After I have done with the testing of characters' screen time in this episode, I decided to write an article for this episode. In this episode, Ash had promised Ritchie that they would have the "best" battle for Pokémon League, but he was late in coming to the league because of Team Rocket wanting to catch Pikachu with a trick they played on him is that Jessie called him on the phone with a "voice changer" device to pretend to be Ritchie and their trick worked when Ash reached the trap and saw "Ritchie" waiting for him, but suddenly they threw a net at him and Pikachu and he realized that he wasn't the real Ritchie, but a puppet that Jessie was holding and he got very angry that he was tricked by them before they threw him and Pikachu into the van as they drove off at the end. When Ash and Pikachu came to their senses, Ash thought of a plan and called Squirtle to flood the van with his "Water Gun" attack so that he and Pikachu could get out of the van easily and they immediately ran together to reach the league, but Team Rocket continued to follow them as far as they ran but in the end, Ash ordered his Pokémon to attack Team Rocket in various situations he got involved with them before finally defeating them. After he made it to the league, the battle began immediately and it was kind of rough, but Ash lost because Charizard disobeyed his orders and refused to fight Sparky and fell asleep at the end. Although Ash was very upset that he lost due to his disobedient Charizard, he congratulated Ritchie on "winning" the battle and told him to do his best to win the next round for him and agreed with him in the end. Here are the ranking results that I have gotten for each character who have appeared in the episode:
21. Bulbasaur (12 seconds)
Well, despite he got some screen time in the previous episode, unfortunately, he got the least screen time out all of Ash's Pokémon by only appearing in the scene where Ash called him and ordered him to attack Team Rocket with his "Vine Whip" attack together with Pikachu by using his "Thunderbolt" attack and they were electrified before he recalled him back to his Pokéball and immediately ran to go to reach the league, but when he finally arrived and battled Ritchie, he didn't use his Bulbasaur because he knew that he was weak against fire-type Pokémon when Ritchie called out his Charmander (Zippo) and defeated Pikachu, so he decided to call out his Charizard to fight against Zippo, but I will explain more about this whole "Charizard" situation later, but yes, poor Bulbasaur fell to the last place for that reason though.
20. Weezing (14 seconds)
Now this is something that will surprise you a bit, but yes, James' Weezing have made another appearance in this episode, but just like in the previous episode, he was only in one scene where James ordered him to use his "Smog" attack to prevent Ash from following them and to catch Pikachu more easily, but at the same time, Ash decided to escape from Team Rocket along with his Pikachu by taking one of their bikes, so that's why Weezing is still low, but he ended up avoiding the last place and he surprisingly knocked out Bulbasaur to fall to the last place instead though.
19. Chansey (20 seconds)
And here we have a Pokémon that belonged to a supporting character and that is Nurse Joy's Chansey and she managed to beat out James' Weezing by 20 seconds of screen time, but she was only there with Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center which is why she didn't get that much screen time though.
18. Nurse Joy (23 seconds)
Just like her Chansey, Nurse Joy didn't get that much screen time either, but after she healed Ash's Pokémon, she told him that he is very lucky to battle a friend and she didn't care which of the two would win the battle and told him that he should be happy if his friend wins in the end as well, Ash agreed with her and before leaving with his friends, she assured him that he and Ritchie would have the "best" match in the world.
17. Delia/Ash's mother (30 seconds)
Well yes, Ash's mother didn't get that much screen time comparing to the previous episode and she was first seen sitting with Professor Oak while they wait for Ash to come to the league, but she was so worried about him and she asked Oak if her son was in trouble and that's why he hadn't come to the league yet and Oak told her that he probably was and she shouldn't worry about him because he thought he would come soon. But when her son finally came to the league, she scolded him for taking so long to come and Oak calmed her down. Even though her son lost the match due to his disobedient Charizard, she wasn't too upset and was happy to see him congratulate Ritchie and learn how strong their friendship is in the end.
