The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! (463)

[Serebii]

May VS Drew! Rivals Forever!

Travelling through the Kanto region in preperation for his rematch against Brandon, Ash & Co. meet up with May's Rival Drew. May, eager to battle her long time rival, challenges Drew to a Contest Match. However in mid-match, Harley appears. Will the Rivals have an all out battle? Meanwhile, Ash learns about the land of Shinou from Gary and Prof. Oak

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[Heracross]

God, did this episode rock.

First off, Shuu does mention Jouto, and it looks as though Harley is going there too, which isn't too surprising. Harley also seemed to want Musashi to come along and participate in contests, but she turned him down because of her obligation to the Rocket-dan, after which he blasts all three of them of for some reason. He also calls her Musa-chan throughout the episode. It's so cute. XD

It seems to me that Haruka will indeed be following both of them, but you should take that with a grain of salt since I don't understand Japanese, and thus 95% of their conversation. From what I did understand, however, Haruka wishes Satoshi luck at the battle pyramid, which would be sort of random if she were going to be there. But that's just my thought. Don't want to be blamed for starting rumors. :x

Also, other highlights include:

-Joi going fangirly over Ookido, Shuu, and Harley and asking them to autograph things.
-We get to see Enishida's eyes... sort of.
-Kasumi special lure - continuity for the ultra-win. Even if it's just a lure. XP
-Joi acting as Lilian for the conest.
-Return of Ookido's haikus. (Not the lectures, mind you.)
-Beautiful instrumental version of Chiisaki Mono.

Overall, it was just awesome. Much more than I expected from this ep. I would type more, but I feel terrible, so I'll leave you guys with some screenshots~

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...shida_eyes.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Joi_Lilian.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n_Audience.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...huu_sunset.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...uu_sunset2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...aruka_Shuu.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...shi_Haruka.jpg

[CyberCubed]

From what I did understand, however, Haruka wishes Satoshi luck at the battle pyramid, which would be sort of random if she were going to be there.

Heh, but she is going to be there until the Ash Vs. May episode at any rate, so she will be watching Ash's Pyramid match.

Can anyone translate May's lines when Drew mentions Johto? From the pics it looked more like she was wishing Drew farewell rather than wanting to travel along with him.

[Dark Cacturne]

Yeah!! This episode will be the best ever made! With harley, drew and may!
AWESOME!!

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

Meowth dressed up as Sukizo...XD

And we saw Scott's eyes in his first episode.

[ChaosMage]

So who won the May VS Drew battle? Was there a third judge? Did Gary actually appear?

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

Drew won, I think their was no third judge (it was Scott, Oak, and Nurse Joy as Lillian)

Gary sent a postcard of Shinou to Ash it seems, and Ash had a flashback we never saw.

[~Flareon~]

I watched the episode already. It was exciting. So Gary sent a postcard of Shinou to Ash, that's great. I know the judges are only Scott and Oak.
And Drew won the battle, I know May has done her best. So Drew, Harley and Saori are going to Johto, am I right? Maybe Jessie and May will follow them.

[The Big Al]

What eyes?

I'll wait to see more pictures until I go in further.

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

Scott's eyes, we saw them in his debut episode.

[ghost master]

Harley also seemed to want Musashi to come along and participate in contests, but she turned him down because of her obligation to the Rocket-dan, after which he blasts all three of them of for some reason. He also calls her Musa-chan throughout the episode.

That's cute. Does anyone have a shipping for Harley x Jessie. Its also good that Jessie recognizes her obligation to TR because that lots of the time doesnt stop her from doing what she wants.

[The Big Al]

Scott's eyes, we saw them in his debut episode.

I know but their always closed like Brocks or something. Actually, I never saw his debut episode because the airheads at the NBC station had screwed up.

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

No, he had them opened at one point. They were very small though.

[Umi Mizuno]

Holy cheese!, did I just see Harley with no hat? Never noticed how shiny his hair was without his hat. XD

Uh, great episode. Rofl at Nurse Joy going fangirl all over this episode. XD She definately has multiple personalities, I mean look how fast she can change from fangirl to Lillian. TR, Harley, and Ash & co. all sitting next to each other in the crowd? That was really unexpected. Drew's/May's battle was awesome but shorter then I expected. Butterfree is definately a lot stronger then I expected. O_o

Bah, Harley didn't act as flamboyant as he usually does in this episode. (maybe expect near the end of the episode where he said he was going to Johto) ._. Actually turned out nice for once and actually helped without 'evil' intensions. D:

[Ash6K]

This episode looks cool. I don't know really know the attacks Butterfree and Beautifly were using but they looked cool. Well, if Jessie did say that she'd rather stick with TR than go to Johto then it seems like TR has a chance of staying then huh. I liked the poster for Ash. Glalie's print was definitely noticible, hehe. And Nurse Joy being all fan girlish, got to love it. Overall...good episode, but I'm still wondering about May's choice, leaving or staying?

