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| Season | Pokémon: Battle Frontier (Season 9) · Commerce City, Gardenia & the Battle Tower arc (AG166–AG170) |
| Episode | Season 9, episode 25 · English episode 442 · Japanese episode 446 · Bulbapedia code AG170 |
| English title | Second Time’s the Charm! |
| Japanese title | バトルタワー！以心伝心バトル！！ Batoru Tawā! Ishindenshin Batoru!! — “Battle Tower! Telepathy Battle!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 30 March 2006 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 November 2006 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Supāto! (Spurt!) – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · GLORY DAY ~Kagayaku Sono Hi~ (That Shining Day) – GARDEN |
| English opening | Battle Frontier – Jason Appleton |
| Previous episode | Talking a Good Game! (AG169) |
| Next episode | Pokémon Ranger – Deoxys’ Crisis! (Part 1) (AG171) |
Plot episodeAbility Symbol
Second Time’s the Charm! is the 25th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier, the ninth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 442nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 446, Bulbapedia code AG170). It first aired in Japan on 30 March 2006 and in the United States on 27 November 2006. It falls within the season’s Commerce City, Gardenia & the Battle Tower stretch (EP166–EP170).
The first episode of a weekday run: Cartoon Network showed AG170 and AG173–AG183 Monday to Thursday between 27 November and 14 December 2006.
Synopsis
The day after his loss, Ash decides that his rematch with Anabel must be won with strategy rather than raw power. He trains from dawn, running with his Pokémon and having Pikachu, Tauros and Corphish practise Iron Tail, Take Down and Crabhammer on a tree, until he disturbs a Beedrill nest and the swarm chases everyone, Anabel included. A sting sends Tauros on a rampage that knocks the whole group into a lake, but Ash and Anabel only laugh, washing Tauros and splashing about with Corphish. Team Rocket’s attempt to tunnel up beneath Pikachu ends with them collapsing into a hole beside Munchlax, which has made off with the group’s food, and their giant inflatable Wobbuffet is popped by Eevee’s Tackle. Inspired by Anabel’s bond with her Pokémon, the friends try giving orders without words, but Corphish and Combusken only get frustrated. Anabel admits she cannot explain how she does it and tells Ash to feel what is in his heart.
The rematch opens with Corphish against Alakazam. Bubble Beam collides with Psybeam and Psychic throws Corphish across the field, but Corphish dodges a Focus Punch and lands Crabhammer, and when Psybeam leaves it confused, Ash recalls it to snap it out of the confusion and sends it straight back out to knock Alakazam out with Bubble Beam. Anabel’s Metagross then takes the field and quickly defeats the tired Corphish with Meteor Mash, leaving Ash two Pokémon to her two. Tauros comes next, dodging Meteor Mash to strike with Horn Attack, and when Metagross fires Hyper Beam it hits the real Tauros despite Double Team; Tauros recovers and charges while Metagross recharges, and their final clash of Meteor Mash and Take Down leaves both Pokémon unable to battle.
Anabel’s last Pokémon is Espeon, which matches Pikachu blow for blow with Quick Attack and Iron Tail, overpowers Thunderbolt with Zap Cannon, and twice slams Pikachu into the ceiling with Psychic. On the second impact Pikachu strikes a light fixture, and its Thunderbolt knocks out the Battle Tower’s power, plunging the arena into darkness. Unable to see, Espeon loses its focus and its telepathic link with Anabel fails, and Pikachu attacks from the darkness before finishing it with Volt Tackle. Ash wins the Ability Symbol, his sixth, and Anabel blushes as she holds his hand, her feelings unnoticed by Ash. With six Symbols, the final facility is revealed: the Battle Pyramid near Pewter City, Brock’s hometown, and the group set off once more.
Major Events
- Ability Symbol. The rematch with Anabel
- Corphish beats Alakazam
- Tauros and Metagross knock each other out in Tauros’s last on-screen battle
- Pikachu blacks out the Tower and beats Espeon
- Anabel’s crush on Ash
- Next stop the Battle Pyramid near Pewter City
Trivia
- The English title plays on "third time’s the charm".
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- James’s line about curry rice made more general
- Anabel’s Espeon keeps its Japanese voice
- The Japanese Battle Frontier plays from the blackout to the end
Part of our Pokémon: Battle Frontier guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.