Shinji VS Jindai!!) is the 128th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 594th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on May 21, 2009 and aired in the United States on October 17, 2009.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

Not long after Ash won his Icicle Badge at the Snowpoint Gym, his rival Paul challenged Gym Leader Candice to a battle! Once the match is set for the next day, Paul silently walks away. But he’s not alone for long—his big brother Reggie is in town, and once Reggie stops to talk to Paul, Ash and his friends catch up too! To top it all off, the Battle Pyramid flies right over their heads. Ash has already beaten this Kanto Battle Frontier facility, but Reggie admits he lost his own Battle Pyramid challenge.

Brandon, the Battle Pyramid King, is here to meet Maria, a maiden from the Snowpoint Temple. Paul has other ideas: he challenges Brandon to a battle, and Brandon accepts! Paul was a novice Trainer when he witnessed Reggie’s defeat at the Battle Pyramid, and it made a deep impression on him. Now he’s determined to beat Brandon in a full 6-on-6 battle and do what his brother couldn’t! Faced with Brandon’s Regirock, Paul swaps his Magmar out for Hariyama, but Regirock easily defeats Hariyama and then Electabuzz. Brandon sends in Registeel so Paul sends in Magmar, but Magmar isn’t even making a dent on Registeel. Paul switches in Nidoking instead, and Registeel scores an easy win.

Paul is quickly losing his cool; once Brandon’s Regice wipes the floor with Paul’s Lairon and then paralyzes Paul’s Ursaring, Paul gives up and lets Brandon’s Regirock knock his Ursaring out. Magmar is all Paul has left, but Regirock easily defeats Magmar too. Brandon is disappointed, but he promises they’ll battle again once Paul learns to control his emotions. As everyone files out of the Pyramid, Reggie suggests that Paul should battle Ash, and Brandon thinks it’s a good idea. The two rivals will battle in 10 days’ time—but just as that’s decided, Maria rushes up in a panic. Something terrible has happened at the Snowpoint Temple!

Plot

Just after Ash has earned the Icicle Badge, Paul arrives at the Snowpoint Gym and challenges Candice to a Gym battle. Candice tells Paul that her Pokémon just finished a battle and that they need to rest and asks if he would be okay waiting until tomorrow. As Paul agrees and turns to leave, Ash shows off his latest Badge and asks Paul how many more he has obtained, but Paul rudely brushes him off and walks away. Dawn tells Zoey that Paul is Ash's rival, while Candice notices how fierce their rivalry is compared to Dawn and Zoey's.

As night falls on the Pokémon Center, Zoey is surprised to learn that Paul was Chimchar's original Trainer, and she remarks on the stark difference between Ash and Paul. Dawn notices that Ash is missing, so they go and look outside. Ash meets up with Paul (who is in the middle of a training session with his Electabuzz and Magmar) to thank him, mentioning that the defense strategy that Paul's Torterra taught his Grotle helped out a lot in his Gym battle. Paul stops his training session and recalls Magmar before heading inside with Electabuzz, criticizing Ash for using a Grass-type Pokémon against an Ice-type Gym Leader and relying on what he calls "blind faith". Zoey loses her cool hearing this, angrily going off on Paul for his attitude and superiority complex, forcing Dawn to intervene. Ash attempts to wave Zoey off, but Paul continues inside without another word, leaving Zoey wanting Candice to completely crush him in their Gym battle the following day.

The next day, after dropping off a Pokémon he was caring for, Reggie stops by after noticing his younger brother Paul outside the Center. Inside, Ash and his friends notice Reggie as Dawn tells Zoey that he is Paul's older brother, before stepping outside to greet him. Reggie asks Paul if he can watch his match against Candice, which Paul allows. Zoey notices that Paul is as much a complete contrast to his brother as he is to Ash. Just then, a huge shock wave and shadow get all of their attention, and they look up to see the Battle Pyramid. Ash identifies it and reveals to everyone that he conquered it and won the Brave Symbol, which greatly surprises Paul. Team Rocket spots the Pyramid from the town, while Candice spots it from outside her Gym.