16. Professor Oak (37 seconds)
Yes, Prof. Oak has around the same screen time as Ash's mother, but he beats out her by a few more seconds because in one scene, she asked him why did Ash's Charizard stop battling and he replied to her that maybe Charizard considered a fire-type Pokémon like Zippo the Charmander a more worthy opponent than a Pikachu like Sparky and that's what he thought why Charizard disobeyed Ash's orders and lost at the end though.
15. Pidgeotto (40 seconds)
Yes, Ash's Pidgeotto have gotten some more screen time than in the previous episode and Ash called him to help him pull the balloon with his legs as he flew as high as he could to reach the league, but then Pidgeotto was so tired at the same time when he led Ash and Pikachu to the league and when they arrived, he fell down exhausted and Ash decided to not use him in any battle against Ritchie's Pokémon and recalled him back to his Pokéball to rest at the end.
14. Zippo/Ritchie's Charmander (40 seconds)
Well yes, Zippo ended up having around the same screen time as Ash's Pidgeotto, but the reason why I decided to put him in the fourteenth place because he was actually used in the battle unlike Pidgeotto and he managed to defeat Ash's Pikachu, but he couldn't battle Ash's Charizard because he was trying to hurt him so much with his "Flamethrower" attack and Ritchie decided to recall him back to his Pokéball because he was so worried about him getting hurt from Charizard's "Flamethrower" attack as he doesn't want any of his Pokémon to get seriously injured, but in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, Ash's Charizard was so far violent that he caused poor Zippo (he was also a Charizard in the manga) to bleed when he bit his neck which made Ritchie panic and worry so much about his Pokémon suffering and when he tried to recall him, the machine that recalls his Pokémon was broken which caused him to worry more and break down in tears, but fortunately, Ash decided to recall his Charizard back to his Pokéball which after that, Ritchie immediately went to Zippo to see if he was okay and luckily, Zippo didn't die from the injury and was healed when he explained to Ash about his condition which is how it happened in the manga at the end though.
13. Happy/Ritchie's Butterfree (41 seconds)
And here we have another Pokémon that belonged to Ritchie who have managed to beat out Pidgeotto this time, but it lost to Ash's Squirtle who got more screen time than it despite that Squirtle "lost" the battle when Ritchie ordered it to use its "Sleep Powder" attack to put him to sleep that the referee declared that Squirtle was unable to battle and that Happy won. Then Ash was thinking about which Pokémon to use when at the same time, Pikachu decided on his own to battle Happy and he managed to defeat it with his "Thunderbolt" attack at the end though.
12. Squirtle (45 seconds)
As I have mentioned above, Squirtle has managed to get more screen time than Happy the Butterfree did because Ash also used him earlier in the scene where he told him to use his "Water Gun" attack to flood Team Rocket's van to help him and Pikachu get out of the van, so that's why he is ranked higher than Happy though.
11. Sparky/Ritchie's Pikachu (45 seconds)
Just like what I did with Zippo, I decided to put Sparky in the eleventh place because I believed that Happy helped with its "Sleep Powder" attack to cause Squirtle not able to beat out Sparky while he was asleep and that's why Sparky was safe and just like the previous episode, he was the one who have gotten the most screen time out all of Ritchie's Pokémon just like how Ash's Pikachu tends to have the most screen time out all of Ash's Pokémon as well.
10. Charizard (1 minute, 12 seconds)
Now this one will surprise you a lot, but yes, Ash's Charizard has managed to make it to the top 10 and has managed to beat out all of Ritchie's Pokémon by "stealing" so many screen time from them out of his stubbornness before falling asleep at the end though.
9. Togepi (1 minute, 47 seconds)
And of course, Misty's Togepi surprisingly has managed to beat out Ash's Charizard by getting some more screen time than him, but the surprising thing is that it has much less screen time than its trainer for this episode which you will find that out how she was ranked in that episode.
