Original subtitles

NARRATOR As the Unova League battle

excitement continues at a frenzied pace in Vertress City.

Ash, Virgil Cameron and Stephan

have all advanced to the third round!

Now, as Ash's match prepares to get underway

our hero's opponent is none other

than his friend and rival, Stephan.

Man, am I ready to rock!

Now, Liepard, go!

[APPEARING]

Okay, Stephan's going with Liepard, then..

...I know who I'm using!

Krookodile, I choose you!

[APPEARING]

Wow! Ash is gonna use Krookodile.

[EXCITED]

Going head-to-head against a Dark-type with a Dark-type.

That's the flavor of a pure Ash strategy!

[HAPPY]

I can't wait to see who's the winner!

[cheering]

You ready, Stephan?

Yup! So bring it on, Ash!

♪ It's the next chapter

♪ The ultimate goal

♪ Ready for battle brave and bold ♪

♪ I know we are going to make it ♪

♪ We will find a way

♪ Oh-oh

♪ We have come so far

♪ We fought so hard to get where we are ♪

♪ Oh-oh ♪ We belong together

♪ It's always you and me

♪ Pokémon ♪

ASH "Strong Strategy

Steals The Show."

[cheering]

Hey, folks! This is Freddy, The Scoop.

Bringing you all the play-by-play battle action!

So get ready for the Unova League third round!

'First up, we've got Ash versus Stephan!'

'Each Trainer may use up to three Pokémon'

'and you can be sure this will be one exciting match!'

Now, Liepard! Shadow Claw, let's go!

Okay, Krookodile, use Dragon Claw!

[DRAGON CLAW MOVE]

FREDDY 'Right off the bat

'a Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw collision!'

[DETERMINED]

[FOCUSED]

- Is it a draw? - No way! Liepard, Shadow Ball!

[SHADOW BALL MOVE]

Alright, Stone Edge, go!

[STONE EDGE MOVE]

FREDDY 'Now it's a collision between'

'Shadow Ball and Stone Edge!'

Another draw!

Wow, that's the result of blending

Ash and Stephan's strong and direct strategies!

Neither one of them is giving an inch!

[EXCITED]

Alright, Liepard, Hyper Beam!

[HYPER BEAM MOVE] Use Dig to dodge!

[DIG MOVE]

FREDDY Krookodile successfully

dodges Hyper Beam!

'This could mean an attack from underground!'

Liepard! Double Team!

[DOUBLE TEAM MOVE]

Argh!

[EXERTION]

[CONFUSED]

- Oh, man! - Now use Shadow Claw! Go!

[SHADOW CLAW MOVE]

[CONFUSED] Ugh! No time to dodge!

[PAINED]

[STRUGGLING]

Now, use Shadow Ball!

[SHADOW BALL MOVE]

[PAINED]

[STRUGGLING]

Krookodile! Hang in there!

[DETERMINED]

Yeah! Way to go! Stone Edge, now!

[STONE EDGE MOVE]

[STRUGGLING]/[PAINED]

Come on, Liepard, stand up!

Double Team! One more time!

[DOUBLE TEAM MOVE]

And Stephan's got Liepard using Double Team again!

Krookodile won't be able to dodge all of them!

Alright, Krookodile, use Dig!

[DIG MOVE]

- Just what I thought. - Huh?

Aim Hyper Beam into that hole!

[HYPER BEAM MOVE]

[STRUGGLING]

Krookodile! You've got to hang tough!

Use Dragon Claw!

[DRAGON CLAW MOVE]

Intercept with Shadow Claw!

[SHADOW CLAW MOVE]

- A draw? - I doubt it!

It seems a lot more likely Krookodile gained

some extra momentum as it was falling!

[EXERTION]

[DETERMINED]

Shadow Claw, Go!

Dragon Claw, go!

[SHADOW CLAW MOVE]

Krookodile, no!

[PLEASED]

[WEAK] Oh! Liepard! No!

FREDDY 'Liepard is unable to battle!'

'Krookodile is the winner!'

You did it, Krookodile!

[PLEASED]

You were great, Liepard. Thanks!

Alright, number two!

Go, Zebstrika!

[APPEARING]

So, it's Zebstrika.

POKEDEX Zebstrika,

the Thunderbolt Pokémon.

And the evolved form of Blitzle.

Zebstrika moves at lightning-quick speed

producing the sound of thunder at a full gallop.

Krookodile! Rest up for now!

