The Evolutionary War

AG095   EP369 ハンテールとサクラビス！進化の謎！ Huntail and Sakurabyss! The Riddle of Evolution!

First broadcast Japan September 23, 2004 United States October 1, 2005

English themes Opening Unbeatable Ending

Japanese themes Opening チャレンジャー!! Ending スマイル ②

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 浅田裕二Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明Masaaki Iwane Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

The Evolutionary War (Japanese:ハンテールとサクラビス！進化の謎！Huntail andSakurabyss! The Riddle of Evolution!) is the 95th episode ofPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and the 369th episode of thePokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 23, 2004, and in the United States on October 1, 2005.

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

Blurb

En route to the ABC Islands, Ash and the gang are passed on the way to Island A by a group of children racing on top Huntail or Gorebyss. It turns out that there is a fierce rivalry between the citizens of Islands B and C: Clamperl evolve into Gorebyss on Island B, while they evolve into Huntail on Island C. The children all attend school on Island A, and fight often during class.

At the Pokémon Center they find Professor Birch in a pool. He is studying the different Clamperl Evolutions, and the kids travel with him to a cave on Island C where Clamperl are known to evolve. They are followed by a boy named Keith from Island B. They travel to a similar cave on Island B, followed by Nancy from Island C. When everyone returns to the Pokémon Center on Island A, they find out that Keith actually wants a Huntail and Nancy wants a Gorebyss. After doing some research, Birch reveals that the Evolution is dependent on the items Deepseatooth and Deepseascale, but he doesn't know how.

Team Rocket attacks them at the PC, but Keith and Nancy's Clamperl use Water Gun while Pikachu drives them off with Thunderbolt. Professor Birch and the kids return to Island B, where they put a Deepseascale on Nancy's Clamperl. On Island C they put a Deepseatooth on Keith's Clamperl. Neither Pokémon evolves, so Birch beams them to the Pokémon Center for further research.

Back at the PC, when the kids take out their Clamperl, both Pokémon evolve: Nancy's into a Gorebyss and Keith's into a Huntail. Team Rocket attacks again, but the newly evolved Pokémon drive them off with Confusion and Screech.

The rivalry between Islands B and C ends and the people start trading their Clamperl back and forth to get the evolved Pokémon they want. Ash and friends leave on a ferry for their next destination.

Plot

The group is aboard a boat, speeding towards theA-B-C Islands. Suddenly, a bunch of kids race by them, riding theirHuntail andGorebyss. Ash and May check out Huntail and Gorebyss in theirPokédexes, and learn that they both evolve fromClamperl. Turning their attention back to the race, they see one girl get knocked off her Huntail. The group stops to see if she’s okay, and the girl is quick to re-enter the race. Then, a young boy and girl go by on little pedal-boats, deep in an argument over whether Gorebyss or Huntail are better. All of this has aroused the curiosity of Ash and his friends. Meanwhile, not far away,Team Rocket is pursuing the group in theirMagikarpsubmarine. Suddenly, they get stuck between two boulders underwater. They start pedaling at full power to try to break free, but the submarine's hull buckles, letting water gush in.

By now, Ash and his friends have reached thePokémon Center on Island A, and greetNurse Joy. Brock tries to flirt with her, butMax drags him away. Joy is briefly interrupted by a sudden call from a local Trainer calledMidori who has herCorsola transported over for treatment. After hearing some loud voices, Nurse Joy shows the group her class of students, which are the very same children that were racing earlier. Joy announces that the next class will take place by the outdoor pool, much to the kids' delight. On the way, Joy explains about the rivalry between the Huntail Trainers on Island C and the Gorebyss Trainers on Island B, and the regular water races they have. Joy and the group arrive at the pool, where they are all surprised to seeProfessor Birch. He explains that he travelled to the islands for his is new assignment - to uncover how Clamperl evolves into either Huntail or Gorebyss. May assumes he must have been doing some sort of research in the pool with the Huntail and Gorebyss, but Birch admits that he was just playing with them for now. Birch fields a couple of questions from the kids, then explains that Clamperl evolve using either theDeep Sea Scale orDeep Sea Tooth, and produces models of the items to show the kids. He goes on to explain that he had heard that when Clamperl are placed in the water in the two other islands, they tended to soon evolve into either Huntail or Gorebyss, so he suspects he might be able to find the Deep Sea Tooth and Deep Sea Scale on those islands. Ash says he and his friends would love to come along, and Birch agrees to let them come.

