DP187

← DP186 : Familiarity Breeds Strategy!

Diamond & Pearl series

DP188 : Battling a Thaw in Relations! →

A Real Rival Rouser!

DP187   EP653 激闘フルバトル！サトシ対シンジ！！ Intense Fighting Full Battle! Satoshi vs Shinji!!

First broadcast Japan August 12, 2010 United States January 8, 2011

English themes Opening We Will Carry On! Ending

Japanese themes Opening 「サイコー・エブリディ！」（ＢＡＮＤ　ＶＥＲＳＩＯＮ） Ending 君の胸にＬａＬａＬａ

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de

A Real Rival Rouser! (Japanese: 激闘フルバトル！サトシ対シンジ！！ Intense Fighting Full Battle! Satoshi vs Shinji!!) is the 187th episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 653rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on August 12, 2010 and in the United States on January 8, 2011.

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

Synopsis

The intense battle between Ash and Paul continues! The battle continues from where it left off, Buizel locked in Drapion's tail. When Buizel tries to use SonicBoom with his free tail, Drapion just grabs it with a free arm, rendering it useless. Ash instructs Buizel to puff up the life preserver object on his neck and then let the air out in an instant. After freeing himself, Buizel uses Water Gun to lift himself into the air, away from Drapion. With Buizel still in the air, Drapion uses Toxic Spikes, littering the field with them and poisoning Buizel. Then, Drapion uses Pin Missile to finish off Buizel, thus leaving Ash with five Pokémon.

Ash then sends out Staraptor to battle Drapion next. Drapion uses Pin Missile, which Staraptor effectively dodges with its high speed. It then comes down with an Aerial Ace, which Drapion manages to dodge at the last second, and captures Staraptor like it did with Buizel. Drapion uses Cross Poison on the trapped Staraptor, and then Drapion throws Staraptor onto the ground, poisoning it with the remnants of Toxic Spikes, thus knocking out Staraptor.

Ash then sends out Torterra next, and Torterra feels the effect of the Toxic Spikes instantaneously. Drapion uses Cross Poison on Torterra, and Torterra sends Drapion away with Energy Ball. Ash quickly attacks again with Leaf Storm, hitting Drapion again. Paul instructs Drapion to use Pin Missile to counter the Leaf Storm, which end up neutralizing each other. Torterra comes out of the smoke with a Rock Climb, but is grabbed by Drapion when he is just about to attack and uses Poison Fang on Torterra. Torterra uses Synthesis to gain back some energy and Drapion comes to attack with Pin Missile, again, hitting Torterra and knocking it out, leaving Ash with three Pokémon. Paul asks Ash if he's planning to send out Gliscor next, to which Ash responds that Paul is correct. Paul recalls Drapion as he tells Ash that he already knows all the Pokémon that Ash will be using because he purposely let him take out his Aggron, and Gastrodon so he could be certain of Ash's strategy and exactly which Pokémon he'd use. Paul then says that ever since he kept Drapion on the field, he had been able to predict every one of Ash's moves, but much to his shock, Ash is still willing to continue. Ash states there is nobody like Paul and he states that is why he is not losing to him that easily.

Ash sends out Gliscor and Paul sends out his fourth Pokémon, Ninjask, which uses Agility right from the start. Ash tells Gliscor to use its newest attack, Stone Edge. However it is easily dodged by Ninjask, still using Agility (Its ability Speed Boost was also helping it move faster too as Brock noticed). Ninjask comes in with a quick Fury Cutter, hitting Gliscor countless times. While falling, Gliscor regains lift and tries to use Fire Fang on Ninjask, but is unsuccessful and Gliscor falls into the field and gains the effect from the Toxic Spikes Drapion had left. Ash recalls Gliscor and sends out Infernape, who also gets poisoned from the Toxic Spikes. Ash realizes that he's at a major disadvantage while Toxic Spikes are active and tells Infernape to use Dig and leave Paul and Ninjask wondering where it is. Infernape uses Flare Blitz underground, illuminating the entire field in a bright red, alleviating the Toxic Spikes, and also damaging Ninjask. Paul tells Ninjask to use Giga Drain and begins to sap energy from Infernape. At this point everyone notices that Ninjask is not moving as fast as it originally was shown to be. Brock guesses that the damage from Flare Blitz must have canceled Speed Boost out for the time being. As Ninjask drains away its energy, Infernape scrutinizes Ninjask's movements carefully and lands a successful Mach Punch, knocking out Ninjask. Ash and Paul are now tied with three Pokémon each that are able to battle and Ash, knowing Infernape is starting to get tired, recalls it for some rest.