[CyberCubed]

Am I the only one seeing this ep as just a way to write out May's rivals for next region?

May didn't say anything about wanting to compete with them in Johto. The end of the ep also puts a lot of focus on Ash and May when Oak speaks. Considering there are Super Contests in Shinou, maybe May is staying after all?

[The Big Al]

We'll know in three weeks.

As for the episode itself, why are there contests after the GF? Are they just killing time before the next region?

[Ash6K]

If May didn't say anything about going to Johto then I guess the Johto reference was so that May can get new rivals when they get to Shinou (especially since Super Contests are slightly different than regular Contests). So hopefully this episode can prove that May and TR have a chance of staying. Anyway, I like the Misty lure and the FIGHT poster. At least we get to see how all of Ash's old pokemon really care for him and how Misty is still remembered in the show. Also, because the title says "rival's forever," maybe it's like how Gary and Ash were rivals but they're paths became different. This could be the same with May and her two important rivals, even if they're paths are different, they'll still be rivals. Again, good episode.

[CyberCubed]

May needs to find out there are Contests in Shinou though, and so far she doesn't know that. Hopefully somehow Ash finds out so May has an incentive to stick with him.

Oh, and Team Rocket is staying. Harley blasted TR off because Jessie said she had to stay as part of the organization rather than become a coordinator. Plus, I think she still wants to capture Pikachu.

[Onijon]

Butterfree stopped Combusken's Overheat was fun

[Juputoru]

It took me an hour and a half to get through this. Blaaaaagh.

