DP184

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← DP183 : League Unleashed!
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP185 : Working on a Right Move! ⊟
Casting a Paul on Barry!
DP184.png
DP184   EP650
シンオウリーグ三回戦！シンジ対ジュン！！
Sinnoh League Third Round! Shinji VS Jun!!
First broadcast
Japan July 15, 2010
United States December 4, 2010
English themes
Opening We Will Carry On!
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening 「サイコー・エブリディ！」（ＢＡＮＤ　ＶＥＲＳＩＯＮ）
Ending 君の胸にＬａＬａＬａ
Credits
Animation Team Kato
Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura
Storyboard 金崎貴臣 Takaomi Kanasaki
Assistant director 大庭秀昭 Hideaki Ōba
Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura
No additional credits are available at this time.

Casting a Paul on Barry! (Japanese: シンオウリーグ三回戦！シンジ対ジュン！！ Sinnoh League Third Round! Shinji VS Jun!!) is the 184th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 650th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It aired in Japan on July 15, 2010 and in the United States on December 4, 2010.

201
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
201

Blurb

As Ash prepares to battle Conway in the third round of the Sinnoh League tournament at Lily of the Valley Island, Barry is getting ready to battle Paul. In his usual bombastic way, Barry informs Paul that their match will surely decide the top Trainer, while Paul is wary of being overconfident.

The third round is a three-on-three battle, and first up, it’s Barry’s Skarmory against Paul’s Magmortar. Although Barry starts out strong by using Spikes to lay a trap, Magmortar quickly defeats Skarmory, so Barry brings out Hitmonlee. Paul then switches to Ursaring, who is powerful enough to withstand Hitmonlee’s repeated attacks.

Barry has only one Pokémon left, and it’s his beloved Empoleon. Though Empoleon shows great speed and strength, it can’t achieve victory over Paul’s powerful Electivire, and Paul is the victor!

Meanwhile, Team Rocket’s snack shop, thanks to a brainstorm from James, has expanded to sell souvenirs featuring all the Pokémon stars of the third round. The Electivire candy bars are particularly popular!

We leave our heroes pondering Ash’s upcoming battle with Conway, who keeps mysteriously appearing for mere seconds at a time and dropping hints about his “secret strategy”...

Plot

As the Lily of the Valley Conference continues, Ash wins his second-round match after Snorlax uses Body Slam to defeat his opponent's Grumpig. With the second round of battles over, the battling pairs for the third round are shown: Conway will be battling Ash, and Barry is up against Paul. Outside the stadium, Ash and his friends are looking up at the screen. Conway appears out of nowhere again and whispers something, causing Dawn to walk back in shock and accidentally bump into Barry. Barry scolds Dawn for making him fall, and Dawn tells him that he shouldn't be running. The two start to fight, but Brock stops them. Barry explains that he is looking for Paul, determined to let him know what he is up against. Dawn, who is well aware of Paul's coldness, advises Barry against it, but Barry ignores her and runs off. Meanwhile, Team Rocket attempts to sell their food and toy combo deals to the crowds, however, the passing trade doesn't stop. Jessie is quick to blame the quality of the Meowth figurine, though Meowth denies that, and says that the Jessilina figurine is not nice. Both of them start to quarrel, though James suggests they try to learn why they aren't connecting to the customers. Together the trio point to the sky, determined to make their stall a resounding success.

By evening, Barry finally finds Paul, who is busy looking up Barry’s data for their upcoming match. Barry is thrilled by this development and interprets it as Paul feeling threatened by his strength. Barry warns him, however, that the computer data is all outdated as he is always improving. Paul quickly shuts down the computer and orders Barry to reassess his overconfidence, as it is only a third-round battle, before leaving. After Paul leaves, Barry checks out Paul's data but admits it might be outdated. Ash also researches Conway, with the analysis revealing his impulsive nature and multi-skilled battle strategy. As Dawn mentions this makes him rather unpredictable, Conway startles everyone when he makes an appearance. Conway reveals that he has been looking up Tobias, a Trainer who has won the previous rounds and all eight of his Gym Badges with only his Darkrai. Conway goes away as Barry and Ash rush outside to burn off their excitement.

