BW031: Cottonee in Love!

is the 31st episode of Pokémon: Black & White.
==Synopsis==
Ash and his friends are interrupted by a lone Cottonee. Cilan explains that this is pretty unusual, because it’s the time of year when large groups of Cottonee visit the nearby Rainbow Valley to pair up and ride away on the Diamond Breeze. It turns out that this Cottonee wandered away from its group to pursue a prospective partner, but was rebuffed!
Our heroes offer to teach the rejected Cottonee the art of battling so it can gain some much-needed confidence. After some intense training, Cottonee is ready for courting once more. But the Pokémon’s plan is soon delayed—Team Rocket has been planning to take advantage of this gathering to swipe all the Cottonee at once!
With the aid of Pikachu’s Thunderbolt, all the Cottonee break free, overwhelming Jessie, James, and Meowth in the process. Team Rocket escapes and vows to fight another day.
With newfound confidence, Cottonee again approaches the object of its affection—who is already being wooed by several others! The battle training really pays off, as “our” Cottonee manages to fend off its rivals, and the Cottonee couple float off on the Diamond Breeze to live happily ever after!
==Episode plot==
Scraggy goes to headbutt Axew, who avoids the attack and scratches Scraggy back. Using Dragon Rage, Axew hits Scraggy. Suddenly, a wind blows and the heroes encounter a Cottonee. Scraggy leers Cottonee, who releases cotton for Scraggy to be entertained about. Cilan is curious, as Cottonee normally are paired with a partner and both are swept by the wind to start new lives. Ash thinks that they are just like friends, but Iris replies he is just a little kid not to understand that. Cilan researches a bit and sees they aren't far from Rainbow Valley, a place where Cottonee gather under a sparkly breeze that resembles a diamond dust under a rainbow archway. They think the Cottonee is on its way to the Valley.
Suddenly, Scraggy points at another Cottonee, making the first one blush. Cilan and Iris order Cottonee to express its feelings, though Cilan admits it is less romantic for Iris to tell that when she is eating the apple. Ash tells Cottonee to feel it wants to be buddies. Cottonee approaches the second one, who declines and uses Stun Spore and Razor Leaf on the first Cottonee, followed by Energy Ball. The first Cottonee uses Razor Leaf, but misses the second Cottonee. It fails to hit the second one with Energy Ball, though the second one retaliates with the same attack and leaves the first Cottonee. The Cottonee cries, so the heroes advise Cottonee to get stronger to impress its love. Cilan puts a bandage on Cottonee and, with Iris and Ash, tell they will train it to become stronger. Ash's Scraggy volunteers to battle Cottonee.
Scraggy starts with Leer, causing Cottonee to flee behind a stump. Scraggy goes to headbutt Cottonee, who uses Cotton Guard for protection. Ash tells Cottonee it should learn how to dodge. He advises it to look at the opponent and move away. Scraggy uses Headbutt, so Cottonee watches his movement, but fails to dodge. Ash tells Cottonee it should've moved away and demonstrates how to. Scraggy goes to headbutt once more, though Cottonee managed to evade the attack. Cottonee dodges more headbutts, so Iris asks Ash to let her train Cottonee as well. Meanwhile, Team Rocket observe some Cottonee and admit a few is not good enough to catch. Instead, they plan to capture a horde of them.
Axew attacks Cottonee, who dodges. Cottonee uses Energy Ball, but misses quite far. Ash tells it needs to aim first, then shoot. Iris admits that was the problem Axew had with Dragon Rage, so Axew shares advice with Cottonee. He uses Dragon Rage, blasting a rock. Cottonee uses Energy Ball, but misses once again. Ash tells Cottonee it needs to stand still and aim at the target, then attack. Cottonee uses Energy Ball, blasting the rock. Cilan uses Dwebble to use Slash, though Cottonee dodges. Dwebble attacks with X-Scissor, though Cottonee's Cotton Guard blocks the attack and retaliates with Razor Leaf. Cilan sends Pansage, who dodges Cottonee's Razor Leaf. However, Cottonee hits Pansage with Energy Ball. The heroes are impressed by Cottonee. Iris tells it must not give up, but Cilan thinks she should've lost the appetite with all the talk of love. Iris replies when she thinks of love, she is hungry.
They agree to find the second Cottonee. Ash worries, as it might've already left to the Rainbow Valley, but Cilan tells the diamond breeze usually happens after the full moon. Ash goes to call back Scraggy, who wants to help Cottonee instead. Later, Tranquill comes back to Ash, reporting she did not see the second Cottonee. Ash calls her back, while Cilan sees they need to find where the wind blows, as the Cottonee are ride the winds. Iris feels the wind is blowing from the south, so Cilan analyzes the wind is going at the nearby mountain. Jessie's Woobat comes back and reports it did not encounter any Cottonee. Instead, James and Meowth release devices to find Cottonee. Both the heroes and Team Rocket manage to find the location of Cottonee's gathering and head there.
The heroes come to the valley. Cilan advises Cottonee to be itself, while Iris tells it to be passionate and give its best. Cottonee approaches its mate, though all Cottonee are sucked into Team Rocket's machine. Team Rocket blows away the twerps and speeds up. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, causing the machine to explode. Ash sends Tranquil, who uses Air Cutter to cut the bag containing the Cottonee, but the bag is too hard to be cut. However, the Cottonee fill the bag with cotton, causing it to explode, so Team Rocket flies off in jetpacks before the machine crashed into a rock. Cottonee comes to the heroes, who tell it to go to its mate. Cottonee, however, gets attacked by two other Cottonee, but protects itself using Cotton Guard against Razor Leaf. Cottonee dodges Energy Ball and attacks back with Razor Leaf. Using Energy Ball, Cottonee wins the battle.
Cottonee's mate is charmed by such battling skills and joins with the Cottonee. Ash is glad it found its buddy, but Iris tells Ash is still a kid. Later, the heroes are near the Rainbow Valley. The sun rises, causing the natural minerals to glow, emitting sparkles and a rainbow. The diamond breeze appears, so Ash sends Scraggy to observe, as the Cottonee are swept by the wind. The heroes speed up and say goodbye to Cottonee and its mate.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
Cottonee
===Move===
Cotton Guard
==Trivia==
*Like Bye Bye Butterfree, Cottonee, like Ash's Butterfree, was finding true love. In addition, the herds of Butterfree and Cottonee were captured by Team Rocket, but were rescued.
*Also, like Date Expectations, Cottonee was injured in the battle, like Donphan, and had a bandage. However, the heroes trained them for battling the fellow Cottonee and Donphan, proving themselves for their mates.
*Professor Oak's Live Caster: Woobat
*The "Who's That Pokémon?" is Cottonee.
==Gallery==
==References==
pl:BW029