BW051: Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader!

is the 1st episode of Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies.
==Synopsis==
In Nimbasa City, our heroes run into their old friend Bianca, who’s planning to challenge the Gym Leader, Elesa. Bianca tells her friends that Elesa is also a supermodel, and takes them to one of her fashion shows so they can check out her style before the battle!
After the show, they gather at the Gym, where they discover Bianca’s dad waiting for them. He’s decided that Bianca isn’t ready for her journey and wants to take her home. She points out that he started his own journey as a Pokémon Trainer when he was young, but he won’t listen. At Elesa’s suggestion, Bianca makes a deal with her father: if she can beat the Gym Leader, she gets to continue her journey, but if she loses, she’ll have to go home with him.
Unfortunately, Elesa’s powerful Zebstrika is more than a match for Bianca’s team. She sadly makes plans to leave with her father, but first Ash tries to convince him to let her stay. When words don’t work, he decides to challenge Bianca’s dad to a Pokémon battle instead. The stakes are similar: if Ash wins, Bianca gets to keep traveling with them…but if Ash loses, both he and Bianca have to go home!
It turns out Bianca’s dad has quite a reputation as a powerful Trainer—in his younger days, he was known as the Red Meteor, and loved to battle with his Darmanitan, the Red Flash! Ash and Oshawott take them on, and during a lull in the battle (with some help from Iris and Cilan), he tells Bianca’s dad about all the good times they’ve had traveling together as friends.
Bianca’s father ends up winning, but the battle and Ash’s stories of their travels have reminded him of his own journey. He changes his mind and advises Ash and Bianca to keep traveling and growing stronger together.
So Bianca’s journey continues, thanks to our heroes—and Ash gets ready for his own battle with Gym Leader Elesa!
==Episode plot==
As the heroes are at Nimbasa City's Gym, Bianca runs to them and accidentally pushes Ash into a fountain. Bianca goes to the Gym, having an appointment for the battle, but Ash claims he came here first. Iris wonders who the Gym Leader is, so Bianca shows her a magazine featuring Elesa, who is also a role model. However, they notice a note, in which states Elesa is at a fashion show. Bianca reads the magazine and decides to go to the fashion show to see Elesa. Cilan advises Ash to go as well, for he might learn more about Elesa before the Gym Battle. The heroes and Bianca see her presenting the new clothes, being a model. During her walk, she notices Pikachu. Elesa jumps to Ash to admire Pikachu. The heroes introduce themselves and explain Ash and Bianca came to challenge Elesa. Elesa decides to do that after the fashion show. They enter the Gym and see a rail car. Figuring they need to ride it to get to the battlefield, the heroes and Bianca enter it. The rail car starts and the heroes and Bianca go through loops across the Gym.
After stopping, they encounter Elesa. Elesa decides to challenge Bianca first, making Ash annoyed he did not make an appointment. However, Elesa presents Bianca's father, who explains to Bianca that he has come to bring her home. Unwilling to do so, Bianca refuses to abandon her dream of competing in the Unova League, but Bianca's father tells her a journey is too dangerous for her. Elesa then suggests that Bianca demonstrate her skills in a Gym battle, and Bianca's father has her promise to go home with him if she Bianca promises if she loses. Ash tells her to think over her promise, but Bianca is determined not to lose. They enter the battlefield, where crowds of Elesa's fans have come to watch the battle. When the battle starts, Elesa sends out Zebstrika as her first Pokémon, and Bianca her newly-caught Shelmet. Unfortunately, due to the Snail Pokémon's inexperience in battle, Zebstrika successfully dodges its Acid and Energy Ball attacks and defeats it by using Double Kick and Flame Charge.
Bianca calls Shelmet back and sends out Minccino as her second Pokémon. Minccino uses Double Slap, though Zebstrika evades it. Minccino tries with Swift, but Zebstrika dodges and hits him with Flame Charge. Minccino manages to inflict considerable to Zebstrika by using Hyper Voice, but is eventually defeated after Zebstrika uses Flame Charge and Double Kick. Now down to her last Pokémon, Bianca summons her Pignite, determined to win the battle. She has Pignite use Flamethrower, but misses. Zebstrika uses Double Kick, though Pignite moves away and uses his own Flame Charge, hitting Zebstrika. Pignite uses Flamethrower against Zebstrika's Flame Charge, but fails and gets hit. He manages to dodge Double Kick and uses Heat Crash on Zebstrika, impressing Elesa. Pignite uses Flamethrower, but Zebstrika moves away and hits Pignite with Flame Charge. Ultimately, Elesa commands her Zebstrika to use Wild Charge, which collides with Pignite and causes a huge blast in the process. When the smoke clears, Pignite is revealed to have been defeated by the impact.
