[Preview] Episode 386 (AG 110) - Rune Gym! Water Artist Adan! (Act One)

[Animelee]

Heh, episode 386, and it's a Gym battle against the last Gym Leader of Hoenn. Ironic? Kind of ironic? Just a teensy bit ironic? Err, okay, just a coincidence. Besides, if that Namazun (Whiscash) episode aired, it'd be episode 387, heh. Well, enough nonsense!

Finally, Satoshi has arrived at Rune City! Since the show is based on the newest version of the games, the Gym Leader is the new guy Adan, and not Mikuri, who now is the Elite Four Champion. He uses the same Pokémon as Mikuri did in Ruby/Sapphire, though.

Looks like Adan is a rich guy, 'cause he has a butler, who also happens to be his referee for Gym battles. He sure acts like one of those elegant male artists.

It looks like Satoshi'll be using Pikachu, which is no surprise, but at least his type of attacks are super effective against Water-types. He also seems to be using Yukiwarasi and Heigani. I can understand that Heigani is also resistant to Water-types, but why not Juptor, who can absorb Water-types? Is it because he's being weary to Ice-type attacks? If so, good man.

Adan seems to be using Luvcus, Azumao, and Todgler. I wonder how they can flesh out a 3 VS 3 battle to two episodes. Looks like they're going to do what they did with Katsura (Blaine) -- meet in the beginning and middle, and towards the end, have a battle that ends up being a cliffhanger. Then in the next episode, the battle continues on to be one hell of a battle, with Satoshi coming out to be the victor. Sounds good.

Edit: And how Azumao can learn Lightningrod is beyond me. o.o


Namazun = Whiscash
Satoshi = Ash
Rune City = Sootopolis City
Adan = ??No English name yet??
Mikuri = Wallace
Yukiwarasi = Snorunt
Heigani = Corphish
Juptor = Grovyle
Luvcus = Luvdisc
Azumao = Seaking
Todgler = Sealeo
Katsura = Blaine

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[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I have this to say about Arden:

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[Animelee]

Heh, probably. I'll make a sound clip of his voice on Thursday night, and you guys be the judge. So far the gay guys are KABA and Harley. Glad to see Pokémon being so diversified.

[Zhen Lin]

I would disagree about the latter and have some reservations about the former, but mæh.

What I wonder is whether I have remembered correctly whether Adan is Wallace's student or teacher?

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Heh, probably. I'll make a sound clip of his voice on Thursday night, and you guys be the judge. So far the gay guys are KABA and Harley. Glad to see Pokémon being so diversified.

Well, the flamboyant ones anyway.

I'd love to see, say, Heath from Emerald (who dresses like a Vegas showgirl) have a rather manly girlfriend. She could be a magician, and he can be the lovely assistant!

You know, just to trip people up.

[Hanada Tattsu]

LMAO - I wonder what 4Kids will do with this. =D

Quite a motely lot - though hopefully we'll see Seaking in action. Good to see Snorunt and Corphish have some action - but why not Grovyle? AND WHY PIKACHU!?

[Chris 2.1]

That's no lighteningrod. Being a water trainer (and, IIRC, Wallace's mentor), Ardan will have ways to deal with electric types. One being the use of a horn dril to repel the thunderbolt.

And I'm sure I saw Luvdisc speeding away from a Bullet Seed. This has really stumped me, along with how many Pokemon are used, why there is a 2-parter, where Wallace is and HOW the group got into Sootopolis (I suppose they dont enter underwater...)

Looking good so far!

[Hanada Tattsu]

I don't think we need to add Wallace into the picture. If he was going to be a gym leader then I think we would have seen him already. I'm not really excited or down about Wallace's appearing or not-appearing. Oh well.

[Chris 2.1]

I think the fact that Wallace has such a large fan base in Japan (from the Manga, of course, as he has yet to appear in the Anime) suggests that he will play a role. Perhaps as the champion, as some have speculated, or as a contender in the Grand Festival.