Ash is in the process of substituting Pokémon.

Krookodile must have taken a lot of damage.

Now. Palpitoad, I choose you!

[APPEARING]

It's Palpitoad, alright!

The perfect Pokémon ingredient to create a powerful recipe

to battle his opponent with!

I don't get it.

'See, Stephan's Zebstrika's most effective moves'

'are Thunderbolt and Flame Charge.'

'But since Palpitoad is a Water and Ground type'

Electric-type moves won't have any effect

and Fire-type moves won't do much at all!

I see.

I guess Ash isn't such a little kid anymore.

[EXCITED]

Zebstrika! Use Double Edge!

[DOUBLE EDGE MOVE]

Palpitoad, use Mud Shot!

[MUD SHOT MOVE]

Quick, dodge!

[EXERTION]

Man, that's fast!

[PAINED]

Palpitoad!

Zebstrika's Electric-type moves won't work!

- So what's Stephan going to do? - Stomp, let's go!

[STOMP MOVE]

Dodge it!

[SHOCKED]

Stephan's made certain Zebstrika knows a variety of moves

so it's able to handle Water and Ground-type opponents, too.

Stephan's not such a kid anymore either.

[INDIGNANT]

We've got new moves up our sleeve, too!

Palpitoad! Sludge Wave!

SLUDGE WAVE MOVE]

[SURPRISED]/[STRUGGLING]

[STRUGGLING]

Zebstrika! Are you alright?

FREDDY 'Uh-oh. Looks like Zebstrika's

been poisoned by Sludge Wave'.

Alright, Facade, go!

[FACADE MOVE]

Now what?

[FACADE MOVE]

PALPITOAD [PAINED]

[STRUGGLING]

Palpitoad!

CILAN 'When a Pokémon with

a status condition uses Facade'

'the move's power gets a huge boost!'

I guess Stephan must've been thinking way ahead.

But, how could Stephan have known that Palpitoad

had learned Sludge Wave in the first place?

Well, he must've planned ahead

in case of a status condition and it happened.

'Palpitoad has taken a lot of damage!'

- 'Is this battle over?' - Palpitoad!

[DETERMINED]

Let's finish this!

Wrap this up with Facade!

[FACADE MOVE]

Use Supersonic!

[SUPERSONIC MOVE]

FREDDY 'Palpitoad's Supersonic slices

powerfully through the air!'

[EXERTION]

Stop! Zebstrika, relax!

[EXERTION]

Obviously Zebstrika's totally confused!

Uh! No, you're hurting yourself!

Zebstrika, get a grip!

Time to finish this! Use Hydro Pump!

[HYDRO PUMP MOVE]

Zebstrika! Hang on!

[STRUGGLING]

[FOCUSED]

Alright! Zebstrika, you're fine!

I guess the Hydro Pump backfired.

So this is where the battle ends.

Go, Zebstrika, Giga Impact!

[GIGA IMPACT MOVE]

Dodge it!

Palpitoad! Use Mud Shot, go!

[MUD SHOT MOVE]

[PAINED]

FREDDY 'Both Palpitoad and Zebstrika

have smashed into the wall!'

- Palpitoad! - Zebstrika!

JUDGE 'Palpitoad is unable to battle!'

'Zebstrika is also unable to battle!'

Palpitoad versus Zebstrika ends in a draw!

Great job! You deserve a good rest.

Thanks, Zebstrika.

You're the best.

Stephan's only got one Pokémon left.

Ash has two.

But I'm afraid Krookodile took a lot of damage.

Alright, you're up next! Let's go!

[APPEARING]

I knew he'd choose Sawk!

POKEDEX Sawk, the Karate Pokémon.

Sawk's punches get more powerful when it ties its belt.

It gets angry when it's training is interrupted.

So now we await Ash's next choice for Pokémon!

Leavanny! I choose you!

[APPEARING]

- Ash went with Leavanny! - That's a good choice?

Leavanny battling an opponent

with magnificent rippling muscles like Sawk's?

This is Ash, remember?

He must have a strategy!

[EXCITED]

GROUP Who's that Pokémon?

GROUP It's Liepard!

[INTENT]

[cheering]

Bulk Up, Sawk, now!

[DETERMINED]

[BULK UP MOVE]

[FOCUSED]

Leavanny, String Shot, go!

[STRING SHOT MOVE]

[SURPRISED]

Got ya!

Not a chance! Sawk!

