AG190

←	AG189 : Gathering the Gang of Four!

Pace - The Final Frontier!

AG190

EP464

決戦！VSレジアイス！！
Deciding Match! VS Regice!!

First broadcast

Japan	August 31, 2006
United States	February 17, 2007

English themes

Opening	Battle Frontier
Ending	Pokémon Go!

Japanese themes

Opening	スパート！
Ending	私、負けない！～ハルカのテーマ～

Credits

Additional credits
Animation	Team Iguchi
Screenplay	米村正二 Shōji Yonemura
Storyboard	入好さとる Satoru Iriyoshi
Assistant director	秦義人 Yoshito Hata
Animation director	船津弘美 Hiromi Funatsu

Screenshots on Filb.de

Pace - The Final Frontier! (Japanese: 決戦！VSレジアイス！！ Deciding Match! VS Regice!!) is the 190th episode of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and the 464th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on August 31, 2006 and in the United States on February 17, 2007.

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

Blurb

With Charizard out of the battle for his rematch against Pyramid King Brandon, Ash calls out Bulbasaur. Dusclops performs Mean Look again, while Bulbasaur wraps the Ghost-type with Leech Seed. The two Pokémon are evenly matched, but Bulbasaur takes a beating from the Fire-type move Will-O-Wisp and is affected by Confuse Ray, which causes it to use Vine Whip on itself. Because Leech Seed is taking energy from Dusclops and giving it to Bulbasaur, the Grass-type manages to stay in the fight, using SolarBeam to knock Dusclops out.

Brandon sends out Ninjask next, while Ash sends out Squirtle. The two move quickly, and are perfectly matched until Ninjask blinds Squirtle with Sand-Attack. Squirtle listens for its opponent, and eventually recovers by clearing out its eyes with Hydro Pump. Squirtle strikes with Skull Bash, knocking out Ninjask. Brandon then calls out Solrock. Squirtle stays in the battle, but eventually Solrock takes it down with SolarBeam, a Grass-type move.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is sneaking into the Battle Pyramid, but they are caught and blasted away by Regirock and Registeel. In battle, Ash sends Bulbasaur back out, who does a good job of dodging. Eventually Solrock and Bulbasaur face off with their SolarBeam attacks, resulting in a double KO. Ash and Brandon send out their final Pokémon, Pikachu and Brandon's new Regice. Regice's attacks quickly ice up the field, making it hard for Pikachu to keep steady. Pikachu still makes an impact with Thunderbolt and Iron Tail, but Regice traps Pikachu and then uses Rest to heal up. Regice hits Pikachu with Ice Beam, freezing it in a block of ice, and the Electric-type is almost defeated, but Pikachu breaks out with Thunderbolt and strikes back with Iron Tail. Regice attempts to trap Pikachu and use Rest again, but Pikachu breaks down and charges with Volt Tackle, knocking out Regice.

Ash is awarded the Brave Symbol, making him a Master of the Battle Frontier and entering him into the Hall of Fame. Scott offers Ash a Frontier Brain position, but he turns it down in favor of more traveling. Squirtle, Charizard, and Bulbasaur all return to their homes.

Plot

Just after the start of Ash's rematch against Pyramid King Brandon, the former sends out Bulbasaur to take the place of his recently defeated Charizard. Dusclops fires a Shadow Punch, and Bulbasaur takes it. Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf flurry hits home, and Dusclops responds with Mean Look, preventing Bulbasaur from leaving the battle. Bulbasaur's Vine Whip misses and it takes another Shadow Punch, sending Bulbasaur flying. Bulbasaur fires a Leech Seed, which sprouts vines that wrap around Dusclops and saps its energy. Dusclops uses Will-O-Wisp, but Razor Leaf negates it. Ash calls for a Solar Beam, but Dusclops fires a Confuse Ray, confusing Bulbasaur and causing its Solar Beam to fire towards the roof, catching Team Rocket and sending them blasting off.

