Pokemon Learning League

Main Idea
Written By
Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens with Dawn, Piplup, Ash, Pikachu,

Brock and Serena coming into Accumula Town on a
mostly calm & balmy sunny mid-afternoon. Some
stratocumulus clouds are in the sky, the winds
blowing, and flocks of Tranquil and Pidgeotto fly
across the sky. The leaves on many of the trees in
the area are in an abundance of color, while others
have lost them altogether. The local people
surrounding them are getting ready for a special
event. Dawn looks over to the audience and
casually speaks to them.)
Dawn (casually): Hey, guys.
Piplup (casually): Piplup.
Brock (casually): Hello.
Ash (casually): Hey, there.
Pikachu (casually): Pika-chu.
Serena (casually): Hi.
(They go on through the town. As they do, they
take notice of an open-air market, a Pokemon
performance going on for the moment and two
trainers having a battle.)
Serena: Hey, Brock. Is there a good spot we can
stop & rest at?
Brock: Let me see.
(He gets out his guidebook and looks through it.)

Brock: Heres a nice park area we can stop at.

Dawn: Sounds good. When we get there, Ive got a
little surprise to show you all.
Ash (interested): Okay, then.
(They continue on through the town. Eleven and a
half minutes later, they come to the local park.
There are some people and their Pokemon going
about their business, doing some training or
playing with them, hanging out with friends &
having fun and having lunch together. The gang
finds a secluded spot next to a bed of Fairy
flowers.)
Dawn (confidently): All right, guys, you ready?
(They all nod their heads.)
Dawn: All right, then.
(She goes into her backpack and gets out the
Kanto Ribbon Cup.)
Ash (amazed): Whoa! Thats awesome!
Pikachu (amazed): Pika!
Brock: Yeah. Congratulations, Dawn.
Dawn: Thanks, Brock.
Brock: So, was there a lot of tough competition at
the festival?
Dawn: Oh, you bet there was.

Ash: Yeah, but I bet you had no problems with

many of them.
Dawn: Indeed I did, Ash.
Serena: Would you mind telling what the final
battle was like?
Dawn: Well, all right.
(Flashback to the final battle of the Kanto Grand
Festival, where Dawn is facing off against Nando.
Dawn has her Lopunny and Mamoswine out, while
Nando has his Roserade & Armaldo.)
Dawn (V.O.): It had all come down to me & Nando,
and we had some of our best Pokemon out.
Lilian: This final battle will now begin!
(The clock starts counting down.)
Nando: Roserade, use Bullet Seed. Armaldo, you
use Rock Blast.
(Roserade fires multiple gold seeds surrounded in
a light green aura from its flowers at Mamoswine.
Armaldo holds out its claws and three light blue
rings surround its body. Then, the rings form into
glowing white rocks & circle around its body. Now,
Armaldo pulls it claws up and the rocks come
together in between them, and then throws them
at Lopunny.)
Lillian: And Nando comes out with a strong start.

Dawn: Counter with Charge Beam and Hidden

Power!
(Lopunny opens her mouth and an orb of yellow
electricity forms in front of it.)
Lopunny: Lo-punny!
(Now, she fires a massive beam of electricity from
the orb at the Bullet Seeds, colliding with them and
cancelling them out. Now, Mamoswines tusks
glow yellow and little blue balls appear in between
them. Now, it fires them and it collides with the
Rock Blast, cancelling it out.)
Lillian: And Dawn successfully & effortlessly
counters both attacks.
(Both lose some points, though Nando loses more.)
Dawn: Now, use Ice Fang and Bounce!
(Mamoswines tusks glow light blue, then grow
longer and get covered in ice. Now, it goes
charging towards Armaldo. Lopunny jumps high
into the air and falls towards Roserade. Both
attacks hit their marks and do a considerable
amount of damage to their opponents. Nando
loses more points.)
Nando: Roserade, Magical Leaf. Armaldo, use XScissor.

