RS016: The Winner by a Nosepass

is the 16th episode of , Season 6 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Pikachu is getting pretty good at its Iron Tail attack and that's a good thing. Ash is finally about to take on Roxanne, the leader of the Rustboro City Gym. He's going to need all the help he can get to take down her Geodude. May, on the other hand, isn't really looking forward to the battle. In fact, she announces that she's not going to be a trainer anymore. She wants to become a Pokémon Coordinator and compete in contests instead. When the battle begins, it doesn't look like Ash has much of a chance. Roxanne's Geodude knocks out Treecko pretty quickly. It's all up to Pikachu. Electric attacks aren't going to help much against a strong Rock Type—but Ash is very clever and Pikachu not only brings down Geodude, but it wipes out Nosepass with its newly perfected Iron Tail Attack. Ash defeats Roxanne and receives his Stone Badge.
==Episode plot==
Ash and Pikachu train, the latter has nearly mastered the Iron Tail move for the battle in Rustboro City's Gym, with May, Max and Brock watching. However, the second time the move fails, for Ash and Pikachu need more training. Ash and Pikachu take a break, while Brock discusses Roxanne's Geodude, with its high level, would still prove a tough battle, even if Pikachu mastered Iron Tail. Max asks what May thinks of the battle, to which May replies she won't battle, much to everyone's surprise. May explains she wants to be a Pokémon Coordinator; at first, she wanted to travel, and being a trainer was a good excuse. However, after traveling with them all, May's opinion changed and started liking Pokémon and felt being a Coordinator was what fit her. Ash and Brock support her about the idea, while Max reminds her being a Coordinator is a tough job, though May promises to do her best.
James is reading and is shocked the woman who defeated them before is a Gym Leader. Jessie and Meowth plan on disguising themselves and steal the Pokémon, but James reminds them they were never successful at that. Instead, James proposes a new plan to humiliate the Gym Leader - by digging a tunnel. The heroes enter the Gym, seeing that workers are preparing the field for the Gym battle. Roxanne is honored Ash and May will have their first Hoenn Gym battle in Rustboro City, but May explains she'll become a Coordinator instead. Roxanne understands, since trainers choose how to interact with Pokémon. The workers have prepared the field, who are actually Roxanne's students. Roxanne decides to have a videotape of her battle with Ash to show to her students later on. Before the battle begins, Max expresses his excitement to watch the first Gym battle, since he and May were never allowed to watch Norman battling, else they may have distracted the challengers.
Roxanne sends her Geodude and Ash his Treecko. Brock reminds May and Max Treecko is in trouble, since it does not know any grass-type moves. Treecko starts with Quick Attack, but Geodude blocks the attack. Geodude uses Mega Punch, sending Treecko away. Treecko uses Pound, and with the improved speed, knocks Geodude away, amazing Max for Ash's strategy. However, Geodude stands up and uses Rollout. Treecko evades, but Geodude goes up in air and uses Mega Punch, severely wounding Treecko. Ash cheers on for Treecko, who stands up, but falls down, fainting from exhaustion. Ash sends his Pikachu to fight, even if Roxanne does not think that's a good idea. Pikachu uses Thunder, removing most of the stones from the battlefield. Team Rocket is digging the tunnel, even if Meowth complaints he is exhausted and Jessie claims they could've bought a new machine. James think they are lazy and reminds them they spent a lot of money for the Wurmple machine. At any rate, he explains they are digging to the Gym and will capture Geodude and Pikachu then get through the tunnel back. That way they won't spend much money on machines, even if the plan turns out to be a disaster.
Meanwhile, Geodude uses Rock Throw, but Pikachu uses Quick Attack to evade the rocks. However, Pikachu comes close to Geodude, who uses Mega Punch to send Pikachu away. Geodude uses Rollout, but due to the flattened field, it does not control its movement. Pikachu uses Quick Attack to come close to Geodude and defeats it using Thunder. Roxanne is impressed by Ash and Pikachu, since the latter defeated her Geodude. As her second Pokémon, Roxanne brings Nosepass to fight. Despite its exhaustion, Pikachu uses Iron Tail on Nosepass, directly hitting it. Nosepass attacks Pikachu, who dodges and uses Iron Tail. Since it did not master the move, Pikachu fails to execute the move. Nosepass uses Rock Tomb to imprison Pikachu, but Pikachu uses Thunder to free himself. Team Rocket has dug a tunnel directly beneath the Gym. James senses they aren't far from stealing Pikachu.
Nosepass uses Sandstorm, lowering everyone's vision. Due to its electro-magnetic nose, Nosepass knocks Pikachu down. Nosepass is about to crush Pikachu, but Pikachu dodges. Nosepass uses Rock Tomb, but misses, due to Pikachu's Quick Attack. Afterwards, Pikachu moves around Nosepass, trying to confuse it. Pikachu uses Iron Tail, but fails again, due to exhaustion. Nosepass uses Thunder Wave, but Pikachu dodges; in the same moment, James has dug through, so Team Rocket is the target of Thunder Wave and blast off. Roxanne admits Nosepass knows that move, since she learned to have a surprise attack close by. Still, Roxanne is surprised Pikachu can still battle. Ash reminds her the tougher the battle, the better the challenge is for him and Pikachu. Pikachu charges to Nosepass, to which Nosepass uses Zap Cannon as an counterattack. Pikachu is struck by the Zap Cannon, but charges to Nosepass, hitting and paralyzing it. Due to paralysis, Nosepass cannot use Rock Tomb. Pikachu attacks Nosepass with Iron Tail, mastering the move and defeating Nosepass. Thus, the winner of the battle is Ash.
Outside, Roxanne is quite impressed by Ash and Pikachu's abilities. learning much. Roxanne thanks them for the great battle, knowing her students would learn much from the footage. For the victory, Roxanne presents Ash the Stone Badge. Ash takes the badge and makes the victory pose.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Nosepass (Roxanne's)
===Move===
*Rock Tomb
===Item===
*Stone Badge
==Trivia==
*Featured Pokémon: Pupitar (US)
*This is one of the episodes a Pokémon's level is mentioned.
*The English title of the episode may be a reference to the phrase “The winner by a landslide”.
===Mistakes===
*When Roxanne reassures May that it was okay for her to not want to be a Trainer, her lips aren't moving.
*Pikachu's Electric-type attacks were able to hit Geodude, despite it being partially Ground-type.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Gym Battles
Category:Episodes in which a main character's Pokémon masters a move
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a badge
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Pikachu