Inside the Pyramid control room, Samuel relays a streaming video feed from Ash at the Pokémon Center, with Brandon pleasantly surprised. As the Pyramid touches down in a clearing, Reggie drives Ash and his friends to the location. Ash and Brock tell Dawn about the Battle Frontier, and how there are several battle facilities spread throughout Kanto and that each is run by a Frontier Brain, with Brandon, the Pyramid King, as the last one to defeat and the most powerful one of them all. After Brock finishes this explanation, Paul is shown seemingly lost in thought. Brock asks Reggie about the missing Brave Symbol he noticed at his home back in Veilstone City, after which Paul closes his eyes and seemingly falls deeper into thought. Reggie confirms that the Pyramid was the only facility in which he was unable to achieve victory, before his usual smile drops into a serious expression as he remarks that it was also the day he realized that he had a lot more to learn. The group arrives the Pyramid and meets up with Brandon, who is pleased to see so many familiar faces in Ash, Brock, Reggie, and even Paul, which prompts Paul to step forward and challenge Brandon to a battle right here and now. Candice arrives on a Dodrio, introducing herself to Brandon and expresses her admiration of the Battle Pyramid. As an SUV approaches, Brandon introduces them to Temple Maiden Maria, who Brock gets weak-kneed over, though Croagunk calms him down. Zoey fills everyone in about the Snowpoint Temple while Team Rocket listens in, Brandon mentioning that the Temple was his reason for coming to Sinnoh. However, he notices the determination in Paul's eyes and feels obligated to accept his challenge, so he tells Samuel to go with Maria to the Temple, planning to meet up with them once the battle is finished. Paul reveals that his reason for this sudden battle request is because he wishes to fulfill what his brother couldn't, and allows everyone to watch their battle.

Inside, Brock offers to be the referee, but Paul says that there is no need for one and declares that the match will be a Full Battle with substitutions allowed. He chooses to lead with Magmar, while Brandon chooses Regirock, the same Pokémon he started with when battling Reggie. Reggie flashes back to his own battle with Brandon; he had defeated the other six Frontier Brains, and defeating Brandon would allow him to become a Frontier Brain candidate. Paul had just started his Pokémon journey with his Turtwig, and traveled to Kanto in order to watch Reggie's battle. Despite his best efforts, Reggie lost without defeating a single one of Brandon's Pokémon. Paul and Turtwig were both shocked by Reggie's landslide defeat, and Brandon harshly told Reggie that while it was an enjoyable battle, there was nothing special or unique about his battle style, and finished by asking him where his inner strength is. Paul took these words to heart, and from that point on, he and Turtwig became determined to find their own inner strengths. As the scene switches back to the present, Brock realizes that Paul's obsession with power stems from Reggie's loss against Brandon. Brandon states to Paul he can take on anything he brings, because that is his battling style. Just then, Paul surprises everyone by immediately recalling Magmar before the battle has even started, Brock presuming his reasoning being the type disadvantage that Magmar has against Regirock. As a replacement, Paul sends out Hariyama, while Dawn looks it up on her Pokédex. Zoey notes that Hariyama is a much better matchup than Magmar against a Rock-type Pokémon.

The battle begins as Regirock fires Stone Edge, but Hariyama blocks it easily. Paul points out that Rock-type moves aren't very effective against Fighting types like Hariyama and asks if this is a test, Brandon smiling and replying that he will have to find out. Hariyama charges forward and hits with multiple Arm Thrusts, but Regirock bear hugs Hariyama to stop it in its tracks and uses Shock Wave at close range, causing it a surprising amount of damage. Hariyama recovers and goes in for a Force Palm, but Regirock easily dodges it and throws a Focus Punch, knocking Hariyama out. As Paul recalls Hariyama, everyone is impressed at how strong Brandon's Regirock is. Outside, Team Rocket tries to decide whether to climb the Pyramid again or go to the Temple; Jessie wants to ransack the Temple, Meowth wishes to climb the Pyramid, and James is impartial. They hit an impasse and cannot agree on which location to pursue, so Jessie and Meowth play rock-paper-scissors to decide, but it results in a tie.

Meanwhile, Paul sends out Electabuzz and smiles. Although this choice confuses everyone else, Ash predicts Paul's strategy as Electabuzz uses Brick Break to cause Regirock super-effective damage. However, Regirock shows no signs of letting up and fires Stone Edge, and Electabuzz Protects itself. However, the attack is so powerful that it breaks through the barrier and knocks Electabuzz down, which angers Paul, before Regirock follows up with a Hyper Beam that takes Electabuzz out. Paul recalls Electabuzz before Brandon recalls Regirock as well, which benefits him on not having to deal with Hyper Beam's secondary immobilization effect. Brandon replaces it with Registeel, and Paul sends Magmar back out. Magmar lands a Flamethrower, but to everyone's amazement, Registeel takes the super-effective attack without much falter, before launching an Iron Head attack. Paul commands Magmar to block it and use Will-O-Wisp, but Magmar fails to block the attack and ends up flinching. Irritated, Paul recalls Magmar and deploys Nidoking. Dawn, after looking Nidoking up on her Pokédex, is confused as to why Paul chose a Poison-type Pokémon due to the Steel type's immunity to Poison attacks. Zoey replies that Nidoking is also a Ground type, whose moves are super-effective on Steel types. Registeel fires a Flash Cannon that hits Nidoking squarely in the face, but Nidoking recovers and successfully counterattacks with Earth Power and Double Kick, which are enough to cause Registeel to stumble backwards, but not defeat it. Nidoking launches a Thunderbolt, but Registeel uses Iron Head to absorb the Thunderbolt and hit Nidoking, knocking him out.

