All you have to do is keep believing in yourself!
— Ash to Gligar
Original Title: Gligar! Wings of Friendship!
Original Airdate: July 3, 2008
US Airdate: December 13, 2008
Puppy-Dog Eyes can only take you so far.
Gligar is having difficulty advancing further. Gary arrives, offering Ash a Razor Fang so Gligar can evolve into Gliscor. Ash decides to use it as an incentive to help Gligar improve its moves. They'll need to move quick when Ash and Gligar are kidnapped by Team Rocket.
Tropes
- An Aesop: Nothing is impossible as long someone believes in him-/herself.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Averted by Team Rocket when Gary calls them lame:Dawn and Brock: Team Rocket!Gary: Don't you guys EVER get tired of being lame?Team Rocket: SILENCE!Meowth: Check out our Gliscor Bot!
- Both Sides Have a Point: Ash was right to argue that if he became too soft on Gligar, it would end up spoiled. Brock rightfully retorts that being too tough on Gligar won't help either.
- Call-Back: As Dawn brought up, one of the main reasons to why Ash's Gligar is afraid of battling was because of being on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle from Paul's Gliscor back in the episode "Chim-Charred."
- Crash-Into Hello: Gligar does this to Ash in the beginning of the episode.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Ash's Gligar/Gliscor.
- Flashback Cut: Two appear in this episode: one about Ash's Gligar suffering its first defeat in battle against Paul's Gliscor, and another one about Ash and Pikachu recognizing Azelf's spirit at Lake Valor during the Wallace Cup.
- The Glomp: Gliscor does this to Ash after defeating Team Rocket's Gliscor Bot.
- Humongous Mecha: The Gliscor Bot.
- MacGuffin: The Razor Fang, which allows Gligar to evolve into Gliscor.
- Mood Whiplash: If one looks closely when Gligar is about to use Steel Wing to knock down a tree on the first try, Gligar immediately snaps out of its nervousness.
- Oh, Crap!: Ash takes a moment to appreciate Gliscor's evolution before realizing he's still falling to his death.
- Pun-Based Title: Most dubbed titles are based on the pun "fighting fire with fire".
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Gligar shows these multiple times, whether it's scared of battling or hurt.
- Running Gag: Ash getting glomped by Gligar.
- Single-Stroke Battle: Both Ash's Gliscor and Team Rocket's Gliscor Bot's Steel Wings clash against each other, only for the former's Steel Wing to slice the Gliscor Bot in half.
- Spoiler Title: In the Japanese version; spoiling that Gligar evolves.
- Took a Level in Badass: Ash's Gligar perfects X-Scissor and evolves into Gliscor.
