BW005
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Triple Leaders, Team Threats!
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First broadcast
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Triple Leaders, Team Threats! (Japanese: サンヨウジム！ＶＳ バオップ、ヒヤップ、ヤナップ！！ Sanyou Gym! VS Baoppu, Hiyappu and Yanappu!!) is the fifth episode of the Best Wishes series, and the 662nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on October 14, 2010 and in the United States on March 5, 2011.
Blurb
After arriving in Striaton City, Ash’s first priority is to battle for his first Gym Badge in the Unova region! But when he arrives at the Striaton Gym, Ash is surprised to discover that there are, in fact, three Gym Leaders: a trio of brothers named Cilan, Chili, and Cress. The Gym Leaders tell Ash he can choose one of them to battle, but that isn’t enough for Ash—he wants to challenge all three! They accept, and the triple match is under way.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket has also arrived in Striaton City with a new assignment: finding the remains of a research facility somewhere in the area. Once there, they must collect a mysterious substance their boss calls “future energy,” which has the power to turn dreams into reality. Knowing that they are the only ones who can handle this tough mission, Jessie, James, and Meowth proceed with excitement and confidence!
Back at the Striation City Gym, Ash manages to win the first round, pitting his Tepig against Chili’s Pansear. But he and Pikachu suffer defeat in the second match against Cress’s Panpour. It’s down to the deciding match, and Ash chooses Oshawott to go up against Cilan’s Pansage—an unfavorable matchup that has Iris worried. Can our hero overcome the disadvantage to claim his first Gym Badge?
Plot
Ash and Pikachu have finally arrived in Striaton City. As enthusiastic and ready as he was to battle, he soon realizes that he does not know where the Gym is located. Iris then comments on Ash's behavior: typical of a 'small child', and gives a wide grin. As Axew appears from within her hair and she feeds him with the fruit she was holding, a formally-dressed young man with green hair appears, his green eyes having taken notice of Axew. He recites a short prose complimenting Axew, and then talks about the positive compatibility between Iris and her Pokémon. As Pikachu watches in doubt, he made a sound that captured the young man's attention. Eyes alight with excitement, he picks Pikachu up and examines him for a while, before returning him to his Trainer.
As Ash explains where he is from, the young man introduces himself as Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur. Ash is confused as to what that is, and Iris goes on to call Ash a little kid. Cilan then assures Iris that the job is not well known outside of Unova, so he then goes on to describe what a Pokémon Connoisseur is. Ash became very interested and requests Cilan to examine the bond between Pikachu and him. However, at that moment, Iris reminds Ash about his purpose in Striaton City, and Cilan, who happened to know where the Striaton Gym is, led the way.
Arriving at a large, grand-looking building, Ash barges in and requests for a battle... only to find groups of people seated in tables at what seemed like a restaurant, all eyes fixed upon his questioning gaze. A red-haired and blue-haired waiter greet him, but Cilan reassures him by seating him at an empty table. The waiters then attempt to take his order, offering him Soda Pop, a delicious lunch, and various other consumables, but Ash was not at all interested. Some girls at another table ask who Ash is, and they agree that he isn't very cool. Finally, after a long session of pestering, Ash loses his cool, and demands a Gym Battle by shouting. The various 'customers' (Ash notices they were all girls) in the restaurant all gathered upon hearing the words 'Gym Battle', while Ash, enraged, proceeds to take his leave.
Ash was walking towards the exit when the lights dimmed, and Cilan and the two waiters walked synchronously into an empty area, taking their positions. As a spotlight shone onto each of them, they briefly mentioned how they would battle, and revealed themselves, all three of them, to be Gym Leaders. Together, they recited 'It's showtime!', and the wall behind them receded, revealing a rocky field for battle.
Iris and the group of girls (who already changed into cheerleader outfits) proceeded to the top deck of the Gym. Meanwhile, Ash had to choose a Gym Leader as his opponent: Chili and his Fire-typed Pansear, Cress and his Water-typed Panpour or Cilan and his Grass-typed Pansage. Defeating his chosen opponent would earn him the Trio Badge. However, Ash had an inspiration: he decides to battle all three Gym Leaders. Although it was the first time the Gym ever had such a request, they allowed Ash to do so, and his Badge would be earned by defeating two out of three Gym Leaders instead.