[Water Pokemon Master]

Just saw the episode. I though it was pretty boring in the beginning, since like 5 mins was dedicated to only talking. (well, I guess it WOULD be boring if you do not understand a word they are saying) But, the rest of the ep was pretty cool, other then the horrible drawing of May's eyes and Pikachu's body in some scenes. In the ep, they had a 2 on 2 battle, and Ash first sent out Snorunt and Pikachu, while Adan sent out Seaking and Sealeo. Snorunt dies, and Ash sends out Corphish. Later, Seaking dies, and Sealeo falls soon after. Ash wins the first round, and everyone moves to a different part of the Gym, and its Grovyle vs. Luvdisc. Luvdisc uses Attract, Grovyle falls in love, and then the episode ends.

They sure do use a TON of Jirachi and Lati@s music. Eye yi yi, I thought I was watching one of the movies.

Episode rating: 7.5/10

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

They don't *die*, yo, they get knocked out.

[Water Pokemon Master]

No, not in this case. They died, and there was a funeral for them in Glory Day.

[Adamant]

Ash wins the first round

He didn't win, he passed.

Each trainer has 5 pokemon each, the gym leader starts by sending out 2, and the challenger then battle those in a double battle. The challenger, but not the leader, is allowed to send in new pokemon if one of his pokemon are knocked out.
After the challenger has defeated both of the leader's pokemon, they move on to a new arena, where the challenger will battle the leader's 3 remaining pokemon with his own remaining pokemon.

Basically, Adan has lost two pokemon (Todogurar and Azumaou), while Satoshi has lost one (Yukiwarashi).

Also, Satoshi has chosen four of the five pokemon he will be using in the match (Pikachu, Yukiwarashi, Heigani and Juptor), while Adan has chosen three (Todogurar, Azumaou and Lovecus)

Well, at least that's how I understood it.

Also, as we saw in the preview, Satoshi's last pokemon will be Oosubame, while Adan will use Namazun and Milocaros.

[Water Pokemon Master]

I don't understand Japanese so how was I supposed to know?

[Hanada Tattsu]

Interesting. So in this first round we see Pikachu, Snorunt, Corphish, and Groyvle against Seleo, Luvdisc, and Seaking. Interesting. So if he uses Swellow in the next episode - I presume Torkoal is either not used or is not shown in the previews.

[Pewter City Geodude]

So, Ash and friends are finally on the boat to Sootopolis City, home of the last Gym before the Hoenn League. As the boat speeds toward the entrance, Ash and Pikachu are psyched for the upcoming battle. As they emerge from the short tunnel, they catch their first view of Sootopolis. The city is built on the side of a curved cliff with ridges, and the cliff continues around a small body of water that serves as a sort of natural harbor. The whole thing looks like a giant amphitheater. As the group lands, Ash’s friends comment on how excited he is for this battle, but then they notice what look like firecrackers going off in the distance. May and Max run off, anxious to see where they’re coming from, and Brock and Ash hesitantly join them.

Their destination is an amphitheater with a moat that separates the stage and the stands, where a performance is about to start. The mayor of Sootopolis comes onto the stage and introduces the performer as the Sootopolis Gym Leader, Mr. Adan, the Water Artist. Adan makes his entrance, to much cheering from the crowd. As Ash and friends look on, Adan waves his arms dramatically, and from several points around the moat, jets of water come out, all meeting at the same point above the stage. The water jets even create a rainbow. The water subsides, and Adan takes a bow, as the crowd cheers some more. Adan says that it’s now time for the crowd to meet the Pokemon that were behind the display they just saw, and waves his arms again. One by one, from apparently the same spots in the moat from which the water jets had come, several Water Pokemon (and one Azurill) leap up onto platforms on the stage surrounding Adan. We see a Gorebyss, Seadra, Azurill, Luvdisc, Goldeen, Wailmer, and finally a Milotic. Ash and friends comment with awe on how cool those Water Pokemon are, especially the beautiful Milotic. At a command from Adan, the six Pokemon (all except Milotic) fire Water Guns into the air, meeting at three points above him. Adan directs with his arms some more, as if he was an orchestra conductor, and we see a Corsola, Barboach, and Chinchou emerge from the water and add their Bubblebeam and Water Gun attacks to the mix. From the air, a Wingull and Pelipper add their Water Guns while a Masquerain uses Bubblebeam. Water sprinklers in strategically placed parts of the city can also be seen going off to add to the effect. Some Staryu and Tentacruel join the show as well, the Staryu using a spinning Water Gun, and the Tentacruel spinning their tentacles around. It seems that the entire city is bathed in a sparkling water orchestra. As the mayor returns to the stage, a Chimecho can suddenly be heard in the distance! Confused, the mayor and Adan look around, and then see Team Rocket in their balloon, descending in front of them! Adan asks if they are fellow artists, and Team Rocket says their motto. Ash and friends run down as close to the stage as they can, calling out warnings to Adan about Team Rocket. Before Adan can do anything, Meowth pushes a button that releases a net from their balloon, which spreads over all the Water Pokemon in the moat! Another button push sends a surge of electricity down to weaken them all. Jessie gloats that the best way to catch Water Pokemon is with electricity. Ash is about to go into battle, but Adan says it’s ok, his Pokemon can handle it. We then see their various ways of dealing with electricity. The Barboach is using Mud Sport, Tentacruel is using Mirror Coat, Milotic is using Safeguard, and it looks like things aren’t as bad as they seemed. Adan calls for his Milotic to use Iron Tail, which cuts the net open. It then blasts Team Rocket off with a Twister attack.