Paul sends out his next Pokémon, Froslass. Knowing he's going up against in Template:Type2 Pokémon, Ash decides to send in Pikachu. Paul starts things off by having Froslass use Hail, and a thick cold mist soon surrounds the entire battlefield. Froslass begins fading in and out of view, preventing Pikachu from following her movements. Brock explains that Froslass's ability, Snow Cloak has come into effect. Pikachu tries to get an idea on where Froslass is but to no avail, and things become more urgent when Pikachu starts to take damage from the Hail. Ash commands a Thunderbolt and Pikachu tries to hit Froslass, however, the Hail severely rescricts the attack and it doesn't even get close to its target. Paul commands Froslass to use Ice Shard, which scores a direct hit against Pikachu. As Thunderbolt isn't working, Ash tells Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, however he passes right through Froslass without even hitting her. Froslass uses Ice Shard and Ash tells Pikachu to watch out and to use Iron Tail, destroying the Ice Shard and elevating Pikachu into the air. He uses Iron Tail again and finally lands an attack on Froslass, sending her flying into the ground suffering major damage from the super-effective hit. Hail finally subsides, leaving Froslass with nowhere to hide. Paul orders an Ice Beam which hits Pikachu encasing him in ice. Paul tells Froslass to use Ice Shard again, but Pikachu is one step ahead and uses Volt Tackle to escape the ice and hit Froslass before she can even release the Ice Shard. Pikachu suffers recoil from the attack, but it turns out to be worth it as Froslass is left unable to battle. Ash knows this battle took a lot out of Pikachu and recalls him back to the sidelines.

Paul sends Drapion back out and Ash sends Gliscor back out and encourages it, telling it to show Paul what it learned from McCann. Drapion uses Pin Missile to start things off and Gliscor quickly dodges the attack. Gliscor uses Stone Edge and Drapion uses Cross Poison to neutralize the Stone Edge. Gliscor is shielded by the remnants of the neutralization of Stone Edge, he then uses Giga Impact in the clouds and comes down to hit Drapion before he could use Poison Fang. Drapion turns around only to be shocked that Gliscor is not there despite that Gliscor hit it with Giga Impact. Paul and Drapion then find that Gliscor is rolling around in the sky, safe from Drapion while he recharges from the Giga Impact. Reggie, who was watching the battle on TV, remarks that Paul's predictions have been crushed and he can no longer predict Ash's strategies. Drapion uses Pin Missile and Gliscor quickly dodges the attack like how Staraptor did earlier, and uses X-Scissor while falling towards Drapion. With the battle entering its final stages, both Ash and Paul are ready to battle to their fullest... however it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious!

Major events

• Ash and Paul continue their full battle.
• Paul is revealed to still own the Ninjask he had caught shortly before capturing Chimchar.
• Ash's Gliscor is revealed to have learned Stone Edge.
• Paul is revealed to have obtained a Froslass.

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

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Barry
• Paul
• Reggie
• Mr. Goodshow
• Cynthia
• Referee
• Audience

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Torterra (Ash's)
• Staraptor (Ash's)
• Infernape (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Gliscor (Ash's)
• Ninjask (Paul's)
• Froslass (Paul's)
• Drapion (Paul's)

Trivia

• Music from Pokémon Heroes, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, and Arceus and the Jewel of Life is played during the episode.
• This episode marks the first time Pikachu manages to defeat one of Paul's Pokémon.
• Although it has been mentioned in the past, this episode marks the first time Pikachu is explicitly shown to suffer recoil from using Volt Tackle.
• The effect of Toxic Spikes is shown differently in this episode to how it works in the games. While in the games Toxic Spikes will poison any Pokémon sent into battle (with the exception of Flying-, Steel-, Template:Type2, and Levitating Pokémon), in this episode it is shown to poison any Pokémon that touches the ground affected by Toxic Spikes regardless of type except for Template:Type2 Pokémon, as Brock mentioned that Ash needed one because they are immune to the effect.
• This episode shows that Toxic Spikes could be removed without the aid of Rapid Spin or Defog. With some improvisation, Infernape incinerated the field with Flare Blitz while underground, once again ignoring game mechanics and effectively removing its effect.
• A portion of the dub title is likely a play on "rabble rouser".

Errors

• When Ash sends out Infernape to battle Ninjask, it took damage from the Toxic Spikes and in the next scene, Infernape's tail was missing. However, it could be due to the camera's angle.
• Drapion was able to dodge Staraptor's Aerial Ace easily despite the move having a 100% chance of hitting the target.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		白熱化的全面對戰！小智對真司！！
Dutch		Een Razende Rivaliteit!
Finnish		Vanhat vastustajat vastakkain!
German		Ein Strategiekampf, der es in sich hat!
Italian		Un rivale davvero impegnativo!
Polish		Prawdziwa Rywalizacja!
Brazilian Portuguese		Um rival de arrasar!
Spanish	Latin America	¡Un rival muy agitador!
	Spain	¡El rival más difícil!
Swedish		Rivalernas strid!

← DP186 : Familiarity Breeds Strategy!

Diamond & Pearl series

DP188 : Battling a Thaw in Relations! →

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