AG052

Cheer Pressure (Japanese: プラスルとマイナン！応援の道！？  and Minun! Road Assistance!?) is the 52nd episode of the, and the 326th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on November 20, 2003 and in the United States on November 6, 2004.

Blurb
Ash meets an old friend: Thatcher from Mt. Lighthouse! He's a member of a pep squad school that cheers at Pokémon battles, led by a man named Sheridan.

A disguised Team Rocket offers Sheridan money to cheer for their Pokémon battles. To test the effectiveness of the cheering, Brock and Ash offer to battle against Team Rocket.

Brock's Forretress knocks out James' Cacnea, who is secretly revived using Helping Hand. Sheridan wears a mask containing a small microphone that he uses to give directions to Pokémon hidden inside the pep squad's giant drums.

After Cacnea wins, it's Ash and Pikachu versus Jessie and Seviper. Jessie doesn't pay attention to the battle, and Seviper is quickly taken down. Sheridan issues commands to revive Seviper repeatedly.

Max sneaks nearby and knocks the drums over, revealing the Pokémon concealed inside. Sheridan runs off, and Ash manages to encourage Pikachu to victory.

Team Rocket then reveal themselves, but Pikachu is too weak to fight them off. Plusle and Minun revive Pikachu, whose Thunder attack starts a thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning hits Team Rocket's balloon, sending them blasting off.

The members of the pep squad decide to go home, Thatcher continues his Pokémon journey, while Ash and friends continue to Lavaridge Town.

Plot
As and  continue their journey,  admires her first  Ribbon. Excited at reaching the next town, Ash accidentally takes the wrong path. He stumbles across a group of people. Among them, Thatcher and his and. He tells Ash and the others that he joined a pep squad that believes in the power of. The leader of the pep squad, Sheridan, invites Ash and friends to join him in a battle to show the power of cheering. They readily accept the challenge.

The first match pits against James, who is in disguise. Brock sends out to battle. Once it appeared that Cacnea had fallen, Sheridan and the others began cheering. Unbeknownst to the group, Sheridan whispers "Helping Hand" into a microphone. Out of nowhere, Cacnea regains health and defeats Forretress. Ash and May are dumbfounded, but Max thinks something is wrong. The next match is Ash against Jessie, also in disguise. While she begins thinking of how to attack, the Electric mouse begins attacking her. Angered, Jessie demands Sheridan begin to cheer, but he silences her, requesting patience. As soon as Seviper appears to have lost all energy, the cheering starts. Once again, Sheridan whispers into a microphone. A and  are shown to be inside one of the drums. Both unleash their attacks.

Now convinced that something is seriously wrong, Max decides to investigate. He overhears Sheridan whispering "Helping Hand", and Max realizes that he is giving Pokémon directions for attacking. Meanwhile, Seviper has now regained health and is attacking Pikachu. Just as Pikachu is about to lose, Max shoves the drums over, revealing the Roselia, Vileplume,, and that were inside. Sheridan is stunned that his scheme has been revealed. After Thatcher and the other pep squad members demand a refund, Sheridan takes off running, and attempt to steal Pikachu. However, their plan fails and an explosion blasts them off. Although he is left disappointed, Thatcher tells Ash that he really admires his work with Pikachu. He promises to work hard and start from scratch to eventually become as great a as Ash someday, inspiring some of his fellow squad members to do the same. The group bids farewell to Thatcher and heads off on their next adventure.

Major events

 * and meet up with Thatcher again.

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Thatcher
 * Alyssa (flashback)
 * Sheridan
 * Cheering Squad
 * Alyssa (flashback)
 * Sheridan
 * Cheering Squad

Pokémon
Pokémon Trainer's Choice:


 * (Thatcher's)
 * (Thatcher's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Thatcher's)
 * (Thatcher's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)
 * (Sheridan's)

Trivia

 * Smile replaced Because the Sky is There as the Japanese ending theme.
 * The title is a pun on "".

Errors

 * While is said in the Trainer's Choice to be the best choice against, it is actually equally effective as  because both have a type advantage against.
 * The opening sequence shows May's first Ribbon to be in the top left slot of her Ribbon case, whereas in the previous episode she placed it in the middle slot.
 * In the last episode, there was no symbol on 's Ribbon case; however, in this episode there was.
 * When Thatcher runs up to Ash and the others and asks if they remember him, Ash's z's under his eyes are missing.

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

 * Question: Trainers, which one of these Pokémon is the best choice to battle ?
 * Choices:, ,
 * Answer: OK, Trainers, if you chose, you were right!

In other languages
Der falsche Meister EP328 AG052 AG052 AG編第52話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第52集