New episode title(s) has/have been added to the database. Title: 決戦ドンバトル！サトシ対アイリス!!/Kessen Don Battle! Satoshi tai Iris!!. Please comment below! Thanks, your friendly PM.Net AnimeBot

Cant Wait For The Battle!

I thought Satoshi was going to win this one the way they let Pikachu endure so long so it was good to see Iris win this. I feel as though a rematch between them will end up being a 3-on-3 which Satoshi will end up winning.

Nyarth's plan seems to get Pikachu as their trump card to help Rocket Gang some how so will have to wait and find out what happens there over the next few episodes.

A translation of the Rocket scene, for the convenience of those people having silly ideas that Nyarth getting fired and joining Satoshi and friends is somehow not a ruse:

*The Rockets are studying a map*
Musashi: We are here. The Musical Hall is here.
Kojiro: The Subway Station is here, and the drawbridge is here.
Nyarth: The plan is already in its final stage. There's one more trump card needed for absolute perfection, though.
Musashi: One more trump card? What do you mean?
Nyarth: Just leave it to me.

...yeah, spells it out pretty clearly, doesn't it?

Is it possible to say that Iris is the strongest female trainer at only 45 eps into her respective series?

At this point in other sagas, May and Dawn were still beginning trainers, and Misty was losing battles right and left and more or less lost to Ash in Cerulean.

Excadrill alone seems much stronger than any pokemon Misty/May/Dawn ever had.

Definitely, but she's also the only female trainer who had notable experience prior to the first episode she appeared in, so that's to be expected.

I thought so, too. Though I'm a bit disappointed that Satoshi lost, at least I was relieved it wasn't a silly defeat, like in the first episode, against Shootie. Doryuzu is indeed Iris's strongest Pokémon. And what's more, with this victory, Iris really stands out against the other female side-kicks, and she's getting some love from the writers, at least!

And besides the unavoidable 3vs3 rematch, I hope we'll get a full 6vs6 match near the end of the series. I'm also curious about the last gym battle... will it be against Iris, or against the other Gym Leader?

So, a geat episode, and it looks like I'm gonna love the next few episodes... I've always enjoyed Nyarth-centered episode quite a lot, but those looks really original and unique. Besides, rarely had Nyarth played such an important role in the series. Looks like the writers are really trying not to forget to give some character development to everyone, which is a really good thing in my opinion. It really makes the overall story much more enjoyable, a bit less predictable, and less a repeat of previous series plots. So, I'm really looking forward to those next few episodes.

I should also add that the series's pace has quite considerable slowed down, as opposed to the beginning of the series, where Satoshi got badges faster than all previous series (except the first one, maybe). It's now been while since they started heading toward that next city... :)

I'm not yet at that point in the games, but isn't Shaga the Gym Leader in White too, he just allows his apprentice Iris to battle you for the badge instead of doing it himself?

If that's the case, I can see that happening in the anime, too.

I played Pokémon White, and as far as I can remember, Iris IS the gym leader, not a mere apprentice (actually, it doesn't change much, since both leaders have the exact same Pokémon). But yeah, I'm pretty sure Iris will become a gym leader by the end of the series, at the conlusion of her training as Dragon Master with Satoshi and Dent.

That sure would make for one epic battle for the last gym, that's for sure.

The English dub was a lot more accurate than the last episode but the added French was extremely annoying especially how poorly it was pronounced. I was pleasantly surprised that they left 'Best Wishes Instrumental' in the English dub. I thought for sure that wouldn't make it through the international licensing agreements for BGM.

Link to Edits: http://www.pocketmonsters.net/episodes/1285#Edits