The Battle Of The Badge (Japanese:トキワジム！さいごのバッジ！Tokiwa Gym! The Last Badge!) is the 63rd episode of thePokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 17, 1998, and in the United States on September 25, 1999.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Ash and friends finally make their way to Viridian City where Ash hopes to earn his Earth Badge. They get to the gym just in time to see his rival, Gary, being defeated by a never-before-seen Pokémon that he insists must be evil!
Plot
Gary showing off his ten Badges
Ash andhis friends are walking throughViridian City and realize that thePokémon Center, destroyed during Ash andMisty'sfirst meeting, has since been rebuilt after nearly a year. They then make their way to theViridian Gym. As they stop outside its doors, they encounterGary andhis cheer squad. Gary boasts that he is further along the path to thePokémon League, having already earned ten Badges compared to Ash's seven. Gary heads into theGym to challenge the Gym Leader, followed by his cheering squad. Ash tries to follow Gary, but is blocked by thehalberd-wielding guards, who will only permit one Trainer in the Gym at a time.
Disappointed and depressed that Gary will always get further and further ahead of him, Ash crouches down in a corner.Togepi pats him on the head in an attempt to comfort him. Thinking it isPikachu, Ash is so surprised when he sees Togepi that he launches it into the air. Togepi flies up, bounces on a flagpole and then into the mouth of a startledFearow, who then flies off with it. The trio set off after the Fearow.
Meanwhile,Team Rocket is perched high on top of a skyscraper, searching for Pikachu. As it flies over them, the Fearow drops Togepi inJames's lap.Jessie tries to grab Togepi, but it evades her grasp and wanders onto a wooden plank linking the building to its neighboring structure. Jessie crawls in pursuit, though the plank gives way under her weight and she is sent plummeting to the street below. James andMeowth rush down the stairs to catch her but, despite making it down before her, they miss and she hits the ground. As Jessie picks herself up, Togepi lands on her head, allowing her to grab it before collapsing once more.
In the Gym, Gary, supported by his fans, challenges theGym Leader, who is shrouded in shadows, boasting that he is the best Trainer inPallet Town. The Gym Leader accepts his challenge, and his guards announce the battle will consist of threePokémon with no time limit. Gary choosesNidoking and the Leader responds by selectingGolem. The Gym Leader commences with aTackle attack, and Gary responds in kind, ordering a Tackle from his Nidoking. This sends Golem flying backward into the wall, defeated. The Gym Leader then choosesKingler, and Gary consults hisPokédex, which informs him that Kingler is the evolved form ofKrabby. The Gym Leader resumes with aCrabhammer. Nidoking dodges the attack, but Garyrecalls him and choosesArcanine. Ordering Arcanine to performTake Down followed byFire Spin, Kingler is sent reeling amidst cheering from Gary's fans. Arcanine'sFire Blast is sufficient enough to beat Kingler.
Gary's Pokédex failing to identify the armored Pokémon
The Gym Leader emerges from the shadows, confidently announcing that he is not beaten yet, and he will use this battle to test his most powerful Pokémon. As he snaps his fingers, a door opens to reveala Pokémon concealed by mechanical armor. Using itsPsychic attack, it sends Arcanine crashing into a wall. Gary's Pokédex claims there is no available data on the new Pokémon. The Gym Leader offers to allow Gary to use more than one Pokémon if he is afraid of losing. Despite protesting that he isn't afraid of anything, Gary sends both Arcanine and Nidoking forth to battle. Even as they attack, the mysterious Pokémon once again uses its Psychic powers to lift the pair from the ground. The Gym Leader gloats that this Pokémon is invincible, and Gary is left on the verge of panicking.
Later, Team Rocket meets their boss Giovanni, revealing him to be the Leader of the Viridian Gym. They present Togepi to him for his approval. However, when he demands to know what it can do, the trio is at a loss to explain. Giovanni loses his temper, accusing them of total incompetence despite months of work. They are allowed a brief reprieve when the phone on Giovanni's desk rings calling him to deal with an accident. He leaves the trio in charge of the Gym, giving them threePoké Balls to use if necessary. During the discussion, Togepi is able to escape through an open door. Afterwards, Giovanni walks into a dungeon where the Pokémon he used earlier are kept in cages. Continuing to the last one, he pulls a lever, releasing the mystery Pokémon from cables in its armor, and explains that he has an emergency assignment for it.
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends are still searching the city for Togepi, but to no avail. Misty is absolutely distraught by this and threatens Ash. However, they hear Togepi's voice coming from inside the Gym. Pulling open the heavy doors, they find not only Togepi, but Gary and his fans lying unconscious on the ground. As Ash pulls Gary back to consciousness, Gary says that the mysterious Pokémon was not only powerful, it was evil as well, despite Ash's assertion that there can't be an evil Pokémon. As Gary announces that no one will ever beat the Pokémon, Team Rocket appears and begins to recite theirmotto, but they are interrupted by Ash and his friends. To counter Misty's claim that their motto never changes, they state that today is very different because they are now in charge of the Gym and theEarth Badge. When Ash and his friends demand to know why Team Rocket has a Gym, James explains that Team Rocket's plans are far too complex for them to understand. James whispers to Jessie for information, though Meowth reveals that they don't know the answers either. Jessie then angrily sends Meowth flying.
