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| Season | Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension (Season 11) · Lake Valor & the Wallace Cup arc (DP073–DP079) |
| Episode | Season 11, episode 22 · English episode 537 · Japanese episode 541 · Bulbapedia code DP074 |
| English title | Pika and Goliath! |
| Japanese title | ピカチュウ！ライチュウ！進化への道！！ Pikachū! Raichū! Shinka e no Michi!! — “Pikachu! Raichu! The Path to Evolution!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 3 April 2008 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 30 August 2008 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Together – Fumie Akiyoshi · Kaze no Messēji (Message of the Wind), PokaPoka-VERSION. – Mai Mizuhashi |
| English opening | We Will Be Heroes – Kirsten Price |
| Previous episode | Crossing Paths (DP073) |
| Next episode | Our Cup Runneth Over! (DP075) |
Filler / stand-alone episodePikachu refuses to evolve again
Pika and Goliath! is the 22nd episode of Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension, the eleventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 537th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 541, Bulbapedia code DP074). It first aired in Japan on 3 April 2008 and in the United States on 30 August 2008. It falls within the season’s Lake Valor & the Wallace Cup stretch (EP73–EP79).
Synopsis
Over lunch, Dawn’s flailing arms knock the food out of Pikachu’s paws, and as Pikachu chases it, a Pichu gobbles it up. Its Trainer, Sho, thinks Pikachu is wild and sends out his Raichu to catch it, and the two Electric-types clash with evenly matched Iron Tails. When Sho learns that Pikachu belongs to Ash, he offers trade after trade, a Mareep, a Magnemite, a Magneton, because he wants the full evolutionary line, and Ash refuses each one. Ash proposes a battle for pride alone, and Sho accepts. Raichu absorbs Pikachu’s Thunderbolt, Pikachu withstands Raichu’s Thunder, and their Volt Tackles collide in an explosion that slams Pikachu into a rock. Pikachu’s Quick Attack does nothing, and Raichu pins it with its tail and fires Hyper Beam at point-blank range. Pikachu faints, and Sho repeats his offer to trade.
Paul appears, calls Ash pathetic and says Pikachu would have to evolve to compete with Raichu, then walks off. Brock and Dawn note that Pikachu cannot learn Hyper Beam without evolving, which would take a Thunder Stone. Pikachu collapses in Ash’s arms, and at the Pokémon Center Nurse Joy has to use a defibrillator, raising the voltage from 200 to 300 after a failed attempt, before Pikachu’s vital signs stabilise. When Pikachu wakes and tries to go after Raichu straight away, Ash makes it rest, then shows it the Thunder Stone he was given by Nurse Joy in Vermilion City long ago and leaves it on the windowsill. Outside, Team Rocket argue about whether Pikachu should evolve, Meowth proudly declaring his own refusal to change. That night Pikachu glares at the stone and turns away, and by morning both Pikachu and the stone are gone.
The group find Pikachu in the forest, breaking rocks with Volt Tackle: it has decided not to evolve, and Team Rocket, who have taken the Thunder Stone to sell, are delighted too. Ash trains Pikachu for a rematch, and when Raichu’s Thunder interrupts them, Sho agrees, sure the result will be the same. This time Pikachu taunts Raichu into attacking first and uses a new spinning technique to dodge Iron Tails and Volt Tackles, countering with Quick Attack, Iron Tail and Volt Tackle. When Raichu pins it again for Hyper Beam, Pikachu softens the blow with Thunderbolt, then lands a Volt Tackle and Iron Tail combination. After an exchange of Volt Tackles, a spinning Iron Tail hurls Raichu into a tree, Raichu’s last Hyper Beam misses, and Pikachu uses its momentum to slam into it for the win. Paul walks away unimpressed, but Sho admits Ash’s strength and promises another great battle. The story deliberately echoes Pikachu’s Kanto loss to Lt. Surge’s Raichu.
Major Events
- Pikachu loses to Sho’s Raichu and is revived with a defibrillator
- Ash offers the Thunder Stone from Vermilion City and Pikachu refuses to evolve again
- Team Rocket take the stone
- Pikachu wins the rematch with a spinning Iron Tail
- Paul looks on
Trivia
- The English title plays on the story of David and Goliath, for Pikachu against a bigger Raichu.
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Sinnoh story.
Changes in the English Dub
- BBC iPlayer’s copies cut Nurse Joy’s defibrillator scene
- “To My Best Friend” and the Pokémon Symphonic Medley
Part of our Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.