-The ep opens with those hot springs we saw last ep, Ash being in the water and Max & Pikachu just waiting by the side. Suddenly, a scream is heard in the distance and they rush to the scene. Someone they just met is dead! Max makes sure nobody touches the crime scene while the incompetent detective Mo...wait, wrong series.
-Ash looks up at some splotches of white paint that are supposed to be clouds.
-We're treated to an overhead view of the hot springs as the narrator narrates.
-The scene cuts over to Beautifly...wait, Beautifly?! The butterfly is back!
-And Skitty too! Aw, isn't it kee-uuuuuuuuuuute?
-But May ignores the scene of adorability behind her as she practices her emo face.
-May's Pokemon notice that she's being emo and try to cheer her up by being cute. She pretends that she feels a bit better, and the camera shifts to Brock and Scott, who were watching May(dare I ask?). Brock says something, possibly about May being emo, and Scott says something about Ash, Jindai, the Battle Pyramid, and the Grand Festivial, which I take to mean that he's saying something about Ash still having a goal but May doesn't. Brock and Scott say some more things.
-May decides to practice a new combination of Skitty's Blizzard and Beautifly's Psychic, which goes decently, when Max's voice is heard!
-Max and Ash are surprised to see Skitty and Beautifly, and Pikachu jumps right over to talk to the two again. May talks about the new combination, and Max and Ash comment about Psychic(I guess Beautifly knowing it is new to them?). May makes another comment about the combination, and then asks Ash something. Ash responds, and May says "I see" in a depressed sounding voice. Max suggest that Ash and May battle, and Ash seems to like that idea, but...May doesn't! After her initial "DAME YO!", she goes back into her quiet, depressed voice again, and mentions something about Ash's power.
-But wait! There's...Professor Oak! Carrying a sack of something! Said sack having a Pokeball logo on it!
-Back in the...Pokemon Center?...Oak starts to open the sack as Ash(and Brock, and May, and Max) wonders what's in there and a crowd chatters among themselves about Oak being there(I spy:A Bellsprout, an Ampharos, a Tyranitar(!), a guy with the beginnings of a goatee, and a girl with what looks like a pink cell phone). Oak poses for a bunch of people taking pictures, then gets out what's in the sack as he mentions a message from Ash's Pokemon.
-It's a picture with the word FIGHT! on it, with various paw/claw/foot/hand/wing/fin/vine/tail/leaf prints from Ash's Pokemon. I can make out twenty things that might be prints, and out of those at least 11 colors that may or may not mean that there were only 11 Pokemon(although the one who used the yellow paint seemed to make its own littles set of tracks). Ash is mightily impressed, as is Pikachu, and they start matching the prints. (here's the pic for reference purposes)
-From what I could gather:The two little red prints are from Cyndaquil, the big blue one next to that is from Snorlax, the purple clawprint is Kingler's, the orange whispy prints are from Bulbasaur, Brock mentions Bayleef's, Tauros', and Muk's prints but no handy identification is given for the viewers although it's fairly obvious that the brown prints near the top are from Tauros' tails, the red print near the bottom is from Bayleef's leaf, and the teal hand-shaped blob right near it is from Muk. The pink face-like mark must be from Glalie, the green print seems to be from Torkoal aside from how LARGE it is, I think the yellow prints are from Totodile, and I have no clue what the purple zig-zag is from. And that's that. Ash thanks Oak, and we get on with the ep.
-Oak also brought a bento lunch for Ash, made with love and kisses and cute puppies and flowers by his mom, and a Misty Lure which Brock recognizes as the Misty Special.
-But that's not all! Oak has a card from Gary from Shinou, with a picture of pine trees, a river, and a mountain on it.
-Thus begins the odd flashbackillusionimaginationhallucination thing, which ends with Gary giving an AWESOME laugh. ...I don't get what happened either.
-Ash is quiet for a moment, then goes back into I'LLWINJUSTYOUWATCH mode.
-Scott happens upon this little gathering and Oak recognizes him(and I THINK mentioned something about Ash mentioning him a lot)
-THERRRRRRRRRE'S JOY! She goes all fangirly over Oak, catching the professor so off-guard he can't do anything but stand there and blink. She then shows him a copy of his Pokemon Senryuu book, which he's all too happy to sign.
-May makes a brief comment about rivals, when a random Roselia walks up to her! It's quite short, so it obviously can't be Drew's. Yup yup.
-BUT IT IS!
-May's surprise at seeing Drew is cut off by Happy Nurse Fangirl Joy, who targets Drew for an obsessive moment(she has pictures of him, too!). Drew's taken aback("There are Joys with personalities?!"), but no book-signing is seen for once.
-We get another neat piece of music this ep(am I just paying more attention than normal or are we getting a lot of new/rarely seen pieces?) as May and Drew talk and Roselia eats lots of Pokeblocks(wow, it looks ADORABLE. Been giving it Pokeblocks that boost Cuteness and remove Steriods, eh Drew?). Drew mentions something about Saori's match and hurting/wounds, so I guess May's still emo over losing to Saori? O_o
-Drew then offers to battle May, which surprises her(again!). May's not too sure about that, but...Ash butts in! Max and Brock follow suit, and under the influence of peer pressure and a camera that keeps switching between her and Drew, she finally agrees to battle. And it must be either perspective, the animators being inconsistant, or me just not having paid attention before, but May seems to be TALLER than Drew here. o_O
-Max runs off to get Joy, Oak, and Scott to fufill roles, but suddenly a muffled-sounding Joy and and odd-looking Orangesuitedblackandgreyhairedguy(what IS his name, anyway?) appear, along with a very very short and yellow Ah, Suki Desu Ne guy with a tail. I WONDER WHO THEY COULD BE?
