Alder hitting on Cynthia isn't exactly setting a good example for his grandson, Benga.

Well considering Benga isn't around it's probably safe to assume Alder's antics will go unnoticed

I'm surprised that Stephan isn't in this tournament, but I guess they ran out of jokes of mispronouncing his name.

It was a good episode. I really do hope the relationship between Iris and her Dragonite will strengthen, much like the way it did for Ash and his Charizard.

EPISODE: BW090 "Jostling for the Junior Cup!"

Pretty good episode, nice to see Caitlin as sort of a double cameo for not only the Unova Elite Four but also the Gen IV Battle Frontier (even though they never mention it). The Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup has just begun and, after watching a battle between Cynthia and Caitlin, Ash & co. (+ Dawn) and their rivals get matched-up with the most interesting Round 1 battles being Trip vs. Burgundy and Iris vs. Georgia. How will the two main rivals knocked out first in the last tournament do against each other? What does this match mean for Iris and Georgia's rivalry? Which 2 out of these 4 will be going onto the 2nd round? And why are they trying to give Caitlin character development NOW? The last one needs to be asked to a writer, though the other 3 have their answers in the episode, and thus the episode summary below:

A Don George Tournament By Another Name:
It's the start of the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup and Ash & co. (+ Dawn & Meloetta) are in front of the hosting stadium in Lucunosa Town. After some random guys bump into Ash (scaring Meloetta who turns invisible), opener, title screen, they start walking to the stadium and looking around.

Iris: Hey, over there, a temporary Pokemon Center.

Comment: Oh come on, at least put up some board displays which says it's a Pokemon Center. And if you're going to have Nurse Joy and Audino out there at least give them a booth to sit at.

But soon Ash hears Alder's voice and Ash & co. find Alder using his Brock-like charm on Cynthia:

Alder: Come on, what say we forget the tournament and grab some lunch.
Cynthia: I think you'll be dining alone as usual.
Comment: And for using a Brock-like charm, he also gets a Brock-like shutdown.

Ash tries to get Alder's attention but suddenly Trip appears saying Alder hasn't changed... not that Alder remembers at first and Trip tells Alder his name. Ash fairs a bit better in Alder's memories (albeit Alder calling him "Ashton") as Ash shows his surprise Trip is entering the tournament, something which Trip says is obvious since the winner will battle Alder and he'll be the winner.

Trip: And then, I'm going to win when I battle against you, then I'll prove you being the Unova Champ is so yesterday.
Comment: ... yeah, you do realize just because you beat the Champion outside of the Pokemon League doesn't mean you get a Champion title, right? You have to beat the Unova League and then the Elite Four before beating the Champion means anything. Basic.

Trip leaves and soon so does Cynthia which causes Alder to chase after asking about their date, which I suppose is good as we have the other rivals coming. First up (well, second, first would be Trip) is Georgia who shares her usual banter with Iris before heading to the stadium (hey, Georgia, remember when you complained about Iris not having any Dragon-types? Well guess what, she just caught a Dragon-type, hehe...). And what would a Unova tournament be without Cilan's rival, Burgundy, proclaiming her hatred toward Cilan.

Comment: Ash telling Dawn about Georgia:

Comment: Ash's reaction to Burgundy's appearance:

Comment: I think Ash no longer gives a s*** about Iris's and Cilan's rivals.

At least Burgundy realizes Ash & co. aren't alone upon seeing Dawn, of course she makes herself look like a crazy person (oops, did I say "look"? I meant "prove") by yelling at Dawn to keep her "guard" up around Cilan before heading to the stadium.

Dawn: There sure are a lots of pains in the neck around here.
Comment: Actually only those two (three if you count Trip), but don't worry, they'll cause more then enough neck pain for you to be able to stand of them soon enough...

Let's Focus On The REAL Matches:
Inside the stadium (wait, Trip, Georgia, Burgundy... where's Stephan?), Ash & co. (+ Dawn) look around at the other competitors while Freddy O'Martian starts introducing everyone and his co-host, Alder. Alder explains the winner of the Junior Cup will battle him as Freddy O'Martian brings everyone's attention to the battling field where he introduces... CAITLIN, the Psychic-type Unova Elite Four (coming down on a white rose, of course)! How appropriate that Cynthia's opponent is Caitlin considering their relationship (not like that!... that ship is called WhiteOrchidShipping by the way), and speaking of Cynthia here she is wearing a sparkly purple cape. Cynthia says she's glad to see Caitlin and she has improved much (so, are we going to even mention the Generation IV Battle Frontier? No, well okay, guess that's fair, considering you messed around so long that, despite hinting at it via Palmer, Ash never got around to challenging them...) and throws off her cape (sorry Cynthia, you may have the styIe points, but I'm giving Caitlin the entrance points).

Cynthia sends out her Garchomp while Caitlin sends out her Gothitelle, and Gothitelle begins the battle with Flatter which confuses Garchomp and uses Psychic to slam it on the ground and wall! Gothitelle tries to go for a slam against the ceiling but Garchomp is able to get itself balanced and kick off the ceiling into a Dragon Rush, knocking Gothitelle down. Gothitelle gets back up as Cynthia compliments Caitlin's calmness and Caitlin thanks her saying her heart "skipped a beat" everytime they battle and the old Caitlin is gone, though a quick listening into Caitlin's memories reveals that Caitlin is having some doubts about her skills (you know, I would probably care more about this if we've gone through the Gen IV Battle Frontier as they could have done a story involving Caitlin). Garchomp uses Draco Meteor as Gothitelle counters with Thunderbolt, both attacks colliding and causing firework-like explosions. Both Garchomp and Gothitelle charge in with Brick Break (seriously Caitlin, you taught Gothitelle a physical attack? Ignoring the actual base stats (which, by the way, Gothitelle's Attack is it's lowest stat), does Gothitelle look like a physical attacker? It looks like it's ready to fall over whenever it leans...), both hitting each other causing power sparks to fly out. However, being we have a whole tournament to get to, the timer runs out the the referee declares the exhibition match a draw as Cynthia further compliments Caitlin how far she has come and Caitlin thanks her saying she still has a long way to go.

With a Champion vs. Elite Four (hey, no offense to Cailin, but considering we have Alder here, why didn't we have a Champion vs. Champion match?) match over, it's now onto the tournament as the matches are made:

Trip vs. Burgundy (hmm, being both of them were knocked out in the first round of the last tournament, this actually seems like a fair match-up!)
Manning vs. Kenton (*yawn* I'll care when any of them battles Ash & co. (+ Dawn) or their rivals)
Shepherd vs. Cilan (my head is just buzzing with too many Mass Effect jokes to actually make one, lol)
Horatio vs. Simeon (who came up with these trainer's names? William Shakespeare?)
Marris vs. Ash (So so far we have Ash and Cilan going into the second round...)
Geraldo vs. Cassie (Gee, you'd think they'll either cut down on the amount of filler trainers if their going to knock out half of them against other filler trainers...)
Ramone vs. Dawn (Add Dawn to the names of trainers going to the second round... wait, 16 trainers, 7 matches, Trip, Burgundy, Cilan, Ash, Cilan, Dawn... does this mean that...)
Georgia vs. Iris (WHOA! Looks like we're settling this rivalry early... oh, and I do hope Iris uses her new Dragonite...)