The group gets ready to take off for Island C in a speedboat, andNancy decides to join them. Unbeknownst to them,Keith is following in his pedal boat. Having reached Island C, Birch tastes the water from a waterfall inside a cave there. Just as he suspected, the mineral content seems very high, so he takes a water sample. Suddenly, the sound of a footstep behind them betrays the presence of Keith, much to Nancy’s annoyance. Keith is anxious to evolve his Clamperl into a Huntail, and had been eavesdropping. Birch explains that he fully intends to investigate both islands, and Keith accompanies them to Island B. This time, Nancy follows in the pedal boat. Birch again tastes the water, takes a sample, and Nancy accidentally betrays her presence. This time it was her turn to eavesdrop on the enemy. Back at the lab on Island A, Birch analyzes the water, and finally thinks he has the scientific details figured out. Keith and Nancy run up to the group, anxious for news, and argue briefly before May and Birch calm them down. Nancy admits that she really wants a Gorebyss, and Keith adds that he likes Huntail better. Birch asks to see their Clamperl, so they all go out by the pool, and the kids send out the Clamperl. After a visual examination, Birch says they look healthy, and if everything works out, they should each be able to evolve. He also reveals from his analysis that the water on Island B contains Deep Sea Scale fragments, while Island C is rich in Deep Sea Tooth minerals.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has made it to the pool, and they are watching the scene from their sub.Meowth suggests they give all the Huntail and Gorebyss to theBoss, andJessie likes the plan as well. The trio suddenly makes their appearance, and they reite theirmotto. They send a net out from their sub to catch the Huntail and Gorebyss, but Ash quickly calls outCorphish to cut the net. Jessie sends outSeviper, who attempts aBite attack. Corphish counters withHarden, and Seviper just ends up hitting its head. Ash orders aCrabhammer, and Corphish uses it to slam Seviper into the water. James sends outCacnea, who after hugging James, fires aPin Missile at the Clamperl. The kids tell their Clamperl to useIron Defense. The Clamperl close their shells, and the pins just bounce off. Jessie orders aPoison Tail, and Seviper jumps out of the water, but Corphish counters withBubble Beam. Both Clamperl useWater Gun together, sending Seviper and Cacnea back to the sub. Finally, aThunderbolt fromAsh's Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off. The kids celebrate, and Birch says it was now time to go look for theEvolution items.

They go back to Island B to look for a Deep Sea Scale. Keith finds it, and gives it to Nancy, who in turn gives it to her Clamperl. She expects an Evolution, but nothing happens, so Birch suggests sending Clamperl to the Pokémon Center, since Clamperl won't evolve right away when given the item. The girl agrees and they do so from the cabin on the island. On Island C, they again search, and find a Deep Sea Tooth. Fittingly, Nancy finds it, and gives it to Keith, who gives it to his Clamperl. His doesn't evolve right away either, so he sends it to the Pokémon Center as well.

