Love what Trip said about Snivy and Pikachu before the battle......he must be reading forums.

Awesome episode! I actually enjoyed seeing Ash get his @$$ kicked by Trip!

Awesome episode! Every episode so far was awesome!

Loved seeing all the newPokemon!

Can't wait to see what's going to happen with Team Rocket!~

Honestly stopped caring about Pikachu a long time ago. It was decent battle overall I'd say

I'm not sure if they messed it up in the anime, but Cursed Body should only affect one attack, not two. But then again, Shauntal's Jellicent doesn't really last long enough for me to check.

I thought this episode was a little slow, but any episodes where we can see Trip/Ash's rivalry more are good to me. Seriously, it needs to be more fleshed out. But Best Wishes is shaping up to be my favorite saga, it's consistently entertaining.

Great episode!

Writers, where did that character building skills you gave to Paul go when you began writing for Trip? Ash & co. have arrived to Luxuria Town on their way to Nacrene City and they first stop off at the Pokemon Battle Club where they find Trip is available to battle. After calling Trip up and some convincing, Ash and Trip will have a 5-on-5 battle. Meanwhile Team Rocket get ambushed by Officer Jenny as they await for their rendezvous. Can Ash show Trip that he's no "boony"? What new Pokemon and strategies does Trip have in store? Can Team Rocket escape Officer Jenny? And how many families were given cloning machines? The last one can be left to fanon, while the others are answered below:

Why Reproduce When You Can Clone:
Getting to Luxuria Town, Ash heads to another Pokemon Battle Club (I'm guessing they're scattered all around Unova. I guess it's a good place to add filler as we'll at least see Ash training, probably) and rushes in and starts searching through the trainers he wants to practice against for the Nacrene Gym. Iris and Cilan come through the doors out of breath and Iris starts complaining to Ash that he didn't need to rush to the Pokemon Battle Club and he's "such a kid". Ash then does a loud gasp startling Iris and Cilan as Ash has found that Trip in there in the Pokemon Battle Club. Iris asks who Trip is as Cilan says he knows him as he had won a Trio Badge (wonder which one he fought against?) before Iris asks again who Trip is. Ash explains Trip is a trainer he met at Professor Juniper's Lab and is the first trainer he fought in Unova (though he leaves out some details... like him losing that battle). Ash decides he wants to battle Trip and a familiar voice behind them says "alright" as they turn to see Don George (though this time wearing a blue and black uniform instead of a red and black one) who says the Pokemon Battle Club will help set-up the match and asks for Ash's name for some reason *sees picture next to them* Oh boy, here we go again. Ash tells him his name and asks didn't they meet in Accumula Town and Don George said they met his cousin and points to the aforementioned picture which is a family shot of all the Don Georges.

Ash: Wow, talk about look-a-likes.
Comment: Yeah, it's not like we met any family like that before *coughJoyJennyMeridiancough*.

Don George then calls Trip up on the Xtransceiver (which is pronounced as "cross transceiver", now I know that sometimes "x" is used to mean "cross" like when they paint it on the streets but still...) and Trip picks up and Don George tells him they found a challenger with Ash sliding in giving a "long time, no see" and Trip gives him a moderate response of seeing he's in town. Iris and Cilan then decide to slide in for some reason and Trip is surprised to see Cilan as Cilan explains he's now travelling with Ash and Iris. Ash pushes them out of the way and asks Trip for a battle though Trip rejects it saying there's no point battling Pikachu as it lost against a freshly received Snivy (oh come on, you couldn't figure out something was wrong from Ash's reaction after you battled? Also you don't think Ash caught anymore Pokemon besides Pikachu?). Ash explains that Pikachu had lost its electrical attacks due to Zekrom but it now has them back which surprises Cilan and Iris tells him it happened in Nuvema Town but not much else. Ash then gets angry for no reason and starts shaking the machine saying he had also caught more Pokemon and Don George tells him to calm down while Trip add in a "keep it down" as he enters the Pokemon Battle Club. Ash asks Trip if he had decided to battle and Trip says maybe they'll have a 6-on-6 battle but Ash says he only has 5 Pokemon which surprises Trip but Ash "recovers" saying and showing he got the Tri Badge but Trip says he had already gotten two badges (though he doesn't show them which makes you wonder what that 2nd badge is as I doubt he's been to Nacrene City yet). Trip tells Don George that he'll skip this battle saying there's no point with Ash having 5 Pokemon and one badge. Ash says that he'll win if they battle and Trip asks where Ash gets his overconfidence.

Trip: Are all trainers from the Kanto region boonies just like you?
Comment: Hmm, I don't know if this is stereotyping or being racist, I'm leaning more toward the former.

Ash now rightfully gets angry at Trips' remake and Trip says he'll look for tougher opponents in the next town and starts to leave. However Iris asks why not battle saying it sounds like Trip is just a "big talker" and calls him a kid and Cilan says that he would enjoy watching them battle as it would be like "passion and cool colliding". Trip decides to give in and asks Don George to judge the 5-on-5 battle and Ash thanks him though Trip says he already knows what the results will be and this will be just a waste of his time.

