BW050

Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym! (Japanese: ライモンジム！華麗なる電撃バトル！！  Gym! Magnificent Electric Shock Battle!!) is the 50th episode of the, and the 707th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on September 29, 2011 and in the United States on February 25, 2012.

Blurb
In preparation for his challenge against Nimbasa Gym Leader Elesa, Ash is spending an extraordinary amount of time planning his strategy. The hard work proves valuable right away when their three-on-three battle begins: it’s Ash’s Palpitoad versus Elesa’s Zebstrika, who had defeated all of Bianca’s Pokémon the day before. Palpitoad, who’s immune to Electric-type moves, emerges victorious over the tough Zebstrika, but it’s exhausted.

Ash decides to keep battling with Palpitoad anyway, and Elesa brings out her Emolga, an Electric and Flying type. Emolga manages to defeat Palpitoad, and that’s when we learn that Ash’s strategy was to count on Palpitoad’s type advantage to defeat all of Elesa’s Pokémon! After taking a surprise time out, Ash comes back with Snivy…but with its supereffective Flying-type moves, Emolga quickly takes Snivy down.

Ash isn’t sure which Pokémon to use next…until Pikachu zaps him back to his senses! He brings his best buddy into the battle, and Pikachu defeats Emolga, forcing Elesa to bring out her secret weapon...the unlikely Tynamo. This tiny Pokémon proves to be powerful indeed, and Pikachu appears to be on the ropes. But Ash and Pikachu prove that their partnership is unmatched, as some quick thinking by both Trainer and Pokémon results in a unique strategy that overwhelms both Elesa and Tynamo! With the help of his trusty companion, Ash wins his fourth Unova Gym Badge!

Plot
is sitting on a bed with, busy on deciding which he should pick for his upcoming Gym  against Elesa. and watch Ash as he formulates his strategy. Pikachu eagerly wants to participate but Ash isn't sure yet. He decides to battle Elesa from a strategic view. He tells Pikachu that he's not going to use him, much to Pikachu's disappointment. Professor Juniper transfers over Ash's choice for the battle and Ash, Iris, and Cilan head to the Nimbasa Gym.

At the Gym, Ash tells Pikachu to sit out for this battle with Cilan and Iris. As Ash entered the field, Elesa greets him. She promises her fans that she'll put on spectacular performance which is responded with cheers from her fans. The referee announces that the match will be three-on-three.

Elesa sends out her. Cilan knew she would send out Zebstrika first again. Iris noted that Zebstrika single handedly defeated all three of 's Pokémon the previous day. Ash anticipated this and he sends out his. Iris and Cilan praise Ash for choosing Palpitoad for his type advantage against Pokémon. Ash commands a but Zebstrika dodges. Elesa tells Zebstrika to use which hits Palpitoad and sends him flying. However Palpitoad stands back up with no signs of damage. Zebstrika uses Flame Charge once more and it hits Palpitoad once again, but stands back up unfazed. Iris wonders why Zebstrika is using Flame Charge which doesn't damage Palpitoad much. Cilan notes that Elesa has something planned. Palpitoad uses but Zebstrika dodges using the speed it gained from its Flame Charge attacks. Zebstrika attacks with a, but Palpitoad dodges. Zebstrika uses Double Kick again and hits Palpitoad. Zebstrika uses to finish off Palpitoad. However, to Elesa's surprise, Palpitoad stands up. Ash decides to use which hits Zebstrika. Confused, Zebstrika is hit by a Mud Shot followed by Hydro Pump which knocks it into the wall, knocking it out.

Elesa thanks Zebstrika and returns it to its Poké Ball. Ash decides to keep on using Palpitoad, despite his fatigue. Elesa isn't worried and sends out her next Pokémon, an. Palpitoad starts off with a Supersonic, but Emolga uses to dodge, and then attacks Palpitoad. Ash tells Palpitoad to try again, but Emolga counters using, which works, revealing the two to be opposite genders, and makes Palpitoad dizzy. Ash remains confident since Electric-type attacks don't work on Palpitoad, but Elesa reminds him that Emolga doesn't only use Electric moves. Emolga uses and knocks Palpitoad out.

