TB005: Showdown in Pewter City

is the 5th episode of of , Season 1 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Jessie, James, and Meowth dig a trap for our heroes, but they end up falling into it themselves!
Ash and Misty arrive at Pewter City and meet a curious fellow named Flint, who notices that Pikachu is tired and shows them the way to the Pokémon Center.
At the Pokémon Center, Ash reads a poster promoting the Pokémon League Regional Championships—to compete, you have to beat gym leaders from various towns and win their badges. Ash challenges the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock, but even a healed Pikachu has no chance against Brock's Rock-type Pokémon. Later, Flint shows Ash a surprising side of Brock—when he's not battling and raising Pokémon, he has to take care of his ten brothers and sisters.
Will this news affect Ash's desire to battle Brock again for the Rock Badge? Who is this Flint guy, and why does he insist on helping Ash train Pikachu for the rematch? And will Team Rocket ever climb out of that hole?
==Episode plot==
The episode begins with Jessie and James digging a hole to trap Ash, Misty and Pikachu. They dig the hole and cover it with soil, however, they cover it so well that they fall into their own trap and the soil falls in on top of them. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu are then seen walking up to the edge of Pewter City and an 'old guy' called Flint, who sells Pewter City souvenir rocks. Flint then shows them the way to the Pokémon Center where he meets the Nurse Joy of Pewter City who recognizes him. Nurse Joy tells a confused Ash that she knows about him after talking to her sister in Viridian City. Nurse Joy points to a poster advertising the regional championships and Ash says that he will enter once he earns enough badges.
Flint then re-enters the scene and asks Ash if he intends on challenging the local gym leader, Brock, and begins to laugh after listening to Ash's confidence before walking away. Ash and Misty are then shown talking about the upcoming gym battle in a restaurant and Misty offers her help, which Ash declines. Misty then leaves, saying that Ash won't defeat Brock, leaving Ash to foot the bill. Ash returns to the Pokémon Center and picks up his Pokémon. He heads to the Pewter City Gym and challenges Brock to a match. Brock asks Ash whether this is his first match and then explains the special rules involved in gym battles. Brock then brings the gym field into the gym itself, forcing Ash and Pikachu to run out of the way.
The gym battle begins with Ash sending Pikachu on to the gym field and Brock sends out his Onix. Pikachu runs away and tags Pidgeotto's Poké Ball but is sent back into the match by Ash. Onix then uses its Bind attack on Pikachu, who responds by using a Thundershock, which has no effect on Onix. Ash attempts to recall Pikachu, but it is blocked by Onix. Onix continues to use Bind until Ash surrenders in order to protect Pikachu.
A dejected Ash leaves the Pewter Gym carrying Pikachu and meets Flint outside, who tells Ash to follow him. They go back to Flint's cabin where Pikachu is asleep recovering. Ash talks highly of Brock and Flint says that Brock's skills could see him go further than just being the gym leader. They go to Brock's house where Brock is seen cooking and then sewing Suzie's skirt after she tears it. Ash and Flint then leave and walk through Pewter City, with Flint telling Ash that Brock cannot leave as he has to look after his siblings after his 'good-for-nothing' father left to become a Pokémon Trainer and his mother abandoned the family.
Flint then takes Ash to a hydroelectric power plant on the outskirts of the city and says that it can be used to power up Pikachu. Ash asks Flint how he can know so much about Pokémon, with Flint responding that he just got lucky. Flint explains that the river is dry but that he has another idea. Ash then goes on to the water wheel and begins to push the wheel round by walking on the wheel. This begins to power up the generator, which is connected to Pikachu, who begins to feel the pain of the increased electricity. Misty then appears and again offers her help in defeating Brock, with Ash telling her that he wants to defeat Brock by using the Pokémon that he raised. Ash continues to power the generator until it overloads.
thumb|Ash challenges Brock to a Gym Battle!
The next day he and Pikachu return to the Pewter Gym and challenge Brock once again. Brock starts the match with his Geodude while Ash chooses Pidgeotto. Ash has Pidgeotto use Gust attack, which fails to cause any damage and Geodude then begins trying to punch Pidgeotto, as Ash learns something that Brock already knows: Flying Pokémon are weak against Rock Pokémon. Misty is shown watching from the rafters, with Brock's siblings joining her. Pidgeotto then falls to the ground, exhausted, and Pikachu enters the battle. Pikachu uses a powerful Thundershock to knock out Geodude, despite the type disadvantage. Brock then recalls Geodude, realizing that Ash has trained Pikachu well. He sends out Onix a second time. A scared Pikachu then begins to use Thundershock, not caring about where it aims. The thundershock causes a fire to start in the rafters. Onix, however, traps Pikachu using its Bind attack. Pikachu lets off a Thunderbolt attack, which causes Onix pain but when Pikachu runs out of energy Onix continues with its Bind attack.
