"I'd like to test out this Pokémon of mine in battle. And go ahead, use more than one Pokémon if you're afraid of losing."
— Giovanni
Japanese Title: Tokiwa Gym! The Last Badge!
Original Airdate: September 17th, 1998
US Airdate: September 25th, 1999
Dude, that's messed up.
The one where... Ash gets his last badge, and we get hints of what to expect from the movie.
Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, is revealed to be the Gym Leader for Viridian City. He also has possession of a unique Pokémon that handily destroys Gary. But he must depart for other duties, so he leaves Jessie, James, and Meowth in charge of his Gym when Ash shows up to claim the Earth Badge, the final badge he needs to enter the Indigo Plateau Conference.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adapted Out: Out of all the Pokémon that Giovanni uses in Red & Blue, only Rhydon made it to the anime. The others seen in this episode (Golem, Kingler, Machamp, and Cloyster) are unique to the anime.
- Apathy Killed the Cat: Team Rocket steals Togepi and shows it to Giovanni. He was completely uninterested in the never before seen Pokémon and rejected it, saying he only cares about Pokémon that can fight.
- Bait-and-Switch Boss: Team Rocket is this to Ash when Giovanni has to step aside, incidentally their status as Gym Leaders are also revealed.
- Break the Haughty: Gary is clearly shaken after what's probably his first loss, as well as by implicitly being Mind Raped by Mewtwo.
- Character Development: This episode is the turning point when Ash and Gary's relationship would start to evolve beyond petty rivalry.
- Chekhov's Gun: While James did not consider the possibility of Team Rocket losing against Ash, Meowth did, so he had set up a remote control detonator to interrupt the battle in case things went wrong. Meowth tries to activate it once Ash starts getting the upper hand, but Gary stops him. After Meowths drops the remote, it remains forgotten on the ground until the end of the match, when Jessie refuses to give Ash the badge despite his victory... but Togepi finds the remote and decides to play with it. She presses the green button and sends Team Rocket blasting off, and Jessie accidentally drops the badge in the process.
- Collapsing Lair: The Team Rocket-controlled Viridian Gym is destroyed after Ash defeats Jessie.
- Continuity Cameo: One of Mewtwo's sprites from the games
appears on Giovanni's wall as a painting. - Continuity Nod: In Japan, this episode aired two months after Pokémon: The First Movie debuted in theaters, for which the flip was true when it aired in North America. Gary is briefly shown among the montage of trainers being defeated by Giovanni and Mewtwo. This episode expands on the fight, indicating the movie's canonicity.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Gary initially dominates his match with Giovanni, right until Giovanni sends out Mewtwo, who easily defeats both of Gary's Pokemon without bothering to even move.
- Determinator: Even after being electrocuted, Ash still continues his battle with Team Rocket, impressing Gary.
- Deus Exit Machina: Giovanni leaves the gym to attend to emergency business, conveniently getting him out of the way so that Ash doesn't have to face him for the Earth Badge.
- Didn't Think This Through: Team Rocket traps Ash in a platform that electrocutes him whenever his Pokémon take damage during the battle; however, this plan backfires because James also rigged Jessie's own platform to do the same to her, because he never thought Ash would actually turn the tables on them this time (they were using stronger Pokémon loaned to them by Giovanni instead of their own, weaker ones, making them more confident).Jessie: AAAAAAH! James! Why did you set it up to give shocks on both sides?! Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!
James: I didn't think it would matter! It never occurred to me that we could lose! - Early-Bird Cameo: Discounting Mewtwo and Mew's appearance in the opening theme song, this episode marks Mewtwo's first appearance in the anime, beginning the countdown for the movie. This only applies to the dubs, though, since in Japan, the movie had been released a few months prior to this episode airing.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Mewtwo's armour is a lot more cartoony in this episode, than the elaborate design seen elsewhere.
- Electric Torture: The platforms Ash and Jessie battle on have been rigged to give electric shocks to the trainer whose Pokemon is currently being attacked.
- Emerging from the Shadows: As Giovanni prepares to send out Mewtwo, he steps forward into the light, revealing his face for the first time.
- Everyone Has Standards: Gary has shown in the past he will happily mock and belittle Ash any chance he gets but draws the line when seeing acts committed that will hurt people.
- Plus in stopping Meowth from blowing up Ash's platform, he shows that he hates cheating even if his rival would be on the receiving end of such underhanded tactics.
- Eye Catch: The Who's That Pokémon? is Arcanine in the Japanese version and Mr. Mime in the dub.
- Eyelid Pull Taunt: It's hard to make out since she's seen from behind, but Jessie does this when refusing to give Ash the Earth Badge.
- Genre Blind: Apparently only one platform was supposed to be set up to give out electric shocks, but James set both of them up that way because, as he puts it: "it never occurred to me that we would lose."
- Impact Silhouette: Jessie makes one after falling from the building near the beginning of the episode.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gary is smug as every around Ash, but he does show he does care about Ash's wellbeing when Ash gets electrocuted during the match with Jessie and James.
- The Juggernaut: Mewtwo effortlessly defeats Gary's Pokemon with no difficulty, and Gary is convinced Mewtwo is invincible after the match.
