FJ116

==Synopsis==
Justin employs a very unexpected team to face the might of Dragon Pokemon.
==Summary==
Justin and Clair are standing inside the Blackthorn Gym, preparing to start their rematch, which will be a three-on-three battle with Elite Four Lance as the referee. Clair chooses her Dragonair, and Justin chooses Totodile. Both Pokemon dive in the waters to begin the battle. 
Totodile rushes forward with Waterfall. Dragonair disrupts the attack by swallowing Totodile in a Twister that mixes with the water. Totodile is completely disoriented and then struck from behind with Iron Tail. Dragonair charges in with Dragon Rush and Totodile orders Totodile to use Bite. Dragonair lands a powerful hit on Totodile, but the latter latches onto Dragonair's body with his teeth. Dragonair tries to shake off Totodile but the Water-Type locks its jaw. Totodile then transitions into Ice Fang, which slowly freezes Dragonair. Dragonair executes a Twister about its body, and Totodile willingly lets go to escape the dragon attack. Totodile then hammers Dragonair with Waterfall, which Dragonair. Clair has Dragonair use Dragon Rush, and the aura from the attack breaks the ice restricting Dragonair. Dragonair attacks and Totodile meets it head on with Waterfall. Both Pokemon feel flinching recoil from their mutual collision. Totodile recovers first and swims in with Ice Fang. Dragonair releases a Twister. Totodile swim around the attack in a spiral and bites down on Dragonair's neck. Dragonair is encased in ice and floats to the surface while Totodile jumps onto a platform. After several seconds, the ice shatters and Dragonair is shown unable to battle.
Clair recalls Dragonair and sends Gyarados into battle. Upon emergence, Gyarados' Intimidate afflicts Totodile, weakening him. Gyarados opens the battle with a Hyper Beam, which Totodile evades by diving into the water. Totodile then strikes with Waterfall, but Gyarados is barely fazed. Totodile returns to the waters and Gyarados uses Whirlpool, controlling the pool waters and wrapping Totodile in a water spiral. Totodile too tired to effectively swim out of the Whirlpool, and Gyarados unleashes a Hyper Beam that explodes the Whirlpool. When the watery explosion settles, Totodile is shown unable to battle. 
Justin recalls Totodile and sends Furret into battle, another seemingly odd choice. Clair has Gyarados fire a Hyper Beam, and Furret dodges by jumping onto another platform instead of into the water as Clair wanted. Gyarados must recharge, and Furret strikes Gyarados with Cut. Once Furret bounces off Gyarados, it uses Defense Curl right on time as Gyarados recharges and wounds Furret with Crunch. Furret falls into the waters, and Clair orders Whirlpool. Furret jumps out of the water in time before it could be consumed by the Whirlpool, and he uses a second Defense Curl. Gyarados manifests a Whirlpool and fires it onto Furret. Justin takes a gamble and has Furret slice the whirlpool with Cut, which works. Furret jumps onto Gyarados' body and strikes it several times with Cut. Gyarados tries to retaliate with Crunch, but Furret is too fast to capture. Changing strategies, Clair has Gyarados use Scary Face, which slows down Furret by fear. Gyarados then uses Hyper Beam, which blasts Furret into the waters. After a watery explosion, Furret fails to resurface. Justin confidently calls out to Furret and tells him to swim into Gyarados and use Thunderbolt. Clair calls out to Gyarados, who cannot swim away in time. Furret unleashes his Thunderbolt underwater, which doubles the damage Gyarados would take. Gyarados scantly survives, but Furret bursts from the waters and strikes Gyarados in the face with a final Cut. Furret lands by Justin with a pose while Gyarados topples over, defeated. 
Clair recalls Gyarados, shocked and surprised Furret was able to withstand a direct Hyper Beam. Devon privately addresses Justin's strategy of whittling away at Gyarados' health with Cut before delivering a Thunderbolt, enhanced by its connection to the water. She understands Clair's battle strategy of heavy offense while full advantage of the battlefield, and Justin did the same. 
