WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Part 4 Episode 3 of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, "Octo-Gridlock at the Gym!" now streaming on Netflix.
After rebuilding confidence in himself and his abilities, Ash has finally won enough battles to return to the Great Class in Pokemon Journeys. And now that he is back in this class ranking, it's time for a rematch with Bea in Part 4, Episode 3.
When Ash previously fought against Bea, his team got wiped out. He couldn't take down a single one of her Pokémon and this damaged his spirits. Thus, Ash is entering this battle with some of his best and newest strategies yet, delivering an end result to this rematch that he has never achieved before.
While Ash is training his Pokémon against each other, Goh informs him that Bea is at Cianwood City's gym and that they should head over to Johto for a rematch. At Cianwood, Bea is training with Chuck, a gym leader the Pokémon anime series who hasn't been seen since his first appearance and battle against Ash.
Just like when Ash met up with Korrina, the two reminisce over their first meeting and gym battle. Meanwhile, Bea only remembers Ash as the Riolu trainer. She has high standards and appears to only take notice of people or Pokémon who are particularly strong. Even though she did not recognize Ash, her remembering Riolu speaks highly of the strength it showed in its first battle.
Bea never turns down a chance to become stronger, so she accepts the rematch and immediately Ash pulls out some interesting strategies. Instead of trying to guess and figure out what Bea is going to do, Ash goes all-in on the offensive, making sure Pikachu carries out quick, successive attacks one after the other. Hitmontop is a difficult foe to hit though, so Ash concocts a plan to immobilize it. He makes Pikachu use Electroweb on the flooring, creating a laser-like maze so that Hitmontop can't spin and navigate around. As Hitmontop is paralyzed, Pikachu strikes with an Iron Tail followed by a Quick Attack, knocking out the opponent.
Ash has already shown how much he has improved over time. In the first match, he couldn't take a single one of Bea's Pokémon down, but now it seems he may have a chance. Bea won't go down without a fight though, as she sends out her ace Grapploct. Pikachu manages to do some damage against Grapploct, but its Octolock squeezes the life out of Pikachu, making it unable to use moves like Thunderbolt or Iron Tail to break free. With a combination of Octolock and Liquidation, Pikachu is defeated.
In comparison to Pikachu however, Riolu has a very competitive fighting spirit and is itching for a rematch against Grapploct. Ash switches up his battle rhythm, keeping his distance and preparing Riolu for the inevitable squeezing attack. Unlike Pikachu, Riolu trained for this exact moment. Instead of struggling against Grapploct's tentacle arm squeeze, Riolu relaxes, gathers its energy, and breaks free of the wrapping move with Force Palm. The two Pokémon do one final attack against each other, a Force Palm vs. Close Combat, and knock each other out.
This marks the first tie Ash has ever achieved on a rematch, thus proving just how tough of a rival Bea really is. Despite her rough exterior, she has a soft side too, as she snacks down on sweets with the boys post-battle.
Bea and Ash have the same goal: to defeat Leon and become the World Coronation champion. With both of them reaching towards the same goal, it's only a matter of time until Ash has his third match against Bea.
