Episode Guide #137 - #144 The Superhero Secret Mild ‘n Wooly Wired For Battle! Good ‘Quil Hunting A Shadow of a Drought Going Apricorn! Gettin’ the Bugs Out A Farfetch’d Tale The Superhero Secret Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Gligar, Meowth Story: The group are walking down a forest path and stumble into another Team Rocket pit; the bad guys cover up the hole with cage-like bars and then fill the hole with water to prevent Pikachu from using its usual attacks. A Gligar busts through and saves Togepi from drowning, and is then joined by a costumed hero known as Gligarman. Gligar does away with Team Rocket quickly and the group are able to free themselves. They thank Gligarman and then he swiftly leaves, a girl named Letoya turns up straight after and apologises for any trouble Gligarman may have caused and swiftly leaves. The group enter town and walk right into a shop mostly specialising in Gligarman goods, the owner of the store and Letoya’s father (Mr Parker) is an expert on Gligarman, but it’s soon clear that he Is Gligarman. He decides to show the group about his other life in return for their silence, it turns out that Mr Parker invented Gligarman to help the business of his store; he made up stories, made toys and wore a costume to advertise it but at some point became Gligarman. Ash turns down the offer of carrying on the Gligarman tradition after Mr Parker in favour of his own dream and that saddens him because since Letoya is in favour of him giving up being Gligarman, there’s no one to continue after him. The store is under attack by Team Rocket, who are strangely forcing people to wear ridiculous Metapod costumes that James and Meowth are stuck in. Gligar easily beats them until Meowth pilots a Spinarak robot to trap Ash, Pikachu and Gligarman in order to unmask him. Everyone already knows his identity and support him, suddenly, a female superhero appears called Gligirl, Gligar recognises it as Letoya and together she instructs Gligar to free her father and Ash, Pikachu cunningly beats the robot, which also beats Team Rocket. Letoya is happy to take over the role of the town’s superhero but Gligarman isn’t ready to give up, so the group suggests they work together, they depart soon afterwards. My favourite Quote: Gligarman: “That’s some daughter I have...” Brock: “Yeah, she sure is, wonder where she disappeared to? She was here a minute ago.” Things I’d like to point out: After Gligarman saves Togepi, the rest of the group get out of the trap quickly and unexplainably. Plus, considering the drenching they got, they aren’t very wet in the slightest. The fall that Gligarman took is a little exaggerated; it shouldn’t have taken 8 seconds to land, even though he jumped up a little from the tree before falling. There’s an alternative problem with names, as Letoya somehow knows Ash’s name even though he didn’t give it, maybe being a superhero’s daughter has given Letoya psychic superpowers?... Nah! For probably the first one, Ash is the one to get angry at Brock’s behaviour with girls. For someone so concerned about his secret identity, Mr Parker shouldn’t be shouting so loud to Ash about not revealing it, though later on we discover everyone knows it anyway, even Team Rocket outside the store catch onto this fact. Brock seems to be reverting to his old condition, as after being rejected by Letoya (sort of), he hides in the corner depressed complete with a familiar dark blue backdrop. I know the writers have deliberately made Ash and Brock slow at figuring out the whole superhero secret identity thing but Brock’s comment about just figuring out Letoya is Gligirl after Ash and Mr Parker talk about it in great detail is too stupid to be believable, or funny. The writers took the joke too far and it’s pretty much been ruined. Unless Gligarman has the superpower of super hearing and maybe super speed, it’s doubtful he would come to Ash’s aid once he’s long gone from this town. At the end of the episode, the instrumental to “The Time Has Come” can be heard. Who’s That Pokémon?: Mareep Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Mr Parker and Letoya/Gligarman and Gligirl are set to make an appearance, since one of Tetsubo’s friends will own a Gligar of his own. Mild ‘n Wooly Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Mareep, Raichu, Meowth, Hoothoot, Weezing, Arbok Story: While taking a rest in a beautiful meadow, the group see a Pokémon called Mareep, who charges straight for Pikachu. When it uses electricity on the sheep, its fleece puffs up a little, but a herd of Mareep want a piece of the action too. A girl named Mary tries to stop them and fails, but her mother with a Raichu calms the sheep with its own electricity. Mary’s mother invites the group back to her