RS020: Brave the Wave!

is the 20th episode of , Season 6 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Ash charges out in the early morning, ready to challenge the Dewford Gym. He's followed by Max, May, and Brock who are all still wiping the sleep out of their eyes. Upon arriving at the door to the Gym, Ash is bowled over by a group of energetic surfers charging out of the door. The surfers are followed by a man who apologizes for the commotion and turns out to be none other than Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader. Ash instantly asks for a match, but Brawly has plans to go surfing. Ash is irritated that Brawly won't accept the challenge, but he, May, Max, and Brock end up following Brawly and his surfer friends to the beach—much to his dismay. At the beach, Team Rocket is happily running a snack stand and they modify their motto to suit the service industry atmosphere. Of course, they see Ash and his friends arriving at the beach and begin devising a plot to steal Pikachu; although James is content to continue selling their frosty beverages. Brawly and his Makuhita begin surfing the waves.
On shore, Pikachu is caught by Team Rocket. They try to get away in a motor boat, but they are tailed by Makuhita on its surfboard. Makuhita rams into the boat, sending Pikachu flying into the water. Ash has Pikachu do a Thunderbolt attack to send Team Rocket blasting off again. Brawly then agrees to a 2-on-2 match with Ash. Ash uses his Taillow against Brawly's Machop. Brawly's Machop knocks out Taillow with a Karate Chop. Next Ash sends out Treecko, which knocks out Machop. Brawly then releases Makuhita against the already tiring Treecko. Just when it seems like Treecko won't give up, Makuhita evolves into Hariyama and finishes off Treecko. Ash takes Treecko to the Pokémon Center to rest up and regrets the fact that he put Treecko through such a tough fight. The episode ends with Ash deciding to stay on the island to train some more.
==Episode plot==
Ash and Pikachu come out of the Pokémon Center, to go to the Gym where the former is going to have a second battle for his next badge. Brock, Max and especially May are quite sleepy, since the latter took a pillow with her, as they woke up quite early. The heroes arrive to the Gym, with in front a sign written "Fight the Big Wave". Brock suspects this is a Fighting-type Gym and remembers Chuck, who was also a tough battler. Ash knocks on the door and some girls go out, causing Ash to fall down. A man comes out, while Brock starts flirting with the other girls. The man approaches Ash, and during the introductions, learns the man is Brawly, the Gym Leader. Brawly refuses to fight Ash today, since the waves are getting bigger for him to surf. This annoys Ash, since he came all this way to challenge him. May simply states even a Gym Leader should enjoy some time off and runs off with Brock, who wants to flirt with more girls. Ash and Max see they have no choice but to go down to the beach.
At the beach shop, two people ask for service, but Team Rocket appears, reciting their motto. They give the tourists two sodas, who run off, being startled by Team Rocket. Meowth is annoyed, since he notices their enemies on the beach and yells out they must catch Pikachu. May takes her clothes off, showing that she has her swimsuit on already, while Brock admires the surfing ladies. They notice Brawly, who sends his Makuhita to surf with him. This annoys Ash, seeing his challenge was turned down so Brawly could surf. Ash yells out to Brawly that he should battle him, but this annoys the latter, who claims he is not doing any battles. Makuhita is annoyed as well, but Brawly reminds it it must not lose balance. Ash swims to Brawly, who recognizes the determination, but the wave hits them all. Brock, Max and May rush to see what's going on. Makuhita is a bit hurt from the wave, but Ash is not giving up from the fight, as he comes out from the sand. After Team Rocket sees Pikachu, they fired the net, stealing their enemy. The latter uses Thunderbolt, but it ends up electrocuting himself since the net is unaffected. Team Rocket sails away, but Makuhita follows them and tackles the boat, freeing Pikachu, who uses Thunderbolt to blast Team Rocket away.
