RS015: Gonna Rule the School!

is the 15th episode of , Season 6 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Rustboro City at last! Now that Ash and friends have arrived in Rustboro City, they're taking a moment to sightsee. They bump into a schoolteacher, Roxanne, and her class on a class trip. The kids are about Max's age and one of them, Kenny, is afraid of Pokémon. Roxanne invites the gang back to see the Pokémon Trainer's School. Ash is anxious to get to his gym battle, but Roxanne persuades him to wait. As it turns out, Ash would have had to wait anyway. Roxanne is the gym leader, too! The Pokémon Trainer's School is pretty big and has all kinds of different classes. May is especially interested in a class on Pokémon Contests. Max decides to attend the beginners' class that Kenny is in. He's in the middle of battling the class show-off, Tommy, when the principal comes running in to tell them that the school's Poké Balls have all been stolen. Team Rocket strikes again! Kenny steps in and saves the day by telling Max which attacks will work best, and Tommy cooperates, too. When they work together, the kids are able to defeat Team Rocket and save the Poké Balls. Just to be safe, Roxanne's Geodude sends Team Rocket blasting off again. Now that Ash has seen Roxanne and her Geodude in action, he's really ready for his gym battle!
==Episode plot==
The heroes have arrived in Rustboro City and are enjoying the view from the tower. Suddenly, Brock, May, Max and Pikachu turn around and are startled to see Ash bought all kinds of souvenirs, making him look very flashy. Afterwards, Ash apologizes to his friends, saying it was only a joke. Suddenly, Max spots a lone Poliwag under a bench. He approaches it and offers it help, calming down Poliwag. Max also spots a symbol on its tail. A woman appears, who has been searching for Poliwag. A group of children are pleased miss Roxanne had found the missing Poliwag. A girl says to a boy, who lost the Poliwag, nothing happened to it, but an angrier boy scolds him, since their trip has been ruined. Roxanne breaks the dispute and tries to convince the younger boy that he shouldn't be afraid of Pokémon. Roxanne asks the children they should head back to the Academy.
Roxanne introduces the group from the Pokémon Academy, known also as the Pokémon Trainer School, an institution where younger children learn about Pokémon. Max is fascinated and asks his sister to visit the Academy, but Ash reminds that he has a Gym battle to complete. Roxanne hears this and states the Gym is next to the Academy, so Max convinces Ash that they should visit the Academy first. While the heroes walk through the Academy, a man gives them a tour of the Academy, despite Ash willing to battle the Gym Leader. The man shows the class, where the students learn to be Pokémon Doctors. The man shows them the a class, where students prepare for Pokémon Contests, making May eager to sign in. The last is the class, where students learn to fight with their Pokémon, impressing Ash. Max is displeased, but the man decides to show them the beginner's class. Meanwhile, in the tower, Team Rocket think it would be good to open a souvenir shop to get rich.
The man shows the beginner's class - Professor Oak is seen on a screen, teaching the students. Professor Oak greets the heroes and recognizes Max, who is nearly speechless. Oak wonders if Ash won the Gym battle, but Roxanne says that they haven't had time to battle. Ash realizes Roxanne is the Gym Leader of Rustboro City, who has graduated from the Academy quickly, due to her excellent training style. Roxanne asks Ash to postpone the battle, since she has to teach her students, so Ash accepts her offer. Prof. Oak says goodbye to everyone, but Max stops him, stating he read all of his books, watched his TV shows and listened to radio shows as well, being one of his biggest fans. This makes Prof. Oak quite honored, who logs out. A child tests Max as to which attacks are effective against some Type of Pokémon, to which Max answers correctly. Roxanne calms the child, named as Tommy, down, reminding him students should become friends and learn together. The man proposes Max he should join the Academy for a day. Max is happy and proposes to May she should study for the Gym Battle, although she wants to avoid the fight.
