DP166

The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore! (Japanese: 発進！ナギサタワー！！ Liftoff! Tower!!) is the 166th episode of the, and the 632nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on March 4, 2010 and in the United States on July 31, 2010.

Blurb
As Ash and Volkner prepare to have their Gym Battle, all the electricity is suddenly cut off! Realizing that the problem must be at Sunyshore Tower, they look over just in time to see Sunyshore Tower blasting off like a rocket! Giving chase, Ash and Volkner jump on the rocket during takeoff, only to discover that Team Rocket is manning the controls, with plans to steal Sunyshore Tower and use it as their base!

Ash and Volkner will not stand for this, of course, and a fierce battle ensues. Although Seviper and Carnivine manage to get in a couple of attacks against Raichu and Pikachu, Grotle ultimately makes quick work of Team Rocket's plans, while simultaneously evolving into Torterra! Defeating Team Rocket and sending them blasting off once more, Volkner takes control of the tower rocket and brings it safely back to its station in Sunyshore City.

Ash's Gym Battle challenge will have to wait for a bit while repairs to the tower are made. In the meantime, Ash promises to train hard, and our heroes set off for the Lakeside Resort and the Grand Festival!

Plot
After his battle against, is more than ready for his Gym battle against Volkner. With, and Flint watching from the stands (and the Proprietor watching the battle on TV from his bar), the Robotic Referee announces the rules; the battle will be three-on-three with only the challenger allowed to substitute their Pokémon. Volkner sends out his first Pokémon, and Ash responds by sending out, a good match for an Electric type and with that the battle begins.

Ash has Grotle start off with, however Luxray is able to easily dodge and strikes back with. While a hard hit, luckily Grotle has defense and type on its side. Ash has Grotle try another Razor Leaf when suddenly the Gym's power goes out. Volkner makes sure that there's nothing wrong with the Gym itself, and with the lights gone and the Robotic Referee out of commission the Gym Battle is canceled. The gang then decide to head to the Pokémon Center to find out what's happened.

Exiting the Gym, the group are surprised to see Officer Jenny running to them who tells them that it's not just Sunyshore Gym that's suffered a blackout... the power has gone out throughout Sunyshore City. However it seems the power to Brock's heart is still up and running as he once again declares his powerful love for her... however his love isn't as powerful as 's. It emerges that the power problem is due to something happening at Sunyshore Tower, the source of all of the city's electricity. Suddenly the ground starts to quake, which causes damage to the Gym. Everyone then finds out what the problem is... have taken control of the tower. Jessie, James and are very pleased and say the motto before heading to the tower's cockpit... as it turns out the three have been busy turning Sunyshore Tower into a rocket planning to deliver it straight to  as a never ending source of power. Activating the rockets, Sunyshore Tower lifts off and starts to fly away. As getting away with Sunyshore Tower will leave the city without power permanently Ash and the gang give chase, with and  quickly getting ahead of their Trainers. The tower starts to climb and knowing they need to get on board now or not at all, Flint jumps and reaches the tower. Second is Volkner with his Raichu and finally, Ash and Pikachu. Dawn and Brock however are unable to grab on in time and are left behind. The tower starts to climb higher and higher and while Ash and Volkner have a good grip, Flint is unable to hold on and falls into the sea. Ash also loses his grip and begins to fall, but his hand is caught by Volkner. Ash and Volkner manage to get a firm footing and head into the tower to confront Team Rocket.

Meanwhile, Dawn, Brock and Flint head the Pokémon Center where they meet with Nurse Joy. Brock, as usual, falls in love and Croagunk, as usual, brings him back down to earth. Nurse Joy is very worried about the Pokémon that are supposed to be getting treatment in the Center, as without power their conditions will go untreated and may even get worse. The back-up generator for the Center is not functioning, while all the adults available, including the Proprietor are working as fast as they can to get it running. Luckily Nurse Joy has a back-up power supply... two bicycles connected to a small generator. Flint is happy to help and stating that he used to be quite the marathon rider, immediately gets on the left bike and starts pedaling. Brock begins to help as well, getting on the right bike.

Inside Sunyshore Tower, Ash and Volkner head to the cockpit to find Team Rocket. As they prepare to enter the cockpit, Ash and Volkner are suddenly trapped in a cage alongside Pikachu. Jessie talks to them over the speakers, telling them that Team Rocket have watched their every move and that they plan to dump the cage before taking the tower to Giovanni. Ash and Volkner have Pikachu and Raichu use and  on the cage, however this backfires as it not only doesn't break the cage but instead the power is redirected into Sunyshore Tower's generators. Meowth comments that for now they're the ecologically friendly in Team Rocket as they're not letting a single volt of electricity go to waste. Ash knows he's got to try something different and sends out, commanding him to use on the side of the cage. Gible is able to easily break the cage apart, and Ash and Volkner head towards the cockpit. Once entering, Gible starts to munch on the platform that Team Rocket installed before Ash returns him to his Poké Ball. Ash demands Team Rocket return Sunyshore Tower back to its correct location, but Jessie and James naturally refuse and send out and  to battle.

