Episode Number: 081 (JP) , 079 (US)
US Episode Name: Friend And Foe Alike
Jap Episode Name: Sekiei Stadium! VS Hiroshi!
セキエイスタジアム！VSヒロシ！
Events: Ash loses his battle against Richie
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Ash stares out the window wondering why his next match have to be against Richie. Misty checks out the computer for information on Richie. Ash walks over to the computer. The computer says that Richie won all four rounds without losing any Pokémon. Also, Richie only used three Pokémon which are Butterfree, Charmander, and Pikachu. Those are the same types that Ash uses. Ash says that he is just as good as Richie, but Misty thinks that he must be dreaming. To Ash Richie might be a friend, but he is also a competitor.
Richie is in the Pokémon Center picking up his Pokémon from Nurse Joy. Ash walks in and says hello to Richie. Richie tells Ash that they should make this the best battle ever because they are friends. They shake on it and Richie leaves. Nurse Joy also hands Ash his Pokéballs. She tells Ash that he is lucky to be battling a friend because if Ash doesn't win, he can still be happy that his friend won. Team Rocket is spying on them from a window. James concludes that Ash and Richie are friends. Jessie tells James and Meowth that there was something that prevented her from having friends. James thinks that it was her personality, and Jessie kicks him.
The phone rings, and Misty answers it. It is Richie. He says a few nasty remarks over the phone. Misty hands the phone to Ash. Richie tells Ash to bring Pikachu outside. Richie wasn't really on the phone. It's really Jessie using a device to disguise her voice. Brock reminds Ash to not be late for his battle. Ash tells him that he's never late. Ash walks outside to look for Richie. He sees Richie standing behind the bushes. A net falls down on Ash and Pikachu. Team Rocket appears with their fake Richie that was behind the bushes. Ash tells Team Rocket that he has a battle to win. Team Rocket throws Ash into a truck, and they drive off. Misty and Brock are trying to figure out where Ash is. His battle starts in half an hour. Misty thinks that Ash already went off to the stadium. Meanwhile, Ash has flooded the truck with Squirtle. Meowth jumps onto James, and the truck crashes into a tree. The water drains out and Ash escapes.
Richie has entered the stadium, and they wait for Ash's arrival. Ash is running as fast as he can to the stadium. Team Rocket is behind him rolling on some wheels. Ash moves to the side, and Team Rocket crashes to the side. Ash sends out Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip, but that doesn't work. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt which gives Team Rocket a shock. Ash continues to run. A few seconds later, Team Rocket shows up on bikes. Weezing uses Smog which fills the area with smoke. Team Rocket tells Ash that he can hand over Pikachu or miss his battle. Ash knows that he made Richie a promise. Ash steals a bike to get to the stadium faster.
Who's That Pokémon?
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At the stadium, the battle is about to start, but Ash hasn't arrived yet. Richie wonders where Ash could be. Misty runs out in the stadium. She wants to know what he said to Ash. She hits Ricihie's foot. She calls Richie "two-faced." Richie tells Misty that he never used the phone before today. Misty sees that Richie is telling the truth. Meanwhile, Ash continues to ride the bike towards the stadium. A claw reaches down and grabs the back of the bike. Ash sends out Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto brings Pikachu to the balloon, and Pikachu shocks Team Rocket causing them to blast off again. Then Pidgeotto pulls the balloon straight to the stadium. Because Ash hasn't arrived yet, the referee walks over to delcare Richie the winner. Richie declines and tells the referee to wait a little bit longer. The referee agrees to wait only ten minutes longer. When the ten minutes are up, Ash arrives at the stadium. He says hello to Richie and the battle starts.
Richie sends out Butterfree and Ash sends out Squirtle. Both Pokémon launch a series of attacks at each other. Butterfree uses Sleep Powder which puts Squirtle to sleep. Ash tells Squirtle to get back up, but he receives no response. Butterfree wins the match. Pikachu decides to battle. It starts off with a Double-Edge attack which brings Butterfree to the ground. Pikachu then uses Thunderbolt and Butterfree faints. Richie's next Pokémon is Charmander. Pikachu does its best to dodge a series of Flamethrowers which Charmander launches. Pikachu gets scorched but continues to dodge the attacks. A final Skull Bash attack from Charmander knocks Pikachu out. Ash only has one Pokémon left. He knows its risky, but he chooses Charizard. Charizard responds by shooting powerful Flamethrower attacks at Charmander. Richie returns Charmander back into its Pokéball. Then Richie sends out Pikachu. Charizard stomps on the ground, and then it uses a Gust. Pikachu doesn't give up. It is about to attack, but Charizard is taking a nap! Ash pleas for Charizard to battle, but Charizard doesn't respond to Ash's command. Professor Oak realizes that Charizard thought that Charmander was a worth opponent, but it doesn't want to battle a Pikachu. Since Charizard refuses to battle, Richie is declared the winner.
Richie runs over to Ash. Ash extends his hand out, and they both shake hands. Ash hopes that Richie wins the next match. Brock thinks that Ash is happy for Richie. Both Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum are proud of Ash. Even though Ash has lost, his dream for becoming a Pokémon Master continues.
