This episode is essential viewing because: Ash wins his last Johto League badge. Charizard goes back to the valley.

The rules for the gym battle are the same as before: three pokémon each, only the challenger can substitute, no time limit. Claire starts off with Kingdra and Ash starts with Snorlax, surprising Claire somewhat. Brock mentions that Ash’s regular team wouldn’t cut it against dragons. Ash starts off with Snorlax’s hyper beam and Claire counters with Kingdra’s agility (well, it was called agility, but it looked more like a quick attack to me). Kingrda attacks Snorlax, but it doesn’t work. Claire then uses Kingdra’s swift, but that just bounces off again. Ash tries to use Snorlax’s body slam, but Claire uses Kingdra’s agility again. Kingdra attacks Snorlax again, but the same thing happens. Claire notes that these attacks aren’t working, so she uses hydro pump. Ash tells Snorlax to dodge it, but Snorlax isn’t fast enough. Claire orders another hyper beam and Ash again orders Snorlax to dodge it, but he’s worried that it might not have worked.

Liza apologizes for taking so long with getting some food for Charla, who’s waiting out in the garden. She sets a plate of pokémon food out for Charla, and then heads off to watch Ash’s match. Charla starts to eat.

Luckily, Snorlax avoided the hyper beam by going under water. AshCo congratulate it on its quick thinking. Ash orders a body slam, but in order to do that, Snorlax has to go underwater, where it weighs much less. Kingdra uses this to its advantage and avoids being crushed. Claire comments that Ash must have forgotten his science. She tells Kingdra to use hydro pump once Snorlax comes up for air. This worries Misty and Brock, but Ash tells Snorlax to jump out of the water. It goes up into the air and Kingdra uses hydro pump. Ash orders Snorlax to lean back and Snorlax successfully dodges the attack. Claire then orders Kingdra to use swift attack, but Ash tells Snorlax to just take it. This time it seems to actually do some damage. Misty is worried, but Brock comments that Ash must have a plan. Claire orders another hydro pump, but it only does a little bit of damage. Plus, Kingdra is looking tired. Ash makes a comment on this and Brock says that Ash’s plan must be to just wear Kingdra out, as Snorlax has a lot of endurance. Claire orders another hyper beam, but Snorlax dodges it once again by going underwater. Kingdra looks tired and Claire looks worried. Ash then orders Snorlax to use ice punch, ending the round. Brock mentions that dragons are weak against ice attacks and Ash runs up to congratulate Snorlax on its victory. Liza arrives and asks of the progress of the battle. Brock begs Liza to admit her love for him and Misty, still holding onto his ear, tells Liza what’s been going on.

Dig for treasure/ dig with pleasure/ prepare for trouble with our bag of tricks/ make it double with a couple of picks/ to protect the world from devastation/ to unite all people within our nation/ Team Rocket! Wobbufett! Jessie and James recite this motto together in a sing-songy voice instead of taking turns while they’re digging a tunnel. They’re after the Dragon Fang again and Meowth consults a map to see how much further they have to go. He concludes that they’re right underneath it, and so they start digging up. Water starts to come in and Meowth looks at the map again to see what the deal is. With his new calculations, he concludes that instead, they’re underneath the lake. The water washes them back.

Claire chooses Gyarados next. Brock and Misty are worried and Liza wonders if Ash will use a substitute, as Gyarados is more powerful that Kingdra. Ash asks Snorlax if it can keep battling, which it can, so the battle continues. Ash orders Snorlax to use hyper beam, but Claire orders Gyarados to use hydro pump, which more than counters it. Brock is worried that Snorlax is getting worn out. Claire orders Gyarados to use dragon breath. Ash orders Snorlax to counter with hyper beam, but Snorlax isn’t fast enough. The dragon breath hits before Snorlax can even power up. It does a lot of damage. Ash tells Snorlax to try hyper beam again, but Brock remembers that Gyarados’ dragon breath paralyzes opponents. Ash tells Snorlax to try as hard as it can to move, but Claire uses Gyarados’ hyper beam to end the round. Who’s that pokémon?! It’s Muk!!

Charla is about to take another bite of her food, but a strangely Wobbuffet-like hand comes and steals it.