The heroes visits the Pokémon vault, full of Poké Balls. Max asks Roxanne whether the Pokémon obey only one trainer at a time. Roxanne confirms that, but the Pokémon from the vault are all domesticated and trained to obey everyone. Team Rocket spies on the twerps and they plan to steal all of them. Pikachu trains to use the Iron Tail, but the move is not mastered yet. The next morning, Max reads a book inside the class. A girl sits close to Max, whose name is Anita. Max thinks Anita is fortunate to live in Rustboro City to learn more, but Anita states she and Kenny were forced by their parents to attend the Academy. Anita explains Kenny is quite afraid of Pokémon, even if adults claim bonding with Pokémon should come at an early age. Tommy appears, who is angry to see Max. Anita thinks it was funny to watch Max answer Tommy's stupid questions. Roxanne appears as well, starting the class. Ash and Brock observe the class, while May attends to the Pokémon Contest training. Ash and Brock bring their Pokémon out, per Roxanne's request. Lotad sleeps, so Brock wakes it up, though Lotad is oblivious of its surroundings.
Roxanne states Ash was a finalist of the Johto League and Brock was a Gym leader of Pewter City. Brock orders his Lotad to use Water Gun, but, in a delayed reaction, Lotad attacks Brock. Seeing Kenny all by himself, Ash introduces Pikachu to him, to convince Pokémon are actually friends. However, Tommy intentionally loses balance and stomps on Poliwag's tail, causing it to use Water Gun. To protect Kenny, Max pushes him away. Tommy apologizes, claiming he accidentally stomped on Poliwag's tail, but Alice accuses him of being a liar. Tommy plays dumb, then taunts Max. May is about to take a quiz, but she quits the class. She joins Ash and Brock at the training center, where Max and Tommy pick the Poké Balls to fight. Tommy brings out a Magby, while Max brings a Poliwag out. Max is thinking of a strategy, but Magby uses Flamethrower, but Poliwag uses Defense Curl to protect itself. Magby uses once more the Flamethrower, while Poliwag uses Belly Drum. Magby uses Flamethrower again and again, while Max uses defensive moves. Before Magby can defeat Poliwag with Flamethrower, an alarm rings. The man runs to them, reporting all Poké Balls from the vault have been stolen.
Team Rocket appears in a machine, looking like a Wurmple. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but the attack is deflected, as Team Rocket taunts them. Brock sends his Forretress, but Jessie sends her Seviper, who uses Poison Tail. May sends her Wurmple, who uses String Shot, but it is countered, due to James' Cacnea's Pin Missile. Jessie brings her Wurmple, surprising the heroes Team Rocket caught one as well. Jessie is insulted to hear her Wurmple is like May's, since Jessie considers her Wurmple cuter and calls it in her Poké Ball. Max orders his Poliwag to fight, but Kenny advises him to use Water Gun, since Max could've lost the match against Tommy by being defensive. Max takes the advice, so Poliwag uses Water Gun, defeating Seviper. Tommy is angry, so he orders Magby to use Flamethrower, defeating Cacnea. Ash decides to attack, but Roxanne stops them, letting the boys plan out to defeat Team Rocket. Poliwag uses Water Gun, but Team Rocket protects themselves. Cacnea uses Pin Missile, but Poliwag uses Protect, negating the attack. Team Rocket notices that the machine is hot, revealing Magby overheating the machine. Anita orders the Pidgey to use Wing Attack, freeing the stolen Poké Balls. Roxanne brings her Geodude, who rolls out and destroys the machine, blasting Team Rocket away.
Kenny befriends Magby and Poliwag, while Max and Tommy discuss the events. Ash, May and Roxanne are pleased, since this allows the group to become good friends. Brock compliments the Geodude, warning Ash of the battle Roxanne and him will have. Ash replies he likes a tough challenge, while Roxanne sees Ash is ready for the Gym Battle.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Roxanne
*Tommy
*Kenny
*Anita
===Pokémon===
*Roxanne's Geodude
===Move===
*Belly Drum
==Quotes==
"What do you think? Are the sunglasses too much?" - Ash
==Trivia==
*The "Who's that Pokémon?" is Croconaw.
===Mistakes===
*When Max returned Poliwag to Roxanne, the latter's collar is bluish gray instead of white.
*The CC spelled Feraligatr wrong. It had an extra letter which was not allowed as all American Pokémon names at that time had a maximum of 10 letters.
*Seviper used Poison Tail on Forretress, though Poison-type moves do not affect Steel-type Pokémon.
*During the Pokémon contest class, a female Nidoran held by an orange-shirted student is colored pink instead of blue.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Max