With Meloetta watching from above and afar, Trip vs. Burgundy begins with Burgundy sending out a Darmanitan and Trip revealing his Servine has evolved into a Serperior!

Burgundy: Bonjour, Trip. And now, it's evaluation time...
Trip: Leer, let's go!
Comment: LOL! About time someone took advantage of a connoisseur's "evaluation time" by getting in a free attack.

Serperior hits Darmanitan with Leer, loweing its Defense as Serperior powers-up... a SolarBeam (you know, it took me only a few seconds to pull up the page for "Leer" and "SolarBeam" on Bulbapedia and Serebii, the writers are just lazy). Also I'm not going to mention the other factors like stats and typing, Serperior releases the SolarBeam and knocks out Darmanitan and thus Burgundy from the Junior Cup and moving Trip to the second round.

Comment: Now, a word from a fellow poster:
perualonso1: In your face, Bur-goon-dy! Trip won the battle and you didn't! *laughs* Uh, Ash, Cilan, how come I'm the only one laughing at her face?

Ash and Cilan are surprised how quick Trip defeated Burgundy, Freddy O'Martian sharing their reaction though Alder is more reserved stating the obvious of overcoming a type disadvantage.

Trip *thinking*: Now what do you think Alder? You've got to acknowledge my strength is basic stuff.
Comment: Oh, it's basic alright...
Trip *thinking*: All there's left to do is to face you in battle, and prove I'm more powerful then you ever were.
Comment: Shut up. I'll be laughing at you like perualonso1 did to Burgundy when you lose for making those comments.

Filler match 1 goes on though Cilan's match comes right after as we see Pansage take down a Galvantula with a SolarBeam (you know, something which Galvantula resists) moving Cilan onto the 2nd round. Filler match 2 happens as we move onto Ash's (which gets Meloetta excited) where Leavanny takes down a Karrablast with Energy Ball (what's with all the Grass-type attacks knocking out Pokemon which are resistant to Grass-type attacks?) and moving Ash to the 2nd round (further exciting Meloetta that you'd think someone would have noticed it by now, especially since it's in eyesight of the audiance on the opposite side). Filler match 3 plays out while Dawn's match has Piplup taking out a Stoutland with Drill Peck, moving Dawn to the 2nd round.

Another Dragon Not Listening To The Main Characters:
But now with all the obvious battles over, it's time for the most interesting 1st round match to begin: Iris vs. Georgia! Iris sends out Dragonite which gets Georgia excited (wait till you realize it doesn't act like a normal Dragonite...) as she sends out Beartic, Dawn stating Dragon-types weakness against Ice-types (Dragonite especially being part Flying-type) and Cilan says it's important for Dragonite to dodge the Ice-type attacks (thank you Cilan for telling us what Dragonite will NOT do ). And it doesn't take too long for that to happen as Beartic uses Hidden Power and Iris tells it to dodge it... but instead it just stands there and slaps away the Hidden Power orbs away LIKE A BOSS! Everyone falls silent as the watchers come to the realization that, yes, we're repeating yet another old storyline: the disobeying Pokemon (you know, something that got old by the time it happened with Dawn and Mamoswine... though then again Iris does seem to have this problem with almost all her Pokemon). Dragonite gives a nasty stare toward Beartic who responds with a Focus Blast as Iris tells Dragonite to dodge but instead Dragonite stands its ground and thrusts its arms at the Focus Blast, dispelling it. Cilan says that Dragonite must think dodging is too much like running away as Beartic actually uses a super effective attack, Ice Beam, which Dragonite takes and gets frozen over except for its head, shocking everyone. Beartic uses another Ice Beam as Iris tells Dragonite to use Flamethrower but Dragonite instead takes the 2nd Ice Beam and now its head has been frozen over. Alder says that Dragonite might not want to use a super effective move against an opponent while Cilan says that Iris and Dragonite aren't compatible at all, worrying Dawn about their chances to win.

Georgia is starting to claim victory as Iris yells at Dragonite to get serious and Dragonite breaks out of the ice and starts charging at Beartic. Beartic attacks with a Blizzard but I think Dragonite has already proven that Ice-type attacks don't bother it as much as it delivers a ThunderPunch and knocks Beartic out, thus knocking Georgia out of the Junior Cup and sending Iris to the 2nd round. Ash, Cilan, and Dawn are happy that Iris and Dragonite won though Iris tells Dragonite it has to listen to her while Georgia says she didn't lose to Iris but to Dragonite.

Georgia: If you're going to call yourself a Dragon Master, use a Dragon-type that'll listen.
Comment: What difference will it make? Technically, if you were going to beat Dragonite at any time, this would have been it as a trainer and their Pokemon are at their weakest when they aren't working togehter. Dragonite listening to Iris will just mean that they'll never lose against you.

And so that ends Round 1 with Ash, Iris, Cilan, Dawn, and Trip (oh, and three other filler trainers) moving onto Round 2 as we end with Trip giving Alder an angry stare.

EPISODE: BW091 "Battling Authority Once Again!"

Pretty good episode, if nothing more then for the Iris vs. Dawn battle! We continue the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup as we head into Round 2 which are mostly filler battles to get the main characters to the Semi-Finals... except for Iris and Dawn who are battling against each other! Which one of the female companions are going on through the Semi-Finals? Will Iris be able to get Dragonite to listen to her commands? What matches await for Ash, Cilan, Trip, and Iris/Dawn in the Semi-Finals? How much bigger can Trip's ego get? All except the last one is answered below, though the last one will probably take a few more episodes to inflate further...

Getting Through The Filler:
After a quick summary of last episode, we start this episode with the match-ups for Round 2 for the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup:

Trip vs. Manning (Looks like Trip is sailing on through to Round 2)
Cilan vs. Horatio (As well as Cilan)
Ash vs. Geraldo (And Ash... which means I guess we'll be skipping all their battles for...)
Iris vs. Dawn (WOOT! Female Companion battle! Then again, being May and Dawn battled during the last saga I guess this bound to happen. Though too bad this "tradition" started after Misty's guest star during the Hoenn Saga)

Iris and Dawn look surprised with Iris saying they're battling each other and Dawn says if they kept winning it was bound to happen so both get a determine look saying the best trainer will win the match.

Georgia: Ms. Big Hair better not lose to anyone else but me because this Dragon Buster never forgives.
Comment: Too late, Iris was already beaten by Montgomery during the Clubsplosion.
Burgundy: So you're going to root for Iris?
Georgia: Not on your life!
Comment: Because yelling at someone to win and rooting for them are completely two different things...
Burgundy: I sense a bitter taste.
Comment: Coming from the master of bitterness herself...

Freddy O'Martian reminds everyone that the winner will get to battle Alder who says he can't wait to see who climbs to the top of the heap as the 1st Round 2 battle begins: Trip vs. Manning.

Trip sends out Serperior and Manning sends out Heatmor, Ash and Cilan both noting Trip is facing another Fire-type thus is at a disadvantage. Ash notices Iris looking at a pokeball and Iris says she's just thinking about Dragonite with Ash making a nervous face saying it did kind of not listen to her. Iris goes into a flashback of their Round 1 battle, remembering all of the instances of Dragonite not listening to her, until finally coming out of the flashback and decides to run out saying she'll be back. Outside the stadium, Iris sends out Dragonite who looks like was in a middle of taking a... number 2...

Um, I think this is a bad time, Iris, maybe you'll want to wait a minute or two.

