A Goldenrod Opportunity
| Picture |
|
| Japanese Title |
| Goldenrod Gym! Speed and Power?!? |
| Episode Pictures |
 Yes |
| Who's That Pokemon? |
 Squirtle |
| First Aired |
| August 18, 2001 |
| Events |
| Ash is defeated by Whitney. |
| Mistakes |
| None |
| Cut Scenes |
| None |
After a long time between gyms, our heroes have finally arrived in Goldenrod City, the home of the Goldenrod City Gym and hopefully Ash's third Johto badge. Ash has his sights set on going straight to the next gym, but Misty and Brock want to do other things. Ash tells the gang that they aren't there to go shopping, meet girls or eat burgers; they're there to win a badge. Ash then leads the gang to the gym and they find out that it's closed for the day. Brock suggests that they head over to the Goldenrod Galleria, where they can spend the day and have fun until the next day, when Ash can go for the next badge.
The only problem is that Brock's navigating skills aren't that great and the gang ends up lost in a dead end. Pikachu then runs back the way they came, but ends up colliding with a Clefairy. Ash goes over and picks up the Pokemon to see if it's ok and at the same time the owner of the Clefairy checks out Pikachu to see if it's also ok. The trainer plants a kiss on Pikachu and says that she knows how to make a boo-boo feel better. Brock takes that as a hint and out of nowhere smashes his head against a wall, trying to tell the trainer that she should kiss his boo-boo. Then on cue, Misty grabs Brock's ear and carries him away saying the girl only kisses boo-boos, not bozos. The girl then introduces herself as Whitney and tells Ash that she would be happy to direct our heroes to the galleria.
Whitney takes our heroes through an underground shopping arcade and up a staircase, saying that this secret passage should lead them to the galleria lobby. It "should", but it doesn't and the group ends up even further away than they were before! They then try another route, but they end up at the Pokemon Salon. They leave and add yet another "bad joke", saying that they're looking for a shortcut, not a haircut. Eventually through a fluke, the gang finally ends up at the Goldenrod Galleria. Whitney tells everyone to follow her through the "automatic doors", but the only problem is that they aren't automatic and Whitney runs right into the glass.
Inside the galleria, Team Rocket helps themselves to a couple "free samples" of food. James tries some out and says that food tastes so much better when it's free. As Team Rocket continues to eat, an employee approaches them and asks them if they're going to buy anything. After a modified version of the usual Team Rocket motto, the employee forces them to pay off their debt by selling drumsticks, turkey, and other assorted items. At that point, James spots Whitney's Clefairy wandering around the store. They hurry after it, hoping that they can finally successfully steal a Pokemon for the boss.
Meanwhile, Whitney apologizes to Misty for starting off on the wrong foot and tells her that she's glad that she was able to finally go shopping. As Whitney is about to part with the gang, she realizes that her Clefairy is missing. Everyone, with the exception of Brock, who is lagging behind with all the shopping bags in his arms, chases after Pikachu as it runs off to find the lost Pokemon.
Not too far away Team Rocket sneaks up on Whitney's Clefairy, and after successfully bagging it the gang spots them. Team Rocket decides to run for it instead of having a Pokemon battle as the chase begins. They head for the Magnet Train Station where they hope to get away in a train. They ask then man when the next train leaves and he responds by saying that it's a year from next Tuesday. With no other option, Team Rocket tries to use a handcar to try and get away. Ash tells Pikachu to chase after it and with no trouble at all, catches up to the slowly moving car. Ash then tells Pikachu to use it's Thunderbolt attack, but before it can deliver the attack, Jessie surrenders and gives back the Clefairy.
Thinking that it's all over, Pikachu stops paying attention to Team Rocket and is bagged. Whitney orders her Clefairy to use Metronome and it uses Gust blowing Pikachu into Ash's arms. Ash decides to finish this as Pikachu unleashes a Thunder attack. The handcar and its occupants are shocked, and suddenly it starts moving at an insane speed. James figures that Pikachu's attack must've activated the electromagnetic engine in the car. Team Rocket speeds away, zooming off again and with that are literally out of the picture. Ash thanks Whitney for rescuing his Pikachu. Whitney says that she would love to have a Pokemon battle with him, but Ash declines saying that he needs to get ready for his gym battle the next day. Asking Ash why he didn't say so sooner, Whitney tells him she could've gotten him in today. Confused, Ash asks Whitney if she's the gym's cleaning lady. Whitney realizes that she forgot to tell Ash who she was before, and to the amazement of our heroes, reveals her identity as the Goldenrod City Gym Leader.
Inside the Goldenrod Gym, the referee announces that the battle will be three on three. Whitney starts out and calls out her Nidorina, while Ash counters by sending out his Cyndaquil. Nidorina starts off by using its Poison Sting attack, but Cyndaquil counters it with a Flamethrower. Nidorina then goes for a Tackle attack, but gets knocked out with a Flamethrower giving the first round to Ash. Whitney calls back her Nidorina and brings out her Clefairy who starts off with a Metronome. Expecting the worst, Ash and Cyndaquil get ready for anything, but to their amazement, it uses Splash! Cyndaquil then starts firing it's Flamethrower at Clefairy and it surrenders.
Now a one-on-three battle, Ash thinks that this battle could end up being a pushover, but is proven wrong with the summoning of Miltank! Miltank starts by using its Rollout attack and hits Cyndaquil a few times before knocking it out. Totodile then is Ash's next Pokemon and it uses a Water Gun attack, which has no effect! Totodile is then hit by a devastating attack and is knocked out in one hit! With one Pokemon left Ash selects his most electrifying Pokemon Pikachu since Miltank is already wet. Pikachu immediately uses a Thunderbolt attack, however it fails to affect Miltank putting Ash in deep trouble since Miltank's Rollout made it totally dry. Ash tells Pikachu to use Agility tries to out speed the spinning Pokemon, but it's too late and Pikachu falls over in pain and Ash loses the battle.
Whitney is happy and congratulates her Miltank on the win. She tries to make Ash feel better and says that if he ever wants a rematch, she'd be happy to accept his challenge. Whitney walks away, leaving our heroes with a crushing lose. Getting the Plain Badge will not be as easy as Ash once thought.