BW073

Commanding the Clubsplosion Crown! (Japanese: 決戦ドンナマイト！ナゲキVSダゲキ！！ The Decisive Battle!  VS !!) is the 73rd episode of the, and the 730th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 5, 2012 and in the United States on August 4, 2012.

Blurb
The semi-finals of the Clubsplosion Battle Tournament are about to get under way, with Stephan and Sawk versus Bianca and Emboar battling first. Although Bianca and Emboar have been victorious twice in a row, a massive Karate Chop from Sawk eliminates them from the tournament, sending Stephan into the finals.

Next up is Ash and Scraggy versus Montgomery and Throh. Right away, Scraggy seems intimidated by the hulking Throh, and can’t seem to concentrate on its Focus Blast. The attack misses over and over again, and when Montgomery finally tells Throh to attack, its overwhelming power quickly ends Ash and Scraggy’s bid for the finals.

So, after all their tension outside the arena during the first several rounds, Stephan and Sawk are going up against Montgomery and Throh for the title—an aggressive and fairly even matchup! Throh’s power is fearsome indeed, and there are several instances when it seems Sawk is under threat from Throh’s Circle Throw. But on Stephan’s command, Sawk manages to drop and roll away from the grapple, avoiding most of the damage.

Finally, just as Throh has Sawk in a powerful Bind, Stephan calls for Sawk to use Bulk Up, which frees it from Throh’s grip—and then it unleashes a powerful Close Combat with its buffed-up muscles, giving Stephan and Sawk the win. And the wish Stephan made at Mistralton Tower has come true!

After celebrating with their friend, it’s time for our heroes to resume their journey to the Icirrus City Gym, where Ash hopes to win his seventh Gym Badge!

Plot
Don George announces the beginning of the first semifinal between Stephan and, angering Stephan after mispronouncing his name. runs into the stadium and pumps up, as Bianca enters on time and without tripping over herself. Sawk begins the battle with and  uses, but it dodges the attack. Sawk hurts Emboar badly with. Emboar unsuccessfully uses Hammer Arm again, as Sawk then attacks Emboar with. Emboar retaliates by him. Sawk then uses Bulk Up to power up again, as Emboar uses but misses. Sawk then uses two successive Karate Chops to knock Emboar out and win the match.

Don George announces the next Semi-Finals match, between and Montgomery. tries to use on, who however terrifies him by glaring. Scraggy runs back to Ash as Throh makes a gesture, telling him to come closer. Scraggy fires several s that miss, as Throh remains still. Throh moves towards Scraggy to use and Scraggy tries to fight back with, but is lured into Throh's. Scraggy uses on Throh but it does little damage, allowing him to use Superpower and throw Scraggy again. Scraggy fails to land another Focus Blast and Throh finishes him off with a, allowing Montgomery to move to the finals with Stephan. During a lunch break, Bianca rubs Sawk's arm and admires him before hugging him. Stephan and Sawk are served an easily digestible meal, as they chow down quickly. During their lunch break, the group realizes that Throh is hiding another attack from them, and presume that it will not be used until the finals.

As the final tournament battle is about to begin, Stephan and Montgomery enter the stadium with their Pokémon. Sawk begins with but Throh uses Circle Throw to throw him to the ground with Sawk able to land on his feet and avoid damage. Sawk tries to use Karate Chop on Throh but is grabbed while Throh is on his knees, and Throh uses Circle Throw on him again. Throh grabs Sawk with and takes him to the ground. Sawk uses Bulk Up, and then Close Combat to escape Bind. Sawk's next Low Sweep hits its mark, but Throh uses Superpower to throw him to the ground. Throh tries to hit Sawk when he is on the ground, but Sawk dodges the attack. The audience claps and cheers with excitement and Burgundy is jealous of Cilan's battle evaluation skills. Sawk bulks up but Throh grabs him and brings him into the air to do a Seismic Toss. Sawk is able to slip out of Throh's grip but they both hit the ground hard. Stephan as well as Ash and his friends yell for Sawk to get up. Both Throh and Sawk have trouble getting up. Throh moves in to finish off Sawk with Bind, but Sawk uses Close Combat. Sawk respectfully bows to Throh and walks away as Throh faints from exhaustion.

Stephan and Sawk hug each other after their victory. Stephan and Sawk acknowledge the crowd after they are announced as the winners of the championship. Montgomery respectfully shakes Stephan's hand to congratulate him on the win. Stephan is handed the sign with the year's supply of vitamins and he shows it to everyone in the stands. Don George tells the crowd to give a big round of applause to Stephan, who is furious due to the mispronunciations. Ash and say their goodbyes to their rivals and head off to Icirrus City. The narrator then mispronounces Stephan's name, which makes him mad.

Major events



 * Stephan defeats and advances to the final round.
 * Montgomery defeats and advances to the final round.
 * Stephan defeats Montgomery in the final round, winning the Clubsplosion tournament and a year's supply of Vitamins.
 * Stephan leaves.

Humans

 * Don George
 * Freddy O'Martian
 * Stephan
 * Burgundy
 * Georgia
 * Montgomery
 * Referee
 * Burgundy
 * Georgia
 * Montgomery
 * Referee

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:
 * (Montgomery's)
 * (Montgomery's)
 * (Montgomery's)
 * (Montgomery's)
 * (Montgomery's)
 * (Montgomery's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster:
 * Stephan breaks the fourth wall, doing so at the end of the episode when he tells the narrator that he is pronouncing his name wrong.
 * This is the first episode of the to have the same Who's That Pokémon? segment in both the original and international versions, and is also the first to have the same one since A Shipful of Shivers, 635 episodes ago.

Errors

 * 's forehead appears larger than normal in one scene.
 * While Stephan and Sawk are hugging each other, Sawk has four fingers on his right hand when he should have only three. His fingers are also missing their patterns.
 * The stand that Stephan and Sawk were standing on after he won the Clubsplosion tournament appeared to be big enough to hold only two people while Don George and Freddy O'Martian stood on the ground next to the stand. As the camera pans out giving a full view of the battle field, however, the stand is dramatically larger, appearing like a stage, and Don George and Freddy are standing on it along with Stephan and Sawk.
 * appears in its Spring Form despite them all being shown in Summer Form as of The Four Seasons of Sawsbuck!
 * When is asking  where they are heading now, Burgundy appears with the thin eyebrows, just like Bianca's.
 * In the dub, Burgundy says she is going to be an A-class Connoisseur when the correct term for females is A-class Connoisseuse.

In other languages
Wer gewinnt die Explodon-Krone? EP735 BW073 BW編第73話 精灵宝可梦 超级愿望 第73集