Episode Guide #129 - #136 A Bout With Sprout Fighting Flyer With Fire For Crying Out Loud Tanks a Lot! Charizard’s Burning Ambitions Grin to Win! Chikorita’s Big Upset Foul Weather Friends A Bout With Sprout Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Vulpix, Zubat, Geodude, Onix, Psyduck, Goldeen, Poliwag, Staryu, Bulbasaur, Heracross, Squirtle, Chikorita, Charizard, Meowth, Bellsprout, Weezing, Arbok, Lickitung Story: The group arrives in Violet City; Pikachu is harassed by two infants belonging to a Pokémon Academy. Inside, they are welcomed by Miss Priscilla and Principle Earl and given a chance to teach the youngsters. Zacky tries to convince Pikachu to leave Ash for him, and upon failing to do that, attempts to take him by force, he seizes one of Ash’s Pokéballs and attempts to capture Pikachu, but it runs away. While the other students go on a class trip to the Sprout Tower, Ash chases after Zacky. He seemingly captures Pikachu in the ball but then Ash and Zacky fall into Team Rocket’s trap, he aims to deal with Team Rocket but out of the Pokéball comes a Bellsprout. Team Rocket use their old megaphones to lure Pikachu, but Ash warns it in time to escape, the net provides an escape route for Ash and Zacky, and Pikachu defeats Team Rocket. They crash land in an upper level of the Sprout Tower and overhear that Ash is on his way there. Zacky is unimpressed by his capture but soon cheers up a little, Team Rocket make themselves known at the tower, and threaten to cut and jettison the swaying beam if Ash doesn’t give up Pikachu, Pikachu is willingly caught and Ash can’t bring out any other Pokémon, Zacky has Bellsprout get the remote away from Meowth, Team Rocket are attacked, but plan on escaping with the rocket. Bulbasaur and Bellsprout free Pikachu and disconnect the rocket from the beam, saving the tower while Team Rocket fly away out of control. The group leaves, while Zacky is happy with his Bellsprout and wishes for a future battle against Ash. My favourite Quote: Ash: “The most important thing a new Pokémon Trainer has to remember is... Uh... Let’s see now, uh, what was it?... It’s on the tip of my tongue... Uh...” Things I’d like to point out: Zacky deserved to have been shocked instead of Ash, he was pulling at Pikachu’s ears as if it were a stuffed animal; he’s punished for this a little later though. Ash should have mentioned his victory against the Orange Crew rather than his less than perfect record in the Indigo Plateau if he was looking for respect from the children. Another impression (sort of), for a split second Ash looks kind of like Meowth. What was Pikachu worried about? It’s been out of its Pokéball so long that it’s seemingly forgotten about the fact that as long as Ash possesses its Pokéball, other Pokéballs should be ineffective against it. What happened to Bellsprout after it appeared in front of Team Rocket? Instead of remaining quiet, Zacky should have tried to make it attack Team Rocket. Somehow Team Rocket have retrieved the voice changing megaphones (plus one) from “The Case of the K-9 Caper!”, either they got the old ones back, someone else in Team Rocket builds them or these devices are available in stores. Meowth quotes the actor Jim Carrey and says the line exactly as he did (“It’s... Smokin’!”). Since the black rubber gloves and boots don’t change Team Rocket’s costume very much, why don’t they always wear them to protect themselves from Pikachu?! Who’s That Pokémon?: Cleffa Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Due to the Pokémon Academy being mentioned in Pokémon Stadium 2, I’ve long decided to include it in the storyline, Earl now teaches to trainers of all ages, and Tetsubo studies there just before his journey. Earl, Miss Priscilla and Zacky are all mentioned in Chapter 63. Fighting Flyer With Fire Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Heracross, Hoothoot, Arbok, Pidgeot, Chikorita, Dodrio, Charizard, Spearow, Fearow Story: At last, Ash arrives at the Violet City Gym, but Team Rocket turn up as inspectors and make off with Pikachu, but a man with Flying Pokémon turns up, retrieves Pikachu and defeats Team Rocket. The man is passionate about Flying Pokémon and Ash reminisces about his own Pidgeot, soon enough Falkner reveals he’s the Gym Leader, but neither he nor Ash will hold back even though they’ve just become friends. Hoothoot is up first, and Ash