Clair's final Pokemon is her signature Pokemon, Kingdra. The battle resumes and Justin wastes no time in having Furret dive underwater and execute a Thunderbolt, which delivers heavy damage. Since could not dodge Kingdra instead powers itself Dragon Dance to build speed and power. Furret uses a second Thunderbolt, which electrocutes Kingdra, but the Dragon-Type braves the attack and accelerates through the elecrified waters to ram Furret with an Iron Head. Justin orders Furret out of the water and prepare a Defense Curl. Furret does as commanded and builds his defenses, but Clair commands Dragon Pulse. Kingdra releases a powerful dragon-shaped beam that devours and explodes upon Furret. When the smoke clears, Furret is shown singed and unable to battle.
Following Furret's defeat, Justin calls on Marill as his final Pokemon. The presence of the Aqua Mouse Pokemon to face the mighty Kingdra is an front to Clair who angrily commands Dragon Pulse. As a Fairy-Type, Marill is immune to Dragon Pulse, but Justin realizes Clair is making a statement. Kingdra follows its attack with Hydro Pump. Instead of diving into the water, Marill defends against the brunt of the attack with Aqua Ring, which then heals Marill. Marill then fires an Icy Wind across the waters to damage and slow down Kingdra. Kingdra executes a more powerful Hydro Pump for blast Marill into the water by force. Marill recovers a little due to Aqua Ring. Kingdra empowers itself with Dragon Dance and follows with Iron Head. Marill is unable to dodge being much slower than Kingdra, so Justin has Marill layer its Aqua Ring to minimize the impact of Kingdra's heavy attack. Marill recovers a little and uses Icy Wind again, slowing down Kingdra and freezing the pool waters to restrict Kindgra's movements.
With Kingdra restricted, Marill strikes it in the face with a Water Gun, which infuriates Clair. She has Kingdra destroy the ice with Dragon Pulse, but the immune Marill is able to ignore the attack and bombard Kingdra with a super-effective Play Rough, which was Justin's plan from the beginning. Marill continues to recover previous damage via Aqua Ring. Kingra recovers and uses Iron Head, but the repeated Icy Wind attacks have slowed down Kingdra enough for Marill to swim around it repeatedly and strike with consecutive effective Icy Wind attacks. Clair orders Kindgra to rebuild its speed with Dragon Dance, but Justin has Marill use the interval to strike Kingdra out of the waters from below with Water Gun. Airborne, Kingdra is unable to move or properly aim a Hydro Pump. Marill leaps into the air and pummels the vulnerable Kingdra with Play Rough. Kingdra finally crashes hard back into the waters, unable to battle and thus winning Justin the gym battle.
After Lance makes the final call, Justin and Marill share a warm hug. Devon is very impressed with Justin's win, intentionally throwing off Clair with unconventional but effective Pokemon. Clair recalls Kingdra and she shouts with tremendous anger. She cannot believe a Totodile, Furret, and Marill took down her mighty dragon Pokemon. She refuses to accept this loss even as Lance tries to calm her down. Clair's rage reminds Justin of Whitney. Similar to the Normal Gym Leader, Clair contests handing Justin the Rising Badge until he meets the village Dragon Master.
==Major Events==
*Justin battles and defeats Clair, the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, but must pass an additional test to earn the Rising Badge
*Justin is ordered to travel into the Dragon's Den and meet Blackthorn City's Dragon Master
For a list of all major events in this anime, please see Major Events (First Journey). 
==Characters==
===Humans===
*Justin
*Devon
*Clair
*Lance
===Pokemon===
*Eevee (Justin's)
*Marill (Justin's)
*Furret (Justin's)
*Totodile (Justin's)
*Kingdra (Clair's)
*Dragonair (Clair's)
*Gyarados (Clair's)
*Dragonite (Lance's)
Category:First Journey
Category:Episodes with Gym Battles
Category:Complete Pages