Episode Guide #121 - #128

Flower Power
Spinarak Attack
Snubbull Snobbery
The Little Big Horn
The Chikorita Rescue
Once in a Blue Moon
The Whistle Stop
Ignorance is Blissey

Flower Power

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Flareon, Electrode, Oddish, Mankey, Alakazam, Psyduck, 
Poliwhirl, Krabby, Wartortle, Slowpoke, Starmie, Bellossom, Meowth, Ditto, 
Arbok, Victreebel, Heracross

Story:  

After the forest adventure, the group end up in a large town called Florando, 
where a Pokémon exhibition is being shown.  
Ash discovers a pair of Bellossom and saves one as its performance goes awry.  
The Bellossom belong to a girl called Bailey who is still enthusiastic about 
the two performing the Belle-Loop-the-Loop.  
Team Rocket waltz into town and plan a show of their own, including showing 
off Meowth’s ability to talk, but he suffers from stage fright and the show 
inevitably fails to amaze.  
They literally bulldoze their way into the middle of the exhibition which 
leads to yet another Pokémon Battle, but against the other performers.  
Belle and Bella, Bailey’s Bellossom, use dance techniques to get around the 
opposition and come out on top, forcing Team Rocket to make their retreat.  
Team Rocket stew for a while before deciding to steal all of the performing 
Pokémon.  
Meanwhile, Pikachu and Togepi pick up some dancing techniques which can be 
used for battles, and Bailey gets to know Ash and the others a little better.  
Bailey attempts the Bell-Loop-the-Loop again but after another failed attempt, 
decides to leave it out of the show.  
Team Rocket take the place of the show’s presenters and take off with the 
Pokémon, with Heracross’s help, Pikachu brings the balloon down.  
Another battle ensues, but Pikachu uses the techniques it learned to evade 
Arbok’s and Victreebel’s attacks, but it doesn’t last.  
Belle and Bella successfully perform the Bell-Loop-the-Loop and save Pikachu, 
before spinning Team Rocket into defeat.  
Bailey and the Bellossom go on to perform in a successful show which includes 
the Bell-Loop-the-Loop as one of its acts.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie (to Meowth):  “We needed you to warm up the crowd, not to cool them 
off...”  
James:  “Now they’ll never get to see Jessie and me dance...”  
Meowth:  “An’ you t’ink that’s a bad t’ing?”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

When the Pokémon are first seen performing, the instrumental for “What Kind Of 
Pokémon Are You?” is heard.  

The low fat Pokémon joke was actually remotely funny when told right 
(Butterfree - Butter Free).  

The last time James wore the ballerina outfit, he was dubbed as not having 
wanted to wear it (“The Misty Mermaid”), clearly that was not the case as 
James not only wears the female ballerina outfit, but knows how to perform 
ballet so unless Team Rocket can’t afford a male outfit and are recycling what 
they have, it’s clearly his own choice to dress that way.  

When Pikachu practices dancing with the Bellossom, the instrumental playing in 
the background is pretty much the Bellossom’s theme (“Dance Of The 
Bellossom”), first heard in the second mini-movie when the Bellossom (and many 
other Pokémon) freely perform for Pikachu and the others.  

Now if that fall and crash didn’t provoke that Electrode into exploding, I 
don’t know what will, I guess provocation levels in Electrodes must change 
when they’re trained rather than wild.  

Since the dance dodges from Pikachu are virtually identical to the Bellossom, 
Victreebel and Arbok should have learned from their past battle and not 
attacked in such a rhythmic way.  
At least James changes strategy before long.  

“Tornado Twister”? Bellossom have no way to perform those kinds of attacks.  
Petal Dance qualifies, that is, if Petal Dance looks and acts the same way as 
my idea of it that’s present in the Pokémon Journey storyline (spinning into a 
tornado and sucking in leaves from the surrounding area).  
Because this is a possibility (and my idea is kind of credited), I’m going to 
let this one pass.  

For once, Ash is actually concerned about Pokémon that take a fall with Team 
Rocket (though he hardly seems to care about Team Rocket themselves), even if 
he did remember to check on this a little late.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Spinarak

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None, but it’s been a long time coming for Emily’s Gloom to evolve, and it’ll 
happen soon.  

Spinarak Attack

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Spinarak, Meowth, Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Heracross

Story:  

In Cattailia City the group hurry to witness a robbery in action, but are 
caught in a Spinarak’s web.  
Team Rocket are in town impersonating the crimes of a famous thief called the 
Black Arachnid, who operated with a Meowth who picked locks and used Pay Day 
to distract the police.  
Jenny lets Ash and the others go free but recognises them as the ones who 
helped her sister in New Bark Town (the incident with the Totodile), and Brock 
convinces Jenny that they are professionals at this sort of thing.  
The police force of Cattailia City use Spinarak rather than Growlithe because 
an ancestor of Officer Jenny caught the famous Black Arachnid by using 
Spinarak’s webs (the Spinarak is also a descendant, but of the Spinarak that 
caught the Black Arachnid).  
Jessie steps up and makes bolder plans to impersonate the Black Arachnid by 
advertising their crime to the police before doing it.  
Jenny and the group aim to protect an old man’s trophy from Team Rocket, so 
Ash has his Pokémon guard the garden while Spinarak covers the mansion with 
webbing.  
At midnight, when the crime is said to be performed, Ash and the group still 
wait.  
Team Rocket show up late and explain they got past the traps by getting into 
the house at the time of the letter being sent, and then remaining there until 
night, but they fell asleep during this time.  
Team Rocket escape with the trophy by once again using James’s bottlecaps as a 
substitute for Pay Day.  
Ash’s Pokémon attack Team Rocket’s balloon, trapped in Spinarak’s webbing, but 
Charizard’s attack burns away the thread and almost allows Team Rocket to 
escape.  
Spinarak and Charizard work together to defeat Team Rocket, the group hastily 
catch all of the treasures that Team Rocket have stolen, with Spinarak needed 
to save the trophy.  
The group is thanked by Jenny before they leave Cattailia City towards their 
next destination.  

My favourite Quote:  

James:  “Meowth! Why are you eating out of that priceless piece of pottery?!”  
Meowth:  “It makes the chow taste better.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Another song from the games joins the large list of songs in the series.  
This time, rather than using the battle theme exclusive to Rockets in Pokémon 
Gold, Silver and Crystal, they’ve gone with the intro that occurs just before 
battling a member of Team Rocket.  
So far it’s only ever been used when Team Rocket attack or run away with a 
Pokémon, and it would be best staying that way considering the nature of the 
song.  

When Ash brags about how they’ve never lost a single case, I don’t believe 
he’s ever worked on a case.  
Beating Team Rocket virtually every day doesn’t exactly count, and it would 
have been funnier if Misty mentioned this was their only case.  
Ash doesn’t have it in him to be a detective of any kind since he’s extremely 
slow, and Team Rocket pull the wool over his eyes by wearing costumes such as 
outrageous glasses and yet Ash never sees through their disguises.  

Brock’s the only one in the group that can actually get away with sleeping on 
the job, since you can’t tell if his eyes are open or not.  
He must have used the peculiar shape of his eyes at least once in his life to 
sleep when he wasn’t meant to.  

This is the first episode that Team Rocket doesn’t wear their usual uniforms 
at all.  

Earlier on, Team Rocket wore masks over their eyes during the heist and then 
took them off while resting, after foolishly taking them off to reveal 
themselves, they escape the mansion while continuing to leave the masks off, 
yet when they plummet, they are wearing the masks yet in the next shot when 
they are sent flying, the masks are off again.  

Jenny’s statement doesn’t pan out (about anyone using the Black Arachnid’s 
name being destined to be caught by a Spinarak), since Team Rocket aren’t 
actually caught, they’re blasted off as always but lose the treasures they 
stole.  
Speaking of which, what gave Ash the right to catapult Team Rocket away, I’m 
sure Officer Jenny would have preferred to arrest Team Rocket for their 
thefts.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Snubbull

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None, but a fair few characters net themselves a Spinarak to train.  

Snubbull Snobbery

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Growlithe, Snubbull, Meowth, Weezing, Arbok, Heracross, 
Victreebel

Story:  

The group arrive in Palm Hills, all the houses there are huge mansions and 
rich estates.  
They overhear a group of servants searching for something, and then run into a 
Growlithe in pain, as a Snubbull was biting on its tail.  
Its owner, Madam Muchmoney arrives to reclaim it, though it doesn’t seem happy 
to see her, Brock notices this and is concerned.  
Madam Muchmoney shows the group around Snubbull’s part of her mansion, but 
Brock isn’t convinced that Snubbull appreciates being spoilt and smothered so 
much (nor wants to marry a snobbish male Snubbull) and he soon speaks up about 
it.  
Team Rocket are around and plan another theft, but run into Snubbull who is 
attracted to biting Meowth’s tail.  
She’s soon shaken off and Team Rocket beat a hasty retreat but return soon 
enough with convenient bait that Snubbull can’t resist.  
Their escape doesn’t get them very far and they are forced to hide, but 
Meowth’s tail can’t take the pain and before long, Meowth cracks and reveals 
Team Rocket’s location to the group, they retaliate but Snubbull battles and 
Brock convinces Muchmoney to instruct her Snubbull through the battle.  
Muchmoney sees Snubbull’s real nature and accepts it (though the other 
Snubbull owner isn’t amused), and Team Rocket are soon defeated.  
But Snubbull is still not happy, even when Muchmoney decides to let her be 
herself, have some freedom and has the garden rebuilt to look like a natural 
habitat.  
She misses Meowth, and so, runs away on a mission to find him... and his 
tail.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie:  “Sorry to break up the party.”  
James:  “And the marriage.”  
Meowth (with Snubbull biting on his tail):  “I’m in extreme pain here!”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Throughout the whole episode, no names (other than Jeeves the attendant) are 
given out, the reason the old lady is referred to as Madam Muchmoney is 
because she’s later named in “The Trouble with Snubbull”.  

Since when was Team Rocket’s balloon remote controlled?  
Probably longer than I knew it seems, I had no idea it was so sophisticated, 
but at least it explains a few other episodes in which the balloon has 
appeared when Team Rocket needed it.  
Then again, there are episodes in which Team Rocket lost their balloon and 
were unable to get it back when they needed it most.  

Snubbull is another running character like Jigglypuff, though I don’t know if 
this is because it’s a popular Pokémon or not.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Stantler

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None are planned as yet.  

The Little Big Horn

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Stantler, Meowth, Onix, Bulbasaur

Story:  

The group come across a forest area in the centre of a busy metropolis.  
There they see a young hurt Stantler on its own, Brock tries to get closer to 
it but the group is doused in a nice smelling smoke, followed by an apparent 
herd of Stantler that chases the group away.  
Jenny arrives and escorts the group to fill out a report, where they discuss 
the mystery of how that many Stantler can appear and vanish like they did.  
Team Rocket are in the same predicament, running away from the Stantler, who 
seemingly appear once more.  
Brock notices something and stands in the way, he’s seemingly trampled, but it 
turns out that the Stantler aren’t really there, it’s all an illusion created 
by the lone baby Stantler.  
Brock is finally able to patch up its wound and care for Stantler, Team Rocket 
listen in and are angered at the Stantler for its illusions and so agree to 
capture it.  
In the morning, Brock tries to make the Stantler return to its home, and has 
to act mean so that it leaves him.  
Team Rocket spot it and attack the Stantler with a huge Stantler robot, as 
they prepare to leave with it, Brock catches up and defeats the robot but 
isn’t able to get to Team Rocket, and neither is Ash because Team Rocket are 
too high to shock.  
Another Stantler comes to the rescue and frees the baby while dropping Team 
Rocket.  
They are surrounded by Stantler but believe this is another illusion, they’re 
wrong, and get blasted off by the Stantler.  
The baby is reunited with its herd and leaves with its family.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jenny:  “Would you mind coming with me?”  
Brock:  “Oh boy, where should we go Officer? For a romantic stroll in this 
beautiful urban oasis?”  
Jenny:  “You don’t get it; I’d like you to come down to the station so I can 
fill out a report.”  
Brock:  “Great, but it sure is an unusual first date.”  
(Ash and Misty groan)  
Misty:  “He doesn’t have a clue...”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

When Brock tries to get closer by acting like a Stantler, he soon looks more 
like a Meowth due to the curved lips and one paw held up high.  

At first, we don’t see the Stantler illusions unless it’s from the perspective 
of someone that Stantler has deluded, but when Ash, Misty and Brock are being 
chased, we theoretically shouldn’t be seeing the Stantler because none of them 
are actually looking at their apparent pursuers, they’re looking away to watch 
where they’re going.  

This is the first time an actual battle theme from the new Pokémon games is 
heard, when the Stantler chase the group, the song playing is a great version 
based on the trainer battle music.  

James temporarily gets out the rose during the Team Rocket motto (an item we 
haven’t seen in some time), but it disappears during the next line.  

When Brock explains the Stantler’s actions, the instrumental from “Together 
Forever” is heard.  

James makes a comment that suggests the Boss will pretty much have them killed 
if they don’t bring him a rare Pokémon, but as it’s seen later, despite all of 
the threats and ideas rotating around the Boss’s criticisms about Jessie and 
James, he’ll never actually kill them.  
Since this is a children’s show, the Boss will probably never do anything to 
harm Jessie and James as such, contrary to what I’ve made him out to be in the 
Pokémon Journey story.  

James’s comment about the robot not having a sense of smell isn’t why 
Stantler’s illusions don’t work against it; the technique Stantler uses can 
only affect living things, so the robot is invulnerable to it.  
Sometimes it would be better for the translators to explain rather than make a 
joke or pun.  

James really isn’t cost effective in this episode (even though it’s funny that 
the Stantler can fire a net but not move to retrieve its captive, that little 
joke is ruined by the fact it can also fire out several spears).  
The robot doesn’t do very much, it’s easily beaten by Onix, James was just 
going to leave it behind, and to top it all off, it’s the seventh version of 
the robot due to the first six not working somehow.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Totodile

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

The Chikorita Rescue

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Chikorita, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Meowth, Weezing, Nidoran 
Male, Nidoran Female, Squirtle, Psyduck

Story:  

The journey towards the first Johto League Gym continues, up a cold 
mountainous region, where Ash spots a wild Chikorita and aims to catch it.  
It’s a gutsy one and doesn’t back down, even when faced with Charizard, things 
go awry and both Charizard and Chikorita slam into the side of a mountain and 
are hurt badly.  
Instead of catching it, Ash hurries Chikorita to the Pokémon Centre.  
Team Rocket have watched the battle and decide they want Chikorita on their 
team.  
Nurse Joy explains that the Chikorita around these parts battle until the very 
end and refuse to quit even when faced with the biggest opponents.  
Team Rocket disguise themselves as doctors and take away Chikorita in a fake 
ambulance, Ash manages to get on board secretly but has left his Pokémon in 
the Centre, and so must get by with only Pikachu.  
Meanwhile, Team Rocket aim to convince Chikorita to join them, Ash gets it out 
but a small trap results in a fall into cold snow.  
Ash and the Pokémon are free, but now lost, and Chikorita runs away just 
before it starts to snow, Ash and Pikachu camp in a cave and warm up, while 
Chikorita is literally left out in the cold.  
Ash decides to look for her, he finds it soon enough and returns her to the 
cave where everyone can rest warmly.  
In the morning, Ash and the Pokémon step out, right into Team Rocket, Meowth 
uses a snowball shooting device, but Chikorita defends Ash and malfunctions 
the machine, and then Pikachu beats Team Rocket once again with its 
electricity.  
The others find Ash and return to the Pokémon Centre where Chikorita is left, 
after the care Ash showed it, Chikorita has made the decision to join Ash, and 
it’s his duty to teach her not to be so stubborn.  

My favourite Quote:  

Jessie (to Ash):  “How dare you mangle our motto!”  
James:  “That is copyrighted material!”  
Meowth:  “Copycat!”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Just how strong is that Chikorita?! Just one hit from a Vine Whip put 
Bulbasaur into the red (if its expression is anything to go by), it Must be a 
high level one, or least higher than Ash’s Pokémon are.  

James lands awkwardly on the ambulance after leaping a great height, with one 
foot on the siren, surely he should have either stumbled, or simply hurt his 
leg landing the way he did.  
There’s no point in me making up a strange excuse like I normally do, since 
Team Rocket leap huge heights during mottos and get flung hundreds of feet 
into the air on a regular basis.  
On second thoughts, looks like I’ve got an excuse after all.  

Again the instrumental from “Together Forever” is heard, this has now happened 
for two episodes straight.  

I wouldn’t quite say Pikachu and Chikorita worked perfectly like a team as Ash 
does, they attacked in turns, not together, nor did they use any techniques 
which truly had to be done with a team effort.  
And then there’s the fact that Chikorita will soon be known for her jealous 
nature and desire to be Ash’s favourite over Pikachu.  

This appears to be the first time a Pokémon expresses its love by kissing a 
trainer (excluding Jynx, but she’s known for that sort of thing), Ash has 
never had a Pokémon like Chikorita, who will pretty much will always fight for 
his attention.  

Brock directly contradicts what Joy requested by naming Ash and 
Chikorita “Team Stubborn”, and what’s with the laughing after Ash’s comment 
about Chikorita being his new Pokémon, I hate it when good guys laugh at the 
end of an episode when nothing remotely funny was said.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Quagsire

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

Once in a Blue Moon

Pokémon seen:  

Togepi, Pikachu, Quagsire, Psyduck, Squirtle, Chikorita, Meowth, Bulbasaur

Story:  

The group arrive in Cherrygrove City and they take the time to relax, Ash 
decides to clean his Pokéballs and extends the task to the G.S ball he’s 
taking care of.  
A Quagsire appears and has an interest for the G.S Ball; it nabs it at the 
first opportunity.  
Squirtle manages to relieve Quagsire of it and before Misty can capture it, 
Officer Jenny appears and arrests them for just that.  
Luckily, Oak bails them out by making it clear that the group didn’t know 
about the law.  
Quagsire are special to the city as they prove the cleanliness of the water 
here.  
Jenny explains that the Quagsire went after the G.S Ball because it’s round, 
and at this time of year, Quagsire come to town, take round things and swim 
upstream, and the items are returned the next day, this brings clean water and 
good luck.  
Soon enough, Quagsire ambushes the group on a bridge and succeeds in taking 
the G.S Ball, during the struggle; Chikorita appears and proves she’s 
extremely jealous of any other Pokémon being close to Ash.  
Team Rocket are in the area, and soon lose their Pokéballs to the Quagsire.  
Ash and the group travel upstream and follow some other Quagsire, while Team 
Rocket pretty much does the same.  
The Quagsire are performing an old ritual and Ash must sit back and let it 
happen or risk breaking the preservation law.  
Team Rocket strike as the Quagsire wait for something, they’re too slippery to 
be caught at first, but a large net succeeds in trapping a large portion of 
them.  
Team Rocket get their Pokéballs back, and nab Pikachu as they make their 
escape, but the other Quagsire distract Team Rocket long enough to free 
Pikachu and the Quagsire, and then blast Team Rocket off.  
The Quagsire go further upstream where the moon is shining a beautiful blue, 
the Quagsire then use their Water Gun to blast the round objects as high as 
possible (or as close to the moon as possible).  
The one with the G.S Ball wins and the ball ends up in the waterfall where it 
drifts down with the other objects to Cherrygrove City; it comes down last, 
which apparently means Ash will have the most luck as a result.  

My favourite Quote:  

(Meowth holds up a round object with a happy expression)  
Jessie:  “What are you so happy about? What’s that thing you’ve got there?”  
Meowth:  “It’s just an old lawn ornament, there’s a bunch o’ neat stuff over 
in that field an’ it’s all round...”  
Jessie:  “Small minds are easily amused.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

The episode title is a fairly well known phrase “Once in a blue moon”.  

This is the first landmark other than New Bark that the group have seen from 
the second set of games, all cities and places between them were made up by 
the writers/animators, but you really have to in order to create a realistic 
world since the game’s cities are both small and kind of sparse.  

The only reference to Quagsire having a slimy body is in the Pokémon Crystal 
Pokédex, which also mentions that its pre-evolution Wooper can hurt those who 
touch it barehanded (this doesn’t apply in “No Big Woop!” though when the 
group encounters this Pokémon).  

What is the point of James using a lawn ornament as a fortune telling orb, and 
what’s the point in the outfit, James knows nothing about seeing into the 
future.  

When the Quagsire leap out of the water in a circle and Team Rocket fail to 
catch them, it reminds me of carnival attractions, though I can’t put my 
finger on what to accurately compare it to.  

During the Team Rocket scuffle, another tune from the games is played, this 
time it’s the wild Pokémon battle song.  

For the first time “Everything Changes” from the TV series soundtrack is used, 
though it’s only the instrumental used during the Quagsire ceremony.  

If the ceremony is performed once a year by the Quagsire because of the 
appearance of the blue moon, then sources suggest this is an error due to 
occurrences of a real Blue Moon appearing about every 2.5 years.  

Whichever Quagsire swiped the earring/earrings can’t have been very good at 
shooting it/them into the air, surely the earrings are slightly lighter than a 
Pokéball, unless there’s more to the ritual than the weight of an object.  

We now know why the last object is said to be the luckiest (because it’s the 
winning object of the Quagsire ritual), but to be fair, that could be wrong in 
some cases.  
Because the Quagsire don’t blast their objects up at the same time, the winner 
could get theirs highest but not have their object come down last, any other 
participant’s object could end up floating downstream last depending on the 
timing.  
It’s only because ‘Ash’s’ Quagsire went last out of all the other Quagsire 
that the G.S Ball came down last, but that’s not to say that all of the past 
and future winners’ items would come down last.  
Oh, and Officer Jenny should recognise the G.S Ball considering she saw it 
right up close earlier.  

Ash shouldn’t have put his faith in the G.S Ball giving him luck in the Johto 
League considering it doesn’t actually belong to him and since he’s going to 
hand the G.S Ball to Kurt, therefore giving up the lucky charm long before he 
participates in the League.  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Ledyba

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

It’s undecided as yet, I’ll update this segment either way no matter what 
decision I come to.  

The Whistle Stop

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Ledyba, Heracross, Lickitung, Zubat, Golbat, Arbok, 
Victreebel, Bulbasaur

Story:  

Team Rocket set a trap for the group under a large bridge, but they mess up 
and destroy the bridge without Ash and the others knowing they were there.  
They need to get to the other side, and are soon met by Arielle with her six 
Ledyba.  
One by one they are escorted to the other side; there they find a large 
orchard where Arielle has her Ledyba pollinate it.  
Team Rocket appear and dress up like television antique experts and steal 
Arielle’s whistle in an attempt to control the Ledyba, but they remain 
stationary because Team Rocket have no training.  
Lickitung is summoned and uses Supersonic which gets the Ledyba confused, and 
Pikachu’s electricity scares them away.  
The group search for the Ledyba and are led by Heracross, meanwhile, while 
Team Rocket repair their balloon, Meowth tries the whistle, he gains control 
of Arbok and uses it to catch the Ledyba, but Team Rocket are pulled away by 
their combined efforts.  
Arielle is worried that she won’t be able to control Ledyba without her 
whistle, but she is comforted by Ash that she doesn’t need it because she 
raised them.  
The group catches up to Team Rocket as Arbok secures their capture, but they 
are caught in a net and attacked by Lickitung and Victreebel, Arielle gets 
through to her Ledyba and they free themselves while saving the group.  
Ash frees them and Arielle guides her Ledyba through the battle without the 
use of her whistle, she gets it back after Team Rocket’s defeat but decides to 
use the whistle less until she can get by without it.  

My favourite Quote:  

Brock (in the style of a Pokédex):  “Girl travelling with Ledyba:  This 
natural beauty, short boyish hairstyle, provides the ideal compliment to her 
warm feminine features, this girl is obviously Brock’s type.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

Another Team Rocket reference to the reality of the cartoon as Meowth 
mentions ‘episode’ (unless ‘episode’ means ‘day’ to him).  

Again Misty doesn’t discriminate with the whole Bug-type thing, if they’re 
cute; she can deal with them, though I don’t see why she had such a problem 
with Caterpie.  

Meowth’s mesmerizing Arbok with the whistle is like real life Indian Snake 
Charmers using flutes to hypnotise and control snakes.  

I have no idea what the orange spray/dust move is supposed to resemble from 
the games; can anyone shed some light on the subject?  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Blissey

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None.  

Ignorance is Blissey

Pokémon seen:  

Pikachu, Togepi, Blissey, Meowth, Chansey, Ditto, Bellsprout, Cubone, Oddish, 
Lickitung, Arbok, Squirtle, Chikorita

Story:  

Happy Town at night, and the group are in need of a place to rest, they find a 
Pokémon Centre locked, until Blissey, the evolved form of Chansey, opens it 
for them.  
Nurse Joy isn’t around, and the Blissey does its best to take care of the 
group, but it’s clumsy and careless nature gets Ash dirty and hurt throughout 
the night.  
Nurse Joy eventually wakes and apologises for Blissey’s actions, but she only 
wants to be the best nurse she can be.  
Team Rocket are as hungry as the group, and sneak into the Pokémon Centre for 
food and to steal Pokémon, but they run into Blissey.  
Jessie turns out to know this Blissey, she once studied at a nursing course at 
a school for Chansey, a clumsy Chansey befriended her and they became 
friends.  
Jessie didn’t graduate while the Chansey did, but she gave Jessie part of her 
medal to remember her by, one she still wears today.  
Blissey finds that Team Rocket are hungry and give them more than enough food 
to take with them, but this leaves little for the others in the morning.  
Security shows it was Blissey that took the food but she isn’t able to tell 
why, Team Rocket see this and want to help by pretending they tricked Blissey 
into giving them the food.  
Blissey approaches Team Rocket as a friend, forcing Jessie to have her Pokémon 
attack to keep Blissey from revealing her friendship with Jessie and risking 
her career.  
Blissey keeps going despite this (although Jessie has her Pokémon pretend to 
attack from this point), so Team Rocket provokes Ash to get involved by 
stealing Pikachu, and then allow themselves to be defeated.  
Somehow after that, Blissey manages to keep from making another mess, and the 
group gets to feast before continuing their journey.  

My favourite Quote:  

James (deliberately speaking into a megaphone so as to be heard by the good 
guys):  “Oh Look Jessie, We Dropped All The Food We Stole From The Pokémon 
Centre.”  

Things I’d like to point out:  

The title is a pun of the phrase “Ignorance is bliss”.  

The events when Ash’s scream is heard outside the Pokémon Centre are 
justified, but I don’t much see the point in Joy screaming when she sees him 
all bandaged up.  

It’s fairly obvious that the reason why Blissey is so ill-equipped at her job 
is because Jessie helped her so much, in not doing the training for herself, 
Blissey never properly learned how to do things unsupervised.  

Blissey appears to be a little dim as well as clumsy, it’s one thing not to 
know how to bandage someone up, it’s another to attempt to read a book upside-
down and not realise it’s wrong right away.  

The teacher is out of order for scolding Jessie when she can’t help but fall 
asleep while the Chansey sing, the teacher even wears headphones to protect 
herself so she should at least understand that the song can have that effect 
on people.  

One must wonder, did Jessie fail to pass the Chansey nursing course because 
she helped her Chansey friend more than completing her own tasks, that she 
failed because of her own flaws or the simple fact that Jessie isn’t a Chansey 
(if it’s the latter then those responsible shouldn’t have accepted her in the 
first place).  

Who’s That Pokémon?:  

Togepi

Cameos in Pokémon Journey:  

None, but Emily’s Chansey soon evolves in the Johto series, but it seems to 
become almost as clumsy as the Blissey seen here.  

Episodes #113 - #120
Episodes #129 - #136
Movie and MiniMovie Guide
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