poorly makes the choice to use Chikorita, even though Grass-types are weak against Flying-types, it is proven when Hoothoot navigates around Chikorita’s attacks and wins a flawless victory. Pikachu pulls it back, beating Hoothoot, and then Dodrio, but it finally falls to Falkner’s Pidgeot. Charizard is the final Pokémon, which is able to rise to the Pidgeot’s level in battle, after some trouble, but its flying abilities are second best to Pidgeot, who keeps appearing from behind and using Wing Attack. This is Falkner’s flaw, as Ash is able to trick Falkner into doing this one last time and knows where to aim a Fire Spin, stalling it enough to use Seismic Toss to end the match. Falkner awards Ash the Zephyr Badge and the group leaves towards to the next Gym. My favourite Quote: Falkner: “Forfeit!” Ash: “Forfeit?!” Falkner: “It’s supposed to be a trainer’s responsibility to judge whether his Pokémon can continue to battle or not.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is the phrase “Fighting fire with fire”. For one scene during the Team Rocket motto, Misty’s eyebrows are slightly bigger/bushier than normal. Heracross could have defeated Team Rocket and Then eaten the sap Meowth used as a diversion, but obviously Heracross’s hunger means more to it than its friends. When Falkner enters the scene, so does another new song to the series, this one is the rival song from the games (not the battle song, but the intro before that battle). Considering it was just an intro, I’m surprised they were able to get their version sounding so good and dramatic. Ash has got some nerve, what would bird-loving Falkner do if he knew the truth about Pidgeot. Ash pretty much promised Pidgeot he’d come back for it after retrieving the G.S Ball. He not only left it in the Viridian Forest longer than he should have, but then he completely broke his promise by returning to Pallet Town, leaving to Johto, and lying to Falkner about the whole thing, instead claiming he’ll return for it someday. Sadly, since the cartoon limits weaknesses and doesn’t mention them all probably due to not wanting to make it appear complicated to non game players, they fail to mention that Flying-types are also weak against Ice and Rock- types. Falkner is angry that Ash forgot Flying-types are strong against Grass-types even though he owned a Pidgeot. It honestly is sad that Ash owned a Flying Pokémon for well over a year without truly preying on its type strengths (Grass and Bug-types). Type knowledge is essential to trainers, and absolutely necessary to those that wish to become Pokémon Masters. I think Falkner has some issues with his rage, as soon as the battle starts, his dialogue sounds so full of anger and desperation. That rage will surely be seen in my fanfic’s Gym Battles including him. This is another episode that makes me sick of the “Don’t worry, I’m proud of you, you deserve a good rest, you put up a great battle.” kind of speech, Chikorita didn’t land a single hit on Hoothoot, how can you claim it was a good battle?! Ash shouldn’t have used it in the first place. Although it’s claimed that Dodrio can’t fly, somehow it can use the attack/technique Fly in the games. In the games Whirlwind blows away wild Pokémon or forces a trained Pokémon to retreat and switch, but the series seems to be using it in the same way Gust attack was used back when Ash owned a Pidgeotto. I shan’t push this issue further, since I gave in to the alternative use of the attack and once used it as a finishing blow (Chapter 57 in the Pokémon League no less). As the first Gym Leader of the region Falkner’s Pokémon are fairly advanced compared to his Pidgey and Pidgeotto in the games. Another significant song from the games; the intensity of this battle makes the song suiting since it’s the final battle tune and it’s mainly only used for battles that are dramatic and important to the series. The closing words of Falkner’s speech claiming that a Charizard that can’t fly can’t win a match is only truly valid in this case, when Fire attacks only come back at it. Charizard are powerful enough to win a match with fire alone, as Charizard has proven in the past. Who’s That Pokémon?: Marill Cameos in Pokémon Journey: A significant yes, because Falkner looks so similar to a main character in Pokémon Journey, it convinced me to make him one of Abby’s immediate kin. He’s appeared once already in Pokémon Journey in Chapter 34 but he doesn’t discover his lost sister until Chapter 60, after the Pokémon League in Kanto. He’s also set to make a chain of appearances in Gym Battles with Tetsubo’s friends in Johto. For Crying Out Loud Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Marill, Meowth, Butterfree, Caterpie, Weedle, Beedrill, Chikorita, Arbok, Weezing, Poliwag Story: The group discovers a Marill, Misty tries to catch it but only succeeds in making it cry, in this Marill’s case, its cries are unbearably loud. It already has a trainer and it’s now easily scared by Misty and tends to cry at the smallest things she says and does. Team Rocket appear disguised as farmers and soon drive away with Pikachu and Marill, Marill’s crying sends Team Rocket crashing their truck and flying away, which leads to Pikachu and Marill taking a fall. Misty reaches the Pokémon on a steep hill but falls and is washed away with the Pokémon. Ash and Brock are left to deal with Wilhelmina, the girl from before, who accuses Ash of stealing her Pokémon, but Brock quickly rectifies things. Marill doesn’t get on with Misty and tests Misty’s patience to its limits, normally resulting in her complaining and upsetting the Marill. Brock comforts Wilhelmina when she worries about her Marill, and might actually have a chance with this girl. Marill accidentally angers a bunch of Bug Pokémon and a swarm of Beedrill chase it, Pikachu and Misty, they pass right by Ash and the others but are eventually trapped and resort to Pikachu alone to defeat them. A storm starts soon after and both groups must take shelter, Brock figures things won’t work out between him and Wilhelmina because she’ll leave if she reclaims her Marill, but won’t be happy until she gets it back. Marill runs during the thunderstorm and its life is put in danger by a lightning struck falling tree, Misty saves it and the two seemingly see eye to eye now. While walking across a bridge, Team Rocket shake things up and snatch Pikachu and Marill in their balloon via extendible glove devices, Misty takes a dangerous leap for Marill and soon takes a fall, but Ash arrives with Chikorita and saves her, and then Pikachu. Team Rocket starts another fight but Misty combats them for a change, Marill saves her during the battle and Team Rocket are soon defeated. Brock and Misty have tearful goodbyes with Wilhelmina and Marill, and watch as they depart from their lives. My favourite Quote: Brock: “Well ya know what ya always find in beautiful places like this, don’t ya?” Ash & Misty: “No Brock, what?” Brock: “Beautiful girls... Guys, this could be it, this could be where I’m finally gonna meet the girl of my dreams!” Misty: “That’s crazy, what makes you think you’re gonna find the girl of your dreams here?” Brock: “Because she’s standing right over there...” Things I’d like to point out: Have you seen the amount of impressions Pikachu does to calm Marill? About every one it’s done throughout the series, you can see one of Togepi, Bulbasaur, Brock, Ash, and if I’m not mistaken, Squirtle and Charizard. A nice touch of realism really, when Team Rocket drive away doing the speech, it fades out until the group catches up, by which time the speech is just about done, though Team Rocket haven’t seemed to notice they had no audience through the most part of the motto. Is it possible for Meowth to drive given his small size? Unless the tractor was custom built with higher pedals. Togepi is almost oblivious, it isn’t half as bothered as the others about Marill’s crying and it’s as cheery as always even though Misty (who it believes is its mother) is missing. A minor point but when Togepi finds Marill’s ribbon, the jingle playing is Mew’s theme from the first movie, personally I think no one should have the theme other than Mew). A song from Mewtwo’s lab is heard during the rainstorm from the first movie as well, pretty much confirming the series is now using themes from the movies (I won’t mention them all unless they’re particularly significant). Why does Marill laugh when everyone is chased by Beedrill? It cries at everything else (unless it was laughing because it sadistically enjoyed the fact Misty was being chased after the way she treated it. Misty’s wrong in saying she’s wanted to try an Electric attack for a long time, firstly, it goes against her usual fanatic behaviour about Water Pokémon, and second, she’s already had Pikachu use Electric attacks back in “PRINCESS VS. PRINCESS”. Ash thinks Togepi is using Withdraw when it curls up into its shell, but Togepi’s don’t learn that technique, what Togepi is doing is just natural for it, and anyway, I thought Ash believed Togepi couldn’t use any attack or technique. After the rain, the instrumental from “Misty’s Song” from the series soundtrack is heard (in which Misty ‘sings’ about her secret crush on Ash), this means all songs from the TV soundtrack in one way or form have finally been played in the series. Just because Marill does a victory dance with a line of Pokémon doesn’t mean its friends with them contrary to what Wilhelmina may think, Togepi barely got to know Marill and Chikorita and Poliwag only just recently made an appearance. Seems a shame that Brock should have to give up his chance to be with a girl who likes him just because Ash wanted to hurry to another Gym and Brock’s loyalty towards the travelling group. What’s with the tough girl act Misty? She obviously cares for Marill so why hide it when Ash questions her? Does she want to be seen as an uncaring girl, especially in his eyes? Who’s That Pokémon?: Sentret Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but Emily gets herself a Marill, it’s almost as loud as this one, and mostly a whimpering coward until it’s taught to take care of itself. Tanks a Lot! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Sentret, Meowth, Onix, Staryu, Poliwag, Psyduck, Squirtle, Sandshrew, Diglett, Charizard Story: The group are tired out and take a well-needed rest during the day; a young Sentret appears nearby and approaches. Team Rocket approach with an Arbok-shaped tank but after discovering them asleep, decide to exit their vehicle and steal Pikachu silently. The Sentret wakes up Togepi and plays with it, but the two accidentally fall into the tank and start it up. Ash is awakened by the Sentret’s mother inquiring about her child, but they all rush off to investigate when the Arbo-tank is heard. Team Rocket run into Ash and reveal to them that Togepi is inside; Brock uses Onix to get everyone ahead of the tank and plans a way to stop it by digging a ditch. Pikachu gets inside but the tank manages to escape, Team Rocket try their own plan and trap the tank in a hole and Meowth gets inside, but the tank accidentally escapes again. The adult Sentret warns the other Pokémon to evacuate the area, the tank heads straight for a mountain but Togepi uses Metronome to blast a hole through it. The group and Team Rocket quickly plan ahead, because the tank is headed straight for a city, the group get ahead again and use Charizard’s and Onix’s strength to hold it back. Pikachu destroys the tank from the inside and Charizard blasts an exit so the Pokémon can escape, Team Rocket rush inside to save their contraption but it explodes and they go flying. Officer Jenny arrives, alerted by the noise but surprisingly thanks the group since there’s now a short cut for the citizens to get to the next town. My favourite Quote: (After Togepi and Sentret drive away in the Team Rocket tank) Meowth: “Hey, how’d they do that?” Jessie: “JAMES. Don’t tell me you forgot to put the parking brake on!” James: “Alright, what would you like me to tell you then?” Things I’d like to point out: We so rarely see Togepi frown, there’s plenty of cheeriness and occasionally it cries but it’s hardly ever angry at anyone, Togepis are generally known for their good nature. The title pun is from the simple (but possibly sarcastic) phrase “Thanks a lot!” Okay, this is normal for some cartoons but I must protest against it, where did the tent, the maps, and the army-like clothing come from? Not from the group’s baggage, that’s for sure. Misty knows as well as anyone that her Psyduck is almost incapable of using Water Gun, it’s done so only once (“The Battling Eevee Brothers”) and that was a complete joke, plus it hadn’t been ordered to do so, this time it seemingly ignores Misty. Okay! This one should be noticed by hardcore fans, Psyduck is swimming! In past (and future) episodes, this Pokémon is completely incapable of swimming, and yet today it’s doing the backstroke. Team Rocket seem to have the most costume changes in this episode though not for the purpose of disguise, they begin with magician’s clothes (and somehow a flock of Pidgey that fly out of a hat), old men costumes, Dugtrio costumes for some reason plus the soldier clothing that the others wore in kind earlier in the episode. Okay, it’s logical for the group to think the tank burrowed its way through instead of figuring it was Togepi, but surely the Pokémon should know better, especially Meowth, who could easily communicate that Togepi knows the Metronome to people. Okay, boxing gloves have a point as does the spring, the tiny pincers could also make a good weapon or device, but a Pidgey-shaped cuckoo clock attachment and fireworks? What was James thinking when he built those into the tank?! But despite this, James wasn’t aware there was a rock drill attachment, even though we saw a drill in the Arbo-tank’s mouth earlier on. Not to insult the little Sentret, but a Pokémon of its size would and did not make a noticeable difference in helping Charizard hold off the tank. Who’s That Pokémon?: Igglybuff Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but a cute Sentret joins the ranks of Tetsubo’s team and surprisingly makes for a really good Pokémon. Charizard’s Burning Ambitions Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Staryu, Poliwag, Charizard, Heracross, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Snorlax, Chikorita, Vulpix, Zubat, Psyduck, Geodude, Goldeen, Onix, Weezing, Lickitung, Arbok, Victreebel Story: The group meet a girl called Liza, who trains a Charizard of her own and takes care of a place called the Charicific Valley. Brock and Misty are carried there while Ash is told to use his Charizard to fly on, but it has trouble doing so. Ash is angered when Liza suggests that his Charizard isn’t as tough as the wild Charizard here, his Charizard immediately wants to challenge one to a battle, but it goes horribly wrong and Charizard is beaten outright, it doesn’t back down no matter how much it loses, until it’s hurled out of the valley and shut out. Charizard is desperate to be as strong as the others but Liza has her own Charizard battle Ash’s and hurls it into the water, Liza tells Charizard to stay where it is and think about how to improve itself, which Charizard literally does despite its dislike of water. Team Rocket have watched the whole thing and feel for Charizard, and so Team Rocket help it by keeping it awake through the night so its flame doesn’t go out in the water, and in the morning, attack it with their latest robot, Charizard easily defeats it and Team Rocket willingly lets it. The gates open and Liza says Charizard can train with them, not for defeating Team Rocket, but because it’s proven it wants to be great. Ash decides that leaving Charizard here will be for the best, though it hurts him to do so, he runs and doesn’t look back before he can change his mind. My favourite Quote: Liza (to Charizard): “You’ll never be a great Charizard if you act tough and don’t respect your own limitation.” Things I’d like to point out: Meowth goes against Jessie’s choice to perhaps go after someone else, which kind of contradicts my stories with them, still, it was nice to write about these funny classic characters twice but I knew any more than that would affect the continuity of the series. When James counts the Pokémon that the good guys own, they’re all there in the vision, but also Snorlax, who is currently not with them. If Team Rocket truly believed matching the number of Pokémon with Ash and his friends would make them winners, they should take some time off from chasing Ash around the globe and focus on catching a few more Pokémon for themselves, as proven in past episodes Team Rocket’s Pokémon are pretty good at subduing wild Pokémon for capture. I disagree completely with Brock and Misty, using Charizard against other trainers is not completely unfair, just new ones that have only started out (like Casey in “The Double Trouble Header”). After all the work he had to do, Ash should feel free to use Charizard’s strength, especially when it comes to matters about Team Rocket (who break rules and try to take precious Pokémon away from people). Despite saying otherwise, Ash has rode on Charizard twice, he’s excused for forgetting about the time when it first evolved (in “Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon”) because he was asleep, but he somehow forgets about when he and Charizard came to an understanding (in “Charizard Chills”), why does Charizard suddenly struggle to carry Ash, unless it’s not been exercising lately? Liza comments on Charizard’s lack of training, and she’s right, Ash hardly trains Charizard, all he does is send it into battle and rely on a small range of attacks, since when has Ash brought Charizard out to actually teach it something or work on its flying or fire abilities? Oak’s theory about Pokémon gaining qualities of their trainers is finally shining through with Charizard but only in this episode, it’s just as enthusiastic as Ash is but starts imitating Ash’s expressions, particularly the eyes. Team Rocket make out as if they bought their robot online, it’s clear that not all robots and devices made for thefts were actually built by Team Rocket, they were bought. But honestly, what kind of world sells gigantic destructive machines so easily obtainable to the public? Unless of course Team Rocket has their own secret website to supply machines to their kind? I know this subject must have come up before, but just where do Jessie and James keep on getting their money? Just last episode, James apparently emptied their bank account. In a previous episode, Jessie and James got a salary, which suggested they got paid by the Boss, but surely by now he’d have considered cutting off their funds for all their failures, wasted machines and devices. Though it’s Charizard’s way with Ash, shouldn’t it reframe from blasting flames into the air when Ash leaves since Liza previously said that only weak Charizard do so? Unless there are different ways to spout flames that relate to a Charizard’s emotion. Though the first time is subtle, fans will notice that as the season goes on, Ash will slowly drop his original starter Pokémon in favour of the newer ones. The writers have engineered it so that one by one, the original starters have a reason to leave, leaving space for Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile to join Ash’s team and replace the old Fire, Water and Grass-types. Who’s That Pokémon?: Sunflora Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Undecided as of yet. Grin to Win! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Sunflora, Meowth, Snubbull, Arbok, Chikorita, Poliwag, Weezing Story: The group is tired and thirsty and desperately seek rest and water, a girl named Sunreeser offers some as she fixes a leaking pipe. The group is escorted into a town called Bloomingvale, famous for the abundance in Sunflora, and an annual festival, which includes a competition to see whose Sunflora is best. One of Sunreeser’s Sunflora is gloomy, and it’s her prized one. At night, Team Rocket break into a greenhouse full of Sunflora to steal them, but decide on stealing just one and entering it in the contest, but Meowth trips and hits the alarm, he is trapped while Jessie and James escape. Ash and the group take custody of Meowth, but expect a favour in return, meanwhile Snubbull enters town. Meowth uses his gift to translate why the Sunflora is so sad, because a friend of it isn’t around any more; he’s taken back by Team Rocket straight afterwards. The group and Sunreeser track down the Sunflora and Sunreeser’s happiness is restored since it can now see its friend again. Soon afterwards, the competition starts, and the finalists are Sunreeser, Cyrus, and Team Rocket (who enter Meowth in a costume). Snubbull tracks down Meowth, and bites his tail hard, revealing him, Team Rocket first rid themselves of Snubbull and use solar panels to make all the Sunflora (except Sunreeser’s) absorb too much light, inflating their heads so that they can’t attack. During the following battle for the prized noodles, it goes well for Ash, but Chikorita gets jealous of Pikachu and sabotages its Electric attack, it instead hits the solar panels and frees the Sunflora, allowing Sunreeser’s Sunflora to fight with a powerful Solarbeam to defeat Team Rocket. Sunreeser goes on to win the competition, and soon the group continues on their journey towards their goal, as does Snubbull. My favourite Quote: James (checking each Sunflora for a winner in the contest): “Hmmm, the leaves on this one are out of proportion with its petals... This one has a nice smile, but its shape leaves something to be desired... This one’s physically nice but it lacks personality... There’s something insincere about this one’s smile... This one just doesn’t want to win badly enough, you can tell by the look in its eyes...” Things I’d