RS110: Do I Hear a Ralts?

is the 18th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle.
==Synopsis==
Ash and friends are crossing a frozen lake when Max calls for the others to stop, saying he’d heard a voice crying for help. Finding a Ralts frozen into the ice, they quickly free it, do their best to warm it, and then rush it to the Pokémon Center. On their way, though, Team Rocket stops them, claiming to be the Ralts’s true owner, while in fact planning to steal the Pokémon and make use of its Psychic abilities. Our heroes dispatch with these villains, but at the cost of precious time—Ralts’s body temperature is falling quickly. As they finally close in on the Pokémon Center, a Gardevoir and a Kirlia, mistaking Ash for a Pokémon poacher himself, block their path menacingly. With no time to battle, Ash must convince these Pokémon of his good intentions if Ralts is to receive the treatment it needs direly.
==Episode plot==
The heroes stop for lunch, as they are getting close to Sootopolis City. Max checks the map on his PokéNav, seeing that the city is about a day away from where they are. Brock makes the lunch, while Ash is very determined to have his ultimate battle for the final badge. As May and Max note how Ash is fired up, Snorunt comes out of its Poké Ball, using Icy Wind to cool him down. Max makes fun of him, but hears someone's voice. Max runs to the source, though May, Ash and Brock wonder what is the matter with him. Soon, Max sees a Ralts got wounded. He comes to the heroes with Ralts, so they tend to it. However, Max explains it is quite cold, so he gives some of Brock's soup to Ralts. Ralts refuses, though Pikachu persuades it to drink the soup. Ralts feels better, after drinking the soup. Max introduces himself to Ralts, thinking it must've sensed his feelings to have uttered a cry for help.
Snorunt comes to it, so Ralts turns away in fear. Max and Ash scold Snorunt, but the latter uses Icy Wind on Ash's hat and Max's glasses and puts them back, freezing them. Ralts laughs about this, indicating it feels much more better. Brock tells they should bring Ralts to the Pokémon Center, as it still has a fever. Ralts goes on Max's back, who will transport it. May wonders if he'll manage that, but Max promises he has the full responsibility over Ralts. Team Rocket see the Ralts, and Jessie notes how cute it is, but James claims his Chimecho is better. Meowth proposes Ralts should be given to the boss, as it would wake him up gently and protects them from intruders with Safeguard and Psychic, even make him sleepy with Hypnosis. Thus, they plan to capture it.
The heroes runsto the nearest Pokémon Center, but they encounter a man (James in disguise), who tells them that they found his Ralts. Max sees Ralts hides away from the man, who represents Gardevoir and Kirlia (Jessie and Meowth in disguise). Brock tells the man Ralts is sick, so they are taking it to the Pokémon Center. The man demands to get Ralts, but Max sees Ralts is scared of the man, who replies Ralts' fever has its mind affected. Kirlia (Meowth in disguise) steps wrong, making Ash suspicious, too, and scans it using the Pokédex, revealing to be Meowth, who is quite offended at the entry after hearing the Pokédex say that it sleeps most of the day. Jessie hears the part about Meowth being able to gather coins, so she condemns him for never actually using that ability. The heroes see they had just run into Team Rocket, who promptly recites their motto. Jessie sends Dustox, who uses Whirlwind on everyone. James sends Cacnea (and the latter dodges its hug), who uses Pin Missile, but the heroes manages to evade the attack. Max promises to protect Ralts, while Pikachu attacks Team Rocket back with Thunderbolt. Team Rocket is electrocuted, but is recovered by Chimecho's Heal Bell.
May sends Combusken, who attacks with Fire Spin, but is negated by Dustox's Whirlwind. Jessie sends Seviper, who attacks with Poison Tail, but Pikachu retaliates with Iron Tail. Cacnea uses Pin Missile, but Brock sends Ludicolo who counters with Razor Leaf. Max spots Ralts is getting weaker, and Brock realizes it has a much more worse illness than a cold. Dustox uses Psybeam, Seviper attacks with Poison Tail and Cacnea strikes using Needle Arm, but Pikachu, Combusken and Ludicolo stand guard to intercept the attacks. Ash tells Max that he needs to go to the Pokémon Center, as he stated himself he wanted responsibility. Brock and May support Max, feeling he can complete the task. Thus, Max runs away with Ralts. To stop Team Rocket, Snorunt uses Icy Wind and runs to follow Max and Ralts.
However, Wobbuffet reflected the attack with Mirror Coat, so Team Rocket is not frozen. Team Rocket spot that Max and Ralts have gone away, so May tells them their eyesight is "not so cool". Jessie gets mad at the insult, so she orders Seviper to use Haze, which distracts the twerps. Max runs with Ralts and Snorunt catches up with them. Team Rocket are running to get Ralts as well. Max feels Ralts is getting much weaker, so he puts it on the ground to rest. He spots some berries and gives them to Ralts to eat, but the latter doesn't have enough strength. Max begins to cry, as he feels that he failed to bring Ralts to the Pokémon Center in time, but notices Ash's Snorunt has arrived. The latter froze the berries, so Max wraps them and puts them on Ralts' head. Ralts begins to feel better and eats the berries. Elsewhere, Ash, Brock and May are walking and the latter is worried about Max. However, Ash and Brock feel Max is already at the Pokémon Center, taking a break. Max and Snorunt run to the Pokémon Center, but Team Rocket intercepts them.
thumb|Max encountering Team Rocket, in disguise!
