TB056: The Ultimate Test

is the 56th episode of of , Season 1 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Ash signs up to take an exam to be admitted to the Pokémon League. But judging by his awful score on the multiple-choice quiz, it may be a trivial pursuit. He enters the battling portion of the test hoping to raise his score. Also taking the test are Jessie and James, disguised as nerdy students. But the dastardly duo won't stand for doing anything the honest way, and they each get expelled from the test. Ash battles the instructor with a set of three Pokémon randomly assigned for the test. They turn out to be an Arbok, a Weezing, and a Meowth. What were the chances? Ash knows the Poison-type Pokémon's attacks pretty well from being on the receiving end of them so often. He fights a good match, but loses in the end. Just then, Team Rocket bursts in with the Pokémon James was given for the test. These powerful Pokémon will help Team Rocket nab all the Pokémon at the testing facility—or so it thinks. The Pokémon are obedient to the instructor who trained them, and they turn on Team Rocket. With a little help from Ash, Team Rocket is sent blasting off again. The testing instructor offers to let Ash take the test again—he's sure Ash can pass this time—but Ash would rather enter the League his own way, by traveling, collecting badges, and seeing all the world of Pokémon has to offer.
==Episode plot==
Whilst Ash and the others eat with Todd Snap from the previous episode, Misty asks Ash whether he'll be getting a new Gym Badge any time soon. This causes Ash to choke on his food. After he recovers, he proclaims that he uses skill to win his battles. Misty asks him how much skill is required to defeat Team Rocket, to which Ash challenges her to a battle. However Todd interrupts the argument, informing him about the Pokémon League Admission Exam.
At the admission building, the desk clerk informs Ash that all he needs to do is pass a written and practical exam in order to receive a badge qualifying them for the Pokémon League. After Ash receives his testing number "7", Jessie comments from afar that she wanted number 7. Jessie averts her eyes when Ash notices her watching him, but shrugs it off. The attendant informs Ash that he is not permitted to use his own Pokémon during the exam, and reluctantly hands them over. When Brock notices Nurse Joy's presence, she reveals she is attending the exam because she doesn't have the time to go around travelling to the Gyms.
When James enters the building, he quickly avoids Ash and heads to the counter. He encounters Jessie and gets into an argument with her. The two explain their various reasons for attending the examination, as Meowth appears before them. He states that he saw through their ruses to leave him behind, scratching them across the face. When the first part of the exam begins, Ash and Jessie complete it with no trouble at all, whilst James is awed at her prowess. However, it is revealed that Jessie is guessing the questions by answering "True" for all of them.
During the first part of the exam, the participants are pitted to the true or false questions on the computers, Ash starts with Lickitung, then Vulpix, then Hitmonlee, and then Magikarp, as James is angry because of the time he had trouble with an unusual acting Magikarp, and Jessie answers the true or false question of the Magikarp, then Caterpie, then Koffing a "true" answer, hoping that she gets half of them right..
During the second part of the exam, the participants are pitted in a recognition test. Ash guesses the first silhouette to be a Voltorb, whereas James mistakenly puts it down as a Poké Ball and Jessie states it to be a Electrode. However, all three are wrong, as it turns out to be a Jigglypuff from above. After fifteen misleading questions presented in a similar manner, Jessie speaks out against them. In an outburst, Jessie leaves the exam. Jessie wakes up the sleeping Meowth, telling him that he will assist in her taking revenge.
As the scoreboards are displayed, it is revealed that Nurse Joy got the highest score, whilst Ash got one of the lowest scores alongside James. During the third and final part of the exam, all the participants except Jessie, have a Pokémon battle against the exam instructor, as Nurse Joy chooses Squirtle to battle against Charmander. Meanwhile, Ash and James also choose random sets of three Pokémon, which they are unable to find out beforehand. As both of them choose their belts, James faces off against his examiner. He releases a Pikachu, which is unable to combat the examiner's Graveler due to type differences.
After losing a point, James summons a Charizard and Ivysaur but is expelled after breaking the rules. When it is Ash's turn to face the examiner, he is cheered on by Brock, Snap and Misty. The examiner summons a Flareon, to which Ash releases his first Pokémon, which turns out to be a Weezing. Ash manages to defeat the Flareon by using Smokescreen in conjunction with Tackle. Whilst Team Rocket takes note of Ash's strategies, the examiner releases a Jolteon. Ash in turn releases an Arbok, but is unable to figure out its moveset.
In the nick of time Ash has it use Glare on the Jolteon, stopping it in its tracks. As Ash follows through with Wrap, but Arbok is jabbed by the pointy spikes of Jolteon's fur. Before Ash can react Jolteon blasts Arbok with Thunder, incapacitating it. He releases his final Pokémon, which turns out to be a Meowth. The examiner follows suit, releasing a Vaporeon, which manages to freeze Meowth. Team Rocket's Meowth scratches Ash on the face, before freeing the frozen Meowth. As the examiner attempts to capture Team Rocket's Meowth, Jessie and James intervene with their rented Pokémon.
