AG127

← AG126 : Saved by the Beldum

Advanced Generation series

AG128 : Shocks and Bonds →

From Brags to Riches

AG127   EP401 開幕！サイユウ大会！！ Opening! Saiyū Tournament!

First broadcast Japan May 5, 2005 United States March 11, 2006

English themes Opening Unbeatable Ending

Japanese themes Opening ポケモン シンフォニック メドレー Ending GLORY DAY 〜輝くその日〜 ②

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 誌村宏明 Hiroaki Shimura 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.

Screenshots on Filb.de

From Brags to Riches (Japanese: 開幕！サイユウ大会！！ Opening! Saiyū Tournament!!) is the 127th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 401st episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 5, 2005 and in the United States on March 11, 2006.

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

Blurb

The preliminaries are over, and now the Hoenn League Championships begin in earnest! The qualifying round is all double battles, and Ash goes to watch Morrison's match against muscleman Gavin. Morrison's Growlithe and Gligar are up against Marowak and Machamp, and no punches are pulled in this all-out battle! It's not looking good for Morrison until Gligar uses Guillotine to knock Machamp out. But Marowak defeats Growlithe, and Gligar finally wins.

Ash is jogging along after the match, minding his own business, when he falls into another Team Rocket pit trap. But just as they finish their motto, their new boss catches them in the act and shouts at them to get back to work. Team Rocket runs away and Ash wonders what's going on, but not for long—he's up next in the qualifying round!

Ash sends out Torkoal and Corphish. His opponent Dominic sends out Swalot and Tropius, which may grant him an aerial advantage. But Ash's trusty Torkoal gives it all it's got, and takes down Tropius in a double KO. As for Swalot, its resilient body resists Corphish's attacks. Finally Corphish charges in, throws Swalot, and gets up close and personal to deliver a Bubble Beam that knocks its opponent out! Tyson has also won his first match, and now our Trainers move on to round 2!

Plot

Ash and the his friends are awaiting the matchups for the second round of the Ever Grande Conference. Nurse Joy explains that this round's battles are Double Battles and that three wins are required to advance.

The schedule is then shown on a screen and Ash and Morrison would be battling on that day. Both are bickering on who is stronger but Morrison leaves since his battle is earlier. Soon, Morrison's battle begins and he faces off against Gavin. He sends out Growlithe and Gligar and Gavin sends out Marowak and Machamp.

Morrison orders Growlithe to use Take Down on Marowak who evades and uses Headbutt. Gligar uses Guillotine on Machamp and Machamp uses Karate Chop. Growlithe suffers damage from Marowak's Headbutt but regains strength and uses Flamethrower, but Marowak's Bone Club blocks it. Gligar is hit by a Dynamic Punch and then a Cross Chop. Machamp is badly struck by Gligar's Steel Wing and Growlithe takes damage from a Bonemerang attack. Marowak charges into a Flamethrower and slams a Headbutt on Growlithe. Marowak freezes Growlithe's legs with an Ice Beam and then hit it with a Bone Club.

Machamp hits Gligar with a Vital Throw but Gligar counters with Guillotine. A weak Machamp is then struck several times by Gligar's Steel Wing, who then defeats Machamp with another Guillotine. Gavin is left with his Marowak against Gligar and Growlithe. Marowak dodges Growlithe's Flamethrower and slams a Bone Club on it, knocking it out. The battle is now one-on-one. Gligar's Guillotine and Marowak's Headbutt collide sending both flying. Marowak freezes one of Gligar's wings who slams into the ground. After struggling from a Bone Club, Gligar hits Marowak with an Iron Tail sending it flying. Morrison is then declared the winner.

