EP254

← EP253 : Great Bowls of Fire!

Original series

EP255 : Why? Why Not! →

Better Eight Than Never

EP254   フスベジム！さいごのバッジ！！ Fusube Gym! The Final Badge!!

First broadcast Japan June 27, 2002 United States June 21, 2003

English themes Opening Believe in Me Ending

Japanese themes Opening Ready Go! Ending ポケッターリ・モンスターリ

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 藤本義孝 Yoshitaka Fujimoto Assistant director 大町繁 Shigeru Ōmachi Animation director たけだゆうさく Yūsaku Takeda No additional credits are available at this time.

Better Eight Than Never (Japanese: フスベジム！さいごのバッジ！！ Fusube Gym! The Final Badge!!) is the 254th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on June 27, 2002 and in the United States on June 21, 2003.

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

Synopsis

The episode begins with Ash and Clair on separate sides of a huge lake with floating platforms spread around it which is going to be the battlefield for Ash and Clair. It is a three-on-three match. The battle then begins. Ash starts off with Snorlax which is a big surprise for Misty and Brock. Clair counters with Kingdra.

Ash starts off with Snorlax’s Hyper Beam and Clair counters with Kingdra’s Agility. Kingdra attacks Snorlax, but it doesn’t work. Clair then uses Kingdra’s Swift, but that just bounces off again. Ash tries to use Snorlax’s Body Slam, but Kingdra dodges with Agility. Kingdra attacks Snorlax again, but again Snorlax is undamaged. Clair notes that these attacks aren’t working, so she uses Hydro Pump. Ash tells Snorlax to dodge it but it is unable to dodge it. Clair orders another Hyper Beam which Snorlax avoided by going under water. Ash congratulates it on its quick thinking. Ash orders a Body Slam but as it goes underwater it weighs much less. Kingdra uses this to its advantage and avoids being crushed. She tells Kingdra to use Hydro Pump once Snorlax comes up for air. This worries Misty and Brock, but Ash tells Snorlax to jump out of the water. It goes up into the air and Kingdra uses Hydro Pump. Ash orders Snorlax to lean back and it manages to successfully dodge the attack. Clair then orders Kingdra to use Swift attack, but Ash tells Snorlax to just take it. Clair orders another Hydro Pump, but it only does a little bit of damage. Kingdra is also starting to look tired. Brock says that Ash’s plan must be to just wear Kingdra out, as Snorlax has a lot of endurance. Clair orders another Hyper Beam, but Snorlax dodges it once again by going underwater. Ash then orders Snorlax to use Ice Punch knocking Kingdra out of the match.

Clair recalls Kingdra congratulating it for a job well done. She then sends out Gyarados. Snorlax seems to be a little tired after the match with Kingdra. Clair orders Gyarados to use Hydro Pump, while Snorlax uses Hyper Beam. Both attacks cancel each other out. Gyarados then uses DragonBreath, which hit Snorlax, paralyzing it. Clair then orders Gyarados to use Hyper Beam. Snorlax is slammed by the beam and it falls, fainted. Ash then chooses Pikachu.

Gyarados goes in to Bite Pikachu, but Pikachu uses Agility to get out of the way. Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt but before it could attack, Gyarados uses DragonBreath, tiring Pikachu. Gyarados then tries to finish it off with a Hydro Pump, which misses Pikachu as it uses Agility to get out of the way. As Gyarados goes in for another Hydro Pump, Pikachu uses Agility to race up the Hydro Pump to get into point-blank-range of Gyarados' face. It then uses a massive Thunder, knocking Gyarados out.

Clair then releases her strongest Pokémon: Dragonair. Pikachu then uses Thunderbolt, but Dragonair dives under the water. Clair orders a Hyper Beam, which zooms out of the water and smashes into Pikachu, taking it out. Ash then sends out Charizard into battle. The roof of the stadium then opens so that the two Pokémon could have a sky high battle.

Charizard goes in to attack Dragonair. Clair tells it to dive under the water. From under the water, Dragonair spins to create a massive twister, which bursts out of the water and smashes into Charizard. Charizard then uses Flamethrower on the lake drying it entirely. Dragonair is now unable to dodge by diving in the water. Clair then orders Dragonair use Iron Tail. Charizard dodges and grabs Dragonair. Ash then orders a Seismic Toss. Charizard starts to spin around the earth and is about to throw Dragonair when it uses Dragon Rage. Charizard is hit bad and it falls to the ground. But on Ash's encouragement Charizard gets up and flies toward Dragonair. Dragonair then tries to use another Iron Tail. Charizard grabs it again and uses Seismic Toss just as before. Dragonair once again uses Dragon Rage but Charizard uses Fire Spin while in the twister! As Charizard is holding on to Dragonair, it is unable to escape. It then uses a fiery Seismic Toss. Charizard flies from the flames, roaring with victory. Clair orders Dragonair to get up. It tries, but collapses again. Clair then pulls out the Rising Badge and hands it to Ash, who says his usual line and Pikachu jumps for joy.

Back at the Dragon Cave, Team Rocket enters slowly. They approach the Dragon Fang, but see Liza and Charla. Charla goes in and sends them blasting off again. Liza then returns to the Gym to find that Ash has won the Rising Badge. Clair then explains that Ash should head to Mt. Silver, where he can prepare for the Johto League. Ash thanks her. He then looks at Charizard, who is by Charla. Ash walks up to it and tells it to be good for Liza. Liza is surprised, but Ash knows that is where Charizard belongs. Liza, Charla, and Charizard then take off. Ash waves goodbye to his old friend. Ash decides to stay in Blackthorn for one more day so Clair can explain about the League.

Major events

• Ash's Snorlax is brought from Professor Oak's Laboratory to help battle Clair.
• Ash's Snorlax is revealed to have learned Ice Punch.
• Ash beats Clair and earns a Rising Badge.
• Ash's Charizard returns to the Charicific Valley.

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

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Clair
• Kaburagi
• Liza

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Muk

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Charizard (Ash's)
• Snorlax (Ash's)
• Kingdra (Clair's)
• Gyarados (Clair's)
• Dragonair (Clair's)
• Charizard (Liza's, Charla)
• Dragonite (flashback)
• Sentret (flashback)
• Furret (flashback)
• Wynaut (anime)

Trivia

• The English title of this episode is taken from the saying "Better late than never".
• This is the only time so far that Ash has ever brought a Pokémon back from Professor Oak's for a Gym Battle.

Errors

• In the end, when Clair says good-bye to Liza, she mispronounces her name as "Laiza".
• Dragonair's horn is missing when it faints from battle.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		煙墨道館最後的徽章
Dutch		De Achtste, de Beste
European French		Le badge décisif
German		Orden Nummer 8!
Hebrew		הקרב על התג השמיניhakrav al hatag hashmini
Italian		L'ultima Medaglia (quarta parte)
Portuguese	Brazil	Melhor Oito que Nenhum
	Portugal	Em Busca do Crachá Final
Spanish	Latin America	¡Octava y última!
	Spain	Más vale ocho que nunca

← EP253 : Great Bowls of Fire!

Original series

EP255 : Why? Why Not! →

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