GS154: Can't Beat the Heat!

is the 61st episode of Pokémon: Master Quest.
==Synopsis==
Our hero is in the middle of the first match of the championship tournament at the Johto League Silver Conference. His opponent is his long time rival—Gary Oak. Each trainer is down one Pokémon, with five to go. Gary's Blastoise is very strong and knocks out Ash's Heracross. Ash isn't surprised—that Blastoise was the Squirtle that Gary got when he first started out as a trainer! Gary recalls Blastoise and the battle continues. Finally, each trainer is down to their last Pokémon. Gary has saved Blastoise till the end—and Ash calls out Charizard! Blastoise has the advantage because it's a Water Type, but Ash is very clever. He uses Charizard's Flame Thrower attack to scorch the battle field, trapping Blastoise. Blastoise uses Hydro Pump to cool off the field, but it backfires. The field becomes all steamy and no one can see. Charizard finishes off the battle with a Seismic Toss. Ash is thrilled to have finally defeated his rival—but does he have what it takes to continue? His next opponent will be Harrison from Hoenn.
==Episode plot==
Heracross hides behind a rock, but Blastoise's Hydro Pump destroys the rock, hits Heracross and defeats it. Ash sends out Muk, who gets hit by Blastoise's Skull Bash. Muk retaliates with Sludge Bomb, which gets deflected by Rapid Spin. Blastoise attacks Muk, who wraps it in. Oak and Delia cheer for Muk and its battle skills. However, Blastoise repels it with Hydro Pump, so Ash calls back Muk. As Brock and Misty see Blastoise is up to any challenge Ash throws, while Harrison watches the battle. Ash sends Bayleef, who bounces off with Vine Whip, dodging Blastoise's Hydro Pump. She uses Razor Leaf, but Blastoise's Rapid Spin deflects the attack. Bayleef uses Body Slam, but Blastoise bites down on her leaf, stopping her and tossing her away, defeating her. Since three of Ash's Pokémon have been defeated, an intermission is called.
Ash sees Gary is good, but so is he. Pikachu wants to get into the match, but Ash reminds him that he registered all his Pokémon, but Pikachu is not among them. Delia thinks none of the boys have changed: Gary is always the confident one, while Ash struggles to improve himself. Oak believes Gary does not want to admit Ash is his most important friend. Ash sends Snorlax and Gary his Arcanine. Arcanine uses Take Down, but runs away after Snorlax missed with Body Slam. Arcanine wraps Snorlax in flames with Fire Spin, so Snorlax retaliates with Hyper Beam, defeating it. Delia is impressed, as she knows Snorlax only eats and sleeps.
Gary sends Nidoqueen back, who jumps by bouncing on her tail, a strategy Gary learned from Ash. Nidoqueen uses Double Kick on Snorlax and continues with Hyper Beam. Snorlax dodges the previous attack and defeats her using Ice Punch. Gary wonders how Snorlax is fast, but is still impressed by Ash's tactics. Gary sends Scizor, who starts with Quick Attack. Snorlax retaliates with Hyper Beam, but Scizor dodges and uses Metal Claw on Snorlax, defeating it. Ash calls Muk back. Scizor uses Quick Attack, but gets bounced off. Muk retaliates with Sludge Bomb, but Scizor dodges and uses Metal Claw, throwing it up, defeating it with Swift. Ash calls Muk back and sends his ace, Charizard. Scizor uses Steel Wing, but Charizard comes to it and uses Flamethrower, defeating it.
Delia thinks she lost another perfect picture, but Oak cheers her up. Gary sends Golem, who uses Magnitude, which affects Charizard. Charizard carries Golem into the sky and tries to use Seismic Toss. However, Golem manages to fly softly, as Charizard's attack fails. Golem uses Rollout, but gets defeated by Charizard's Dragon Rage. Gary sends his ace back, Blastoise. Ash knows even if Charizard is at a disadvantage, he still believes he can win this. Charizard uses Flamethrower, which gets deflected by Blastoise's Rapid Spin. Blastoise hits Charizard with Hydro Pump, who flies behind Blastoise, but gets hit by Skull Bash. Charizard flies up, dodging Blastoise's Hydro Pump. Gary knows Ash has always a thought that turns the battle, but believes he has none yet. Charizard uses Flamethrower, but misses. Ash sees Charizard hitting the rocks and has Charizard use Flamethrower to melt the rocks, initially confusing everyone only to surprise them when they figure out his strategy.
thumb|Ash's Charizard vs. Gary's Blastoise!
Blastoise cannot go anywhere, as it is too hot, so it uses Hydro Pump to cool the field. However, the field is covered in steam, but after it clears, Charizard and Blastoise are locked in close range hand-to-hand combat to such an extent that Blastoise can't aim its Hydro-cannons. On Ash's orders, Charizard uses Dragon Rage, but Blastoise dodges the attack. Charizard then pulls Blastoise into the air and uses Seismic Toss. In spite of Blastoise biting Charizard's shoulder, causing Charizard to growl in pain and Brock and Misty shocked, Ash tells the Fire Pokémon not to give in and to use Seismic Toss with everything it's got. With a defiant roar, Charizard does so before launching down to the ground as everyone in the stadium waits to see what's going on. Blastoise has managed to drag itself up but after a few seconds, it's clear the damage has taken its toll and it collapses to the ground with a loud thud, knocked out as the referee rules that Blastoise is unable to battle and that Charizard is the winner before it's revealed that Ash has won the match. Ash is baffled, as he cannot believe he defeated Gary. Misty and Brock congratulate him, so Ash jumps, proud he won the battle.
Delibird collected Team Rocket's profits. However, Meowth sees if they continue to sell these things, they can repay all debts. So, Team Rocket decides to sell more. At night, Ash approaches Gary, who gives Ash the other part of the broken Poké Ball, as Gary believes he earned it. Gary admits that he does not feel bad about losing today's battle. Gary felt as a failure, but today Ash beat him honestly. Gary decides to cheer for Ash in the next round, who appreciates that. Next day, Ash faces Harrison. Ash sends Pikachu, while Harrison sends Kecleon.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Gary's Scizor
*Gary's Golem
*Harrison's Kecleon
===Move===
*Sludge Bomb
*Magnitude
==Trivia==
*"Pocket Monster TV:" Blastoise (JA)
*"Who's That Pokémon?:" Bayleef (EN)
*This is the only episode in which Magnitude was used in the entire anime. It was banned from future episodes following a controversy which caused a later episode to be canceled during the Ruby and Sapphire series.
*The grunts of Gary's Nidoqueen resembles Kuma's bear growls in Tekken 4 and his bear dialogues in Tekken 5.
*For the first time, Pikachu along with Misty's Togepi, Psyduck and Politoed are cheering for Ash during his battle with Gary in the Johto League. This carries on in the Diamond and Pearl series, where Pikachu along with Dawn's Piplup and Buneary are cheering for Dawn in her Contest Performance or Ash's Gym Battles.
*This episode, along with "Snack Attack", randomly aired in the first half of 2019 on the UK channel, CITV.
===Mistakes===
*Golem used Magnitude on Charizard, though Ground-type moves do not affect Flying-type Pokémon.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring a Pokémon League
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Gary