Ep. 22: Ash faces Saffron City's psychic Gym Leader and her evolving Abra in a challenging battle.
Aired on August 26, 1997
22
The group reaches Saffron City, where a young woman operates a gym using psychic abilities. Victory grants Ash a gold badge, but she demands friendship if he loses. During the match, Pikachu struggles against her Abra, which evolves into the stronger Kadabra mid-fight. The Gym Leader wins decisively using superior psychic powers. Following this defeat, Ash meets a mysterious man who appears crucial to understanding the source of the girl's unsettling abilities and the strange circumstances surrounding her powers.
Episodes
- Ep. 18 · Ash and friends work for an old man in Acapulco after breaking his cruiser.
- Ep. 19 · Heroes confront a hotel project threatening coral reefs and Pokémon in Hutber Port.
- Ep. 20 · Ash and friends join a summer festival while Team Rocket seeks profit and a shrine scroll reveals a 2,000-year-old legend.
- Ep. 21 · Ash releases Butterfree near Saffron City as it seeks a mate during egg-laying season.
- Ep. 22 · Ash faces Saffron City's psychic Gym Leader and her evolving Abra in a challenging battle.
- Ep. 23 · Ash seeks a ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town to counter a psychic opponent.
- Ep. 24 · Ash seeks a badge in Saffron City while his ghost Pokémon aids him against the Gym Leader.
- Ep. 25 · The heroes face an aggressive Mankey that evolves into a violent Primeape during their journey.
- Ep. 26 · The group visits Celadon City where Ash is banned from a store over perfume prices before seeking a gym battle.