like to point out: To answer Misty’s question of whether the leaking pipe is real or a mirage, if you were dying of thirst, would you see some leaking pipe in your hallucinations, or the traditional oasis? Okay, this has happened too much lately to ignore, why is it that when a Pokémon is upset, the group, or more commonly Brock and Pikachu, pull funny faces to cheer them up, there are other ways to cheer someone up, and they don’t require methods that treat them like babies. This is the third time this series that “Together Forever” has been played in the backdrop during a happy moment. When Snubbull bites Meowth, his ears are the wrong colour, and no, it’s not paint, because the only paint used on Meowth’s disguise was green and the front of his ears have changed white. On a lighter note, the bloodshot eyes used at this moment really express Meowth’s pain. Who’s That Pokémon?: Ho-oh Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Chikorita’s Big Upset Pokémon seen: Raticate, Chikorita, Togepi, Pikachu, Muk, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Heracross, Hitmonchan, Machoke, Hitmonlee, Primeape, Meowth Story: The story starts in the middle of a trainer battle, Chikorita is dealt a lot of damage but refuses to be replaced with Pikachu, Ash spends too much time trying to recall it and the trainer returns home for dinner. At the Pokémon Centre, Chikorita distances herself from the other Pokémon. The Nurse Joy here specialises in Pokémon psychology and wishes to study Chikorita’s irrational behaviour. Joy figures out that Chikorita is jealous of Pikachu because it thinks Ash cares more about it. At night, Chikorita runs away and Pikachu chases it, Chikorita beats a rough Primeape in an abandoned warehouse and the other Fighting Pokémon respect her strength and serve her. Ash hurries to find his Pokémon, while Team Rocket catch on to Pikachu and Chikorita’s absence and plan to get to them first. Pikachu finds Chikorita but Team Rocket find them, the Fighting Pokémon come to their defence. Meowth saves Jessie and James with his secret weapon, a robot made of tyres, it beats back the Pokémon and grabs Pikachu and Chikorita. Team Rocket’s balloon is too high to reach and so Ash decides to break the robot’s antenna manually, Meowth makes the robot swerve so Ash misses, which results in Ash needing to be saved by Chikorita’s vines, he soon breaks the dish and Meowth’s control, the Pokémon and Ash escape while the robot attacks Team Rocket, resulting in the usual explosion. Things are better now between Ash and Chikorita, and Ash lets both Pokémon ride on his shoulders for the latest hike towards the next destination. My favourite Quote: (Jessie and James are threatened by their robot gone haywire tugging on their ropes while Meowth sits up top in the balloon they’re connected to) Meowth (before extending his claws): “Time for emergency measures... Hah!” Jessie: “Wait a second, what are you going to do?” James: “We’re your friends, you can’t cut us loose!” Meowth: “The two o’ you are weighin’ this t’ing down so I’m gonna have ta exercise my escape claws!” (Meowth’s claws now touch the ropes) Jessie: “That actually makes a great deal of sense... YOU TRAITOR!” Things I’d like to point out: If Joy knew that the neighbourhood had rough Pokémon, why did she leave the greenhouse door open for them to get in or for Chikorita to escape? Another episode in which Pikachu noticeably calls someone by name through its limited dialogue, “Pikapika” is Pikachu’s way of saying Chikorita. It’s way too coincidental that Meowth’s machine was hidden in the very place Chikorita was hiding, unless Meowth got Really lucky and stored it away previously, before Chikorita hid there. And speaking of the tyre robot, how did it get out of the warehouse, it doesn’t look like it walked right through it, so unless the place was strong enough to support it lifting itself through the roof, there’s another error to add to the list. Again, Ash isn’t thinking outside the box, Bulbasaur was around and surely it could have used Razor Leaf to burst the balloon and beat Team Rocket easier. When Chikorita grabs Ash, Misty claims it just saved his life, but Ash takes similar falls of roughly the same height if not higher in past and future episodes and seems to come out of it just fine. Also, Team Rocket takes higher falls and landings on a regular basis, I hate it