AG005

In the Knicker of Time! (Japanese: ジグザグマと短パン小僧！ハルカはじめてのバトル！！  and ! 's First Battle!!) is the fifth episode of the and the 279th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on December 19, 2002 and in the United States on November 22, 2003.

Blurb
''Brock is ready to travel again and has joined up with Ash, May and Max as the journey on towards Rustboro City. In the forest they encounter a giant Zigzagoon, which they soon realize is actually a trainer in a Zigzagoon suit. Nicholai the Knickerbocker is a trainer that believes in becoming one with Pokémon in order to understand them. While battling, he wears a costume of whichever Pokémon he is using. When not dressed as a Pokémon, he wears knickers in order to be closer to nature. Nicholai is very excited to learn that May is the daughter of the Petalburg Gym leader. He challenges her to a battle and quickly defeats her. Nicholai taunts her for losing, saying that he doesn't think her father will be difficult to beat since she is such an inexperienced trainer. Brock, Ash and May shrug off the defeat and continue on their way, but Max is furious. Without telling anyone, he goes off in search of Nicholai to defend his father's honor—but what will happen when he gets in trouble with a pack of angry Zigzagoon?''

Plot
As, , , and Max continue towards Rustboro City, Ash is using in a battle against a Trainer's. Beedrill uses and it hits Pikachu. Pikachu retaliates with, sending Beedrill to the ground. The boy tells Beedrill to get up, but Beedrill is knocked out. Brock announces that Ash and Pikachu win the battle. The boy thanks Beedrill for doing a great job and Ash for a great battle as they both shake hands. Afterwards, the group of four walk through the forest as they discuss the battle that just occurred. May and Brock talk about how the way Ash and the Trainer shook hands reveals true sportsmanship and friendship. Meanwhile, Max criticizes the way Ash battled, commenting that Ash should have used to avoid Twineedle.

Suddenly, a pops out of the grass and scurries away. Max immediately notes that the Zigzagoon that just appeared is much larger than the average Zigzagoon. Brock suggests that it could be because of what that Zigzagoon eats. They follow the giant Zigzagoon and discover a bunch of other Zigzagoon of normal size. The other Zigzagoon appear to be interested in the nearby and. Just then, the giant Zigzagoon makes its presence known by speaking out, and sounding very much like a human. It is then revealed that the giant Zigzagoon actually was a human, when it takes off its Zigzagoon suit, revealing a Trainer. The group of four exclaim in surprise. May freaks out, thinking that the Zigzagoon disguised itself as a human, and Max corrects her by saying that it actually was a human. May comments that she never knew that Zigzagoon could evolve into humans, leaving Max wondering if he and May were really related.

The Trainer challenges a real Zigzagoon to a battle and is about to call out his when Max brings May over to prove that the Trainer is human. May is still doubtful, and grabs the Trainer's face before she is finally convinced. Meanwhile, the Zigzagoon gets away. The Trainer yells at May and Max, claiming that it was their fault that he was unable to catch that Zigzagoon. His mood completely changes, however, when he discovers that they are wearing knickers. Ash and Brock make their way over, and the group questions who this Trainer is. Instead of answering the question straightforwardly, the Trainer reveals a few of his Pokémon suits, including a Zigzagoon,, and. He finally introduces himself as Nicholai the knickerbocker, explaining that knickerbockers are Trainers that thrive on communing with nature while exposing their knees. He claims that May and Max are knickerbockers as well, and asks them to introduce themselves. Ash and Brock follow up by introducing themselves, as well, but Nicholai only seems to acknowledge May and Max, telling them that they have two very worthy names for knickerbockers. The two reject the idea of being called knickerbockers.

Brock asks Nicholai why he was dressed in a Zigzagoon. Nicholai says that dressing up as a Pokémon allows him to become one with them and understand their inner feelings, making it easier for him to catch them. He says that he wants to catch a Zigzagoon before challenging the Gym Leader. May and Max reveal that the Petalburg Gym Leader is their dad. Nicholai instantly asks them for a battle, and Max offers up May to battle him since Max is too young to battle. When May tries to turn down the battle, Nicholai accuses her of being afraid to challenge him. She then accepts his challenge. The group moves to a nearby field to battle, and Brock is the referee. Nicholai sends out his Mudkip and quickly changes into a Mudkip costume. May sends out her, and Nicholai notes that her choice of Pokémon is odd since her is weak against his. Brocks announces that the battle has begun, and May tells Torchic to "start attacking" instead of calling out a move. Torchic's look of determination quickly turns into confusion, while May wonders why Torchic hasn't moved yet. Ash tells May that she has to tell Torchic what attack to use.

May tells Torchic to use, while Nicholai tells Mudkip to use. Water Gun completely drenches the Ember, rendering it useless. May then orders for a attack, and Max warns May not to let Torchic attack Mudkip straight-on. However, it is too late, as Mudkip sends out a Water Gun as Torchic approaches. Torchic is blasted backwards and hits the ground, as May runs over and pleads Torchic to get up. However, Torchic is knocked out and Brock announces that Mudkip is the winner. Nicholai talks about how easy it was to beat May, and is sure that getting a Badge at the Petalburg Gym will be just as easy. He leaves to go catch a Zigzagoon before challenging the Gym. Max is left furious, while Ash, Brock, and May shrug off the insult. While Nicholai is walking through the forest, spots him and his Mudkip. They then commence their plan to capture Mudkip.

