DP029

The Champ Twins! (Japanese: サトシとヒカリ！タッグバトルで大丈夫！？ and ! Any Need to Worry in a Tag Battle!?) is the 29th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 495th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on April 12, 2007 as part of a one-hour special with DP028, and in the United States on September 22, 2007.
==Blurb==
Ash and his friends have come across a newsworthy diversion: two notorious Pokémon Trainers who've won 16 battles in a row, attracting the attention of Rhonda the reporter and her Sinnoh Now news team. Ash wants to battle these Champ Twins, Bryan and Ryan, but they only have tag battles. So while the cameras are rolling, Ash and Dawn team up to battle Bryan's Croconaw and Ryan's Quilava with Turtwig and Piplup.
Ash and Dawn are eager to show their stuff, but their teamwork could use much more work! The two of them don't coordinate moves so soon Piplup and Turtwig are getting in each other's way, and once Ash and Dawn are arguing too, the battle's as good as lost. Bryan and Ryan win the battle, which only starts another argument between Ash and Dawn—and Turtwig and Piplup too! Once they come to their senses, they apologize and resolve to take on the Champ Twins again, this time as a real tag team.
One small problem with this plan: Team Rocket has lured the Champ Twins into a pit trap and stolen their Pokémon! When Ash and Dawn discover the theft, they show off their new teamwork and defeat Team Rocket to get Croconaw and Quilava back. Now Ash and Dawn can battle the Champ Twins again, and this time their improved coordination wins the day!
==Plot==
On their way to Eterna City, and are approached by Sinnoh Now reporter . explains to Ash that Sinnoh Now is the most popular television show in the whole Sinnoh region. Rhonda says that she is doing a news story on a Pokémon Training Camp ahead and also tells them that her main focus is two s that truly test the strength of all their challengers. Suddenly, however, she is interrupted by her boom operator, , who drops the microphone on her head. Rhonda scolds Jack for his incompetence, after which Jessie appears in front of the camera with a blatant cowgirl disguise, with James and in similar disguises nearby. After showing off in front of the camera for a while, Jessie is dragged off by one of the Sinnoh Now staff.
The group arrives at the camp, and come across two Trainers who are talking about their recent loss to the two Trainers that Rhonda had mentioned before. Whilst searching for them, the group see a few Pokémon who had just lost against two twin boys with a and a . They introduce themselves as the "Champ Twins", Ryan and Bryan. When requested to battle, they tell Ash that they only participate in Tag Battles. After provides an explanation, Dawn agrees to pair up with Ash. Ash and Dawn send out and , respectively, and are ready to battle when the Sinnoh Now staff appear again to introduce the twins to the camera. Jack drops the microphone on Rhonda's head again, who angrily warns him not to do it again. The Trainers agree to let Rhonda film the battle.
Ryan's Quilava begins the battle by using , which Ash's Turtwig dodges. Quilava attacks again, but this time when Turtwig dodges, it accidentally runs into Dawn's Piplup. Ash and Dawn start arguing over the knock over, and in their haste to recover, Piplup trips and collides with Turtwig. The two Trainers argue even more, with their Pokémon exchanging attacks. Even when Bryan's Croconaw attacks them both with , they continue to attack each other. Croconaw and Quilava attack again, until both Turtwig and Piplup are knocked out, and the twins are declared the winners, extending their winning streak to 17 in a row.
Afterwards, Ash and Dawn continue to argue, and as do their Pokémon. ,who is having none of it, uses its to break up the brawl, causing Turtwig and Piplup to make up. After some encouragement from and their Pokémon, Ash and Dawn apologize to each other. The two agree to battle the twins again, and try to work out a strategy.