Jessie raises two platforms on either side of the battlefield and invites Ash to take his place as the challenger in the green platform. Despite his friends' warnings that Team Rocket have probably booby-trapped the box, Ash ascends as Jessie calls the three Pokémon Giovanni gave her:Machamp, Kingler, andRhydon. Ash calls outSquirtle, and Jessie orders Machamp to useKarate Chop, striking Squirtle many times. As the blows land, Ash is given a shock; the box turned out to be rigged so that the Trainer feels all of the pain his Pokémon feels. Ash withdraws Squirtle and sends inBulbasaur, prompting Jessie to switch to Kingler. Ash orders Bulbasaur to useVine Whip as Jessie orders Kingler to useHarden. Bulbasaur's Vine Whip is rendered ineffective. Pressing the advantage, Jessie orders aBubble attack, causing Ash to feel the pain as theWater move strikes Bulbasaur.
Pidgeotto using Double-Edge on Rhydon
Gary advises Ash to give in, claiming that the Pokémon are too strong, but Ash refuses to give up as he trusts his Pokémon. Ash calls outPidgeotto and orders it to useQuick Attack, which slams into Rhydon, inflicting damage. Sparks of electricity starts crackling at Jessie's feet, which she notices. Ash then orders Pidgeotto to useDouble-Edge, which also slams into Rhydon, causing more damage to it and Jessie. James reveals that he rigged both sides, as it hadn't occurred to him that they might lose. However, Meowth reveals a remote control and is about to press the button when Gary tackles him, sending the remote flying. Now at a disadvantage, Jessie and James call onArbok andWeezing to aid them. Ash orders Pikachu to attack, using hisThunderbolt to attack all of the opposing Pokémon at once. This sends Machamp, Rhydon, and Kingler fleeing; and Weezing and Arbok crashing into Jessie. As Ash and his Pokémon celebrate their victory, Gary's fans do a cheer in Ash's honor, and Gary is forced to admit that Ash is a good Trainer. However, he remarks Ash or anyone else will not be able to beat the mystery Pokémon that he witnessed.
Furious at the loss, Jessie beats both James and Meowth. Ash approaches Jessie and demands the Earth Badge as proof of his victory, citing that he earned it for beating her fair and square, but she refuses. As they argue, Meowth sees Togepi playing with the remote control. Despite Meowth's protests, Togepi presses the red and green buttons, forcing Meowth to reveal that they have rigged both platforms to be able to explode. Sure enough, the trio's red platform blows up, sending Team Rocket blasting off again, and the Earth Badge falls into Ash's hands. After a little celebration, the group is then forced to flee as the Gym begins to collapse around them.
As Ash and his friends continue their journey,Brock wonders if they will ever see the Pokémon that Gary saw, while Ash is only interested in his eight Badges. Realizing that they don't know where the Pokémon League is, they decide to head for Pallet Town to consultProfessor Oak.
This is the first of three episodes (the other two beingIt's Mr. Mime Time andShowdown at the Po-ké Corral) to featureMewtwo in scenes that are preludes tothe first movie. This is despite the seizures caused byEP038, which caused the show to go on a four-month hiatus, which in turn led to the aforementioned three episodes airing after the movie's premiere on July 18, 1998.
A few seconds of thebattle betweenGiovanni andGary (namely,Nidoking andArcanine running towards Mewtwo and the latter using itsPsychic powers to levitate them) are also shown in the movie's prologue, but from a different perspective and with a different animation. Examples of this include:
Mewtwo's appearance is evidently more cartoon-like in this episode as opposed to the elaborate design of its armor in the movie.
Mewtwo's whole body glows when he uses Psychic against Nidoking and Arcanine, as opposed to the movie, where only its eyes glow.
In the movie, Mewtwo's "chin" is covered by its armor, as opposed to this episode, where it is exposed. However, it is unknown whether the exposed chin is a deliberate choice made by the animators or if it became that way after the color was added, since what looks like the chin could have been part of the armor if colored differently.
A small continuity mistake between this episode and the movie is Giovanni's position: in this episode, Giovanni stood up and walked forward before sending out Mewtwo, while in the movie, he is still sitting in his chair.
This is the first episode to use background music from the first movie's original Japanese soundtrack, namely during the scene of Giovanni with Mewtwo, making it by definition also the first episode to feature Japanese movie music. However, the music was replaced in thedub.