Iris tells Dragonite that if it continues to be stubborn and take attacks it might not get a chance to attack though Dragonite doesn't want to listen, pushing Iris back when she tries telling it she's worried about it. Iris asks if to dodge when she tells it to though Dragonite keeps on ignoring her, making Iris wonder how she could get through to it which is when Cynthia comes up behind them saying it sounds like they're struggling.

Back to the Trip vs. Manning battle, Serperior wins with a SolarBeam with Ash and Cilan filling us in that he did the same thing he did to Burgundy: lower Defense with Leer and finish with a SolarBeam (a SPECIAL Attack meaning Leer isn't helping in anyway). Trip returns Serperior and him and Ash share a quick glare as Trip smiles and walks off while the 2nd match of Round 2 starts: Cilan vs. Horatio. Georgia asks Burgundy if she's going to root for Cilan and Burgundy says it's "like being torn between two desserts" which Georgia then says Burgundy would be a better Connaisseuse if she was more elegant like Cilan, getting Burgundy furious (oh would you two just kiss ). The battle begins with Cilan sending out Stunfisk and Horatio sending out Cinccino... as we head back to Iris, Dragonite, and Cynthia.

Cynthia walks up to Dragonite who turns harshly and when Cynthia tries to pet Dragonite it roars at her, Cynthia saying Dragonite doesn't fully trust humans yet though tells Dragonite it doesn't have to keep its guard up as Pokemon and humans must co-exist and help each other etc. (you heard all this already). Cynthia tries petting Dragonite again who roars at her but Cynthia tells it to clam down, finally able to pet it as Iris is amazed with Cynthia.

Back to the Cilan vs. Horatio battle, Stunfisk wins with a Mud Bomb.

Alder: Cilan and Stunfisk's teamwork is something to see.
Comment: Oh don't lie Alder, we perfectly know that nothing else happened in the battle besides what we just saw.

Georgia asks why isn't Burgundy isn't evaluating with Burgundy saying it's only Round 2 and she doesn't want to waste her "genius" (I don't think that what people means when they say you're brilliantly stupid) though Georgia says Burgundy just doesn't want to hear her making fun. Burgundy says if she has to hear anymore of Georgia's "acidic" language she'll have to take an antacid which Georgia makes fun of her for saying, getting Burgundy angry.

Forget kissing, just "do" each other and get it out of your system. You already lost, and no one would miss you if you decide to just head back to the hotel.

Ash congratulates Cilan as Iris comes back (but who will we cut too during Ash's filler battle?) and apologizes for missing Cilan's match saying she lost track of time. Cilan says it's Ash's battle next though Pikachu senses something and Meloetta appears (oh yeah, I'm sure no one is paying attention to the participant's platform, especially with one battle over and the next one about to begin...) with Ash saying he hopes it cheers him on. Anyway, it's Ash vs. Geraldo, Ash sending out Boldore and Geraldo sending out Reuniclus (and surprisingly it's Dawn who scans it with her Pokedex). Boldore begins the battle with a Flash Cannon... as we cut to Trip saying hello to Cynthia as they're passing each other down a hall. Cynthia congratulates Trip for making it to the Semi-Finals though asks shouldn't he be watching the other battles but Trip says he got a winning strategy which Cynthia says is impressive before leaving.

Cynthia: Bye, Good luck.
Trip *thinking*: You too, because once I beat Alder, you're next!
Comment: WOW! Just, WOW! Okay, Alder, I guess I can understand Trip thinking he can beat him since Alder is a bit of a goofball... but CYNTHIA?! The trainer you just watched have a powerful match with an Elite Four member? Her Garchomp took out almost all of Paul's Pokemon and he was just as experience trainer as Ash! You better Knock your ego down a few notches or else Garchomp is going to tear them down and in a bad, soul-crushing way... actually I would like to see that happen. Keep that ego up.

Back to the Ash vs. Geraldo battle, guess what happened? That's right, Boldore uses Rock Blast (just one) and defeats Reuniclus (you know this is Cinccino's and Reuniclus's debut episode and I don't think they're getting quite a good impression), meaning we finally have all the filler battles over with more then half the episode to focus on Iris vs. Dawn!

Girl (Companion) Power:
And we waste no time as the Iris vs. Dawn battle is about to begin with both of them on the field and Cynthia watching them. Georgia says Iris better have Dragonite listen to her this time though Burgundy says that the "same ingredients can lead to different results" (in other words, Burgundy is a horrible cook) which Georgia responds by yelling at Burgundy saying Iris better use Dragonite and "that's an order". Lucky for Georgia, Iris does send out Dragonite (which excites Georgia) as Dawn sends out Mamoswine which confuses Georgia and Burgundy on what Pokemon it is and... huh, Georgia has a Pokedex?

Comment: So did she get it before and after she sworn revenge on all Dragon-type Pokemon?

Burgundy: It's probably some oversized, nincompoop Pokemon.
Comment: And you're some kind of egotistical, incompetent idiot.

Georgia says Burgundy's words are "unappetizing" which angers Burgundy as we go over to Ash who's excited Dawn us using Mamoswine (all we need now is Ash's Charizard and we can form the disobedient trio!) with Cilan saying it'll be a power battle.

Mamoswine starts with Hidden Power (um, Dawn, didn't you see in the Iris vs. Georgia battle that doesn't quite work against Dragonite) and Iris tells Dragonite to dodge... and for once it decides to listen! Mamoswine uses Ice Shard which freaks Iris out and she tells Dragonite to dodge... but this time Dragonite decides it'll take the attack and opens itself wide to the attack. The smoke clears and Dragonite is bruised with Iris yelling at it, Georgia asking what's with Dragonite, and Ash saying it looks like this is going to be a repeat of Round 1. Mamoswine uses Take Down and Iris orders Dragonite to dodge, so naturally Dragonite charges straightforward. However Dragonite grabs onto Mamoswine's tusks and stops the Take Down, though Mamoswine starts another Ice Shard which hits despite Iris's plead for it to dodge. But the Ice Shard only looks to have gotten Dragonite angry as it picks Mamoswine up by its tusks and throws it across the field surprising everyone. Mamoswine gets back up as Iris yells at Dragonite that it needs to listen to her, meanwhile Cynthia is watching from above thinking Dragonite is a fascinating Pokemon. Dawn tells Mamoswine to hang in there as Iris tries pointing that out to Dragonite who justs ignores her.

Mamoswine does another Take Down as Dragonite charges in once more, this time Mamoswine coming out on top and knocks Dragonite back. Mamoswine tries wrapping things up with an Ice Shard and Iris tells Dragonite to counter it with a Flamethrower, but Dragonite still refuses to attempt dodging an Ice-type attack and takes the Ice Shard. Ash and Cilan are confused about Dragonite only listening to Iris once (I think Dragonite was just humoring Iris), meanwhile Mamoswine now tries finishing this with an Ice Fang. Iris start panicing as Dragonite isn't listening to her as Dragonite grabs Mamoswine's tusks again preventing the Ice Fang from landing though it starts to freeze Dragonite's hands and arms. Iris tells Dragonite it if keeps doing this it'll be frozen again but just then Dragonite breaks away a flies up toward the ceiling, then flies back down at Mamoswine with a Dragon Rush! When the smoke clears, Dragonite is standing triumphantly over a fainted Mamoswine.