when there’s one set of rules on physics and logic for one side, and a completely different one for the other. For the second time, “Together Forever” is played two episodes in a row within this series. Who’s That Pokémon?: Hoppip Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Foul Weather Friends Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Bellsprout, Vileplume, Gloom, Hoppip, Chikorita, Arbok, Staryu, Victreebel, Heracross Story: The group travel along a path full of Grass Pokémon and meet a little Hoppip, like all Hoppip, it’s so light that it gets carried away with the wind, a girl named Mariah hurries to catch it since it belongs to her as do six other Hoppip. Mariah is a weather forecaster who uses her equipment and her Hoppip to predict the weather due to their behaviour and movement before certain conditions occur. There’s a stranger among the group in the form of an Oddish, it is friends with the Hoppip and want to be and fly like one. Team Rocket pop up and attempt to steal the Hoppip with fans, but are beaten in a quick battle. Straight after, the Hoppip indicate that a tornado is headed towards them. When it passes Mariah’s house, in the process, the Hoppip and Oddish are sucked into it. Oddish is found first and it immediately helps to locate its friends one by one. Team Rocket are now in their balloon and have secured four of Mariah’s Hoppip, they grab the one that the group was chasing but are brought down and must battle. Before the Pokémon can fight, Oddish steps up and battles alone, with surprisingly powerful attacks and techniques, it defeats Team Rocket on its own. Before leaving, the group convince Oddish to take pride in the skills it does have rather than what it can’t do. My favourite Quote: Meowth: “We want them Hoppip so we can start our own business an’ go legit’.” Jessie: “We never do anything honest!” Meowth: “We could still cheat on our taxes, couldn’t we?” Things I’d like to point out: Title pun source stems from “Fair weather friends”. Jessie claims the Boss would fire them if she and the others hoarded Pokémon for themselves, but this contradicts several episodes in which Team Rocket have gone after Pokémon to use in schemes to make themselves rich, not the Boss. I really hate it when gigantic machines incapable of moving just suddenly appear within Team Rocket’s range whenever they need them, that fan was not there until it was conveniently needed. Looks like last episode’s events didn’t completely sort out Chikorita’s problem, she might not have it in for Pikachu anymore but that didn’t stop her barging past it to receive recognition from Ash. Judging by the fact that no Pokéballs go flying into the tornado, Mariah doesn’t seem to use them on her Hoppip, since recalling them might have provided a little more weight to keep them grounded. Despite the danger of the tornado, the Oddish doesn’t care since it’s been given an opportunity to fly like the Hoppip. While searching for Hoppip, the instrumental for “Viridian City” is heard, this makes three episodes in a row that use instrumentals from the first soundtrack. Misty is very wrong in her statement, Oddish’s first attack doesn’t actually look like a kick, more like a running Tackle/Head Butt attack. Oddish, Gloom and Vileplume (and most probably Bellossom too) can’t even learn Mega Kick or any kicking attack, yet this one has somehow picked it up. When Meowth leaps into attack, the Solarbeam is fired, and Meowth is standing next to Jessie and James. Unless he backed away at some point during the fight, Meowth doesn’t move very far despite looking like he did in conjunction with the anime dramatic line background. Oddish performs a surprisingly quick Solarbeam, in the games; by using Sunny Day to make the sunlight brighter, Solarbeam can be done in one turn instead of two, so I’ll let this one go because it may have been sunny enough to count. This may seem petty, but in one shot, Oddish has left the hug from Mariah and is standing on her hands, but in the next shot, it’s embraced in a hug. I doubt a length of time has occurred between shots since Mariah smiles after speaking to Oddish and in the next shot everyone is laughing, apparently because of what she just said. Who’s That Pokémon?: Gligar Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Episodes #121 - #128 Episodes #137 - #144 Movie and MiniMovie Guide Back to the Pokézone