Pokémon: The Original Series · Johto League Champions arc
EP178 · Ariados, Amigos
アリアドス! にんぽうバトル!!
Synopsis
What happens.
Brock informs Ash that Ecruteak City is on the other side of the upcoming mountain, and the news instantly gets Ash hyped for his next Gym match. The group notices an array of Grass Pokémon around them, but a running Skiploom grabs their attention.
Synopsis adapted from Bulbapedia's EP178 entry, used under CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5.
Story arc · EP161-EP212
Johto League Champions.
Continues the Johto badge run. Ash's Chikorita evolves into Bayleef; Brock's Onix evolves into Steelix. Team Rocket gets multiple character episodes that elevate them past gag villains.
Read the full Original guidePokémon featured · 20
Who appears.
Linked entries open the species page on the Pokédex. Items without a sprite (alternate forms, regional variants, generic group references) fall back to a name pill.
More from this arc
Other episodes in Johto League Champions.
Episode synopsis from Bulbapedia, CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5. Editorial context (arc affiliation, cultural moments, character signatures) hand-verified May 2026. Pokémon, character names, and series titles © Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., The Pokémon Company, OLM Inc. This is an unofficial fan reference.