EP176

Ariados, Amigos (Japanese: アリアドス！にんぽうバトル！！ Ariados! Battle of Ninja Arts!!) is the 176th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on December 7, 2000 and in the United States on November 17, 2001.

Blurb
''Ash, Pikachu and Brock take a break by the lake while Misty heads deeper into the forest with Togepi. As Misty picks the local flora, Togepi wanders over to a very strange looking bush, it appears to have legs...spider legs! Summoned by Misty's shrieks, Ash and Brock discover an Ariados in the bush. Just then, a trainer from Fuschia City appears on the scene. She explains she's training with this Ariados to learn the special art of Pokémon Jujitsu. Accepting an invitation from the trainer, the gang joins her for a day at the Pokémon Jujitsu Academy. Find out what happens as Brock and Pineco blow the lid off a technical class, Ash is critiqued on battle techniques and Misty gets all wrapped up in Pokémon health, beauty and nutrition!''

Plot
, and  take a break by the lake while  heads deeper into the forest with. As Misty picks the local flora, Togepi wanders over to a very strange looking bush, it appears to have legs…spider legs! Summoned by Misty’s shrieks, Ash and Brock discover an in the bush. Just then, the Ariados's apparent Trainer reveals herself. The Trainer turns out to be, the sister of Koga, Fuchsia City's Gym Leader, from Kanto. She explains she’s training with her Ariados to learn the special art of Pokémon Jujitsu (a form of Martial Arts). Under the guidance of a Pokémon tutor, the Sensei of a Dojo, who is the true owner of Ariados, she is trying to perfect her skills in Pokémon Jujitsu alongside her Venonat. Accepting an invitation from the Sensei, the gang joins her for a day at the Pokémon Jujitsu Academy.

Donning special uniforms, red-colored for battle technique studies, which Ash chooses, yellow-colored for the technical class, which Brock chooses, and blue-colored for beauty-classes, which Misty is assigned. Initially reluctant to attend a beauty class, she swiftly changes her mind when told that the beauty treatments taught can make one look like a "movie star". To her horror, the treatment involves webbing is applied to the face as a moisturizer. Meanwhile, Brock and his impress the class and its teacher with their highly synchronized battle demonstration. In Ash's class, he and Aya have a rematch of their battle. Ash uses his against Aya's, and initially the battle follows the same pattern as their previous match, with Bulbasaur using his powerful  attack to simultaneously trap and drain Venonat's energy.

However, Venonat shrugs off the Leech Seed and nearly wins the battle with a - combination. Demonstrating Ash and his Pokémon's ingenuity and understanding of each other, Bulbasaur uses his to push himself high into the air, and then at Ash's prompting, uses Vine Whip to attack Venonat from the air, winning the match. Meanwhile, observes the battle and the amount of rare Pokémon present at the center, and plots to steal the Pokémon. Later, when everyone is going to sleep, Pikachu hears a noise outside the center, so Ash goes to investigate, finding Aya training. They contemplate their future's as Trainers, until Venonat notices a strange occurrence. They find Poké Balls of most of the Trainers at the center to be stolen, moments later, Team Rocket unveils themselves as the thieves. They grab Pikachu and trap him in a metal cage (preventing the effectiveness of his electric attacks).

As they take flight in their balloon, the Sensei utilizes his glider to intercept Team Rocket and sabotage their balloon. He drops the Poké Balls to Ash and friends below, and then falls from the balloon. Exhausted by the pursuit, and Ash's Pikachu still trapped in a metal cage, the Sensei and Ariados cannot battle Team Rocket, leaving it up to Aya. She worries that she is not prepared to battle Team Rocket, though is assured by the Sensei that no one is ever fully ready for battle. Ordering her Pokémon to rest (it is not stated if it is actually using the move "Rest" or is simply sleeping), she makes a gamble that her Venonat will be able to last the duration of the time it is unable to respond to attacks, and is proven correct.

Upon waking, it uses and, stunning. Ash finally succeeds in removing Pikachu from the cage, and returns to beat Jessie and James' final attack. Aya reflects upon her choice to take a chance, and is praised by the Sensei for her turning "weakness into strength". When Ash and friends prepare to leave, the Sensei thanks them for their help, and promises them a place in his Dojo should they ever return.

Major events

 * and meet up with  again.
 * Brock's Pineco is revealed to know.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Tōkichi
 * Mickey
 * Other students
 * Tōkichi
 * Mickey
 * Other students
 * Mickey
 * Other students

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)


 * ('s)
 * (Tōkichi's; debut)
 * (Mickey's)
 * ('s)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainers'; ×4)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (multiple)
 * (×5)
 * ('s)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainers'; ×4)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (multiple)
 * (×5)

Trivia

 * The English title of this episode is a play on the Spanish phrase "".
 * This is the last episode to air in Japan before the earliest release of.
 * This episode was banned in, likely due to the overt focus on Japanese culture.
 * What Tōkichi says in this episode in regards to beauty ("Beautiful people are more beautiful...more so than people who are as they are") is similar to a line from Beauty and the Breeder, in which Jessie and James say, "Beautiful Pokémon are more beautiful...more so than people who are as they are".
 * Jessie's dance after the, when she mentions a list of Pokémon, could be a reference to the anime series .

Errors

 * In the scene where and  are seen in ninja jumpsuits,  is drawn with brown eyes when talking, instead of her usual blue ones.
 * When the episode title is read, the usual Pokémon logo isn't in the top left-hand corner.
 * 's uses  in this episode, despite being unable to learn Poison Sting normally.

Dub edits

 * The original airing of this episode on Hungama TV in started the episode directly from the title card, skipping the part of the episode that comes before it.

In other languages
Pokémon Jiu-Jitsu EP178 EP176 EP176 無印編第176話 精灵宝可梦 第177集