Line #7 Recap/PokemonS11E22PikaAndGoliath


1	!!Japanese Title: ''Pikachu! Raichu! The Path to Evolution!!''
2	!!!Original Airdate: April 3, 2008
3	!!!US Airdate: August 30, 2008
4	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pokemon_pika_and_goliath.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:300:That moment when ''Pokémon'' intersects with ''Series/{{ER}}''...]]
6
7	After Ash and Pikachu lose a battle to a trainer named Sho and his Raichu where Pikachu is seriously hurt, it reminds Ash of a similar situation that happened in his early days as a trainer, forcing him to revisit a decision that he thought had been settled long ago.
8
9	!!This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
10	* AbilityMixing: During the rematch against Sho and his Raichu, Ash's Pikachu combines Volt Tackle and Iron Tail to create the powerful "Volt Tail" technique, made possible by their SpectacularSpinning training.
11	* AttackAttackAttack: In their initial battle against Sho and Raichu, Ash and Pikachu's straightforward approach of using power and speed attacks proves to be ineffective. This is mainly due to the fact that [[LightningBruiser Raichu, being larger in size, can match them in both aspects]], and has an advantage with moves that only Raichus can learn, such as the powerful [[WaveMotionGun Hyper Beam]]. To compensate for Raichu's size advantage and exclusive move, Ash and Pikachu undergo rigorous training that involves SpectacularSpinning and AbilityMixing. This allows them to emerge victorious in the rematch against Sho and Raichu.
12	* ChekhovsGun: Ash still has the Thunder Stone that Nurse Joy gave him back in Vermillion City, having held onto it in case Pikachu ever changed its mind about evolving. However, Pikachu reaffirms his decision not to evolve, and even though Team Rocket successfully steals the Thunder Stone by the end of the episode, Ash doesn't want it back.
13	* DavidVersusGoliath: As the TitleDrop indicates, Pikachu is once again pitted against its evolved form, which is larger and more muscular. At first, this situation is {{deconstructed}} because Raichu's size, skill and speed render Ash and Pikachu's previous tactics useless, causing them to lose the battle. However, the situation is {{reconstructed}} when Ash and Pikachu undergo special training to learn SpectacularSpinning and AbilityMixing. These techniques enable them to compensate for their weaknesses and win the rematch.
14	* MagicalDefibrillator: Just like [[Recap/PokemonS1E14ElectricShockShowdown the first time]], Pikachu is so badly hurt that Nurse Joy has to bring out the defibrillator to recharge him. PlayedForDrama is ramped up, with implications that Joy might lose Pikachu this time.
15	-->'''Ash:''' [[SayMyName PIKACHU!!!]]
16	* RecycledPremise: The whole point of the episode is to revisit Ash and Pikachu's decision whether or not Pikachu should evolve into Raichu that first occurred back in Vermillion City. Once again, Pikachu decides against it and defeats Raichu in their rematch. Like with before, even Team Rocket decided not to mess with Ash and Pikachu in the episode and instead took their Thunder Stone as a consolation prize.
17	* SpectacularSpinning: Ash and Pikachu spend some time practicing their strategic spinning and tail maneuvers after they reaffirm their decision not to evolve Pikachu. The next day, during their rematch with Sho and his Raichu, they put their new techniques into practice and won decisively.
18	* StrongAndSkilled: Unlike Surge's Raichu which evolved quickly for more raw electric power and was limited in it's moveset Sho's Raichu was much more completely developed having high-speed moves like Volt Tackle (which Surge's Raichu lacked) and moves that only a Raichu can learn like Hyper Beam.

Context Recap / PokemonS11E22PikaAndGoliath