Brandon begins to taunt Paul, reminding him that he wanted to defeat the man who defeated his brother and put an end to his Pokémon journey. After recalling Nidoking, Paul tells Brandon that it is specifically because he defeated his brother that he is battling him now; Brandon's ultimate challenge for all Pokémon Trainers is to find their true inner strength, which was something that Reggie was unable to fulfill, but Paul yells that he is different from his brother in that he is already aware of his true inner strength; his will. Up in the stands, Ash watches in complete shock and disbelief at his rival's tantrum and furious state. Brandon chastises Paul, telling him he is dwelling too much on the past and questioning why he is on a journey in the first place. This clearly hits a nerve and Paul furiously sends out his Lairon, which Dawn proceeds to look up on her Pokédex.

Brandon recalls Registeel and brings Regice out. Paul has Lairon use Iron Defense, with Reggie guessing that Paul must want to hang in there and wait for a chance to counterstrike. However, his efforts are futile as Regice freezes Lairon with an Ice Beam, before launching a Zap Cannon that knocks Lairon out before it could even attack once. Paul is clearly destabilized and furiously sends out Ursaring after recalling Lairon. Ursaring goes in for a Hammer Arm and Regice counters with a Focus Punch, creating a massive backlash that knocks both Pokémon backwards. Ursaring prepares to use Focus Blast, but Regice uses Zap Cannon before it can launch the attack, paralyzing it. Paul grows so angry that he gives up on Ursaring, refusing to give it any commands or even recall it. Brandon substitutes Regice for Regirock and has it fire a Stone Edge, and Ursaring is taken out. Paul sends out his last Pokémon, Magmar, but with the type disadvantage and massive difference in strength, everyone knows that Paul is in checkmate at this point. Regirock easily endures Magmar's Flamethrower attack before knocking it out with Shock Wave, therefore giving Brandon a perfect 6-0 victory over Paul. This crushing defeat leaves the normally stoical Paul utterly stupefied, while Ash is dumbstruck at how completely Paul was defeated. Paul regains his composure and silently recalls Magmar, listening with closed eyes as Brandon asks him if the way he battled today is his true battle. At these words, Reggie looks at Paul with intense care. Brandon acknowledges that Paul has done well raising and training his Pokémon, but notes that he allowed his emotions to consume him during the battle, which negatively influenced his decisions. Brandon tells Paul that they will battle again one day when he has learned to discipline himself. Paul silently accepts this and bows solemnly.

Outside, Team Rocket is still split on deciding where to go as James notices Ash and his friends exiting. Outside, Paul decides to postpone his challenge against Candice, so she decides that she and Zoey should have a battle and they leave for the Snowpoint Gym. Paul prepares to leave also, but Reggie stops him and asks if he would be willing to have a Full Battle against Ash, which surprises the both of them. Brandon concurs with this suggestion, thinking that it will offer invaluable experience to both Trainers, so Reggie sets the event at Lake Acuity in ten days. The brothers then leave in Reggie's van as Samuel and Maria arrive, telling Brandon that a situation has occurred at the Snowpoint Temple.

Major events

Paul facing Brandon

• Ash and his friends meet Reggie again.
• Paul learns that Ash has completed the Kanto Battle Frontier before.
• Brandon arrives at Snowpoint City in order to investigate the Snowpoint Temple.
• Ash and Brock encounter Brandon again, while Dawn meets him for the first time.
• Paul challenges Brandon to a Full Battle, but loses.
• Paul is revealed to have obtained a Hariyama, a Nidoking, and a Lairon.
• Reggie suggests that Paul and Ash should have a Full Battle in ten days.

