Japanese Title: Rival Showdown! Satoshi VS Shigeru!!
Original Airdate: October 7th, 1999
US Airdate: October 14th, 2000
The one where... We finally get a battle between Ash and Gary.
An errand of Professor Oak's sets Ash on the road once again, but first he must face his old hometown rival, Gary, in a Pokémon battle.
Tropes
- And the Adventure Continues: The end of the episode segues into the Johto League adventures.
- Ascended Fanboy: Tracey has been taken under Professor Oak's wing.
- Break the Haughty: Ash is proud of his victories in the Indigo and Orange Leagues, but is still beaten by Gary. Gary points out that the first was a long time ago, and he's been training too while Ash was in the Orange Islands.
- Character Development: Like Ash, Gary took his loss at the league as a lesson to learn from. Gary doesn't have his fawning cheerleaders, takes being a Pokemon trainer much more seriously, and is less openly antagonistic towards Ash than he was in Kanto, he even congratulates Ash on his victory in the Orange League.
- Curbstomp Battle: While Ash was able to put up a good fight against Team Rocket, he's utterly destroyed by Gary's Eevee.
- Diagonal Cut: Scyther chops Team Rocket's fake camera in two...without harming Pikachu inside it.
- Dramatic Wind: One blows through Professor Oak's study when he mentions New Bark Town, "Town where winds of new beginnings blow!"
- Epic Fail: Gary totally ignores Team Rocket's slogan presentation.
- Foreshadowing: Misty notes that for Eevee to be that powerful, it must be at a very high level. When the gang encounter Gary later in Johto, it had already evolved into an Umbreon.
