AG167

What I Did for Love! (Japanese: 大一番！ハルカVSタケシ！！ Decisive Game! VS !!) is the 167th episode of the, and the 441st episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on March 9, 2006 and in the United States on November 18, 2006.

Blurb
Our heroes are in Gardenia Town for May's next Pokémon Contest, and there are a few new faces to meet. Say hello to Mollie and Yuma: one's a beginning Coordinator, the other an experienced pro here as a spectator! Of course, Brock falls for Yuma on sight. And when she praises his skills as a Pokémon breeder and says that she takes on new Coordinators as students, he signs up for the Pokémon Contest in a flash. Now May has two competitors to look out for!

Even though it's their first time at a Contest, Brock and Bonsly do a great job in the appeals round. So great, in fact, that Yuma invites Brock to come study with her after the Contest is over! Brock defeats Mollie and then faces off against May in the final round, with his Marshtomp battling her Eevee. Eevee has learned a new move, Dig, but Marshtomp's can track Eevee's movements underground. Looks like May will have to come up with another strategy if she wants to win!

This match goes down to the wire, but after a hard-fought battle, May comes out the winner. That's no problem for Brock because Yuma said she'll take him on as a pupil whether he wins or loses. Except after the Contest, she tells him he's so good, he doesn't need her help. She's going to take Mollie as her pupil instead! Crushed, Brock gives up on the Contest world, but at least May has new hope for the future—and a new prize ribbon!

Plot
The upcoming Gardenia Town Pokémon Contest gives the chance to win her fourth Ribbon. May trains with her to prepare it for its debut. Meanwhile, a girl named Mollie and her are trying to register for the Contest. Having briefly run away from May, Eevee pops out of the ground, knocking Mollie over. May apologizes, and Mollie asks for directions to the registration desk. gives her the directions, so Mollie runs off. Eevee goes underground again and comes back up, knocking down. Max points out to May that Eevee has learned.

A girl approaches Brock and picks up, calling it cute, which Brock first mistakes as a compliment for him. She introduces herself as Yuma, a. Brock says he is also a breeder, but Yuma already noticed based on how he raises his Pokémon and the food he feeds them. Brock sends out his other Pokémon for evaluation and shows the Pokéblock that he feeds to his. Yuma seems impressed at Brock's talent and asks if he enters Contests, but he does not, which surprises her. Yuma reveals that she was once a and has even won the Grand Festival. Since becoming a Top Coordinator, she decided to pass her techniques on to other Coordinators, mainly beginners. May asks Yuma to teach her some techniques, but Yuma mentions that May is already good enough. Brock immediately runs into the Contest Hall and quickly returns with a Contest Pass, officially entering himself in the Gardenia Contest.

Meanwhile, Jessie orders and James to help her sell fake Ribbons and merchandise to make money in order to get her new costumes since she sold off her Jessebella wardrobe to cover the cost of their mechas. James looks at the fake Ribbons and notices, to his dismay, that Jessie is using his bottle caps to make them.

The Contest begins with Lilian presenting the Gardenia Ribbon prize. Backstage, Brock feels nervous and excited at an official battle. The Appeals Round begins with Mollie sending out Raticate. It uses to quickly grind a log into dust, shining its fangs and getting appeal. May opens with, using to create waves of dust. It follows up with to create a tall pyramid before using  to  the structure, ending with a strong appeal.

Brock makes his debut as the last contestant, sending out Bonsly and opening with. Brock deviates from the Contest routine with his usual attraction to Nurse Joy, and Lilian pulls him away. He bounces back by tossing a at Bonsly, the  catching it with its head branches. He throws five baseballs in the air as Bonsly uses to juggle them, gaining a strong appeal. May watches nervously at Brock's first performance. With the preliminary round's end, Lilian announces the eight Coordinators advancing to the Contest Battles. May, Brock, and Mollie make it. Yuma and the others head to the back and praise them both. Yuma surprises everyone by asking Brock if he would become her study apprentice.

