The Virbank Gym battle rages on between Ash and Gym Leader Roxie! Ash has finally managed to knock out Roxie’s powerful Koffing, but it soon becomes clear that her Scolipede is just as powerful, as it makes short work of Ash’s Leavanny. He has three Pokémon left to Roxie’s two—but the numbers advantage doesn’t necessarily mean Ash has the upper hand!

Next up is the Fire-type Pignite, who has an advantage over the Bug-type Scolipede—and in a fiery battle, switching between Flame Charge and Flamethrower, Pignite manages to take Scolipede down! But Pignite has been hit with Toxic, and it’s badly poisoned...at least until Roxie generously offers it a Pecha Berry to cure the poison.

Roxie is down to just one Pokémon left: her enormous Garbodor. The battle between Garbodor and Pignite is a wild back-and-forth exchange, and Roxie’s fans never stop cheering her on—so Iris decides Ash needs some moral support, and she and Axew start cheering for him! After Garbodor eliminates Pignite with a powerful Hyper Beam, Ash sends out Palpitoad...but their bout doesn’t last long, as Garbodor’s combination of Gunk Shot and Venoshock proves to be overwhelming.

Ash calls on his final Pokémon—it’s Pikachu, of course! Pikachu’s speed keeps it out of Garbodor’s reach for some time, but the big Pokémon eventually manages to grab Pikachu and land several direct hits with DoubleSlap—which triggers Pikachu’s special Ability, Static! Garbodor is paralyzed, giving Pikachu an opening to attack. But before too long, Garbodor shakes off its paralysis and tries to turn the tide again.

To lift Ash’s spirits, Iris breaks out the face paint and recruits Cilan to her cheering squad, and their drumming and chanting are loud and clear over Roxie’s rowdy crowd! With that morale boost, Ash and Pikachu battle back with a series of crackling Electric-type attacks, and with one last Electro Ball, Garbodor is down and out—and Ash has won the Toxic Badge, putting him directly on the path to the Unova League!