Now that Team Rocket is out of the way, Adan approaches the group. Ash wastes no time in introducing himself and challenging Adan to a Gym Battle, which Adan accepts. A quick scene change shows the group with Adan in his boat, heading for his Gym. Inside the boat, May compliments Adan on his show, and Adan reveals that he used to be a Pokemon Coordinator. He had even collected all five ribbons and won the Grand Festival, much to May’s awe. The group comments on how his experience as a Coordinator must have prepared him well for being a Gym Leader. Adan goes on to explain that he chose to specialize in Water Pokemon for their beauty and elegance, and also because of the challenge of their being weak to Electric attacks. He had realized that his best contest battles were ones in which he was constantly in danger, where one wrong move would result in serious damage. For example, when faced with attacks he was weak against, in the perfect timing and coordination required to not just defend, but defend by attacking, trainer and Pokemon can become one. That state is the one in which he feels his artistic ideals are best expressed. Adan seems like a tough opponent, and Max is worried if Ash will be ok in this battle. Ash reassures Max that he and Pikachu are up to the challenge.

Soon, they reach Adan’s mansion, and he introduces them to his butler, Sebastian. They head for the battlefield, and see that it’s a pool! Two platforms for the trainers are on each end where the diving boards normally are, and another platform for the judge is off to the side. Several smaller platforms are scattered throughout the water as well for the Pokemon to use. Ash and Adan take their positions, and Sebastian announces the rules. The battle will be 5-vs-5, separated into two stages. The first stage will be a double battle, which ends whenever two Pokemon from one side are unable to battle. Ash is surprised at this; he didn’t know Adan’s Gym used double battles. Any remaining Pokemon may be used in the second stage, which is a standard 3-vs-3 battle. Ash’s friends are also surprised at this unique setup, and Adan says that he intentionally set his Gym up to be very tough, since it’s the last one before the Hoenn League. He starts by sending out his Sealeo (which Ash checks in his Pokedex), and his Seaking (which May checks in hers). Ash sends out Pikachu and Snorunt, and the battle begins! Pikachu starts off by sending a Thunderbolt at Seaking, but Seaking repels it with Horn Drill! Seaking then sends the Electric attack right back, striking Snorunt for good damage. This catches Ash off guard, and he asks if Snorunt is okay. It is, so Ash tries to figure out what to do now. In the stands, his friends realize that this defense must be something Adan came up with for his old contest battles. Ash decides to up the ante, so he tells Pikachu to attack Seaking with Thunder this time. Seaking repels it again in the same way, but this time Pikachu jumps in front of Snorunt to protect it. The countered Thunder is pushing the two Pokemon towards the edge of the platform they’re on, but it fizzles out just as they reach the edge. Pikachu is panting now.

