EP032

## Summary

Alex, Salvadore, and Nikki are walking through Viridian City. They then make their way to the Viridian Gym. As they stop outside its doors, they encounter Harry. Harry boasts that he qualified for the Pokemon League, having already earned eight Badges. Disappointed and depressed that Harry will always get further and further ahead of him, Alex crouches down in a corner. Farfetch'd pats him on the head in an attempt to comfort him.

Next day, Alex enters the Viridian Gym, ready for his battle against Danny. Danny tells him that he's been waiting for another fight with Alex ever since their last battle, and Alex says he's more than willing to take Danny up on his offer! Outside of town, Team Rocket begins construction on their new secret base. Butch says that after they finish building their base, the Boss will be certain to give them a promotion. With the thoughts of corporate credit cards as their motivation, Butch and Cassidy begin working. Back at the Gym, Referee announces the rules of the match: the battle will consist of three Pokemon with no time limit. Referee signals for the match to begin and both Alex and Danny send out their first Pokemon, Danny's Diglett against Alex's Snorlax. Alex checks Diglett's data on his Pokedex. Alex orders Snorlax to use Body Slam, Diglett digs underground, avoiding it. It bursts out of the ground, hitting Snorlax. Snorlax attacks with Headbutt but misses as Diglettt dodges. Dazed, Snorlax is unable to dodge another Diglett's Dig attack, and is blasted across the arena.

As Snorlax recovers from Dig, Alex orders Snorlax to attack with Mega Kick. However, Diglett dodges this attack as well, and responds with Earthquake. The incredible earthquake hits Snorlax, so Alex recalls him and calls out Farfetch'd instead. Farfetch'd uses Fury Attack, which scores a direct hit, knocking Diglett out. Norman calls out his next Pokemon, Graveler. Dodging Farfetch'd's Cut, Graveler knocks Farfetch'd out with Tackle. With Farfetch'd down, Alex sends Snorlax back into the arena. Meanwhile, Team Rocket continues construction on their new hideout. Yelling through a megaphone, Butch orders Cassidy to work harder. She respond by dropping a box on him and telling him to help out too.

In the arena, Graveler dodges a Headbutt from Snorlax and attacks with Tackle. Snorlax blocks the attack with Mega Kick, but it hit with a surprise attack when Graveler uses Sandstorm. Nikki says that Alex should substitute Snorlax, but Salvadore tells her that if he does that, his only reserve Pokemon will be the already injured Snorlax. He has no choice but to use Snorlax as long as possible. Alex orders Snorlax to use Mega Punch, dodging a Tackle from Graveler. As Snorlax closes the distance, Danny orders Graveler to use Tackle, but Snorlax dodges. Seizing the opportunity, Snorlax attacks with Mega Kick, knocking Graveler out. However the effort is too much for Snorlax and he passes out as well, resulting in a double KO. After removing Snorlax from the battlefield, Alex and Danny send out their last remaining Pokemon, Charizard against Sandslash. Alex checks Sandslash's data on his Pokedex, and soon he realized that this Pokemon is evolved form of Danny's Sandshrew. Alex attacks first by ordering Charizard to use Brick Break, but Sandslash easily dodges the attack. Charizard attacks again with Ember, but Sandslash dodges again. Sandslash begin to attack with Poison Sting but is stopped after Charizard hits it in the face with Brick Break. The attack angers Sandslash, who attacks with powerful Fury Swipes.

Charizard dodges the attack with flying into the air. It attempts a Skull Bash attack, but Sandslash dodges again. Charizard uses Brick Break, but Sandslash blocks with a powerful Slash, which cuts through the Brick Break and sends Charizard flying. Watching Charizard struggle to its feet, Danny suggests that Alex withdraw from the match for Charizard's safety. Alex begins to consider it, but stops when Charizard indicates that it wants to keep fighting. Alex tells Charizard to show Danny what it's made out of.

Leaping back into combat, Charizard dodges Sandslash's Fury Swipes to grab it. Dodging a Slash, Charizard hits Sandslash with a powerful Ember. Danny congratulates Alex for his recovery, but tells him that he'll need more than that to beat Sandslash. He orders Sandslash to attack with Slash while Alex tells Charizard to use Brick Break. The two attack hits each other at the same time, and after a moment's pause, Sandslash falls to the ground. Shocked at his win, Alex can only stare in disbelief as Salvadore and Nikki congratulate him on his victory. Later, Danny presents Alex with the Earth Badge, citing that he earned it for beating him fair and square.

As Alex and his friends continue their journey, Alex happily looks at his eight Badges. Realizing that they don't know where the Pokemon League is, they decide to head for Pallet Town to consult Professor Oak.

## Major Events

* Alex and his friends return to Viridian City and encounter Harry again
* Harry is revealed to have won eight Badges, which means that he qualified for the Pokemon League
* Alex's Snorlax is revealed to know Body Slam, Headbutt, Mega Kick and Mega Punch
* Danny is revealed to have a Diglett and Graveler
* Danny's Sandshrew is revealed to have evolved into a Sandslash
* Danny's Sandslash is revealed to know Poison Sting and Fury Swipes
* Alex has his Gym match with Danny and wins, earning him his eighth and final Badge, Earth Badge, qualifing him for the Pokemon League
* Alex and his friends head back to Pallet Town

## Characters

### Humans

* Alex
* Nikki
* Salvadore
* Harry
* Danny
* Butch
* Cassidy

## Pokemon

* Farfetch'd (Alex's)
* Snorlax (Alex's)
* Charizard (Alex's)
* Diglett (Danny's, debut)
* Graveler (Danny's)
* Sandslash (Danny's, debut)