AG158

Queen of the Serpentine! (Japanese: 熱闘バトルチューブ！VSチューブクイーン・アザミ！！ Fierce Fighting at the ! VS !!) is the 158th episode of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and the 432nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on January 5, 2006, and in the United States on October 21, 2006. 
==Blurb==
Ash heads for the Battle Pike ahead of his friends, and finds himself at a facility staffed by three suspiciously familiar faces and their Wobbuffet. Ever trusting, Ash challenges their "Pike Queen Lucy" to a battle. In the meantime, the real Battle Pike crew has come to meet the new challenger, and they're displeased when Ash doesn't show. Brock is instantly smitten by Lucy, the real Pike Queen, who comes to the rescue when Team Rocket reveals their fake Battle Pike and tries to run off with Pikachu. She bursts their bubble and defeats Jessie's Seviper with a powerful Seviper of her own.
Now the real Battle Pike challenge can start! First, Lucy's Seviper battles Ash's Donphan. Even without using defensive moves, Seviper and its Flamethrower attack are tough to beat! Scott explains that Lucy's style is to forget about defense and just hit as hard as possible, but this strategy works against Lucy when Donphan uses a fiery Rollout to defeat Seviper.
Next up is Milotic, who knocks Donphan out with a one-shot Hydro Pump. Pikachu enters the field, only to take the brunt of Milotic's powered-up offense. Ash has to think quickly and figure out how to use Milotic's strength against it, ordering Pikachu to take advantage of Milotic's moves to boost its own attack. This does the trick and knocks Milotic out, earning Ash the Luck Symbol. Ash and his friends are now headed for the Battle Palace and May's next Contest... but before they leave, Brock manages to make a sweet impression on Lucy after all!
==Plot==
 is eager to face the next Frontier Brain as he, , and Max step outside of the Pokémon Center. However, begins to cry uncontrollably, startling Ash, and Brock tells them it's feeding time, asking them to go ahead without him. Ash agrees, then wonders where is. Max tells him that she did say she wanted to show her the ocean. Seeing Ash's bewildered look, Max tells him not to worry and leaves to find his sister. Ash and meanwhile continue to the Battle Pike without them.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu arrive at the Battle Pike. James, and disguised as three attendants welcome Ash inside and guide him through to Jessie, posing as Pike Queen Lucy, the Battle Pike Frontier Brain. Jessie welcomes Ash and accidentally calls him a "twerp", but quickly corrects her words. Failing to notice it, Ash challenges her to a match. But before the match could begin, James holds up a container which he calls the Pikachu Power Purifier, and instructs Ash to place Pikachu inside.
In the meantime, Max and May regroup with Brock as they plan to head to the Battle Pike to watch Ash’s match. Before they have a chance to move, three girls came up to them - the blonde, Barbara, asking which of them is Ash Ketchum. Brock explains that Ash already left for the Battle Pike some time ago. Outraged, Barbara tells them they came to greet Ash on behalf of Queen Lucy. May asks if Ash was expecting them, with Barbara answering that she couldn't care less if he was. Fortunately, Scott comes in the nick of time to stop the arguing. Brock, May and Max greet Scott. He says that the Battle Pike is closed today and he was coming to greet the girls. May asks Scott if he means he was here to greet Lucy, when Barbara yells to address her as Queen Lucy. The Pike Queen herself arrives, announcing her arrival with a Seviper-patterned whirligig projectile. She apologizes to Brock and the others for Barbara's rudeness. Brock instantly goes down on one knee, proclaiming his love for the Frontier Brain. He is quickly pulled away by Barbara while Lucy is left speechless and blushing from the sudden encounter.
Meanwhile, Jessie places Pikachu inside of the container for Ash. After the lid is closed, a net suddenly falls down on Ash and reveal themselves. Making their escape, the walls fall and the real Battle Pike is revealed behind the fake one. Team Rocket flies away in their balloon with Pikachu trapped, while Ash struggles to free himself. Ash tells Pikachu to use but it has no effect inside the box. Lucy comes running in, throwing her red rose projectile at the balloon and causing a puncture. Team Rocket's balloon tumbled to the ground with the box holding Pikachu falling out and opening. Everyone rushes to the scene, and Scott informs Ash that this is the real Lucy, surprising Ash and Team Rocket. Not too happy, Jessie sends out her . While Ash is preparing to battle her, Lucy tells him to let her deal with Jessie and sends out her own . The group are surprised about Lucy's Pokémon, but Barbara remarks that Lucy's Seviper is stronger than Jessie's. Angered, Jessie tells Seviper to use and Lucy orders her to do the same. The two clash, though Lucy’s Seviper sends its opponent back towards Team Rocket. Finally, Lucy's Seviper delivers the blast-off to finish Team Rocket for good. Scott re-introduces Pike Queen Lucy. Ash asks Lucy to battle her, but Brock tells him that the Battle Pike is closed today, so they would have to come back tomorrow. Hearing those words, Lucy blushes, then says that the Battle Pike is open for good friends. The group realizes that Ash can challenge Lucy now while Brock flirts with her again, only to be dragged away by Max.