Wasting no time, Adan calls for a Blizzard from Sealeo. Pikachu is cringing against the cold, and so are Ash’s friends, who notice that Snorunt doesn’t seem to mind it. In fact, it’s dancing, as if to say, “Bring it on!” Max realizes that of course an Ice-type wouldn’t mind Ice-type attacks. Ash seems to realize the same thing, so he calls for an Icy Wind. The two Ice attacks collide and create a giant ball of ice that falls into the water between the two sides. An Aurora Beam from Sealeo and a Hyper Beam from Seaking destroy the ball, breaking it into smaller pieces of ice. To the surprise of everyone except Ash (who called for it), Pikachu and Snorunt begin jumping across the pieces of ice towards their opponents! Ash calls for an Iron Tail from Pikachu and a Headbutt from Snorunt. Adan calmly calls for another Aurora Beam and Hyper Beam. Pikachu manages to dodge the Aurora Beam, but the Hyper Beam hits Snorunt squarely! It lands on a platform farther back, out cold. Adan comments on what Ash did wrong, and an abrupt scene change shows…another Adan? Nope, it’s James in disguise. Looks like Team Rocket is planning to take advantage of Adan’s popularity in Sootopolis, much like they did with Norman. Back to the battle, Ash sends out Corphish to replace Snorunt. Corphish starts off with a Bubblebeam, but Sealeo and Seaking dodge it by diving into the water. Adan calls for an Aurora Beam from Sealeo and a Peck from Seaking. Pikachu manages to jump off its platform just before the Aurora Beam hits, and Corphish stops Seaking’s Peck by grabbing its horn in a Vicegrip! Unfazed, Adan calls for a Horn Drill, so Seaking begins spinning its horn, carrying Corphish with it! Seaking then throws Corphish into the water. Ash calls for Pikachu to hit Seaking with Iron Tail, which catches Seaking unawares. Adan calls for Sealeo to come to its aid with Aurora Beam, but it’s too late. The Iron Tail strikes Seaking, sending it underwater. Pikachu barely dodges before the Aurora Beam strikes what’s left of the ball of ice from earlier, causing an explosion! When the mist clears, Seaking has fainted, but Pikachu and Corphish are nowhere to be seen!

Ash calls out for them, and suddenly, Pikachu emerges from the water, riding on Corphish! Adan calls for an Ice Ball, and Ash tells Corphish to use Harden. This Ice Ball is pretty small, and Corphish stops it easily, still advancing towards its opponents. Adan calls for another Ice Ball, this one a bit bigger, and Corphish blocks it again. Worried, Brock warns Ash that Ice Ball gets more powerful the more times in a row it’s used. Sealeo fires off a third Ice Ball, which Pikachu smashes with Iron Tail. A fourth Ice Ball comes, and Ash is starting to get wary. This time the Ice Ball hits! Pikachu and Corphish are sent flying. Pikachu lands on a large chunk of ice (still left over from earlier), and Corphish lands on one of the platforms. Things don’t look good for Ash now. Adan orders a fifth Ice Ball, and the biggest one yet comes flying towards the struggling Pokemon! Ash calls for a Thunder, so Pikachu leaps up and fires one. Adan doesn’t think this fifth Ice Ball can be stopped in any way, and so far it seems that all Pikachu can do is slow it down. Ash calls for Pikachu to put all its strength into it. Pikachu strains, and its Thunder finally smashes the ball into pieces. These pieces begin raining down on Sealeo. Corphish now uses Crabhammer, sending Sealeo flying into the wall. It then falls down, fainted. With Adan’s two Pokemon down, Ash wins the first stage of the battle! Ash and his Pokemon and friends celebrate, while Adan compliments him on the battle so far.

The battlefield’s water now drains out, and a new battlefield rises up to replace it. This one is a combination of land and water, with several ornaments and small structures scattered on the land. Ash and Adan switch sides for this round, and Ash chooses Grovyle to start off this time, while Adan counters with Luvdisc. May says it’s cute, and checks it in her Pokedex. Grovyle starts with Bullet Seed, but Luvdisc dodges with surprising agility and uses Water Pulse. Ash desperately calls for Grovyle to dodge. It jumps away, springs off two of the ornaments, then jumps high in the air. Adan comments on Grovyle’s speed, and Ash calls for a Leaf Blade. Grovyle powers up its arm leaves, then goes into a spin, diving towards Luvdisc. Luvdisc dodges just before Grovyle strikes, and counters with Sweet Kiss. It produces a heart which flies towards Grovyle and connects, sending Grovyle into confusion! Grovyle looks absolutely bewildered now, and the episode ends on that point, with the water thrashing around the two opponents while a surprised Ash gapes, and his friends worriedly comment on how tough this is going to be. The narrator ends by saying that although Ash won the first round, the second step towards the Rain Badge looks to be much tougher. We’ll see what happens in the next episode.