- Karma Houdini: As always, Giovanni manages to avoid legal punishment for doing things that are illegal. His status as Team Rocket's boss aside, he uses an unknown Pokemon that cannot be identified by any Pokè Dex and is not sent out by a Pokè Ball like regular Pokemon against unsuspecting trainers and he has that Pokemon physically harm the trainers. This goes against legal conduct for a Gym Leader but Giovanni somehow manages to keep Mewtwo's existence and his usage of it a secret.
- Kick the Dog: Giovanni not only uses Mewtwo to attack Gary, but also his innocent cheerleading squad.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Whatever happened that had Giovanni leave the gym, he appointed the Team Rocket trio to be temporary gym leaders. Since Ash is used to dealing with their dirty tricks, it wasn't difficult to beat them and earn his final badge. If Giovanni stayed, he would have used Mewtwo to wipe the floor with Ash the same way he did to Gary.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Gary's response to Giovanni baiting him into going against Mewtwo (as quoted at the top of the page) is an indignant "I'm not afraid of anything!"
- No Fair Cheating: Team Rocket's not afraid to resort to dirty tactics to keep Ash from winning. Even when they fail, Jessie still refuses to hand over the badge. She drops it when the trio are sent blasting off again, allowing him to claim it.Ash: Hey, that's cheating!Jessie: Well, I'm a cheater!
- Noodle Incident: Whatever it was that prompted Giovanni's emergency assignment for Mewtwo.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We don't see exactly what Mewtwo did to Gary and his cheerleaders that rendered all of them unconscious, as the scene ends just as Mewtwo begins its attack on Gary's Pokémon.
- Oh, Crap!: Gary, as he watches Mewtwo make short work of his Arcanine and Nidoking and realizes what he's up against.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Gary hardly ever needs his Pokédex whenever he encountered a (anime) new Pokémon. Here, he does when confronted with Mewtwo, the first sign that things are about to go very wrong for him in his gym battle.
- Outside-Context Problem: Mewtwo is a one of a kind Pokemon kept as a secret weapon by Giovanni, so Gary has no idea what he is when he sees him, and to his horror, there is no data on Mewtwo in the Pokedex. Hence nobody who comes to face Giovanni could have been prepared for this Pokemon.
- Pet the Dog: Gary gets quite a few of these moments:
- When he sees Ash getting shocked by the platform, he shows genuine concern for his well-being.
- He tackles Meowth to prevent him from blowing up the platform that Ash is standing on.
- Gary admits to himself that Ash is actually a pretty good trainer.
- He yells for everyone to evacuate when the gym starts collapsing at the end of the episode.
- Powers Do the Fighting: Mewtwo relies entirely on Mind over Matter attacks in the match with Gary, not moving an inch or even moving a limb.
- Resolved Noodle Incident: Gary v. Giovanni is this in the context of the original Japanese airing (rather than the American airing where it instead becomes part of the multi-episode prelude to The First Movie). Since Mewtwo Strikes Back was released two months before this episode's premiere, Gary's Gym Battle was briefly seen there as part of the Mewtwo montage in the prologue. That battle gets expanded in its entirety here, finally providing context for Japanese viewers.
- Rewatch Bonus: The infamous scene with Gary flaunting his 10 badges shows that only 3 of them overlap with Ash's (Boulder, Cascade, and Rainbow). The other 7 are original to the anime, hinting at other Gyms that Ash did not challenge. Overall, this adds up to 15, hinting at 1 for each of the original game's types.
- The Reveal: Giovanni's face is shown fully for the first time, as well as his status as both leader of Team Rocket and Viridian City Gym Leader.
- Screw the Rules, They Broke Them First!: When Ash gains the upper hand during the battle, Jessie and James cheat by sending out Arbok and Weezing. Ash responds with Pikachu to finish them off.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The Machamp, Kingler, and Rhydon that Giovanni loaned to the Team Rocket trio high tail it out of the arena after Pikachu lets off the finishing blow to them and the Team Rocket trio.
- Sequel Hook: Giovanni's absence, which is used to set up Pokémon: The First Movie.
- Team Rocket Wins: By sheer contrivance, Misty's Togepi ends up in the hands of Team Rocket with the twerps nowhere in sight, finally giving them a valuable Pokémon to deliver to their boss. Unfortunately for them, Giovanni only wants powerful Pokémon and the trio are unable to make a convincing argument for Togepi's value.
- The Unfought: Only Gary battles Giovanni. Ash, much to his disappointment, gets stuck battling Jessie, James, and Meowth for the badge instead.
- Those Two Guys: The two men who stop Ash from following Gary into the gym, as only one trainer can be allowed inside at a time.
- Wham Line: When Gary whips out his Pokédex on Mewtwo, all it takes is this for him to know he's utterly screwed.Pokedex: Pokemon unknown. No available data.
- What Does This Button Do?: After Jessie refuses to hand over the Earth Badge, curious little Togepi pushes the button on Meowth's remote control, sending Team Rocket BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNN!!!! (Ding!)
- The Worf Effect: Gary is seen battling for the first time and does prove to be a strong trainer when he faces Giovanni and easily defeats his first two Pokemon. And he just serves to show powerful Mewtwo is, who easily defeats both Pokemon Gary sends against him.
