Shocks and Bonds (Japanese: 決勝トーナメントへ！熱き戦いの日々！To the Tournament Finals! Every Day a Heated Battle!) is the 128th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 402nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 12, 2005 and in the United States on March 18, 2006.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
In the Stadium, Ash's next battle is about to start with a Trainer who directs his Pokémon like a conductor in a symphony orchestra. He calls out Grovyle and Glalie while his opponent chooses Quilava and Charizard. May thinks that Ash's Pokémon aren't good match-ups, but he knows both of his Pokémon are weak against Fire-types and is okay with that.
Ash's Pokémon attack directly, but end up taking damage from Charizard's Heat Wave and Quilava's Flame Wheel. Glalie's Icy Wind does not affect its opponents, but Charizard's move doesn't hit its target either. However, Quilava manages to hit Glalie with a Quick Attack, but Ash's Pokémon pay back with Pound and Headbutt. Grovyle blocks Quilava's Quick Attack, while Charizard's Heat Wave and Glalie's Icy Wind collide and explode. Then, Grovyle knocks out Quilava, but Charizard quickly defeats him with a Steel Wing. Ash orders Glalie to use Ice Beam on the ground, forming some ice pillars that stop Charizard's Flamethrower. Glalie uses Double Team in the icy labyrinth to avoid damage, but Charizard succeeds in striking Glalie with Steel Wing. This sends it ricocheting from pillar to pillar, which Ash uses to advantage. Glalie darts around the icy field and knocks out Charizard with a high-speed Headbutt, awarding Ash the victory.
Morrison then meets up with Ash and both are excited to have won another battle. They leave to see how Tyson is doing. Tyson and his opponent are each down to their last Pokémon. Tyson's using his Sceptile against an opponent's Aggron. Sceptile uses Detect to evade a barrage of Metal Claw attacks, and when its opponent uses Harden, it charges up a SolarBeam that sends Aggron out of the fight, meaning that Tyson has also won his battle.
Ash and his friends have now advanced to the third round of the League. From now on, all of their matches will be full, six-on-six battles. Ash will be the first one to compete the next morning.
The next day, Ash is getting ready to face his newest opponent, a girl named Katie. Ash uses Torkoal while Katie sends out a Venomoth. Torkoal blocks Stun Spore with its Iron Defense, which Venomoth renders unusable with disable. Torkoal uses Flamethrower, but Katie quickly returns Venomoth and calls out Golduck. Ash orders Torkoal to use Body Slam, but Golduck sends Torkoal flying with a Hydro Pump and then cuts it down with Fury Swipes.
With Torkoal defeated, Ash sends Pikachu into the arena. Katie responds by recalling Golduck and sending out Dugtrio. Pikachu uses a Quick Attack, but Dugtrio digs to dodge, and then uses Sand Tomb to engulf the ground in an ever-growing sand trap. Sliding down the ominous pit, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on Dugtrio to no avail. Before being swallowed up, Pikachu attacks with Iron Tail against Dugtrio's Double-Edge, but Pikachu is knocked out. Ash quickly picks up Pikachu and proceeds to send out Glalie. Dugtrio escapes underground, but is forced above by Glalie's powerful Headbutt on the ground. Using this opportunity, Glalie knocks it out with an Ice Beam. Katie sends out Misdreavus, but after taking an Ice Beam and a Headbutt, Misdreavus uses Destiny Bond. Misdreavus faints, but then suddenly Glalie glows purple and collapses as well.
Ash has three remaining Pokémon and Katie has four. The battle is at a stalemate and the episode ends on a cliffhanger.
Major events
Ash, Morrison and Tyson advance to the Victory Tournament after several Double Battles.
The title of this episode is a pun of "Stocks and Bonds."
The announcer mentions that Glalie's finishing Headbutt against Charizard "looks like a critical hit." This marks one of the few times that this game mechanic has been mentioned in the anime.
During the montage of the Trainers' day off from competition, You & Me & Pokémon was used as background music in the dub.
Max states that Ash chose the perfect Pokémon to battle Clark, yet both of Clark's Pokémon were Fire-type and therefore strong against and resistant to Ash's Ice-type Glalie and Grass-type Grovyle.
Dub edits
Pokémon Trainer's Choice
Question: Trainers, which of these Pokémon has at least two evolutions?
Finnish
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