DP003

When Pokémon Worlds Collide! File:RivalBattle3VS3.jpg

DP003   ライバルバトル！三対三!! Rival Battle! Three vs. Three!!

First broadcast Japan September 28, 2006 United States April 20, 2007

English themes Opening Diamond and Pearl

Japanese themes Opening None Ending 君のそばで 〜ヒカリのテーマ〜

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 秦義人 Yoshito Hata Assistant director 秦義人 Yoshito Hata Animation director 船津弘美 Hiromi Funatsu

Screenshots on Filb.de

When Pokémon Worlds Collide! (Japanese: ライバルバトル！三対三!! Rival Battle! Three vs. Three!!) is the third episode of the Diamond & Pearl series. It first aired Japan on September 28, 2006 and in the USA on April 20, 2007.

Ash searches for Pikachu, whom he has been separated from. While searching for his Pikachu, he is challenged to a Pokémon battle by Paul.

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

Synopsis

Ash and Brock run through the forest looking for Pikachu, following Ash's Starly. Dawn is also in another part of the forest following Piplup and Pikachu. Ash and Brock stop as they hear a noise up ahead. They are shocked when a Thunderbolt rips through the forest. Down in that area, a young boy trainer throws a Poké Ball and captures a Starly. Ash approaches him, hoping to see Pikachu but it is the kid's Elekid. Brock is impressed by Elekid's Thunderbolt and congratulates the kid, Paul, on his new Starly. But Paul tosses some Poké Balls and releases three Starly. After scanning them in his Pokédex, he tosses their Poké Balls into the sky, releasing two of them. He reveals he only keeps the strongest Pokémon for himself. Ash is angry at this, saying Pokémon require care to grow strong. Paul turns to walk away but stops when a Thunderbolt launches behind them.

Team Rocket have an huge, multi-armed Elekid-shaped machine. They advance on Dawn, demanding Pikachu. Piplup is no match for the machine and is knocked out. The robot's hands reach down and are about to grab Piplup when Ash's Aipom bursts through the trees and attacks with Swift. Pikachu and Dawn are shocked to see Aipom. Ash realizes Team Rocket are in the machine. They step out onto a platform in front of it and say their motto. Ash climbs a tree and jumps onto the machine's arm, climbing up to Pikachu. Dawn is stunned at the lengths he will go to for Pikachu. Ash tries to force the hand open and the machine begins to malfunction. It explodes as Team Rocket go blasting off.

Emerging from the rubble, Ash, Pikachu, Aipom and Starly reunite. Ash greets himself to Dawn and scans her Piplup with his Pokédex. Exhausted, Piplup collapses. Brock takes it in his arms, gives it some Potion and it feels better instantly. At the Pokémon Center, the gang make a call to Professor Rowan. He reveals that he has a parcel at the lab from Ash's mom. In the forest, Paul and his Elekid examine Team Rocket's broken robot. Ash is tougher than he thought.

Walking down a road together, Ash, Dawn, and Brock are approached by Officer Jenny who is glad Ash found his Pikachu. At the lab, Ash opens his parcel, surprised to find new clothes, a new hat, new shoes, and a new backpack. After putting them on, he calls his mom, telling her he is all right. He also calls Professor Oak, who chats with Rowan. In the living room, Dawn asks Ash if she could come along with them. Ash agrees, they return their Pokémon and leave the lab. But waiting outside for them is Paul. He tells Ash that they will battle.

As the two face off, Brock referees, saying it will be a 3-on-3 Pokémon battle. Both trainers release their Starly. Paul's Starly uses Quick Attack. Ash tries to counter with a Wing Attack, but Paul's Starly uses Double Team and Aerial Ace combo and Ash's Starly is knocked out. Ash recalls Starly, as does Paul.

Ash throws a Poké Ball and his Aipom emerges. Paul throws out his Chimchar, which Ash scans with his Pokédex. Aipom launches a Swift attack, but Chimchar counters with Ember, and the two attacks explode on contact. Aipom prepares to use Focus Punch, but Chimchar uses Flame Wheel, stopping the attack, as Rowan explains Focus Punch fails if the Pokémon is hit when the attack is charging up. Aipom uses Double Team, but an Ember destroys all the clones, and the real Aipom is slashed by Chimchar's claws. Ash orders another Focus Punch, as Paul prepares to intercept it, but Aipom jumps into the air, dodging the Flame Wheel. Aipom smashes down into Chimchar with Focus Punch, knocking the fire monkey out. The trainers recall their Pokémon.