home, where they learn that Mary wants to compete in a Pokémon Battle at an annual festival that honours Mareep. She can’t though because her mother doubts her ability because she can’t manage the Mareep, Brock has the group help in preparing the Mareep for the festival. Mary practices battling with her Mareep Fluffy, and requests a battle from Ash. There’s a long drawn out battle with electricity, but Ash has Pikachu quit this before the Mareep does, it takes a fall due to using up all its energy and loses, Ash knew Pikachu was tired from using its electricity all day and that’s why he had Pikachu stop. The group is awakened during the night to assist, there’s a storm and it’ll be good for the Mareep to absorb the lightning. Team Rocket catch the Mareep and rise up in their balloon, and then catch Pikachu before it makes a move against them, Raichu attacks but its electricity is absorbed, it eventually overloads the panel and brings Team Rocket crashing down. The Mareep battle Team Rocket but their Electric attacks are nullified by the panel, Fluffy makes a request and Mary arranges it so the other Mareep aim their attacks at Fluffy, its fleece gets enormous and the power in its next Electric attack shocks Team Rocket, leading to their defeat. Afterwards, Mary’s mother hands Mary a Pokéball and gives her permission to participate in the festival due to her skills with the Mareep earlier, Ash and the group stay to watch her battle, before they continue their journey. My favourite Quote: James: “When I was a boy, practically every stitch of clothing I owned; sweaters, socks, unmentionables, everything was made of Mareep wool.” Jessie (shocked): “Huh?!” James: “It was... like heaven. I had snugly little Mareep wool shorts, cute little Mareep wool mittens, a scarf of course and the most adorable Mareep wool stocking cap you’ve ever seen. My schoolmates were so envious they beat me nearly every day.” Things I’d like to point out: Title pun original source: “Wild ‘n Wooly”. Please tell me everyone knows the reference in the shepherdess being named Mary, as in the nursery rhyme “Mary had a little lamb”. Mary’s mother claims that the Mareep festival will take place in 5 days, seeing as the group only spend one night at her place, does that honestly mean they waited for 4 days just to watch Mary battle? Brock has got to stop with the whole girl issues for once, the fact that he wishes Mary’s mother was ten years younger is kind of crossing the line even for a guy desperate for love (at least he didn’t wish Mary was older, that might have been grounds for an episode ban). Here’s another example of a Pokémon attack being named incorrectly, the attack Mareep uses is obviously Swift, but Mary names it ‘Speed Star’. The instrumental to “You Can Do It (If You Really Try)” is played once again during Ash’s talk with Mary. That’s five episodes which plays a song from the first soundtrack in a row. Why does Raichu aim for the energy panel that Team Rocket hold up, why doesn’t it change its aim and pop the balloon? I know it overloads the panel, but if it had failed, Team Rocket would have escaped. Who’s That Pokémon?: Scizor Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Wired For Battle! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Scizor, Weezing, Arbok, Nidoking, Scyther, Hitmonlee, Primeape, Golem, Machoke, Hitmonchan, Poliwhirl, Victreebel, Lickitung Story: Team Rocket spy on the good guys and plan another pit plan, but they are interrupted by an old man wishing for a Pokémon Battle, and are immediately defeated by his mysterious Pokémon. Next, the Scizor confronts Pikachu, but before a fight starts, its trainer Muramasa arrives, and invites Ash back to his dojo where trainers work to strengthen themselves and their Pokémon. Muramasa is an accomplished trainer, but now he passes on his knowledge to others, a trainer called Shingo thinks otherwise, instead of battling, he uses his laptop to check his trainer files to see their Pokémon and strategy, he foresees that no one can defeat him in battle, Team Rocket listen in and want Shingo’s data in order to make stealing Pokémon easier for them. Muramasa is disappointed that Shingo won’t battle, and brought Ash here to get him away from the computer to restore his battling spirit. Ash attempts to make Shingo battle, while Team Rocket connect a cable to the laptop to download the data, Jessie (a klutz when it comes to technology) steals the entire computer, but Masamune (Muramasa’s Scizor) catches them in the act. Team Rocket attack with all their Pokémon, but are stopped temporarily, Shingo has no data on them, and is angered when they imply his data is incomplete and that they should be in there, Shingo gets angry and draws his Pokéball. Shingo has his own