The second round of the Sinnoh League concludes, with Ash shown finishing off an opponent's Grumpig with his Snorlax for the win. Now the third round begins, and Ash learns that his opponent will be Conway. But first, Barry will be facing Paul, a battle that Barry has been looking forward to. The three-on-three battle gets underway but despite Barry's best efforts, Paul beats him without losing any Pokémon. Meanwhile, Team Rocket try to find creative new ways to get stadium spectators to buy their merchandise.
Tropes
- Continuity Nod: After Ash gets excited when Paul's Ursaring is burned by Hitmonlee's Blaze Kick, Brock reminds Ash about Ursaring's Guts which activated when Pikachu paralyzed Ursaring in Evolving Strategies!
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Barry is able to set up Spikes and scores a few decent hits especially when Hitmonlee takes on Ursaring, but Paul beats him 3-0.
- Died Standing Up: Not "died", but "knocked out". A final Thunder from Paul's Electivire does this to Barry's Empoleon.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Barry's Hitmonlee manages to burn Paul's Ursaring with Blaze Kick. Unfortunately, this makes things worse for Hitmonlee since getting burned activates Ursaring's Guts ability, causing its attack power to spike to dangerous levels.
- Hope Spot: Barry's Empoleon takes a lot of damage from Paul's Electivire, causing its Torrent ability to activate. It launches a powerful Hydro Cannon...only for Electivire's Protect to block the move. And since Empoleon has to recharge, it's left open to attack.
- One-Hit KO: Paul's Magmortar knocks out Barry's Skarmory in the first round with a single Flamethrower.
- Oh, Crap!: Twice
- First at the start from a trainer's Grumpig when Snorlax uses Body Slam on it.
- The second one is when Hitmonlee sees that his Blaze Kick has triggered Ursaring's Guts, causing the Hibernator Pokémon's attack power to spike to dangerous levels.
- Pet the Dog: A rather rare case for Paul, after the battle he (relucantly) compliments Barry on his skills and agrees to battle with him again sometime.
- The Cameo: Snorlax appears at the start of the episode, beating Ash's opponent's Grumpig with a Body Slam.
