BW049

Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader! (Japanese: ジムリーダーはカリスマモデル！カミツレ登場！！ The Gym Leader is a Charisma Model! Appears!!) is the 49th episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and the 706th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 22, 2011 and in the United States on February 18, 2012 as the start of the fifteenth season, Pokémon Black & White: Rival Destinies. 
==Blurb==
In Nimbasa City, our heroes run into their old friend Bianca, who’s planning to challenge the Gym Leader, Elesa. Bianca tells her friends that Elesa is also a supermodel, and takes them to one of her fashion shows so they can check out her style before the battle!
After the show, they gather at the Gym, where they discover Bianca’s dad waiting for them. He’s decided that Bianca isn’t ready for her journey and wants to take her home. She points out that he started his own journey as a Pokémon Trainer when he was young, but he won’t listen. At Elesa’s suggestion, Bianca makes a deal with her father: if she can beat the Gym Leader, she gets to continue her journey, but if she loses, she’ll have to go home with him.
Unfortunately, Elesa’s powerful Zebstrika is more than a match for Bianca’s team. She sadly makes plans to leave with her father, but first Ash tries to convince him to let her stay. When words don’t work, he decides to challenge Bianca’s dad to a Pokémon battle instead. The stakes are similar: if Ash wins, Bianca gets to keep traveling with them…but if Ash loses, both he and Bianca have to go home!
It turns out Bianca’s dad has quite a reputation as a powerful Trainer—in his younger days, he was known as the Red Meteor, and loved to battle with his Darmanitan, the Red Flash! Ash and Oshawott take them on, and during a lull in the battle (with some help from Iris and Cilan), he tells Bianca’s dad about all the good times they’ve had traveling together as friends.
Bianca’s father ends up winning, but the battle and Ash’s stories of their travels have reminded him of his own journey. He changes his mind and advises Ash and Bianca to keep traveling and growing stronger together.
So Bianca’s journey continues, thanks to our heroes—and Ash gets ready for his own battle with Gym Leader Elesa!
==Plot==
As , , and depart from the Battle Subway, Ash is eager to finally challenge the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City. As they arrive at the Nimbasa Gym, runs in from out of nowhere and knocks Ash into a nearby fountain. Bianca has also arrived to challenge the Gym Leader, a well-known model in Unova, Elesa. Unfortunately as they approach the doors, the Gym isn’t open. A notice nearby says that Elesa is in a Fashion Show at the moment. Rather than just stand outside Ash, Cilan, Iris, and Bianca decide to go see her show. At the show Elesa struts down the runway in the latest Unova fashion. While everyone is amazed by her beauty, Elesa notices in the crowd and jumps down to see him. She gleefully looks at Pikachu stating it's the first time she's seen a real one in person. Ash and friends introduce themselves to her, and Bianca and Ash announce that they wish to battle her for the , which Elesa accepts.
Later Ash and return to the Gym, now open. After riding a rollercoaster to enter the Gym battlefield where Elesa welcomes everyone. She decides to battle Bianca first since she reserved her battle beforehand. Elesa tells Bianca that someone has been waiting for her. As a pair of doors open, and Bianca's father walks in, having arrived at Nimbasa to bring Bianca back home but Bianca doesn't want to go back yet. Elesa suggests that Bianca should battle her to show how much she's grown since she started. However her father tells her that if she loses to Elesa, she must return home, which she accepts, much to Ash's surprise. Without any further delay, Elesa guides Bianca to the field while her father, Ash, Cilan, and Iris head to the sidelines to watch the battle. The referee announces that the battle will be a three-on-three match.
Elesa sends out a . Bianca sends out her newest Pokémon, a , which Ash promptly checks with his Pokédex. Bianca starts off the battle by having Shelmet use , but Zebstrika dodges. Shelmet then fires multiple s but Zebstrika's speed allows it to dodge all of them. Elesa commands Zebstrika to use which hits Shelmet. Zebstrika finishes Shelmet with a . Next Bianca chooses . She starts off with a followed by but Zebstrika evades. Zebstrika, once again, unleashes a Flame Charge which knocks Minccino down. Minccino stands back and uses which manages to hit Zebstrika. However Zebstrika uses Flame Charge to escape and lands a Double Kick, knocking out Minccino.
Down to her last Pokémon, Bianca sends out her . Pignite starts off with a . Zebstrika dodges then tries to attack Pignite with a Double Kick, which Pignite evades. Pignite uses a Flame Charge of his own which manages to knock Zebstrika down to the ground. Pignite follows up with a Flamethrower but Zebstrika uses its Flame Charge, cutting through the flames and knocking Pignite to the floor. Zebstrika tries to Double Kick, but Pignite leaps up and lands a attack on his opponent. Pignite uses Flamethrower again and Zebstrika counters it again with Flame Charge. Elesa decides to wrap up the match and has Zebstrika use which, after an explosive hit, knocks out Pignite. Bianca has lost the match.
