Episode Guide #153 - #160 Fowl Play! Forest Grumps The Psychic Sidekicks! The Fortune Hunters A Goldenrod Opportunity A Dairy Tale Ending Air Time! The Bug Stops Here Fowl Play! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Noctowl, Psyduck, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Chikorita Story: The group walk through a thick forest and a Noctowl appears, someone is hiding and scares away the Noctowl, a smaller, different coloured Noctowl appears, and doesn’t fall for the man’s tricks and makes him fall from the tree. He is Doctor Wiseman and he was attempting to catch the rare and smart Noctowl. Ash is determined to catch this rare Pokémon but is hypnotised into thinking a rock is Pikachu and therefore preventing Ash from attacking it. Wiseman takes the group to his cabin, where he moved to devote more of his time towards catching Noctowl, and prepares his latest invention. Brock has doubts, and thinks by catching it that way it won’t respect him. Team Rocket hear of the rare Noctowl and prepare another scheme to catch it, meanwhile, Wiseman sets his trap, a complex series of mechanisms place a mirror in front of Noctowl, who attacks with its Hypnosis but hits itself when the technique is reflected, and now it’s confused. It takes a fall and Wiseman picks up the Noctowl, or what he thinks is Noctowl, he also gets a rock because Noctowl hit him with Hypnosis just before it fell, it’s still affected by its technique and stumbling around. Wiseman wises up to the trick as a wind from Team Rocket’s latest robot attacks. Pikachu‘s electricity is repelled by the insulating metal coating on the robot. Cyndaquil and Totodile join the battle, but the balloons on the robot’s shoulders can contain and unleash a blast of wind. This knocks out Noctowl, and Wiseman seizes the opportunity to run off with it but Team Rocket stops him and catches Noctowl. Bulbasaur and Chikorita use Vine Whip to hold the robot back while Ash climbs after it, Psyduck appears, but fails to pull off a Psychic attack. Ash manages to free Noctowl at last but takes a fall, meanwhile, Noctowl briefs a strategy to Cyndaquil and Totodile, who take turns to attack the metal coat with fire and water until the two make it expand and contract until it cracks, Pikachu’s electricity gets into the crack and defeats Team Rocket. Noctowl challenges Ash to a battle and Wiseman decides to let Ash have his chance since he has failed up to now. Ash chooses Pikachu, but Noctowl hypnotises Pikachu when it tries to attack, Ash has Pikachu shut its eyes and rely on its hearing to determine when Noctowl is swooping, Noctowl is shocked, and Ash’s Pokéball successfully captures it. With this wily and tactical Pokémon on the team, the group says goodbye to the doctor and leave the forest to continue the journey on the road to Goldenrod. My favourite Quote: Meowth: “That rule stuff’s a lot o’ baloney! Rules fer decent honourable trainers don’t apply ta us!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is a done and done bird-related joke of the term “Foul play”. This is the first time a ‘Shiny’ Pokémon has been seen in the series, if you check websites with sprites or have had the fortune of catching a Shiny Noctowl, you’ll find that Shiny Noctowl are actually coloured like this one (The female Butterfree from “Bye Bye Butterfree” didn’t count because it wasn’t an official Shiny Pokémon). What’s with Misty’s description of Psyduck? We know it can’t swim but no Psyducks can fly, she should have commented on its slowness and stupidity. Wiseman’s being a right hypocrite, Team Rocket uses a gigantic robot to catch Noctowl while Wiseman used complex machines to trap it; he’s not so different (especially when he attempts to dash off with the Noctowl after Team Rocket weakens it). Though Totodile is probably correctly unleashed from its Lure Ball, Ash calls for Cyndaquil while throwing it and Totodile while throwing the default Pokéball, the translators may have been able to get away with calling for any order of Pokémon in the past, but not now that certain Pokéballs look different. How can Ash can fall from the height of a tree and survive but have his life put in danger back in “Chikorita’s Big Upset” when he fell from a similar height? He’s probably taking lessons from Team Rocket. Team Rocket say ‘crackers’ way too much, don’t they have a better dialogue or other ways to describe the cracking sounds? Originally in the UK this episode was shown out of sync, which surprised many with the ‘sudden appearance’ of Noctowl in the following episode (unless of course you saw the third film which was shown before this episode), since then it has been switched back to its proper order. Who’s That Pokémon?: Entei Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Forest