Playing The Leveling Field! – Pokémon Season 11, Episode 41

Plot episodeFantina debutsDrifloon evolves into Drifblim

Playing The Leveling Field! is the 41st episode of Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension, the eleventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 556th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 560, Bulbapedia code DP093). It first aired in Japan on 11 September 2008 and in the United States on 7 February 2009. It falls within the season’s Fantina & the Celestic Ribbon stretch (EP92–EP95).

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

Synopsis

Passing through a small town, the group stop to watch Zoey battling an unfamiliar Trainer, who turns out to be Fantina, the Hearthome Gym Leader. Her Mismagius hits Glameow with a confusing Psybeam, blocks a Shock Wave with Magical Leaf and turns both attacks back with Psywave to win. Brock’s flirtatious display ends with Croagunk’s Poison Jab, and Zoey introduces Fantina as both a Gym Leader and a Top Coordinator. Fantina explains that she has left her Gym to travel as a Trainer, and when Ash asks her for a battle at the Pokémon Center, she reveals why. After winning the Grand Festival with her Misdreavus she became a Gym Leader, but she lost rematches to Trainers such as Alan and his Probopass and felt she was no longer giving challengers a worthy battle. Brock, a former Gym Leader himself, understands. Fantina has since developed a new style that blends Contest beauty with the ferocity of Gym battles.

Team Rocket eavesdrop, hoping to copy Fantina’s style for Contests, and Jessie, disguised as the reporter “Jessadia”, is turned down for an interview. Since Fantina’s Pokémon are tired after the battle with Zoey, Ash and Dawn toss a coin on the Pokétch to decide who will battle her first, and Ash wins. The three-on-three battle allows substitutions, and Fantina opens with Drifloon. Ominous Wind hits, Buizel’s Water Gun misses, and although Aqua Jet lands, Drifloon puts Buizel to sleep with Hypnosis, lifts it with Psychic and knocks it out. Chimchar’s Flamethrower is stopped by Psychic, and Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis put it to sleep as well; Ash recalls it, but Brock points out that sleep persists inside a Poké Ball. Pikachu is burned by Will-O-Wisp but lands a Thunderbolt, though its Volt Tackle is pushed back by Ominous Wind.

Another Thunderbolt only triggers Drifloon’s evolution into Drifblim, which dodges Pikachu’s next attack, moves in close and puts Pikachu to sleep with Hypnosis. With all three of his Pokémon out of action, Ash forfeits the unofficial battle, and he and Fantina exchange compliments; she invites him to challenge her at her Gym and agrees to battle Dawn in the future. That night Team Rocket show Yanmega footage of the battle and ask it to dodge like Drifblim; Yanmega says it cannot, and James and Meowth point out that the two Pokémon are completely different, but Jessie insists that special training will do the trick. At the Pokémon Center, Zoey shows Dawn her third Ribbon and says she will not enter the Celestic Town Contest but will come to cheer her on. Ash sits surrounded by his Pokémon, racking his brains for a way to beat Hypnosis, and both he and Dawn resolve to train harder. It was the last episode to air in Japan before Pokémon Platinum’s release.

Major Events

• Fantina debuts. Fantina beats Zoey and explains her new style
• Ash forfeits an unofficial battle after Drifloon puts Buizel, Chimchar and Pikachu to sleep with Hypnosis
• Drifloon evolves into Drifblim
• Zoey has her third Ribbon
• The last episode in Japan before Pokémon Platinum

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Drifblim#0426 · DP093

Captures and evolutions

• Drifloon → Drifblim#0426 · Fantina · in mid-battle against Pikachu

Trivia

• The English title plays on “a level playing field”.
• The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Sinnoh storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• The English title card appears later in the episode, with different music

Part of our Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.