DP003

When Pokémon Worlds Collide! (Japanese: ライバルバトル！三対三！！ Rival Battle! Three VS Three!!) is the third episode of the, and the 469th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired Japan on September 28, 2006. It aired in the US on April 20, 2007 as part of a special preview, two days before the American release of Diamond and Pearl. It was later broadcast in sequence in the United States on June 6, 2007

Blurb
When last we left our heroes, Ash and Brock were searching for Dawn and Pikachu, unaware that a stranger was spying on Ash's latest Pokémon capture. Now the stranger reveals himself as Paul, a Trainer with a tough Elekid and a surly attitude. Paul catches his own Starly and challenges Ash to a battle—but without Pikachu, Ash doesn't have enough Pokémon for a 3-on-3 battle! Paul leaves, leaving Ash embarrassed.

Elsewhere in the forest, Team Rocket swoops in and snatches Pikachu again despite the best efforts of Dawn and her Piplup. Ash shows up just in time to stop the villains, giving all our heroes a chance to finally meet each other. Then it's off to the Pokémon Center, where they find Professor Rowan. They all visit Rowan's lab where there's a package waiting for Ash, but there's another surprise waiting for him as well: Paul!

This time, Ash is more than ready for a battle. Both Trainers send out Starly, but Paul's Starly comes out the winner. Then it's Ash's Aipom against Paul's Chimchar, and Ash claims the victory! But in the last round, Elekid and Pikachu's battle is almost too close to call. Neither Ash nor Paul is happy with a draw. Ash sure doesn't appreciate Paul's attitude, either. Paul turns down Ash's request for another battle, but it's a safe bet that their rivalry is far from over!

Plot
,, and are continuing their search for , now aided by Ash's newly-caught. Meanwhile,, Pikachu and are retracing their steps hoping to find Ash. Ash and Brock suddenly notice an Electric attack in the distance which they go running towards, thinking it must be Pikachu.

However, it turns out that the attack is actually coming from an which is attacking a flock of. The Elekid's Trainer throws a Poké Ball towards one. However, the Starly he throws the Ball towards is the one owned by Ash and, therefore, the capture fails. As the Trainer catches the Ball, Ash arrives and calls Starly to sit on his shoulder before asking the Trainer if he's seen Dawn and Pikachu to which he hasn't. The Trainer, who saw Ash capture Starly, then asks if he's sure the Starly he caught is the best one. He then throws three Poké Balls which all contain a Starly each. The Trainer then explains that by scanning a Pokémon with the Pokédex a Trainer can see what attacks it knows thereby saving a lot of time and energy in the long run. After scanning the three Starly to see which of them know, he then returns them all to their Poké Balls. Then, after telling two of the Starly to get lost as they're not needed, he throws two of the Poké Balls which send out the Starly with a blue light, signifying their permanent release. Ash remarks this is an unusual way to treat Pokémon, as he believes any Pokémon has the ability to be strong and the Trainer challenges Ash to a three-on-three battle. Unfortunately, Ash has to refuse as he only has Aipom and Starly on him now to which the Trainer doesn't take kindly. After calling Ash pathetic he takes his Elekid and leaves.

Before Ash can get too angry about the incident, he and Brock hear the sound of a in the distance. Knowing that only Pikachu knows that move, the two begin running... and the mention of Volt Tackle catches Elekid's Trainer's interest. However, Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup are having their own problems as has reappeared and cornered them with another giant robot. Despite Piplup's best attempts, Team Rocket successfully snag Pikachu to Dawn's horror. With his attack not working, Piplup charges the mech but is no match and gets knocked out. Jessie mocks the fact that Piplup is a flightless bird and sends the robot's hands down and almost grabs Piplup when Aipom and Starly burst through the trees and attacks with and  attacks. Pikachu and Dawn are shocked to see the Pokémon. Ash realizes Team Rocket are in the machine. They step out onto a platform in front of it and say their new motto, much to Ash's distaste. Ash climbs a tree and jumps onto the machine's arm, climbing up to Pikachu. Dawn is stunned at the lengths he will go to for Pikachu, while also very scared for Ash at the same time. Ash tries to force the hand open and the machine begins to malfunction. Brock tells Dawn to duck and they do. The robot explodes and Team Rocket go blasting off.