Pecking Off The Weak:
Don George starts the battles and it's Ash's Oshawott vs. Trip's Tranquill and Trip is surprised to see Oshawott as Ash tells him it's the one from Professor Juniper. Ash reminds Oshawott of the Striaton Gym and it does a Water Gun which Tranquill dodges and does an Aerial Ace which first hit knocks off Oshawott's Scalchop and second hit knocks it out! Don George declares Tranquill the winner and Trip explains that Tranquill has the Ability Super Luck which Cilan explains that Super Luck increases the chance for a Critical Hit and Ash returns Oshawott and sends out Tepig.

Trip: Your Water-type was a bust so now a Fire-type? Talk about straightforward.
Comment: What are you talking about? I would understand if he was pointing out that Pikachu be Ash's best choice but I don't think that's the case.

Ash says "straightforward" is just fine with him and Ash's Tepig vs. Trip's Tranquill starts with Tepig doing Ember and Tranquill once again dodging it. Tepig keeps on using Ember but Tranquill dodges them all and uses Double Team and as Ash tells Tepig not to be fooled Tranquill uses Work Up which Cilan explans raises the user's Attack and one Aerial Ace knocks Tepig out. Don George declares Tranquill the winner and Ash rushes over to Tepig and returns it as Trip says Ash should start off from the top (which I'm guessing means Ash should start with his strongest which would be Pikachu?) and Ash says he's just warming up and sends Pikachu in (careful Ash, you're now using type advantage!).

Somewhere else in a junkyard, Team Rocket is waiting for their rendezvous saying they have arrived early as Officer Jenny appears and surrounds them with police officers saying their arrest warrant makes them the most wanted in the Unova region (who would have ever thought we'd be saying that about the Team Rocket trio? ). However they don't seem so worried about their "warm welcome" and give a sinister snicker off.

It's Ash's Pikachu vs. Trip's Tranquill and Pikachu does a Thunderbolt that Tranquill dodges as Trip mockingly jokes that Pikachu can use Electric-type moves as Tranquill does another Work Up followed by an Aerial Ace. Being a BIT higher-leveled then Oshawott and Tepig and being resistant to Flying-type attacks, Pikachu still struggles to get back up. Trip asks why Ash doesn't just quit and says it's time for win #3 and Tranquill does another Aerial Ace but Ash tells Pikachu to grab onto Tranquil which it does but not without getting hit. Ash then tells Pikachu to throw Tranquill which it does and uses a Volt Tackle to, despite Trip's command to dodge, hits Tranquill and knocks it out. Don George declares Pikachu the winner and Ash tells Trip he may notice Pikachu isn't the same they last time they battled which Trip says maybe so but Ash won't beat his Servine which he then sends out. Ash concludes Servine evolved from Trip's Snivy (duh!) they first battled and Ash says they won't lose this time as Cilan fills us in that Trip used Servine to defeat Chili's Pansear (nice try in trying to "build-up" Servine, writers ) and that Ash and Pikachu better stay sharp.

Going back to Team Rocket, Officer Jenny tells them they're under arrest when a truck's horn is heard and it comes slamming through the doors chasing the police officers away and does a 360 right next to Team Rocket. The driver door opens to reveal the driver is Atem... I mean Dan Green... I mean their Team Rocket Agent rendezvous though they still ask who he is (and it doesn't sound like they're asking for his name either, which is odd as Giovanni showed them what he looked like before signing off). The rendezvous tells them there is no time and to get in and Officer Jenny says she won't let them get away as she (on a motorcycle) and the other police officers (in cars) start chasing the truck. Officer Jenny tries to pull them over saying they're resisting arrest (you think?) but they speed ahead as Officer Jenny says that the bridge is out. The truck jumps off the bridge but the roof pops out and Team Rocket and their rendezvous fly out in jetpacks and fly away as the truck explodes below and Officer Jenny and the other police officers watch on the bridge. Flying over a forest, the rendezvous gives Team Rocket the briefcase he's been holding and introduces himself as Pierce before flying off as Team Rocket are impressed by the new agent and fly off themselves.

Maybe Trip Should Have Been Named Gary:
Back to the Ash's Pikachu vs. Trip's Servine re-match, Pikachu does an Iron Tail but Servine uses Cut which cancel each other out and Servine does a Leaf Tornado slamming Pikachu into the ground. It gets back up and does a Volt Tackle but Servine does a Cut which hits and knocks Pikachu out (...after this battle I have something to say about this and Trip overall). Don George declares Servine the winner and Ash rushes over to Pikachu to make sure it's okay and Trip asks if Ash still wants to "see this thing through" and says Ash only has 2 Pokemon left while he has 4. Trip says he pretty much won but Ash says he's wrong and a match isn't over until it's over and sends out Snivy.

Iris: Why is he using Snivy? He still has Pidove who's a Flying-type.
Comment: You answered your own question Iris, his other Pokemon is Pidove (yes, yes, I know this joke is getting old but the writers are practically pointing it out).

Cilan says that he's sure Ash has a plan up his sleeve but Iris says she wish she was just as sure.