In the Pokémon Center, Flint's cycling experience is not failing him. Brock's energy is flagging but instantly gets a second wind when Nurse Joy encourages him, and manages to surpass Flint in the amount of power being generated.

Pikachu and Raichu attempt to use Thunderbolt and Thunder against the two Pokémon but once again the energy is redirected to power the tower and Pikachu and Raichu are already exhausted from the power drain when Seviper and Carnivine attack, allowing them to gain the upper hand. Ash sends out Grotle and it is able to use to send Seviper and Carnivine flying back. Ash orders a Razor Leaf to follow up, when Grotle starts to evolve! Becoming much larger and more powerful, Grotle evolves into to Ash's delight. Suddenly, instead of using Razor Leaf, Torterra uses a new attack... Volkner tells Ash that it's ! Using this, it sends Seviper and Carnivine flying back to Jessie and James who aren't impressed and attempt to send their Pokémon back into battle. Ash decides to wrap things up once and for all and has Torterra use Leaf Storm again. With the powerful move, Team Rocket is sent blasting out of the tower and away.

Unfortunately this causes a hole in the tower and air starts to rush out of it. Ash, Pikachu and Raichu cling on to Torterra for dear life and Volkner takes the controls in order to return Sunyshore Tower to its correct location, sealing the hole with an emergency bulkhead. In the Pokémon Center Brock starts to tire again but manages to keep going with Nurse Joy's encouragement, when the back-up generator finally comes online (to the cheers of everyone working on it). Suddenly Dawn spots Sunyshore Tower heading straight towards them! Although it is difficult, Volkner is able to get control of the tower and with Pikachu, Raichu and Luxray powering it with their Thunderbolt attacks, he manages to avoid the Pokémon Center and is able to return the tower back to its original position. With the tower returned, the power is restored to the whole city much to everyone's delight.

Outside Sunyshore Gym, Volkner regretfully tells Ash that although Sunyshore Tower is back, both the tower and the Gym have sustained serious damage. They're both going to take quite a while to repair and until they are both back up to speed the Gym battle will have to be postponed. Ash isn't too disappointed, as he knows getting the won't be easy as Volkner is clearly a very tough Gym Leader to defeat, and he can use the extra time to train... and besides, he isn't leaving Sunyshore City empty-handed as he now has a powerhouse on his team with Torterra. Brock congratulates Ash on Grotle's evolution, and Dawn looks up Torterra in her Pokédex. And so, bidding Volkner and Flint farewell and leaving Sunyshore City behind for the moment, the gang head for Valor Lakefront so Dawn can compete in the Grand Festival!

Major events

 * begins his Gym against Volkner, but it is interrupted when  steals the Sunyshore Tower.
 * Ash's evolves into  and learns.
 * Sunyshore Gym is damaged due to Team Rocket's scheme, causing Ash's Gym battle to be postponed until it is repaired.

Pokémon debuts

 * Ash's Torterra

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Officer Jenny
 * (fantasy)
 * Volkner
 * Proprietor
 * Sunyshore City residents
 * Volkner
 * Proprietor
 * Sunyshore City residents
 * Sunyshore City residents

Pokémon

 * (evolves)
 * (newly evolved)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (evolves)
 * (newly evolved)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)
 * (Volkner's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination:
 * This episode is the last time that Officer Jenny was voiced by Chinami Nishimura in the original version and Emily Williams in the dub.
 * This is also the final appearance of the original Officer Jenny design in the main series (it appeared again much later in SS027).
 * and narrate the preview of the next episode.
 * As of this episode, this is the first time when Ash has more than one fully evolved starter Pokémon from the same region. Interestingly, happens just three episodes after.
 * and James break the fourth wall by humming along with the 's music.
 * This episode marks the first time Ash has used a Pokémon other than in an official  against an  Gym Leader.
 * This is the only Sinnoh Gym that  successfully interrupts.
 * This is the first episode featuring Ash's Gible in which he does not attempt to use.
 * Music from Mewtwo Strikes Back, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, and Giratina and the Sky Warrior are used as background music.
 * The dub's title is based on the, a famous landmark found in Italy.
 * In this episode, Team Rocket uses a of their motto.

Errors

 * In the scene after Officer Jenny explains that has suffered a power outage, the fingers on one of Volkner's hands have not been drawn in.
 * In several scenes, the hem of Volkner's jacket is yellow instead of blue.
 * Just as the tower blasts off, Volkner and jump and climb in first, then Ash and Pikachu. However, a few scenes later, Ash and Pikachu are seen above Volkner.
 * When Ash's Pikachu and Volkner's Raichu are charging up the energy reserves of the tower, their cry is heard despite their mouths being closed.
 * In the ian dub, occurs a mistranslation, where the word "Fleeing" is confused with "Feeling".
 * Pikachu falls toward Ash and Torterra and then continues to use, but in the next panel, Pikachu is seen next to Raichu and again.

In other languages
Der fliegende Turm von Sonnewik! EP635 DP166 DP編第166話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第164集