EP052

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Original series

EP053 : The Purr-fect Hero →

Princess vs. Princess

EP052   げきとう！ポケモンひなまつり Fierce Fight! Pokémon Girls' Festival

First broadcast Japan July 9, 1998 United States September 4, 1999

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター Ending ポケットにファンタジー

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 武上純希 Junki Takegami Storyboard 横田和 Kazu Yokota Assistant director 大町繁 Shigeru Ōmachi Animation director 武田優作 Yūsaku Takeda Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de Before this episode re-aired on Kids Station, the scenario credit given was 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka.

Princess vs. Princess (Japanese: げきとう！ポケモンひなまつり Fierce Fight! Pokémon Girls' Festival) is the 52nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 9, 1998, and in the United States on September 4, 1999. It was initially intended to air in Japan on March 3, 1998, but was rescheduled following the EP038 incident.

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

Blurb

Misty and Jessie compete against one another for Queen of the Princess Festival, a day where women rule and the guys have to do whatever the girls tell them. Misty finds out how important friends are when Ash and Brock allow her to use their Pokémon in the tournament. But Jessie manages to lick her competition with a surprise Pokémon of her own.

Plot

While in O-Hina Town, Misty and Jessie enjoy the perks of the Princess Festival, a holiday with events, shopping sales and discounts, festivals, and games that are exclusively for women. Misty goes on a shopping spree, making Ash, Brock, and even Pikachu carry her purchases. At a local park, Jessie shows off her expensive finds, including food and clothing, and hopes that her gifts for the boss will make up for the Team Rocket trio's inability to capture Pikachu. Just then, a Lickitung appears and swallows Jessie's food and attempts to do the same to some of the clothing that she has bought, although it spits it out in disgust instead. Irritated, Jessie calls on Arbok to battle Lickitung. However, Lickitung immediately dispatches Arbok with a huge, sloppy lick to the face. Even angrier now, Jessie throws a Poké Ball and abruptly catches Lickitung out of spite, much to James and Meowth's surprise. Jessie drags James and Meowth with her to do more shopping.

At a store, Jessie encounters Misty, and they fight over a dress, only to have another shopper grab it while they aren't looking. They quickly forget about it when an announcement is made over the store's intercom about the Queen of the Princess Festival contest. Jessie and Misty decide to enter, fueled by their desire for the prize, a set of Pokémon Princess Dolls. The other prize is a picture with a movie star named Fiorella Cappuccino, but they don't show the same interest in him as the other girls and women do.

During the competition, Fiorella, an announcer, and a line of pretty girls dressed in kimonos and crowns, including Jessie and Misty, stand on a stage. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu are awed by Misty's beautiful appearance, as are James and Meowth by Jessie's. The announcer reveals that the contest isn't just a beauty pageant, it is also a Pokémon battle competition. The contestants are split into divisions, and they must use four Pokémon to battle. Misty begs Ash and Brock to let her use their Pokémon for the contest, and they reluctantly loan Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Vulpix to her. When Ash is confused as to why Misty wants to meet Fiorella, she explains that she just wants the dolls, because her sisters all had their own doll sets, while she only got their hand-me-down dolls, which were broken by the time she got them.

Misty wins several matches with Ash and Brock's Pokémon, as well as Staryu. Jessie also wins matches with Arbok, Weezing, and Meowth. Misty and Jessie face off in the finals, but not until after Jessie reminisces about her hatred of the Princess Festivals because, like Misty, she never had a Pokémon Princess Doll of her own, while all of the other girls did. The story brings the emotional trio to tears, and James and Meowth give her support.

During the match, Pikachu makes quick work of Arbok, Weezing, and Meowth. At first, Jessie and James lose hope that she will win the contest, but Meowth reminds her that she caught a Lickitung earlier, and James helps her realize that she still has a chance to win as long as she still has at least one Pokémon left. With a renewed sense of determination, Jessie calls out Lickitung, and the battle continues, with the kids surprised by the appearance of Team Rocket's newest Pokémon. Lickitung easily defeats Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Vulpix with a confusion-inducing lick. Down to her final Pokémon, Misty tries to send out Staryu, but her Psyduck pops out instead. At first, Misty is in despair, thinking that she can never win now. Just then, in an unexpected turn of events, Lickitung's attacks give Psyduck a headache, triggering its potent Psychic powers. Misty wins the match and the Queen of the Princess Festival Contest with Psyduck's Confusion, while blasting off Team Rocket in the process.

In the end, Misty has a courier service deliver the dolls to the Cerulean Gym to make her sisters jealous. As for Team Rocket, James, Meowth, Arbok, Weezing, and Lickitung are all dressed up as Pokémon Princess dolls to make Jessie feel better. Jessie is moved to tears and pretends to be a Pokémon Princess doll along with them.