-It turns out that Cacturne from the ep preview was just appearing to reveal these three for the Team Rocket(OMG NO WAI) they were with a bullet seed. May and co are angry for no reason(TR didn't do anything yet beyond impersonation!), TR notes that if Cacturne is here, that must mean...
-HARLEY! He slams his palms on the judge's stands and chews them out about something(his hair seems oddly light today), TR runs away but Harley decides that just having them leave him and the others alone ain't good enough as Cacturne blocks their escape route. Harley appears behind them(his hair seems normal now) and whispers something to Jessie(so he IS planning something?).
-Harley wanders back towards the main group, but Max is suspicious of him(smart boy!). May just seems resigned about the whole thing.
-Joy's back, and...she has Harley pics too! Including Hatless!Harley! Which looks awesome! *insert fangirlish "EEEEEEEE" here* HIS HAIR IS SHINY UNDER THAT HAT! Harley goes all "OMIGAWSH A FAN" before signing the book.
-Oak has no clue what's going on? Didn't anyone tell the man before he got there?!
-Joy apparently didn't know either, because she goes starry-eyed about the battle.
-Scott puts on a small smile, lifts his glasses revealing slitty eyes, and says "Suki desu ne". XD! Oak and Joy laugh at that too. IF YOU DIDN'T LAUGH TOO, YOU HAVE NO SOUL!
-Joy appoints herself as the Lilian, getting out a handless mic she conveniently had on her.
-A small crowd decided that this impromptu contest would be interesting, hence there being an audience of more than ten people.
-TR manages to be in the audience with no disguises whatsoever. Guess the twerps aren't THAT mean?
-May and Drew release their Pokemon(you know what they are by now, I hope), and Joy does the time honored "HIYAA WII GO!"
-May leads with a Psychic/Flamethrower combo, but Drew isn't worried at all about this swirl of firey death heading straight for him, and calmly orders a...Petal Dance?...from Roselia, which somehow doesn't get burnt up but instead manages to blow back the flames. But May gets an idea and has Beautifly use Psychic to move the remaining embers of the fire towards Roselia and Butterfree.
-Roselia somehow combats THAT with Magical Leaf(them plants be fire-resistant!), and Combusken rushes at them for a ...something...attack! But Butterfree ain't letting that happen, as it uses...something that LOOKS like Psychic but doesn't bear its name...to hit Combusken with the PsychicFireGrass thing that the derbis has become, and the kung-fu chicken ends up hitting Beautifly as well, prompting Joy to comment that what Drew did was excelent! Albiet with more Engrish. Butterfree fires off a Psybeam, but Combusken dodges and hits it with a Sky Uppercut! Roselia uses Petal Dance, Beautifly counters with Silver Wind but...The petals absorb the energy and fly towards May's Pokemon, with more strength than they started with!
-EVERYONE'S impressed. Including TR! May's not giving up though, and has Combusken use Overheat. But Drew goes the annoying route and has Butterfree use Protect. Drew then has Roselia use Solarbeam(which takes all of two seconds to charge) and Butterfree use Psybeam, blowing May's Pokemon the hell up and KOing them both.
-The scene shifts to May and Drew talking about something while looking at the sunset. The background music is once again wonderful. It seems May has her will to keep going towards her goal back, and Drew mentions Johto contests(and possibly that Saori's there too). Harley pops up from nowhere as he so loves to do, and judging from May's reaction he was poking fun at the two being together in what Drew/May shippers are undoubtedly latching onto as an "OMG ROMANTIC!!!!!1111" scene. Of course he says that he was just joking after that.
-It seems Harley's going to Johto too. He invites Jessie to come along, but she refuses because she just can't leave Team Rocket. Harley gets angry at this and challenges her to a battle, and of course Jessie gets ready to battle, but not before Cacturne blasts them off. Jessie keeps frantically looking for a good Pokemon to battle with even as they sail through the air.
-Harley says something, then runs off, exaggerated style! Cloud of dust and all. May finally seems to be used to the dramatic ways Harley acts since she just puts on an "ah, typical -_-" face.
-Ash and co arrive, and Ash asks if she's okay(guess they noticed the explosion and flying Rockets?).
-Drew starts heading off too, and May waves goodbye, thanking him and saying all that other obligatory stuff.
-The rest of the ep can be summed up like so:"Do your best!" "I will!" (insert Oak's poem here) *sunset* *narration*

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

OMFG! Glalie did imprint his face!!!

[Dreamcoat]

An amusing thing to notice was that Ash's PKMN had each left a mark of their feets/claws on the banner Oak had with him.

[Perapmanta_017]

Did May keep Skitty and Beautifly after the battle or did she give them back to her parents? i hope she kept them in her team.

[Umi Mizuno]

-May's Pokemon notice that she's being emo and try to cheer her up by being cute. She pretends that she feels a bit better, and the camera shifts to Brock and Scott, who were watching May(dare I ask?). Brock says something, possibly about May being emo, and Scott says something about Ash, Jindai, the Battle Pyramid, and the Grand Festivial, which I take to mean that he's saying something about Ash still having a goal but May doesn't. Brock and Scott say some more things.

They were talking about how she battles. They said that she battles too much like Ash and it really isn't a very good thing since co-ordinators should defend and attack with gracefulness, but May doesn't defend much beacuse she pratices with Ash a lot and her defence skills isn't really good.