Scizor (nicknamed Blade), and he does a quick analysis on the abilities of Team Rocket’s Pokémon, and beats them in one hit. Ash finally convinces Shingo to battle him, and chooses Heracross to match up well with its speed and defence against the Scizor’s fast and powerful techniques, Blade gets an early advantage, but Heracross manages to strike back, an unforeseen technique comes as a surprise to Shingo, and he can’t divert his attention to the battle and the computer at the same time. Shingo’s Scizor is dealt another blow, he stops using the computer when his data fails him and battles like a true trainer, but his efforts are in vain and Heracross pulls off an impressive win. Shingo’s battling spirit is restored and he decides to analyse his Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses without the use of his computer, and Ash and he promise to battle again in the future. My favourite Quote: Misty: “Shingo can’t watch the battle and his computer at the same time.” Pikachu: “Pika.” Muramasa: “He’s starting to realise where his attention Should be.” Things I’d like to point out: A rare event, but Brock drags Misty away for once, in order to stop her outburst. On Shingo’s computer, he only has pictures of four of Ash’s Pokémon, Charizard and Heracross aren’t there (though maybe it’s because Charizard and Heracross are the next Pokémon to leave. Team Rocket are certainly prepared if anything, this episode shows an example of that when they pull out communication equipment to listen in on the group’s conversation with Shingo. Shingo might know everything about everyone but he has one major flaw, by refusing to battle just because he thinks he’ll have no challenge means he doesn’t battle, and by not battling, his Pokémon doesn’t gain experience, and as soon as someone with higher level Pokémon comes along Shingo will only have himself to blame when his Scizor is overpowered by the opposition. Jessie and James only throw one Pokéball each, Jessie calls for Arbok and Weezing, and they wind up with all their Pokémon appearing. This is the first of very few episodes in which Victreebel doesn’t bite, consume or attempt to do either to any member of Team Rocket. Was it necessary for Shingo to look away from the computer when the camera on it shows whatever it’s pointing at live on the screen? Misty confirms in this episode that Prima is based on Lorelai for the fact she mentions the Elite Four, though she never said the statement out loud in the episode she was in, Misty quotes from her (check “The Mandarin Island Miss Match” if you don’t believe me), unless of course she told them that offscreen. Shingo makes a small error in wanting to finish off a battle with the move False Swipe, this particular attack cannot reduce a Pokémon’s health to below 1 Hit Point, making it a perfect attack for catching wild Pokémon in the games. Heracross may very well have been reduced to 1 Hit Point, but its next attack finished the match before it could truly be determined. Personally, I think the Scizor should have won. Firstly, if Shingo’s data was anything to go by, Heracross was apparently dealt three times the damage of the first attack and reduced to half health, yet was dealt many more hits in the battle. Secondly, Heracross used nothing but Normal attacks; something experienced trainers will know does little damage against Steel-types. Who’s That Pokémon?: Cyndaquil Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None as yet, but I’d like to because I enjoyed this episode a lot. Good ‘Quil Hunting Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Cyndaquil, Sandslash Story: The group are lost in the woods, and meet a trainer who orders Ash not to catch any Cyndaquil around here, which only spurs Ash to rush out and find one. Team Rocket are close by and appear in a giant Meowth robot, but upon discovering Ash isn’t around, they leave to find him. They catch up to him and attack but Ash escapes, and spots a Cyndaquil in a mountain of caves, but the nasty trainer arrives and has his Sandslash slow Ash down, Ash chases them into the caves but Team Rocket send in an explosive ball after him. Ash nabs the Cyndaquil and is blasted out of the caves, straight into Team Rocket, who paste him and Pikachu to the mountainside, Cyndaquil is told to leave, but ends up protecting Ash and defeating Team Rocket, but the resulting explosion will prove dangerous to it. Ash escapes and uses a Pokéball to drag Cyndaquil inside in order to prevent it from being hurt, and pulls it off just in time while catching the Cyndaquil. The nasty trainer returns and upon finding out Ash caught it, challenges him to a battle with Cyndaquil as the prize. Ash refuses to be called a chicken and challenges him With Cyndaquil, confident in