Major events

Jessie catching Lickitung

• Jessie catches a Lickitung.
• Misty and Jessie enter the Queen of the Princess Festival, with Misty being the winner.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Lickitung (Jessie's)

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Daisy (flashback)
• Lily (flashback)
• Violet (flashback)
• Fiorella Cappuccino
• Yumi
• Announcer
• Crowd

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Butterfree (US and international), Lickitung (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Psyduck (Misty's)
• Vulpix (Brock's)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Lickitung (Jessie's; new; debut)
• Weezing (James's)
• Primeape (Yumi's)
• Raticate
• Fearow
• Parasect
• Machoke
• Graveler
• Kingler
• Cubone
• Tangela
• Pinsir
• Jynx (announcer briefly morphs into Jynx; doll)
• Jigglypuff (announcer briefly morphs into Jigglypuff; doll)
• Oddish (announcer briefly morphs into Oddish)
• Chansey (doll)
• Pikachu (doll)
• Clefairy (doll)
• Squirtle (doll)
• Charmander (doll)
• Bulbasaur (doll)
• Poliwhirl (doll)
• Slowpoke (doll)

Scheduling conflict

This episode was originally scheduled to air on Girls' Day itself, on March 3, 1998, but was rescheduled in the aftermath of EP038. The original schedule was as follows:

Code	English title	Japanese title	Planned broadcast	Actual broadcast
*	Holiday Hi-Jynx	ルージュラのクリスマス	December 23, 1997	October 5, 1998
*	Snow Way Out!	イワークでビバーク	—	October 5, 1998
EP040	The Battling Eevee Brothers	イーブイ４きょうだい	January 6, 1998	April 16, 1998
EP041	Wake Up, Snorlax!	おきろ！カビゴン！	January 13, 1998	April 23, 1998
EP042	Showdown at Dark City	たいけつ！ポケモンジム！	January 20, 1998	April 30, 1998
EP043	March of the Exeggutor Squad	ナッシーぐんだんだいこうしん！	January 27, 1998	May 7, 1998
EP044	The Problem with Paras	パラスとパラセクト	February 3, 1998	May 14, 1998
EP052	Princess vs. Princess	げきとう！ポケモンひなまつり	March 3, 1998	July 9, 1998
EP053	The Purr-fect Hero	こどものひだよ！ぜんいんしゅうごう！	May 5, 1998	July 9, 1998

This episode and the following air after The Breeding Center Secret in the dub. It aired between A Chansey Operation and Holy Matrimony! on Pocket Monsters Encore.

Due to being originally intended to be aired after Holiday Hi-Jynx, Meowth alluding to the events of that episode in the Japanese version (specifically, when comparing Jessie's melancholy for the overall holiday to her hating Christmas). The episode takes place sometime prior to So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd, since Jessie's Lickitung is mentioned in that episode. Airing out of order also explains the absence of Misty's Togepi from this episode.

Trivia

The title card

Jynx's original skin color

• For unclear reasons, this episode's title card is written in all caps, unlike most of the other title cards from the original series.
• This episode's title is formatted as Princess Vs Princess on the DVD menu of Australian DVDs, and as Princess Versus Princess in Pokémon Trading Cards series 2.
• This episode was partially adapted into the book Splashdown in Cerulean City.
• The Jynx princess doll uses Jynx's old design, before its skin color was changed to purple due to the controversy surrounding the design.
  • As of 2023, most streaming copies of the episode have the Jynx princess doll changed to the new purple design.
• This was one of the few episodes hinting at Pikachu's gender before it being officially confirmed in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, as Pikachu was shown holding one of the bags after the narrator mentioned that the males carry packages during the Princess Festival.
• This is the only episode where Brock's Vulpix retains its Japanese voice.
• This episode slightly confirms that Ash is an only child, with Misty stating so. This would be further confirmed in the third movie.
• Due to it being rescheduled after the EP038 incident, this episode is considered the season premiere of Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands. The DVD releases of that season correct this, giving the title to Pallet Party Panic.
  • Because of this, Pikachu's Jukebox replaces the Pokérap starting in this episode.
• In the Japanese version, this episode is one of the few to assign its events a specific date (March 3).

Errors

• When Misty is planning for the competition, she says she is going to use Starmie. Later in the episode, however, she tries to send out Staryu, but her Psyduck comes out instead.
• Jessie's Lickitung's pink eyebrows turn yellow several times throughout the episode.
• In the English dub, due to being dubbed out of order, Ash's Pokédex is voiced by Eric Stuart in this episode, despite it taking place before Who Gets to Keep Togepi?, where Ash's Pokédex is upgraded, meaning the Pokédex should still have the voice of Nicholas James Tate at this point.
• In the English dub, Ash tells Misty to "use your Bulbasaur", even though the Bulbasaur that Misty is using belongs to him.

