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| Season | Pokémon: Battle Frontier (Season 9) · Islands, Ribbons & a broken heart arc (AG159–AG165) |
| Episode | Season 9, episode 15 · English episode 432 · Japanese episode 436 · Bulbapedia code AG160 |
| English title | Harley Rides Again |
| Japanese title | ゴンベのデビュー戦！ハーリーと真剣勝負！！ Gonbe no Debyūsen! Hārī to Shinken Shōbu!! — “Gonbe’s Debut Battle! Harley and Taking the Game Seriously!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 19 January 2006 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 28 October 2006 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Battle Frontier – Akina Takaya · GLORY DAY ~Kagayaku Sono Hi~ (That Shining Day) – GARDEN |
| English opening | Battle Frontier – Jason Appleton |
| Previous episode | Off the Unbeaten Path (AG159) |
| Next episode | Odd Pokémon Out! (AG161) |
Plot episodeMay loses to HarleyFirst Kanto loss
Harley Rides Again is the 15th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier, the ninth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 432nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 436, Bulbapedia code AG160). It first aired in Japan on 19 January 2006 and in the United States on 28 October 2006. It falls within the season’s Islands, Ribbons & a broken heart stretch (EP159–EP165).
Synopsis
In Wisteria Town, May trains Munchlax for her bid at a third Kanto Ribbon by having it smash a thrown ball with Focus Punch, filling the air with confetti. Brock reminds her not to repeat past mistakes, but she is confident, planning to use Squirtle in the Appeals and Munchlax in the battles. Then Harley sweeps in, scattering the fans who had gathered around Bonsly, and reminds May that he already has three Ribbons to her two. Team Rocket, running a Pokéblock stand, offer to help him beat May in exchange for help catching Pikachu, but Harley laughs at them as losers and refuses, and the insulted trio swear revenge. In the hall, before judges Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and Nurse Joy, Squirtle combines Rapid Spin with Bubble and freezes the bubbles with Ice Beam into a glittering frozen fountain. Harley’s Ariados answers by draping the stage in webs and bungee-jumping before finishing with Scary Face.
Just as Ariados finishes, a Wobbuffet suddenly drops from the ceiling onto the stage and runs off, and Pikachu, followed by Ash, chases it outside to find out where it came from. May tops the Appeals Round, with Harley second, and in the first battle Munchlax beats a Politoed with a lightning-fast Solar Beam. Up on the roof, Ash discovers that Team Rocket’s balloon is behind the Wobbuffet’s fall: the trio are using a machine to steal the Coordinators’ Pokémon. They insist they are only helping May, but Ash is unconvinced and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt sends them flying. The final then pits Munchlax against Harley’s newly revealed Octillery, which wraps Munchlax in Constrict so that it cannot move and pounds it with Octazooka and Sludge Bomb, sending May’s points tumbling.
May gambles on Metronome, which seems to fizzle until a bolt of Thunder crashes down on Octillery. Harley responds by having Octillery use Rest to restore its health, and although Munchlax lands several Tackles and a Focus Punch while it sleeps, Octillery wakes up and knocks Munchlax out with Octazooka. Harley wins his fourth Ribbon, handing May her first defeat in Kanto and her first ever loss to him. Her friends praise her effort while she feeds the exhausted Munchlax, and Harley mutters to himself that nice girls finish last. Lilian then gives May a flyer for the next Contest on Chrysanthemum Island, together with an anonymous envelope and a rose. Brock guesses they are from Drew, and the letter inside invites May to compete in the Chrysanthemum Contest.
Major Events
- Wisteria Contest. May loses the final to Harley’s Octillery, her first defeat in Kanto and her first ever loss to Harley
- Harley’s fourth Kanto Ribbon, the only one he is shown winning
- Munchlax’s Metronome calls down Thunder
- An anonymous rose and letter invite May to Chrysanthemum Island
Trivia
- The English title plays on the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, or the film Herbie Rides Again.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Bonsly’s “Uso!” pun dropped
- The dub implies that Contests are held once a year
- Jessie asks who is prettier instead of planning revenge and borrowing Mime Jr.
Part of our Pokémon: Battle Frontier guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.