Thus, Elesa is declared the winner of the battle, leaving Bianca devastated. Leaving the Gym, Bianca brings out her Shelmet, who is weakened by its earlier battle. Iris gives Shelmet some medicine to recover before Elesa accompanies the group to the Pokémon Center to heal her Zebstrika. While Nurse Joy goes to heal the Pokémon, Cilan prepares a lunch for the group. Afterwards, Bianca's father prepares to take his daughter home. Feeling sorry for Bianca, Ash asks her father why he wants his daughter to come home. Bianca's father explains that he fears Bianca is not ready for a journey and is likely to run into trouble (citing the recent Pokémon Center thefts as an example). Although he supports his daughter's decision to go on a journey, he wants his daughter to be calmer and fully understand her Pokémon before doing so. As he and Bianca leave, Cilan suggests Ash to convince Bianca's father by challenging him to a battle.
Bianca's father accepts on the condition that Ash must return to Pallet Town if he loses. Ash is shocked by the high stakes, but accepts the deal regardless. Elesa tells she will act as the judge. Bianca's father admires Ash's courage, claiming he was called the "Red Meteor" as a trainer. He sends Darmanitan, while Oshawott comes out, wanting to battle. Darmanitan uses Flamethrower, hitting Oshawott, who uses Water Gun. Darmanitan dodges the attack and hits Oshawott back with Fire Punch, canceling his Tackle move. Oshawott uses Razor Shell, but misses. Oshawott uses Aqua Jet, dodging Darmanitan's Fire Punch and hitting it. Bianca's father is pleased, as he can battle a strong opponent, making him more decisive. Darmanitan uses Fire Punch, attacking Oshawott, followed with Flame Charge. Bianca asks Ash to stop the battle, as she does not want to be the reason Ash has to go back to Pallet Town. Ash tells the battle is not over yet.
Bianca's father asks Ash why he is risking so much for Bianca. Ash tells him Bianca is their friend, as they have met each other many times and have done much together. Oshawott uses Aqua Jet against Darmanitan's Flare Blitz. They collide with each other, but Oshawott loses. Bianca's father calls Darmanitan back, while Ash calls Oshawott back and falls on his knees, but Bianca's father tells the group he has had a change of heart, and asks Ash and Bianca to continue to grow stronger on their journeys. Bianca thanks them, but heads for the Desert Resort. Iris notices Bianca's bag lying, so her father picks it up and runs to catch up with Bianca. Elesa and Ash prepare to face each other the next day.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Elesa
*Bianca's father
*Nimbasa City's Gym referee
===Pokémon===
*Shelmet (Bianca's)
*Elesa's Zebstrika
===Moves===
Wild Charge
==Quotes==
:"I'm tingling all over!" - Elesa, after noticing Ash's Pikachu
:"A Pikachu! Never seen one up close. Wow, you shine like the sun. Is this your Pikachu?" - Elesa, admiring Ash's Pikachu
:"Yeah. My name's Ash." - Ash
:"Well, son, I worry that she'll get into trouble like she did back at the Pokémon Center, when all of her Pokémon were stolen. Maybe after she learns how to exercise better judgment. It's not that I'm opposed to her going on a journey at all. Contact with Pokémon is one of the ways a Trainer grows, but Bianca has some growing to do first. My opinion is, after Bianca settles down a bit, a new journey might just be the thing she needs." - Bianca's father
==Trivia==
*Professor Oak's Live Caster: Archen
*Who's that Pokémon?: Shelmet (U.S.)
*This episode originally aired in the United States on February 18, 2012. A few clips in the dub's opening theme come from "An Amazing Aerial Battle!", which premiered in Japan on March 1, 2012, 12 days after this episode's U.S. premiere.
*This episode has some similarities with the previous ones, like:
**"A Goldenrod Opportunity", the new season begins where the Gym Leader is introduced, the character battles the Gym Leader and loses.
**"The Battle of the Badge" and '"Shapes of Things to Come!", Ash's rival battles the Gym Leader first.
**"Watt's with Wattson?", the heroes needed to ride a rail car to get to the battle field.
===Mistakes===
*During the battle against Bianca's father, Ash told Oshawott to use Shell Blade instead of Razor Shell.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Bianca
Category:Episodes featuring Gym Battles