Show 'em how powerful you are!

[EXERTION]

FREDDY 'Amazing! Sawk broke

the threads after raising its attack'

'and defense power with Bulk Up!'

Close Combat!

[CLOSE COMBAT MOVE]

Dodge it, now!

FREDDY 'Leavanny artfully dodges

Close Combat with style and grace!'

- No way! - Ha!

I raised Leavanny's speed with some special trainin'!

Great speed is the best way to beat power!

Wow! Yay!

[EXCITED]

Leavanny! X-Scissor, go!

[X-SCISSOR MOVE]

[PAINED]

Leavanny lands an explosive X-Scissor!

It floats like a Butterfree and stings like a Beedrill!

Come on! Use your focus, Sawk!

[DETERMINED] Consecutive Karate Chops!

[KARATE CHOP MOVE]

Quick, dodge it!

FREDDY 'And once again Leavanny's

dodging gracefully!'

Low Sweep! [LOW SWEEP MOVE]

Dodge, now!

Use Razor Leaf!

[RAZOR LEAF MOVE]

Now, Energy Ball!

[ENERGY BALL MOVE]

[PAINED]

Sawk! Come on, get up!

[STRUGGLING]/[DETERMINED]

X-Scissor!

Quick, catch it!

FREDDY 'Wow! Sawk managed

to catch Leavanny's X-Scissor!'

Low Sweep, go!

[PAINED]

Leavanny, are you alright?

Close Combat! [CLOSE COMBAT MOVE]

[PAINED]

Leavanny!

FREDDY 'It looks like Leavanny's taken

quite a bit of damage!'

'Is there any way out of this dilemma?'

[WEAK]

Leavanny, no!

[SWARM MOVE]

What's going on?

Swarm, Leavanny's Special Ability, has been activated!

'When a Pokémon with this ability is low on energy'

it's Bug-type moves increase in power!

So cool! [AMAZED]

X-Scissor! [X-SCISSOR MOVE]

Dodge it!

Now Sawk, Bulk Up!

[BULK UP MOVE]

Use String Shot!

[STRING SHOT MOVE]

[STRUGGLING]

Come on, Sawk, break free!

[STRUGGLING]

FREDDY 'Is it because Bug-type

moves are stronger?'

'Leavanny's String Shot has stopped Sawk's Bulk Up!'

X-Scissor, again and again!

[X-SCISSOR MOVE]

You can use those X-Scissors to your advantage

and cut those threads off!

SAWK [EXERTION]

It looks like Sawk is actually using the X-Scissors

to try to slice through the threads!

'But it doesn't seem to be working!'

Either those threads will be cut

or Sawk won't be able to continue battling.

- We'll find out! - Both of you, good luck!

Come on, Sawk! Stay focused!

Leavanny, let's finish it up with X-Scissor!

[X-SCISSOR MOVE]

[EXERTION]

FREDDY 'The threads have been cut!'

'But Sawk's taken a lot of damage!'

Jump and use Karate Chop!

Counter that with Razor Leaf!

[RAZOR LEAF MOVE]

[KARATE CHOP MOVE]

[STUNNED]

Leavanny, no!

JUDGE 'Leavanny is unable to battle!

Sawk is the winner!'

FREDDY 'This bout between

Sawk and Leavanny was an intensive display of moves'

'but Sawk has emerged the winner!'

You battled hard, Leavanny.

FREDDY 'Now, Ash has only

one Pokémon left.'

'Krookodile!'

Alright, Krookodile, I choose you!

[WEAK]

Poor Krookodile. It still doesn't look very good.

True, and the type matchup puts Krookodile

at a big disadvantage.

Dark-type moves aren't very effective

against Fighting types, and on top of that

Fighting-type moves are super-effective

battling Dark types.

Yeah, but Sawk used up a lot of energy

in the last battle, right?

[HOPEFUL]

Come on Sawk, stay focused!

[DETERMINED]

FREDDY 'There it is,

Sawk's tightened its belt and is ready for battle!'

No doubt Sawk's got plenty of energy left!

This battle's ours, Ash!

You're gonna have to do more than just talk!

That's exactly what we're gonna do!

Alright. Bring it on!

Now, Sawk! Close Combat!

[CLOSE COMBAT MOVE] Counter it with Dragon Claw!

[DRAGON CLAW MOVE]

[EXERTION]

[DETERMINED]

'Uh-oh! Is Krookodile running out of steam?'