Later that day, Ash is seen running with Pikachu, but then he falls into a hole. He looks up and Team Rocket appear. As they are about to recite their motto, their employer bursts through the wall and sends them running. Ash is then seen in the battlefield with his opponent Dominick. Ash chooses Torkoal and Corphish while Dominick sends out Tropius and Swalot. Tropius starts off by flying up in the air and whips a Razor Leaf at Ash. Torkoal's and Corphish's defense block the attack. Tropius's Bullet Seed seems futile against Torkoal's Iron Defense. Swalot hits Corphish with a Sludge Bomb and Tropius's Gust send Torkoal flying, but Torkoal uses Flamethrower on Tropius. Tropius dodges the Flamethrower and Corphish dodges Swalot's Body Slam. Swalot seems to be a tough opponent since most of the attacks slip or bounce off its body. This happens when Corphish launches a Bubble Beam.

Tropius defends against Torkoal's and Corphish's combined attacks. Torkoal and Tropius both faint after their Solar Beam and Overheat collide. Ash and Dominick are both down to one Pokémon now. Corphish gets dazed after getting hit from Swalot's Shock Wave and is sent flying. Corphish is then hit by a Body Slam and is then struck down by a Shadow Ball. Corphish gets up and charges through a Shock Wave and grabs Swalot and through it. Seeing this as a good attack, Ash tells Corphish to release Bubble Beam in Swalot's mouth. The bubbles explode and after the dust settles, Swalot faints. Ash wins and qualifies to the next round.

Jessie, James, and Meowth are tired of working, but their work soon pays off when their employer walks in and praises them for their hard work. He then gives them some food to eat. Ash and Morrison are then told that Tyson also won his battle. The episode ends with Ash and Morrison bickering again about who is stronger.

Major events

• Ash, Morrison, and Tyson advance to the next round after several Double Battles.

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

Debuts

Humans

• Team Rocket's employer

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Tropius

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Morrison
• Tyson
• Gavin
• Dominick
• Team Rocket's employer

Pokémon

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

Pokémon Trainer's Choice: Entei

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Chimecho (James's)
• Corphish (Ash's)
• Torkoal (Ash's)
• Growlithe (Morrison's)
• Gligar (Morrison's)
• Machamp (Gavin's)
• Marowak (Gavin's)
• Swalot (Dominick's)
• Tropius (Dominick's; debut)

Trivia

• The episode title is a pun on the phrase: "Rags to Riches".
• Coincidentally, Morrison sent out Gligar and Growlithe during his battle with Gavin; both Pokémon's name and Gavin's begin with the letter 'G'. The same happens with Gavin, who sent out Marowak and Machamp whose names begin with the letter 'M'; the same letter as Morrison's name.
• This is the last episode where Team Rocket recites their original motto before switching to the Battle Frontier motto.

Errors

Swalot's missing whiskers

• When Machamp is hit by Gligar's Guillotine the first time, it is still standing. In the games, it wouldn't be able to battle anymore, as Guillotine is a one-hit knockout move.
  • However, it may be because Gligar's pincer is closed when it hits Machamp with the attack.
• In one scene, May's gloves are missing.
• When Marowak defeats Growlithe, Marowak disappears when Morrison appears in the split screen.
• Gligar takes damage from Marowak's Bonemerang and Bone Club, despite being a Flying-type.
• Right before the explosion from Corphish firing Bubble Beam into Swalot's mouth occurs, Swalot's whiskers disappear.

Dub edits

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

• Question: Trainers, which of these Pokémon would be considered legendary?
• Choices: Salamence, Entei, Milotic
• Answer: OK, Trainers! If you chose Entei, you were right!

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		開幕！彩幽大會！！
Danish		En drabelig dobbeltdyst
Dutch		Van woorden naar daden
Finnish		Rääsyistä rikkauksiin
French		Morrison le vantard
German		Bereiter als bereit!
Hebrew		הסיבוב הראשון
Italian		Le qualificazioni
Korean		개막! 그랜드 대회!
Norwegian		Fra skryt til rikdom
Portuguese	Brazil	Da Vaidade à Riqueza
	Portugal	Dos Vaidosos para os Ricos
Spanish	Latin America	Fanfarrones y victoriosos
	Spain	Presumiendo y ganando
Swedish		Från snack till handling

← AG126 : Saved by the Beldum

Advanced Generation series

AG128 : Shocks and Bonds →

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