its flame abilities; unfortunately it isn’t able to light its fire until it’s warmed up. It has good dodging skills though and the Sandslash starts to tire of chasing it but finally gets some hits in against the evasive Fire-type, the Sandslash gets its claw stuck in a tree and Cyndaquil delivers the winning attack, but must then strike at the trainer when he tries to illegally snatch it, he runs away, and Ash continues the journey with a new Fire-type and a new friend. My favourite Quote: (After the usual Team Rocket motto) Meowth: “Meowth! That’s right!... But This ain’t!” (Only Misty and Brock are present) Jessie: “Where are Pikachu and the twerp?!” Misty: “Neither of them is here right now!” Jessie: “Whoops! In that case we take all that back. Let’s go.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the film “Good Will Hunting”. If Team Rocket are resorting to honest work to pay for their machines now, how much are they lying on their applications and interviews? Seeing as the truth would be something like: “I am a member of the infamous criminal group Team Rocket, but my Boss isn’t likely to give me a good reference considering I’ve never succeeded at any task I’m given.” And since were Pokémon able to get jobs? Even if Meowth can properly communicate with people. Ash rarely runs from Team Rocket, and granted they are in a giant robot this episode, Ash is forgiven. But since it appeared in front of Misty and Brock who were then told it was going after Ash, they should have reacted differently, like attempting to destroy the robot with Brock’s Pokémon before they got to Ash, and failing that, use their Pokémon to follow it swiftly to assist Ash when it finds him. Ash may be inclined to let Cyndaquil escape, but contrary to what he says, he’s not alright, he’d have lost Pikachu and maybe his own life to the giant Team Rocket robot, and should have just asked for help instead of leaving Cyndaquil to make the choice (though it did so only after its escape route was cut off and to save itself). When Cyndaquil runs up the mountain, it gets a fair distance, but from another angle, it isn’t far from Ash at all, so unless it retreated between scenes with Team Rocket, this is a mistake. Four points on Ash’s battle: One: No matter how good it looked, using Flamethrower on a Ground-type isn’t recommended due to type disadvantage. Two: Ash comments on how good Cyndaquil’s defences are, except it isn’t proving how good its defences are by dodging, Ash should have commented on its evasiveness instead. Three: The opponent accuses Cyndaquil of not being able to handle basic attack skills, but Flamethrower is an attack learned much later rather than early on. Four: Cyndaquil uses one Tackle attack, and the Sandslash goes down, that’s bad and proves the Sandslash needs more training, at least on defence anyway. I don’t really know what to say regarding if Ash truly caught Cyndaquil, yes he used a Pokéball, but look at the circumstances, if Cyndaquil had escaped the Pokéball, it’d have been blown up by the destroyed robot’s explosion. Cyndaquil didn’t really have much of a choice, so as long as Ash treats it with love and respect (and doesn’t brag about the Pokémon he’s ‘caught’), then I don’t have any problems. Who’s That Pokémon?: Slowking Cameos in Pokémon Journey: The nasty trainer seen here kind of reminds me of the rival trainer in Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, who will appear in Chapter 62 in New Bark Town, dubbed as Jayce. A Shadow of a Drought Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Staryu, Squirtle, Meowth, Slowpoke, Heracross Story: The group are fatigued from the heat, as are Team Rocket, and the only well has gone dry, Team Rocket eventually burrow into an underground cave full of water as a result, but it’s filled with Slowpoke, this is the Slowpoke Well, where it is believed that the Slowpoke here can make it rain at times when it’s needed. Team Rocket plan to steal the Slowpoke and charge people money to have them bring rainfall. Ash and the group reach Azalea Town, where because of the draught, the Gym is currently unavailable. Slowpoke lie all over town, Ash accidentally steps on a Slowpoke’s tail and the townsfolk turn into an angry mob and chase them, until they find a man in a Slowpoke outfit who lends them some costumes to hide from the mob. The man explains that because a Slowpoke once saved Azalea Town from a draught similar to this one by making it rain, Azalea Town citizens treat the Slowpoke with care and respect, he then rushes off. He arrives at the Slowpoke Well and gets mistaken for a Slowpoke by Team Rocket and hurts his back, the group reach Kurt’s house but he’s not at home. They investigate the Slowpoke Well and find the Slowpoke man hurt and