Bulbasaur takes another Will-O-Wisp, and tries to use Vine Whip, but the vines are out of its control and begin whipping Bulbasaur itself. Another Will-O-Wisp sends Bulbasaur flying, and Ash catches it. The vines attacks itself and Ash. Ash calls out to Bulbasaur, and Bulbasaur snaps out of its confusion. With Bulbasaur no longer confused, Ash orders Bulbasaur to try Solar Beam again. While Bulbasaur is charging the attack, Dusclops tries to defeat it by firing Will-O-Wisp, but this time Bulbasaur dodges and fires the Solar Beam, knocking Dusclops out.

Brandon summons Ninjask, and Ash swaps for Squirtle. Ninjask uses Aerial Ace, but Squirtle's Rapid Spin repels the attack. Brandon has Ninjask use Sandstorm to send Squirtle flying before using Double Team to surround it. Squirtle fires Water Gun at all of them, revealing Ninjask. The Ninja Pokémon dodges Water Gun and strikes with Aerial Ace. Ninjask uses Sandstorm, but Squirtle's Hydro Pump neutralizes it. Ninjask uses Sand Attack to blind Squirtle and goes for another Aerial Ace attack, with Squirtle unable to see or evade. Ash tells Squirtle to listen for it and the Tiny Turtle Pokémon dodges and uses Hydro Pump, but the attack goes high. Ninjask executes another Aerial Ace attack, but the water from Squirtle's Hydro Pump attack comes down and clears Squirtle's eyes, allowing it to counter with Skull Bash and knock out Ninjask.

Brandon sends out Solrock. Squirtle uses Hydro Pump, but Solrock's Psywave pushes it back. Confusion stops Skull Bash and sends Squirtle back. Solrock fires Shadow Ball but Squirtle uses Hydro Pump against the wall to dodge. Squirtle attempts a Rapid Spin, but Solrock dodges. Squirtle crashes into the wall and takes Solrock's Solar Beam, an attack which takes out Squirtle.

Ash sends Bulbasaur back out. Solrock uses Psywave, but Bulbasaur dodges and fires a Razor Leaf attack. Solrock uses Confusion to stop the attack, and sends the leaves back at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur charges with Vine Whip, but Solrock uses Confusion again to sends Bulbasaur flying, but it bounces off the wall. Solrock fires Shadow Ball, but Bulbasaur dodges. It fires Leech Seed, hitting Solrock and begins sapping away its energy. Solrock fires another Psywave, hitting Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur fires Solar Beam, which Solrock matches with its own. Both attacks collide, and the force causes a double knockout.

Underneath, Team Rocket digs into the chamber where Regirock and Registeel are kept. They use Lock-On to target Team Rocket, before firing dual Hyper Beams that send Team Rocket blasting off again.

Ash and Brandon send out their final Pokémon, with Ash sending Pikachu out, and Brandon calling upon Regice. Scott realizes that this must be the Pokémon that Brandon had discovered earlier. Pikachu fires off a Thunderbolt, which Regice endures easily. Regice uses Blizzard, which Pikachu takes head-on. Pikachu attacks with Iron Tail, with Regice countering with Ice Beam that Pikachu dodges. However, the attack freezes one half of the field and negates the attack. Pikachu uses Quick Attack, but Regice negates it with another Ice Beam, which freezes the other half of the field. With the entire field covered in ice, Regice can move quicker, but Pikachu ends up slipping. Regice attempts to use Focus Punch, but Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to paralyze Regice, and then strikes the Iceberg Pokémon with Iron Tail. Regice uses Ice Beam to freeze the stadium more, creating a tomb of ice pillars that trap Pikachu.