[Hanada Tattsu]

Thanks Geodude - hmm, I guess they proved that Luvdisc shouldn't be underused in the game.

[Darkgel]

The ending frames are too serious for such a corny, randomish cliffhanger (a confusing kiss?!)...

[Dogasu]

I have a question: Why do people spell Adan's name "Arden?" Where did that spelling of his name come from?

Oh, and Darkgel, I love your sig pic (though the bottom text should read ワンピース instead of what you have). It made me smile.

[Water Pokemon Master]

Off topic: What is his sig pic of? A berry pouch? Why is it funny?

[AKA Pokemon Fan]

Thanks Geodude - hmm, I guess they proved that Luvdisc shouldn't be underused in the game.

If Pokemon in the games could dodge attacks like in the anime (without Double Team) then maybe so, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. There's no getting around that Luvdisc is very weak in the games and learns no particularly good moves compared to other Water types, it's ability Swift Swim, isn't all that special either as tons of better Water types have it.

Of course, in the anime almost any Pokemon can be good in battle, which is one thing that is so great about it.

[Animelee]

It was pretty cool. I noticed there was a colouring mistake with a Todgler's whiskers in one scene, where it had blue whiskers instead of white. I tried finding the scene to make a screenshot of, but I forget where in the episode the scene was, so oh well.

Anyways, it was an awesome episode, as usual, heh. Adan's "Water Artist" show was pretty cool to see, and it was well-animated. It was cool to find out that Adan is a Coordinator as well as just a battling Trainer.

I'd like to know more about Adan's butler, because oddly, he seems to know so much about Pokémon and refereeing. I wonder if there's more to him, or if being a battle referee is part of the job.

It was a great battle, and how Ice Ball was shown was pretty cool. It got bigger and bigger after every successful hit, thus making it stronger. Nice to see Satoshi's Pokémon think on their own in battle, instead of waiting on Satoshi to give them every instruction. How Pikachu rode Heigani, or how Pikachu and Heigani bust the Ice Balls, it was pretty cool how they did that on their own.

The next part of the battle seems intriguing, and I was surprised to see O'osubame in the preview. Also, I was glad Satoshi saved Juptor for the second round, and used Pokémon that were resistant to Water and Ice-type attacks (Yukiwarasi and Heigani) in the first round. Glad to see that some underused Pokémon appear to be Adan's strongest Pokémon -- Luvcus and Azumao (Seaking). It makes people like me, who prefer to battle with underused Pokémon, happy.

I love when they "paint" the scene for the To Be Continued screen. It makes things look a lot more epic. Something they've been doin' since Kanto! Kind of weird how they painted the sweatdrop blue, though.

Oh, and Kojirou's Adan costume is awesome!

Off topic: What is his sig pic of? A berry pouch? Why is it funny?

It says "UAN PIISU", or One Piece.

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[Hanada Tattsu]

Thanks for those pics. Ardan looks a bit.. extra feminine in that scene.. hehe.

[Animelee]

That's Kojirou dressed up as Adan for a plan they plan to do in the next episode, heh.

[Water Pokemon Master]

LOL Hanada Tattsu.

What do you mean it means one piece?

[Animelee]

The writing in that picture says "UAN PIISU", which is one way how the Japanese write the English words "One Piece".

[Darkgel]

Off topic: What is his sig pic of? A berry pouch? Why is it funny?

It says Uan Piisu, for One Piece, and the fruit figured is the Gomu Gomu No Mi (or Gum Gum Fruit) that the main character from said series eats in the beginning (starting the craziness). Just laughing at the fact that the "Berries" are actually fruit (hence adressed as Insertnamehere no mi).

And Dogasu, I dunno, maybe the translators on my side of the planet messed with the logo, as it's Uan Piisu here in this tankoubon I got.

[Hanada Tattsu]

LOL - I see. I was gonna say that because of the eyes but I thought it was wrong.

[Zhen Lin]

Onepiece, in Japanese, means dress, as in one-piece blouse + skirt.

[Water Pokemon Master]

Ya guys lost me.

[Hanada Tattsu]

LOL - I think WPM wanted to know how it was written.. right? You lost me too. What does this have to do with Adan? LOL.