Back at the Pokémon Center, the kids receive their Clamperl from Joy and send them out. They haven't evolved yet, and Birch is briefly puzzled, but then they start to glow, and evolve into Huntail and Gorebyss. The kids take their newly evolved Pokémon out to the pool and watch them swim for a bit. Suddenly, Team Rocket shows up again, this time in a giantKingler mecha. Meowth sends one of the mecha's claws at Gorebyss. Nancy tells Gorebyss to dodge, and Keith tells Huntail to try a Bite attack. Huntail charges forward, but just bounces off the mecha. Ash sends outGrovyle to useBullet Seed, but to no avail, as that bounces off the mecha as well. Huntail and Gorebyss use a combinedWater Pulse, which knocks the mecha back briefly. Team Rocket quickly recovers and Meowth fires a claw at the two Pokémon. They dive in the water to dodge, but a net from the other claw catches them when they resurface. However, Grovyle promptly usesLeaf Blade to cut them free. Nancy orders aConfusion from Gorebyss, and it levitates the mecha. Keith takes the opportunity to order aScreech from Huntail. Pikachu usesThunder to blast off Team Rocket once more.

Now that the danger is gone, the kids admire how well their Pokémon worked together. May suggests that maybe now their feud can end, and the kids agree. Nurse Joy calls out to the group, saying their boat is ready to leave. Professor Birch wishes Ash and his friends all the best, and admits he’ll be staying on the islands for a while to continue his Clamperl research. Keith and Nancy, riding their Huntail and Gorebyss, catch up to the boat and tell the group that the Huntail and Gorebyss Trainers have finally patched things up, now that they understand more about their Pokémon. After hearing this pleasant news, Ash and his friends wave goodbye to the kids as their boat rides off into the sunset.

Major events

• Ash andhis friends meet up withProfessor Birch again.

For a list of all major events inPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, please see thetimeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Gorebyss

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Giovanni (fantasy)
• Professor Birch
• Nancy
• Keith
• Midori
• Islanders

Pokémon

Pokémon Trainer’s Choice:Treecko

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Chimecho (James's)
• Grovyle (Ash's)
• Corphish (Ash's)
• Seviper (Jessie's)
• Cacnea (James's)
• Clamperl (Nancy's; evolves)
• Gorebyss (Nancy's; newly evolved)
• Clamperl (Keith's; evolves)
• Huntail (Keith's; newly evolved)
• Corsola (Midori's)
• Huntail (islanders'; multiple)
• Gorebyss (islanders'; multiple)
• Wailmer (×2)

Trivia

• Advance Adventure is used as background music.
• The dub title is a reference to aRevolutionary War.
• WhenGrovyle usesBullet Seed onTeam Rocket'smecha,Jessie says, "What you seed is what you get!" This pun was the title ofthe episode where Grovyle, asTreecko, learned Bullet Seed in the first place.
• The twoClamperlevolve in the same wayMisty's Poliwhirl evolved, by transferring the Pokémon to a differentPokémon Center with a requireditem, rather thantrading betweenTrainers.
• One of the kids surfing on aGorebyss bears astriking resemblance to one of the kids that challenged Ash inA Double Dilemma. Another kid on the far left of the classroom also has a striking resemblance to one of the girls fromHypno's Naptime.

Errors

• WhenAsh says that they saw the kids in the water, the collar onNurse Joy's dress is colored white instead of pink.
• In the English dub, thePokédex entry for Gorebyss says that it isthe evolved form of Clamperl, when it should bean evolved form of Clamperl. This also happens withHuntail's entry.

Dub edits

• In the original Japanese version,Corphish hitsSeviper on the head with aCrabhammer. In the English dub, the impact was replaced with an impact star screen.
• In the final attack, before Team Rocket is sent blasting off,Pikachu attacks first withThunder, andHuntail blasts them off withScreech. This is in reverse of how it happens in the original.

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

• Question: Trainers, which Pokémon would be most effective againstMudkip?
• Choices:Treecko,Torchic, Mudkip
• Answer: OK, Trainers! If you chose Treecko, you were right!

In other languages

This episode article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire episodes
• Episodes written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
• Episodes storyboarded and directed by Yūji Asada
• Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
• Episodes directed by Yūji Asada
• Episodes animated by Masaaki Iwane