8. Brock (1 minute, 53 seconds)
And of course, Brock ended up being the one out of Ash's traveling companions who got the least screen time in this episode, so yes, sorry for upsetting any Brock fans here, but at least, he has managed to make it to the top 10 and coming out to the eighth place and he was also too close to make it to 2 minutes of screen time, but unfortunately, he didn't make it though.
7. Meowth (2 minutes, 11 seconds)
Once again, Meowth ended up being the one who got the least screen time out of Team Rocket trio, but at least, he is the first one who have managed to make it to 2 minutes of screen time by beating out everyone who have gotten less screen time than him, but Jessie and James tried their best to avenge his defeat which you will find out how they were ranked in that episode.
6. James (2 minutes, 38 seconds)
Well yes, James ended up having almost around the same screen time as Meowth, but he failed to make it to the top 5 though, so yes, Jessie ended up having the most screen time out of them for once again.
5. Jessie (3 minutes, 3 seconds)
Yes, Jessie has managed to make it to 3 minutes of screen time as something to avenge both James and Meowth's defeats, but the surprising thing is that she lost to one of Ash's traveling companions who was of course Misty herself which you will find out how she beats out her.
4. Misty (3 minutes, 20 seconds)
Now this is something that will make all Misty fans happy is that she managed to get a lot of screen time in comparison to the previous episode but that's because she got so many screen time in the scene(s) where she was the one who picked up the phone when Jessie wanted to call Ash by pretending to be Ritchie by using the voice changer device to trick him and she didn't expect her to be the one who picked up the phone instead of Ash and she spoke so rudely to her that it made her so angry and yelled at her out of anger that she tricked her into thinking it was really Ritchie calling her before she handed the phone to Ash to call "him" who was still on her nerves and didn't feel like talking to him again until she decided to go and ask him what he wanted to talk to Ash who was surprised and had no idea what she meant that she stomps on his leg to take revenge on him, but he told her that he never called him on the phone and that he always tells the truth which made her feel sorry for him when she looked at his sad face and she wondered who it was that called on the phone before she realizes it was Jessie who did it after Ash told her about it off-screen which made her angrier that she sought her revenge against her for tricking her which is how she managed to beat out her as many of you already know that she has anger issues though.
3. Ritchie (4 minutes, 5 seconds)
And of course, Ritchie has managed to stay in the top 3 by getting some more screen time, but I think the reason why he fell to the third place because of what Misty did to him earlier and the pain in his leg still didn't go away until Ash finally reached the league that awaited him at the end, so yes, that's how he didn't manage to get more screen time as he was unable to move his leg while crying out in pain, but after telling Misty the truth, she lets him out to wait for Ash to come to the league, but before Ash came to the league, the referee couldn't wait any longer and told him that he won, but he was against it and told him that he will have to wait until he comes because he didn't want to break his promise to his friend and he knew he would come soon which made the referee feel sorry for him as he looked at his sad face and decided to wait some more until Ash finally came to the league in the end.
2. Pikachu (4 minutes, 58 seconds)
Well yes, Pikachu has managed to enter the top 3 this time and he managed to beat out Jessie after she surprisingly beats him in the previous episode to take revenge on her and that Ash helped him get more screen time with him as he didn't want him to be defeated by one of the Team Rocket members again, so that's why he lets him defeat them together though.
1. Ash (6 minutes, 59 seconds)
Once again, Ash has managed to get the most screen time out of all characters by taking the top spot, but despite losing to Ritchie in the battle against him, he is still in the top spot and as for his reaction to his loss, it was different in the anime and manga. In the anime, he was crying because of his Charizard disobeying him while in the manga, he was very angry about it that he called himself "pathetic" and he told Misty and Brock that he had no right to call himself a trainer and Brock comforted him by telling him "Ash... Your training and education don't end here. No matter how long your journey, or where it takes you... As long as you don't give up... As long as you believe in yourself... Someday even Charizard will learn to understand what a good friend you are. Don't defeat yourself, Ash!" that made him feel better and said "thank you!" to him at the end. And now as for him having much less screen time than in the previous episode is because of Team Rocket who have managed to steal so many screen time from him and his Pikachu as they followed him to try and catch his Pikachu with various plans, but of course they have failed as always which is why he ended up having 6 minutes of screen time, but he still won at the end.
