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