RS170: Talking a Good Game!

is the 24th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
==Synopsis==
As Ash eagerly heads for the Battle Tower and his sixth challenge, he accidentally stirs up a horde of Beedrill who chase him down! Fortunately, he's saved by a stranger who calms down the Beedrill and an upset Gyarados nearby. Just then, Team Rocket makes another Pikachu snatch attempt, but they're stopped by Pikachu and the stranger's Alakazam. Ash's friends catch up to him and everyone is invited back to their new friend's house to dry off.
Their new friend is named Anabel, but Ash doesn't stick around long—he has a Battle Tower to get to! Once he gets to the Battle Tower, he discovers that Anabel is in fact the Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower! Ash sends out Corphish against Anabel's Alakazam, but Anabel's uncanny ability to mentally communicate with Pokémon means Ash doesn't even known what commands she's going to give. It doesn't take long for Alazakam to knock out Corphish, so Ash brings out his Tauros, which he had sent over just for this battle. But brute strength won't win the day—Alakazam knocks it out too!
Now it's up to Pikachu, but it's confused by Alakazam's Psybeam. To keep Pikachu from hurting itself, Ash throws himself in front of its Volt Tackle, which snaps Pikachu out of its confusion. Pikachu goes on to defeat Alakazam, but Anabel has another heavy hitter lined up: Metagross! Though Pikachu does its best, Metagross has powerful attacks and its Hyper Beam finally knocks Pikachu out. With his Battle Tower challenge ending in defeat, what is Ash going to do now?
==Episode plot==
Ash and Pikachu run to prepare themselves for the Frontier Brain of the Battle Tower. Suddenly, Pikachu senses something - it is a Beedrill. Ash and Pikachu are chased away, but a person comes and stops Beedrill by talking to it. The person tells Ash Beedrill wanted to protect its family, Weedle and another Beedrill, though Ash and Pikachu are surprised the person can "talk" to Beedrill. Ash and Pikachu apologize to Beedrill, who goes back to its nest. Ash now sees the person talking to Pikachu, but the person corrects him he is just sensing the feelings. Ash introduces himself. The person goes to introduce himself, but a Gyarados stops him. Still, Gyarados is stopped by the person, who wants to know why is it hostile. The person senses Gyarados is wounded and takes a stick away (which was between Gyarados' scales) and Gyarados goes to the water.
Team Rocket sees them and are amazed by the person's skills, but Jessie wants to get Pikachu. The person interacts with Pikachu and senses they make a good team. However, the person and Pikachu are taken by Team Rocket. They do see they took the person, but will free him eventually. Ash sends Corphish, who uses Bubblebeam to cut the net. Ash and Pikachu go to rescue the person while Team Rocket waits for more Pokémon to be gathered. The person and Pikachu go on the surface and are unhurt, but Team Rocket lands and Jessie sends Seviper who uses Poison Tail on Ash. However, May, Max and Brock come, so James sends Cacnea. The person sends Alakazam to battle. Cacnea uses Pin Missile, but the attack is redirected to Team Rocket by Psychic.
Alakazam uses Psychic to send Ash and the person to the land. Seviper goes to bite and Cacnea uses Needle Arm, but with Alakazam's Psybeam, the attacks are canceled and Cacnea and Seviper attack each other. Pikachu blasts them off with Thunderbolt. Ash got a cold, so the person advises they could come to his place to rest. Later, Ash goes to the fireplace to dry his clothes off. He asks the person as for why he didn't get his clothes, but the person makes a revelation - the person is a girl. Finally, the woman introduces herself as Anabel. Max, May and Brock introduce themselves as well. Max feels bad he thought Anabel was a man, but Ash tells them Anabel can talk to Pokémon. Anabel corrects him, as she can sense what Pokémon feel and tells Ash he is the amazing one - he saves Pikachu all the time. Brock reminds him of the time and Ash tells he has to go to challenge the Frontier Brain at the Battle Tower. Anabel goes to say something, but the heroes go away.
At the Battle Tower, the heroes are surprised they don't see Scott around, but Ash wants to battle the Frontier Brain, nevertheless. A man comes out and recognizes Ash as the challenger. Inside the Battle Tower, the man introduces the Frontier Brain - none other than Salon Maiden Anabel. Ash is surprised and tells her she could've said before. Anabel tells him the events were sudden, but she still will battle him. As her first Pokémon, Anabel sends Alakazam and Ash his Corphish. Corphish uses Crabhammer and Alakazam Psychic. Alakazam controls Corphish and Corphish if tossed. Corphish uses Bubblebeam, but Alakazam counters with Psybeam. Ash tells Corphish he needs to attack when the smoke clears. However, Anabel uses telepathic powers to tell Alakazam when he sees Corphish, it needs to attack. Alakazam senses Corphish's presence and attacks Corphish, knocking him out.
Ash knows Anabel "told" Alakazam as she did with other Pokémon. Corphish uses Crabhammer, but Alakazam attacks Corphish with Focus Punch and follows with Psybeam, defeating Corphish. Ash sends Tauros, who uses Take Down, but Alakazam uses Psychic to knock Tauros out. Alakazam uses Focus Punch, so Tauros charges with Take Down, but misses and is attacked. Alakazam defeats Tauros with Psybeam. Ash sends Pikachu, who uses Thunderbolt. However, Alakazam recovers. Scott comes and sees Ash's match. Pikachu uses Iron Tail, but Alakazam uses Focus Punch, but neither Pokémon is hit. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and Alakazam Psybeam, but Pikachu is hit. Ash orders Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, but Pikachu goes in the wrong direction (as it got confused by Psybeam's effect), so Ash stops him, but gets hurt.
Ash spots Pikachu is not confused and will continue battling. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, and Alakazam uses Psybeam to counter. Both trainers order max power, but Pikachu defeats Alakazam, even if Alakazam used max power as well. Anabel calls Alakazam back and sends Metagross. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but Metagross used Psychic to redirect the attack back to Pikachu. Pikachu charges with Quick Attack, though Metagross uses Iron Defense to stop Pikachu and follows with Meteor Mash to attack Pikachu. Pikachu is blown back, but can still fight. Pikachu uses Volt Tackle, but is defeated by Metagross' Hyper Beam. With three of his Pokémon defeated, Ash loses the battle.
==Debuts==
===Humans===
*Salon Maiden Anabel
===Pokémon===
*Anabel's Alakazam
*Anabel's Metagross
==Trivia==
*This is the first time Ash loses against a Frontier Brain.
*For unknown reasons, stock animal noises are used for Gyarados, including those of a bear.
*It is revealed that Frontier Brain Anabel can communicate with Pokémon in a special way, similar to N from Pokémon Black and White, and Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina.
**Additionally, the latter also has her own Alakazam.
*One of Ash's 30 Tauros temporarily rejoins his team since "GS154: Can't Beat the Heat!".
===Mistakes===
*When Corphish was brought out the second time, his mouth was not open, but still voiced himself.
*During a closeup shot of Gyarados, its lips are pink.
*During of the scenes where Ash orders Pikachu to use Thunder Bolt, its hind foot briefly shifts from having two toes to three toes.
==Gallery==
AnabelMind.jpg|Anabel communicating with Alakazam using her psychic powers
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash