Here's a reality check for anyone and everyone that seriously thinks Ash only got this badge due to pity:
I also have the tape, and it's pretty clear that Ash earned that Cascade Badge(no matter how much Misty and her fans whine about it). Two things Daisy stated to Misty should help clarify this(both in the same sentence):
"Pikachu was the one that, like, saved us all, and if Ash had used Pikachu from the start, there was no way that your water pokemon could have won."
Also consider that Pikachu was *ordered* by Ash to blow away TR, and it was ultimately Ash himself that stopped their machine. On top of *that*, Ash had gotten ahead of Misty 1-0 in their match. (Butterfree being recalled *before* Misty's Staryu could finish it off, Staryu getting recalled when Ash sent out Pidgeotto, and her Stamie getting the same treatment from Pidgeotto that [SPOIL]Ash's Pikachu would get three years later from E4 Drake's Shellgon[/SPOIL] !) Since Misty's strongest pokemon---Starmie---had just been Whirlwinded out of commission by a still-raring-to-go Pidgeotto, she would have been forced to use her Staryu---this was 2vs2---against an opponent who was now wise to her tactics. Even if---and that's a *huge* if---Pidgeotto had eventually gone down, Staryu would have had to deal with a now-rested Butterfree(who, IIRC, knew some of the same Flying attacks that Pidgeotto had)! The only pity in that scene was for Misty, not for Ash...Daisy knew that Ash would have prevealed, despite her younger sister's sabotage(Misty certainly didn't pass up on the opportunity to use her bond with Ash's Pikachu against Ash himself).