Ash begins his Fortree Gym battle with Winona and her Flying Pokémon at a high-altitude battlefield. Her first Pokémon is Altaria, a Dragon/Flying-type, and Ash responds with Grovyle. Despite the massive type disadvantage, Grovyle actually turns out to be the best choice for the first round, as its amazing jumping ability effectively puts it on equal footing with Altaria, who it manages to defeat. Winona's second Pokémon is Pelipper, a Water/Flying-type, so Ash substitutes Grovyle with Pikachu, who has a massive type advantage. Unfortunately, Pelipper seems to be shrugging off Pikachu's Electric attacks, and it's discovered that Pelipper is digging into the field with Steel Wing to ground the damage, while causing serious damage to Pikachu with its own attacks. Pikachu eventually manages to force Pelipper's wing out of the ground for a full-strength hit from an Electric attack, but the damage has piled up and one final clash of moves causes the round to end in a draw. Winona then sends in her last Pokémon, a shiny Swellow. Ash sends Grovyle back in, but a type disadvantage and its exhaustion mean Grovyle is soon defeated. Down to his last Pokémon, Ash sends in his own Swellow. While they are both the same species, Winona's Swellow is much more used to battling at such high altitudes, so Ash will really have to figure out a way to make use of his surroundings in order to win.
Tropes
- Foreshadowing: Ash reacts in surprise when he hears Winona call for the move Aerial Ace. A few episodes later, he will decide to teach the move to his own Swellow.