Burgundy pouts that Iris won (or more like someone other then she did won) though Georgia tells her that Iris didn't win, Dragonite did. Piplup is sad that Dawn lost as Cilan says this battle had its fair share of problems though Ash says Dragonite strength was still awesome. Dawn returns Mamoswine and says it deserves a rest as she walks over to Iris who's asking Dragonite when will it start listening to her and congratulates her for "winning". Iris says that they only won by a hair but Dawn wishes her luck in the Semi-Finals as Iris goes back to yelling at Dragonite with Cynthia watching above saying when Iris and Dragonite finally connect it'll be a powerful one.

Semi-Finishing The Semi-Finals:
The Semi-Finals matches are made:

Cilan vs. Trip (ah, the Club Battle rematch I'm sure which Trip has been waiting for)
Ash vs. Iris (last time Ash faced a Dragonite it almost took out his entire team, then again that was Orange League Champion Drake's Dragonite which knew 11 moves so maybe Ash will fair a bit better... if he uses Pikachu...)

Iris reminds Ash about the last time they fought in the Clubsplosion where Excadrill defeated Pikachu and Ash says this time things will be different though Iris says she doesn't plan on losing. We waste no time as Cilan vs. Trip starts with video of Cilan's victory over Trip in the Club Battle though Alder says "that was then" and calling this battle interesting would be an understatement.

Trip *thinking*: I don't think so, it's going to be a one-sided yawn of a battle. I'll prove that power is everything, watch and learn.
Comment: I'm going to be so glad in the Unova League when Ash defeats (oh don't act like that's not going to happen. It happened to Gary and Paul, it'll happen to Trip).

Cilan is also thinking to himself, saying that Trip is preparing for a battle with Alder though he has a "secret ingredient" to not let that happen. Burgundy starts screaming she wants revenge for losing to Trip, even going as far as saying that Cilan won't let her down (wow, Trip is getting so much hate that he's making enemies like each other!).

Trip sends out Serperior and Cilan sends out Crustle then saying that he knew that Trip was going to choose Serperior so he'll skip the evaluation and go straight into his strategy. Serperior uses Glare but Crustle blocks the attack by hiding in its shell, Cilan thinking the same thing will happen when Serperior uses SolarBeam but is surprised when SolarBeam knocks Crustle into the air. Crustle uses X-Scissor but Serperior dodges (and for some reason starts shaking its tail like it's a rattlesnake) as Crustle then tries a Rock Slie only for Serperior to dodge the falling rocks as well! The battle comes to an end when Serperior uses Frenxy Plant and hits Crustle, sending it flying into the air but then crashing back down, knocking it out. Cilan returns Crustle thanking it as Burgundy angrily freaking out (so even when Burgundy roots for her rival, she still loses. I think the cosmos is trying to tell her something).

Freddy O'Martian says that Trip won once again with sheer power which Alder says that power is alright but it only goes so far, giving Trip a smile. Trip, however, doesn't listen to Alder's words and says that once he wins this tournament and beat Alder he'll prove that he was right all along (I'll be here laughing when he defeats you with any trouble). Meanwhile, Ash meets up with Cilan who says that Trip must have trained for this tournament "like it was going out of styIe" and Ash says he's excited about battling Serperior, though says first he needs to beat Iris. Outside, Iris is talking to Dragonite in it's Pokeball asking for it to listen to her as Dawn walks up to Iris and tells her that she had trouble getting Mamoswine to listen to her. Iris points out how good friends Dawn and Mamoswine are now and Dawn says she's sure that it'll be the same way with Iris and Dragonite (hey Dawn, don't read ahead in the scripts ), Iris thanking her.

We have a minute left in this episode so why not tease the Ash vs. Iris battle? Now we know that Iris is going to use Dragonite, so what Pokemon is Ash going to use *drumroll*... Krokorok! And with that revealed, we end the episode.

Hey, Pikachu315111, for your review on yesterday's episode, how about including this?:

Comment: What could be worse than Iris losing? How about the Ego Witches Georgia and Burgundy gloating at her?

By the way, thanks for including my comment in one of your reviews.

Today's episode was very exciting for me. It was too bad, though, that Iris and her Dragonite are still struggling as a team. I was hoping for Ash to win his battle with Trip.

Did Krokorok's galsses evolve with it? Weird.

So, after overwhelming his opponents with sheer power and speed, Serperior is taken out with one attack that its not quick enough to dodge? Yep, there's a reason Alder's the champion. Of course, this also shows just how much more powerful he is than Ash and the others.

I missed the beginning of today's episode.

EPISODE: BW092 "Ash, Iris and Trip: Then There Were Three!"

Well, let me first off say that the Ash and Iris battle was good, especially since something important happens in it. As for the rest of the episode, well, there's a little rant at the bottom to help you know how I feel about it. Being we're continuing from last episode there's really not much to say in this quick summary. It's Ash vs. Iris and whoever wins battles Trip and whoever wins that battle will then get to battle Alder. Will it be Ash or Iris facing against Trip in the Finals of the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup? Who will be facing Alder? How long will Dragonite listen to Iris this time, if at all? What is this important thing I mentioned above that'll happen during Ash and Iris's battle? And how long does it take for TWO Champions to jump into action when a dangerous situation occurs? That last one have you stumped why it's here? Well the answer will even stump you further, just read on and you'll know what I mean:

Reptilian Rampage:
We start this episode right where we left the last, Ash's Krokorok vs. Iris's Dragonite (has Ice Beam, immune to Ground-types, is a 2nd Stage evolution... yeah, we might as well skip to Iris vs. Trip... which Dragonite will also probably win). Freddy O'Martian asks Alder for his thoughts and Alder points out the type advantage though they'll see. Dawn wishes both Ash and Iris luck as Cilan says the battle will be determined if Dragonite listens to Iris (Cilan, have you been watching the same tournament we have? Even without following Iris's orders Dragonite has been cleaning up!). Meloetta looks concerned as we go to the rivals: Trip doesn't care saying his next opponent is a stepping stone (looking forward to Dragonite beating you), Georgia complaining about Iris not being able to control Dragonite, and Burgundy agreeing with Georgia saying an evaluation is a waste of her time.

Now with all the talking over, the battle finally begins with Krokorok using Crunch and Dragonite listening to Iris and dodging which gets Iris excited (Iris, when it listens to a 2nd command of yours then get excited). Krokorok uses Stone Edge (which is super effective against Dragonite so that should be their main attack here) and surprisingly Dragonite listens to Iris by not only dodging Krokorok but also using Flamethrower which knocks Krokorok back. Cilan and Dawn are also surprised by this saying that Ash now has a tougher battle on his hands (he already had a tough battle, now he'll just lose quicker... if Iris thinks about using Ice Bram...), though this makes Meloetta worried. Going over to Cynthia reveals that Dragonite isn't actually listening to Iris (so Iris's orders and Dragonite's actions just so happened to be the same? I'm going to assume you mean that any moment Dragonite will stop listening to Iris as it normally doesn't dodge attacks unless asked and it's in the mood to listen) though is the only one to realize that eitherway Ash is in for a tough battle. Dragonite uses Ice Beam but Krokorok dodges it using Dig as Dragonite lands and Iris warns it that Krokorok can come up from anywhere (in that case maybe Dragonite should stay in the air to show why Flying-types are immune to Ground-types?). However Dragonite does fly up once Krokorok starts Digging up from under it so I guess that shows off the immunity as Dragonite then counters with a Flamethrower that Krokorok barely dodges.

