A Shroomish Skirmish – Pokémon Season 7, Episode 42

Plot episodeTorchic evolves into Combusken

A Shroomish Skirmish is the 42nd episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 355th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 358, Bulbapedia code AG082). It first aired in Japan on 24 June 2004 and in the United States on 11 June 2005. It falls within the season’s Towards Fortree: Swellow, Combusken & the Feather Badge stretch (EP79–EP85).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

Stopping for lunch in the Shroomish Forest on the way to Fortree City, Corphish gobbles its own food and then steals Torchic’s, starting a fight that escalates into Bubble Beam against Ember and ends only when Grovyle intervenes with Leaf Blade; Torchic runs sobbing into May’s arms. Meanwhile, a starving Team Rocket find a piece of fruit, squabble over it and then realise that it belongs to a band of Shroomish, whom they chase for more. As the trio feast on the stolen apples, the furious Shroomish gather, and more drop from the trees and evolve into Breloom. Team Rocket flee straight into the heroes’ camp, pause their motto to eat Brock’s cooking and then confess to the theft, with Jessie insulting the fruit for good measure. The Breloom answer with a combined Mach Punch that scatters everyone across the forest.

The group are split up all over the forest. May and Mudkip land on a branch over a ravine and are soon joined by Jessie and James; Torchic, still crying, follows Corphish through the trees; and Ash and Brock send Pikachu and Swellow to search before fleeing another band of Breloom by rolling down a hill. Max teams up with Meowth, Torchic and Corphish, and they stumble into the Shroomish’s food store, while Pikachu is thrown into a gorge wall by a Breloom’s Iron Tail as it tries to defend them. The overloaded branch snaps, and Brock’s Forretress saves Ash, Brock and Team Rocket with Rapid Spin. Then four Breloom corner Corphish and Torchic. Corphish blocks a Mach Punch to protect Torchic and takes a brutal beating, until Mudkip’s Water Gun comes to its rescue just in time.

Seeing Corphish hurt on its behalf, Torchic becomes angry and evolves into Combusken. The lead Breloom challenges it to one-on-one combat. Combusken lands Peck, but Breloom slips past May’s new Fire Spin with Mach Punch, so Max suggests Sky Uppercut, which knocks Breloom back. Breloom asks for a straight hand-to-hand fight, and the two trade punches and kicks until a cross-counter knocks both of them out. Recovering, the rivals shake hands in mutual respect, and the Breloom then turn on Team Rocket and blast them away. That evening Brock cooks another meal, praising Combusken’s fighting spirit, and Ash finds inspiration for his upcoming Fortree Gym battle. When Corphish tries to steal food again, a single glare from Combusken scares it off, and Pikachu and Combusken share a laugh.

Major Events

• The Shroomish Forest
• May’s Torchic evolves into Combusken (Fire Spin, Sky Uppercut) and fights a Breloom to a double knockout
• Breloom’s TV debut

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Breloom#0286 · AG082

Captures and evolutions

• Torchic → Combusken#0256 · May

Trivia

• The English title plays on the alliteration of Shroomish and skirmish.
• The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• Fruit called “apples”
• Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon is best against Sunflora? Answer: Venomoth (Gastly was also correct)
• A cue from Pikachu’s Vacation used in Japan

Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.