The first battle was a one-on-one battle against Chili and his Pansear. Cilan was refereeing. While the girls were cheering for Chili, Ash sends out his Tepig, clearly having decided to use Tepig for whichever his first battle was against. Starting the battle with Tackle, Tepig charged into Pansear and sent it flying into the air, but it landed softly on its feet. Chili commanded it to use Fire Punch, and with one quick blow, Tepig was sent rolling back onto the ground. Taking this opportunity to attack, Pansear followed up with Flamethrower, a streak of fire was sent streaming in Tepig's direction. Quickly, Tepig used Ember in attempt to block off the attack, but the smaller flecks of Ember was swallowed up by the oncoming Flamethrower. With a loud bang, the Flamethrower hit Tepig and whipped up the surrounding dust and sand, causing a cloud of particles to form.
Immediately, Pansear used Dig at its Trainer's behest; it flipped backwards and dug a hole into the ground. As the cloud started to disperse, Tepig started looking around for him opponent and found it: suddenly appearing right below his feet. Tepig was sent flying into the air, spinning and landed with a thud on his belly. As the Fire Pig Pokémon struggled to get up, the cheerleaders cheered Chili and Pansear on, and Ash warned Tepig to be more careful. Regardless, Chili told Pansear to continue using Dig. Ash, at that instant, told Tepig to keep running, hoping he could avoid getting hit from underneath. For a moment it seemed like it worked, Tepig kept running and Pansear dared not to surface, knowing it would be extremely difficult to hit a running target. However, Pansear chose to appear in front of Tepig, causing him to trip and to be flung into the air. Using Dig once more, Pansear disappeared into the hole it came from. As Tepig was soon told not to let Pansear escape, he dived and disappeared into the hole following Pansear.
Chili watched in shock and Pansear emerged, Tepig biting onto its tail. As Pansear attempted to free itself from Tepig's grasp, it quickly did a back-flip and landed onto the ground, causing Tepig to land together, but twice as hard. Even though Tepig seemed to have suffered quite a fair bit of damage from the flip, he still would not relinquish his bite on Pansear's tail, his teeth sunk into its flesh like a vice. As Ash encourages Tepig to carry on, the Fire Pig Pokémon quickly got up and started spinning Pansear wildly in a circle, like a giant ball spinning at the end of a long thread. Finally, when Pansear had gained enough speed for a decent throw, Tepig released the grip and flung it across the field.
While Pansear struggled to regain balance, Tepig doused it with flames from another Ember and rammed it all the way to the wall with a Tackle attack, causing it to faint. Tepig then runs back to Ash and rejoins him and his Pikachu. Cilan declares Pansear unable to battle, and the cheerleaders all sigh in disappointment. Chili recalls his Pansear, and Ash recalls Tepig. Cress then steps up to battle.
Meanwhile, the Team Rocket trio, Jessie, James and Meowth, are walking along the streets of Striaton City, dressed in black overcoats. They were told to contact the Team Rocket Headquarters the moment they got there, at a specified time and place. As they walk towards the side of a dark alley, they made a turn into it and squatted near a drain cover, pleased at being punctual.
The cheerleaders are now cheering on Cress and his Panpour. Ash chooses Pikachu for battle, and starts by telling him to do a Quick Attack. Panpour responds to Cress's command, creating multiple copies of itself: a Double Team attack. Pikachu passes through one of the clones of Panpour, and as it was doing so, Panpour and all its clones launched a Scratch attack in mid-air, its speed matching Pikachu's. As Pikachu lands on the ground, hurt, Cress comments on Pikachu's type advantage, which would not be very useful against his Panpour. He then tells Panpour to use Water Gun.
Pikachu swiftly dodges the jets of water aimed at him, jumping backwards and sideways on the rocks in the field. As Pikachu readies a Thunderbolt attack, Panpour aims its Water Gun at Pikachu's feet, causing him to lose focus as he tries to steady himself. Following that, it aims another Water Gun at Pikachu and it hit, sending Pikachu flying... In an instant, Panpour caught up with Pikachu in mid-air and hit Pikachu with multiple Scratch attacks. While the cheerleaders delight in hushed voices, Pikachu lies sprawled on the ground, struggling to get back on his feet.
