DP031

The Grass-Type Is Always Greener! (Japanese: ナエトル対ナエトル！スピード対決！！  VS Naetle! Speed Showdown!!) is the 31st episode of the, and the 497th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 26, 2007 and in the United States on October 6, 2007.

Blurb
Deep in Eterna Forest, Ash and his friends have joined Cheryl the treasure hunter on her quest to find Enchanted Honey. Along the way their paths cross with that of Gardenia, a Trainer who's a real Grass-type fanatic. She admires Ash's Turtwig so much that she challenges Ash to a battle—the quest will have to wait! Gardenia sends out her Cherubi to battle Turtwig, but soon switches in her own Turtwig instead. As fast as Ash's Turtwig is, Gardenia's Turtwig is even faster and wins the first round!

Ash's next pick is his speedy Staravia, but he's shocked when Gardenia's Turtwig turns out to be fast enough to dodge Staravia's attacks and win once again. Gardenia is the victor! She then offers to help our heroes find a Combee Wall, because wherever Combee gather and store nectar, there's bound to be honey.

But then Team Rocket makes another attempt to steal Cheryl's Mothim, hoping that its keen sense of smell will lead them to the Enchanted Honey instead. Yet even their villainy is no match for Gardenia's fearless love for James' Grass-type Pokémon and the power of her Turtwig, and Team Rocket finds themselves blasting off again, still empty-handed. After all the help she's given, however, Gardenia has to part ways with our heroes, who soon spot a Combee. Excitedly realizing they must be close to a Combee Wall, Cheryl, Ash, Dawn, and Brock once again rush off in search of the unknown...

Plot
After the events of the previous episode,, , and Cheryl continue to seek out the Amber Castle with Cheryl's Mothim in tow. They pursue Mothim, the racing towards a tree with a spot of honey, snacking along with a  and. Ash notices that the area looks familiar, and everyone realizes that they came back to the tree Cheryl had slathered Honey on earlier. notices that it is getting late and that they should postpone the search until the next day. They set up camp and rest for the night.

The next day, the group sets off and Cheryl notices that Mothim is quite excited. As they head through the forest, Cheryl gets strung up by a bunch of vines. Ash sends to cut the vines with. She falls and Brock catches her, but a bunch of falls out of the tree as well. They hear Mothim calling out and everyone returns to the search, finding Mothim above a group of shrubs. Mothim dives down and sends a jumping up. Suddenly, a woman steps out of nowhere and mouths off facts about Gloom. The Gloom jumps over the group and casts a foul stench, forcing everyone to hold their breath as the Pokémon escapes. The woman was upset that she could not catch it, but she notices Ash's Turtwig and rushes to hug it. She commends how strong the Pokémon is as Ash introduces himself. The woman identifies herself as Gardenia, a. Brock is instantly attracted, but  as usual.

Gardenia challenges Ash to a, and he accepts. mentions that they are still searching, but Cheryl agrees to stop and observe the battle. Gardenia mentions that the Gym Leader is a Grass-type Trainer, so Ash knows it will be good practice. Meanwhile, hike exhausted, trying to find Ash and his friends. Jessie trips over a Kakuna, which triggers all the nearby Kakuna to evolve into. They rush to attack Team Rocket as they flee.

The battle between Ash and Gardenia is set for two-on-two, Gardenia sending out against Ash's Turtwig. Dawn checks out Cherubi on the Pokédex. Ash starts with Turtwig's attack, scoring an easy hit following up with Razor Leaf. Cherubi runs around wildly to avoid the attack as Gardenia watches intently, surprisingly calling Cherubi back. While Gardenia praises Turtwig, Brock realizes that she was simply analyzing Turtwig's abilities. She throws another Poké Ball, and her next Pokémon is also a ! Ash decides to show off some with a fast Tackle attack. At the last second, Gardenia's Turtwig dodges the attack, shocking everyone. Ash tries to repeat another Tackle, but again, Gardenia's Turtwig dodges, sending Ash's Turtwig crashing into a tree. Gardenia orders Turtwig to fire a, impacting and constricting Ash's, draining. Turtwig is helpless against Gardenia's Turtwig, which uses a speedy Tackle attack to send Ash's against the tree and knocking it out. Everyone notes that Gardenia's Turtwig was faster than Ash's and moved rarely, but when it did, outpaced Ash's Turtwig by a lot.