At the same time, the protagonists are also walking through the forest, as May laments losing her first battle to Nicholai. Ash and Brock comfort May, stating that it was only her first battle and that she was at a type disadvantage. May then realizes that Max is missing. Nearby, Max is seen spying on Nicholai as Nicholai changes into a Zigzagoon costume and runs away in search for Zigzagoon to catch. Nicholai throws a bunch of fruit into the surrounding bushes, and Max realizes that Nicholai is using the fruit to lure out the wild Zigzagoon. Meanwhile, Ash, May, and Brock are searching for Max, but to no avail. Ash then decides to send out his to search for Max from the sky. Max has gathered a bunch of fruit in hopes that he will attract all of the Zigzagoon in the forest so that Nicholai won't be able to catch any. He calls out into the forest to get the Zigzagoon to come out. However, before he knows it, a large group of Zigzagoon have come out, completely surrounding him. Nearby, Ash's Taillow has spotted Max, and the group run to catch up to Max.

Max panics at the number of Zigzagoon surrounding him, and the Zigzagoon jump towards him to get the fruit. Ash and the group have finally caught up and hear Max's cry for help buried somewhere beneath the group of Zigzagoon eating the fruit. Ash commands Pikachu to use Thunderbolt. This succeeds in getting the Zigzagoon to stop surrounding Max, but the Zigzagoon regroup and now surround the group of four. Ash is about to get Pikachu to use, but Max says that all the Zigzagoon want are the fruit. Brock calmly offers the fruit to the Zigzagoon, but the one in front of him only kicks dirt in his face. May suggests that the Zigzagoon are so angry because they interrupted them just as they were about to eat. Just as the Zigzagoon continue closing in on the group, Nicholai in a Zigzagoon costume jumps into the center of the circle. Somehow in Zigzagoon language, Nicholai manages to get the Zigzagoon to follow him and stop surrounding the group. He leads them to a tree that is growing the same fruit, and gets a bunch of the fruit to fall down from it. He has his Mudkip use Water Gun on the surrounding trees, which gets more of the fruit to fall down.

All the Zigzagoon are happily eating the fruit as Ash and his friends approach Nicholai to thank him. Max apologizes to Nicholai, while Nicholai apologizes back for speaking about his father in that way. Max then asks how Nicholai learned how to speak Zigzagoon. Nicholai says that words aren't needed to communicate; rather, what's important to say what's in his heart. Nicholai picks a Zigzagoon to battle, and the Zigzagoon accepts. He then changes into his Mudkip costume and orders Mudkip to use Water Gun. The Zigzagoon avoids it and s Mudkip. Eventually, Mudkip manages to land a Water Gun on Zigzagoon, and Nicholai throws a Poké Ball at it. He successfully captures it, but just as he is celebrating his new capture, something grabs his Mudkip. It turns out that it's Team Rocket on their balloon. Nicholai asks who they are, and the trio proceed with their intro. Ash orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but Team Rocket deflects it back at them with a satellite. As they are about to drift away on their balloon, Nicholai refuses to let them leave with his Mudkip. He changes into an costume, using it to climb up a hill. The wild Zigzagoon see his efforts and begin digging into the ground in an effort to help.

Nicholai changes into a costume and jumps off a cliff. He flies towards the balloon and snatches away the cage that Mudkip is in. Ash sends out his Taillow and orders it to use Peck which sends Team Rocket's balloon flying around before landing the trio in the pitfall trap that the wild Zigzagoon have dug up using. As they climb out, they find themselves surrounded by Ash and the wild Zigzagoon. Jessie sends out her and James sends out his. Arbok uses and Weezing uses  while Pikachu dodges everything and hits them with Quick Attack. Finally, Pikachu sends Team Rocket flying with a. Afterwards, Ash and Nicholai have a battle with Taillow and Zigzagoon.

Major events

 * and meet a  named Nicholai.
 * participates in and loses her first Pokémon battle.
 * Nicholai a.
 * Ash's Taillow is revealed to know.

Humans

 * Nicholai

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nicholai
 * Trainer
 * James
 * Nicholai
 * Trainer

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:


 * (Nicholai's)
 * (Nicholai's; new)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (Nicholai's)
 * (Nicholai's; new)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)

Trivia

 * Jessie and James narrate the preview for the next episode. Instead of the normal preview music, however, the music for their is played.
 * This is the very last time that and  battle Jessie's Arbok and James's Weezing.
 * The English episode title is a pun on the phrase "in the nick of time."
 * This episode is featured on Volume 10: Mudkip and Volume 19: Torchic from Viz Media's series.
 * This is the only episode to be featured in Viz Media's Pokémon All-Stars series more than once.
 * The costumes worn by Nicholai are the same as those that can be bought in Pokémon Trainer Store at Pokémon.com.
 * Music from Pikachu's Vacation can be heard in this episode.

Errors

 * Max claims that an average weighs only eight pounds, but in the games they weigh an average of 38.6 pounds.
 * However, he does correctly state that they weigh 39 pounds in a later episode.
 * Nicholai says that he is a when in fact he is wearing a  costume.
 * However, this was corrected in the, , and dubs.
 * After faints, 's and Nicholai's costume's jaws are dark blue, when they should be the same as Mudkip's belly, and Mudkip's and Nicholai's costume's left cheeks are blue instead of orange.
 * When Nicholai walks away after defeating May, his Mudkip is on his right shoulder but when Team Rocket is watching him through their binoculars, the Mudkip is on his left shoulder.
 * When takes the food from Max to feed the Zigzagoon, he says there is enough for all of the Zigzagoon, when he is only holding seven fruits. There were noticeably a lot more than seven Zigzagoon.
 * When first captures Mudkip with their clamp, it encloses Mudkip fully, but when it is brought close to their balloon, the clamp is half-open.
 * In the Polish dub, Ash orders to use  instead of.
 * Also, is mistakenly referred to as.

In other languages
Ein Hoch auf die Knickerbocker! EP281 AG005 AG005 AG編第5話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第5集