As Team Rocket recite their motto and remove their disguises, they order the rented Pokémon to attack the examiner. However, he tells them to face Team Rocket, which they comply. As Team Rocket are attacked by the rented Pokémon, Ash finishes them off by using the rented Weezing's Explosion. After they blast off, the examiner apologizes for the circumstances surrounding and because of Team Rocket's inturusion had interfered with the exam and that they will have to start again. Ash refuses, stating that he prefers to get badges the proper way. After Ash and the others say goodbye to the examiner, Snap emerges with Team Rocket's Meowth, who was injured in the explosion.
The examiner then states that he has finally captured his talking Meowth, as Jessie and James find themselves stuck with the rented Meowth.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Exam instructor
===Move===
*Explosion
==Quotes==
:"Hey, get lost, old bat!" - James
:"OLD BAT?!" - Jessie
:" What are you?! Unhand me, you! Please let me go! Come on!" - James
:"So, I'm an old bat, am I?" - Jessie
:"Can't you ask one question that I know the answer to?" - Jessie
:"Please take your seat!" - Pokémon Examiner
:"This is a joke! These stupid questions won't make you a Pokémon master!" - Jessie
:"For your information, young lady, a Pokémon master must understand all aspects of a Pokémon's life in order to achieve oneness with their Pokémon!" - Pokémon Examiner
:"Grr! You're not making any sense at all! I'm through with this!" - Jessie
:"GET OUT!" - Pokémon examiner
:"I can't wait to go!" - Jessie
:"But Jessie!" - James
:"Dear! What a shame!" - Nurse Joy
:"That girl's attitude seems familiar, too." - Ash
:"All right, shoot away. I want 8 x 10 glossies, and wallet sizes too." - Brock
:"I've been destroyed by Pikachu's attacks so many times, I know them all by heart!" - James
:"Don't think of it as failing. Think of it as not suceeding!" - Meowth
:"I got a Weezing?!" - Ash
:"I've gotta get this! His face looks just like Weezing's!" - Todd Snap
:"NOT NOW!" - Ash
:"Meowth, Weezing, Arbok, stop Team Rocket!" - Ash
:"Stop it, Arbok! That hurts!" - Jessie
:"Weezing, please, I can't breathe!" - James
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?:" Jigglypuff (seen from above; JP and KO), Vulpix (US)
**The Jigglypuff in the segment is seen from its head into a ball shape, and is shown in its true form after, named as 「上から見たプリン」 Ue kara mita Purin, meaning "Jigglypuff seen from above". This was also done in SM056: Let Sleeping Pokémon Lie!, although simply named "Jigglypuff" (プリン) on the name card.
**This is the first episode of the series in the English dub order (excluding Princess vs. Princess and The Purr-fect Hero, which were held over to be the first two episodes of Season 2) where the Who's that Pokémon? segment features a different Pokémon than the Dare da? segment. It is also one of the only two episodes of the Season 1 portion of Pokémon: Indigo League to not use the same Pokémon as the Japanese version for the mid-episode segment.
*The concept of using two Pokémon at once during a battle was illegal until Generation III in the games and Pokémon Double Trouble.
*True and False questions and answers:
**Lickitung's tongue is twice as long as its body: True.
**Vulpix evolves into Ninetales only with the use of a Fire Stone: True.
**Hitmonlee is known as the Punching Demon: False, Hitmonchan is the Punching Demon and Hitmonlee is the Kicking Demon.
**The only move that Magikarp originally knows is Splash: False, if a player chooses to have it not evolve, Magikarp could also learn Tackle at the time.
**Caterpie is the world's smallest Pokémon: False, some Pokémon like Weedle are smaller than Caterpie.
**Koffing was first discovered in a public bathhouse: False, according to a card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Koffing was first discovered in a weapons factory.
*In this episode, Charizard changes his voice. In this episode, he has a raspy voice like Charmeleon, but low pitched.
===Mistakes===
*A Jigglypuff does not make a perfect circle when seen from above.
*The instructor correctly explains that Poliwag's swirl reverse directions when it evolves into Poliwhirl. In the English dub, however, the instructor shows Poliwrath instead of Poliwhirl. On a side note, Poliwhirl's swirl usually rotates about 20° counterclockwise when it evolves into Poliwrath.
*When James' Pikachu used Thunder Shock on the Examiner's Graveler, causing no effect, Examiner said that "Rock Pokémon aren't affected by Electric-type moves", when it's actually Ground-type Pokémon that aren't affected by Electric-type moves. However, the animation was correct because Graveler is a part Ground-type.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
Category:Episodes focusing on Nurse Joy