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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (Season 7) · Littleroot to Rubello: Oak, Bulbasaur & the R1 Contest arc (AG071–AG078) |
| Episode | Season 7, episode 32 · English episode 345 · Japanese episode 348 · Bulbapedia code AG072 |
| English title | The Bicker the Better |
| Japanese title | タッグバトル！サトシVSハルカ！？ Taggu Batoru! Satoshi Tai Haruka!? — “Tag Battle! Satoshi VS Haruka!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 April 2004 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 2 April 2005 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Aya Matsui |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Challenger!! – Rica Matsumoto · Smile (second version) – Toshiko Ezaki |
| English opening | This Dream – David Rolfe |
| Pokémon Trainer’s Choice | Which Pokémon is best against Ariados? — Onix, captioned “Onyx” on screen (Blaziken was also a valid answer) |
| Previous episode | A Six Pack Attack! (AG071) |
| Next episode | Grass Hysteria! (AG073) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeAsh’s first Tag Battle
The Bicker the Better is the 32nd episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 345th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 348, Bulbapedia code AG072). It first aired in Japan on 15 April 2004 and in the United States on 2 April 2005. It falls within the season’s Littleroot to Rubello: Oak, Bulbasaur & the R1 Contest stretch (EP71–EP78).
Synopsis
As the group leave a Pokémon Center for Fortree City, May is still packing, and when Ash hurries her out she stops to fix her hair in a mirror. The irritation grows into a full-blown argument that continues down the road. They then meet Oscar and Andi, a devoted couple who assume that Ash and May are also a couple and challenge them to a Tag Battle, a format that is new to Ash. Both deny the relationship but accept the challenge. Oscar sends out Nidoking and Andi Nidoqueen; Ash chooses Corphish, while May dithers before settling on Skitty. Their teamwork falls apart at once. Skitty’s Assist produces an Ember that collides with Corphish’s Bubble Beam, and when Corphish turns to warn Skitty, it takes the hit instead.
As Ash and May bicker, the couple strike with a combined Dynamic Punch. Ash’s counterattack goes wrong when Skitty’s Blizzard freezes Corphish solid. May’s attempts to fix things with Assist wrap Corphish in String Shot before an Ember finally melts the ice, and Max doubts the wisdom of relying on such a random move. A furious Corphish chases Skitty around the field, and Nidoking and Nidoqueen finish both of them with Submission. Oscar and Andi head into the forest, where Team Rocket challenge them to another Tag Battle, hoping to win their big Pokémon for Giovanni. Seviper attacks Cacnea instead of the opponents, Jessie and James start squabbling, and two Hyper Beams blast them away, prompting the couple to declare that love conquers all.
Ash and May are still blaming each other when they bump into the equally quarrelsome Jessie and James, and a second Tag Battle is arranged with mixed teams: Ash and James against May and Jessie, using the same Pokémon as before. Corphish and Cacnea cooperate far better than Seviper and Skitty, so Jessie breaks the rules by adding Dustox’s Whirlwind, the match descends into chaos, and Brock’s attempt to disqualify her is literally blown away. Meowth seizes the moment, and under cover of Haze and Sandstorm he nets Pikachu. As Team Rocket escape, Skitty’s Assist produces String Shot to stop them, and when Corphish shields Skitty from Seviper’s Poison Tail, Ash and May’s trust is restored. Skitty frees Pikachu with Double Slap and freezes the villains with Blizzard, a combined Crabhammer and Tackle blasts them off, and Ash and May apologise to each other.
Major Events
- Ash’s first official Tag Battle, with May, lost to Oscar’s Nidoking and Andi’s Nidoqueen
- A mixed Tag Battle with Team Rocket
- First anime Pokédex entries for Nidoking and Nidoqueen
- Reportedly banned in some countries, including Ireland
Trivia
- The English title plays on "the bigger the better".
- The screenplay is by Aya Matsui.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Hoenn story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Jessie’s akanbe (eyelid-pulling taunt) cut
- Nidoking’s and Nidoqueen’s Japanese voices kept, with stock animal cries added
- Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon is best against Ariados? Answer: “Onyx” (Onix) (misspelt; Blaziken was also correct)
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.