Ash’s next choice is Pikachu. Brock and Liza are worried, but Misty reminds them that electric types are strong against Gyarados. Claire orders a hyper beam, but Ash orders Pikachu to dodge with quick attack, which seems surprisingly effective. Claire is surprised at Pikachu’s speed and Ash does a little bit of bragging. Claire doesn’t seem very worried, though, and she orders Gyarados to use bite. Pikachu dodges it by jumping up into the air and Ash orders a thunderbolt. Claire orders Gyarados to use dragon breath, which effectively blocks Pikachu’s attack. Claire tells Ash that simple electric attacks won’t work in this battle. Claire then orders a hydro pump, which Pikachu tries to dodge. It does for the most part, but even though the hydro pump just touches Pikachu on the side, it still seems to have done some pretty good damage. Ash is worried, but Pikachu gets up with a little bit of struggling. Gyarados the COMES OUT OF THE WATER and uses wrap on Pikachu. Ash orders a thunderbolt, but Claire tells Gyarados to get away from Pikachu. It lets go, but Pikachu still hits it. Gyarados still looks ready for more and Claire orders another bite. Gyarados attacks several times, but Pikachu manages to dodge them all. Unfortunately, Gyarados does manage to corner Pikachu and Claire uses Gyarados’ hydro pump. Ash orders Pikachu to use agility and Pikachu runs up the hydro pump. Ash and Pikachu end the round with a thunderbolt. Claire says that she’s impressed, but the battle isn’t over until it’s over.

JessieCo somehow got a hold of a Meowth robot that doesn’t need a pilot to dig. They’re enjoying a bag of cookies when the charm on Mechanical Meowth Mining Machine’s head starts to flash. Meowth says that it senses the Dragon Fang. They come up in the garden where Charla is napping. James and Meowth say that the mecha must have made a mistake, but Jessie opens Charla’s mouth and shows them all the fangs that she has. James says that that isn’t the kind of fang they wanted when Charla wakes up and blasts them off with a flamethrower. Meowth drops the bag of cookies and the Wobbuffet-like creature steals those, too.

To no surprise of Misty’s, Claire chooses Dragonaire next. Ash decides to stick with Pikachu. Ash orders several thunderbolts, which Dragonaire all dodges. Liza wonders why Ash is using thunderbolts, as electric attacks have hardly any effect on dragons. However, when Ash orders Pikachu to use quick attack, Brock figures out that Pikachu just wanted Dragonaire to get closer to the ground. Dragonaire dodges and ends the round with hyper beam. Ash’s last choice is Charizard. The old man pulls a lever to make the roof open up to the sky. He announces that the last round will employ the elements of fire, wind, and earth. The battle continues. Ash orders a flamethrower, but Dragonaire simply goes underwater. The water level drops a little as a result of Charizard’s flamethrower and Claire orders Dragonaire to use hyper beam. Ash tells Charizard to dodge and use flamethrower again. Even though Dragonaire can avoid it by going underwater, the flamethrower evaporates even more water. Claire then orders a dragon rage. It’s a direct hit, but Charizard still looks like it can take more. Ash orders another flamethrower, but once again Dragonaire is able to avoid it and uses hyper beam. Ash counters with Charizard’s flamethrower. Misty comments on the fact that they’re evenly matched, but Brock and Liza remind her that because of the water battlefield Charizard is at a disadvantage. Ash orders yet another flamethrower and Dragonaire dodges. But this time, Ash changes his orders to a full power fire spin, which evaporates the entire pool and surprises everyone but Ash. Claire decides that it’s time to take the battle to the sky and Ash orders another flamethrower. Claire counters with safeguard. Claire orders Dragonaire to use iron tail, which is a direct hit. Claire orders another one, but this time, Charizard catches it. Ash orders a seismic toss, but Claire orders a dragon rage. They go into a sort of ring-shaped electrical whirlwind and Charizard and Dragonaire both crash into the ground. Dragonaire seems fine, but Charizard isn’t looking so good. Claire thinks its over, but Charizard surprises her by getting up. Claire orders hyper beam, which Charizard dodges. Ash orders flamethrower, but Claire orders Dragonaire to dodge it and use iron tail. Charizard catches it again and Ash orders another seismic toss. Misty, Brock, and Liza are worried that Ash hasn’t learned anything. Claire orders another dragon rage and it looks like it will have the same effects. However, Ash orders a fire spin “timed right with” the dragon rage. The whirlwind ring turns into a fiery ring. Ash orders a “flaming seismic toss”. They land, but the fire spin doesn’t clear for a while. Both sides are worried about who will be hurt more, but this time Charizard is the one who’s still standing. The match is over and Ash runs up to Charizard to congratulate it. Claire is a little disappointed, but she still congratulates Ash and awards him with the Rising Badge.

They all say goodbye to Liza, Charla, and Charizard as they fly off into the sunset and the narrator gives his typical “new challenges await our young hero” speech.

This episode guide has been written by KasumiMizuno.

Characters appearing in this episode

Ash

Misty

Brock

Jessie

James

Meowth

Ash's Pikachu

Pokémon appearing in this episode

• Pikachu belonging to Ash
• Meowth

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