DP159

Short and To the Punch! (Japanese: 唸れれいとうパンチ！ブイゼルＶＳバリヤード！！ Roaring ! VS !!) is the 159th episode of the, and the 625th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on January 14, 2010 and in the United States on June 12, 2010.

Blurb
As our heroes journey ever closer to Daybreak Town, they meet Clayton, a Pokémon martial artist. Along with his Mr. Mime, Clayton demonstrates an unusual and powerful training and battling style, and of course Ash and Buizel want to learn more! But, while practicing the move Ice Punch, they quickly realize that Clayton's style is not as easy as it looks, and Mr. Mime soundly defeats Buizel.

Not to be outdone, Ash and Buizel begin some intensive nighttime training using a moving leaf as Buizel's target. After much tenacious preparation, they are ready to challenge Clayton and Mr. Mime once more.

The battle challenge begins in much the same way as their first match, but a sudden rainstorm enables Buizel to use its Swift Swim Ability. This Ability gives Buizel incredible speed, and having learned Ice Punch during its nighttime practice, Buizel emerges victorious!

Proud of Ash and Buizel for their patience and talent, Clayton bids our heroes a fond goodbye as they once again head off toward Daybreak Town.

Plot
The episode opens with, and  relaxing near a lake. In the meanwhile, Ash is training his in order to master. After yet another failed attempt, the meteor once again hits, knocking him out. Gible then starts chomping a rock and due to his habit, he falls in the lake and Ash sends to save him.

After the successful rescue, a and his  suddenly show up. He introduces himself as Clayton and congratulates Buizel on his heroic rescue and challenges him to a battle against his Pokémon. Ash and Buizel naturally agree. Buizel starts with but Mr. Mime counters with  sending its opponent into a tree. Buizel then attempts a but Mr. Mime evades the attack using. Once again, Buizel tries an Aqua Jet but his attack is countered by its opponent's, knocking him out in the process.

Ash then asks to train with Clayton, and Clayton agrees. Then he takes Ash and Buizel to a waterfall where he and Mr. Mime shows them what they can do, by punching the waterfall and turning it all into ice by the use of. Clayton then punches it and breaks the ice. Then he tells Ash and Buizel in order to master Ice Punch they need to practice by punching the waterfall. From a nearby bush are spying on them plotting to steal Mr. Mime.

Back to the training, Clayton scolds Ash and Buizel for punching weak. Then he demonstrates again, punching the water without splashing and without his fist getting wet. After telling them they need to improve their concentration and speed he leaves along with his Pokémon. The scene turns to Ash and Buizel as they are running and punching leaves along the way. Meanwhile Dawn and Brock prepare dinner. Near the waterfall, Ash trains his Buizel in order to improve his concentration.

After a bit of concentration, Buizel finally succeeds in cooling his fist for a few seconds making a small piece of ice appear on his hand after hitting the waterfall at a higher speed than before. At dinner, Clayton and Mr. Mime are eating with a huge appetite, while Clayton compliments Brock on his incredible cooking. In a nearby bush, Team Rocket complain about being hungry. The scene turns back to Ash and his leaving the table along with Buizel.

That evening, Ash, Pikachu and Buizel are gazing at the moon. The wind blows bringing leaves along it. They start training again by sending leaves through the wind straight to Buizel. He tells Buizel to concentrate on hitting the blowing leaves. After a few unsuccessful attempts his fist starts glowing for a short time. Still, he has to practice more in order to master Ice Punch.

Night turns day and the scene turns to Ash challenging Clayton to a rematch. Tired of waiting Team Rocket jump out of the bush proceeding to steal Mr. Mime as they recite their. But their plan is once again foiled but this time by a lightning which strikes them sending them blast off.

The rematch takes place, and Buizel starts again with Aqua Jet. As in the previous match, Mr. Mime directs Buizel into a tree by the means of Psychic, but this time, Buizel manages to evade the collision jumping against the tree. Buizel then uses Sonic Boom but Mr. Mime evades it again using Double Team. Then Buizel uses Ice Punch while Mr. Mime uses Thunder Punch. Their fists collide and Mr. Mime's fist almost hits Buizel who manages to dodge at the last second.

Next, it starts to rain. Clayton orders Mr. Mime to try another Thunder Punch. Ash orders Buizel to charge towards it, while his Ability activates increasing his speed. He then evades the Thunder Punch while hitting his opponent with Ice Punch, knocking it out in the process. After the battle, Clayton congratulates them both on their victory.

The scene concludes with the group bidding farewell to Clayton.

Major events

 * Ash's Buizel learns.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Clayton
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Clayton

Pokémon

 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)
 * (Clayton's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination:
 * Challenger!! is used as background music when is teaching Buizel.
 * Music from Pikachu's Peek-a-Boo, Jirachi Wish Maker, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea are used as background music.
 * A live-action version of Which One ~ Is It? is used as the ending song.
 * This episode surpasses the previous 31 episode gap where Ash does not earn a Gym Badge, which happened between The Grass Menagerie! and A Triple Fighting Chance!. This gap started with Sliding Into Seventh!.
 * The English title of this episode is a reference to the phrase "short and to the point".
 * With this episode, the Sinnoh League journey is now the longest running arc of the, surpassing the 158 episodes of the Johto League saga of the original series.
 * This is the last episode to be produced by Team Iguchi. OLM/OLM Digital handled the animation from DP160 until DP163.

In other languages
Faust gegen Faust! EP628 DP159 DP編第159話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第157集