BW031

← BW030 : A UFO for Elgyem!

Best Wishes series

BW032 : Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open! →

Ash and Trip's Third Battle!

BW031   EP688 ライバルバトル！バニプッチ、ドッコラー参戦！！ Rival Battle! Vanipeti, Dokkorer Compete in a Battle!!

First broadcast Japan May 12, 2011 United States September 3, 2011

English themes Opening Black and White Ending

Japanese themes Opening ベストウイッシュ！ Ending ポケモン言えるかな？ＢＷ

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 尼野浩正 Hiromasa Amano Assistant director 矢嶋哲生 Tetsuo Yajima Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Ash and Trip's Third Battle! (Japanese: ライバルバトル！バニプッチ、ドッコラー参戦！！ Rival Battle! Vanipeti, Dokkorer Compete in a Battle!!) is the 31st episode of the Best Wishes series, and the 688th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 12, 2011, and in the United States on September 3, 2011.

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

Blurb

On their way to Nimbasa City, our heroes stop for a lunch that Cilan is preparing—a gourmet meal, as usual. But Ash and Iris's roughhousing ruins the lunch, so Cilan asks them to go and play elsewhere while he prepares lunch all over again.

Nearby, Ash's rival Trip is catching a Palpitoad when Ash stumbles in and spoils Trip's efforts. When Trip realizes Iris is from the Village of Dragons and that she's working toward becoming a Dragon Master, Trip challenges her to a battle. But Ash wants to battle Trip instead—this would be their third bout! Trip is reluctant at first, but Iris shames him into agreeing to a three-on-three battle with Ash.

Trip brings out his Servine and Ash starts with his Snivy, much to Trip and Iris's surprise. Their reaction is vindicated when Snivy is soon defeated. Between rounds, Trip tells Ash about the Unova Champion, Alder, who Trip met as a little boy. Alder promised he would stay the Champion so that when Trip grew up, he could challenge Alder.

Anxious to do just that, Trip brings out his Timburr and Ash brings out Oshawott, who has been struggling in battle. We discover the reason Oshawott has been unsuccessful using Aqua Jet: Oshawott keeps its eyes completely closed during the move! But a final Razor Shell from Oshawott evens everything up to one win apiece.

Finally, Trip's calls up Vanillite—an Ice-type Pokémon that scares and freezes Iris a bit—to take on Ash's Tepig. After some truly fierce battling, the match ends up a draw!

Deciding that mimicking Ash's off-the-wall battling style isn't for him, Trip leaves to rethink his plans. Ash and Iris remember they left Cilan making lunch! They rush back and find a distraught Pokémon Connoisseur sadly musing on being stood up for lunch...

Plot

On their way to Nimbasa City, Cilan is busy cooking a meal for Ash and Iris. Pikachu, Axew, and Pansage are all waiting hungrily. While Cilan cooks the food, Ash and Iris are swinging around on tree vines overhead, causing the trees to shake and have leaves fall into the food. Angered, Cilan throws the leaf out of the pot with his ladle, and accidentally knocks over the food. Ash and Iris apologize for causing the accident, and Iris suggests that they could eat apples instead. Cilan insists that he'll recook the meal instead and that Ash and Iris go play elsewhere until he's finished.

Ash and Iris then walk off while Cilan cooks and argue about whose fault it was. Iris tries to put the blame on Ash, while Ash tries to convince Iris that it was her fault. In their argument, Iris challenges Ash a race to a tree with Oran Berries in it. While racing, Ash accidentally lets go of a vine that he was hanging on and slides down a hill.

Meanwhile, Trip is seen trying to catch a Palpitoad. He freezes it with an attack by his Vanillite and prepares to catch it. However, Ash stumbles in and accidentally crushes the ice that the Palpitoad had been frozen in. Ash checks his Pokédex to see what it is. Palpitoad then runs off and jumps into a nearby lake, causing Trip to miss his chance to catch it. Ash then realizes that Trip and his Vanillite are next to them. Ash points his Pokédex at the Vanillite, and Trip responds to Ash by explaining how he was in the middle of capturing the Palpitoad. Ash then apologizes and explains that it was an accident. Afterward, Iris jumps from a tree down to Ash and Trip. Iris's Axew then notices Trip's Vanillite, causing Iris to become frightened. Iris explains that she has developed a fear of Ice-type Pokémon, so Trip recalls the Vanillite to its Poké Ball. Trip begins to walk off when Ash starts questioning Iris about her fear. Trip then walks back and proceeds to take pictures of both Iris and her Axew and then continues to talk about Iris's fear.