Ash's Snivy vs. Trip's Servine starts with Snivy doing Vine Whip but Servine dodges them as Snivy switches to Leaf Blade but Servine still dodges and attacks with Leaf Tornado slamming it into the ground but it gets back up. Trip says that he trained his Snivy and it evolved and Ash tells him it takes more than evolving to become stronger and that Snivy is going to win. Snivy does Vine Whip again which Servine dodges against but Snivy then does Attract which hits Servine and it becomes infatuated with Snivy. Trip is surprised by this and Iris says she forgot Snivy knew Attract (though personally I wouldn't as it took a whole episode to catch it because of Attract) and Cilan told her he knew Ash had a plan. Snivy does Vine Whip and Leaf Blade on Servine which knocks it out. Don George declares Snivy the winner and Trip returns his Servine saying Ash surprised him with Attract. Ash recalls Snivy saying he's catching up fast and Trip says they'll see about that and sends out Frillish (male) and Ash sends out Pidove. Now you're maybe wondering why I'm not creating a new paragraph for Ash's Pidove vs. Trip's Frillish. Well Pidove does an Air Cutter but Frillish stopped it with a Protect, used Water Pulse, and knocked out Pidove. Don George declares Frillish the winner and Cilan comments that Frillish is powerful and battling style has a "sharp flavor" while Iris says Ash is down to one Pokemon as he returns Pidove. Trip asks if Ash had enough yet and stop while he's beyond "for his own sake" and Ash re-states that the battle isn't over until it's over and sends out Snivy.

Ash's Snivy vs. Trip's Frillish starts with Snivy doing Vine Whip which causes Iris and Cilan to freak out as the attack hits Frillish and it starts glowing dark purple which then surrounds Snivy who has a zombified expression on. Trip says that Ash clearly doesn't know the basics if he attack a Pokemon with the Ability Cursed Body and Iris yells at Ash that Cursed Body prevents a Pokemon from using its moves if they attacked it directly and that he's a "little kid" (much different from "a kid" ) and Cilan tries to calm her down. Snivy does Leaf Tornado but Frillish stops it with Protect and then does Night Shade but Snivy recovers from it and as Frillish is celebrating it uses another Leaf Storm and tries an Attract but Frillish floats up before it could "hit" as Cilan says that Frillish is fast and is a "robust opponent". Snivy then does a Leaf Blade which shocks Iris and Cilan who says it's doomed from the start but Ash hopes that it'll finish Frillish. However Frillish is still battle ready after the attack and Cursed Body prevents Snivy from using Leaf Blade as Frillish does Water Pulse which, though probably didn't do that much damage as Snivy is resistant to it, makes Snivy Confused. Trip says this is what they were planning for and Frillish does Hex which Trip explains that because Snivy is Confused it'll do damage the damage (BTW, Hex's original Power is 50 so...) and Snivy gets knocked out. Don George declares Frillish the winner and Trip wins the battle.

Now let's talk about Trip here for a moment. Trip is quickly becoming a Gary Stu in a bad way. Now you're maybe saying "but Paul was also a Gary Stu" and while you wouldn't be wrong Paul was at least believable. Paul for the most part battled strategically, there was a reason for the actions he did even if it meant one of his Pokemon fainting. Trip on the other hand, well the Ability of his Tranquill best describes how Trip battles: with luck. Now there are some strategy elements in there but for the most part he's been lucky: he's lucky Ash doesn't think to use type advantage right from start (though this is Ash's fault as you'd think against a trainer he lost to before he'll try to at least "improve" his image). He's lucky CUT stopped Volt Tackle (which for some reason didn't hit Servine) and took down Pikachu (my problem here isn't that Servine stopped Volt Tackle, but rather how it did it. Cut shouldn't have been able to do it, Leaf Blade on the other hand would have been much more believable and Servine can learn it before it evolves so there would have been no problem if they gave Servine Leaf Blade). He's lucky Frillish has Cursed Body instead of Water Absorb and the writers changed it from instead having a 30% chance of disabling any move to having a 100% chance of disabling all Physical moves. He's lucky the writers had Hex do double damage as Confusion isn't one of the status ailments which lets it do that. And he's lucky Frillish is able to survive 3 head on Grass-type moves it should be gotten doubled damage and STAB on. The writers are trying to build Trip up to being this rival to be reckoned with but the problem is when you think about it he's just been lucky so far because it hasn't dawn on Ash that type advantage would probably be good to start out with and the writers are twisting the rules so obviously in his favor. And before you try to defend Trip, ask yourself this: would you rather watch an Ash vs. Paul battle OR an Ash vs. Trip battle? Now why?

Now that I'm done with my little rant, Ash returns Snivy and Trip says that while Pikachu and Snivy are okay Ash's other Pokemon are a complete joke just like their trainer which gets Ash angry but Trip thanks Don George and leaves. Ash asks Trip to battle again someday and Trip says they'll see as battling is "basic" to a trainer. Cilan tells Ash better luck next time and Iris says he'll just have to train harder and not to be upset. Ash quickly mood shifts and says he isn't and he won't let Trip stay head for him much longer as we end the episode.