The battle round begins with the first match, Mollie's against Brock's Marshtomp. Absol opens with and Marshtomp dodges. Absol attempts a, but Marshtomp fires in its path, causing it to slip. Marshtomp uses to knock out Absol, winning the round.

The scene jumps ahead to the final round, with May's Eevee against Brock’s Marshtomp. Eevee uses, but Marshtomp blocks with. Marshtomp counterattacks with Mud Shot, but Eevee uses Dig to avoid it. Brock orders Marshtomp to sense Eevee's underground movements with its fins. Eevee pops out of the ground, but Marshtomp fires Water Gun the instant it appears, knocking Eevee down. Marshtomp fires Mud Shot and Eevee dodges, but the mud sticks onto Eevee's leg and causes it to slip, allowing Marshtomp to follow up with. Eevee fires Shadow Ball, but Marshtomp's Water Gun negates the attack before it follows up with Tackle. Eevee goes underground, but Marshtomp Tackles Eevee as soon as it appears. Eevee repeats Dig a further four times, but Marshtomp dodges them all. Marshtomp uses Mud Shot to cover the field with mud and make it impossible for Eevee to use Dig. Eevee attempts to Tackle, but Marshtomp uses Water Gun to knock it back and cause Eevee to slip in the mud. Marshtomp fires another Water Gun to stop Eevee, taking away some of May's points. Despite not getting hit, it's shown to be a very close round.

With one minute remaining, May orders Eevee to jump on top of a dirt mound. Marshtomp fires Water Gun, but Eevee jumps and runs on the stream of water to Tackle Marshtomp, dropping Brock's points. Marshtomp tries to hit Eevee with Water Gun, but it dodges by jumping onto another dirt mound. Eevee then fires another Shadow Ball, hitting and lowering Brock's points. Eevee leaps from mound to mound while dodging Mud Shot attacks and lands a hit. Eevee uses Shadow Ball again, but Marshtomp's Water Gun stops the attack. At that moment, the time runs out. Since May has more points than Brock, she is declared the winner. Brock praises Marshtomp as Mr. Contesta presents May with the Gardenia Ribbon.

As the day ends, Brock is crestfallen to hear that Yuma has decided to take Mollie in as her student instead of him since she has more to learn. Now, May is now one Ribbon away from the Grand Festival. At the same time, has made enough money to get Jessie her costumes.

Major events

 * May's Eevee learns and is revealed to know.
 * Brock's Marshtomp is revealed to have learned and.
 * obtains a Kanto Contest Pass and enters a Pokémon Contest for the first time.
 * enters the Gardenia Town Pokémon Contest along with Brock.
 * May defeats Brock in the finals, winning the Gardenia Contest and earning her fourth Kanto Ribbon.

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Lilian Meridian
 * Raoul Contesta
 * Mr. Sukizo
 * Nurse Joy
 * Drew (photo)
 * Yuma
 * Mollie
 * Kent (photo)
 * Team Rocket booth customers
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 * Audience
 * Team Rocket booth customers
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 * Audience

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Trivia

 * I Won't Lose! ~Haruka's Theme~ was used as an insert song for the second time.
 * The baseball scene was a parody of the sports anime and manga  (巨人の星).
 * narrates the preview for the next episode.
 * Lilian pulls away from Nurse Joy in this episode.
 * The English title is a reference to the title of a song of the same name from the musical A Chorus Line.
 * Many minor characters from previous episodes can be seen on the scoreboard.
 * Team Rocket doesn't recite the or blast off in this episode.

Errors

 * After Brock directs Mollie to the registration desk, Max remarks about this Contest being her first, just like, but Mollie never revealed that information.
 * While is holding Eevee, the shading on her shirt suddenly disappears.
 * When Brock offers some of his special Pokéblock to Yuma, the Pokéblock was just normal Pokémon food.
 * When Brock commands his to use  to counter Eevee's  during their Contest Battle, he is shown wearing his backpack.

In other languages
Glück im Spiel – Pech in der Liebe! EP444 AG167 AG編第167話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第166集