The rivals are confused about Dragonite suddenly listening to Iris, Trip actually realizing that his next battle might be more difficult then he thought as Georgia and Burgundy discuss how it doesn't make sense that now Dragonite is completely listening to Iris. Dragonite uses Flamethrower which Krokorok jumps up to dodge however Dragonite follows with another Flamethrower which knocks Krokorok down and Iris tells Dragonite to keep going with Flamethrower (you know, instead of a super effective Ice Beam...). Krokorok Digs to avoid the Flamethrowers and dugs up from right behind Dragonite and goes into a Crunch, Dragonite flying up to dodge it but Krokorok latches onto its tail and starts hanging on. However Dragonite is able to throw Krokorok off and tries hitting it with an Ice Beam but Krokorok dodges and uses Stone Edge which hits. Krokorok then uses Crunch however Dragnote flies up and uses Flamethrower sending Krokorok flying.

More talky time: Freddy O'Martian and Alder are saying Krokorok and Dragonite are giving it their all, Cilan and Dawn says that anyone can win, Meloetta is still worried, Trip is focusing on the battle, Georgia amazed that Iris is controlling Dragonite, Burgundy trying to draw attention to herself, and Cynthia knowing what's really happening with Dragonite (because she's Cynthia, that's what she does). Krokorok uses Crunch but Dragonite knocks it back with Flamethrower and finally scoring an Ice Beam which should finish off the match and knock out Krokorok though instead its body gets frozen. So now that Krokorok is trapped, the smart thing to do is keep using Ice Beam OR prepare a STAB Dragon Rush... INSTEAD Iris tells Dragonite to use Flamethrower which, while does heavily damage Krokorok and send it flying back, frees it. Everyone watches on as they get ready to hear the announcement of Iris's victory but Dragonite is the first to be surprised to see that Krokorok is still willing to battle and starts getting up. Though with Dragonite as powerful as it is, it beaten up, and Ash cheering it on, if Krokorok wants to win it's going to need to do one thing:

EVOLUTION TIME! (Evolve now and your glasses will evolve too!)

Iris and Dragonite don't quite know what to think about this turn of events though Ash, Cilan, and Dawn are excited while Freddy O'Martian and Alder says that anyone can win. And to start off this new leg of the battle, Krookodile charges in and uses a move it just learned: A super effective Dragon Claw! Krookodile lands the Dragon Claw and sends Dragonite flying across the field and into a wall, amazing everyone. Iris asks if Dragonite is alright, however when it opens its eyes you know it's angry as it flies above the field and starts attacking everything and everywhere! So with a rampaging Pokemon and people possibly in danger, what to the two CHAMPIONS do? Well Alder and Freddy O'Martian just talk how Dragonite is overreacting and Cynthia is just watching (HELLO! IT'S ATTACKING NEAR THE STANDS AND THE PARTICIPANT WAITING AREA! The battle is over, Dragonite is out of control, SEND OUT YOUR POKEMON AND KNOCK IT OUT!). Georgia happily boasts that knew this was going to happen and Iris has a long way of becoming a Dragon Master while Burgundy once again says evaluating Iris and Dragonite would have been a waste of time.

Iris: Listen to me! You're suppose to aim at Krookodile! So stop goofing around and battle correctly!
Comment: Iris, Dragonite almost turned the audience into popsicles, damaged the field with a ThunderPunch, and almost charred you and the other participants. If that doesn't convince you that this battle is over, maybe this will:

Comment: If you can't tell, that's a "I'm going to kill you now" face!
*Dragonite Ice Beams the walls once more*
Iris: Would you stop doing things all wrong and start keeping en eye on your opponent?
Comment: Here's an idea: RETURN DRAGONITE TO IT'S POKEBALL!
*Dragonite ThunderPunches the field again*
Iris: DRAGONITE!
Ash: Poor Iris, but no matter what it's still a battle afterall.
Comment: ... DRAGONITE IS RAMPAGING! THIS IS NO LONGER A BATTLE! PEOPLE ARE AT RISK OF GETTING HURT OR WORSE!
Ash: And that means we attack!
Comment: SMARTEST THING I'VE HEARD!... which is kind of sad being this is coming from ASH!

Krookodile charges in with a Crunch and... Iris tells Dragonite to dodge (NO, DON'T DODGE! Ash is the only one trying to stop the rampaging Pokemon!) but Dragonite tries throwing a punch but is too slow and Krookodile latches onto its hand. Dragonite, however, is able to throw Krookodile away as it flies up and uses a Dragon Rush though Krookodile dodges by using Dug causing Dragonite to hit the ground and stun itself. Krookodile takes the opportunity and hits Dragonite with a Stone Edge, knocking it out and SAVING EVERYONE'S LIFE. Ash moves onto the next round as Dawn says that Iris and Dragonite were doing so well at the beginning and asks Cilan what went wrong though Cilan says he'll need to evaluate Dragonite to know (if you ask me, Dragonite seems to have a superiority complex and a short fuse, two things which don't go well together especially when its superiority is challenged...).

(Continued next post)

(Continued from previous post)

Rivaling Up:
Outside the stadium, Ash & co. (+ Dawn) are inspecting Dragonite (who looks a little ashamed for going berserk) as Iris asks why does it "always have to end the same way" and Ash says Dragonite is wasting its strength and power. Georgia and Burgundy are also there and insult Iris's failure to control Dragonite though Iris says she's too tired to deal with them. Cilan tries telling Iris things aren't that bad when Cynthia shows up and congratulates Iris for doing well and explains what happened between Iris and Dragonite. As it turns out, Iris doesn't have enough badges. Yup, Dragonite still doesn't trust Iris (though that still doesn't explain why Dragonite flipped out) so Cynthia tells Iris that she has to deepen her relationship with Dragonite, even if it's a little at a time. Cynthia tells Iris that, being a trainer, it's her job to gain her Pokemon's trust and possibly the most important thing which Ash & co. agree with. Freddy O'Martian announces the start of the final match, Ash vs. Trip, and Ash runs off as Iris thanks Cynthia before we cut to the match.

On the field, Ash tells Trip he's not going to lose which Trip just chuckles as Freddy O'Martian reminds everyone the winner gets to challenge Alder to a battle. Freddy O'Martian asks Alder how he thinks the battle will turn out and Alder says at this point he's only concerned to see a match worthy of the Junior Cup. Iris, Cilan, and Dawn are also excited as well as Pikachu (guess we're saving Pikachu vs. Serperior for the Unova League), Axew, and Piplup. Trip of course sends out Serperior as Ash sends out Pignite (Trip vs. another Fire-type, and this Fire-type being from his rival. I'm going to save my rant for the end which you can probably see coming). Iris for some reason states Fire-type are strong against Grass-types even though that was pointed out for EVERY ONE of Trip's matches (except against Cilan) in the Junior Cup and Trip still won despite that, Cilan sort of saying this saying Serperior isn't going to lose without a fight.