With Pikachu immobilized, Regice uses Rest, fully restoring its stamina and curing it of its paralysis. Pikachu uses Iron Tail to free himself and races towards Regice, but it wakes up and fires Ice Beam, this time making a direct hit and freezing Pikachu in an ice pillar. Ash orders Thunderbolt, but Pikachu seems unable to. The referee begins to declare Pikachu unable to battle, but Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to shatter the ice and paralyze Regice again. Regice fires another Focus Punch to send Pikachu bouncing across the ice field. Ash manages to get Pikachu to hit Regice with Iron Tail twice in a row due to the ice. Regice uses Ice Beam to trap Pikachu in another icy tomb before using Rest again. Pikachu frees himself with Iron Tail and starts charging forward with Volt Tackle. Regice wakes up and uses Ice Beam to try to freeze him again, but Pikachu dodges and hits Regice before it can launch another attack, knocking it out and making Ash the winner. Brandon gives Ash the Brave Symbol as his reward, completing Ash's Battle Frontier quest.

Later, Scott hands Ash a plaque with all seven Symbols on it, acknowledging his position in the Hall of Fame, and offers Ash a Frontier Brain position. Ash declines, stating that he wants to travel more, but Scott tells him that should he change his mind, the offer will always be open to him. Brandon and the Battle Pyramid take off. Bulbasaur heads back to Professor Oak's Laboratory, Squirtle returns to the Squirtle Squad, and Charizard returns to the Charicific Valley.

Major events

Ash holding the Brave Symbol

Brandon is revealed to own a Ninjask and a Solrock, and to have caught a Regice, the Pokémon he left search for earlier.
Ash continues his rematch against Brandon and wins, earning the Brave Symbol and entering the Battle Frontier Hall of Fame.
Scott offers Ash a position as a Frontier Brain, but Ash turns it down, though the offer remains open.
Ash's Bulbasaur, Charizard, and Squirtle return to Professor Oak's Laboratory, the Charicific Valley, and the Squirtle Squad, respectively.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

Regice (Brandon's)

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

Background music from Jirachi: Wish Maker and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, as well as the TV cut of Battle Frontier, is used here.
Ash and May narrate the preview for the next episode.
The episode's English dub title is a pun on the famous phrase "Space, the final frontier", which originated from the sci-fi series Star Trek.
Pikachu defeating Regice marks the second time one of Ash's Pokémon defeats a Legendary Pokémon. The first was in The Symbol Life, with Charizard defeating Articuno.
- Also, both of the Legendary Pokémon beaten in these two episodes were Ice-type Pokémon that are part of a Legendary trio.
This episode marks the last time to date in which Ash has used Bulbasaur or Squirtle in an onscreen battle.
Team Rocket doesn't recite their motto in any form in this episode.
Jessie's Wobbuffet does not appear in this episode.
This is the final appearance of Scott.
This would be the final appearance of Ash's Squirtle, excluding a flashback in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!, until Alola, Kanto!, 517 episodes later.

Errors

During Ash's flashback with Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur is seen flipping Vincent's Meganium inside a building while Ash is wearing his Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire clothes, battling a Zangoose, and battling an Arbok with May and Max in the background. Bulbasaur's only battle against Vincent's Meganium took place outside, when Ash was still wearing his original clothes, while the other two battles never took place.
When Solrock uses Confusion on Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur was seen using Vine Whip, even though Ash had never commanded Bulbasaur to do so.

Dub edits

In the English dub, it is said that it is Ash's last chance to win the Battler Frontier. In the original Japanese version, there is no mention of such a thing.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		決戰！對抗雷吉艾斯！！
Danish		Final Frontier – kampen går løs! * The Final Frontier - kampen går løs! *
Dutch		Grenzen Verleggen!
Finnish		Viimeinen ottelu
European French		Dernière ligne droite
German		Alles auf eine Karte!
Hebrew		החזית האחרונה
Hindi		फ्रंटियर मास्टर बनने का आखिरी मौका Frontier master banne ka aakhri mauka*
Italian		Un incontro decisivo
Korean		결전! 레지아이스와의 대결!
Norwegian		Final Frontier – kampen er igang!
Russian		Последний рубеж
Spanish	Latin America	La frontera final
Spanish	Spain	El Final del Frente
Swedish		Det avgörande slaget!