And that's all of the results that I got from this episode and I'm planning to test the screen time of characters in the follow-up episode where Ash and Ritchie discussed their losses in the league which is also the last episode of this "friendship trilogy" series which I will explain more about that episode in the article that I will make soon.
21. Bulbasaur (12 seconds)
Well, despite he got some screen time in the previous episode, unfortunately, he got the least screen time out all of Ash's Pokémon by only appearing in the scene where Ash called him and ordered him to attack Team Rocket with his "Vine Whip" attack together with Pikachu by using his "Thunderbolt" attack and they were electrified before he recalled him back to his Pokéball and immediately ran to go to reach the league, but when he finally arrived and battled Ritchie, he didn't use his Bulbasaur because he knew that he was weak against fire-type Pokémon when Ritchie called out his Charmander (Zippo) and defeated Pikachu, so he decided to call out his Charizard to fight against Zippo, but I will explain more about this whole "Charizard" situation later, but yes, poor Bulbasaur fell to the last place for that reason though.
20. Weezing (14 seconds)
Now this is something that will surprise you a bit, but yes, James' Weezing have made another appearance in this episode, but just like in the previous episode, he was only in one scene where James ordered him to use his "Smog" attack to prevent Ash from following them and to catch Pikachu more easily, but at the same time, Ash decided to escape from Team Rocket along with his Pikachu by taking one of their bikes, so that's why Weezing is still low, but he ended up avoiding the last place and he surprisingly knocked out Bulbasaur to fall to the last place instead though.
19. Chansey (20 seconds)
And here we have a Pokémon that belonged to a supporting character and that is Nurse Joy's Chansey and she managed to beat out James' Weezing by 20 seconds of screen time, but she was only there with Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center which is why she didn't get that much screen time though.
18. Nurse Joy (23 seconds)
Just like her Chansey, Nurse Joy didn't get that much screen time either, but after she healed Ash's Pokémon, she told him that he is very lucky to battle a friend and she didn't care which of the two would win the battle and told him that he should be happy if his friend wins in the end as well, Ash agreed with her and before leaving with his friends, she assured him that he and Ritchie would have the "best" match in the world.
17. Delia/Ash's mother (30 seconds)
Well yes, Ash's mother didn't get that much screen time comparing to the previous episode and she was first seen sitting with Professor Oak while they wait for Ash to come to the league, but she was so worried about him and she asked Oak if her son was in trouble and that's why he hadn't come to the league yet and Oak told her that he probably was and she shouldn't worry about him because he thought he would come soon. But when her son finally came to the league, she scolded him for taking so long to come and Oak calmed her down. Even though her son lost the match due to his disobedient Charizard, she wasn't too upset and was happy to see him congratulate Ritchie and learn how strong their friendship is in the end.
16. Professor Oak (37 seconds)
Yes, Prof. Oak has around the same screen time as Ash's mother, but he beats out her by a few more seconds because in one scene, she asked him why did Ash's Charizard stop battling and he replied to her that maybe Charizard considered a fire-type Pokémon like Zippo the Charmander a more worthy opponent than a Pikachu like Sparky and that's what he thought why Charizard disobeyed Ash's orders and lost at the end though.
15. Pidgeotto (40 seconds)
Yes, Ash's Pidgeotto have gotten some more screen time than in the previous episode and Ash called him to help him pull the balloon with his legs as he flew as high as he could to reach the league, but then Pidgeotto was so tired at the same time when he led Ash and Pikachu to the league and when they arrived, he fell down exhausted and Ash decided to not use him in any battle against Ritchie's Pokémon and recalled him back to his Pokéball to rest at the end.
