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| Season | Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond (Season 16) · On the road to Vertress arc (BW098–BW102) |
| Episode | Season 16, episode 1 · English episode 751 · Japanese episode 756 · Bulbapedia code BW098 |
| English title | Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige! |
| Japanese title | 世界一華麗なポケモン！？チラチーノVSツタージャ！ Sekaiichi Karei na Pokemon!? Chirachīno Tai Tsutāja! — “The Most Magnificent Pokémon in the World!? Chillaccino VS Tsutarja!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 11 October 2012 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 2 February 2013 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Yajirushi ni Natte! (Be an Arrow!) – Rica Matsumoto · Mite Mite☆Kotchitchi (Look Look☆Here) – Momoiro Clover Z |
| English opening | It’s Always You and Me (Version 1) – Neal Coomer & Kathryn Raio |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Roserade (US) |
| Next episode | A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team! (BW099) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeDub season premiereFlower Garden Troupe
Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige! is the 1st episode of Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond, the sixteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 751st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 756, Bulbapedia code BW098). It first aired in Japan on 11 October 2012 and in the United States on 2 February 2013. It falls within the season’s On the road to Vertress stretch (EP98–EP102).
Premiered on Cartoon Network on Saturday 2 February 2013, a week after the Rival Destinies finale, as the first episode of Pokémon BW: Adventures in Unova, with the debut of the English opening “It’s Always You and Me”; the Region 1 DVD uses the wrong version of the opening.
Synopsis
On the way to the Unova League in Vertress City, Ash, Iris and Cilan disguise themselves as girls to infiltrate an all-female theatre troupe whose stars insulted Emolga and Snivy. Cynthia sees them off from her villa in Undella Town, and over lunch a squabble between Oshawott and Pignite ends with a stray Hydro Pump knocking Emolga off a cliff, where three elegant girls, Moira, Mona and Cher, mock Emolga and Snivy as ugly before driving away.
The girls lead the Flower Garden Troupe, which admits only women and female Pokémon, so Iris dresses the boys as “Ashley” and “Cilanor,” tapes a paper heart to Pikachu’s tail and ties a bow on Pansage. On a balance beam over rising mud, Pansage falls in and Emolga knocks Lilligant down, but when Snivy throws Moira’s Cinccino into the mud, its oily fur sheds the dirt.
In the mud-ringed battle room, Emolga beats Roserade and Lilligant beats Pansage. Snivy’s repeated Leaf Storms finally strip Cinccino’s protective oil and send her and Moira into the mud. When the manager, Ms. Chandler, invites the “girls” to join, the trio flee, change back and head for Vertress City.
Major Events
- The dub’s season premiere. Cynthia reveals that the Unova League is in Vertress City and the group leaves her villa
- The Flower Garden Troupe of Moira, Mona and Cher
- Ash and Cilan disguised as “Ashley” and “Cilanor”
- A paper heart on Pikachu’s tail, the anime’s first acknowledgment of Pikachu’s gender difference
- Pansage confirmed male
- Snivy’s Leaf Storms beat Moira’s Cinccino
- Debut of the English opening It’s Always You and Me
Trivia
- The English title plays on “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, alliterated, for a battle of looks with an all-female theatre troupe”.
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Unova story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Iris’s reason for the disguises is changed
- The “Alright, girls” exchange is English-only
- Moira’s Japanese “-chan” suffix becomes “-ette”
- The Region 1 DVD uses the wrong version of the opening
- Debut of the English opening It’s Always You and Me (Neal Coomer and Kathryn Raio), Version 1
Part of our Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.