One more move like that one, and Krookodile's through.

Come on, Ash. Think!

[ENCOURAGING]

Alright! Use Karate Chop!

[KARATE CHOP MOVE]

Now, Krookodile, Aerial Ace, let's go!

[AERIAL ACE MOVE]

What? Aerial Ace? No way!

[KARATE CHOP MOVE]

Now!

[AERIAL ACE MOVE]

[SURPRISED]/[PAINED]

Oh, no!

FREDDY 'And Krookodile unleashes

a powerful Aerial Ace'

'a Flying-type move that's super effective'

'against Fighting types!'

JUDGE 'Sawk's unable to battle!

Krookodile's the winner!'

'So, the match goes to Ash!'

Yeah! Way to go! You were so awesome, Krookodile!

Thanks, Sawk. You battled like a champ.

'Take a good rest.'

Of course, so that's why

you switched Krookodile out after our first battle.

You bet! I knew you were gonna use Sawk in the last battle.

So I saved up Aerial Ace until the very end.

Pretty smart, Ash.

Even if I did lose, it was a great battle!

Hey, thanks! It was a whole lot of fun.

FREDDY 'Let's give a big round

of applause for Ash and Stephan'

'for showing us some serious Unova League battling spirit!'

[cheering]

Wow! Talk about an awesome battle.

My hearts beating about a million miles an hour!

It was a delightfully savory blend of power versus power

and skill versus skill!

[AGREEMENT]

FREDDY 'And now for the next

third-round battle!'

UMBREON [PLEASED]

GIGALITH [PLEASED]

[ATTACK]

FREDDY 'Ladies and Gentlemen,

time to reveal' 'our quarterfinal match-ups!'

'Here we go! Take a look up on the big screen.'

[crowd cheering]

- Cameron! - And Ash!

Our quarterfinal matches will begin tomorrow morning.

They'll all be full battles with six Pokémon per side!

'There's no doubt you'll all'

'get a full dose of Pokémon excitement'.

CILAN 'Ash, in honor of making it

to the fourth round'

I made you a feast!

Your favorite croquettes with all the trimmings

fit for a champion!

No way! Awesome!

They look great! And Ash, I'll bet I can eat

more croquettes than you can!

So how about having a contest and finding out?

Alright. You're on!

ASH/STEPHAN 'Ready? Go!'

And here I actually thought they weren't acting

like little kids anymore, nope!

Something as yummy as croquettes needs to be eaten slowly!

Mm-mm. He-he.

[DELIGHTED]

[gulping]

- Hey, Ash? - Hm?

Now that you've beaten me

you'd better win the whole thing!

Yeah! It's a deal!

Great! So starting tomorrow, I'm cheering you on all the way.

Hey, thanks! I'm gonna give it all I've got!

[gulping]

[laughing]

[sighs]

So Ash is up against Cameron tomorrow.

Another tough battle!

You know, that reminds me.

Remember that secret weapon of Cameron's?

Wonder what it is?

- Where is Ash anyway? - He went for a run.

He said he was much too excited

about tomorrow's battle to go to sleep.

Hm. What a little kid!

[HAPPY]

Just think! We're battling Cameron here tomorrow!

[DETERMINED]

Let's win it, okay?

[HAPPY]/[SURPRISED] Huh?

'What's that?'

- Cameron? - Hey, Ash.

So, what are you doing down here?

Well, I was just thinking I can't be late

for our battle tomorrow.

[laughs] That's just like you.

And you?

See, I was too excited thinking about tomorrow's battle to sleep

so I came out for a run.

[laughs] That's just like you.

So look, good luck tomorrow.

Thanks. Same to you, Ash.

Just remember, I've got my secret weapon with me.

Yeah, well, whatever Pokémon you bring

I'll be ready for you!

Yeah? Not as ready as me!

[DETERMINED]

[crowd cheering]

FREDDY 'Good morning.'

'It's time for our quarterfinal battles!'

'And the first match of the day will be'

'Ash versus Cameron.'

Well, this is it!

Yeah! And this is my secret weapon! Let's go!

[APPEARING]

So that's what it is!

Your secret weapon's Hydreigon!

[SURPRISED] [FOCUSED]

NARRATOR The fourth round

of the Unova League has started off with a bang!

Cameron's secret weapon turns out to be a Hydreigon.

But we'll soon discover how Ash responds to this revelation

as the journey continues.

[theme music]