The scene then changes back over to Cilan, where he is seen preparing the meal once again with his Pansage. He calls out for Iris and Ash announcing that the meal is ready but is unable to see or hear either of them. Since they are not coming, he decides to continue working on his meal with a Pecha Berry that he has.

Trip continues to criticize Iris and her Axew, but then decides that he would be interested in battling against her. Ash says that he would rather have a battle against Trip rather than Iris, but Trip ignores him and continues to ask Iris. Iris then begins to think about Excadrill and Emolga and decides, due to their obedience problems, that she does not want to battle. Trip then becomes uninterested and begins to walk off. Iris crosses her arms and explains that denying such a request makes Trip seem like a little kid. This causes Trip to become angry and accept Ash's offer. The two challenge each other to a three-on-three battle, where whoever gets the best two out of three wins is victorious. Trip begins the battle by sending out his Servine. Ash then sends out his Snivy and the battle begins.

Cilan is seen once again preparing his meal along a newly baked cake with a Pecha Berry on it and is enjoying the scent of it. His Pansage and Dwebble return to him and try to explain that they cannot find Ash or Iris anywhere. Cilan begins to worry, but he keeps a positive attitude and continues to work on the meal.

Trip begins to criticize Ash's choice of starting off with Snivy against his Servine and explains that Ash will never be a Pokémon Champion with strategies such as his. Ash assures that he is confident with his plan and that his Snivy is capable of defeating Trip's Servine once again. The battle begins with Trip's Servine using Leaf Tornado where Ash counters it by having his Snivy use Leaf Storm. The two attacks collide and Trip immediately orders his Servine to use Cut. Ash orders his Snivy to dodge and then use Attract. Trip counters the hearts of the Attract attack by once again using Leaf Tornado, causing all of the hearts of the attack to vanish and render the Attract attack useless. Trip explains that he won't fall for the same strategy again and that he learned from his mistake last time. He then orders his Servine to once again use Cut. Ash orders his Snivy to Leaf Blade. However, Servine's Cut overpowers Snivy and causes Snivy to faint. This leaves Trip with one win.

Trip comments on how Ash has not improved since the last time they battled. He then explains how the battle they are doing is pointless and will not help him gain the experience he needs to battle Alder. Ash asks who Alder is, and Iris begins to explain that he is the champion of the Unova League. Trip explains that he met Alder when he was younger and begins to remember a promise he made to Alder in the past. Trip then has a flashback and recalls seeing Alder at a festival. In the flashback, Trip says that he wants to battle Alder and become the champion, and he kept the promise ever since. He then snaps out of his flashback and he resumes battling.

Trip and Ash move onto round two of the battle, where Trip sends out a Timburr. Ash pulls out his Pokédex and scans Timburr before sending out his Oshawott. Oshawott then becomes scared when Timburr swings its lumber and tries to get Ash's Pikachu to battle instead. Ash explains to Oshawott that he thinks that he is very capable of winning the battle. Oshawott then becomes confident and ready to battle. Ash orders his Oshawott to use Aqua Jet and Trip orders his Timburr to use Strength to deflect the attack away. Ash's Oshawott then misses with Aqua Jet and Iris makes a remark about it. Trip asks if Ash is playing around because it's hard to tell. Ash states he is not and orders his Oshawott to try Aqua Jet again, but Oshawott still continues to miss and Trip takes pictures of it with his camera. Trip then shows Ash and Iris the pictures that he took and explains that Oshawott was using the attack with its eyes closed, which explains why it can't aim properly. Trip makes fun of Oshawott as "a Water Pokémon who can't open its eyes underwater". Ash and Trip then decide to continue their battle but without Oshawott using Aqua Jet.