This marks the first and only time aGym Leader refuses to give theBadge toAsh despite him winning the battle fairly; granted, Ash did not actually battle the official Gym Leader.
Both Ash andJessie's dialogues upon this happening also implied that it was illegal and against the rules for a Gym Leader to refuse to give a Badge to a Trainer who beat them fairly.
This is the first time Giovanni's face is entirely seen, as it has always been in the shadows in previous episodes.
This is also the first dub episode to have Giovanni speaking normally and not through a voice filter.
If going by the number of episodes spent in each region, this is the quickest that Ash has ever earned eight Gym Badges. By this point inJohto, Ash is in the process of obtaining his fourth Badge; inHoenn, he has four Badges; inSinnoh, he only has two Badges; inUnova, he has five Badges; and inKalos, he has four Badges. Also, theOrange Islands only had four Badges.
This was the first episode to air after the release ofPokémon Yellow.
Of Gary's ten Badges, the only ones from the same Gyms Ash battled at are a Boulder Badge, a Cascade Badge, and a Rainbow Badge. This indicates that Gary did not battle, or at least did not defeat,Lt. Surge,Sabrina, orKoga. It is already known he did not battleBlaine due to believing that Cinnabar Gym closed down long beforehand.
Additionally, Gary having seven Badges different to the eight Badges Ash would have by the end of the episode implies that Kanto has at least 15 Gyms.
This is the first episode where a character other than Ash is seen using aPokédex or challenging a Gym Leader to a Gym battle.
Ash's statement of it being "a whole year" since they last visitedViridian City was added in the dub. In the original Japanese version, Ash only remarks that it has been a while since they last visited Viridian City.
The scene where Ash and Pikachu were mentioning their friendship was largely the same as in the original, although the dub omittedBrock's referring to the two as "those guys", which hinted at Pikachu's gender.
Gary's greeting to Ash was passive-aggressive in the Japanese version rather than gloating like in the dub.
In the scene where Ash is sulking about not being allowed intoViridian Gym, Ash originally referenced his being the fourth person to leavePallet Town.
In the original Japanese version, whenMisty confronts Ash over losingTogepi, Ash mixes up "Hazumi" (はずみ), meaning "offguard", with "Kasumi", Misty's name in the Japanese version. This was changed to an "Egg-cident" pun in the dub.
In the Japanese version,Meowth, while using binoculars, warns his teammates that they will get fired if they don't find Pikachu soon. In the dub, he simply comments about a spotted Pikachu in response toJames.
In addition, the dub version does not directly mention James being hit in the butt by Togepi when accusing Meowth of doing so, unlike in the Japanese version.
In the original Japanese version, Giovanni introduces himself to Gary by name. In the dub, he just refers himself as the Viridian Gym Leader.
In the original Japanese version, when calling out Arcanine, Gary specifically refers to it as "My honey", while in the dub, this is omitted. In addition, the pinch pun was dub-exclusive.
In the original Japanese version, after his cheerleaders cheer him on, Gary refers to them as his girlfriends, and also stated he will finish up the battle for them. In the dub, he just praises himself before wrapping them up.
In the original version, when a Pokémon was knocked out during Gary and Giovanni's battle, the name of the defeated Pokémon was declared. In the dub, the names of the winning Pokémon were declared instead.
In the Japanese version, when Giovanni chuckles at Gary's request to give up, Gary winces, surprised of Giovanni's reaction. In the dub, Gary's retort to Giovanni's answer was much more confident.
In the Japanese version, after Mewtwo is introduced, Giovanni simply tells Gary to bring out all his Pokémon at once due to playtime being over, while the dub came across as goading.
In the Japanese version, when presenting Togepi to their boss, Team Rocket informs Giovanni that it has a powerful technique that makes people feel good, while the dub simply has Jessie mentioning that it would make a "handsome paperweight".
In addition, similar to the "whole year" mention above, Giovanni's mention of a search being "months" was dub-only.
When Giovanni takes his leave, the Japanese version had him simply expressing disbelief in what happened, while the dub has him mentioning an accident occurring.
In the Japanese version, Misty replied to Brock's attempts at keeping the peace by telling him to "shut up", while in the dub, she simply stated that attacking Ash will at least make her feel better about Togepi being lost.
Gary's comment about Mewtwo being evil was dub-only. Originally, he just commented that his own Pokémon couldn't do a thing against it, with Ash repeating it back.
When Team Rocket reveal themselves, the Japanese version has Ash and Brock specifically referring to them by name (Jessie and James, respectively).
When Ash becomes determined shortly before sending outPidgeotto, Gary simply mentioned Ash's name in the Japanese version.
Originally shortly after being electrocuted, Jessie insults her teammates for rigging her platform with the electric shock generators, while the dub has her simply saying, "Follow...the leader."
The Japanese version of the scene where Gary expressed his respect for Ash also referenced Ash's status as the fourth person to leave Pallet Town.