Brawly admires Pikachu's strength, while Ash sees Makuhita is strong as well. He asks the latter for the battle, who accepts the challenge. May wonders about Ash's strategy, but Brock and Max suspect Ash has no strategy. Brock advises Ash that he should use a Flying-type Pokémon, since Brawly uses a Makuhita. Ash already knows this, planning to use his Taillow and is confident that he'll win easily against such a surfer dude. At the battle field, Ash sends Taillow, while Brawly sends his Machop, making May worried if Ash would win this. Taillow starts Wing Attack and hits Machop, but it rises up. Taillow strikes again and again, but Machop is undamaged due to its high endurance, as Machop simply absorbs the attacks. Taillow uses Quick Attack, but Machop uses Cross Chop, defeating Taillow. Brock notices that Machop is being hit like on a surf board, to have a control over the field. Brock advises Ash to change his strategy. Ash thinks Machop would become tired eventually and decides to continue with his strategy. Ash sends Treecko, who uses Pound. Machop is absorbing the Pound attacks, but it is getting tired. Treecko uses Quick Attack, but Machop dodges it. Just then, Treecko uses Pound, defeating Machop.
Brawly is quite impressed, while Brock suspects Treecko only won, since Machop was exhausted and now Treecko is exhausted. Brawly sends out Makuhita and Treecko uses Pound, but Makuhita absorbs the attacks as well. Treecko becomes quite tired, so Treecko uses Quick Attack, but Makuhita damages Treecko badly via Vital Throw. Makuhita uses Arm Thrust, knocking Treecko down, but the latter stands up and uses Pound. However, Makuhita uses Seismic Toss, knocking Treecko down. Unexpectedly, Treecko still stands up. Just as Treecko stood up, Makuhita evolves into a Hariyama. Brock and Brawly claim Treecko is too exhausted and is in no condition to fight, but Ash refuses to forfeit, so he sends Treecko to use Pound, but unfortunately, Hariyama blocks the attack and counterattacks with Knock Off, causing Treecko to roll off and bash into the wall, defeated. Despite Ash's loss, Brawly is still impressed, but he advises Ash to send Treecko to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy promises Treecko will recover, but isn't impressed that Ash forced Treecko to fight so much and advices not force his Pokémon to overextend itself in future battles. Brock, May and Max think Nurse Joy is right, for one should know his limits and quit in time when defeat is inevitable. But this only upsets and infuriates Ash, causing him to scold them for their "misunderstanding", since he and his Pokémon tried really hard and victory was so close, almost in their grasp, but it was "stolen" by a man, who "would rather surf" than battle. May and Max are shocked by this negative, Brock tells Ash to knock it off and calm down, but Ash yells at him to shut up and runs away, with Pikachu following him.
While walking on the beach, Ash sees he shouldn't have forced Treecko to fight. Ash spots Brawly and Hariyama surfing. Brawly tells his Hariyama to focus upon the waves, to improve its balance. Brawly thinks if Ash did focus himself and thought his moves more, they would even be defeated. When Brawly and Hariyama quit surfing, Ash comes to Brawly. Ash admits he was wrong about surfing, so Brawly explains that surfing makes people and Pokémon more balanced, while they have fun at it. Ash's friends arrive, hearing Brawly advising Ash could train some more on the island, by playing with nature. Brock, May and Max come to Ash, who apologizes to them for the words he said earlier. Ash wants to stay more on the island to train, an idea Brock, May and Max approve of.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Brawly
===Pokémon===
*Makuhita (Brawly's)
*Hariyama (Brawly's)
*Brawly's Machop
===Move===
*Vital Throw
*Arm Thrust
*Knock Off
==Quotes==
:"You're right. This boat has more holes than a donut factory." - Meowth to Jessie
==Trivia==
*The 'Who's That Pokémon' of the episode is Delibird.
*This was the last dub episode to feature Rodger Parsons as the narrator, replacing him with Mike Pollock, until RS147: Fear Factor Phony, when all future Pokémon episodes were dubbed by Pokémon USA.
*This is the first time Ash lost at the second gym in any region. The second time was against Lenora at the Nacrene Gym.
*Ash's first Gym loss since .
===Mistakes===
*When May was taking her clothes off on the beach to show her green bikini, it appears she never took off her gloves.
*Despite jumping into the sea fully clothed, Ash did not get soaked to the skin.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring Gym Battles
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes featuring Ash losing a Gym Battle