Episode Guide #177 - #184 The Grass Route The Apple Corp! Houndoom’s Special Delivery A Ghost of a Chance From Ghost to Ghost Trouble’s Brewing All That Glitters! The Light Fantastic The Grass Route Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Sunflora, Oddish, Bellsprout, Gloom, Skiploom, Chikorita, Bellossom, Hoppip, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Victreebel, Tangela, Weepinbell, Exeggutor, Vileplume, Paras, Bulbasaur Story: The group close in on Ecruteak City and come across a road full of Grass Pokémon, including a Skiploom (nicknamed Skippy) belonging to a boy named Ephraim. It’s his first Pokémon, and Ephraim soon challenges Ash to a battle with Grass Pokémon only. Skippy’s tackles are easily repelled but its Double Team is speedy, Chikorita’s Razor Leaf eventually catches the real one. Leech Seed is knocked away by Vine Whip and Chikorita’s Tackle powers through and defeats Ephraim, but Ash is made to feel guilty by his friends for overdoing it, the group returns to Ephraim’s home to give Skippy a rest. There are plenty of well grown flowers around the house and garden as the family own several Grass-types that are in tune with nature. The group soon learns of a local tournament in which only Grass Pokémon can enter which Ephraim wishes to participate in, Ash is hopeful in competing and winning. Team Rocket eats a full meal for once but James is short changed, they discover the tournament and its prize of a trophy and a collection of Leaf Stones, they decide to enter in order to sell the stones. Victreebel is unruly as always so Jessie has an idea that’ll get her into the tournament as well. Ephraim trains Skippy but Ash figures the tournament is below him and therefore training is unnecessary. The tournament begins the next day and Team Rocket are competing in disguise with Victreebel and Meowth dressed up as a Sunflora. Ash is extremely confident and has the first match against a Gloom with quick and easy success. Ephraim faces Mr Samej (James) and Victreebel, Skippy becomes defensive, and is forced to dodge several Razor Leaves and Vine Whips. It tires, becomes bound in Victreebel’s vine and is thrown, but before Tackle can follow it up, Ephraim has it use Leech Seed and Double Team to bind and confuse Victreebel and wins, but his enthusiastic parents embarrass him a little in front of the crowds. Ash now faces Eissej (Jessie) and ‘Sunflora’, Bulbasaur’s Take Down is deflected by Scratch, a tricky fake out and then Fury Swipes. Everyone thinks it’s impossible for a Sunflora to use such attacks and Razor Leaf soon exposes Meowth and then goes on to tear his costume to ribbons. Team Rocket recite their motto and make a dash for the stones but Bulbasaur sends them flying. Ash goes on to beat a Vileplume and Exeggutor, and Ephraim; a Paras and Tangela. The final match is between Ash and Ephraim, but the win isn’t as guaranteed as Ash figured. Ephraim’s Double Team is faster and Razor Leaf misses this time, but its Leech Seed is deflected by Vine Whip and Skippy is hit. A Vine Whip barrage follows and Skippy is beaten around, Ash advises Ephraim to quit as he’s feeling guilty for its pain, as this happens though, sparkles of light are forming around his Pokémon. Ephraim decides to continue fighting and Bulbasaur attempts to tackle, but Skippy unleashes a powerful Solarbeam and coupled with Tackle it takes out Bulbasaur, Ephraim takes the tournament, and it’s revealed Skippy’s level must have risen during the matches. Ash takes his loss well as Ephraim claims the prize, and learns a lesson about being too confident. My favourite Quote: Ephraim: “Wow, you must be a really great Pokémon Trainer Ash.” Ash (before chuckling happily): “Maybe. I don’t like to say I’m great but that’s what people tell me.” Misty (with a tired expression): “Those people mustn’t know him too well...” Things I’d like to point out: I hate it when people don’t know of a Pokémon they should, and knowing a Pokémon they shouldn’t. Ash has never seen a Skiploom and I doubt he studies up on Pokémon he hasn’t seen. Brock on the other hand I don’t mind since he’s a smart intellectual breeder and should be in the know-how about all things Pokémon. It’s the return of two old costumes, Meowth’s Sunflora disguise from “Grin to Win!” and the robes Jessie wore back in “Bad To The Bone”, only James has a male version, and it’s mildly humorous that reversing their names was the best alias they could think of. When going over this recently, I confused Meowth’s ‘fake out’ with a legitimate attack ‘Fake Out’ which is used in the third set of games to damage and make an opponent flinch, but only if it’s used on the first turn. This is just a coincidence, and although Meowth could probably use it what with it being a Normal attack, it’s not an official attack seen in this episode. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s tail has a small brain of its own!) Girafarig Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Apple Corp! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Pichu, Fearow, Pidgey, Wobbuffet Story: The group come across an apple orchard, and Pikachu is caught in a culpable position, a girl named Charmaine accuses it of stealing from her, but a comparison of Pikachu’s teeth to the tiny bite marks in an apple proves its innocence. Charmaine runs the entire orchard by herself which is why she’s so set on catching the thief who is stealing apples. Team Rocket attempt to navigate the noisemakers to get the apples but a group of Pichu set them off and cause Team Rocket to flee before their presence is exposed, the Pichu are soon caught by Pikachu who follows them to a larger group of Pichu endangered by a Fearow. Three of the Pichu shock the Fearow but themselves as well so Pikachu finishes things up. The group of Pichu return their latest theft to Charmaine but are starving and apparently came here in the first place because the growth of wild fruit in the local forests is lower than usual. Charmaine allows the Pichu to eat but now they’re likely to never leave the orchid and complicate things for Charmaine. Team Rocket float overhead planning another theft on the apples when Pidgey appear to get at the fruit, but the Pichu gang up together and fend them off with their electricity. This was Ash’s idea but Pikachu also teaches them how to pick the apples effectively and therefore help Charmaine with her work and earn their keep. Team Rocket appears and openly explains their plans on stealing apples but they soon catch Pikachu as well and its Electric attacks are simply used to power up a bunch of appliances. A bunch of tubes suck up several apples but the Pichu soon retaliate, their shock is minimal but they soon overpower themselves, and Team Rocket changes the setting on the tubes to blow the Pichu to the ground. Ash is stopped from using another Pokémon since the Pichu get up and stand up to Team Rocket, by forming a tower to reach and restore Pikachu by connecting up and effectively becoming a battery to revive it. Pikachu and the Pichu send a huge shock into the absorber and overload it, which sends Team Rocket flying. Charmaine thanks the Pichu for their help and decides to make them partners indefinitely to help and defend the orchard in exchange for all the food they want, and the group say their goodbyes. My favourite Quote: Ash: “Look guys, the Pichu really love Charmaine and Charmaine really loves the Pichu too.” Brock (in a jealous tone): “Lucky Pichu...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun of this episode is from “The apple core”. Now that the existence of Pichu is out in the open, it makes one minor mistake clear, in “Pikachu’s Goodbye” there are tons of Pikachu and even a tiny/baby one, but all baby Pikachu should surely be Pichu instead and grow up/evolve into Pikachu. When the Pichu charge at the apples and begin eating, look closely, only the first row of Pichu eat the apples but the others are making the same rising head movements though they can’t be eating the apples because they’re behind the front row. Why are the Pichu let off so easily but the Pidgey get attacked and fought off? Just because there’s a lack of wild fruit for the Pichu doesn’t mean to say the Pidgey aren’t reeling from the same loss. However the Pichu go on to earn their food while the Pidgey are like crows attacking a cornfield. Ash and the group may have a lot of experience from Team Rocket but they don’t seem to learn from it, time after time Pikachu falls into their traps and the same goes for electricity not working sometimes (at least Team Rocket learn that much from past encounters), Ash has plenty of other Pokémon capable of stopping Team Rocket but doesn’t tend to use them (although this is the only way to give the Pichu an opportunity to prove themselves as part of the storyline). The various appliances Team Rocket suddenly obtain makes little sense, for one thing some of the bigger/taller objects should be seen in exterior shots of the balloon basket (which seems to grow in these interior sequences). The amount of apples that fall from the balloon compared to the amount seen being sucked up earlier looks as if Charmaine’s suffered a big loss and either Team Rocket got a fair few apples or they were obliterated in the explosion. Also, how did the Pichu and Pikachu survive their fall? It wasn’t shown in favour of Team Rocket’s blasting off. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon is very popular among women!) Snubbull Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, though Pichu themselves will be seen and already have been heard of in the series. Houndoom’s Special Delivery Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Houndoom, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Weezing, Arbok, Chikorita, Pinsir, Noctowl, Golbat, Gyarados, Ledyba, Butterfree, Ledian, Bellossom, Venusaur, Raikou, Mareep, Victreebel Story: The group are about to cross a mountainous region when they see a Houndoom running by with a delivery. Team Rocket float nearby and suddenly switch from their reverie to suddenly living up to their responsibilities and conveniently spotting the group and Pikachu, they attack immediately. Weezing uses Smokescreen and Arbok attacks only for Pikachu to shock them as always, Misty trips in the fog and loses Togepi, who reacts to a confrontation with Weezing by teleporting, but it unfortunately ends up high in a tree. Pikachu and Chikorita finish off Team Rocket but Togepi’s absence is soon discovered. Houndoom comes across the stranded Togepi and helps it down, and then feeds the hungry Pokémon, and then saves it from a Pinsir; it doesn’t have the heart to leave Togepi alone and takes the baby with it. While Flying Pokémon are deployed to search, Houndoom’s crossing a river and a brief encounter with Gyarados weakens it, and Togepi goes on alone but soon needs its help again. They end up in a field of Grass and Bug Pokémon, where Houndoom considers leaving Togepi since it is happy there, but it rushes to take an accidental Sleep Powder assault from a waking Venusaur. The group find footprints and deduct another Pokémon took Togepi. Houndoom wakes up and ends up taking Togepi further along, while the group now crosses the river. They reach the grass field and Team Rocket are up in the air again, but they gradually fall and get into trouble at the river after bumping into Gyarados. Houndoom and Togepi take shelter from the rain and briefly see a legendary Pokémon before moving on. The group eventually find the latest footprints and catch up to Houndoom at its master’s farm, but so do Team Rocket who quickly net Houndoom. Chikorita frees it and Pikachu battles Arbok while Houndoom saves Misty and Togepi from Victreebel and whose Flamethrower decimates Team Rocket’s latest assault. The group are led towards their next destination and Togepi has a tearful goodbye with Houndoom. My favourite Quote: Meowth: “Just t’ink... We made t’ree cups of tea from only one teabag...” Things I’d like to point out: I’m sure that the footprints seen by the group are a little inaccurate compared to what actually happened earlier. Togepi didn’t walk that far before Houndoom carried it and what happened to the imprint from when Togepi fell, the Pinsir’s footprints and the many footprints from Houndoom leaving and returning to Togepi? The group seem to arrive in the same straight path where all this happened so how did they miss the other tracks unless they’re really unobservant? Noctowl doesn’t feel like it was needed; the footprints are in a fairly easy path to follow and should have been clear to see by the group. Misty says nothing of the Bug Pokémon here; although they are ones she’s made exceptions for in the past like Butterfree, Ledyba and Ledian, on the other hand maybe her desperation to find Togepi would overcome it even if there were Bug Pokémon she didn’t like. Why is the bump of Gyarados’s head a light pink colour as well as red? These are the colours usually used when people get oversized bumps on the head, so shouldn’t the Gyarados’s bump be remotely blue? Also, the bump completely disappears between scenes, so I guess the huge bump is only meant to give an idea that it was hurt on the head, but didn’t happen in reality. The song playing halfway through the episode is “Never Too Far From Home” from the “Totally Pokémon” album. During which is the first but brief appearance of the Legendary Pokémon Raikou. The group claim the footprints were washed away by the rain, but the tracks leading into the tree are still visible. Since they were made during the rain and not after, shouldn’t these ones be gone? Misty changes her tune quickly, earlier on she made comments about how scary she thought Houndoom was, but upon meeting it with her Togepi she completely acts against everything she said, she shouldn’t be so quick to judge in the future. Team Rocket does something similar in that they swiftly break their newfound strategy to catch one Pokémon at a time, as soon as they reach the farm that strategy goes out the window and they suddenly announce they’re going to catch all the Pokémon here. Who’s That Pokémon?: (When this Pokémon is on land, it sweats to keep its body