Ash and co. meet Janet, a Pokemon coordinator who's entering a Pokemon contest with her Beautifly—Janet explains to the gang that, unlike with gym battles (which have an emphasis on power and strength), contests have more emphasis on the beauty and style of attacks. This ends up catching May's interest.
Meanwhile, Janet's friend Chazz, also competing, reveals to Ash that the Rustboro Gym is a Rock-type gym so Pikachu will have difficulty there. Ash wants to stick with his current team as part of his fresh start, so Chazz decides to help Ash teach Pikachu a move that will give it an advantage, the Steel-type move Iron Tail.
Tropes
- Didn't Think This Through: Jessie enters the Contest without coming up with a solid performance plan, expecting Seviper to use Legendary-exclusive moves as a means to win.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: As the first appearance of contests in the anime, there are quite a few:
- The presenter, instead of Lillian or her cousins, is a man in a suit.
- None of the judges offer any commentary, merely giving scores.
- Mr. Suzuko is wearing casual clothes, instead of the suit he wears in all later appearances.
- According to the presenter, when a Coordinator earns five ribbons, they also earn the title of Top Coordinator. In later episodes, it's established that a Coordinator has to earn five ribbons to qualify for the Grand Festival—and whomever ends up winning the Grand Festival is the one who gains the title of Top Coordinator.
- Extra-ore-dinary: Ash begins teaching Pikachu to use Iron Tail, which will remain part of his move set to this day.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Both Janet and Chaz only appear in this episode outside of small cameos in later episodes, but both manage to have a long lasting impact on the plot in their own way. Janet's skill in Pokemon contests and the elegance of her Beautifly is what inspires May to follow her own path as a Pokemon coordinator (that would become the other main plot of Advance Generation alongside Ash's usual League/Battle Frontier one). Chaz meanwhile is the one to teach Ash's Pikachu Iron Tail, movement that would become one of Pikachu's signature non-Electric attacks.