14. Zippo/Ritchie's Charmander (40 seconds)
Well yes, Zippo ended up having around the same screen time as Ash's Pidgeotto, but the reason why I decided to put him in the fourteenth place because he was actually used in the battle unlike Pidgeotto and he managed to defeat Ash's Pikachu, but he couldn't battle Ash's Charizard because he was trying to hurt him so much with his "Flamethrower" attack and Ritchie decided to recall him back to his Pokéball because he was so worried about him getting hurt from Charizard's "Flamethrower" attack as he doesn't want any of his Pokémon to get seriously injured, but in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, Ash's Charizard was so far violent that he caused poor Zippo (he was also a Charizard in the manga) to bleed when he bit his neck which made Ritchie panic and worry so much about his Pokémon suffering and when he tried to recall him, the machine that recalls his Pokémon was broken which caused him to worry more and break down in tears, but fortunately, Ash decided to recall his Charizard back to his Pokéball which after that, Ritchie immediately went to Zippo to see if he was okay and luckily, Zippo didn't die from the injury and was healed when he explained to Ash about his condition which is how it happened in the manga at the end though.
13. Happy/Ritchie's Butterfree (41 seconds)
And here we have another Pokémon that belonged to Ritchie who have managed to beat out Pidgeotto this time, but it lost to Ash's Squirtle who got more screen time than it despite that Squirtle "lost" the battle when Ritchie ordered it to use its "Sleep Powder" attack to put him to sleep that the referee declared that Squirtle was unable to battle and that Happy won. Then Ash was thinking about which Pokémon to use when at the same time, Pikachu decided on his own to battle Happy and he managed to defeat it with his "Thunderbolt" attack at the end though.
12. Squirtle (45 seconds)
As I have mentioned above, Squirtle has managed to get more screen time than Happy the Butterfree did because Ash also used him earlier in the scene where he told him to use his "Water Gun" attack to flood Team Rocket's van to help him and Pikachu get out of the van, so that's why he is ranked higher than Happy though.
11. Sparky/Ritchie's Pikachu (45 seconds)
Just like what I did with Zippo, I decided to put Sparky in the eleventh place because I believed that Happy helped with its "Sleep Powder" attack to cause Squirtle not able to beat out Sparky while he was asleep and that's why Sparky was safe and just like the previous episode, he was the one who have gotten the most screen time out all of Ritchie's Pokémon just like how Ash's Pikachu tends to have the most screen time out all of Ash's Pokémon as well.
10. Charizard (1 minute, 12 seconds)
Now this one will surprise you a lot, but yes, Ash's Charizard has managed to make it to the top 10 and has managed to beat out all of Ritchie's Pokémon by "stealing" so many screen time from them out of his stubbornness before falling asleep at the end though.
9. Togepi (1 minute, 47 seconds)
And of course, Misty's Togepi surprisingly has managed to beat out Ash's Charizard by getting some more screen time than him, but the surprising thing is that it has much less screen time than its trainer for this episode which you will find that out how she was ranked in that episode.
8. Brock (1 minute, 53 seconds)
And of course, Brock ended up being the one out of Ash's traveling companions who got the least screen time in this episode, so yes, sorry for upsetting any Brock fans here, but at least, he has managed to make it to the top 10 and coming out to the eighth place and he was also too close to make it to 2 minutes of screen time, but unfortunately, he didn't make it though.
7. Meowth (2 minutes, 11 seconds)
Once again, Meowth ended up being the one who got the least screen time out of Team Rocket trio, but at least, he is the first one who have managed to make it to 2 minutes of screen time by beating out everyone who have gotten less screen time than him, but Jessie and James tried their best to avenge his defeat which you will find out how they were ranked in that episode.