The match begins with Pignite using Tackle though Serperior dodges so Pignite follows with a Flamethrower that Serperior dodges once more. Pignite uses Flame Charge hoping to hit Serperior with Speed but Serperior still dodges as everyone comments about Serperior's Speed. Serperior uses a SolarBeam followed by a Dragon Tail but Pignite dodges both and uses a SUPER Flame Charge which Serperior once again dodges though Cilan says the more they keep using Flame Charge the faster they'll get. Pignite tries another Tackle and Flamethrower but is still too slow to hit Serperior as Pignite then has to do its own amount of dodging from Serperior's Glare and Dragon Tail. Pignite goes for another SUPER Flame Charge bit Serperior dodges once more (Ash, just keep on using Flame Charge until you hit, you're getting no where at this rate). For once my advice is followed and Pignite keeps on the SUPER Flame Charges though Serperior dodges as Pignite dodges Serperior's Glare. However Serperior follows with a SolarBeam which hits and now suddenly Pignite is close to being knocked out (hey, Pignite, take a note from Krookodile's book and evolve!). Pignite gets back up as Iris, Cilan, and Dawn talk about Pignite's determination as Pignite tries ending things with a Fire Pledge, surrounding Serperior with pillars of flames however Serperior ninja teleports out before the column of flames appear. With Serperior having dodges Pignite's ultimate attack, it uses it's ultimate attack, Frenzy Plant, and hits, knocking Pignite out making Trip the winner of the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup.

TAUROS MULCH! RANT TIME!

You know how I said this entire arc was just to promote Black 2 & White 2's most advertises feature, the Pokemon World Tournament (oh, and I have a special rant for that too, but that's for next episode when the Junior Cup ends)? Well that was only half the truth. The other reason for the Junior Cup was to pretty much give Trip a win, especially over Ash, to make him look more threatening just before we get to the Unova League. And I would be perfectly fine with that... if it wasn't for the poor execution. First off, in the previous two tournaments Trip was in, the Club Battle and Clubsplosion, Trip was knocked out in the first round. Now while he was knocked out by major characters, Cilan and Bianca, this still didn't make him look very threatening as he's suppose to be the main rival. Yet he lost to Cilan, a Striaton Gym Leader, a Gym which he has the Badge for so this just makes it look like he got lucky on who he picked (further not helped that we know Trip battled Chili who we found out later was the weakest of the triplets), and Bianca, a trainer which the anime constantly makes look like she doesn't know what she's doing nor should be taken seriously. So this just makes Trip look like he's lucky to have gotten this far and isn't that serious of a threat.

But before we talk about the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup, let's now talk about his rivalry with Ash. The only reason Trip has won his battles are due to plot convenience/promotional purposes. First time, Pikachu vs. Snivy, Pikachu has suffered its de-power due to Zekrom though at the end of the two-parter Pikachu got its power back. Second time, in the 5-vs.-5 Club Battle, Trip winning against Ash's Oshawott, Tepig, and Pidove was fair though when it comes to Pikachu, they just had it lose to Servine so they can say "LOOK! The Unova Pokemon just defeated Godchu! You can get a Servine or your very own by buying Black & White!". Worst yet, Servine beat Pikachu using CUT and then is defeated by Ash's Snivy, its pre-evolution! And Snivy lost pretty much because they changed how the Ability Cursed Body worked (while the battle still could have gone the way it did, the change was made to assure that Snivy's main super effective Grass-type moves couldn't be used) and Frillish not being hurt that much by super effective hits (Frillish also doesn't have a lot of HP, Defense, nor Speed). At the very least we should have seen all 5 of Trip's Pokemon in that battle, but no, they just made Trip look overpowered BUT also made it look like Ash didn't know what he was doing which only further makes it look like Trip just got lucky. In their third battle, a 3-vs.-3, Ash ties with Trip this time which makes it look like Ash is becoming stronger then Trip, exactly the opposite of what you should be doing with the main rival like Trip (being Trip is a beginning trainer, he should start off weak and then over time become stronger)! His previous battles with Ash is just him getting lucky, making Ash look like an idiot which makes him winning not look like a big deal, and their last battle showing Ash is the one improving and not him.

And now we come to the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup, the tournament he completely curbstomped with just Serperior. Oh, but not only did he just use Serperior, he used Superior against Pokemon which had an advantage over Superior. In all of Trip's matches he was at a disadvantage, 3 being against Fire-types and one where the opponent was part Bug-type. Yet, not only did Serperior beat them, with the Fire-types it beat them using moves they're RESISTANT too! Yes, SolarBeam and Frenzy Plant are powerful, but it shouldn't do so much damage to a Fire-type that it faints them in one or two hits. But that's not all, they once again ignored the fact that Glare only weakens the Defense stat but not the Special Defense stat, yet it follows a Glare with a SolarBeam and still knocks out its opponents. We won't even mention that Serperior is actually more of a defensive Pokemon, though it does have high speed (however it's not fast enough to outpace a Pokemon which had used Flame Charge several times, even a slow Pokemon like Pignite).
Overall, part of a reason for this arc was to make Trip look more threatening as we come to the Unova League. However the way they did things doesn't make this believable and has Trip looking like Marty Stu () then a serious threat.

RANT OVER. Now back to your usual review riffing.

Champ Vs. Chump:
Ash returns Pignite, thanking it, though shows he's a bit of anger (though probably not as near as much as I did above). Freddy O'Martian announces Trip as the winner and Alder says the match was just what he hoped it would be. We cut to Trip standing on a podium as Alder hands him the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup trophy as Freddy O'Martian says that Trip can now battle Alder which Alder tells Trip he's looking forward too and Trip says he is too with a jerkish smile (which I'm sure Alder will wipe right off his face).

Ash: Oh man, after I made it all the way to the finals.
Comment: Story of your life Ash, story of your life. And guess what? Another chapter will be added when you lose at the Unova League (oh, don't act like you didn't know it was going to happen)!

Cilan and Dawn tell Ash he and Pignite did well, Meloetta also appearing to give Ash a confidence boost which makes Ash say that'll he'll get stronger so that next time he'll beat Serperior. With that done, Ash & co.'s (+ Dawn) attention is taken to the field where the Trip vs. Alder battle is about to begin:

Trip: Alder sir, I'm afraid this is the end of your era. I'm going to prove to you just how strong I am.
Comment: And I'll be here laughing as Trip tries to do that only to see that his Serperior's attacks aren't really hurting Alder's Pokemon.
Alder: We'll see, this should be even more fun than I thought it would be.
Comment: Alder just loves crushing the spirit of egotistical trainers.

Alder sends out Bouffalant (Alder, do you have any other Pokemon?) and Trip sends out Serperior, surprising Trip and Dawn though Ash says he's excited to see how Alder will battle against Serperior (why Ash, plan on copying? I'll admit, it would be funny to see Trip lose with Serperior the same way two times). The battle starts with Serperior using SolarBeam... however, in case you haven't noticed all the text above, the episode ends right here as the SolarBeam heads toward Bouffalant.

Episode: BW093 "Goodbye, Junior Cup - Hello Adventure!"

