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| The Bicker the Better
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タッグバトル！サトシVSハルカ！？
Tag Battle! Satoshi VS Haruka!?
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First broadcast
| Japan
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April 15, 2004
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| United States
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April 2, 2005
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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The Bicker the Better (Japanese: タッグバトル！サトシVSハルカ！？ Tag Battle! Satoshi VS Haruka!?) is the 72nd episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 347th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 15, 2004 and in the United States on April 2, 2005.
Synopsis
Ash, Brock, and Max step outside the Pokémon Center, ready to depart to Fortree City. However, Pikachu warns the group that May isn’t ready yet. Ash goes back inside, finding her just finishing up packing. Still, he scolds May for being too slow, and pushes her out of the center. She stops in front of a mirror, further irritating Ash. May states that its normal to do so, but Ash doesn’t, shocking May. When Ash responds that he isn’t a girl, May condescends him, making Ash even more angry.
As the group walks, Ash and May rant about each other, setting off a direct argument, while the others watch. The group runs into the couple Oscar and Andi, challenging Ash and May to a tag battle, proclaiming the two a couple. Although both deny the couple connection, Ash and May accept the challenge.
Oscar summons Nidoking while Andi summons Nidoqueen. Ash summons Corphish. However, May’s pondering for her choice irritates Ash. After deciding, she chooses Skitty. Unfortunately, Corphish and Skitty are unable to work together, canceling each others attacks. Oscar and Andi pull the win when Corphish and Skitty are both hit with DynamicPunch from both Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Ash and May are left bickering.
Jessie, James, and Meowth are sulking about their lack of progress when Oscar and Andi run into them, challenging Jessie and James to the same match as Ash and May. James uses Cacnea while Jessie uses Seviper. Seviper ends up attacking Cacnea, causing Jessie and James to argue, allowing Oscar and Andi to take the win with dual Hyper Beam attacks, sending Team Rocket flying.
Ash and May are still fighting about the loss, blaming each other, while Max and Brock watch. Jessie and James are also bickering. The two arguing groups cross paths, and another tag battle ensures. James teams up with Ash while Jessie takes May. Although Ash and May are hesitant to fight, they decide to accept. The teams use the same Pokémon used in the previous tag battles.
Corphish and Cacnea work better together than Seviper and Skitty, shifting the battle to James and Ash. Jessie starts to get angry at the thought of losing, so she summons Dustox. The guys protest at her breaking the rules, but she doesn’t care. The battle quickly grows out of control when attacks start to fly undirected. Brock declares the women disqualified, but it is meaningless.
While the battle rages on, Meowth and the others watch from behind cover. Meowth realizes that the chaos could allow them to snatch Pikachu, so he manages to stop Jessie and James from fighting long enough to realize it. They create diversionary attacks with Seviper’s Haze and Cacnea’s Sandstorm, allowing Meowth to snag Pikachu in a net.
Team Rocket tries to run, but May’s Skitty uses Assist-turned-String Shot to stop Team Rocket. Corphish protects Skitty from Seviper, rebuilding the trust between Ash and May, allowing them to work together to free Pikachu and send Team Rocket flying as usual. Ash and May apologize to each other, and the fight ends.
Major events
- Ash and May participate in a tag battle for the first time.
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Trivia
- Considered to be the birth of AdvanceShipping.
- This episode wasn't aired in some countries due to the fact that the episode was regarded as a "battle of the sexes".
- The episode's dub title is a pun on the phrase "the bigger the better".
- Blaziken is also legally correct on the Pokémon Trainer's Choice because Ariados is half Bug type and Fire moves are effective.
Errors
- Onix is misspelled as Onyx in the Pokémon Trainer's Choice for this episode.
- Ash's double battle with Luana in the Orange Archipelago is not mentioned, despite it being the first official double battle in the series. Ash and Brock's tag battle in Clefairy and the Moon Stone is also disregarded.
- When May checks her Pokédex on Andi's Nidoqueen, she is wearing Ash's gloves.
- Jessie commands Dustox to use Pin Missile instead of Poison Sting.
- During Ash and May's argument, May's left hand disappears.
- Brock says that, according to the rules of Pokémon battles, no Trainer is allowed to use more than one Pokémon in any battle. This is, of course, not true. He may have meant "in any single battle", which was the norm back in Generations I and II.
Shot that wasn't shown outside of Japan
Pokémon Trainer's Choice
- Question: Trainers, which one of these Pokémon is the best choice to battle Ariados?
- Choices: Raichu, Onyx, Blaziken
- Answer: Ok, Trainers! If you chose Onyx, you were right!
Dub edits
- There is a 2 second shot of Jessie performing an akanbe, which involves pulling her eyelid down and sticking out her tongue at the same time. Like in A Ruin with a View and Clefairy And The Moon Stone, this was cut from the dub. This is mainly because it was a common action in Japan, but not outside Japan (especially US). However, other episodes featuring akanbe before and after this and AG002 had no such edits.
In other languages
Finnish
European French
German
Hebrew
Italian
Brazil
Portugal
Latin America
Spain