They demand Ralts, but Max swears he would never let it fall into their filthy hands. Team Rocket intimidates him, but is blasted off by a Psychic attack. Max and Snorunt spot a Gardevoir and a Kirlia, who teleported to him. They want Ralts, but Max tells them it is sick and needs to be treated. Snorunt argues with Kirlia, while Max explains Ralts has to be healed. Kirlia uses Psychic, but they see Ralts using Safeguard. Ralts falls into Max's hands and Kirlia objects. However, Gardevoir stops Kirlia and both give Max a chance to treat Ralts. Max thanks Kirlia and Gardevoir, who teleport away. Max and Snorunt spend the rest of the day running and at the evening, they arrive to the Pokémon Center. As Ralts is being treated by Nurse Joy, Ash, May and Brock come to Max. Max begins to cry and May calmly comforts him, telling him that he did his task as well as he said he would. They all wait until morning, when Joy comes out of the room, telling that Ralts is fine. Max comes in the room, seeing the healthy Ralts. Joy reports that Ralts had pneumonia, and Ralts wouldn't have made it if it arrived an hour later. Ash and May are proud of Max, seeing he saved Ralts on his own.
Max turns to Ralts, explaining it needs to go back to Kirlia and Gardevoir. Max gets out and calls Gardevoir and Kirlia, but with no response. This time, Jessie and Meowth come disguised, but Max knows they are fake. Max is furious, claiming the real Kirlia and Gardevoir would never let Ralts fall into the hands of Team Rocket. Jessie and Meowth become really scared and Max tells Ralts to blast them off with Psychic, which it does, as Jessie and Meowth are mad that James isn't blasting off with them. James attempts to run away, but the real Gardevoir and Kirlia stand before him, blasting him off with Psychic as well. Gardevoir and Kirlia come to Max, who states he did as he promised. Thus, he releases Ralts' hand so it may come to them. Ralts comes to Max to hug him, expressing it wants to come with him, but Max tells it cannot come. However, he promises he will come when he's older and becomes a trainer. Gardevoir, Kirlia and Ralts teleport away. Max hears Ralts, who wants him to promise that he'll come back for it, and the former says he'll keep his promise.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Ralts
*Gardevoir
==Quotes==
:"Hey! Come on, guys. Why are you so gloomy? We're just one day and one boat ride from...MY ULTIMATE VICTORY!!!" - Ash
:"Meowth: The Scratch Cat Pokémon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle. But it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping." - Dextette
:"Hey, who says I sleep most of da day?!" - Meowth
:"It's Meowth!" - Ash, May, Brock, and Max
:"Pika!" - Pikachu
:"Dat's right!!" - Meowth
:"So, Meowth." - Jessie
:"Eek!" - Meowth
:"How come you're never out there gathering those coins FOR US?! ALL THIS TIME, WE'VE BEEN LIVING ON TABLE SCRAPS, AND YOU NEVER TOLD US YOU HAD THAT ABILITY?!" - Jessie
:"Oh...this is bad." - James
:"I knew that accent was phony!" - Ash
:"But this is real." - Jessie
:"As you can see, we're not frozen." - Jessie
:"But we are cool." - James
:"See, we used Wobbuffet's Mirror Coat to block dat Icy Wind attack, so dere!" - Meowth
:"Wobbuffet!" - Wobbuffet
:"Chime!" - Chimecho
:"Hey! Wait a minute, where'd the Ralts go?" - Jessie
:"Aah! And da littlest twoip, too!" - Meowth
:"Your eyesight's not so hot." - Ash
:"Considering how cool you are and everything." - May
:"You're going to pay for that last attack." - James
:"And one Ralts ought to cover it." - Jessie
:"I wouldn't pay you one penny! No!" - Max
:"My, aren't we one tough little hombre?" - James
:"Yeah? I'll show you tough. Hand over da Ralts or else." - Meowth
:"It's gonna be all right now. You really came through." - May comforting a crying Max
:"Gardevoir, Kirlia, I know you dearly love your Ralts." - Max
:"Mm-mm-mm!" - Jessie and Meowth
:"Grrr! Then I'm sure you'd NEVER WANT IT TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF TEAM ROCKET!!!" - Max
:"AAAAAH!!" - Jessie and Meowth
:"No fair! Why isn't James blasting off?!" - Jessie and Meowth
:"Don't worry, guys! Right behind you!" - James blasts off after Jessie and Meowth
:"Promise me, Max! Promise you'll come back and get me!" - Ralts' voice in Max's mind
:"Promise? Oh, yes, Ralts! I promise! I promise I'll come back for you! I will!" - Max
==Trivia==
*This episode's English name is a reference to the musical Do I Hear a Waltz?.
*Featured Pokémon: Linoone, Medicham, and Lunatone.
*This is one of the rare episodes that a special song was written specifically for it.
*This episode shares similarities with Jirachi: Wish Maker Movie.
*This is the first time Team Rocket reuses their disguises from earlier in the episode, despite Ash and the gang already having seen through them the first time.
==Gallery==
==References==
pl:AG109
Category:Episodes focusing on Max