Recap / Pokemon S 25 E 12 Battling In The Freezing Raid

Goh's next trial mission is revealed: a raid battle against Articuno! But when his rival Gary joins the fight, can he put aside their differences and work with him?

"Battling in the Freezing Raid" Includes examples of:

• Adaptational Badass: Articuno is one of the weaker Legendaries in the games thanks to its 4x weakness to Rock-type moves. Here, it's able to beat Ash, Goh, Gary and Horace's Pokémon including Gary's Tyranitar who can wipe the floor with Articuno in the games.
• The Bus Came Back: Horace returns, now a Project Mew Challenger. Also, Gary's Umbreon and Arcanine return in the raid battle.
• Compressed Vice: Goh is shown to have poor teamwork skills in this episode due to his grudge against Gary, despite the fact that he had partaken in several Raid Battles beforehand, including one where he battled a Zapdos alongside Team Rocket with little issue.
• Curbstomp Battle: Mostly due to Goh's difficulties working as a team, but even without that the four can barely scratch Articuno.
• Do Well, But Not Perfect: The group end up losing the raid battle, but the whole point of the trial mission wasn't necessarily to win, but merely to gather information on Articuno and test how well they could work together.
• Fatal Flaw: As this episode demonstrates, Goh's inability to work with others winds up costing him here. He can work with Ash just fine, but because he can't stand Gary mocking his own flaws to his face, he mostly sticks it out on his own and tries winning the raid battle largely by himself. They wind up losing it, and Goh is only given the basic three tokens, while Gary and Horace get an extra for leadership and support, respectively.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: In Pokémon GO, Articuno is one of several difficult raid battles that typically requires several players to even stand a chance against it. The episode plays out like a battle would with a minimal party of four, as the Legendary Bird is able to wipe the floor with Ash, Goh, Gary, and Horace in spite of taking several super effective attacks.
• Hidden Depths: If Danika's quip at the end is any indication, Quillon was once like Goh.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Gary doesn't mince words when it comes to critiquing Goh, but he is correct that he's the reason they lost the raid battle.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Goh's inability to work as part of a team means that the Raid Battle against Articuno ends up in failure and only gives him three tokens, whereas Gary and Horace get bonuses for being team players.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: All the other Project Mew challengers besides Goh, Gary, and Horace either got too exhausted or lost trying to find Articuno, and decide to stop for their own sakes.
• Scissors Cuts Rock: Articuno shrugs off multiple Rock and Fire attacks without losing its stride and makes short work of the entire Raid Party.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Only on Goh's part, however. Gary and Horace work great together.
• Took a Level in Badass: Horace's Chikorita is now a Bayleef.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gary (and Horace, to a lesser extent) make it clear to Goh that his inability to work with the team cost them the raid battle.

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