Ash, Cilan, and Iris are saddened by the result, knowing that Bianca would have to return home now. Outside of the Gym, Bianca's father praises his daughter for doing her best, but still plans on taking her home. Bianca still doesn't want to go home despite the promise. Bianca calls out her Shelmet to make sure it's okay. Iris gives it some medicine. Elesa exits the Gym and invites all of them to go to the Pokémon Center first to heal their Pokémon. After lunch, Bianca's father decides it's time to return home, but Ash tries to stand up for Bianca. Bianca's father reminds him about the recent Pokémon Center thefts, where Bianca's Pokémon were also stolen by . Worried that such misfortunes may fall upon Bianca, he wants her to wait until she is a little older and a little calmer. Bianca's father begins to leave but Iris and Cilan tell Ash to challenge Bianca's father to a Pokémon battle. If he wins Bianca can continue to travel. However if Ash loses, he must return to Pallet Town. Despite the extreme wager, Ash accepts.
Elesa referees the match, making it a one-on-one battle. Bianca's father admits that Ash has guts, then changes into his battle suit, revealing that in the past he was referred as the "Red Meteor" when he traveled as a Trainer. He calls out his "Red Flash", a . Suddenly pops out of his to battle which Ash happily agrees. Darmanitan disengages its Zen Mode and starts off the battle by using Flamethrower which hits Oshawott. Oshawott uses but Darmanitan dodges. Oshawott tries to Darmanitan, but it counters with . Oshawott uses but Darmanitan dodges. Oshawott uses , flying past Darmanitan’s counter Fire Punch, and lands a hit. Darmanitan uses multiple Fire Punches which, after a few misses, manage to hit Oshawott. Oshawott is tired; Bianca doesn't want to see anymore. She tells Ash that he doesn't have to risk going back home to fight for her to continue traveling. Bianca's father asks why Ash is fighting for her despite the huge risk. Ash tells him that Bianca is his friend. Ash, Iris, and Cilan tell him about all of the times they've crossed paths during their journeys and how important she is to them now as their friend. Bianca's father smiles and decides to wrap up the battle. He orders Darmanitan to use while Ash has Oshawott use Aqua Jet. After the two attacks collide and the steam disperses, Darmanitan is standing just fine but Oshawott is knocked out. Despite Ash losing the match, Bianca's father seems to have had a change of heart and tells Ash that he doesn't need to return to Kanto. By battling Ash, Bianca's father remembers when he used to travel around. He encourages Ash to continue to grow stronger. Most importantly he approaches his daughter and tells her it's okay for her to continue her journey through Unova as long as she has friends like Ash, Iris, and Cilan. Bianca promptly thanks her father and hugs him.
Bianca decides that she'll get stronger, so she gives her last goodbyes before running off to Desert Resort to train further. Iris notices that Bianca has left her bag behind, and Bianca's father grabs her bag and leaves to give it to her. Ash, Iris, and Cilan are all relieved that Bianca is able to travel. Elesa approaches Ash and promises to battle him tomorrow for her Gym Badge, which Ash looks forward to doing.
==Major events==
* and meet again and also meet Elesa, Nimbasa Gym's Gym Leader.
* Bianca's father appears to take his daughter home with him, not wanting her to continue her Pokémon journey.
* Bianca is revealed to have obtained a .
* Bianca has a Gym with Elesa but loses.
* Ash has a battle with Bianca's father and loses.
* Bianca's father decides to allow her to keep traveling.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Elesa
* Bianca's father
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Nurse Joy
* Elesa
* 
* Bianca's father
* Female referee
* Elesa's fans
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Elesa's)
* ()
* ()
* ('s; debut)
* (Bianca's father's)
==Trivia==
* Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: 
* This is the season premiere of Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies.
* This episode reveals that 's were among those stole from the Pokémon Center in the previous two episodes.
* In the dub, starting with this episode, the season's logo is fully localized into Polish (which is also used during Who's That Pokémon? segment), where two previous seasons had the Polish season name under the English logo as a subtitle.
===Errors===
* During the final shot of and Elesa, Elesa's black leggings are missing.
* In the English dub, Ash calls by its Japanese name, Shell Blade, during his with Bianca's father.
* In the previous episode, Emmet already revealed the Gym Leader as Elesa. Despite this, asks who the Gym Leader is in the beginning.
File:BW049 Error.png|Elesa's missing leggings
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
049
Category:Episodes written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Takaomi Kanasaki
Category:Episodes directed by Fumihiro Yoshimura
Category:Episodes animated by Takashi Shinohara
Category:Episodes focusing on Bianca
Category:Episodes with Gym battles
de:Kamilla, die elektrisierende Arenaleiterin!
es:EP711
fr:NB049
it:NB049
ja:BW編第49話
zh:宝可梦 超级愿望 第49集