Team Rocket up to no good. Pikachu is unable to attack because of the other Slowpoke, and Heracross ultimately fails to stop Team Rocket despite tossing the large machine, they escape with handfuls of Slowpoke. The other Slowpoke head outside and sit on top of a rock structure, together they yawn, and rain appears, saving the town and bringing Team Rocket to the surface. With the Slowpoke free, Team Rocket have no hostages or bystanders to hide behind, and are shocked into defeat. The town is restored, the people are convinced Ash and the group are innocent now, and the Slowpoke man turns out to be Kurt. My favourite Quote: Jessie (referring to Team Rocket’s water supply): “What?! It’s all gone! Meowth drank the canteen dry!” James: “Hey! We were All supposed to get a share!” Meowth: “I know, but my share was on the bottom.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the phrase “A shadow of a doubt”. Taking a refreshing shower from a Water Pokémon’s water is one thing but I hope no one planned on drinking any of it, that’s just freaky. What with Water Pokémon’s unexplained limitless supply of water, people seem to forget that most Water Pokémon use their mouths to expel it, including Squirtle. Again, Team Rocket are conveniently prepared for the task today, in which Meowth just happens to have a Diglett robot when Team Rocket need to dig for water. The worst thing is that they dig their way down some distance before Meowth reveals the robot, and it doesn’t appear from a distance, it appears from right under them. How did Meowth plant it there considering he’s been on the road with Team Rocket? Unreasonable is what Azalea Town is, anyone could have stepped on a Slowpoke’s tail considering they lie around without thinking of consequences, but the villagers jump to conclusion to conclusion and turn into an angry mob, there doesn’t even seem to be an Officer Jenny here to quell the fighting or even hand out the more preferable punishment of hurt-free jail time for a petty crime. Also, the heat must have fried their brains, why else do they disregard the four giant Slowpoke accompanied by the two Pokémon that the kids they were chasing just happened to have with them. James’s addition to Jessie’s scheme is ridiculous, Aerodactyl doesn’t make air; it’s a thoughtless line that’s only really there for the sake of a rhyme. You’d think a Diglett robot would be safeguarded against Electric attacks, without the threat of hurting the local Slowpoke I mean. Who’s That Pokémon?: Pineco Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Kurt will definitely be making an appearance, as well as a visit to the Slowpoke Well. Going Apricorn! Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Nidoran Male, Muk, Nidoran Female, Meowth, Pineco, Beedrill, Bulbasaur, Diglett, Arbok, Victreebel Story: The team are at Kurt’s, and hand him the G.S Ball, they call Oak to send the news, and then learn of special Pokéballs that can be made from Apricorns, that grow from trees. After Kurt is done making a new Pokéball, he decides to give the group a Fast Ball each. Ash wishes to get more Apricorn Pokéballs, and Kurt is happy to help, provided Ash fetch the Apricorns needed. His granddaughter Maisy escorts them around the hills; Ash isn’t able to get Pink Apricorns on account of them not being ripe enough, Yellow’ because Pineco are living in the trees nor Green’ because Beedrill chase the group away. Ash and the group approach trees with Red Apricorns but are caught in another of Team Rocket’s pits, Pikachu is snagged and captured, Team Rocket then go on to steal Apricorns with a vacuum, but doing so in such a fashion will ruin the tree. Ash doesn’t make it in time, but luckily Diglett intervene in order to protect the homes of Pokémon. Finally Ash finds Apricorns ready to pick, he and Misty grab two blue ones, and then Maisy spots a black Apricorn ready for picking, but more Pineco appear. A wind starts and Brock desperately catches the Pineco to prevent them from exploding, Team Rocket are causing this with a new gadget, and a lone Pineco heads towards them despite Brock’s efforts. Team Rocket attack it and its life is soon in danger, but Brock grabs it in his Fast Ball and Pikachu takes over, overloading Team Rocket’s machine and getting rid of them again. After the battle, a lone Black Apricorn falls from the tree into Ash’s possession and Kurt will complete the Pokéballs very soon, leaving Ash the option to challenge the Azalea Gym Leader and return for the Pokéballs later. My favourite Quote: Meowth (referring to the Apricorns): “If we can get our paws on them Pokéballs, people will pay a pretty penny for ‘em cos them things don’t grow on trees ya know.” James: “Actually Meowth, if you really Had been listening to every word, you would have heard the sweet little girl say those Pokéballs Really Do grow on trees.” Jessie: “Forget it James, there’s money to be made.