Inside the real Battle Pike, Ash analyzes the water and land battlefield. The referee announces the battle will be two-on-two. Lucy calls out her Seviper and Ash calls out his . Scott is impressed by Ash’s choice, remarking that that Donphan is resistant to attacks. Donphan starts the battle by using , though Seviper defends itself with Poison Tail. Lucy commands Seviper to use , but Donphan quickly uses to negate the strength of Seviper's attack. The stat boost from Defense Curl makes Donphan’s follow up cause double the damage to Seviper. Donphan uses Rollout again, but Seviper dodges and lands a Poison Tail from behind. Donphan is sent rolling towards a wall, but Ash tells Donphan to use the energy from the roll to jump. Donphan obeys and uses Take Down directly at Seviper. Lucy closes her eyes, bewildering Ash and his supporters. Scott tells them that it's just her battle style and to their surprise, Seviper uses Flamethrower at the exact moment Lucy tells it to, knocking Donphan down. Donphan begins to charge its attack, even with Seviper's Poison Tail coming at it. Donphan maintains its stance and unleashes the Hyper Beam at Seviper, but Seviper uses Poison Tail towards the water to make a huge veil of smoke. Seviper uses Flamethrower at Donphan, but Donphan dodges and uses Rollout. Seviper re-directs the Flamethrower, turning Donphan into a ball of fire. Ash orders Donphan to head for Seviper, and it uses a rock to catapult itself up in the air, hitting Seviper and knocking it out. The referee announces Ash as the victor of the first round. May and Max talk about how great Ash and Donphan were, while Barbara and the girls whine over Seviper's defeat. Barbara cheers Lucy on, closely followed by Brock, making Lucy blush again. May stares at Brock, asking him whose side he is on. Brock stands and yells that he's rooting for both of them, but Max grabs his ear and pulls him back into his seat.
Lucy sends out her second Pokémon, . Donphan quickly goes for a direct Take Down attack, despite Ash knowing he's leaving himself open for a counterattack. Lucy smiles and orders Milotic use , knocking Donphan out with one hit. Ash sends Pikachu in as his second Pokémon. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on Milotic, Lucy lets the attack hit, shocking Ash. Milotic disperses the attack with its tail and strikes Pikachu down with Hydro Pump. Scott and Barbara explain that Lucy prefers offense moves rather than defensive moves. Brock displays his love speech towards Lucy again and proclaims they would make a perfect couple. Barbara shouts at Brock and her two friends pout, but Lucy blushes happily. Impressed at her battle skills, Ash tells Pikachu to use , but is pushed away by Milotic's own Iron Tail attack. Pikachu tries a , but Milotic responds with and Hydro Pump consecutively, repelling Pikachu. As Milotic is about to use Iron Tail again, Pikachu sprints into a , landing a direct hit. Before Pikachu can use Quick Attack to finish it off, Milotic’s knocks Pikachu back. Lucy commands Milotic to use Twister once again, so Ash orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on himself before heading directly into it and using Volt Tackle at maximum power. Pikachu rushes through the Twister and collides into Milotic's tail, causing an explosion. Milotic falls to the ground, surrounded by static and knocked out. The referee renders Milotic unable to battle and victory goes to Ash. Lucy and Ash shake hands and thank each other for a great battle. For winning, Lucy awards Ash the Luck Symbol.
Scott reminds Ash that his next Frontier battle will be at the Battle Palace. Max quickly checks his PokéNav, and informs everyone that the Battle Palace is on Metallica Island, near Seafoam Islands. May is particularly excited, admitting that it has been a while since they last traveled across water. Before they leave, Brock grasps Lucy's hands and asks if she would consider joining them, making the Pike Queen blush. Max pulls Brock away as the group leaves for the next Battle Frontier facility. Scott, Barbara and her friends wave them goodbye.
Later, Lucy returns house where she is greeted by various Pokémon including , , and several others. She hugs them and blushes, saying that she met someone today with eyes that reminded her of them.
==Major events==
* and arrive at the Battle Pike and meet Pike Queen Lucy, the fourth Frontier Brain.
* Ash battles Lucy and wins, earning the Luck Symbol.
* Ash learns that the next facility, the Battle Palace, is on Metallica Island near the Seafoam Islands.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Lucy
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Max
* Jessie
* James
* Lucy
* Scott
* Barbara 
* Female referee 
* Two female students
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* () 
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
* (Lucy's)
==Trivia==
* May's Eevee is added to the opening credits.
* The L·O·V·E·L·Y ~Dreaming LOVELY BOY~ instrumental and Pokémon Symphonic Medley is used as background music.
* At first, Barbara does Max's usual job of dragging 's ear in this episode, while Max does it himself later.
===Errors===
* In the scene in which Lucy's students were congratulating her after blasting off, Barbara's belly button is stretched down.
* The first time uses on , it attacks from the left. However, after it makes contact, it appears as if it attacked from the right instead.
* Right before Donphan fires at Seviper, the underside of Donphan's trunk is colored the same as its skin.
* The student with the yellow tank top's shirt straps disappear during the close up shots of her and the other students in the Battle Pike. However, it may be hidden by her hair.
* Max states that will increase in power if uses again. This is incorrect, since what truly causes Facade to power up is its user being infected with a status condition, and Volt Tackle only has a chance to its target and not a guarantee. In fact, Volt Tackle was unable to cause paralysis at all until Generation IV, yet was paralyzed by it.
* In the English dub:
** When the title appears, it is duplicated.
** The Seafoam Islands are incorrectly referred to as .
===Dub edits===
* The English dub implies Barbara is Lucy's sister. In the original Japanese version, the term used to indicate this is "onee-san", which is also a way of showing respect to another woman.
* In the MarvelHQ dub, when Brock cheers for Lucy and then cheers for both Lucy and Ash, Max scolds him by saying, "Don't change parties like a politician."
==In other languages==
158
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yoshitaka Fujimoto
Category:Episodes directed by Yoshito Hata
Category:Episodes animated by Izumi Shimura
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Brock
Category:Episodes with Frontier Brain challenges
Category:Episodes in which Ash receives a Frontier Symbol
de:Flotte Lotte
es:EP435
fr:AG158
it:RZ158
ja:AG編第158話
zh:宝可梦 超世代 第157集