(Roserade spins around quickly and it releases

glowing light green leaves from its body at
Mamoswine, hitting it & doing damage to it.
Armaldo pulls its claws into its shell and then they
glow light blue once they emerge from it. Now, it
slashes Lopunny in an X-like fashion, doing some
damage to her.)
Nando: Now, use Mega Drain and Brick Break.
(Armaldos claws glow white and it hits Mamoswine
with it, dealing some damage. Now, Roserade
sticks out its arms and releases a green beam from
the flowers on its hands and drains some of
Lopunnys energy, restoring its own in the
process.)
Lillian: Those attacks really hit their marks.
(Dawn loses even more points.)
Dawn: Now, Lopunny use Focus Blast! Mamoswine,
use Take Down!
(Lopunny puts her hands together and forms a
light blue ball of energy in between them. Now,
she spins arounds and fires it at Armaldo. Now,
Mamoswines body becomes surrounded in an
orange aura and goes charging towards Roserade.
The Focus orbits around Mamoswine and it lands a
direct hit, doing a good amount of damage to both
their opponents.)

Lillian: Ooh, and Dawn counters back with an

interesting combination of Take Down & Focus
Blast.
(Nando loses more points. Now, a montage goes on
showing their Pokemon doing various attack
combinations & dodging them in an elegant
fashion. Dawn speaks as it goes on.)
Dawn (V.O.): We both gave it all we got, and it
seemed like we were neck-and-neck.
(Montage ends with their Pokemon starting to
become exhausted and a little scuffed up. Two
minutes remain on the clock.)
Lillian: With only two minutes left on the clock, it all
comes down to this, folks. Who will be our new
champion?
Nando: All right, Roserade use Solar Beam, and
Armaldo, use Water Pulse.
(Roserade gathers light in its flowers, puts them
together and then fires a bright yellow beam. Now,
Armaldo opens its mouth and a blue ball of energy
appears in front of it. Then, it fires a spiraling
stream of water from it. Both attacks combine into
a single beam and it hits both opposing Pokemon,
delivering a great amount of damage, as well as
scuffing them up.)

Lillian: Now, thats what you call a stunning

combination.
Dawn (calling out): Can you two still continue?
(They both turn around and nod their heads.)
Dawn: Oh, good. Now, Lopunny use Focus Blast!
Mamoswine, you use Ice Shard!
(Mamoswine forms a large ball of ice from in
between its tusks and fires it. Lopunny puts her
hands together and forms a light blue ball of
energy. Then, she spins around and fires it. The
Focus Blast orbits around the Ice Shard.)
Lillian: Whoa, now thats a creative use of attacks.
(The combination lands its mark and does great
damage to the opponents. Nando loses some
points.)
Dawn: Now, use Focus Blast again, then Ice Beam!
Mamoswine, use Ice Fang, then Take Dawn!
(Lopunny puts her hands together and forms a
light blue ball of energy. Then, she spins around
and fires it at Roserade. Now, a light blue ball of
energy forms in front of Lopunnys mouth. Now,
she shoots light blue beams from it. The attack
starts to encircle the Focus Blast and forms into
spinning blades of ice. Mamoswines tusks glow
light blue, then grow longer and get covered in ice.
Now, body becomes surrounded in an orange aura

and goes charging towards Armaldo. Both attacks

hit their respective opponents, doing a great
amount of damage, though Roserade takes a bit
more.)
Lillian: And Dawn has pulled off two stunning
combinations.
(Nando loses more points.)
Nando: Roserade, use Magical Leaf and Razor Leaf.
Armaldo, you use Rock Blast, then Water Pulse.
(Roserade spins around quickly and it releases
glowing light green leaves from its body at
Mamoswine. Now, it fires razor-sharp light green
leaves from the flowers on its hands. The two
attacks blend together into a leaf twister. The
attack directly hits Mamoswine, doing a serious
amount of damage to it and falls to its knees.
Now, Armaldo holds out its claws and three light
blue rings surround its body. Then, the rings form
into glowing white rocks & circle around its body.
Now, Armaldo pulls it claws up and the rocks come
together in between them, and then throws them
at Lopunny. Now, it opens its mouth and a blue
ball of energy appears in front of it. Then, it fires a
spiraling stream of water from it. The Water Pulse
envelopes the Rock Blast and the combination
heads towards Lopunny, landing a direct hit and