Ash then sends out Pikachu and Paul sends out his Elekid. Ash starts things off by ordering Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but Elekid simply absorbs the attack. Paul then tells Elekid to use Thunderbolt as well. Elekid revolves its arms and fires off a huge electric bolt at Pikachu, who takes the attack as well. Ash then tells Pikachu to use Volt Tackle. Paul tells Elekid to use Protect to stop the attack. Pikachu is sent flying back, and Dawn wonders why Pikachu took damage. Professor Rowan explains that while Volt Tackle is a powerful move, it also damages the user.

Pikachu gets up however, and Ash tells it to use Iron Tail. Pikachu jumps towards Elekid, and the two exchange blows for some time, before Elekid manages to land a ThunderPunch attack. However, the strain of the battle takes its toll on both Pokémon, and Pikachu and Elekid fall down at the same time, defeated. Brock announces that the battle was a tie, and that the whole 3-on-3 battle was also a tie, with both trainers with one win, one loss and a draw. Ash takes Pikachu into his arms, telling his partner that as he was the first to go down Ash considers it a loss, however Paul walks over to him and says that as it was called a draw, a draw is what it is. Then Paul pulls a Poké Ball from his belt and releases his last remaining Starly. Ash asks what he did that for, and Paul tells him that there will be other Starly even stronger than this one. He then bows to Professor Rowan, before walking off. Ash stares at him angry on seeing such disrespect to Pokémon.

And so, having made a new friend and a new rival, Ash and Pikachu prepare for their adventures in Sinnoh, not knowing what awaits them...

Major events

• Ash, Brock and Aipom encounter Paul.
• Paul captures three Starly, and releases two, keeping the one that has learned Aerial Ace at first, but releasing it at the end of the episode.
• Ash, Brock and Aipom find Dawn and Pikachu in a middle of a Team Rocket battle.
• Team Rocket uses a new motto.
• Ash changes to his Diamond & Pearl series outfit.
• Ash retrieves Aipom's Poké Ball from Professor Rowan.
• Ash and Brock decide to travel with Dawn.
• Paul challenges Ash to a 3-on-3 battle which ends in a tie.

Debuts

• Paul's Chimchar

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Brock
• Dawn
• Jessie
• James
• Paul
• Professor Oak
• Professor Rowan
• Officer Jenny
• Delia Ketchum

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Aipom (Ash's)
• Starly (Ash's, new)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Elekid (Paul's)
• Starly (Paul's, 3x, all eventually released)
• Chimchar (Paul's)

Trivia

• Meowth says that they have been chasing Pikachu for as long as Dawn has been alive. This is a reference to the fact that the Pokémon anime had been airing for almost ten years at the point that this episode had aired, the same as Dawn's age. However if this is taken literally, Dawn as a character had only been envisioned at most a few years previously, meaning that her age in that context would be around three or four years-old at the most.
• This originally aired as a two hour special on September 28, 2006, together with Following a Maiden's Voyage! and Two Degrees of Separation!.
• Paul's Pokédex is dark blue.
• Music from Jirachi: Wish Maker and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew are used as background music.
• The eyecatches featured Ash (in his Advanced Generation clothes), Dawn and Brock.
• The ending credits consisted of DP001, DP002 and DP003.
• There was no Professor Oak's lecture for this episode.
• Oddly enough, during the battle between Ash and Paul, it seemed to go in a pattern. First, two Starly battled, then two monkey-based Pokémon battled, and finally two electric-types battled. The pattern went from very specific to very broad.
• Amusingly, before this episode aired Paul, who hadn't even been named at the time, had been speculated to replace Brock, which later was proven false when this episode aired and his true purpose was shown, as a rival, not a friend, of Ash.

Errors

• The PokéDex incorrectly refers to Chimchar as the Monkey Pokémon, when it is really the Chimp Pokémon.

Dub edits

When this episode and the two before it first aired on April 20, 2007, they were aired as a movie, cutting several parts out. All of these cuts were restored when the episodes aired separately the following week.

• When the narrator recaps what happened in the previous episode in the beginning, it was cut out. Instead, it shows Ash's Starly searching in mid-air.
• The episode title is cut out once more.
• At the end of this episode, the very last scene is slowed down so the "TO BE CONTINUED..." isn't present.

In other languages

• French: Deux visions opposées
• Portuguese: Quando os Mundos Pokémon Colidem!
• Italian: Alla ricerca di Pikachu & Un avversario alquanto insolito
• Dutch: Botsende Pokémonwerelden!
• Latin American Spanish: Cuando los Mundos Pokémon Chocan
• Iberian Spanish: ¡Dos Mundos Pokémon Opuestos!

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