DP133

Uncrushing Defeat! (Japanese: ユクシーの影！ 's Shadow!) is the 133rd episode of the, and the 599th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on June 25, 2009 and in the United States on November 21, 2009.

Blurb
After losing a tough battle against Paul, Ash and his Pokémon are recovering at the Pokémon Center near Lake Acuity. Ash’s Pokémon are on the road to recovery, but Ash is still brooding over his loss. Team Rocket thinks this could be the perfect time to steal Ash’s Pikachu: why not kick a Trainer while he’s down? Ash’s friends, on the other hand, are doing their best to help out. Dawn and Piplup are planning to cheer Ash up and Brock is out by the lake, looking for Cheri Berries to help heal Ash’s Monferno. While Brock searches for berries, he sees a strange being hover over the water and then vanish.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy thinks the strange being was the Legendary Uxie. That makes the third mysterious lake Pokémon that Ash and his friends have spotted! And now, after a Pokémon pep talk, Ash seems cheerful again—but Dawn thinks he’s just putting on a brave front. So it’s time for Dawn’s Pokémon Circus, a show where Dawn’s Pokémon clown around and make funny faces. Sure enough, Ash starts laughing at their antics, but all laughter stops once Team Rocket takes over the stage.

After Team Rocket calls Ash a loser, they grab his Pikachu and run. Ash and his team work together to chase them down—when Seviper uses Haze, Buizel clears the smoke, then Grotle and Staraptor knock out Yanmega and Carnivine. To finish it off, Monferno uses Mach Punch to knock Team Rocket down so Pikachu can escape. As Team Rocket argues over whose bad idea this was, Ash and his team act as one to blast the three thieves into the sky. Ash is finally feeling back to his old self, and even Dawn has something to look forward to: her next Contest in Lilypad Town!

Plot
The scene pans over Lake Acuity and goes underwater, where the projected soul of appears. Back at the Pokémon Center, all of try to endure the pain from their injuries as Nurse Joy,  and  work overtime to heal Ash's Pokémon following the overwhelming loss to Paul. and watch as Ash's  are tended to. and try to stay positive, but Ash walks away depressed. Dawn, having dealt with low self-confidence once, tries to help, but Brock stops her, letting him go for now.

Outside,, still disguised as the cleanup crew, work to fix the battlefield. drops dirt as, and  flatten the field. They discuss the Full Battle, admiring the effort and 's evolution while still slamming Ash for the landslide loss. James believes Ash is most likely depressed, so Jessie plots to steal while Ash is too sad to care.

Ash is sprawled out on a grassy field, looking up at the sky as he reflects on the. Battle scenes flash through his mind as he remembers battling  and getting its tail,  outspeeding  and 's second loss to. Back at the Center, Brock tends to Gliscor, comforting it while it is crying from the bandaging. Dawn watches and wishes that she could help, also feeling the depression. notices and gets an idea. Piplup makes faces and tries to be funny, which gives Dawn the idea to create a show to cheer Ash up and she runs off to plan. Having finished the bandaging and with Ash's Pokémon resting, Nurse Joy, Chansey, Blissey and Brock tidy things up and put the medical supplies away. also helps by giving Brock a first-aid kit to set back on a shelf. When Nurse Joy compliments Brock, he goes crazy as usual, but 's causes him to halt his romance and plead with Croagunk. It works and Croagunk walks away. Nurse Joy notices that Monferno is recovering slower than the others. She asks Brock to go into the forest and find Cheri Berries.

As Brock searches for the Berries with a bag in hand, he has trouble finding them and it's apparently taking quite a bit longer than he hoped it would. He reaches Lake Acuity and takes in the scenery. He notices a ripple on the lake and spots a shadow of a Pokémon, Uxie's projected soul. Before he can run any closer to inspect it, the shadow disappears. As he wonders about what he just saw, he notices an object to his left and glances that way, finding a Cheri Berry bush. While Dawn continues to practice back at the Center, Brock returned with the Berries, which are then mashed up, and Nurse Joy proceeds to feed Monferno. Apparently having been discharged, Ash's other Pokémon watch from the window as Monferno reacts to the Berries, quickly perking up. Joy smiles and tells Brock they can relax now as Monferno smiles and waves to the others, who wave and call back happily. Meanwhile, Ash still sulks over his most recent loss to Paul, remembering how took out half of his team, and how Monferno couldn't defeat  despite having just evolved. He rolls over to his side and notices Pikachu standing beside him, not the least bit upset. His other Pokémon are there as well, all with bandages but are still chirpy and celebrating... however their over-enthusiasm quickly gives way to their exhaustion. Ash is slightly concerned but he starts to laugh, the depression fading away. Ash gets his fighting spirit back, and tells his team that Paul's Pokémon are strong because he raised them to be that way, and now it's time for them to increase and work longer and harder than ever before. He inspires his Pokémon, all rushing to give him a group hug, knocking him to the ground as everyone laughs together, reaffirming their loyalty and friendship with him. As they head back, Ash's stomach rumbles as he's forgotten to eat earlier in the day, generating another bout of laughter for the Pokémon as they continue on. Team Rocket watches nearby and still believe that Ash is depressed.