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is probably the simple term “Going ape.” After such a long time we finally get to see Tracey again, although he’s in the background when Ash talks to Oak and he doesn’t actually move. When we see Kurt making his custom Pokéballs, it looks very much like a blacksmith process, but aren’t Pokéballs meant to mechanical so as to contain Pokéball and be compatible with transporters? I hope what we saw is only one small step of the Pokéball making process. The animators should have sped up the animation when Pikachu gets caught; it freezes for 2 or so seconds no longer tied up before Jessie puts the lid on the case that prevents it from shocking them. Why does Ash moan when the Black Apricorn lands on him? It landed on the front flap part of his cap and therefore didn’t appear to hit Ash’s head at all. Maisy tells the group to pick the Apricorns from the front of the tree, but it doesn’t quite look like the ones picked are in the front (more so with Ash’s pick), plus it didn’t look like Ash and Misty’s line of sight changed to acknowledge which ones Maisy was pointing to. The continuity of the bulbs progress between shots is fairly accurate until Pikachu charges them, they light up to the second to last row of bulbs but it drops between shots to having three unlit rows, of course maybe Team Rocket just slacked off, and it’s understandable that the bulbs drop to zero when Team Rocket are no longer charging the machine by pedalling. Isn’t it cheating to physically hold a Pokéball tightly to prevent a Pokémon escaping, and couldn’t the recoil of it bursting open break Brock’s fingers? Only once has one of my characters acted in kind, but at the time she’s desperate for the Pokémon she’s caught and still fails to contain it. In the games as fans know, Kurt is in the second set of games, he gets into trouble at the Slowpoke Well, and makes Apricorn Pokéballs out of Apricorns, the process takes 24 hours normally, but it seems that in the cartoon, he does it much faster since the group take on the Azalea Gym within the day (as far as I can tell) and after that, he’s done completing them. Who’s That Pokémon?: Lugia Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Kurt will certainly be making an appearance and Tetsubo’s friends will be getting Apricorn Pokéballs of their own. Gettin’ the Bugs Out Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Caterpie, Metapod, Meowth, Victreebel, Kakuna, Weedle, Spinarak, Cyndaquil, Chikorita, Scyther Story: Ash is on his way to his next Gym Battle, and Ash is sure Cyndaquil can make up for Charizard’s abilities; the Gym has a forest environment inside, housing Bug Pokémon. Team Rocket spy in on Ash again and prepare to catch Pikachu during the match, Ash first uses Cyndaquil against Bugsy’s Spinarak, though it’s a wise type decision, Cyndaquil needs to warm up to get its flame lit, but is caught in the sticky string before that and must be recalled. Ash makes a surprising choice in Chikorita, but she perseveres and pulls off a win. Next is Metapod, who moves surprisingly fast and hardens to the point of seeming invincible to Chikorita’s attacks, before slamming itself upon her and defeating the Grass-type. Pikachu dodges Metapod’s attacks a little and manages to deliver a shock to defeat it. Bugsy’s final Pokémon is Scyther, and it’s certainly a bigger challenge than the last opponents. Team Rocket miscalculate and appear behind Scyther as it Double Teams to avoid Pikachu’s attack, shocking Team Rocket, but not the Scyther, who strikes back with Fury Cutter (a continuous doubling of power each time it hits), Pikachu is knocked out of the fight, and Cyndaquil returns. Scyther’s blades give Cyndaquil the opportunity to warm up while dodging, and its fire is lit, but when Ash uses Flamethrower, Scyther uses Swords Dance to spin itself and repel the flames, when it does so again, Ash has Cyndaquil attack from above, and the flames successfully infiltrate and weaken Scyther’s defences, leaving it vulnerable to Tackle. Ash receives his Hive Badge and prepares to leave town, at the last moment the group remember to get their new Pokéballs, and Maisy delivers two Lure Balls and a Heavy Ball to them. She tells them that Kurt is still working on the G.S Ball and for them to pass by on their way back to Pallet Town, when he’ll have hopefully discovered something new. My favourite Quote: Bugsy: “Have you ever heard the saying, the trainer who learns the rules of the Bug Pokémon learns to rule the Bug Pokémon?” Ash: “No, who said that?” Bugsy: “Me, weren’t ya listening?” Things I’d like