The next day, Paul and Barry's battle begins on a rock field. Barry chooses Skarmory as his first Pokémon and Paul chooses Magmortar. Barry starts the battle by having Skarmory spread Spikes all over Paul's side of the field, a strategy that will come into play anytime Paul switches Pokémon. Paul scores a one-hit KO with Magmortar's Flamethrower, taking Skarmory out immediately. Barry thanks his Skarmory and returns it to its Poké Ball, before sending out his Empoleon. Empoleon uses Hydro Cannon on Magmortar, injuring it. Despite knowing that his Pokémon will be injured under the effects of Spikes, Paul calls back Magmortar and sends out Ursaring, who immediately suffers damage from Spikes.

Barry opts for the type advantage and switches Empoleon for his Fighting-type Hitmonlee. Paul tells Ursaring to use Bulk Up to increase its offense and defense. Hitmonlee uses Mega Kick, which lands a solid hit. Ursaring fires back with Hammer Arm, but Hitmonlee dodges it by jumping on a rock. Ursaring uses Slash and Barry tells Hitmonlee to dodge them all. Hitmonlee lands several blows with Close Combat. Ursaring replies with Hammer Arm again, sending Hitmonlee flying backward. As Hitmonlee is about to crash into a rock, Barry offers his encouragement, and Hitmonlee bounces back with a High Jump Kick, scoring another successful hit. Paul calls for a Focus Blast. Although Hitmonlee attempts to dodge it by jumping behind a rock, the impact of the attack on the rock flings Hitmonlee back. Ursaring uses Hammer Arm again, and Hitmonlee counters it by using Blaze Kick, burning Ursaring. This, however, triggers Ursaring's Guts Ability, and it uses Hammer Arm to counter Hitmonlee's second Blaze Kick. The strong impact causes an explosion, and after the smoke fades, Hitmonlee collapses in defeat.

Barry is down to his last Pokémon and calls out Empoleon again. Paul tells Ursaring to use Slash while Barry calls for Empoleon to use Drill Peck. Both attacks are evenly matched and both sides take damage. Ursaring uses Focus Blast, but Barry is prepared for this and has Empoleon use Steel Wing to reflect the attack, much to Paul's shock, resulting in Ursaring taking super-effective damage from its own move. Now having the upper hand, Barry feels much more confident, but to his surprise, Paul calls Ursaring back and sends out his newly evolved Electivire, who immediately suffers the effect of Spikes. As Dawn looks Electivire up on her Pokédex, Brock remains impressed with Paul's levelheadedness and desire for total victory, while Dawn casts doubt on Barry's ability to overcome Electivire with Empoleon, due to the former's type advantage. Empoleon starts off strong with a Hyper Beam and Electivire counters it with Thunder. The attacks collide and cause a massive explosion. As the smoke clears, Empoleon is breathing heavily, needing to recharge after using Hyper Beam. Electivire uses Thunder Punch and Barry tells Empoleon to dodge it, which it barely manages to do. Paul orders Electivire to continue using Thunder Punch, but Empoleon dodges them all. When Empoleon gets cornered, Electivire uses Giga Impact, striking Empoleon at point-blank range. As Empoleon manages to stand up, Electivire prepares another Thunder Punch. Empoleon fails to dodge the attack this time and a direct hit sends it flying back, smashing through numerous rocks in the process. Empoleon tries to get up, but it is clear it is nearly at the end of its rope. Barry worries for his partner but calms himself and yells for Empoleon to continue doing its best. Empoleon hears the passionate cry and is suddenly surrounded by a blue aura, much to the shock of Barry and Paul. Ash instantly recognizes the aura as Empoleon's Torrent Ability having been activated, increasing the strength of its Water-type attacks since its stamina is low. With Torrent's boost, Empoleon fires a massive Hydro Cannon, which proves strong enough to tear through the rocky terrain of the field with ease. Ash, Brock, and Dawn are all pleased with this breakthrough, though Paul has Electivire use Protect to shield itself from the attack. Barry is incensed that Paul would use Protect, and since Empoleon has to recharge from the attack, this allows Electivire to attack with Thunder. As Electivire finishes its attack, Empoleon faints while still standing, and Paul is declared the victor with a decisive 3-0 win over Barry.