slimy!) Poliwhirl Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, although Houndoom and even Raikou are to be seen. A Ghost of a Chance Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Totodile, Staryu, Noctowl, Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Ho-oh, Arbok, Weezing Story: The group finally arrive at Ecruteak City, as do Team Rocket. James spends the group’s money meant for food on a treasure detector sold by a street performer Fernando that the group turned down earlier. The group enter the apparent Gym but it’s burnt, ruined and full of Ghost Pokémon and fiery illusions. Noctowl uncovers them but this prompts them to attack, Noctowl defends the group and the Gastly retreat, but return with reinforcements. The Gym Leader named Morty appears and the ghosts stop and leave on his orders, he explains that many trainers come here thinking it the Gym, but it was once the original Tin Tower which was burned down many years ago and is now home to many Ghost Pokémon. Ash notices a plaque that portrays Ho-Oh in the wall and explains that he saw one on his first day as a trainer but Morty doesn’t believe him since this Pokémon has long disappeared from the world. He explains the origin of the Tin Tower, his ancestors and Ho-oh and how it’s been left as a sign of the past and how the Tin Tower they saw earlier is a copy of the original in the hopes that Ho-oh may return to it. Togepi wanders off and the group hastily search for it but Morty soon sends Gengar to rally the other ghosts and search so that they don’t have to endanger themselves in the unsafe building. Team Rocket are following James and his detector when they stumble across Togepi and Pikachu and snatch them, but the Ghost Pokémon quickly follow them and slow them down with Lick. Instead of facing them, Team Rocket are in favour of running away, but Gengar defeats their Pokémon, the ghosts free Pikachu and Team Rocket are soon defeated by Gengar’s Shadow Ball. Ash and Morty decide to battle the next day but if today is anything to go by, the Gym Battle will be incredibly tough. My favourite Quote: Morty: “Thieves! You should be ashamed of yourself, how can people who are Pokémon Trainers steal other trainers’ Pokémon?!” James: “It’s quite easy.” Jessie: “We’re Team Rocket members first and people second!” Meowth: “I ain’t even a people.” Things I’d like to point out: The fire breather is a type of trainer seen in the second set of games, but this is the first time one has been in the series. Also, the item he sells and describes is pretty much the Itemfinder you can acquire in the games; everything down to the sound effects is the same. As a result, James’s hobby in collecting bottlecaps is brought up again. The Arcanine statue is posed like certain real life lion (or beast-like animal) statues, but what relevance does it have to the Burnt Tower apart from being a Fire-type? I think James is trying to defend his... masculinity by what he says to Fernando. Other factors throughout the series (“Holy Matrimony!”) seem to prove this, so I guess James is just Very much in touch with his feminine side given the number of women’s clothing he’s worn. If the flames turned out to be Gastly casting illusions, shouldn’t Totodile’s Water attacks have made contact with them (or Totodile itself when dancing in the fire)? At last it’s confirmed that the Pokémon Ash saw way back in “Pokémon I choose you!” was indeed a Ho-oh, not that anyone believes him, at least in doing this he makes up for the mistake he made in “Pokémon Emergency!” when he claimed a tile of Articuno looked like the legendary Pokémon he’d seen just a few hours before. The invaders from the Tin Tower’s past could be the beginnings of Team Rocket. Misty’s promise to be more careful with her Togepi is already broken one episode after she said so, as Togepi is again separated from her. It’s doubtful this is the last time such a thing will happen and I doubt Togepi will ever stop wandering away. Again Team Rocket take Togepi with them even though they know the Boss has no interest in it, unless they’ve caught onto Togepi’s hidden power. How does tying Pikachu to James’s back prevent it from shocking him? Gengar’s Lick attack extends its tongue to the level of a Lickitung’s, but it’s feasible since Ghost Pokémon seem able to do a lot of manipulation of their bodies. See Haunter’s past feats in “Haunter Versus Kadabra” as proof of this. Maybe it’s just me but Weezing seems to have a lot more emotion than usual, usually it’s got a pretty vacant and simple look, but it never seemed to truly express its anger like it does in this episode. Maybe there’s just been a change in animator lately, not that this is a particularly bad thing, Weezing looks cooler