Grumps Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Totodile, Chikorita, Noctowl, Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil, Staryu, Goldeen, Poliwhirl, Psyduck, Onix, Geodude, Pineco, Zubat, Vulpix, Meowth, Ursaring, Arbok, Wobbuffet, Victreebel Story: The group rest and relax at a lake in the forest, and all the Pokémon are brought out to do the same, but Team Rocket catch all of them in a net. Their heist is short lived as a Hyper Beam hits them and brings them crashing down, a group of Ursaring are responsible and attack everybody. All Pokémon are returned and everyone makes a run for it, but afterwards they are split up, Jessie winds up with Ash and Brock, and Misty with James and Meowth. Both attack their enemies but are interrupted by Ursaring and run. Both groups decide to call a truce until they can get out of the forest and find their partners, during that time, Jessie notices Ash and Brock’s compassion for Misty and wonders if the others feel the same for her, meanwhile, the other group take Meowth’s advice on which way to head. Brock makes a meal and Jessie is bowled over by the recipe but doesn’t want to reveal to her enemies the abysmal lifestyle she and her team-mates live when it comes to food. Misty shows compassion and shares her sandwich with James and Meowth. While the other group find shelter in a cave, the other group end up camping out on a ledge in a dark canyon. James and Meowth consider stealing Misty’s Pokémon but since they’re stuck, they don’t go through with it, unlike Jessie who gets a sleeping Pikachu away from Ash, but Ursaring block her path and she runs right back to the cave. In the morning, Ash’s group continues to search, while Misty discovers the ledge they are on is only a few feet from the ground, the two groups are reunited soon during another chase, and dash over the only rope bridge despite it being old and rickety, the Ursaring slice the ropes, the bridge collapses, and the group must work together with their Pokémon to pull everyone up on the other side. The ropes break before that but the Pokémon forge a hasty rescue of both groups, Team Rocket quickly break their joint celebration for yet another battle, Ash and the others do well, but it’s Togepi and its Metronome powered Earthquake that sends Team Rocket flying. It turns out the Ursaring attacked because they are breeding in the forest, and the group didn’t read the warning signs until now, they continue their journey, while Team Rocket unfortunately land back in the middle of the Ursaring. My favourite Quote: Misty (referring to their position): “We’re just a few feet from the bottom!” Meowth: “If we’d had known that we coulda’ taken your Pokémon last night!” Misty (annoyed): “You were gonna to take my Pokémon, were ya?!” Meowth (nervously): “I meant we was gonna take yer Pokémon fer a nice walk in the moonlight...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the film “Forrest Gump”. Aren’t Hyper Beams supposed to be orange or even red and yellow? The Ursaring do it with white energy blasts. It’s hilarious the way James and Meowth drool over Misty’s sandwich, but how the heck does James keep his balance leaning as far forward as he does (especially with Meowth’s extra weight)? Surely Misty should have scolded Meowth for the fact they couldn’t climb back up AFTER Meowth accidentally pulled down the rope. Pikachu’s a heavy sleeper, not to be awakened by the movement of Jessie carrying him, Ursaring’s roar, or Jessie’s long scream. Exaggerate much? Maybe Bulbasaur and Chikorita and even Victreebel can extend their vines as far as they want and Onix is big enough to reach, but surely Arbok can’t stretch its body far enough to reach the distance the group were at when they fell. Technically, Jessie should moan at Ash to give Arbok a chance for having saved him, it was Victreebel that helped save Brock. Again Togepi uses Metronome; it seems to me that the random attack was either Earthquake, Magnitude or that explosive attack that is yet to be identified. Who’s That Pokémon?: Noctowl Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Psychic Sidekicks! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Fearow, Psyduck, Girafarig, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Exeggcute, Alakazam, Exeggutor, Mr Mime, Hypno, Drowsee, Slowpoke, Abra Story: The group enter a forest with signs warning of Ghost Pokémon, and to use a Psychic Pokémon for protection. A strange black Pokémon appears, but it’s just the back end of a Girafarig. It belongs to Cherrie, who lives in Len Town where everyone there has a Psychic Pokémon for protection, because of the Ghost Pokémon living in the forest. Team Rocket overhear, and plan to rob the town of its Pokémon, Cherrie wishes to compete someday in the Johto League, but is currently wanting to train before she leaves home, she notices the similarities between Ash and Pikachu, and explains a saying that when a trainer and their Psychic Pokémon are really close, they can communicate their thoughts psychically, like ESP. Cherrie then challenges Ash to a battle, Pikachu fights Girafarig, and it uses an attack called Future Sight (a Psychic attack with a time delay), all the same, Pikachu gets back up and goes on to win the battle. Cherrie doubts herself because she can’t yet communicate with her Girafarig, and she invites the group back to her home. Psychic Pokémon are all over town, but a man runs in and claims there’s a giant Gengar headed towards town that seemingly ate his Pokémon. The Gengar is a robot built by Team Rocket, and it reflects Psychic attacks because of mirrors in the eyes, Cherrie attacks with Girafarig, but its blasts are reflected, Team Rocket approach, and while Cherrie contemplates a plan to use against Team Rocket, her body strangely glows as does Girafarig’s. Cherrie eventually uses Future Sight and then Pikachu takes over, Cherrie receives a vision of the future through Girafarig, and warns Pikachu of Team Rocket’s licking attack so Pikachu can dodge it, and then with Girafarig’s Confusion, they levitate it away from the tongue until it reaches its limits. The Pokémon are freed and Team Rocket plan to use their own Pokémon, but Future Sight hits, destroying the robot and sending them flying. The group says their goodbyes and leaves, while Cherrie has high hopes about the day she leaves on her Pokémon Journey. My favourite Quote: James: “Our mirror ploy also has the contributing secondary effect of damaging a Psychic Pokémon’s confidence against Ghost Pokémon, consequently eroding its trainer’s faith and trust in the Pokémon’s natural abilities and talents.” Jessie: “I had no idea you had such an analytical mind.” Meowth: “How’d ya t’ink o’ that?” James: “I just made it up as I went along.” Jessie & Meowth (clapping): “Ohhhh...” Things I’d like to point out: The Trainer Tips sign is a regular sight in the Pokémon Games, but as far as I remember, this is the first time one has been in the cartoon. Funny how suddenly Psychic Pokémon are said to be strong against Ghost- types, “Abra and the Psychic Showdown”, “The Tower of Terror” and “Haunter Versus Kadabra” were more correct in stating the vice versa. Psychic attacks only beat Gastlys, Haunters and Gengars because they are also Poison-types, a type that is weak against Psychic attacks, however the new games finally give Ghost-types the powerful attacks they’ve long needed. Technically, Girafarig isn’t the only Pokémon that’s spelt the same backwards; Eevee is another Pokémon whose name is palindrome. Why is Psyduck the first choice of Pokémon for Psychic attacks? Misty’s Staryu could probably perform it much better if she ever taught it that (I moan because it’s one of my Starmie’s main attacks). Ash had plenty of time to grab the Abra, but he waits until the woman finishes her sentence and then waves his hands frantically before finally going for it after it teleports. When Team Rocket agrees to grab Pikachu as well, Jessie aims the target at Ash’s torso, not Pikachu. Why does every Psychic Trainer have their Pokémon attack the Gengar robot’s eyes, they might actually have damaged it if they’d aimed anywhere else. Who’s That Pokémon?: Ursaring Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None planned but there’s always a possibility. The Fortune Hunters Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Bellsprout, Onix, Gyarados, Meowth, Staryu, Eevee, Moltres, Raticate, Sentret, Gloom, Voltorb, Nidoran Female, Paras, Oddish, Nidoran Male, Sandshrew, Krabby, Spearow, Hypno, Persian, Totodile, Primeape, Victreebel, Wobbuffet Story: The group see a bunch of kids who are into Pokémon Fortune Telling, and go to the Day Care Centre to get a copy of the book. It gives a person a Pokémon-type depending on their birthday, and apparently, if the person has that particular Pokémon, they’ll have good luck; the Day Care Centre also arranges trades for those who want to get a matching Pokémon- type. Ash is a Bellsprout-type, Brock an Onix, and Misty is horrified and enraged to find she’s a Gyarados-type (though the personality is surprisingly accurate). The group fall into another Rocket trap, they are easily defeated, but are blasted off with the book. Jessie discovers she’s an Eevee-type while James is a Moltres-type, he doesn’t believe it until its daily fortune predicts events that come to pass, this changes James’s attitude and he immediately becomes more decisive and confident; he leads the others to the Day Care Centre to steal Pokémon. The old couple there reveal themselves