After spotting a passing Murkrow, James comes up with an idea to bring customers in – customized merchandise. He later returns to the store, bringing a big sack of things. Jessie and Meowth remove the ropes quickly. They begin to promote their merchandise, which consists of various memorabilia of Paul's and Barry's Pokémon. A crowd appears, wanting to buy their wares. Meanwhile, as Paul is about to leave, Barry calls out to him. Though Barry is sad he lost, he has no regrets and wishes to battle Paul again in the future. Paul states that their battle was great and agrees to Barry's request. Barry is thrilled, admitting he has never been so fired up. He tells Ash that he will cheer for him as he takes on Conway. Conway makes another creepy appearance, warning Ash that his secret strategy will defeat Ash. Ash stares him down, determined that he will be victorious in the third round.

Major events

Paul facing Barry
For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

The Jessilina doll, as well as other merchandise
  • There is no Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination following this episode.
  • This episode was the first to air in Japan after the theatrical release of M13.
  • This episode marks the first time that the Torrent Ability is shown in the animated series.
    • Also, as of this episode, all three first partner Pokémon-exclusive Abilities have been seen in the animated series.
    • In addition, this is the only episode to date to feature Torrent.
  • This is the first time that Barry has been revealed to have a Pokémon that his game counterpart does not have.
  • When Barry's Skarmory used Spikes in this episode, it has the same effect as in the games (causing damage only to Pokémon switching into battle), as opposed to previous episodes when Spikes would instead causing damage directly against the opposing Pokémon.
  • When Team Rocket is selling their merchandise, they have a doll of Jessilina with a lollipop, which she had been seen with in the ending theme Message of the Wind.
  • This episode marks the first time when the move Blaze Kick is used by another species of Pokémon than Blaziken.
  • At one point, a Murkrow flies by Meowth after he said that "it's a party at the stadium while out here you can hear paint dry." This is a reference to a common trope in Japanese media, where a crow flies by a character after the character says something very obvious or stupid.
  • This episode marks the last time to date in which Ash has used Snorlax in an onscreen battle.
  • The episode's English dub title may be a pun on "casting a pall on Barry".

Errors

  • Barry says that Skarmory's Spikes will affect Paul's substituted Pokémon no matter which one he chooses. This is incorrect, as Flying-types and Pokémon with Levitate are immune to the effects of Spikes.
  • Dawn's Pokédex refers to Hitmonlee as the evolved form of Tyrogue, although he is actually an evolved form of Tyrogue, since Tyrogue can also evolve into Hitmonchan or Hitmontop.
  • After Empoleon activates Torrent, Barry incorrectly refers to Hydro Cannon as Hydro Pump.
  • When Empoleon uses Hydro Cannon against Electivire, the move is shown destroying rocks in its path. However, when Hitmonlee and Ursaring were battling, there weren't any rocks in their path.
  • In the Brazilian dub, when Electivire deals the blow that pushes Empoleon into activating Torrent, Paul refers to Thunder Punch as Raio do Trovão instead of Soco do Trovão.

Dub edits

  • In the English dub, Barry says that he and Paul are the top two contenders in the tournament and are going head to head. In the Japanese version, Barry says that the battle between them will be bigger than the Big Bang theory.
  • In the Japanese version, one of the new items Team Rocket is selling is a beckoning cat. In the English dub, it is called a Meowth doll.
  • In the English dub, Barry says that the information about Paul on the computer is outdated. In the Japanese version, he says past data is the past, and that no matter how much he studies Paul's old battles, it won't help if Paul uses new Pokémon.
  • In the English dub, the Pokédex says that Skarmory can fly at speeds over 100 mph. In the Japanese version, it can fly over 300 km per hour, which is around 186 mph.
  • In the English dub, when talking about Guts, Brock says that status conditions like Poison or Burn can activate the ability. In the Japanese version, he says Paralysis and Poison.
  • In the English dub, near the end of the episode, Team Rocket sells wooden Ursaring figurines, Electivire bars, and Empoleon inner tubes. In the Japanese version, the Electivire merchandise is Okoshi or rice cakes.

In other languages



← DP183 : League Unleashed!
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP185 : Working on a Right Move! ⊟
Project Anime logo.png This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.
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