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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 38 · English episode 351 · Japanese episode 354 · Bulbapedia code AG078 |
| English title | Cruisin’ for a Losin’ |
| Japanese title | ポケモンコンテスト！ルイボス大会！！ Pokemon Kontesuto! Ruibosu Taikai!! — “Pokémon Contest! Ruibosu Tournament!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 27 May 2004 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 14 May 2005 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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 Ludicolo? — Camerupt (the segment’s answer is wrong) |
| Previous episode | A Fan with a Plan (AG077) |
| Next episode | Pearls are a Spoink’s Best Friend (AG079) |
Plot episodeRubello Contest – May loses in the semi-finalDrew’s fourth Ribbon
Cruisin’ for a Losin’ is the 38th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 351st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 354, Bulbapedia code AG078). It first aired in Japan on 27 May 2004 and in the United States on 14 May 2005. It falls within the season’s Littleroot to Rubello: Oak, Bulbasaur & the R1 Contest stretch (EP71–EP78).
Synopsis
Jessie is turned away from the Rubello Contest when she tries to enter with an oversized fake Ribbon, but when a woman offers to buy it as a decoration for her Azurill, she decides to go into business selling them. Inside, Vivian opens the Contest. May is brimming with confidence after her wins in Fallarbor and Verdanturf, while Savannah is so nervous she can barely function. In the appeals, May’s Beautifly combines Morning Sun with Silver Wind to cheers from the Mothers for Pokémon, and Savannah recovers from a missed cue with a Flareon routine of Fire Spin, a Tackle through flaming hoops, and Swift and Ember combined into red stars. Afterwards May remarks that once you have a few Ribbons the rest come easily, and Drew warns her to focus on the future, a comment she does not understand.
Drew’s Roselia makes a dramatic entrance with Petal Dance, and the four finalists are announced: Drew, May, a Coordinator named Sonny and Savannah. When Ash offers Savannah advice, May bristles, and she snaps at him when he tries to advise her about Bulbasaur. In the first semi-final, Drew’s new Masquerain dodges Girafarig’s Iron Tail, freezes its own Bubble attack with Ice Beam and wins with Hidden Power. In the second, May’s Bulbasaur is overwhelmed by the lights and the crowd and hides behind her, and May’s harsh words push it back out. Lairon’s Take Down lands, Bulbasaur’s Vine Whip connects, and Lairon sends Shock Wave racing down the vine to paralyse it before Metal Claw strikes. The judges stop the battle, and when May protests they scold her for ignoring her Pokémon’s well-being.
Outside, May apologises to Bulbasaur, which forgives her at once, and Ash and Pikachu persuade her to go back in and watch the final. Ash tells her that wanting to win is natural, but a Coordinator and Pokémon must work together. In the final, Drew beats Savannah with an unanswered Hidden Power just before time runs out, earning his fourth Ribbon, one short of qualifying for the Grand Festival. Team Rocket, meanwhile, fail to sell any more fake Ribbons, and the woman who bought one even asks to return it; for once the trio neither recite their motto nor blast off. Over dinner at the Pokémon Center, Savannah says that she never took her one Ribbon for granted, and May realises that she had done exactly that with her first two wins. She resolves not to make the same mistake again.
Major Events
- Rubello Contest — May loses in the semi-final. Bulbasaur is paralysed by Savannah’s Lairon and the judges stop the match
- Drew wins his fourth Ribbon
- Team Rocket neither recite the motto nor blast off
Trivia
- The English title plays on "cruising for a bruising".
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Sonota renamed Sonny
- The Static explanation for Bulbasaur’s paralysis replaced by “contact through Vine Whip” — the dub avoids Abilities
- Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon is best against Ludicolo? Answer: Camerupt (a wrong answer)
- Cues from Mewtwo Strikes Back and The Power of One used in Japan
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.