Wow, a lot happened in this episode, mostly good though the very end of the episode made me want to reach though my screen and choke a certain new character. Trip and Alder's battle continues in this episode and, well, it pretty much goes as you would expect a normal trainer against the Champion would go. With that done and Trip given some humble pie, the rest of the episode is pretty much everyone setting off on their way, especially Dawn who's guest appearance time has sadly just reached its end. But we're not running short on recurring characters just yet as a new one shows up and you can probably guess where he's going... Too short of descriptions? Want more details about Dawn's departure? About this new character? And whatever happened to the subplots involving Meloetta (Team Rocket's and Oshawott's & Piplup's rivalry)? Well look no more, this episode (and thus its review) has it all:

This Is The "Goodbye, Junior Cup" Part:
Last time, Trip has won the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup and now gets an opportunity to battle Unova Champion Alder. At the start of their battle, Trip's Serperior has just launched a SolarBeam at Alder's Bouffalant before the episode ended. Now, Bouffalant charges toward and takes the SolarBeam, surprising everyone but Trip as Bouffalant "burns" with energy. Bouffalant then shakes off the energy having taken no damage, only its afro holding a bit of a charge, as Trip reveals why: Bouffalant's Ability is Sap Sipper. Cilan asks why did Trip use a Grass-type move if he knew as Alder explains what Sap Sipper does (takes no damage from Grass-type attacks and gets an Attack boost) saying that Bouffalant is unstoppable when it gets like this (how often is Bouffalant hit by Grass-type attacks? You'd think anyone who challenges Alder would know not to use a Grass-type move on his Bouffalant if it's a well known its Ability is Sap Sipper).

Trip: You think so but I'll just have to prove you wrong... AND THAT'S NOT ALL I'LL PROVE!
Comment: Yeah, why don't you first prove one thing before trying to prove anything else, because it doesn't look like you're proving the first thing right.
Alder: That's not all? Then what do you have in mind, young man?
Trip: Come on! My power of course!
Comment: And your first demonstration of this power is by using a move that not only didn't damage the opponent, but also gave it a power-up. Truly you are a person to fear.
Alder: Then be my guest, I'M WAITING RIGHT HERE!

Comment: Did Alder just do a "come at me bro!"?

Serperior uses Dragon Tail (the only usable attack it has no since it knows one status move and TWO Grass-type attacks) and hits Bouffalant's afro which just absorbs it and does no damage.

Alder: Alright, now show me what else you got.

Comment: Like a boss!

Serperior uses Leer (maybe you should have used that first before Dragon Tail?) followed by another Dragon Tail as Trip goes through his strategy in his head: he let Bouffalant power-up to lower their guard as well had Serperior jump high in the air so that it can attack Bouffalant from below. At first the technique looks to work, Serperior gets the Dragon Tail under Bouffalant and tosses it into the air... only for Bouffalant to land back on its feet.

Trip: BOUFFALANT'S FINE!
Comment: FAILURE!
Alder: Excellent power and speed, well executed attack, an ordinary Pokemon would have been defeated for sure. But, you're battling a CHAMPION!

Comment: Poster face for "Oh Cr4P".

Bouffalant then does a Head Charge and knocks Serperior out. No flash. No bang. Just knocks it out. I don't think that Attack Boost even came into the equation. Alder is declared the winner as Ash & co. talk about Alder: Ash is just amazed, Iris says it's scary how powerful Alder is (it's like he's a Champion or something...), Dawn says his battling styIe is completey different from Cynthia's (not really, Alder just plays around with his opponent for a little bit longer. They'll still 1HKO if they feel like it), and Cilan says a batch of cooking terms. Over to the rivals, Burgundy is laughing about Trip losing saying he deserved it for beating her while Georgia just sighs at her lover's ego.

Alder pets his Bouffalant, congratulating for winning, as it then jumps on him and start licking his face as Trip and Serperior walks up to them and Trip asks Alder what he did wrong and if he's lacking anything. Alder says Trip didn't do anything wrong nor is he lacking anything (in fact you have too much of something: ego) though Trip says Alder still beat him and kept showing how strong he was which Alder responds with: So what? I'm not kidding: To be precise, Alder says "So what if I did?" and then tells Trip that was the same thing he asked awhile ago and Alder says he thinks he knows the answer but first has a question for trip: does he have any admiration for someone like Alder? Alder tells Trip that how things turn out depends on him and his Pokemon and to look back at everything he learned on his journey for the answer he seeks. Alder then asks if Trip cares about Serperior, saying that Serperior cares a lot about Trip which doesn't happen without a bond of trust which Alder asks if Trip can feel. Trip says he can (*coughliarcough*) so Alder says all is well, saying his philosophy is mutual trust is more important then winning or losing and perhaps that's where your true power comes from, your experience. Trip asks if Alder will battle him the next time they meet (unless this next meeting is after you beat the Unova League and Unova Elite Four then you're still going to lose...) which Alder gladly says he will calling Trip "Tristan".

Freddy O'Martain: This concluded the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup! Best Wishes to all the amazing trainers who competed.
Comment: I see what you did there... not that an audience outside of Japan will get it...

And with that the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup is over and I must say that this was a MAJOR LETDOWN! RANT TIME!

This might as well have been another Battle Club Tournament. The most exciting thing about the Pokemon World Tournament is that you got to battle the older generation Gym Leaders and Champions. Now obviously they couldn't really do that, which is why they had Cynthia appear and battle Caitlin, but at the same time just having a normal tournament with filler trainers is kind of boring. Hmm, what if those filler trainers looked like or were said to be from different regions? You know, try adding that "world" element into the mix. Of course they would still be filler trainers and most of the main cast , aside from Ash, would still be from Unova: Iris, Cilan, Georgia, Burgundy... WAIT! Dawn! If they brought Dawn over to battle in this tournament, why not bring over some of other well known characters from the previous regions too? Listing off a quick few, we can have Ritchie and Casey (plus Ash) from Kanto; Sakura, Lyra, and Khoury from Johto; Harrison, Morrison, and Tyson from Hoenn; and Nando, Conway, and Barry (plus Dawn) from Sinnoh). Instead of having the Gym Leaders from around the world have the previous rivals and recurring characters from around the world! It would have made the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup a much more memorable event and worthy of being a representation of the Pokemon World Tournament in the games. The anime is meant to advertise the games by showing off their key features and attractions, however the only thing this advertises to me about the Pokemon World Tournament is just that it's a place where you battle trainers like the ones you see traveling through the routes, not that it's a place where you can battle characters from previous games.

Overall, if they weren't going to do anything special with the Pokemon World Tournament, they might as well have skipped it and held another Battle Club tournament, they could even still include Cynthia and have her even say she's battling Caitlin to promote the Pokemon World Tournament. Okay, rant over, back to the review:

Outside of the stadium, Georgia tells Iris she can't wait to see how it works out with her and Dragonite and says she's going to train hard to beat Dragonite before leaving. Not to be outdone, Burgundy tells Cilan that though she lost so did Cilan so she's happy and also enjoyed the battles, leaving herself. To finish things off with rivals, Ash sees and Trip and says Alder is amazing which Trip agrees with and glad he was able to battle him, then leaving saying he'll see Ash at the Unova League. Iris asks if Trip seems a bit different which Cilan says perhaps though after today's battle he's going to come back strong, Dawn teasing Ash that he'll have to train even harder. Meloetta also appears and Ash asks if it liked the battles, Meloetta floating around happily but suddenly vanishes as a boy and Riolu run up to Ash. The boy and Riolu make a sudden stop, saying they're not the first ones here, and then the boy and his Riolu gives them a thumbs up saying his name is Cameron. Cameron soon gets distracted as he spots Pikachu and tries scanning Pikachu with his Pokedex...

Oh you can tell Cameron is going to be one of THOSE characters...