Brock and Dawn become worried for Ash and Pikachu, who are still in the rubble. Finally emerging from the rubble, Ash, Pikachu, Aipom, and Starly reunite. Ash officially introduces Pikachu to Starly. Ash then introduces himself to Dawn and scans her Piplup with his Pokédex. Exhausted, Piplup collapses. Brock takes him in his arms, gives him some Potion and he feels better instantly. At a phone booth, the gang makes a call to Professor Rowan. He reveals that he has a parcel at the lab from Ash's mom. In the forest, Paul and his Elekid examine Team Rocket's broken robot. Ash is tougher than he thought.

Walking down the road together, Ash, Dawn, and Brock are approached by Officer Jenny who is glad Ash found his Pikachu. At the lab, Ash opens his parcel, surprised to find new clothes, a new, new shoes, and a new backpack. After putting them on, he calls his mom, telling her he is all right. He also calls Professor Oak, who chats with Rowan. In the living room, Dawn asks Ash if she could come along with them to which Ash agrees. Piplup, Aipom, and Starly are recalled into their Poké Balls, leading Dawn to ask Ash why he doesn't place Pikachu in his Poké Ball as well. Ash explains that Pikachu hates traveling in a Poké Ball especially when his shoulder does just fine which amazes Dawn. Professor Rowan explains to Dawn that different Pokémon have different personalities. It's time for the gang to depart, and Ash thanks Professor Rowan for everything he's done. However, just as they leave Ash and Brock find Paul waiting for them. Paul tells Ash that now he has three Pokémon they can have a battle. Ash is now more than happy to accept a challenge from the arrogant Trainer, and Professor Rowan offers them use of his back garden for the battle.

As the two face off, Brock offers to act as referee while Paul spells out the rules; it will be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions, the first to reach two wins will get the match. Both Trainers release their Starly. Ash starts off by commanding his Starly to use but the opponent manages to dodge it. Paul's Starly uses. Ash tries to counter with a, but Paul's Starly uses followed by another Aerial Ace and as a result, Ash's Starly is knocked out. Ash recalls Starly, as does Paul.

Ash throws a Poké Ball and his Aipom emerges. Paul throws out his, which Ash scans with his Pokédex. Aipom launches a Swift attack, but Chimchar counters with Ember, and the two attacks explode on contact. Aipom prepares to use, but Chimchar uses , stopping the attack, as Rowan explains Focus Punch fails if the Pokémon is hit when the attack is charging up. Aipom uses Double Team, but an destroys all the clones, and the real Aipom is slashed by Chimchar's. Ash orders another Focus Punch, as Paul prepares to intercept it, but Aipom jumps into the air, dodging the Flame Wheel. Aipom smashes down into Chimchar with Focus Punch, knocking the fire monkey out. The Trainers recall their Pokémon.

Ash then sends out Pikachu and Paul sends out his Elekid. Ash starts things off by ordering Pikachu to use, but Elekid simply absorbs the attack. Paul then tells Elekid to use. Elekid revolves its arms and fires off a huge electric bolt at Pikachu, who takes the attack as well. Ash then tells Pikachu to use. Paul tells Elekid to use to stop the attack. Pikachu is sent flying back, and Dawn wonders why Pikachu took damage. Professor Rowan explains that while Volt Tackle is a powerful move, it also damages the user.

