EP131
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Fighting Flyer with Fire
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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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Fighting Flyer with Fire (Japanese: キキョウジム！おおぞらのたたかい！！ Kikyō Gym! Sky Battle!!) is the 131st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on January 20, 2000, and in the United States on December 16, 2000.
Blurb
With Pikachu's help, Ash is confident that winning the Zephyr badge will be a breeze. But when the Gym Leader's high-level Pokémon turn the tables on the textbook Electric over Flying advantage, Ash will have to use more than raw power to emerge victorious.
Plot
Ash and his friends reach the Violet Gym, with Ash being anxious to get his first Johto Badge. However, before they are able to go inside, Jessie and James appear, disguised as surveyors from the Pokémon Bureau, and demand that they inspect every Pokémon before anyone can enter. They take Pikachu and then escape with him in their Meowth balloon, revealing their true identities. Ash commands Pikachu to use Thunder Shock, but the attack fails because he is in an electric-proof glass case.
Ash sends out Heracross to save Pikachu, but Meowth drops a jar of sap to distract Heracross. Then, Ash and his friends notice someone hang-gliding next to Team Rocket's balloon. The hang-glider signals his Hoothoot to take Pikachu; it grabs Pikachu's case with its talons and flies back to its Trainer. With Pikachu in hand, the hang-glider begins his descent, but Jessie has Arbok use Poison Sting to poke holes in his sail. The hang-glider leaps and sends out his Pidgeot to save him from falling. The pair makes their way towards Team Rocket, evading another of Arbok's Poison Stings before puncturing the hot-air balloon.
After Team Rocket has blasted off, the hang-glider finally lands and gives Pikachu back to Ash. Ash mentions that the hang-glider's Pidgeot reminded him of the Pidgeot he used to own and how they once battled a Fearow together in Viridian Forest. He reminisces the feeling of riding on Pidgeot's back, and the hang-glider sympathizes with him, bringing up his own love of riding on Flying Pokémon and revealing them to be his favorite type. Brock asks why he loves them so much, and he responds that it was because he has always wanted to fly since he was a little boy. Then, he says he learned how to hang glide in order to understand his Pokémon better. Ash introduces himself and his friends, and the hang-glider introduces himself as Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader, surprising the group.
Falkner escorts Ash and his friends to the Violet Gym, and after a short elevator ride, they reach the Gym's rooftop battlefield. Ash and Falkner take their positions, and the referee explains that each Trainer can use three Pokémon. Once the match begins, Falkner starts with Hoothoot, and Ash sends out Chikorita. Falkner scolds Ash for sending out a Pokémon that is weak to Flying Pokémon, but Ash defends himself by saying that not everyone should judge by type. Chikorita starts out with a Vine Whip, but Hoothoot dodges it by flying into the sky. Chikorita still tries hitting Hoothoot, but Hoothoot attacks Chikorita with Peck. Chikorita uses Razor Leaf, but Hoothoot dodges and knocks Chikorita out with Tackle.
Ash decides to use Pikachu next. Pikachu uses Agility in order to avoid getting Tackled. Hoothoot is struck down by Pikachu's Thunderbolt and finished off with Quick Attack. Falkner then sends out his Dodrio and mentions that no challenger has ever defeated it. Both Pikachu and Dodrio start off the match by using Agility. Although Pikachu tries using Thunderbolt, Dodrio dodges it by jumping up high. Dodrio then attacks Pikachu with Fury Attack and Drill Peck. While Dodrio is building up its Tri Attack, Pikachu bounces off of Dodrio's middle head and into the air. Dodrio is startled and loses its move, after which Pikachu defeats it with Thunder.
Falkner sends out his last Pokémon, Pidgeot. Despite Pikachu's exhaustion, he is still willing to fight. Pikachu starts the match with Thunderbolt, but Pidgeot easily dodges it by flying. Pidgeot then defeats Pikachu with Whirlwind. Ash then sends Charizard out. Both Charizard and Pidgeot are told to fly into the air, then Ash tells Charizard to use Flamethrower, but Pidgeot dodges. Charizard consistently uses Flamethrower and Pidgeot uses Agility to get out of the way. Pidgeot then uses Whirlwind to hit Charizard with his own Flamethrower attack, sending him back to the ground. Pidgeot approaches with a Wing Attack, and Ash commands Charizard to fly, but his wing is hurt. Pidgeot lands a direct hit, knocking Charizard to the ground again. Charizard is also hit with a Quick Attack, which leaves Ash wondering what he should do. Falkner tells him to forfeit, but Ash refuses to.