For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Paul
• Zoey
• Candice
• Noland (flashback)
• Greta (flashback)
• Tucker (flashback)
• Lucy (flashback)
• Spenser (flashback)
• Anabel (flashback)
• Brandon
• Reggie
• Samuel
• Maria

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Happiny (Brock's)
• Turtwig (Paul's; flashback)
• Electabuzz (Paul's)
• Ursaring (Paul's)
• Magmar (Paul's)
• Hariyama (Paul's)
• Nidoking (Paul's)
• Lairon (Paul's)
• Glameow (Zoey's)
• Dodrio (Candice's)
• Articuno (Noland's; flashback)
• Medicham (Greta's; flashback)
• Arcanine (Tucker's; flashback)
• Swampert (Tucker's; flashback)
• Milotic (Lucy's; flashback)
• Claydol (Spenser's; flashback)
• Espeon (Anabel's; flashback)
• Regirock (Brandon's)
• Registeel (Brandon's)
• Regice (Brandon's)
• Drapion (Reggie's; flashback)

Trivia

• There is no Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination following this episode.
• This is the first episode starring a Frontier Brain where Scott does not appear.
  • This is also the first time when a Frontier Brain appears after the Battle Frontier arc.
• This is the first episode in which both Paul and Reggie appear in person together.
• In Evolving Strategies!, four episodes after this one, Paul's Ursaring's Ability is revealed to be Guts, which raises the question of why the Ability didn't activate when Ursaring was paralyzed by Regice's Zap Cannon. It may just be that the Ability didn't get a chance to activate, given how quickly after getting paralyzed Ursaring was defeated.
• This is the second time where Paul loses a battle without his opponent losing a single one of their Pokémon, the first being against Cynthia 88 episodes prior.
• If the collision between Regice's Focus Punch and Ursaring's Hammer Arm isn't counted as a hit, all of Paul's Pokémon were knocked out with two hits.
• Team Rocket doesn't blast off or recite their motto in this episode.
• Similarly to the Brazilian Portuguese dub of Ancient Family Matters!, Iron Head is referred to as both Cabeçada de Ferro by Brandon and Cabeça de Ferro by Brock during his explanation of why Paul's Magmar didn't get to use Will-O-Wisp.

Errors

Pikachu's miscolored tail

• When Zoey mentions that Paul is nothing like his brother, Pikachu's tail turns completely yellow.
• During the cinematic accompaniment of Brock explaining the Battle Frontier, Swampert's eyes are colored white instead of orange.
• As Team Rocket listens in on Ash and his friends' conversation about the Snowpoint Temple, the sound of Wobbuffet's Poké Ball opening can be heard despite him already being out.
• In three scenes, Zoey's eyes are colored orange instead of red.
• Regirock's Stone Edge is able to hit Electabuzz through Protect, though nothing except Feint and Shadow Force can do this under normal conditions.
• In the English dub, Reggie says that Paul had traveled to Kanto after he had already started his Sinnoh journey. This is impossible, since it was confirmed in Top-Down Training! that Paul had journeyed through Kanto (and Johto and Hoenn) before starting his Sinnoh journey.
• In the Dutch dub, Brandon tells Regirock to use Rock Smash (Steen Knal) instead of Stone Edge (Steen Rand).
• In the Castilian Spanish dub, the Steel type is referred as the "Iron-type".

Dub edits

• In the English dub, after Ash talks about how Torterra's help paid off during Grotle's battle at the Snowpoint Gym, Paul responds by saying that Ash shouldn't need Torterra's help if he is serious about the Gym battle. In the original Japanese version, Paul wonders why Ash thought he'd have his Torterra with him, since he is preparing to take on the Snowpoint Gym.
• In the English dub, the Pokédex says that Registeel's body has been tempered underground for thousands of years. In the original Japanese version, it is said to be tens of thousands of years.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		對戰金字塔！真司對神代！！
Czech		Pyramidální záležitost
Danish		Et pyramidalsk raseri!
Dutch		De strijd piramide!
Finnish		Pyramidiraivo!
European French		Glaciales retrouvailles !
German		Pyramid-aler Zorn!
Italian		Scontro nella Piramide Lotta!
Korean		배틀 피라미드! 진철 VS 기선!
Norwegian		Et pyramidalt raseri!
Polish		Piramidalny gniew
Portuguese	Brazil	Uma pirâmide de Fúria!
	Portugal	Uma Fúria Piramidal!
Romanian		Calmul Învinge Furia
Russian		Пирамида ярости!
Spanish	Latin America	¡Una Furia Piramidal!
	Spain	¡Una Rabia Piramidal!
Swedish		Pyrande ilska!

← DP127 : Sliding Into Seventh!

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP129 : Pillars of Friendship! →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.