Brock tells Onix to release Pikachu but Ash refuses to end the match. The sprinklers in the gym go off due to the fire and Misty tells Ash that rock types are weak against water despite being strong against flying Pokémon. Pikachu then uses an electric attack, which weakens Onix to the point that it collapses. Ash tells Pikachu to "finish it off" but is held back by Brock's siblings, although he initially believes it is his conscience holding him back. Brock tells his siblings to leave Ash alone because it is an official match, although his siblings tell Brock that they cannot watch Onix take more punishment because Brock trained hard to raise Onix.
Ash then realizes that he would not have beaten Brock without the sprinklers going off and recalls Pikachu. Later, Ash and Pikachu are seen walking away from Pewter City but are stopped by Brock, who runs after them. Brock then gives Ash his first badge, the Boulder Badge, and tells Ash that he defeated him both in battle and in being kind to Pokémon. Brock then tells Ash that he cannot leave because he needs to look after his siblings. Flint then turns up and takes off his disguise, revealing himself to be the 'good-for-nothing' father of Brock. Flint then reveals that he could not face his family after failing to be a Pokémon Trainer but that he should not take on his responsibilities as a father.
Ash then asks Flint why he helped him and not Brock, with Flint responding that Ash reminded him of himself as he didn't seem to have a chance on his own. Flint tells Brock to go fulfill his dreams. Brock then hands Flint a needle and tells him that Suzie always tears her dress, Timmy only eats cold spaghetti for breakfast, Tommy likes cornflakes for dinner, that Cindy sleep walks so he should tie a bell to her and that the twins do not like to take a bath. Ash, Brock and Pikachu then begin to walk off. Brock thanks Ash for allowing him to join him on his journey and points out Misty, who continues to chase Ash for another bike or the money to buy one. Ash decides to run away, with Pikachu and Brock following, in an attempt to lose Misty. They begin to run off and the camera shows Jessie, James and Meowth digging their way out of the ground, although they are trampled on by the running Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Misty. A depressed Jessie then reflects on Team Rocket's fate and states that they've 'reached rock bottom', just before they fall back into the hole as the episode ends.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Flint
*Brock
*Brock's siblings
**Tilly
**Billy
**Suzie
**Timmy
**Tommy
**Cindy
**Salvador
**Yolanda
**Forrest
===Pokémon===
*Brock's Onix
*Geodude (Brock's)
===Item===
*Boulder Badge
===Moves===
*Thunderbolt
*Bind
==Quotes==
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon:" Onix (JA, EN, and KO)
*Brock reveals the names of four of his siblings: Suzie, Timmy, Tommy, and Cindy, and that two of his siblings are twins which is both Tilly and Billy. One of Brock's younger brothers is later revealed to be called Forrest. 
**During the second rematch of the Gym battle between Brock and Ash, two of Brock's siblings, Salvador and Yolanda are also present with his other siblings to watch the gym battle.
*In a poster about the Pokémon League all the symbols, except fighting and colorless, from the Pokémon Trading Card Game are printed on it.
*Team Rocket was not encountered in this episode though they were seen at the beginning and the end.
*This is the first episode where Team Rocket digs a pit trap. Yet they fall into their own trap, but succeed in this from Charmander - The Stray Pokémon onward.
===Dub differences===
*In the dub Flint told Ash that Lola, Brock's mother, was heartbroken and tried to keep everything together, but passed away, while in the original version, she left because she was sick of complaining with his father.
*The text for the Japanese name of the Pewter City Gym ("Nibi GYM") was changed to Pewter Gym in the dub.
*When Brock's dad tries to charge Ash and Misty for sitting on his rocks, he originally charges them just ¥50. In the dub, however, he charges them $2.
*Ash and Misty's food bill in the original amounted to a total of ¥1,150. However, the dub only changed the currency, making their bill total an amount of $1,150., alongside changing the Japanese text at the bottom of the receipt.
*In the original, Brock's dad mentions how Brock's mom simply left the family, in the dub, this was changed to him saying how she died heartbroken due to their family relationship.
*In the original, Brock lists all his siblings' food habits to their estranged father, in the dub, this was changed to him instructing his dad how to deal with Cindy's sleepwalking, and how the twins hate taking baths.
===Mistakes===
*Brock has nine siblings, not ten, as stated in the episode.
**Also, right before he leaves Pewter City with Ash and Misty, he tells Flint that two of his brothers Timmy and Tommy like to eat cold spaghetti for breakfast and cornflakes for dinner respectively.
*Though Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Geodude and Onix, they should have resisted it due to them being Ground-type Pokémon.
*Despite the dub making it seem like Brock's mother passed away, she's actually alive and well.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character is introduced
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a badge
Category:Episodes featuring Gym Battles
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Brock
Category:Episodes focusing on Pikachu
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon learning a new move
Category:Episodes featuring Ash losing a Gym Battle
Category:Episodes in which a main character joins the group