Cilan points out that's a TV remote and Cameron quickly says "I'm just kidding" (I don't belive you) before pulling out his actual Pokedex. Ash asks Cameron if Pikachu is the first Pikachu he's seen which Cameron says it is though Iris says she never seen a Riolu before which Dawn helps her identify.

Hey kids! Want your very own Riolu? Well you can catch them easily in the wild in Black 2 & White 2 along with other previous generation Pokemon

BUY THEM!!!

Iris does what she does to all cute Pokemon and starts pulling Riolu's ears though Cameron grabs Riolu away and asks Iris what's wrong with her (oh so many things...). Cameron goes back to greeting everyone, saying they're super early and he wanted to be the first in line (oh you can guess where this is going...) and asks who got here first. Ash is confused but Cilan catches on and asks if Cameron is here to participate in the Junior Cup which Cameron says he is... as he starts setting up camp. Ash tells Cameron the Junior Cup is already over and Cameron says he thought it started tomorrow, his Riolu giving a shrug as Ash & co. show him they're entry prizes.

Do Ash & co. even own any keys?

Cameron yells out "NOT AGAIN!" and slumps to the ground in disappointment as Riolu walks over and pats its trainer's head. However Cameron soon stretches out his headband which snaps back along with Cameron's mood saying that Alder must still be around so packs up and darts off looking to get an autograph (well, I'm sure we'll NEVER see him again...). Ash & co. are confused at this character we'll most definitely never see again as Meloetta reappears and we see in the bushes that one of Team Rocket's mini-spy camera chopper watching them.

Over to Team Rocket's ship, Dr. Zager tells the Rocket Trio that Meloetta is "on the move" though James tells him not to worry as Dr. Zager asks for a status report. Meowth tells him "good news" that their radar had found an entrance which Jessie and James push and it opens an entrance into, let's just say it, the Abyssal Ruins. James says they're going to search the interior as Jessie tells Meowth to forward the images to Dr. Zager.

And This Is The "Hello Adventure!" Part:
Ash & co. arrive back to Cynthia's villa and are greeted by Cynthia and Jervis as Meloetta sings to the sunset. A mini-spy camera chopper watches as Dr. Zager records Meloetta singing saying he just needs a little bit more. Iris wonders why Meloetta is singing out to the sea and Cilan suggests that maybe the sea is Meloetta's home (Cilan, you do know Meloetta isn't a Water-type, right?). Meloetta finishes singing and Ash asks if it's from the sea though it doesn't give an answer.

However Dawn then says that she should get getting and Iris asks if she's heading back to Sinnoh which Dawn says she's heading to Johto because apparently there's going to be a Wallace Cup held there (which Ash knew about for some reason). Iris asks what the Wallace Cup is and Dawn tells her (and assumingly Cilan) about Wallace and the Pokemon Contest he hosts. Iris and Cilan wish Dawn luck and say they're sad to see Dawn go but Dawn says she's sure she'll see them agan soon. But before she leaves Ash says they should have a battle, pointing out she battled Cilan and Iris but not him which Dawn agrees with and Ash tells Meloetta to watch them.

On the battlefield behind Cynthia's villa, Ash sends out Pikachu as Dawn sends out Quilava, much to Piplup's disappointment as Dawn tells it Pikachu's Electric-type attacks are super effective against it (that didn't stop you from using Piplup against Cilan's Pansage). Jervis declares the start of the battle which Pikachu begins with Quick Attack. Quilava counters with Swift with some hitting Pikachu but gets out of their way only for Quilava to dodge it and use Flame Wheel. Pikachu dodges the Flame Wheel and uses Electro Ball which Quilava counters with a Flamethrower creating a small smoke cloud which quickly clears showing both Pokemon okay. Iris says this battle is intense with Cilan saying it's because Ash and Dawn know each other so well that neither can't let their guard down. Quilava uses SmokeScreen but Pikachu clears it with a Thunderbolt and tries going in with an Iron Tail however Quilava uses Flamethrower to knock it back. Iris and Cilan are surprised to see Dawn counter a Steel-type move with a Fire-type move (well it makes sense, Steel-types is weak to Fire-types thus their moves must follow the same logic) as Cynthia says that just shows how far Dawn has come on her journey. Cynthia continues to talk about Ash, Dawn, and their Pokemon putting everything they learned into the battle as said battle keeps going on with Pikachu trying another Iron Tail but being knocked back by Quilava's Swift so both do another Thunderbolt/Flamethrower collision. Back to the battle, Pikachu uses Quick Attack and Quilava uses Flame Wheel which knocks them both back to their side of the field when Cynthia announces the battle over (Oh, NOW you end a battle! Where was this when DRAGONITE WAS GOING CRAZY!) and Jervis declares the match a draw. Cynthia congratulates Ash and Dawn, saying she couldn't even guess who would have won (then why not let them keep battling?) as Ash and Dawn congratulate their Pokemon and Meloetta dances in the sky.

At the docking port we hear the plane is going to Blackthorn City as Ash & co. say their goodbyes to Dawn, them wishing her luck in the Wallace Cup and her wishing Ash luck in the Unova League and wishing Iris luck with bonding with Dragonite. Dawn also thanks Cynthia saying she'll see her back in Sinnoh and Cynthia says to tell Wallace to give him her regards (so in the anime is Wallace considered the Champion or has he given that position to/back to Steven?). Dawn asks where Meloetta went who suddenly appears as Piplup starts getting teary eyed about leaving Meloetta when Oshawott pops out. Oshawott and Piplup have a quick stare down though soon both break into tears and hug as they're going to miss their rivalry. With Meloetta singing goodbye, the plane takes off with Dawn in it as Cilan wishes her Best Wishes (hm, two in one episode) and everyone else waving goodbye.

As one character leaves, another comes in as, surprise surprise, Cameron comes running in (hmm, can it be that he may not be your normal character-of-the-day?) and upset that he missed getting onto the plane. Cameron is surprised to see Ash & co. (though he has to ask who they are again causing them to face fault) and Cilan asks if he was planning on going to the Johto region.

Cameron: Can't put anything past you now, can I? Afterall, the Unova League is being held in Johto's Ecruteak City.
Comment: Why would you think...

Iris points out how STUPID that statement is by asking why the UNOVA League would be held in JOHTO.

Cameron: Don't ask me, I don't make the rules, I just follow them.
Comment: Apparently not very well... JOHTO?

Ash tells Cameron he's also competing in the Unova League but he hasn't been told where they're holding it this year meaning Cameron's apparent tardiness quick actually saved him. Hearing Ash is also entering the Unova League, Cameron says Ash must have all SEVEN of his badges and shows off his badges, indeed showing he only has seven. Ash tells Cameron you need eight badges which Cameron says Ash must have gotten another to play it safe but Iris points out the empty badge slot.

Cameron: Duh, the winner's badge. That's the badge you get for winning the Unova League, convenient right?
Comment: Stop talking, only stupidity comes out of your mouth.

Cilan says he never heard of such a badge which finally gets through Cameron's head that he still needs to get one more Badge and starts to panic asking where the closest Gym is. Jervis walks into the scene and tells him the nearest Gym is in... Humilau City (well I guess some good is coming from this character)! As Cameron gets set to Humilau City, Ash stops him and asks if they can come with him and watch his Gym Battle, confusing Cameron, Iris, and Cilan as we end the episode here.