6. James (2 minutes, 38 seconds)
Well yes, James ended up having almost around the same screen time as Meowth, but he failed to make it to the top 5 though, so yes, Jessie ended up having the most screen time out of them for once again.
5. Jessie (3 minutes, 3 seconds)
Yes, Jessie has managed to make it to 3 minutes of screen time as something to avenge both James and Meowth's defeats, but the surprising thing is that she lost to one of Ash's traveling companions who was of course Misty herself which you will find out how she beats out her.
4. Misty (3 minutes, 20 seconds)
Now this is something that will make all Misty fans happy is that she managed to get a lot of screen time in comparison to the previous episode but that's because she got so many screen time in the scene(s) where she was the one who picked up the phone when Jessie wanted to call Ash by pretending to be Ritchie by using the voice changer device to trick him and she didn't expect her to be the one who picked up the phone instead of Ash and she spoke so rudely to her that it made her so angry and yelled at her out of anger that she tricked her into thinking it was really Ritchie calling her before she handed the phone to Ash to call "him" who was still on her nerves and didn't feel like talking to him again until she decided to go and ask him what he wanted to talk to Ash who was surprised and had no idea what she meant that she stomps on his leg to take revenge on him, but he told her that he never called him on the phone and that he always tells the truth which made her feel sorry for him when she looked at his sad face and she wondered who it was that called on the phone before she realizes it was Jessie who did it after Ash told her about it off-screen which made her angrier that she sought her revenge against her for tricking her which is how she managed to beat out her as many of you already know that she has anger issues though.
3. Ritchie (4 minutes, 5 seconds)
And of course, Ritchie has managed to stay in the top 3 by getting some more screen time, but I think the reason why he fell to the third place because of what Misty did to him earlier and the pain in his leg still didn't go away until Ash finally reached the league that awaited him at the end, so yes, that's how he didn't manage to get more screen time as he was unable to move his leg while crying out in pain, but after telling Misty the truth, she lets him out to wait for Ash to come to the league, but before Ash came to the league, the referee couldn't wait any longer and told him that he won, but he was against it and told him that he will have to wait until he comes because he didn't want to break his promise to his friend and he knew he would come soon which made the referee feel sorry for him as he looked at his sad face and decided to wait some more until Ash finally came to the league in the end.
2. Pikachu (4 minutes, 58 seconds)
Well yes, Pikachu has managed to enter the top 3 this time and he managed to beat out Jessie after she surprisingly beats him in the previous episode to take revenge on her and that Ash helped him get more screen time with him as he didn't want him to be defeated by one of the Team Rocket members again, so that's why he lets him defeat them together though.
1. Ash (6 minutes, 59 seconds)
Once again, Ash has managed to get the most screen time out of all characters by taking the top spot, but despite losing to Ritchie in the battle against him, he is still in the top spot and as for his reaction to his loss, it was different in the anime and manga. In the anime, he was crying because of his Charizard disobeying him while in the manga, he was very angry about it that he called himself "pathetic" and he told Misty and Brock that he had no right to call himself a trainer and Brock comforted him by telling him "Ash... Your training and education don't end here. No matter how long your journey, or where it takes you... As long as you don't give up... As long as you believe in yourself... Someday even Charizard will learn to understand what a good friend you are. Don't defeat yourself, Ash!" that made him feel better and said "thank you!" to him at the end. And now as for him having much less screen time than in the previous episode is because of Team Rocket who have managed to steal so many screen time from him and his Pikachu as they followed him to try and catch his Pikachu with various plans, but of course they have failed as always which is why he ended up having 6 minutes of screen time, but he still won at the end.
And that's all of the results that I got from this episode and I'm planning to test the screen time of characters in the follow-up episode where Ash and Ritchie discussed their losses in the league which is also the last episode of this "friendship trilogy" series which I will explain more about that episode in the article that I will make soon.