Charizard soon becomes strong enough to fly and dodges a Quick Attack. Pidgeot uses its Agility to appear behind Charizard, and it strikes Charizard with a follow-up Quick Attack. This happens again, but Charizard doesn't give up. Charizard then flies behind Pidgeot, and when Pidgeot disappears and then reappears behind Charizard, Charizard turns around and surrounds it with Fire Spin. Charizard then finishes off Pidgeot by using Seismic Toss, giving Ash the win.
Falkner presents Ash with the Zephyr Badge and admits that he has been inspired to work more and train harder. He also wishes Ash luck in the Johto League. Ash and his friends then bid farewell to Falkner. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is trapped inside their deflated balloon while being pecked by an angry horde of Spearow and Fearow.
Major events
- Ash and his friends arrive at the Violet Gym and meet Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader.
- Ash defeats Falkner in a Gym battle and earns his first Johto League Badge, the Zephyr Badge.
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Humans
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: Marill (US and international), Pidgeot (Japan)
- Pikachu (Ash's)
- Meowth (Team Rocket)
- Togepi (Misty's)
- Pidgeot (Ash's; flashback)
- Charizard (Ash's)
- Heracross (Ash's)
- Chikorita (Ash's)
- Arbok (Jessie's)
- Hoothoot (Falkner's)
- Pidgeot (Falkner's)
- Dodrio (Falkner's)
- Fearow (anime; flashback)
- Pidgey (multiple; flashback)
- Pidgeotto (multiple; flashback)
- Spearow (multiple)
- Fearow (multiple)
Trivia
- The episode's English dub title is a reference to the phrase "fighting fire with fire".
- Similar dub titles were also used with two episodes from the following Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl. Both also feature either a Fire type or a Flying type.
- When Pikachu tries unsuccessfully to electrocute Team Rocket, Jessie says, "Go ahead, shock around the clock if you'd like!" This is a reference to the famous rock and roll song Rock Around the Clock.
- Falkner says almost exactly the same thing about people underestimating Flying types in this episode and when the player character challenges him in the games.
- This episode was partially adapted into the book Battle for the Zephyr Badge.
- This episode ends in almost the same way as Pallet Party Panic, with Team Rocket being pecked by a group of Spearow. Coincidentally, the events of the episode are brought up, with Ash talking about his Pidgeot.
- Meowth breaks the fourth wall when he mentions that Team Rocket's blast-off was a bad ending.
- This marks the only time when a Gym Leader doesn't use any Pokémon from their game-exclusive Gym battle team in the anime.
- This episode was banned in South Korea, likely due to Falkner's traditional Japanese-style clothing.
Errors
- During his battle with Team Rocket, Falkner tells Pidgeot to spin and dodge, but it does not spin.
- Ash says that his Pidgeot was protecting a flock of fellow Pidgeot, when it was actually protecting a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto.
- Falkner's Hoothoot is seen with both feet on the ground in its standoff against Pikachu.
- Pidgeot knocks Pikachu out with Whirlwind, despite the fact that Whirlwind is a status move. This is an example of animation physics.
- In the Finnish dub, Pidgeot is incorrectly referred as Pidgeotto throughout the whole episode.
Dub edits
- Pokémon Karaokémon: Two Perfect Girls
- In the English dub, Ash tells Charizard to use Fly, marking the only time in the anime when the move has been called out by name. In the original Japanese version, he only told Charizard to take flight, without ordering a move.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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 Arabic
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المعركة الجوية | |
 Bulgarian
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Да отвърнеш на атаката с огън | |
| Mandarin Chinese | 桔梗道館，空中大戰 | |
 Czech
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Zápas v letu | |
 Dutch
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Bevecht een Vlieger met Vuur | |
 Finnish
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Taistelu ilmojen herruudesta! | |
 European French
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L'air contre le feu | |
 German
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Kampf um den Flügelorden | |
 Hebrew
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קרב הציפוריםkrav hatsiporim | |
 Hindi
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आग का मुकाबला हवा से Aag ka muqabla Hava se * | |
 Hungarian
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Harc a madár Pokémonokkal | |
 Italian
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Un incontro importante* Aria contro fuoco* | |
 Polish
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Między ogniem a powietrzem | |
| Portuguese |  Brazil
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Ash Ganha a Insígnia Zefir |
 Portugal
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Lutar com Fogo Contra Voadores | |
 Romanian
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Lupta contra Zburătorului cu Foc | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
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¡Combatiendo al volador con fuego! |
 Spain
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Combatiendo al volador con fuego | |
 Swedish
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Eldstrid | |
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