Ash is disappointed since Palpitoad was supposed to beat all of Elesa's Pokémon by himself. Ash didn't prepare another Pokémon, so he tries to think of which one to use next. Ash runs out of the Gym to the Pokémon Center to get his next choice. He returns shortly and sends out. Emolga starts off with Attract, but so does Snivy. Both attacks hit, but neither are affected since both are female, which Ash forgot. However Ash is still confident since Electric moves don't work well on Pokémon, but once again, he forgot that Emolga is a, and Flying-type moves are super effective against Grass types. Ash commands Snivy to use to keep Emolga away from her, but Emolga easily dodges. Snivy uses repeatedly, but Emolga evades. Snivy then uses, which hits Emolga, but barely does any damage. Emolga attacks Snivy using Acrobatics and then finishes Snivy off using Aerial Ace.

Ash is down to his last Pokémon, but doesn't know who to send out, stating that he has no Pokémon with an advantage over Electric and Flying-types. The referee tells him if he doesn't choose soon, he'll have to forfeit. Ash desperately tries to think of who would be most suited to battle Emolga. Pikachu unleashes a on Ash, being so fed up that he hasn't considered using him. Ash realizes rather than relying on strategy, he needs to rely on the bonds and tenacity of his Pokémon. Ash asks Pikachu to fight, which Pikachu happily accepts. Pikachu starts off with an, but Emolga counters with her own Electro Ball, causing both Electro Balls to cancel each other out. Pikachu uses Quick Attack and knocks Emolga into the wall, knocking her out.

Elesa decides to get serious and calls out her "Electric Queen." The Pokémon she sends out is a. Ash, Pikachu, Iris, and Cilan are surprised that the strange looking EleFish Pokémon is her ace Pokémon. Ash uses his Pokédex, but it still doesn't explain what's so special about her. However, Ash notes that he should still be careful. Elesa takes initiative and has Tynamo use. Tynamo quickly rushes to into Pikachu sending him from the field to the wall. Ash is stunned by her speed and power. Pikachu dislodges himself from the wall and returns to the field. Tynamo uses Tackle once more. Pikachu tries to dodge but Tynamo disappears. Pikachu looks upwards to see Tynamo descending swiftly downwards and Tackles Pikachu into the ground. Stuck, Pikachu tries to free himself, but Tynamo repeatedly Tackles Pikachu. Pikachu is worn out but he manages to pull himself out of the ground. Elesa decides to wrap things up with one more Tackle. Ash wonders how to overcome Tynamo's speed. Pikachu gives Ash a reassuring look. Ash understands and realizes that Pikachu can do "that." He then orders Pikachu to use a whole lot of attacks at the field. When the smoke clears the flat field is now rocky forcing Tynamo to attack Pikachu head on only. Elesa tries to stop Tynamo but she zips off as Pikachu readies an. At the last second Pikachu dodges Tynamo then quickly retaliates with Iron Tail. Tynamo is flown into the wall, knocking her out.

Elesa congratulates Ash and presents him with the. Outside Elesa suggests that Ash should continue to Driftveil City for his 5th Badge. However, Elesa mentions that the Driftveil Drawbridge is being repaired so he'll have to stay in Nimbasa City for a little while longer.

Major events



 * has a Gym with Elesa and wins, earning himself the.
 * Ash learns from Elesa that the next Gym is in Driftveil City, but has to wait to travel there because the Driftveil Drawbridge is closed for repairs.

Humans

 * Elesa
 * Female referee
 * Elesa's fans
 * Professor Juniper
 * Female referee
 * Elesa's fans
 * Professor Juniper

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:


 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)
 * (Elesa's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster:
 * Ash's Palpitoad is revealed to be male in this episode, which already knows.
 * As I'm Lost ~By Your Side~, an instrumental of By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~, is used as background music.
 * and narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * Unlike all other previews in the, this preview does not start with Ash talking.
 * This is the first time when Ash has switched his Pokémon team during a Gym.
 * This is also the first time Ash battles an Electric Gym Leader without having a rematch.
 * An instrumental of is used as background music during the first half of Ash's Gym battle.
 * This episode was initially given the title Battle - Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!.
 * Ash defeated all of Elesa's Pokémon exactly the same way: smashing them into the wall with the finishing move.
 * As Ash only had and  with him at the start of the battle, this is the only time his  is not in his active party during the Best Wishes series.

Errors

 * When Elesa is challenging Ash to a battle, Elesa's headphone on her head is colored the same way as her blonde hair. This scene will be reused in the future episode Climbing the Tower of Success!.
 * Ash claims that none of his Pokémon have a type advantage over . However, would have an advantage over, since s are weak to Rock attacks.
 * When Ash receives the Bolt Badge from Elesa, Palpitoad is much smaller than normal, barely reaching Ash's knee, whereas Palpitoad was roughly the same size as a kneeling Ash in Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!.

Dub edits

 * The aforementioned instrumental background music is replaced by an instrumental of.