to point out: Though Victreebel for the first time chooses to leave its Pokéball, it doesn’t actually bite or eat James, but it probably would have had the Bug Pokémon not intervened. Ash acts silly again and has Chikorita fight in another Gym Battle in which types are against her, the only reason I feel she won this time rather than in the Flying Gym is because Bug Pokémon in their early stages are naturally a bit weak, and because Ash wasn’t defeated right away when using Grass attacks and was finally forced to use Normal attacks. Ash commands Chikorita to use ‘Sweet Smell’, the technique is called ‘Sweet Scent’. Team Rocket end up back where they started fairly quickly after the incident with the bugs and String Shot, but their next plan is flawed, without rubber protection, Pikachu could easily shock them unconscious or into defeat if they tried to grab it from below and do a runner. The cartoon is obviously sticking with their own version of Harden, because in the games, it only increases defence, Chikorita’s Vine Whip and Razor Leaf attacks comes under the special attack column, meaning Harden wouldn’t work against those attacks, no matter how much it was used. Bugsy’s Metapod is the only one seen in the series that can use Tackle, although Ash’s should have retained the attack because it knew it as a Caterpie, and Pokémon that evolve still retain their old moves unless overwritten by new ones. Again, Chikorita is showing signs of weak defence, I don’t believe the Spinarak even touched her in battle yet one hit from Metapod and she’s out. Fury Cutter is certainly better in the cartoon, in the games, Fury Cutter can only be used once per turn, and even then its accuracy is lower than 100%. Isn’t Brock’s statement about Ash being tied at one round a piece wrong? This isn’t the sort of Gym Battle in which one Pokémon Battles the other and then both trainers switch regardless of who wins, Ash has been switching around Pokémon while Bugsy uses the set battle rule (switching Pokémon only after the previous one fails), but the score is two Pokémon defeated by Ash and two by Bugsy at the time of Brock making his claim, one round a piece isn’t the best way to describe this particular battle. Close but not quite, Bugsy almost matches the Pokémon he uses in the games except for Spinarak instead of Kakuna. Ash and Misty will use their Lure Balls within the next two series but Brock has never used the Heavy Ball. On the other hand he used his Fast Ball to catch Pineco but Ash and Misty never use the ones they were given, so for each character they only get to use one special Pokéball it seems. And though the group are invited to return to Azalea Town after the Johto League, they don’t bother doing so, and the mystery of the G.S Ball remains unsolved to this very day, kind of anti-climactic given how long Ash has been carrying the darn thing. Who’s That Pokémon?: Elekid Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Seeing as Bugsy is a Gym Leader, that’s a big yes, Bugsy’s a shoo-in for a cameo or two, or three, or maybe four. A Farfetch’d Tale Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Farfetch’d, Snorlax, Kingler, Tauros, Muk, Magmar, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Heracross, Cyndaquil, Chikorita, Poliwag, Psyduck, Onix, Geodude, Vulpix, Zubat, Pineco, Arbok, Lickitung, Weezing, Victreebel Story: The group travel through the Ilex Forest, while a famished Team Rocket follow, the group discover a Farfetch’d and its trainer Sylvester, he’s having problems getting it to cut wood in order for his father (and him someday) to make top quality purifying charcoal. Ash checks into a Pokémon Centre to speak with Oak briefly, and Brock decides on the next location: Goldenrod City. Sylvester runs in asking if anyone has seen his Farfetch’d since it’s run away. The group go to his home to ask Sylvester’s strict father, but it’s not there and Sylvester is scolded and told he has to work with his Farfetch’d instead of ordering it around. Team Rocket spot Farfetch’d and aim to steal it, auction it and get some food, the group has all their Pokémon appear to help search it out. Team Rocket chase Farfetch’d around while it embarrasses them, it eventually loses its leak and is then defenceless and caught. The group find Team Rocket and chase after them, they free Farfetch’d but it is recaptured, and Weezing’s Sludge attack traps Ash and his Pokémon. Onix comes to the rescue and saves them from Arbok, and Misty cleans up the sludge, Ash’s Pokémon work together to fight Team Rocket, Sylvester retrieves the leak and returns it to Farfetch’d so it can fight back. Team Rocket are soon defeated, Sylvester is able to work with his Farfetch’d now to cut trees perfectly for use in the production of