to be Cassidy and Butch of Team Rocket. Later on, James breaks the ropes that bind him and Team Rocket escapes, meanwhile Misty drags the others to complain to the Day Care Centre where they discover the old couple’s identity and see them talking to the Boss about how they copied a real fortune telling book in order to have kids give them Pokémon they thought would be exchanged. The two are confronted, and the Rockets recognise and attack them. Totodile battles Raticate while Staryu battles Primeape, Staryu is soon defeated and the battle is interrupted as James attacks the Day Care Centre, dressed in a Moltres costume and still acting strong, he can even handle his Victreebel, and beats back Raticate with it. Cassidy reveals that the book is fake and that they made all of the information up, this stuns James and brings him crashing down to earth. Jessie has Wobbuffet fight Raticate and wins, but it falls to Primeape and it and the other members of the Rocket trio are defeated by Raticate. The group find the keys to the cages but Butch and Cassidy attack them, Misty chooses Poliwhirl and Ash continues with Totodile. The Rockets and their Pokémon are drenched and then shocked, and soon arrested by Officer Jenny while the Pokémon will be returned to their trainers. Jenny has the real fortune telling book, and Misty eagerly reads it to find out her real type, while James, devastated by his ‘loss’, discovers his real type and is shocked. My favourite Quote: Jessie: “I’ve heard all about these little books, I’ve been meaning to shoplift one.” Things I’d like to point out: Not to brag, but when I heard the words “Day Care Centre”, I knew Butch and Cassidy would be in the episode, I reckon the series avoided having real Day Care Centres so as not to have to explain breeding. Apparently Brock’s birthday is within a few days or a month from Ash’s since he only turns one page after Ash’s fortune, but then again, that seems to mean Misty’s is even closer to Ash’s because she turns the page back. When Misty first complains about her Pokémon fortune, Brock’s lips can barely be seen moving as if he’s talking to her at the same time. I don’t even care how the two got out of jail this time, they should be locked up for good for committing the same sort of crime twice, it’s almost as bad as the Batman shows where the villains always get out of jail within a few episodes. Team Rocket’s (the alternative ones) plan is good in getting kids to hand over Pokémon to them thinking they’ll trade it for their Pokémon type, but if that’s the case, then why did they put Moltres (a legendary and therefore extremely rare Pokémon) in a book that promotes exchanging Pokémon for the type that matches you? The only excuse they have is the fact they probably needed to fill out 365 days with different Pokémon and ran out of common ones. For the first time, the group get a glimpse at the Boss as he speaks to the duo via a screen. How come Butch and Cassidy didn’t recognise Ash and Misty right away when they greeted them? It’s certainly not because their costumes don’t have eye holes since they recognise Jessie and James right away while in costume. Again, what are Jessie and James thinking?! Cassidy has already mentioned that the Boss is upset with them for not bringing any Pokémon in, what good could have come out of attacking their apparent team-mates? Victreebel doesn’t bite or eat James today but it tries to, how come James doesn’t kick it like he does here in the future, Victreebel seems to listen to the voice of authority. Raticate loses against Totodile, Victreebel and then Wobbuffet, where does it get the strength to Skull Bash Team Rocket sky high? Between Team Rocket beating and blasting off, Victreebel disappears, Wobbuffet flies away with them as usual, but Victreebel vanishes in the explosion. They should have shown the types from the real book, personally I think Misty should be a Gyarados anyway, and James getting a disappointing type was bound to happen, but does that mean all people born on James’s birthday are doomed to be failures or be represented by a lowly Pokémon? If this was meant to be the final episode, then “Pokémon Karaokémon” ends on the song it began with instead of the final song. I assume the episodes are slightly longer now that there are no extra segments before the credits. Who’s That Pokémon?: Girafarig Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Butch and Cassidy, (along with Raticate and Primeape) reappear in Chapter 35, but this will probably be their final appearance in the fanfic. A Goldenrod Opportunity Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Clefairy, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Nidorina, Cyndaquil, Miltank, Totodile Story: The group finally arrives in Goldenrod