Ash and co. bump into Paul again, who has already won a Relic Badge from Fantina and once again angers Ash with his callous attitude. They decide to have a battle, with Turtwig volunteering. It goes up against Paul's Honchkrow and at first it manages to dodge its attacks with its speed, but in the middle of the battle it evolves into Grotle and suddenly struggles to move very quickly at all, eventually costing it the battle. After recovering in the Pokémon Center, Grotle is despondent over its sudden loss in speed and makes its way into the woods to try and train itself to regain its speed, but to no avail. Ash's other Pokémon follow Grotle to check up on it and who do they see lumbering towards them but Paul's Torterra, who had been watching the battle earlier. With assistance from Ash's Gliscor, it demonstrates to Grotle the new battle style it must adapt to, one where it must learn to rely on its endurance rather than speed and strike back with massive power when the time is right. Ash finds the Pokémon the woods and thanks Torterra for its help before it returns to Paul, then vows to help Grotle rebuild its battle style.
Tropes
- An Aesop: Change in any way, shape, or form is sometimes a struggle, but it’s important to acknowledge it and try to adapt and make the most of it accordingly.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While it’s no excuse for Paul’s cruel taunting, it’s true that Ash failed to understand just how much Grotle had changed, as Paul pointed out.
- Mighty Glacier: Turtwig becomes this when it evolves into Grotle. It is no longer quick on its feet, but it can now take hits much more easily and still dish them out in return. Paul's Torterra demonstrates that this is the battle style that it must adapt to, with the key being the ability to strike back at exactly the right moment.
- Pet the Dog: Despite being owned by Ash's arch-rival Paul, Torterra still decides to give pointers to Ash's Grotle showing how to adapt to it's new form.
- Powerup Let Down: Turtwig at least manages to evade Honchkrow's attacks at first, then evolves into Grotle right in the middle of the battle. Unfortunately, this actually ends up making things worse for it since it has suddenly lost all of the speed that it is used to relying on, and it ends up costing Grotle the match.
