From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
- If you were looking for the the second Japanese opening theme of Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, see The Rivals.
The Rival
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Web release
Japan
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December 2, 2021
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United States
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December 2, 2021
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
Animation
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Team Kato
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Screenplay
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Benjamin Townsend Benjamin Townsend
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Storyboard
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吉岡忍 Shinobu Yoshioka
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Assistant directors
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吉岡忍 Shinobu Yoshioka
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黒田健司 Kenji Kuroda
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伊東優一 Yūichi Itō
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Animation directors
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高田謡子 Yōko Takada
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佐本三国 Mikuni Samoto
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No additional credits are available at this time.
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The Rival (Japanese: ザ・ライバル The Rival) is the fifth episode of Pokémon Evolutions. It was first released on the official English Pokémon YouTube channel, Pokémon TV, and the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel on December 2, 2021.
Blurb
No matter how fast you run, your rivals are always one step ahead, pushing you to better your skills. Eventually, you’ll have to face your rival in your travels… for Barry, that time has come.
Plot
Arriving at the Battle Tower, Barry is guided to the top floor to challenge Palmer. Under the weight of facing the Tower Tycoon, Barry struggles with self-doubt as he and Palmer send out their first Pokémon, and he starts to flashback to pivotal moments in his journey.
At Lake Verity, Barry and Lucas are attacked by a pair of wild Starly when they bump into a discarded briefcase. The briefcase falls open, revealing a trio of Poké Balls. The two friends grab a Chimchar and a Piplup from the selection and send them into the fray, successfully chasing the Starly away. Barry resolves to become a Pokémon Trainer strong enough to challenge his father.
Palmer's Milotic releases a powerful Dragon Pulse, sending Barry's Heracross crashing into the wall behind him. As Barry tenses up from the sheer display of strength, Palmer simply smirks from the shadows.
Barry's journey takes him to the Oreburgh Gym, where his Piplup withstands a Headbutt from Roark's Cranidos and defeats it with Bubble. Roark acknowledges his loss, much to Barry and Piplup's delight. As Barry inserts the Coal Badge into his Badge case, he wonders if the Gym Leader might be strong enough to challenge his father before he realizes his thoughts have been drifting, and he heads to the next destination with Piplup.
Continuing the battle, Barry's Staraptor scores a direct hit on Palmer's Dragonite with a crushing Aerial Ace, prompting Barry to cheer. The intensity of the battle causes Barry's Badge case to slip out from his pocket and fall open, showing his full collection of Badges from the Sinnoh region.
Barry confronts Jupiter and her Skuntank at Lake Acuity, declaring that he's going to be the Pokémon Champion and asking Jupiter to bring it on. Jupiter has Skuntank deploy a Smokescreen, causing Prinplup to miss with its Bubble Beam, before defeating it with Night Slash. Mocking Barry for his sentiments and belief that he could ever challenge Team Galactic, Jupiter brings the captured Uxie away as Barry stews in his defeat. For the first time in his journey, Barry wonders if he might never become strong enough to face his father.
Back in the present, Palmer's Rhyperior launches its Rock Wrecker and takes Staraptor out of the fight.
At the Spear Pillar, Lucas confronts Dialga, Cyrus, Mars, and Jupiter, the latter two having sent out their Purugly and Skuntank respectively. Barry arrives on the scene, and Jupiter mocks him again after recognizing him. The two friends send out their Infernape and Empoleon, with Infernape easily sending Mars's Purugly flying with Close Combat, while Empoleon successfully withstands Skuntank's Flamethrower and Night Slash before knocking it back with Metal Claw. Defeated, an amused Jupiter acknowledges that Barry has gotten stronger since their last encounter.
In the present, Barry's Empoleon manages to dodge a Thunderbolt from Rhyperior before retaliating with Hydro Pump, defeating it and winning the match for Barry. Laughing, Palmer congratulates Barry for the great battle, and muses that now Barry has defeated his own father, who will he beat next.
Major events
- In a series of flashbacks:
- Barry challenges his father Palmer at the Battle Tower and wins.
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Trivia
Errors
Dub edits
In other languages