EP216

Dueling Heroes (Japanese: うずまきカップ！みずのコロシアムでだいバトル！！ ! A Big Battle in the Water Colosseum!!), is the 216th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 20, 2001, and in the United States on October 26, 2002.
==Blurb==
As the final round of the Whirl Cup begins, Ash and Misty must each face formidable opponents. Ash has his Kingler transferred from Oak's lab in preparation, but when he and his Totodile begin their first battle, they must face an opponent with a powerful Kingdra. Misty also faces a challenging duel with an experienced opponent and his Qwilfish. Meanwhile, Team Rocket sets about stealing an ancient jewel used in a reward ceremony to be performed for the tournament's victor.
==Plot==
A large crowd has gathered in the stands and the participating s are in gondolas as the Whirl Cup tournament's opening ceremony begins. The announcer explains the history of the event and brings everyone's attention to the Sea Priestess, . She greets the contestants and wishes them good luck. Maya shines her Great Sea Spirit Sapphire towards the sun, and who are working as food vendors, spots their next target to steal. Maya evokes the Sea Spirit Union, and a blue light washes over the entire stadium complex to bring forth the energy of all Pokémon. The announcer declares that the prize given to the crowned Alpha Omega will be a Mystic Water pendant.
In the lead-up to the tournament, Ash and Misty get into a heated argument over who will win. Brock cools down the argument and then reminds Ash that he only has , so Ash calls from the Pokémon Center. At Oak’s suggestion, Ash sends through his and receives . Back at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Oak calls out Bayleef, but Bayleef's obsession with being with Ash causes her to go into a panic, and she eventually rams into Oak. 
The sixth match of the first round pits Ash against . Ash uses Totodile for this round and his opponent calls out a from its Lure Ball. Ash scans Kingdra with his Pokédex and is pleased to see a tough opponent. However, Brock, who is in the bleachers, comments that Ash might not have a good time with this one because it's a dual and , making Totodile's Water attacks practically useless. Ash takes the lead and commands Totodile to dive under the water, but Kingdra counters with a . Christopher orders Kingdra to stop the Twister causing Totodile to freefall. Kingdra aims a blast, but Totodile lands on one of the platforms. Christopher decides that a attack is in order, but Totodile dodges the attack and gets close enough to the . Kingdra dives to evade and Totodile does the same. Kingdra releases a to cloud the water. With no other option, Ash tells Totodile to jump out of the water. The battle comes to a standstill as Ash anticipates Kingdra's next move. Totodile begins to dance around, and Ash takes that as a sign that everything will be fine. Fed up, Christopher has Kingdra resurface and try another Hydro Pump attack. However, Totodile s onto Kingdra's snout, effectively stopping the Hydro Pump. With Kingdra being unable to release the water, it swells to enormous proportions as a result. After a while, Totodile releases his jaw and Kingdra goes flying across the stadium. It hits the water field hard and floats to the surface, knocked out. Ash wins the match and can advance to the next round. After the match, Team Rocket is still devising a plan to get Maya's staff, but they are interrupted when another staff member tells them that there are more hungry customers to serve.
Overnight, Misty stares at the Colosseum from her Pokémon Center room window. Ash offers her some reassurance, and Misty declares that she is simply excited about the upcoming match. Day two of the Whirl Cup begins, and Misty goes up against in the ninth match. Harrison is one of the older Trainers, so he has a snobbish attitude when he steps up to the arena. The match is on, against . Qwilfish begins the match by shooting a Water Gun, but Corsola reflects it back with a . Seeing that this tactic won't work, Harrison orders Quilfish to start swallowing water. As the announcer says that this is used for preparing a volley of spikes, Misty thinks fast. Qwilfish soon releases a barrage and so Corsola counters with . The two attacks explode in mid-air knocking Corsola back, but Qwilfish took refuge in the waters. Taking advantage of this, Qwilfish strikes Corsola with a attack. Worried that Corsola is going to burn out anytime, Misty tells it to use , but Qwilfish has already prepared to use Take Down again. By the time Corsola has recovered its stamina, Qwilfish's attack hits. Corsola and Qwilfish dip into the water, but the pair resurface and Quilfish is revealed to be stuck in Corsola’s crown of horns. Misty finally gets an idea and tells Corsola to use Spike Cannon. Corsola fires a close-range Spike Cannon blast which sends Qwilfish sky-high, and Misty wins the match. During the battle, Team Rocket makes their move toward Maya's staff, but Officer Jenny orders them to leave the restricted area, which foils their attempt.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Ash and Misty congratulate each other on making it to the second round. A large commotion alerts the group to the screen featuring the matchups for tomorrow's second-round battles. It turns out that Ash is up against Misty for the next round, and the two friends stare at each other in shock.
==Major events==
* sends to Professor Oak's Laboratory in exchange for his .
* Ash defeats and advances to the second round.
* defeats and advances to the second round.
* Ash and Misty learn that they are set to battle each other in the second round.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* 
====Pokémon debuts====
=====TV episode debuts=====
* 
* 
======English dub debuts======
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* 
* Nurse Joy
* Officer Jenny
* 
* 
* 
* Whirl Cup competitors
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international), (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s)
* ('s)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; English debut)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
==Trivia==
* This episode included music from the Mewtwo Strikes Back.
* This is one of the few episodes in which does not blast off.
* 's behavior after being stored and seeing is similar to 's own behavior in Overjoyed!.
* , ineligible for the Whirl Cup due to being only , is depicted while gives her opening speech.
===Errors===
* says that , being part , would have been in serious trouble if 's hit it. This is incorrect, as Corsola receives neutral damage from Water-type moves.
* In the dub, Qwilfish's is called .
===Dub edits===
* Ash's Totodile's was referred as in the dub. In addition, Totodile cannot legally learn Skull Bash in the .
==In other languages==
216
Category:Episodes written by Atsuhiro Tomioka
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Hiroshi Haraguchi
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiroshi Haraguchi
Category:Episodes directed by Hiroshi Haraguchi
Category:Episodes animated by Katsumi Hashimoto
Category:Episodes focusing on Misty
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
de:Duell der Helden!
es:EP218
fr:EP216
it:OA100
ja:無印編第216話
zh:宝可梦 第217集