The Battle Club and Tepig’s Choice! – Pokémon Season 14, Episode 4

Plot episodeAsh catches TepigDon George debuts

The Battle Club and Tepig’s Choice! is the 4th episode of Pokémon: Black & White, the fourteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 657th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 662, Bulbapedia code BW004). It first aired in Japan on 7 October 2010 and in the United States on 26 February 2011. It falls within the season’s A new region, a new start stretch (EP1–EP4).

Premiered on 26 February 2011, before Pokémon Black and White launched in North America — the only episode to reveal Generation V English names early (Servine and Dewott).

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

Synopsis

In Accumula Town Ash discovers the Pokémon Battle Club and its manager Don George, and ends the day by catching an abandoned Tepig. Ash’s practice battle between Pikachu and a Trainer’s Dewott is interrupted by an alarm: Team Rocket have broken into a storehouse, and a dark Pokémon resembling Umbreon has been seen fleeing.

Ash sets out food as bait, but Oshawott eats it. Instead he finds a Tepig with a rope tied around its snout and frees it, while Team Rocket disguise Meowth as Umbreon to distract the searchers until the Club staff decide to catch him instead. Don George explains that Tepig was abandoned by its Trainer, Shamus, after losing to a Deerling.

When Team Rocket try to snatch Pikachu, Tepig fights alongside Ash with Ember and frees his partner, and the trio retreat. Iris tries to catch the grateful Fire Pokémon, but Tepig chooses Ash, who catches it, giving him three new Pokémon in three episodes. Giovanni then orders Team Rocket on to Striaton City.

Major Events

• Ash catches Tepig. The Accumula Town Battle Club and Don George
• Tepig abandoned by its Trainer, Shamus
• Meowth disguised as an “Umbreon”
• Giovanni sends Team Rocket to Striaton City
• The dub reveals the English names Servine and Dewott before the games’ North American release
• TV debuts of Servine and Dewott

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Servine#0496 · BW004
• Dewott#0502 · BW004

Captures and evolutions

• Tepig#0498 · Ash · abandoned by its Trainer, it chooses Ash over Iris

Trivia

• The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Unova storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• Meowth speaks English to Don George’s group
• The Pokédex voice lacks its digital effect
• The dub confirms the English names Servine and Dewott before the games’ North American release

Part of our Pokémon: Black & White guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.