Pikachu gets up however, and Ash tells him to use. While Paul orders Elekid to counter the move with. Pikachu jumps towards Elekid, and the two exchange blows for some time, before Elekid manages to land a attack. However, the strain of the battle takes its toll on both Pokémon, and Pikachu and Elekid fall down at the same time, defeated. Brock announces that the battle was a tie, and that the whole three-on-three battle was also a tie, with both Trainers with one win, one loss and a draw. Ash takes Pikachu into his arms, telling his partner that as he was the first to go down Ash considers it a loss, however Paul walks over to him and says that as it was called a draw, a draw is what it is. Then Paul pulls a Poké Ball from his belt and releases his last remaining Starly. Ash asks what he did that for, and Paul tells him that there will be other Starly even stronger than this one. He then bows to Professor Rowan, before walking off. Ash stares at him angry on seeing such disrespect to Pokémon.

And so, having made a new friend and a new rival, Ash and Pikachu prepare for their adventures in Sinnoh, not knowing what awaits them...

Major events

 * and meet Paul, Ash's newest rival.
 * Paul three  and  two, keeping the one that knows, only to release it later.
 * Ash and Brock find and meet  for the first time in the middle of a battle with.
 * Ash changes to his outfit.
 * Ash and Brock decide to travel with Dawn.
 * Brock meets Professor Rowan for the first time, while Dawn meets Paul for the first time.
 * Paul challenges Ash to a three-on-three battle, which ends in a tie.
 * Paul is revealed to own a.
 * Ash decides to head for the Oreburgh Gym after the.

Pokémon debuts

 * Paul's Chimchar

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Paul
 * Professor Rowan
 * Officer Jenny
 * Paul
 * Professor Rowan
 * Officer Jenny
 * Officer Jenny

Pokémon

 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)
 * (Paul's; ×3; all eventually released)

Trivia

 * This originally aired as a two-hour special on September 28, 2006, together with Following a Maiden's Voyage! and Two Degrees of Separation!. As such, they are also the first episodes to air in Japan after the earliest releases of in Japan and.
 * Meowth says that they have been chasing for as long as Dawn has been alive. This is a reference to the fact that the Pokémon anime had been airing for almost ten years at the point that this episode had aired (being nearly exactly ten years between the first Japanese airing of Team Rocket's debut and the English dub of this episode), the same as Dawn's age. However, if this is taken literally, Dawn as a character had only been envisioned at most a few years previously, meaning that her age in that context would be around three or four years old at the most.
 * This is the first episode when Team Rocket recites their Sinnoh.
 * Music from Jirachi: Wish Maker and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew are used as background music.
 * The eyecatches feature Ash (in his clothes), Dawn, and Brock.
 * The ending credits consist of the first three episodes of.
 * The title card music for the English dub has changed and will stay the same until Shield with a Twist!.
 * The title of the episode may have come from one of the multiple pieces of media titled "."

Errors

 * The Pokédex incorrectly refers to Chimchar as the Monkey Pokémon, when it is really the Chimp Pokémon.
 * When Ash and his friends are on the phone to Professor Oak, his haircut flips multiple times.
 * In the, recoil damage from a move like does not happen when blocked with , since the recoil damage on the user is divided from 1/3 the damage that is inflicted on the opponent.
 * During and Paul's battle, Ash substituted  for, yet Paul stated that substitutions were not allowed.

Dub edits

 * When the first three episodes aired together on April 20, 2007, they were made into a TV movie, cutting several parts out. All of these were restored when the episodes aired separately in reruns.
 * When the narrator recaps what happened in the previous episode in the beginning, it was cut out. Instead, it shows Ash's Starly searching in mid-air.
 * The episode title is cut out once more.
 * At the end of this episode, the very last scene is slowed down so the "TO BE CONTINUED..." isn't present.
 * The original version reveals Paul's hometown to be Veilstone City, but the dub makes no reference to his hometown at all. It would not be revealed in the dub until Top-Down Training!, 37 episodes later.

In other languages
Endlich vereint! EP472 DP003 DP003 DP編第3話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第3集