where another Gym resides, but it’s closed for the day, the city is absolutely huge and the group gets lost easily, they meet a girl called Whitney who seemingly knows the whole city, but it turns out she doesn’t know it as well as she thinks, they find the galleria they were looking for, but only after their destination has changed to a hamburger stand. Team Rocket are in the galleria filling up on free food samples, but they make an error and end up having to work to pay off the non samples, until they see Whitney’s Clefairy and make a run for the rare Pokémon. Team Rocket find it before Whitney, then bags it and run, then attempt to escape on the Magnet Train, but it hasn’t been built yet, so they jump onto a manual hand cart, it’s not very fast and Team Rocket seemingly surrender, give back Clefairy, and bag Pikachu instead! Clefairy manages to retrieve Pikachu, who shocks Team Rocket and sends the cart propelling down the line at an alarming speed. Whitney learns of Ash’s Gym Battle, and soon reveals, she’s the Gym Leader. The match begins shortly, Whitney uses Nidorina but Cyndaquil easily burns it out, next Whitney uses Clefairy, but its Metronome random attack results in a useless Splash and Whitney surrenders the match before Clefairy gets hurt. Whitney’s last Pokémon is used, Miltank, but it’s much better than its allies and its Rollout attack proves extremely effective against Ash’s Cyndaquil. Totodile attempts to drench it but fares no better, Ash uses Pikachu next in the hope of the water conducting electricity, but the spinning has dried Miltank off and electricity doesn’t stop it, Pikachu is defeated, and Ash loses the battle. Whitney lets Ash know that he’s welcome to a rematch at any time, but without a strategy, Ash won’t stand a chance, but he surely won’t leave Goldenrod without the Plain Badge... My favourite Quote: Whitney (to Pikachu): “I know how to make a booboo feel better.” (She kisses Pikachu on the head, and there’s suddenly a booming crashing sound, as Brock has just deliberately smashed his head against a wall) Whitney: “Oh!” Brock: “Urrrggghhh!!! I bet one of those treatments would work wonders for me.” Things I’d like to point out: From now on, there’s an intro of the episode, then the opening credits, the title and then the episode itself, and the Who’s That Pokémon section now provides a clue with the Pokémon silhouette. Here’s the brand new Pokémon opening credits and theme tune (“Born To Be A Winner”); the first Pokémon seen are Totodile, Cyndaquil and Pikachu which just happen to be the line-up of this episode’s Gym Battle. However, Brock has Vulpix in the intro though it’s due to leave in a few episodes time, out of the three Legendary Birds of Kanto only Articuno appears this series, the only appearance from Charizard is a dreamt up one, the shadowed figures of all eight Gym Leaders are seen, Mewtwo and Mew appear though only Mewtwo appears in any way (in a feature film within the series timeline), and finally Lugia, Entei, Ho-Oh and Suicune are seen, Lugia is seen twice but makes no kind of appearance this series while Ho-oh only appears in a flashback and an image of the past, Entei was the feature of the last movie while the next film includes Suicune but the same doesn’t apply for this series, and finally, the Umbreon represents what Gary’s Eevee evolved into. The title is a pun of the term “A golden opportunity”. Why is Brock agreeing that Gym Battles take priority over girls, this is Ash’s way, not Brock’s. The episode pretty much crams in many factors of Goldenrod City from the Gameboy games, including the underground shops and tunnels, the Haircut Brothers, the Magnet Train, and later on, the Radio Tower. Again, people aren’t strict about enforcing non-paying customers, Team Rocket abandon making up for the food they effectively stole to chase Clefairy. Again Gust attack and Whirlwind attack appear to mix and switch around, but surely a small tornado should be the Whirlwind attack and swift bursts of wind should be Gust? Why does Whitney use a Nidorina? She’s meant to be a Normal-type Gym Leader, Clefairy and Miltank alone however are Whitney’s official Pokémon in the games. In the games, Rollout is a Rock-type attack with less than perfect accuracy, the more it hits, the more its attack power doubles, and its power leaves the user if they ever miss an opponent once. Luckily, I haven’t really found anything to criticise in particular, which is a good thing, because I hold this episode as one of my favourites. