RS183: Channeling the Battle Zone!

is the 37th episode of Pokémon: Battle Frontier.
==Synopsis==
May and Drew are in a battle to reach the final four of the Grand Festival, and both Coordinators have some powerful combinations up their sleeve. May even picked up a few tricks from watching Ash's Battle Dome match against Tucker! Her Combusken and Squirtle give it their all against Drew's Flygon and Absol, and nobody in the arena can even predict which way things are going to go.
Once Flygon and Squirtle are knocked out, that's when things really get exciting. Absol's Water Pulse is bad news for a Fire-type like Combusken, but Combusken hangs in there and even comes up with an unexpected move, Overheat! Absol uses Water Pulse again but Combusken's Overheat protects it in the nick of time, and the clock runs out on the battle. It's up to the judges to decide the winner: May!
Elsewhere, Ash faces a battle of his own as he tries to catch the mischievous Aipom for once and for all. With Pikachu's help, he catches the Pokémon for his team and goes to watch May battle Solidad in the semifinals. Solidad knows exactly how to counter May's powerful battling style, and it's Solidad who goes on to win the Grand Festival. May is disappointed, but her friends cheer her up. Now it's off to the Battle Pyramid for Ash's rematch with Brandon!
==Episode plot==
Combusken, surrounded by bubbles, uses Sky Uppercut. Flygon dodges and Absol uses Razor Wind. Combusken and Squirtle are attacked and knocked out. Flygon uses Flamethrower. Combusken uses Fire Spin to negate the attack, though Combusken and Flygon are attacked by their opponent's attacks. May remarks Drew's speed, but still needs to defeat him. Flygon goes on Absol's back and Absol uses Razor Wind and Flygon gives it more power by DragonBreath. Even if they evaded, Squirtle and Combusken are attacked. Flygon goes on Absol's back - Flygon uses Steel Wing and Absol its Iron Tail. Squirtle and Combusken counter with Bubble and Fire Spin, and with that combination, Absol and Flygon are taken aback.
Ash and Max remember a similar combination was made when Dome Ace Tucker used Arcanine and Swampert to attack Ash's Pokémon. Brock remarks May learned a lot about battling. Absol uses Flash, affecting Combusken only, as Squirtle went into its shell and spins to attack. Flygon uses Steel Wing to attack Squirtle, however Squirtle comes out of its shell, unharmed. Squirtle uses Bubble, Absol Razor Wind and Combusken Fire Spin - Razor Wind and Fire Spin are negated, so Squirtle attacks Flygon. With Squirtle's Ice Beam, Flygon is defeated. However, Absol uses Iron Tail to defeat Squirtle.
Combusken uses Mega Kick and Absol Iron Tail, hurting both Pokémon. Absol uses Razor Wind, hitting Combusken, so Combusken retaliates with Fire Spin, but Absol uses Water Pulse, damaging Combusken. Combusken begins to twinkle with a red color. Absol uses Razor Wind, but Combusken uses its new move - Overheat - attacking Absol, but not defeating it. Combusken uses Overheat, but Absol protects itself with Water Pulse. Absol uses Flash, but Combusken still manages to attack Absol. Since it is close, Combusken uses Overheat, hitting Absol, though Absol shakes the flames off. Absol uses Razor Wind, and even if Combusken tries to dodge, it still gets attacked. Absol uses Water Pulse, so Combusken uses Overheat to negate it, but fails. Combusken still stands, so Absol goes to finish it with Iron Tail, but gets hit by Sky Uppercut. Time runs out, and since Drew has less points, May wins!
Brock now knows Combusken used Overheat against Water Pulse to weaken the attack, then counter. Harley is annoyed, Solidad impressed and Combusken happy. Drew is smiling at May's victory, making May very happy. Aipom is feeling happy and takes Ash's hat, so Ash and Pikachu go to get it. This time, however, Aipom gives Ash his hat back, but wants a battle. Pikachu uses Quick Attack, but Aipom dodges and uses Swift. Pikachu uses Iron Tail, hitting Aipom. Still, Aipom counter-attacks with Focus Punch. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, hurting Aipom and paralyzes it. Ash throws his Poké Ball and captures that Aipom. The people congratulate Ash's victory and Scott appears.
May gives Squirtle and Combusken extra food for the victory. Drew congratulates her on the victory and her amazing moves. Solidad won as well, so May now has to battle Solidad herself. Drew tells May she cannot defeat Solidad if she uses force alone. On the battle field, May does not have much points, there are two minutes left, while Solidad has a Pidgeot and May her Combusken and Munchlax. Munchlax uses Focus Punch, but Slowbro uses Psychic, countering Munchlax's attack. Combusken uses Fire Spin, attacking Pidgeot. Pidgeot uses Thunder Dance, repelling the attack and sending burning feathers to Combusken and Munchlax. Slowbro uses Yawn, putting Combusken to sleep. Munchlax uses Solar Beam, but fails. Pidgeot uses Double Team and attacks Combusken.
Scott tells the boys that Solidad forces May to attack, then defends to steal her points. Even if she used dazzling attacks, Solidad organized her strategy different, as she battles May. Scott tells Ash May is using his strategies, as he has influence over her. With Slowbro's Hyper Beam and Pidgeot's Aerial Ace, both Combusken and Munchlax are defeated - May thanks her Pokémon for such a battle and congratulates Solidad for victory, then goes out of the stadium in shame. However, Ash, Brock and Max tell she was brave and powerful enough to be in Top Four. Max realized that May is a sister a brother would hope for, making May cry. Solidad got the Ribbon Cup for her efforts. During the night, May rushes to ask Drew if they will see each other again, which he confirms. Now, May wants to see Ash win against Brandon in the Battle Pyramid. Since the Battle Pyramid is near the Indigo Plateau, the heroes need to get there to see Ash's battle.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Ash's Aipom
==Trivia==
*This episode is the last to feature the Pokémon Trivia Quiz. It would not appear again for the series' final ten episodes before Professor Oak's lecture is brought back to replace the Quiz.
**Questions: 1. What color is the Pokémon Center roof?2. How many Pokémon appeared?
**Answers: 1. Orange2. 5
*During Ash's battle with Aipom, an extended version of Spurt! plays.
*The Magikarp salesman is seen among the crowd that watches Ash catch Aipom.
*The preview for the next episode is narrated by Brock.
*During the Contest, May used the same Fire and Water tactic used by Dome Ace Tucker in Tactics Theatrics!!.
*This episode is similar to Rhapsody in Drew; It was the third and final episode the region's Grand Festival, May battled Drew in these two episodes, and lastly, it dealt with Ash's sixth member of his team, Snorunt -who evolved-, while in this episode, Ash caught Aipom, which became the sixth member of his team during Battle Frontier.
===Mistakes===
*Despite Combusken being hit by Absol's Iron Tail, May does not lose points, as the score board is seen still full on the next scene, when both of May's Pokémon are hit by Absol's Razor Wind.
*During one scene in May and Drew's battle, Drew's eyes were blue instead of green.
*When May loses more points after Razor Wind hits, Ash comments that they are even though the points show that Drew is clearly in the lead, later on after Combusken was hit with Water Pulse May's point seems to have grown some.
*Fire Spin is used inconsistently in this episode. Several times it was a spinning spiral fire attack, and other times it was spinning flames.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on May
Category:Episodes focusing on Drew
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon learning a new move