Meanwhile, is sitting in the forest, and sets Ryan and Bryan's Croconaw and Quilava as their next targets. Later, Ryan and Bryan walk through the forest, and see lots of fruit arranged on a table. They run towards it, when suddenly they fall into a pit trap. Team Rocket arrives in their balloon, reciting their , then they grab the twins' Pokémon. The twins pursue Team Rocket, and when they encounter Ash and his friends, they tell them that their Pokémon had just been stolen. Ash sends out his , who punctures the balloon with its . The situation piques Rhonda's interests, so she orders the camera keep rolling. When the group catch up with Team Rocket, Jessie and James send out and to battle. Seviper and Carnivine attack, but Turtwig and Piplup dodge and strike back with a and combo, sending Team Rocket blasting off.
Ash and Dawn begin their rematch against the Champ Twins, but this time combining their moves and dodging most of the twins' attacks, with Rhonda reporting all the while. Quilava spins into action with Flame Wheel, and after Turtwig dodges, Dawn has Piplup counter with a Bubble Beam. Croconaw leaps up to dodge Turtwig's , but is sturck by Piplup's Bubble Beam instead. After and miss their marks, Ryan calls for a Flame Wheel which strikes its opponents. Turtwig and Piplup narrowly dodge Quilava's attack. Croconaw follows up with a Water Gun, though Turtwig uses Razor Leaf to combat it. Croconaw opts for a more powerful Hydro Pump, but Turtwig carries Piplup to safety and the attacks misses. Piplup takes a direct Flamethrower as he charges up his attack, retaliating against Quilava. After taking a Bite attack from Croconaw, Turtwig uses to replenish its health. As it tries to recover, Croconaw aims a Hydro Pump at it, though Piplup intervenes with a Bubble Beam to protect his ally. Turtwig is soon back to full and tosses Croconaw away using Bite. Piplup follows up with a , trapping Quilava in the vortex. Turtwig s Croconaw into Whirlpool before attacking the Champ Twins' Pokémon with a Razor Leaf. The double attack defeats Quilava and Croconaw, breaking Bryan and Ryan's winning streak. The twins shake hands with their opponents and rush off into the forest to build up another streak. Rhonda assures the group that she is only going the air the second battle because it was more action-packed, to which Ash and Dawn are pleased.
==Major events==
* and have their first Tag Battle together.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Sinnoh Now staff
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====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
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* Jessie
* James
* Ryan and Bryan
* Sinnoh Now staff
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** Cameraman
** Assistant
* s
===Pokémon===
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* ()
* (Ryan's)
* (Bryan's)
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==Trivia==
* Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia: Pokémon food
** Pokémon senryū: かくしあじ　あいじょうたっぷり　ポケモンフーズ Kakushi aji, aijō tappuri, Pokémon fūzu. "Filled with the secret ingredient of love; that's Pokémon food."
* This episode returns to the preview cold open format used in earlier episodes in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
* Music from the instrumental version of By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~, Pokémon Symphonic Medley, and the TV version of Ready Go!, as well as music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, are used as background music.
* The English dub title is a pun on the animated TV series .
* This episode is similar to The Bicker the Better in a lot of ways; except and weren't considered in a romantic relationship, and they forgave each other quickly.
* Jessie's Wobbuffet doesn't appear in this episode.
* Despite having made its debut in Mother of All Battles, 231 episodes ago, this is the first time that has received a Pokédex entry in the animated series.
* This is the first time that Ash's Turtwig has successfully completed the use of without being interrupted since he was caught.
===Errors===
* During the first in the dub, Ryan orders to use "Miotacz Promieni" instead of "".
** Also, during the rematch, is mistakenly called Flamethrower once.
===Dub edits===
* In the English dub, Ryan and Bryan call themselves "The Champ Twins". They don't have a nickname in the original Japanese version; instead, they just say that they are brothers and what their names are.
* In the English dub, when the cameraman hits in the head with the boom mic, she tells him that she will send him back to the mailroom. In the original Japanese version, she just yells at him to stop hitting her with the boom mic.
==In other languages==
029
Category:Episodes written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yoshito Hata
Category:Episodes directed by Kazuomi Koga
Category:Episodes animated by Hiromi Funatsu
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Dawn
de:Die Champion-Zwillinge
es:EP498
fr:DP029
it:DP029
ja:DP編第29話
zh:宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第29集