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s shell is extremely soft when it’s born.) Squirtle Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Several: Not only does Whitney guest star in Chapter 61, and fights a chain of Gym Battles with most of the group, but she’s also Tetsubo’s cousin. The Haircut Brothers make a brief appearance in the same chapter, but have expanded their services to people; they also appear in the side story “Swap To It” briefly. The Magnet Train is also included in great detail, since my story occurs about a year behind Ash it is completed by then and fits in well with the series. A Dairy Tale Ending Pokémon seen: Chansey, Totodile, Togepi, Cyndaquil, Pikachu, Miltank, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Arbok, Weezing Story: Ash is recovering from his loss but is convinced not to give up. Ash is recovering from his loss but is convinced not to give up. Whitney arrives at the Pokémon Centre and invites the group to her uncle’s dairy, where delicious Miltank milk is produced, Team Rocket appear after their latest crash (this time in Saffron City), and just return, they stumble across the dairy and attempt to steal the various food, but are caught, defeated, and lose it all. Ash wants to learn more about Miltank, to develop a strategy to beat Whitney’s. After grooming and seeing the Miltank getting milked first hand, Whitney shows the group her Miltank training with Rollout on steep hills, Team Rocket reappear in a big barrel machine, snatch Miltank and Pikachu and roll towards the dairy. Cyndaquil attacks one side to throw them off a little, and then Totodile uses Water Gun to dig some ditches in their path, throwing them out of control. The Pokémon are soon freed and Team Rocket blasted off, when Ash is asked how to be repaid, he requests a battle with Whitney right here for another shot at the Plain Badge at the Gym. Whitney battles solely with Miltank, but Ash has learned something from his latest battle, Cyndaquil tackles Miltank several times to tire it but falls in battle, Totodile takes over and digs several ditches with Water Gun and then attempts to run on the spinning Miltank but falls flat on his face. Pikachu is last and hides out in the ditches, Miltank’s Rollout is compromised by them and Pikachu attacks from below to throw Miltank out of control so that it can be targeted with Thunderbolt. Ash wins the battle but to his surprise, Whitney hands him the Plain Badge, the Gym isn’t important, the fact that Ash beat a Gym Leader fair and square is. Ash holds his badge high, and the group will soon move towards the next Gym. My favourite Quote: (James accidentally breaks important levers and frees the Pokémon from the latest Team Rocket machine) Jessie: “James! What are you doing?!” James: “Offhand I’d say I’m ruining any chance we had of catching a Pokémon!” Things I’d like to point out: The title is a pun of “A fairy tale ending”. Why is Ash considering giving up on the League completely because of one loss? Surely there are more than the known eight Gyms in Johto what with the additions in Kanto? If the group has never seen or tasted Miltank milk before, that either means that there are normal cows in the Pokémon World or milk is made some other way, maybe a powder kind. Team Rocket correctly state that the rail track leads to Saffron City; in the games this is one of few routes that connect Johto and Kanto. When Whitney and Milton refer to ‘her’ Miltank, surely they’re not talking about the Miltank she uses for Gym Battles? This Miltank looks grumpy throughout Ash’s brushing while the one we see battling is mostly happy, unless Ash is just doing it that badly and wrong. I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake when Brock claims Rollout’s power is greater when done going down a steep hill, although that kind of thing would never happen in the games, I agree when it comes to the 3-Dimensional aspect of the series, and I’ll surely remember that when it’s needed and use it when dealing with Rollout. Because of the design of the robot, it seems as if the inside where Team Rocket sit should spin as well, the only outside part that doesn’t rotate are the hands, but I don’t see how they would keep the inside from spinning along with the rest of the machine. All of Team Rocket have Wobbuffet-shaped faces during the second blast off. Um, Whitney states that this may not be a Gym Battle while fighting Ash, what changed her mind to give him a Gym Badge upon his victory then? After seeing Ash beat Team Rocket in a similar fashion to her Miltank, Whitney should have foreseen that Ash would dig ditches to throw off her Miltank; I know Totodile distracted her with alternative techniques right after digging the ditches, but she should have remembered when it came to Pikachu. I have a problem with the apparent fact that Ash beat Whitney ‘fair and square’, if he’d have been battling in the Gym rather than the field, where the floor is hard, he wouldn’t have been able to dig the ditches he did so easily (unless Cyndaquil was capable). If he’d have fought in the Gym, Ash would have had to find a new technique to beating Miltank rather than repeating what he did to Team Rocket, especially after asking to specifically battle on the field so as to use that strategy. And then there’s the fact that Ash needed three Pokémon to beat the one Miltank. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s stomach juices can digest any type of poison.) Snorlax Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Whitney’s Miltank is seen, but in her Gym at all times. Air Time! Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Meowth, Tauros, Krabby, Heracross, Muk, Snorlax, Charizard, Chikorita, Arbok, Wobbuffet Story: The group rest in Goldenrod before moving on and Ash is invited to the Radio Tower to be interviewed on PokéTalk. Team Rocket gets inside and are mistaken for guests (ventriloquists with a ‘Meowth dummy’). They pull it off since no one realises Meowth is a real Pokémon. Ash discovers the whole of Pallet Town will be listening, which unnerves him. Team Rocket enjoy several lunches while Ash is interviewed, Mary helps Ash deal with his fears, and his usual confidence returns to him. After the interview, it’s discovered that several tapes have been destroyed (by Team Rocket earlier), and one of them was to go on the show right away, so Ash and his friends, plus the Dugtrio Trio (who Team Rocket masquerade as) agree to do a live story reading. The story tells of Prince Goldenrod returning to his castle on a Charizard, while Team Rocket play the parts of his ‘doppelganger parents’, but Jessie keeps changing the script and Mary must work hard to keep the story together. Team Rocket ‘traps’ the group and reveal themselves as member of the Gyarados Guild (but Jessie rewrites again and changes the name to Team Socket). ‘Charizard’ bursts in, ‘the prince’ finds his real parents, and the villains escape into the hole to the underworld, (but Jessie changes it to a time warp to the future where their Meowth ‘transforms into a rocket’ in order to escape). Mary has the prince stow away on the rocket and Chikorita cut the navigator whiskers, Team Rocket decides to reveal themselves and take Pikachu in real life. Ash and the group chase after them but Mary and the crew follow, working this into the story, Team Rocket rise in their balloon and fight with Arbok, but it’s soon defeated, Pikachu is returned and Team Rocket are blasted off. Mary ends the story and saves the show, and the group make their way onwards, while Team Rocket encounter the real Dugtrio Trio whom they could have easily overshadowed within the media if they hadn’t revealed their true identities. My favourite Quote: James: “People used to say my face was perfect for radio.” Things I’d like to point out: Mary and the Radio Tower are based straight off the games; the so-called Pokémon Warning Megamix is an instrumental of the series version of “Pokémon Johto”; the theme tune of the last series. The song we hear when Team Rocket enters the studio is an instrumental of “All We Wanna Do”. Mary wishes the listeners could see the ‘life-like’ Meowth, but shouldn’t they be able to on the Goldenrod monitor? I hope she was referring to the non- Goldenrod residents. Why did the radio station phone Oak in regards to knowing Ash? Unless D.J Mary was aware that Oak knew him because she works with Oak in future episodes and seems to have known him for a while. Surely since Pokémon is pronounced with an accent rather than simply saying ‘Poke-Mon’, Mary should use an accent when describing the radio station name, rather than saying it as ‘Poke-Radio’. There’s a HUGE mistake but many may have let it pass right by, when Ash’s Pokémon are with Oak, his Kingler has seemingly de-evolved into a Krabby. We know that Pokémon never go back to their previous forms (like Digimon do on a regular basis) so obviously one of the animators botched things up. Considering Ash uses mostly the same Pokémon all the time, it’s not really fair for him to tell the world which Pokémon he owns, if anyone listened in, they could just prepare a team to face him who specifically have an advantage against his Pokémon. Surely if Ash didn’t recognise Team Rocket by Meowth alone (and his accent), he should have realised Meowth was real when he got scratched. Ash and the group definitely should have been able to recognise Team Rocket when they not only changed their characters to ‘Team Socket’, but when they pretended to pilot the Meowth rocket, their dialogue was similar to the kind they use virtually every day when they kidnap Ash’s Pokémon. “We should do this Every week!” the producer says. How? Bring in real villains to steal guest’s Pokémon? It just wouldn’t work, they’d get lucky one day. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s tail can sometimes get struck by lightning.) Pikachu Cameos in Pokémon Journey: DJ Mary gives an interview to Rick due to him being a top Pokémon Trainer and the winner of a League, in Chapter 61. The Bug Stops Here Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Chikorita, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Weedle, Caterpie, Spinarak, Venomoth, Pineco, Scyther, Paras, Beedrill, Bayleef Story: The group enter the national park, where a Bug Catching Contest is due to begin, whoever catches the best Bug Pokémon gets to keep it and win a Sun Stone. Casey is competing as Ash is, and both are pretty competitive. Team Rocket isn’t accepted because they’re over 16, but resort to dragging the worker away and entering anyway. The rules are simple, there’s a time limit, the trainers can only use one Pokémon to help them, and one Park Ball. Ash comes across a Weedle, but Casey beats him to the punch and catches it, Jessie dressed in a Venomoth costume tries to attract the bugs, but she’s rejected and doused in Stun Spore along with her team-mates. Casey fights on, but fails to notice her Chikorita is getting tired; she keeps her spirits high and demands her Chikorita to do the same. Casey finds and battles a Scyther, but it retaliates and beats back Chikorita, Ash scolds Casey for pushing her Pokémon too hard, it’s beaten and has Pikachu shock the Scyther, they then lead it away from Casey. Casey is eager to follow but Chikorita disappears, and Misty now realises so has Togepi who is now in the contest area. Casey discovers Chikorita but it disappears again, Misty scolds Casey as well for disregarding the well-being of her Pokémon. Casey is sorry, her Chikorita returns and forgives her while Casey accepts she pushed too hard and acted selfishly. Ash loses the Scyther but catches a Beedrill, and then falls into a pit right afterwards. Team Rocket airlifts both Ash and Pikachu in a cage, but the others catch up. Chikorita’s Razor Leaf is ineffective and they prepare to launch a weapon, before they do so, Chikorita evolves into Bayleef and slices the missile to nothing while freeing Ash and Pikachu, who defeat Team Rocket with the usual methods. Ash wins the contest with Beedrill and gets it and the Sun Stone, but decides to hand over the Beedrill to Casey because of her love for yellow striped Pokémon, she gives them something back in the form of another presentation of her team song before the groups part ways. My favourite Quote: (Misty screams as a Weedle appears on the main screen broadcasting the contest) Brock: “Hey, take it easy, it’s just a screen!” Misty: “I know but, why does it have to be high definition?...” Things I’d like to point out: The title is a pun of the saying “The buck stops here.” The Bug Catching Contest is a feature in the games, where the player gets issued more Park Balls but can only carry one captured Pokémon at a time. But in the games, everyone keeps their chosen Bug Pokémon, so isn’t it unfair in the cartoon for only the trainer with the Bug Pokémon dubbed the best to keep it? There are many factors and opinions when it comes to which of any Pokémon are the best, the only excuse is that maybe the park has limited Pokémon so not everybody can take one home with them. In Casey’s Electabuzz baseball team song, Double Team, Metronome, Mega Punch and Hyper Beam come up in the lyrics, which are attacks that Electabuzz can learn. Last it was mentioned (in “The Ultimate Test”, Jessie’s age was said to be 17 (though probably 18 since then), but apparently she looks much older. Chikorita tackles a tree to knock down Pokémon; this technique is used in the games the same way, but with the attack ‘Head Butt’ only. Good thing Misty thinks Pineco aren’t the worst Bug-types considering Brock now owns one. Pineco do have an advantage over Chikorita, but Ash hasn’t any right to moan at Casey about it, he used his Chikorita twice against Gym Leaders who had the type advantage against it; I’m surprised Ash even figured out Pineco is a Bug- type. Team Rocket take preparation to a whole new level in this episode, they didn’t know Casey was here, and yet they have a baseball themed weapon hidden in their balloon, I hate it when thy do this sort of thing! Also, Ash claimed he doesn’t speak ‘baseball’ but in this scene he speaks with baseball terms to Team Rocket. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon wears the skull of its dead mother!) Cubone Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Tetsubo and his group are set to cross the National Park on their journey (where the age rules are modified slightly due to what Team Rocket does this year). Episodes #145 - #152 Episodes #161 - #168 Movie and MiniMovie Guide Back to the Pokézone