doing a great amount of damage. She falls to the

ground. Dawn loses a good amount of points.)
Dawn: Lopunny, Mamoswine. Can you get up?
(They struggle, but manage to get back on their
feet, though just barely.)
Dawn (relieved): Oh, good.
Nando: Now, use X-scissor and Mega Drain.
(Armaldo pulls its claws into its shell and then they
glow light blue once they emerge from it. Now, it
starts slashing at Mamoswine in an X-like fashion.
Roserade sticks out its arms and releases a green
beam from the flowers on its hands at Lopunny.)
Dawn: Quick, dodge them!
(They move out of the aim of the attacks and
narrowly miss them. Nando loses some points.)
Dawn: Now, finish it with Bounce and Ice Shard!
(Lopunny jumps high into the air and falls towards
Roserade. Now, Mamoswine forms a large ball of
ice from in between its tusks and fires it. Both
attacks make their marks, deal a great amount of
damage to both Roserade & Armaldo. Both of
them fall to the ground, completely exhausted &
knocked out.)
Lillian: Armaldo & Roserade are unable to continue.
With only just a few seconds left on the clock,

Dawn has just pulled off a victory here at this

years Grand Festival!
Dawn (exuberated): Yeah, we did it!
Nando: You two did battle valiantly. You deserve a
good rest.
(He calls the back to their Pokeballs, puts them
back on his belt and goes over to Dawn.)
Nando: Dawn that was truly a remarkable battle.
Dawn: Well, thank you Nando.
(Now, we dissolve over to the winners circle.)
Mr. Contesta: Congratulations, Dawn. It gives me
great pride & pleasure to present to you the Ribbon
Cup.
Dawn (appreciatively & honored): Thank you.
(She holds it up to the air.)
Dawn (excited): All right! The Ribbon Cup is now
mine!
Piplup (excited): Piplup, Piplup!
Lopunny (excited): Lopunny!
(Dissolve back to the present day.)
Serena: That was a great story there, Dawn.
Dawn: Well, thanks Serena. So, how are the
Showcases going for you?

Serena: Theyve been great.

(She shows her the Princess keys shes won so far.)
Dawn: Thats awesome!
Voice (O.S.): Um, excuse me.
(They turn around and see a trainer named Michio
coming over to them. He has red hair, emerald
green eyes, is around Brocks age, and is wearing
an orange buttoned shirt, beige pants and
sneakers.)
Brock: Hello, there. My names Brock.
Serena: Im Serena.
Ash: My names Ash, and this is Pikachu.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
Dawn: Im Dawn, and this is Piplup.
Piplup: Piplup.
Michio: Nice to meet you all. Im Michio.
Brock: So, is there anything we can help you with?
Michio: As a matter of fact, there is. Id like to
show you guys this.
(He pulls out a booklet, which has tricks & tips
about being a good breeder & coordinator, from his
pocket and shows it to them.)
Brock: Oh, I see. Whats it about?

Michio: Have a look for yourselves.

(He hands it to Brock and he looks through it.
After he finishes, he passes it to Ash, who does the
same & then passes it to Serena and then to Dawn.
She hands it back to Michio after she finishes.)
Brock: That was pretty good, Michio.
Michio: Thanks, Brock. Im hoping that it will help
out any new upcoming breeders & coordinators.
Brock: Yeah, something tells me that it will.
Dawn (agreeing): Yeah.
Ash: So, where do you come from?
Michio: I came from Driftveil City.
Ash: Thats nice. You know, I think Lex would like
to see this.
Michio: Oh, you really think so?
Ash: Sure.
(He goes into his bag, takes out the Pokepilot,
turns it on and calls Lex, who is doing some
training with a Braixen.)
Lex: Hey, guys. How are you all doing?
Serena: Were doing great, Lex. How about you?
Lex: Im doing really well, thanks.

