TB029: The Punchy Pokémon

is the 29th episode of of , Season 1 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
In the outskirts of Fuchsia City, our heroes come across Hitmonchan, a fighter-Pokémon. With little thought, Ash attempts to capture it, but he and Pikachu are badly defeated. Hitmonchan's master has abandoned his family, training day and night, aiming for victory at the P1 Grand Prix (the number one Pokémon Grand Prix). His daughter tells Ash and his friends of her desire to make her father remember his family. In the meantime, Ash's party enters the P1 Grand Prix, but with Team Rockets unwanted, not to mention, unofficial presence at the competition, the battle goes out of control.
==Episode plot==
In the outskirts of Fuchsia City, Ash, Misty, and Brock come across a Hitmonchan, a Fighting Pokémon. Ash, thinking it's a wild Pokémon, attempts to capture it, but he will teach Pikachu his secret punch. Misty and Brock are curious about how Ash became a boxing expert.
Ash challenges Hitmonchan while Pikachu is wearing boxing gloves. Hitmonchan snubs at this, but Ash tells Pikachu to strike. Brock and Misty watch while Ash gives commands. Pikachu sends a glowing glove right into Hitmonchan's face. It rubs the spot where it was hit and Pikachu gets terrified. A man shows up and tells Hitmonchan to not let its guard down and the latter was able to knock out Pikachu.
Hitmonchan's trainer says that Hitmonchan fought a good battle. Ash is disappointed that Hitmonchan wasn't a wild Pokémon. Suddenly, a young girl comes running out from the trees. She calls the trainer her father and begs him to come home. He tells his daughter, Rebecca, that he won't come home until he has become the P1 Grand Prix champion. He then tells everyone that he will be at his gym taking on challengers if they decide to come and then he leaves.
Brock who is awe struck asks Rebecca if they can help and she requests that they defeat her father's Hitmonchan. At the gym, Ash asks what the trainer was talking about. Rebecca explains that Anthony is so determined to become the P1 Grand Prix champion (a tournament in which fighting Pokémon compete in a ring), that he has abandoned his family. Brock wants to help Rebecca, so he volunteers him and Ash to have their Pokémon, Geodude and Primeape will defeat Anthony and his Hitmonchan. By doing so, Anthony will come to his senses and come back to his family.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket hears about the P1 Grand Prix and they want to enter to win the champion's belt. James and Meowth only want to win for the all-you-eat buffet, making Jessie mad at them. James and Meowth ask her what she would do with the prize money. She replies that she would go to a salon then go on a shopping spree and finally invite her friends over for a quiet dinner. James points out the only Fighting Pokémon can enter and Jessie says they will have to "borrow" one. They see a tall man and his Hitmonlee. They decide the Hitmonlee will be the Pokémon they "borrow". They steal the man's Hitmonlee and his clothes, leaving him bound and tied up in a bathroom stall.
At the P1 Grand Prix, all of the trainers are ready and the first battle is between Primeape and a Machop. No matter what Ash says, Primeape won't listen to him until Machop uses Seismic Toss and throws Primeape out of the ring. Ash runs to save Primeape, but he misses. He asks Primeape if it's okay. Primeape gives Ash a sad look but brushes it off quickly and Primeape climbs back into the ring. Now Primeape is listening to Ash and it defeats Machop by using Scratch and Mega Kick. Misty is amazed by this when Ash saved Primeape it made the Pokémon trust Ash.
The next battle is between Hitmonlee and Geodude. Rebecca is worried but Brock assures her that he will win. Rebecca tells him to look out and Brock is hit in the head by Geodude, who was kicked hard. Brock sends Geodude back in and it is beaten up badly. Anthony approaches Brock and tells him that a real man knows when it's time to quit. Brock forfeits the match and apologizes to Geodude for making it enter the Grand Prix. Ash promises that he and Primeape will win the tournament.
As the tournament continues, Primeape, Hitmonchan, and Hitmonlee are the only ones left. The next battle is between Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. Jessie is ready for anything and tells Meowth to make sure they win. Meowth squirts glue up through the floor of the arena and Hitmonchan gets stuck. Before Hitmonlee can deliver the final kick Rebecca defends Hitmonchan but Anthony saves her by taking the blow. Realizing what has happened, Anthony forfeits and he tells Rebecca that he is sorry he worried Rebecca and her mother. Misty says the fighting brought a family back together. Team Rocket soon reveals themselves to the heroes, determined to win.
The final match between Primeape and Hitmonlee starts. Primeape blocks many kicks from Hitmonlee and punches Hitmonlee a couple of times. Under the arena, Meowth tries to cheat again, but Pikachu spots him. Pikachu looks to see what Meowth is doing and he sees that Meowth put a bomb under the arena.
Back on the stage Hitmonlee jumps up, according to the plan and Meowth hits the button for the bomb to go off, but it doesn't. Hitmonlee falls down and Primeape grabs it and uses Seismic Toss and the latter wins the match. Primeape has become the new P1 Grand Prix champion. Team Rocket wonders what went wrong while Pikachu comes in to give Meowth the bomb. After Pikachu walks a safe distance, the bomb goes off and Team Rocket gets blasted off again.
Anthony says Primeape has a lot of talent and asks Ash if he could train it. Ash leaves Primeape with Anthony so it can train and he promises to come back for the former one day.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Anthony
*Rebecca
*Giant
===Pokémon===
*Hitmonchan
*Poliwrath
*Machop
*Machoke
*Hitmonlee
===Move===
*Karate Chop
*Hi Jump Kick
*Comet Punch
==Quotes==
:"If you're a real man, you know when you have to admit defeat. Time to face facts: You can lose today and win tomorrow." - Anthony suggesting Brock admits defeat.
==Trivia==
*For the P1 tournament, 8 competitors have entered, yet back in Generation I, there were only 8 -type Pokémon: Mankey, Primeape, Poliwrath, Machop, Machoke, Machamp, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. However, no participant had a Mankey leaving only seven participants. The last-minute entry being Brock and his Geodude.
*This episode is the first time Pikachu fights a battle without using real moves.
*The "Who's that Pokémon?" in this episode is Hitmonchan.
===Mistakes===
*On the P1 tournament poster, Hitmonlee's pupils are missing.
===Dub Differences===
*Rebecca's mother is never mentioned in the original version.
*In the original, just as Jessie and James are finishing reciting their motto, James staggers on the line "White hole, a white tomorrow awaits us." Probably because he was completely out of breath.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character releases or gives away a Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Brock
Category:Episodes featuring Competitions