Ash orders his Oshawott to use Razor Shell and Trip orders his Timburr to use Low Sweep, causing Oshawott to be knocked off his balance and miss. Ash then orders Oshawott to use Water Gun and Trip orders his Timburr to knock the blast out of the way with Strength. Trip then orders his Timburr to use DynamicPunch and Ash orders his Oshawott to use Razor Shell. Oshawott's Razor Shell remains stronger and causes Timburr to be knocked into its own timber and faint. Ash and Trip are now tied for the battle.

Ash sends out his Tepig and Trip sends out his Vanillite. Iris is still scared of it and cowers away. Trip begins to explain that his Vanillite may still be capable of winning. He then orders his Vanillite to use Ice Beam and Ash orders his Tepig to use Flame Charge. Ash's Tepig manages to break through the Ice Beam and hit Vanillite. Both Pokémon begin to show signs of fatigue at this point. Trip orders Vanillite to use Icicle Spear and it lands a hit on Tepig. Ash orders Tepig to use Ember and it hits Vanillite. Again, both Pokémon are tiring out from their attacks on each other. Trip then orders Vanillite to use Ice Shard and Ash orders his Tepig to use Flame Charge. In the middle of Tepig's attack, Trip orders Vanillite to use Blizzard and Tepig collides into Vanillite. Afterwards, both Tepig and Vanillite finally faint from the multitude of attacks, causing the match to end in a draw. Ash tells his Tepig that he put up a good match and returns it to its Poké Ball.

Ash then congratulates Trip and says that he looks forward to another match in the future. Ash tells Iris that he'll defeat Trip one day and become a Pokémon Champion. Ash and Iris then remember that they have to return to Cilan, and run back.

Major events

• Ash encounters Trip once again and challenges him in a three-on-three battle which ends up in a tie.
• Ash learns about Alder, the Unova League Champion.
• Ash learns that fear of opening eyes underwater is the reason Oshawott cannot aim on target when using Aqua Jet.
• Trip is revealed to have obtained a Vanillite and a Timburr.

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

Debuts

Humans

• Alder

Pokémon debuts

• Palpitoad
• Vanillite
• Timburr (Trip's)
• Bouffalant

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Iris
• Cilan
• Trip
• Alder (flashback)
• Citizens (flashback)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Vanillite

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Axew (Iris's)
• Oshawott (Ash's)
• Tepig (Ash's)
• Snivy (Ash's)
• Excadrill (Iris's; fantasy)
• Emolga (Iris's; fantasy)
• Pansage (Cilan's)
• Dwebble (Cilan's)
• Servine (Trip's)
• Vanillite (Trip's; debut)
• Timburr (Trip's; debut)
• Palpitoad (debut)
• Bouffalant (Alder's; flashback; debut)
• Herdier (Trainer's; flashback)

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Leavanny
• Iris's fear of Ice-type Pokémon is revealed in this episode.

Errors

• Timburr's Low Sweep is mistakenly called Low Kick in the dub. This is most likely because Low Sweep is called ローキック Low Kick in Japanese.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		勁敵對戰！迷你冰、搬運小匠參戰！！
Danish		Ash og Trip's tredje kamp!
Dutch		Het derde gevecht van Ash en Trip!
Finnish		Ashin ja Tripin kolmas ottelu!
German		Ein Kampf mit Erkenntnissen!
Greek		Η Τρίτη Μάχη του Ας και του Τριπ!
Hindi		Ash और Trip का तीसरा मुकाबला! Ash aur Trip ka Teesra Muqabla!
Indonesian		Pertarungan Rival! Vanillite dan Timburr Ikut Bertarung!!
Italian		La terza lotta di Ash e Diapo!
Korean		라이벌 배틀! 바닐프티와 으랏차!
Norwegian		Ash og Trips tredje kamp!
Polish		Trzecia bitwa Asha i Tripa!
Portuguese	Brazil	Ash contra Trip, A Terceira Batalha!
	Portugal	O Terceiro Combate Entre o Ash e o Trip!
Russian		Третья битва Эша и Трипа!
Spanish	Latin America	¡La tercera batalla de Ash y Trip!
	Spain	¡El tercer combate de Ash y Trip!
Swedish		Ash och Trips tredje strid!
Thai		ศึกคู่ปรับ! วานิเพทิ กับ ด็อกโคเรอร์ การต่อสู้ที่สมบูรณ์แบบ!!

← BW030 : A UFO for Elgyem!

Best Wishes series

BW032 : Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open! →

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