Brock: What kind of training are you doing there

with Braixen?
Lex: Oh, were working on its speed and physical
attacks.
Ash: Cool, and hows it coming?
Lex: Its going well. Let me show you. Okay,
Braixen, do Low Kick!
Braixen: Braixen!
(It ducks down and swings one of its legs around,
knocking over some wood pilings.)
Serena: Thats pretty good.
Lex: Thank you, Brock. (He turns over to Michio.)
Hi, there. Im Lex.
Michio: Hey. Im Michio.
Lex: So, what are you guys up to?
Dawn: Right now, were just relaxing at a park.
Lex: Ahh, that sounds good. What else?
Brock: Michio showed us a booklet he made thatll
help upcoming breeders & coordinators.
Lex (intrigued): Really?
Dawn: Yep. Would you like to see it?
Lex: Okay, sure.

(Michio shows him the booklet. Lex carefully

analyzes it.)
Lex: Hmm. Thats really nice.
Michio: Why, thank you.
Lex: No problem. If I may give you a suggestion,
how about you add in a main idea sentence to the
beginning paragraph of each section of the
booklet?
Michio (wondering): Um, okay but how would that
make it better?
Lex: Its very simple: itll help tie together all the
facts being presented, and there are certain ways
you can do this.
Michio: Oh, like what?
Lex: Well, one way is setting up the purpose. Itll
help a writer like you come up with the details of a
paragraph, as well as helping you decide on a topic
sentence thatll tie everything together. Lets say,
you wanted to write about what its takes to be a
great trainer. You think about what you want to
talk about.
Brock: Okay, thats pretty good. What else?
Lex: Another good way is through the use of a
stated or implied topic sentence. A main idea can
be either be stated in a specific manner or be

implied by some details in a paragraph. When you

use the latter, they can be conditional sentences or
you can pose them as questions. Basically, leading
with any one of them will prepare your audience
for whats to come.
Serena: All right, now what?
Lex: The next thing you need to know is the
placement of your topic sentences. They can go at
either the beginning or the end of a paragraph. At
certain times, its important to start off with a
sentence that explains what the main idea is
details of the paragraph to the reader. However, if
you save it for the end, it can help build suspense
and seemingly tie together some unrelated ideas if
its done right.
Ash: Thats an interesting one. Anything else?
Lex: The last thing is to use split topic sentences.
This is usually done to convey contrasting
viewpoints. Any paragraph using this tend to
follow a certain curve: you state your viewpoint &
give the details to support it, then its gradually
followed by details that could disprove the original
statement, and finally it ends with a refuting
statement. Thus, this helps create a clear picture
of your main idea.
Brock: Those are some interesting tips there.

Lex: Yes, they are. So, how about I show you guys
something?
Dawn: All right, Lex.
Piplup: Piplup.
(Pan down to a lower panel showing four trainers
presenting their own main ideas in different
manners.)
Lex: All right, you guys ready?
Brock: Yeah, we are.
Lex: Very well, then. Now, this trainer wants to
share some tips about what it takes to be a great
Pokemon Performer. How do you think she should
present her main idea?
Serena: She should use an implied topic sentence.
Lex: Very well, Serena. Now, this girl wants to
share some of her Pokemon food recipes to young
breeders. How do you think she should present her
main idea?
Ash: She should have it at the end of the
paragraph.
Lex: Okay, then Ash. This trainer wants to tell
about his travels in the Kalos region. How do you
think he should present her main idea?
Dawn: He should use split topic sentences.

Lex: Okay, then Dawn. Lastly, this guy wants to

tell new some tricks on how to catch certain
Pokemon. How do you think he should present her
main idea?
Michio: He should start off by setting up its
purpose.
Lex: All right, Michio. You guys did great.
Brock: Thank you, Lex.
Lex: No problem, Brock. Now, if youll excuse us,
we have to get back to training. See you guys
later.
Ash: See you.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
(He turns the Pokepilot off and puts it back in his
pocket.)
Dawn: So, Michio, how did you first get into
breeding and Contest?
Michio: Well, what I wanted to do was come up with
new breeding techniques that could help bring out
the best in my Pokemon, and also push the limits of
what their attacks could do, so I thought itd fun to
enter contests.
Dawn: Oh, okay and hows it been going?
Michio: Its been great, and my Pokemon have
been enjoying it, as well.