When he returns to the Center, everyone has gathered about Brock's sighting. In the Center's small library, Ash and Dawn look up the computer as Brock and Nurse Joy pour over books, having gone through three stacks. She finds an illustration in her book of the Lake guardians and points out to Brock the one of Uxie, which is the one he saw. He remarks though that it looked like a shadow instead of a physical form. Dawn and Ash remember their sightings of and. Joy reads that the legend says that all three Pokémon originated from the same egg. Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf are beings that symbolize specific traits that just happens to correspond to Brock, Dawn and Ash respectively: Wisdom, Emotion, and Willpower. The three Pokémon are said to balance Sinnoh, and Brock wonders if their sightings are more than coincidence.

Team Rocket hides in a darkened storeroom of the Pokémon Center, weaving an electric-proof net to capture Pikachu, while Ash and the others gather to watch Dawn's show in the lobby, Nurse Joy mentioning that Dawn prepared it mainly to cheer up Ash and his Pokémon. Dawn opens the show with, and. Buneary and Pachirisu jump onto Mamoswine and make faces, bouncing on and around Mamoswine before stretching Mamoswine's face, with Mamoswine posing. Ash and the others laugh as expected. Piplup waltzes out in a clown outfit, jumping up and hitting its head on the ceiling. Buneary and Pachirisu juggle Piplup and stretch its face, with one more Mamoswine pose thrown in, sticking its large tongue out.

Team Rocket intrudes on the show. Still thinking Ash is upset, Team Rocket proceeds to indirectly insult Ash and rub in his loss. It doesn't have any effect, so launches the electric-proof net and catches Pikachu. Team Rocket removes their disguises and recites their motto before proceeding to flee. Ash and his friends pursue as Jessie has her Seviper launch, but 's negates it. Pikachu launches a, but the net absorbs it. Gliscor stops them with, but Yanmega knocks it back with a. James has Carnivine launch a, but Staraptor's and Grotle's  knocks out both Yanmega and Carnivine, much to Team Rocket's shock. Monferno uses to knock Team Rocket away and free Pikachu from the net. Pikachu rejoins Ash and the others as Team Rocket notices that their plan backfired. James and Meowth blame Jessie since she wanted to strike while Ash was depressed, but Jessie blames them for not offering another plan. They then notice Ash and his Pokémon nearby, battle-ready and determined. They know a blast-off is imminent as Ash excitedly orders his Pokémon to execute a group attack. Buizel's, Staraptor's Aerial Ace, Grotle's Energy Ball, Gliscor's , Monferno's and Pikachu's  sends Team Rocket packing. Ash and his Pokémon celebrate as everyone else notices that Ash is back on track. Dawn decides to plan for her next Pokémon Contest as Nurse Joy mentions that the Lilypad Town Contest is a short time away. Back at the Center, Joy gives them directions and offers them a meal before they plan to set off.

Major events

 * sees the spirit of at Lake Acuity.
 * learns that a Pokémon Contest will be held in Lilypad Town.

Pokémon debuts

 * (spirit)

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Paul (flashback)
 * Reggie (flashback)
 * Olivier (flashback)
 * Paul (flashback)
 * Reggie (flashback)
 * Olivier (flashback)

Pokémon

 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Paul's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (book and spirit; debut)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Paul's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (book and spirit; debut)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (Paul's; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (book and spirit; debut)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and spirit; debut)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and flashback)
 * (book and flashback)

Trivia

 * Ash's Monferno is added to the opening sequence. Despite this, Dawn's Ambipom still has not been removed, and the ending has also not been updated.
 * and are replaced by new images of  and, respectively, in their appearance before and after the preview of the next episode.
 * This is the first time since Ignorance is Blissey that a Nurse Joy owns a . In fact, and its evolutionary stages are in this episode as well.
 * All of the main characters' Pokémon appeared, except James's Mime Jr.
 * wears the same clown outfit as did in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, only in a different color. The color scheme may have been based on Jessie and James's clown outfits from Jirachi: Wish Maker.
 * This episode marks the first time orders his  not to  him before he does, due to his need to treat Ash's Pokémon alongside Nurse Joy.
 * As of this episode,, , and now Brock have seen one of the members of the.
 * All of the Pokémon Ash has on hand remained outside of their Poké Balls for the entire episode, except for the last minute.
 * returns to displaying the show on its standard-definition feed in its original 16:9 aspect ratio, after the airings of the previous two episodes, Pedal to the Mettle! and Evolving Strategies!, were zoomed in to fill a 4:3 frame. However, they would reverse themselves again two episodes later, not returning to the 16:9 aspect ratio until Cartoon Network stopped their cropping practices sometime during the week prior to Sticking With Who You Know!.
 * When Ash's Pokémon are each seen up close just before the group attacks, they appear in reverse order to which they were obtained by Ash:, , , , , and.

Errors

 * 's ears are the wrong color in one scene at the Pokémon Center; they are the color of a 's ears.
 * When interrupts Dawn's circus,  is behind them onstage. During Team Rocket's motto, Mamoswine is standing beside the stage, watching Team Rocket.
 * During the scene where Ash and his Pokémon were striking poses just before the group attacks, the bandage on 's right ear is missing.
 * After Brock tells his Croagunk to stop using Poison Jab and convinces him that he was just helping Nurse Joy out, Croagunk's Japanese voice can be heard.

In other languages
Nach dem Kampf ist vor dem Kampf! EP602 DP133 DP編第133話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第131集