Pika and Goliath (542)

[Painkiller2001]

Pikachu will never, ever, EVER evolve.
It will be a cold day in July before he does.

So, did Ash get his thunderstone back from TR, or not?
It's been a while since I've seen this episode, so I forget if he still has it.

[Caseydia]

Paul is a jerk! Just because all of his Pokemon is evolved doesn't mean that everyone should evolve thiers in order to become strong. However, I thought that Sho should have been Ash's second rival instead of Barry. If only they didn't make his voice so terrible.

[Lance The Champ]

Paul was absolutely right! Ash should have evolved his Pikachu.... even if Pikachu is really strong in its present form. Anyway evolving it won't change its relationship with Ash

[Caseydia]

If Pikachu evolved, it would make it harder for Pikachu to be more active as it is now. It wouldn't be able to be on Ash's back anymore(too heavy), it wouldn't be one of the advertising Pokemon along with the other starter Pokemon anymore and it just wouldn't be the same. Maybe if Ash was way older then maybe it would see more mature to match the age. But since Ash is still 10, Pikachu still suits him.

[Ruby XIII]

It would have been devastating if Pikachu evolved. Pikachu, not Raichu!

[Caseydia]

Sho is hott! All of Ash's rivals are hott!

[G50]

This episode was cool. It was great to see another Pikachu vs Raichu rivalry episode for the 1st time in years. It was interesting to find out that Ash kept the Thunderstone all those seasons just in case Pikachu decided to evolve into Raichu. It was cool to see Raichu use Hyper Beam, interesting how the other attacks are the same as Pikachu's. The strategy in the rematch was so cool. I'm glad Pikachu finally defeated Raichu in the end. Odd how Pikachu actually gave the Thunderstone to TR...

100/100

[BurningSociety12345543210]

I knew Pikachu was going to beat Raichu, and not evolve.

[Hikari10Girl]

I loved the plot of this episode and I loved Sho's personality.

I started loving more about the Pikachu line (especially Raichu) due to this episode.

[Brownie]

This episode sucks, and here's why:

#12: Pika and Goliath

This episode begins with the cast eating, when Piplup slaps food from Pikachu's hands. The two rush to get it, when a Pichu eats it in front of them. The Pichu turns out to belong to a guy named Sho, who wants the whole Pichu family (he only has Pichu and Raichu), and also has an annoying voice.. He offeres to trade for Pikachu, but of course Ash declines. So Ash's Pikachu and Sho's Raichu battle it out, and unlike in the Surge Battle, speed can't save Ash this time. In fact, the battle is one-sided, and Pikachu goes down easily after a Hyper Beam to a rock.

After that, Sho walks away, and Paul is shoehorned into the episode, all to comment that Pikachu should evolve if it wants to stand a chance, then just goes away. Exactly what was the purpose of his appearance? I don't know, either.

Anyway, we then see them at the Pokemon Center, where everyone is worried about Pikachu. Then, in a rehash of Electric Shock Showdown, Pikachu goes off to train after it gets healed. Also, Team Rocket steals the Thunderstone...to...sell it to go further in their plan to capture Pikachu. Yawn...

The next day, Ash and Sho have a rematch. As expected, Pikachu wins the second round, though instead of speed this time, he wins through endurance and tactics. Still a rehash...

Team Rocket cheers in the background, while douchebag Paul just walks away.

Again, why is he in this episode? Just to stalk Ash? We don't even find out if he still thinks Pikachu should evolve, he's just there for fanservice...or something...

...Moving on. Then, like most other episode endings, they say goodbye and walk off into the sunset to continue their journey.

Conclusion: This episode could have been better if the basic structure wasn't rehashed from Electric Shock Showdown, and if the writers didn't have an undying love for Paul and Team Rocket.

[Rohanator]

This episode sucks, and here's why:

#12: Pika and Goliath

This episode begins with the cast eating, when Piplup slaps food from Pikachu's hands. The two rush to get it, when a Pichu eats it in front of them. The Pichu turns out to belong to a guy named Sho, who wants the whole Pichu family (he only has Pichu and Raichu), and also has an annoying voice.. He offeres to trade for Pikachu, but of course Ash declines. So Ash's Pikachu and Sho's Raichu battle it out, and unlike in the Surge Battle, speed can't save Ash this time. In fact, the battle is one-sided, and Pikachu goes down easily after a Hyper Beam to a rock.

After that, Sho walks away, and Paul is shoehorned into the episode, all to comment that Pikachu should evolve if it wants to stand a chance, then just goes away. Exactly what was the purpose of his appearance? I don't know, either.

Anyway, we then see them at the Pokemon Center, where everyone is worried about Pikachu. Then, in a rehash of Electric Shock Showdown, Pikachu goes off to train after it gets healed. Also, Team Rocket steals the Thunderstone...to...sell it to go further in their plan to capture Pikachu. Yawn...

The next day, Ash and Sho have a rematch. As expected, Pikachu wins the second round, though instead of speed this time, he wins through endurance and tactics. Still a rehash...

Team Rocket cheers in the background, while douchebag Paul just walks away.

Again, why is he in this episode? Just to stalk Ash? We don't even find out if he still thinks Pikachu should evolve, he's just there for fanservice...or something...

...Moving on. Then, like most other episode endings, they say goodbye and walk off into the sunset to continue their journey.

Conclusion: This episode could have been better if the basic structure wasn't rehashed from Electric Shock Showdown, and if the writers didn't have an undying love for Paul and Team Rocket.

It was like an improvement of Electric Shock Showdown, the battles were much better(imo at least). + It revealed what happened to that Thunderstone and gave it closure. And why is Paul watching the events a bad thing, it's good that he saw this, since it makes Ash's Pikachu seem more like a threat, might give our main character here a bit more respect. And TR actually had some meaning to the plot, getting rid of the stone, unlike most episodes when they're there just cause they have to appear in every episode. This episode definitely isn't the only Pokemon episode with a "rehashed" plot. At least it introduced a major character trait of Pikachu to the new audiences.