Dawn: Thats good to hear.

Michio: Yep. Oh, hold on a second.
(He goes into his bag, pulls out a can of Pokemon
food and pours out a small amount.)
Michio: Here, you two. Try some of this.
(He gives a small sample to Pikachu and Piplup.)
Pikachu (contented): Cha!!!
Piplup (contented): Piplup!!!
Michio: Glad you two like it.
Serena: So, guys, how about we do what we did
before with Lex?
Ash: Okay, Serena, but lets see if the viewers want
to do it before we start.
Brock: Very well. (He turns over to the audience.)
You guys up for doing this? (He casually waits for
an answer from the audience for one second.) All
right, then.
(Dissolve to the sections of Michios booklet.)
Dawn (V.O.): Okay, lets get to it. In this section, its
talking about how to bring out the best in your
Pokemon during a Contest. How do you think the
main idea should be presented here? (She
casually waits for an answer from the audience for

one and a half seconds.) From using an implied

topic sentence. Sure, why not.
Serena (V.O.): Here, it mentions tips on what to use
to make good Pokemon food. How do you think the
main idea should be presented? (She casually
waits for an answer from the audience for one and
a half seconds.) By using split topic sentences.
Okay.
Brock (V.O.): Now, in this section, it talks about
giving certain Pokemon the proper care &
nourishment they need. How do you think the main
idea should be presented? (She casually waits for
an answer from the audience for one and a half
seconds.) By having it being placed at the
beginning of the paragraph. Very well, then.
Ash (V.O.): Finally, this part talks about how
effective combination attacks can be during a
Contest. How do you think the main idea should be
presented? (She casually waits for an answer from
the audience for one and a half seconds.) By
setting up what its purpose is. All right, then.
(Dissolve back to the gang and Serena casually
speaks to the audience.)
Serena (casually): You guys did well.
Michio: So, how would you guys to see some of my
Pokemon?

Ash: Sure.
(He gets out three Pokeballs.)
Michio: Go!
(He tosses them up into the air and a Duosion, a
Florges, and a Murkrow emerge from them.)
Duosion: (gurgles.)
Murkrow: Murkrow.
Florges: Florges.
Ash: Thats pretty cool.
Pikachu (agreeing): Pika-chu.
Michio: Indeed, they are.
(Brock comes over to them and carefully examines
them.)
Brock: They all look really healthy. Youre doing a
great job
Michio: Mmm-hmm. Now, Duosion use Shadow
Ball! Florges, you use Moonblast!
(Duosion forms a ball of black and purple energy
with black static around it from its mouth. Then, it
throws it into the air.)
Florges: Flor-ges!
(It gathers energy from the Moon. Now, it forms an
orb of pink energy from its mouth and fires it.)

Michio: Now, Murkrow use Brave Bird!

Murkrow: Murkrow!
(Its body becomes surrounded in a light blue aura
and it flies straight at the ball of energy, breaking
through it with full force. Sparkles rain down from
it.)
All (in awe): Whoa!
Piplup (in awe): Pip!
Pikachu (in awe): Pika!
Serena (impressed): That was great, Michio.
Michio: Thank you, Serena.
(He gets out a bag full of Pokepuffs and Poffins and
give the three two of each one.)
(Just then, Serenas stomach grumbles.)
Serena: (chuckles embarrassingly.) Guess Im
getting hungry.
Brock: All right, Ill make some lunch right away.
(They turn over to the audience.)
All (casually): Thanks a lot, guys.
Pikachu: Pika.
Piplup: Piplup.

(Now, we dissolve to moments later, where they

are having lunch. Brocks made some onigaris,
tempura, fresh ramen noodles, Monte-Cristo &
cheddar apple sandwiches, a taco salad and some
pineapple slaw and ham wraps.)
Serena: That was an interesting episode. Did you
enjoy it? (She casually waits for an answer from
the audience for one second.) Oh, okay. Well see
you next time
(They all casually wave goodbye to the audience &
resume on eating. Now, we pull back away from
them and fade to black, ending the episode.)