BW042

Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome! (Japanese: 決戦ドンバトル！！サトシVSアイリス！！ Decisive ! VS Iris!!) is the 42nd episode of the, and the 699th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on August 11, 2011 and in the United States on November 19, 2011.

Blurb
The Nimbasa Pokémon Club Battle’s final round approaches! Ash has already defeated his opponent in the semi-finals, and Iris and Axew (who is battling in a tournament for the first time) are up against Luke and his Golett for the right to battle Ash for the title. The battling is fierce, and it appears Golett will be victorious, keeping Axew on the run from its powerful attacks. But the tables turn when Axew learns the powerful Dragon-type move Outrage, and it battles back with a vengeance to defeat Golett!

And now on to the final round, with Ash and Pikachu facing off against Iris and Excadrill. At the same time, Burgundy has challenged Cilan to a Connoisseur Battle! This side event doesn’t last long, as Burgundy soon realizes Cilan’s technique is simply too overwhelming and admits defeat.

Meanwhile, Pikachu and Excadrill are battling with everything they’ve got, and it isn’t long before both Pokémon are running out of steam. Excadrill delivers one final Focus Blast to give Iris the win—for the battle and the competition, claiming the coveted Top-Class Driftveil Wing Set as her prize!

Bidding their old friends goodbye, our heroes again set their sights on Nimbasa City and Ash’s next Unova Gym Battle!

Plot
and his continue battling against Dino's  in the Club Battle Tournament in Nimbasa Town. Ash commands his Palpitoad to use, defeating Darumaka and taking Ash into the finals.

Immediately afterwards is the battle between Luke and. Luke looks over to find filming his  when he had asked her to film his battle. He turn turns his attention back to the battle and sends out his while Iris confidently sends  into battle. Iris commands Axew to use. However, Golett took no damage due to its Ghost type, making attacks useless. Golett counterattacks by using, landing a direct hit. Axew then tries to attack with, while Golett uses , causing Dragon Rage to miss its mark. Luke commands his Pokémon to use while its two other copies do the same. Axew manages to keep an eye on the upcoming attacks until two of them spin in opposite directions, making Axew confused. The three attacks hit the Tusk Pokémon at the same time but Axew is still standing. Iris sees an opportunity to attack and commands Axew to use Dragon Rage again. Luke tells Golett to use, as its copies disappear and it forms a dark, purple ball in its hands. Golett throws it towards Axew as the two attacks collide into each other and a giant explosion is created.

Luke tells his Golett to use Gyro Ball once more as Iris tells Axew to run from it. Golett continues to chase Axew for a while until Axew stumbles over, exhausted from running. As Golett closes in on Axew, Iris dramatically yells Axew's name. Golett is surprisingly thrown up into the air while Axew stands with a bright red aura around it. When Golett reaches the ground, Axew angrily attacks it continuously with punches and powerful kicks. One of Axew's kicks sends Golett into the air, Golett then smashes against the arena's border wall and faints. The judge announces Iris the winner and will be advancing to the final round against Ash. She rushes towards her Axew and congratulates him on learning as Axew begins to sleep.

Afterwards, everyone heads back to the Pokémon Center and Luke is shocked to discover all the footage Bianca shot was of his Zorua. Bianca shrugs off her actions and offers Zorua handmade accessories as gifts, and partial bribery to become her Trainer. Zorua refuses these gifts, and Luke reminds Bianca that he's not interested in trading away his star actress. Luke then remembers that he should interview Ash and Iris, the finalists, for his film. In the dining room, presents his friends and their Pokémon with their dinner which he was permitted to make in the Pokémon Center's kitchen to celebrate Ash and Iris's victories. During their meal, Burgundy approached Cilan and challenged him to a Connoisseur Showdown to evaluate his prowess as a connoisseur. He rejected the invitation at first, but then noticed Luke behind Burgundy filming their conversation. Cilan could not hold back putting on a performance for the camera, and immediately accepted Burgundy's challenge with confidence. The change in personality startled Burgundy, and Stephan appeared behind them and volunteered to be their referee. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is hiding out in one of the Ferris Wheel's carriages in Nimbasa City, reviewing their newest plan. Meowth mentions there is one thing left to be taken care of and he will take care of it.

The next day, the final battle between Iris and Ash commences, as does the Connoisseur Showdown between Burgundy and Cilan. Ash sends into battle while Iris decides to use her. Ash starts the battle with Pikachu using, which naturally has no effect on a part like Excadrill. Iris then tells Excadrill to use. Ash cleverly commands Pikachu to use which helps it dodge the attack. However, Iris's Excadrill grabs Pikachu's tail between its claws and thrusts Pikachu across the arena, and then slams it using. However, Pikachu manages to flip around and get back on its feet. Cilan and Burgundy continue to comment about Ash's and Iris's battle as Luke and Bianca film.

Ash's Pikachu uses while Excadrill uses another Metal Claw. The two dive towards each other but Pikachu dodges the opposing Pokémon's attack and slams Excadrill to the ground. Iris follows up with while Pikachu charges up. The two attacks collide into an electric light explosion. Burgundy comments on the explosive power between Pikachu and Excadrill, and Cilan responds in agreement and confidence in the two Pokémon's power. Burgundy realizes Cilan's choice of words shows far more experience than her own, and Cilan politely offers to end the showdown, which Burgundy accepts and the two continue watching the battle in silence. Iris's Pokémon drills into the ground and attacks Pikachu. Ash suddenly tells Pikachu to keep spinning and it uses the momentum to land a powerful Iron Tail into Excadrill's face. Despite the powerful attack, Excadrill still stands. It uses Drill Run while Ash tells Pikachu to use another Iron Tail. However, right before Pikachu can execute its attack, the opposing Pokémon rams into Pikachu, making it fall to the ground. Pikachu still manages to stand as Excadrill digs into the ground but misses Pikachu when it rises up. Iris then commands it to use Focus Blast which lands directly into Pikachu, causing it to fly backward and smash against the wall, also making Pikachu faint. With that final attack, the judge proclaims Iris the winner of the Club Battle Tournament. The crowd cheers for Iris and she is gifted a display case of Wings. She stands in the center of the stadium with her two Pokémon, Axew and Excadrill. At the end of the episode, Ash, Iris, and Cilan bid farewell to their friends as they all go their separate ways.

Major events



 * defeats Dino and advances to the final round.
 * Iris's Axew learns.
 * defeats Luke and advances to the final round.
 * The Team Rocket trio prepares to begin their latest plan.
 * Iris defeats Ash and wins the Club Battle, earning a set of wings.
 * Luke leaves the group.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Don George
 * Freddy O'Martian
 * Burgundy
 * Stephan
 * Georgia
 * Luke
 * Dino
 * Don George's pupil
 * Georgia
 * Luke
 * Dino
 * Don George's pupil

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:
 * (Luke's)
 * (Dino's)
 * (multiple)
 * (Luke's)
 * (Dino's)
 * (multiple)
 * (Luke's)
 * (Dino's)
 * (multiple)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster:.
 * There is no Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster following this episode.
 * A new sound effect is used for when a Pokémon fully emerges from its Poké Ball.
 * An instrumental version of is used as background music.
 * Despite learning  in this episode, he never used the move again.

Errors

 * In some airings and streams of this episode, such as the n airing, the title card erroneously reads Battle Club Finale: A Hero's Outcome!. Most reruns, home video, and streaming releases feature the correct title card.

In other languages
de:Das Klubkampf-Finale: Geburt eines Helden! EP704 BW042 BW042 BW編第42話 精灵宝可梦 超级愿望 第42集