Dub edits

• Pikachu's Jukebox: My Best Friends
• Numerous signs throughout the episode were edited in place of the original text for English audiences.
• In the original Japanese version, the Princess Festival was actually called Hinamatsuri (literally "doll festival"), an actual holiday in Japan. In addition, the Japanese version specifically lists the date as being March 3, while the English dub omits this at various points:
  • In the beginning of the episode, Misty specifically mentions March 3 is occurring, while in the English dub, she simply states it is her favorite holiday.
  • The narrator also mentions the March 3 date when explaining what the holiday is about, something that is omitted in the English dub. On a related note, the same narration also gives the name of the town as O-Hina Town, while the setting is left unnamed in the English dub. He also mentions that the women are allowed to do whatever they please during the holiday due to the money they bring in, something that was left unsaid in the English dub.
  • Jessie, when monologuing about her motives, also mentions the March 3 date. The Japanese version also reveals her personal motives for doing the contest were similar to those from Holiday Hi-Jynx.
• The English dub implies that only men have to pay while women can get their items for free. The Japanese version, however, makes clear that the girls simply got a discount, while the men are implied to have to pay the full price.
• Brock's prince statement when flirting with the waitress was originally the emperor figure in various Hina dolls during Hinamatsuri in the Japanese version.
• Jessie's request to put the items on the Team Rocket account was actually a request to gift-wrap them in the Japanese version.
  • In addition, the gifting for the Boss was originally to show their appreciation for Giovanni instead of an attempt to make up for not capturing Pikachu. Meowth's line about "a half-price Pikachu" was likewise simply stating that it was nice that Giovanni was a salaryman.
• Jessie's exclamation about "genuine designer fakes" was originally her yelling at Lickitung and demanding to know what it just did.
• In the scene where Jessie and Misty fight for the outfit mentioned in the Japanese version, Jessie says that the outfit can't fit Misty because it is too big for her (while also calling her a jari-girl), with Misty simply replying she'll grow into it, and refers to Jessie as Rocket-dan (the Japanese name for Team Rocket). They also referred to the large woman who took the dress they had been fighting over as "old woman" in the Japanese version (which explains her glaring at them after their shouting at her).
• The announcer's statement that the winner must be "poised as a Jynx, sit as serenely as a Jigglypuff, and possess the charm and grace of an Oddish" was originally a Pokémon-ized version of a Japanese proverb on how to be a lady.
• Misty originally mentioned that she's "the most beautiful woman in the world" and thus will win, while Jessie commented that a true beauty wouldn't boast like that before stating she'll win for that reason in the Japanese version.
• The Pokémon Princess Doll Set was specified in the Japanese version to be a three-tiered Hina doll set. In addition, the "Batteries sold separately" quip was dub-added.
• Ash's reference to Misty's status as the runt of the Cerulean sisters was replaced with his claiming that her desiring the doll set was simply "a Misty thing."
• Misty's comment about using Starmie when reviewing her team was actually referring to Staryu.
• James's reaction about Jessie taking Weezing was originally him expressing shock that Jessie had managed to take it without his even noticing.
• Meowth's threat to Primeape was originally his boasting that he'll take it down in one hit due to being all fired up.
• Jessie's two outbursts to the announcer was originally due to anger at being addressed as "san" instead of "chan".
• Misty's warning to Pikachu about Lickitung was originally her deducing that Lickitung was lazy due to its using its tongue to grab things.
• Meowth's comment about Lickitung getting tongue tied was originally commenting that Pikachu didn't taste good and it spit him out.
• Brock's concern for Misty was originally his stating that Lickitung was more concerned about tasting his victims than actually battling.
• Fiorella Cappuccino's comment about Psyduck not being affected by Lickitung's tongue being "just like in the movies" was originally him expressing some minor surprise at Lickitung's tongue not affecting Psyduck at all.
• In the Japanese version, Lickitung's stomach is heard rumbling when it disobeys Jessie, strongly implying that it wasn't willing to continue because it can't eat. The English dub doesn't make this clear because of the music obscuring the gurgling sound effects.
• Jessie, when discovering James and Meowth dressed up as dolls for her, only said ī-kanji! ("This feels nice!") in the Japanese version. This is an allusion to Team Rocket's Japanese "blasting off" catchphrase, Yana kanji! ("This feels bad!").

In other languages

Language		Title
Arabic		نجمة مهرجان التسوق
Mandarin Chinese		激鬥！！神奇寶貝娃娃節
Czech		Princezna proti princezně
Danish		Prinsessen Mod Prinsessen
Dutch		Prinses tegen Prinses
Finnish		Prinsessat nokakkain
European French		La guerre des princesses
German		Das Prinzessinenfest
Hebrew		יום הנסיכה Yom ha'nesikha
Hindi		प्रिंसेस वेरसस प्रिंसेस Princess Vs. Princess*
Hungarian		A hercegnők csatája
Italian		Una festa principesca
Korean		이슬과 로사! 숙명의 대결!
Norwegian		Prinsesse mot prinsesse
Polish		Księżniczka kontra księżniczka
Portuguese	Brazil	Princesa Contra princesa
	Portugal	Princesa contra princesa
Romanian		Prințesă Versus Prințesă
Russian		Принцесса против принцессы
Spanish	Latin America	¡Princesa contra princesa!
	Spain	Princesa versus princesa Princesa contra princesa*
Swedish		Prinsessfestivaltävlingen

References

← EP051 : Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden

Original series

EP053 : The Purr-fect Hero →

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