Japanese Title: Ordile VS Kamex! Sumo Match
Original Airdate: April 19, 2001
US Airdate: March 16, 2002
Our Heroes arrive at an intriguing village and come across a Feraligatr fighting and defeating various Pokemon. This juggernaut of a Pokemon belongs to a trainer named Raiden and he informs our heroes that the battles in this intriguing village take notes from Sumo wrestling; forbidding moves and only allowing heavyset Pokemon to enter. Ash, excited over this special art of Pokemon battling, decides to enter the yearly competition with his Snorlax and luck would have it, one of prizes is a year's supply of Pokemon food, inspiring the gluttonous Pokemon to perform at its best.
Tropes
- Big Eater: After winning the competition, Snorlax scarfs down his hard-earned food and goes to sleep once he was finished.
- Broke the Rating Scale: Snorlax is so heavy that it crushes the weighting scale just by sitting on it.
- The Bus Came Back: Ash brings back Snorlax to enter the competition, since he overqualifies by a massive margin, but he sent back to Oak's Lab at the end of the episode, as he goes in a food coma after eating much of the year's supply of Pokemon food.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Team Rocket tries to cheat their way to victory by disguising Wobbufett as a Miltank and have it sneakily-use Counter to win the tournament. However, Shonosuke, the director of the competition, notices the trick and quickly lodges a protest and disqualifies the Trio.
- Graceful Loser: When Snorlax is able to defeat Feraligatr in the final match of the competition, Raiden isn’t upset about losing and congratulates Ash on his victory.
- Just Here for the Free Snacks: Snorlax wasn't exactly motivated (i.e. sleeping) when the competition started, but once the announcer revealed that one of the prizes is a year's supply of food, he immediately wakes up and is ready to fight.
- Never Trust a Title: The Japanese title translates to Feraligatr vs Blastoise. The match is over in five seconds and the real climatic bout is Snorlax vs Feraligatr.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Team Rocket enters Wobbufett into the tournament disguised as a Miltank. The disguise manages to fool everyone despite Wobbufett's face is clearly seen, although some people do think "Miltank" does look strange.
- Sumo Wrestling: The subject of this episode is the Pokémon Sumo competition, where moves are forbidden during the battles and have to pass a weight limit to enter.
- Tempting Fate: A year's supply of Pokémon food is no match for Snorlax!
- Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Snorlax's sheer girth is such that he breezes through his matches simply by letting his opponent bounce back off against his belly and out of the ring. It isn't the final match against Feraligatr that he actually has to work for a victory.
- Year's Supply Prize: The sumo competition offers a prize of a King's Rock and a year's supply of Pokémon food. Naturally, Ash's Snorlax devours the year's supply within minutes. It's just as well, as Misty notes, since they didn't really have a practical way of transporting so much food with them on foot.
