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| Season | Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond (Season 16) · On the road to Vertress arc (BW098–BW102) |
| Episode | Season 16, episode 2 · English episode 752 · Japanese episode 757 · Bulbapedia code BW099 |
| English title | A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team! |
| Japanese title | 大空と大地のタッグバトル！ Ōzora to Daichi no Taggu Batoru! — “The Tag Battle of the Sky and the Earth!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 18 October 2012 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 9 February 2013 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Yajirushi ni Natte! (Be an Arrow!) – Rica Matsumoto · Mite Mite☆Kotchitchi (Look Look☆Here) – Momoiro Clover Z |
| English opening | It’s Always You and Me (Version 1) – Neal Coomer & Kathryn Raio |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Braviary (US) |
| Previous episode | Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige! (BW098) |
| Next episode | A Village Homecoming! (BW100) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeTag Battle with Soren & Rocko
A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team! is the 2nd episode of Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond, the sixteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 752nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 757, Bulbapedia code BW099). It first aired in Japan on 18 October 2012 and in the United States on 9 February 2013. It falls within the season’s On the road to Vertress stretch (EP98–EP102).
Synopsis
Ash and Cilan defeat Soren and Rocko, two brothers who boast of being the world’s greatest Tag Battle team, and then help them catch the Water-types their land-and-air team is missing. In a cornfield, Soren’s Braviary and Rocko’s Drilbur challenge the group, though the brothers admit their claim to have beaten the Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet was only a dream.
With Iris refereeing, Ash’s Unfezant and Cilan’s Pansage face a string of combination moves: Drill Wing, Aerial Claw and Brave Dig, in which Braviary dives into Drilbur’s tunnel and bursts out with Brave Bird. Ash and Cilan borrow the idea, with Pansage digging and Unfezant following up with Quick Attack; Unfezant then flies through the brothers’ Fury Rock and Pansage wins with Solar Beam.
Cilan evaluates the beaten team and takes the brothers fishing. Their bickering costs them a pair of Frillish and their first throws fail against a Corphish and a Buizel, until a Drill Wing lets Rocko catch Corphish and Soren catch Buizel, and they show off Jet Brave and Bubble Drill. Afterwards Cilan groans when a Swanna and a Palpitoad appear, two Pokémon that would have suited the brothers perfectly.
Major Events
- Ash and Cilan win a Tag Battle. Soren and Rocko, self-styled world’s greatest Tag Battle team
- The combination moves Drill Wing, Aerial Claw and Brave Dig
- Unfezant and Pansage beat Braviary and Drilbur
- Rocko catches Corphish and Soren Buizel
- Cilan breaks the fourth wall twice
- Braviary’s TV debut
Pokémon making their anime debut
Braviary#0628 · BW099
Captures and evolutions
Corphish#0341 · Rocko · caught with the help of a Drill Wing, to give the brothers a Water type
Buizel#0418 · Soren · caught the same afternoon
Trivia
- The English title plays on a surface-to-air missile, for a Tag Battle team of the burrowing Drilbur and the flying Braviary.
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Unova story.
Part of our Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.