Ash commands Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, and Cress starts contemplating; he had already developed strategies against Electric-typed opponents. With a big smile and glowing hands, Panpour pummels the ground, causing a lane of mud to form in Pikachu's direction. As Pikachu slips and falls onto the mud created by Mud Sport, Panpour launches a Water Gun attack and sends him flying across the field once again, eventually causing Pikachu to faint. Cilan declares Pikachu unable to battle, and the cheerleaders go wild with excitement.
Meanwhile, the Team Rocket trio are at the bottom of the sewers talking to Giovanni. As they were told to proceed to the Dreamyard, a place where 'the Future Energy' is produced, he reminds them about Team Rocket's goals and explains the importance of the mission. He logs off and sends them the assembly instructions for the machine they need, while the Team Rocket trio, determined, now heads for the Dreamyard through the sewers.
For Ash's last battle at Striaton Gym, he sends out Oshawott against Cilan's Pansage, and the people watching him exclaim in surprise. Iris thought that it would be better if Pidove was sent out, Cress had no clue as to why Ash made such a decision, and Oshawott, which opened his eyes and finally realized who his opponent was, decides to be a supporter to whichever Pokémon Ash would hopefully send out, and stood behind his Trainer. As Oshawott tries to avoid battling, Ash and Pikachu push him into the field, reminding him how strong and brave he was when he saved Pikachu and Axew from Team Rocket's captivity. After much reconciliation, Oshawott promptly changes his mind and decides to fight for Ash.
For a start, Oshawott attempts to use Tackle, but Pansage dodges it by shifting to the side, causing Oshawott to be extremely surprised at Pansage's non-aggressive response. Pansage then fires a flurry of seeds from his mouth at Oshawott, and Oshawott tries in desperation to avoid the attack by running away. As Oshawott lies on the ground, his back swollen at the area where the Bullet Seed attack hit, Cilan talks about Ash's lack of affinity with Oshawott. He then tries to show the contrast with his Pansage, and tells his Pokémon to move closer towards Oshawott.
As Pansage did so, Oshawott squealed in fear, seemingly looking at something revolting or disgusting. Pansage then started Biting his head, and as the Sea Otter Pokémon ran up and down, arms flailing and tail wriggling, trying to shake his opponent off his head, he was not able to see clearly and hit a rock, while Pansage jumped off and landed on another rock further away. Ash tries to encourage Oshawott and tells him to use Water Gun, but the Grass Monkey Pokémon dodges the jets of water by repeatedly jumping and leaping, thereby causing Oshawott to feel tired after consuming a lot of effort and energy. Ash pushes Oshawott on, telling him to aim carefully, yet none of the jets managed to hit Pansage. Finally, it seemed like it was the opportune moment when Pansage made a leap greater than he did, and with a precisely and carefully aimed shot, Pansage was hit in mid-air. Oshawott was elated.
However, that did not seem to be the end. Cilan had decided to intensify the battle by asking Pansage to collect energy from the sunlight above, and the cheerleaders thereafter became much more excited. As Iris now became worried, Cilan announces the name of the attack: SolarBeam! Collecting a ball of light at the turf on his head, Pansage grabs it, pulls back and shot it at Oshawott. As the light snakes its way across the field, Oshawott, now stunned, is shocked at the thought of what is to come. What would happen to Oshawott and will Ash be able to obtain the Trio Badge?
Major events
- Ash and Iris arrive in Striaton City and meet Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur and one of the local Gym Leaders, as well as his brothers and fellow Striaton Gym Leaders, Chili and Cress.
- Rather than challenging just one of the Striaton Gym Leaders, Ash chooses to challenge all three Leaders to a Gym battle, with best two out of three counting as a victory.
- The Team Rocket trio receive a mission from Giovanni to capture the "Future Energy" in the Dreamyard.
- Ash defeats Chili, loses to Cress, and starts his battle with Cilan.
