Summery:
Ash is pretty smug about winning two badges so far, causing Misty and Brock to regret ever giving him badges. They are on their way to Vermilion City to see the sights, sounds, and of course the pokémon gym there. However, in order to keep Ash in check, Misty warns that the trainers they will meet on the way there are tougher and stronger than any other trainer Ash has met. Ash believes that he will easily defeat any trainers. After all, he does have two badges, already. We then cut to Ash's Pidgeotto battling it out with a young trainer's Rattata and winning. This numbers as Ash's tenth victory in a row a fact that he is more than proud of, much to Misty and Brock's annoyance. The young trainer with the Rattata does not act as a poor loser, but Ash is kinda boastful of his win. He then covertly shows off his two badges and the young boy is impressed. He offers that Ash may be able to beat A.J. a really tough trainer of savage pokémon who built his own gym. Ash says no problem and heads over there. The gym is an obviously home built structure with a tent, an outdoor league-drawn floor, and a score board that says 98 wins and 0 loss and that the "gym is not sanctioned by the Pokémon League." Ash still thinks that A.J. is nothing, because "even his gym isn't an official one." A.J. then comes up and asks Ash if he came to become his 99th win. This, of course, angers Ash and they go in to fight. A.J. explains that once he gets his 100th consecutive win, he'll start competing for badges. Ash laughs, saying that he already has two badges and 10 wins so far. A.J. goes on to insult Ash by accusing him of stealing those badges. Then he insults Brock and Misty, offering that the badges came from loser gyms. Of course, now all our heroes want Ash to win, and as A.J. calls out his Sandshrew, Misty reminds Ash that Pikachu's electricity is no good against ground pokémon. Ash quickly tells her that he knows and chooses Pidgeotto. However, with the crack of his whip, A.J. orders Sandshrew to roll up in a ball and tackle Pidgeotto taking it out. Confused (because flying pokémon are supposed to have an advantage over ground), Ash then calls out Butterfree, but it, too, is defeated giving A.J. his 99th win. A.J.
seems proud of his victory and ignores Ash's pleas for a rematch. After A.J. leaves to go inside the tent, the group hears him yelling at Sandshrew for such a poor fight. They go in to investigate and find A.J. is commanding Sandshrew to jump in the water, which weakens ground pokémon. Ash wants A.J. to stop, but A.J. tells him to mind his own business that the way he trains his pokémon may be fierce but that's what keeps him winning. A.J. uses this strength-intensifier equipment he invented himself to make the pokémon stronger, though Ash points out that it looks more like a straight-jacket. Pikachu tries one on and not being all that strong is forced to roll up into a ball. Sandshrew laughs and follows suit rolling into a ball himself. As Ash and A.J. continue to argue over pokémon training, Team Rocket sneaks in with a their own ball disguise and steals Sandshrew thinking it was Pikachu. After they leave, A.J. wants all his pokémon to get together for more practicing, but notices Sandshrew is gone. After releasing Pikachu from the strength-intensifier, Ash offers that maybe Sandshrew ran away. A.J. refuses to believe it, stating that Sandshrew and him made a promise to get 100 wins, get all the badges, and become the greatest pokémon master. Ash tries to show A.J.'s other pokémon that A.J. is too hard, and they can come with him if they want to. However, none of them will desert A.J., because despite him being a tough trainer, they know he cares for them. Sandshrew then literally pops up and A.J. and his pokémon are over-joyed, proving to Ash the devotion they have for each other. But Team Rocket comes back attempting to steal Pikachu again and insulting A.J. at the same time. A.J. wants to fight them and even though they pretty much use Meowth, Koffing and Ekans at the same time, Sandshrew is able to fight them off making its 100th win. With a promise to one day fight again, Ash and A.J. takes separate paths to the pokémon league as they continue on their journey. |