Ash sends out next, thinking that the type advantage and flying speed can overcome Turtwig. Staravia launches, but Turtwig is surprisingly able to dodge Staravia's attack at the last moment. Even after repeated Wing Attacks, Turtwig was able to dodge. Ash loses his cool and decides on Staravia's, knowing that the attack is unavoidable. However, Turtwig jumps up at the last moment and Staravia is sent crashing into the bushes. When he does come back around, Turtwig pummels Staravia with and Staravia is pinned to a tree, and is knocked out cold. Ash recalls Staravia as Cheryl introduces herself, her Mothim circling Gardenia. Ash is disappointed at his loss but convinces him to do special.

The group sits around a fire as Cheryl tells Gardenia about the search for the Enchanted Honey. Cheryl mentions her reason is that her grandfather did not find the honey and that she wants to find it. Gardenia agrees to help, mentioning that the are connected and that she knows a spot where Combee gather to form the Combee wall. They decide to go the next morning, knowing that Gardenia has extensive knowledge of the forest.

The next day, Team Rocket hikes along, wrapped in bandages and still trying to find the honey. points down the path as they notice Ash's group moving. Team Rocket follows form behind and tries to hide, but James slips and gets their attention. Team Rocket recites their and ditches the bandages. James sends out, which instantly chews at his head. Gardenia instantly runs up and hugs up to Carnivine. She asks to trade for his Carnivine, but he turns it down as she frees him from Carnivine's grip. Ash's group warns her about who he really is. Gardenia is convinced that someone that raises Grass types can't be bad, which drops everyone's jaws. Gardenia tries to offer a in return, but that brings up memories of his.

Jessie snaps James out of his reminiscing and orders him to do something. James has Carnivine use, but Gardenia gets in the way, Carnivine biting down on Gardenia's head. Brock tries to help her, but Dawn pushes him aside as James has Carnivine release her. While Meowth mentions to Jessie that they don't have money for a, Jessie sends out and James sends out. Gardenia instantly hugs up to Cacnea, asking it to use on her back. Jessie gets impatient and has Seviper use. Gardenia snaps out of it and sends out her Turtwig, having it bite Seviper's tail. Cacnea attempts Pin Missile, but a Leaf Storm sends Cacnea flying up and into the. Team Rocket gets in the balloon and uses a mecha arm to grab Mothim. Turtwig uses Leech Seed to break the arm and free Mothim. Pikachu fires at the balloon and sends Team Rocket blasting off. Cheryl thanks Gardenia as Mothim flies off, everyone following. They find some of the flowers as a carrying a message shows up, which causes Gardenia to split from the group. Mothim flies around the flowers as they notice Mothim excited. A Combee appears and flies off. The group runs after the Combee as they continue to head towards the goal.

Major events

 * and meet Gardenia.
 * Ash has an unofficial with Gardenia, and loses.

Humans

 * Gardenia

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Gardenia
 * Cheryl
 * James
 * Gardenia
 * Cheryl

Pokémon

 * (flashback)
 * (Gardenia's)
 * (Gardenia's; debut)
 * (Cheryl's; flashback)
 * (Yoko's)
 * (debut)
 * (multiple; evolve)
 * (multiple; newly evolved)
 * (Gardenia's)
 * (Gardenia's; debut)
 * (Cheryl's; flashback)
 * (Yoko's)
 * (debut)
 * (multiple; evolve)
 * (multiple; newly evolved)
 * (debut)
 * (multiple; evolve)
 * (multiple; newly evolved)
 * (multiple; newly evolved)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia:
 * Pokémon senryū: さあバトル　かえんぐるまで　もえあがれ Saa batoru, Kaenguruma de, Moe agare "Come, a battle, with Flame Wheel, burst into flame".
 * Music from Destiny Deoxys is used as background music.
 * uses something that looks similar to a Nunchuk, an extension of the Wii Remote, to control the robotic hand they use to try and catch Mothim.
 * The next episode preview is narrated by.
 * The English title for this episode is a pun on the phrase, "The grass is always greener on the other side", which can be abbreviated to "the grass is always greener".
 * This is one of the few episodes of the where Dawn's Piplup does not appear.
 * 's misses  even though the move is unavoidable, while Turtwig is affected by, which normally has no effect on Grass-types. Therefore, these are examples of anime physics.

Errors

 * Gardenia is animated with skin color underneath her, making it seem as if she has no shirt on underneath.
 * When Gardenia falls in love with James's Carnivine, her nose is missing.
 * When shoves  aside and crashes into a tree while trying to save Gardenia from James's Carnivine, her skin color of her hand is the same as Brock's for a few frames until it changes back to her skin color.

In other languages
Verrückt nach Pflanzen-Pokémon! EP500 DP031 DP031 DP編第31話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第31集