- Ash's Tepig and Oshawott are both revealed to know Tackle.
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Humans
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
- Pikachu (Ash's)
- Meowth (Team Rocket)
- Axew (Iris's)
- Oshawott (Ash's)
- Tepig (Ash's)
- Pansage (Cilan's; debut)
- Pansear (Chili's; debut)
- Panpour (Cress's; debut)
- Pidove
- Patrat
Trivia
- Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Snivy
- Ash battles three Gym Leaders in one episode for the first time. This beats the former record of two Gym Leaders in one episode, when Ash battled Tate and Liza in Solid as a Solrock. Like this episode, one of the Gym Leaders was voiced by Jason Griffith.
- One of the girls in the Striaton Gym is a lookalike of Janet from All Things Bright and Beautifly!, and another a lookalike of Erica from Mean With Envy.
- This is the only time when Ash loses a battle with an official Gym Leader and doesn't have to take a rematch against the Gym Leader in question.
- The English dub of this episode aired one day before Pokémon Black and White Versions were released in North America and one day after it was released in Europe.
- The dub title could be a play on the terms "team leader" and "triple threat".
- Beginning in this episode's Who's That Pokémon? segment, the Pokémon say their names after being revealed, like in the original series and the Advanced Generation series.
- Ash challenges all three Gym Leaders, much like he attempted to do 655 episodes ago with the Sensational Sisters. This time, however, his request was accepted because Chili, Cilan, and Cress each have a Pokémon able to battle.
- The Scholastic children's book Ash's Triple Threat is based on this episode as well as the next episode.
- Team Rocket doesn't recite their motto in this episode.
Errors
- When Tepig is spinning Pansear around by its tail, Pansear's arms turn red for a brief moment.
- In the dub, Giovanni refers to the Dreamyard as the "Dream Site", a possible translation of its Japanese name.
- In the Chinese dub, Pansear's Chinese name is mistakenly written as 炎爆猴 Yánbàohóu (lit. Flame-bursting monkey) in the subtitles of the trailer.
Dub edits
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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| Mandarin Chinese | 三曜道館！VS爆香猴、冷水猴、花椰猴！！ | |
 Croatian
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Trostruke vođe, prijetne timu! | |
 Danish
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Tre Ledere, Tre Trusler! | |
 Dutch
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Een dreiging van driedubbele leiders | |
 Finnish
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Kolme johtajaa, iso vastus! | |
 German
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Keine Wahl, aber dreifache Qual! | |
 Greek
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Τρείς Αρχηγοί, Ομαδική Απειλή! | |
 Hindi
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तीन लीडर्स की टीम का खौफ! Teen Leaders ki Team ka Khauf! | |
 Italian
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Tre Leader, minaccia di squadra! | |
 Korean
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세 쌍둥이 관장과 바오프,앗차프,야나프! | |
 Malaysian
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Ancaman Pasukan Tiga Beradik! | |
 Norwegian
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Trippelledere, lagtrusler! | |
 Polish
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Trzech Liderów, potrójne problemy! | |
| Portuguese |  Brazil
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Três Líderes, Três Ameaças! |
 Portugal
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Trio de Líderes, Triplo Desafio! | |
 Russian
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Три битвы — один значок! | |
 Serbian
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Tri vođe prete timu! | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
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¡Líderes Triples, amenazas en equipo! |
 Spain
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¡Líderes trillizos, triple amenaza! | |
 Swedish
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Tre leder ett Gym – tre utgör ett hot! | |
 Thai
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ซันโยยิม! ปะทะ บาโอปปุ ฮิยัปปุ และยานัปปุ!! | |
 Turkish
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Üçlü Liderler, Takım Tehtidi! | |
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
- Best Wishes series episodes
- Episodes written by Shinzō Fujita
- Episodes storyboarded by Hiroyuki Yamada
- Episodes directed by Kazuomi Koga
- Episodes animated by Kunihiko Natsume
- Episodes animated by Masaaki Iwane
- Episodes by multiple animation directors
- Episodes focusing on Ash
- Episodes focusing on Cilan
- Episodes in which a main character is introduced
- Episodes with Gym battles
