Ash continues his Sootopolis Gym battle with Juan and things have only gotten more difficult since they started. Grovyle has been struck with Luvdisc's Sweet Kiss, which ends up confusing it, giving Luvdisc the chance it needs to knock Grovyle out of the match. Ash sends Corphish back in and beats Luvdisc. Juan responds by sending in Whiscash who beats Corphish, but Ash counters with Swellow, who beats it. But now down to his final Pokémon, Juan sends in his trump card, Milotic. It makes short work of Swellow, so Ash sends in Pikachu to finish the battle. Despite the type advantage that Pikachu has, Milotic proves to be a very difficult opponent, especially since it can use Recover to heal itself. But Ash manages to think outside the box and Pikachu is able to force Milotic underwater then hit it with another Electric attack. Pikachu beats Milotic and Ash wins the match and the Rain Badge. With eight badges now in hand, Ash has qualified for the Hoenn League.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: This episode makes the Water-type Luvdisc into one by beating the Grass-type Grovyle.
- Healing Factor: Milotic knows Recover, which makes beating it much harder.
- The Worf Effect: Grovyle, who has proven to be a very reliable battler throughout Ash's Hoenn gym battles and who has a type advantage against Juan's team, gets defeated by Luvdisc.