charcoal, and his father offers some charcoal to the group as thanks before they leave. My favourite Quote: Sylvester (to his father): “Have you seen... uh... my Farfetch’d?” Sylvester’s father: “I knew it; you let that thing run away again, didn’t ya?” Sylvester: “I, I didn’t say it ran away!” Sylvester’s father: “Well if it didn’t run away how come you’re lookin’ for it?” Sylvester: “Uh, well I...” Sylvester’s father: “You just can’t do anything right, can ya?!” Misty: “He’s scary...” Brock: “I’m ready to apologise to him and I didn’t even do anything!” Things I’d like to point out: Don’t you mean GYM Leader of Azalea Town Mr Narrator? I doubt Bugsy is old enough to be the mayor of Azalea Town, or would allow the town to get into the state it did. Do I have to? It’s so obvious that the pun is replacing the word ‘farfetched’ with the Pokémon ‘Farfetch’d’. This is an episode that makes the point that trainers need to learn the names of attacks correctly, Casey once had her Rattata attack with ‘Line Drive’ (Tackle), and then there was Mary, who had her Mareep use Swift but called it ‘Speed Star’. Some characters in the cartoon get away with editing the names of attacks, but not Sylvester, though his reason is that he made mistakes in the names, he didn’t deliberately change them. A character very similar to Sylvester appears in the Johto Gameboy games complete with a Farfetch’d, and the house where a man produces Charcoal is located in Azalea Town, I don’t have any complaints about it being located in Ilex Forest in the cartoon instead of the town seeing as 3 episodes have taken place there and it’s best to move on. First he doesn’t have a nose then he does, he claims he can smell, then he can’t and then in this episode he can smell and he claims he does have a nose, make up your mind Meowth! Sylvester explains that the shrine is to the spirit that watches over the forest, sound familiar Pokémon movie watchers? In the games Celebi is the guardian of the Ilex Forest, and is referred to as a spirit in the forth movie so the shrine has got to be referring to it. I’m disappointed that Misty would leave Staryu out of this after saying “Go Everybody!”. Goldeen I can understand because of the lack of water but Staryu could float and fly through the air. How could she choose dopey Psyduck over Staryu for a search, Psyduck is inadequate at just about every task it’s given. This is the first episode in which a new Pokéball is seen releasing a Pokémon; the Fast Ball Brock used to catch Pineco, it’s nice that the animators remembered it and continue to do so with it, and the two Pokémon that Ash and Misty will catch with their Apricorn Pokéballs. Mark my words, I’ll be watching these episodes even more carefully to make sure that Totodile, Corsola and Pineco are released from the correct Apricorn Pokéballs or else it will be pasted on the episode guide so fast that... I don’t have a witty way to finish the sentence, but you get the idea. Since this is Lickitung’s second to last episode, I’m going to bring up a criticism on it while I can, some Pokédex say its tongue is almost 7 feet, while the cartoon once said its tongue is twice the length of its body. Either way, its tongue is going further than that in this episode, leading to the question, where does it all go inside Lickitung? Why does Cyndaquil attack with Flamethrower and Bulbasaur with Vine Whip when all Ash asks for is a multiple Razor Leaf attack, Chikorita is the only one who complies, while Bulbasaur uses the wrong attack and Cyndaquil is far off with a Fire attack, Ash should have just asked his Pokémon to attack. When Farfetch’d gets its leak back, you’d expect it to use it on Lickitung to free itself but it uses Peck instead, maybe the leak is used for balance, or just gives Farfetch’d the will/confidence to fight. Sylvester is still making mistakes with battle names, he calls for Fury, but the name is Fury Attack, he’s just lucky his Farfetch’d wants to work with him now, so the mistake slides. Finally, what’s the point in cutting down trees in Team Rocket’s path, only for Ash to have Pikachu shock them and send them flying? Ash is just sadistic really, if the group had the intention of catching Team Rocket, then using the cut trees to block their path is a great move. Maybe Sylvester figured he was helping to catch them but Ash (so well accustomed to this) decided to send them flying as punishment. Though the group earns themselves some Charcoal, the series doesn’t use the games’ concept of Pokémon holding items to boost stats or protect against certain status changes. Who’s That Pokémon?: Wobbuffet Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None as yet. Episodes #129 - #136 Episodes #145 - #152 Movie and MiniMovie Guide Back to the Pokézone