when it’s angry. Wrap attack shouldn’t have even bound Gengar with it being a Ghost-type, unless Noctowl’s Foresight from earlier somehow affected it and the effects lasted this long. And technically, Shadow Ball shouldn’t have harmed Meowth being a Normal-type, but I’ll let it go since the attack affected all around it so that could have been what blew Meowth sky-high. Despite James yelling how he lost his detector, it winds up in Team Rocket’s possession next episode. Who’s That Pokémon?: (These Pokémon use their whiskers to maintain balance!) Raticate Cameos in Pokémon Journey: For one, the title, I used it for Chapter 21 before this episode was aired in the UK with its new altered title name, so I don’t think I should have to change it. Anyway, the Burnt Tower will make an appearance. From Ghost to Ghost Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Gengar, Gastly, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Noctowl, Cyndaquil, Haunter Story: While at the Pokémon Centre, Ash prepares for the Gym Battle, luckily Joy makes it clear that Noctowl is the key to winning. Morty is teaching a group of youngsters when Ash arrives, and he gives them permission to stay and watch the fight. Team Rocket float above and are drawn back to the tower area with the possibility of more treasure being detected by James’s device. Morty starts out with Gastly and Ash with Noctowl; this appears a bad idea since Noctowl is Ash’s sure-fire approach to battling Gengar. Hypnosis is dodged and although Foresight makes the enemy susceptible to Normal attacks, Noctowl doesn’t get the opportunity to hit it, Hypnosis is outdone again and Lick makes Ash decide to recall it. Jessie and Meowth are interested in the battle but James reveals the location of the apparent treasure. Pikachu is up next and uses Quick Attack to hit Gastly, but Thunderbolt is dodged and Night Shade is used to completely defeat Pikachu. Cyndaquil is next while Team Rocket uncover some genuine treasure and decide not to tangle with Pikachu today, but Ghost Pokémon appear as a security force. Cyndaquil’s Flamethrower is dodged and so is Gastly’s Night Shade, but its Lick is used as a platform to deal a Tackle attack. Haunter is the next opponent and it’s even faster, its Mean Look not only removes Ash’s ability to substitute other Pokémon but briefly shorts out Cyndaquil’s flame. Swift is used and Haunter’s Hypnosis is countered by Smokescreen, but it picks Cyndaquil out of the area and uses Lick, while Ash is powerless to recall it until it’s defeated. Ash only has Noctowl left, while Team Rocket are trapped in an illusion made for the amusement of the Ghost Pokémon. Haunter is exposed to Foresight but its hands start attacking, Hypnosis and Confuse Ray slam against each other and Noctowl is worse off with a confused condition. A Tackle crashing into a Night Shade attack cancels out the condition and Noctowl shows signs that it has learned Confusion, which becomes pivotal and defeats Haunter in one shot. Gengar is the final opponent and Confusion is overpowered by Shadow Ball, the Gengar disappears and attacks with Night Shade under cover of invisibility. Ash has Noctowl send Confusion outwards at a great range and Gengar is revealed, and before it can retaliate with Shadow Ball, Noctowl’s Foresight and Tackle take it out. Morty hands over the Fog Badge and opens up to the possibility that maybe Ash did see Ho-oh, and the group move onwards to their next destination, while Team Rocket flee from the nightmares of the ghostly visions. My favourite Quote: James: “Look Meowth, my treasure detector is working again.” Meowth: “It woiked before?” James: “Luckily it was blasted away along with us, and the closer we get to Ecruteak the more Treasure it senses!” Jessie: “I wish you’d come to Your senses James, the only thing that contraption does is detect junk.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the phrase “From coast to coast”. The Pokémon recovery jingle is heard again, it’s rare that the sound from the games is used in the cartoon. The treasure detector is said to have blasted off with Team Rocket though James moaned about the loss of it last episode, that and the bottlecaps he collected seem to have remained intact too, though I doubt James categorized them in the binder within the short time he had last episode. Why does Meowth ask the point in James’s collecting of bottlecaps when it was explained in full last episode? James’s one sentence reply though is a clever way to disregard it and get on the episode I have to say. Either Confusion’s use is completely different for Gastly than it is for Noctowl or the Gastly was taking its sweet time to attack, choosing instead to dodge constantly against Noctowl. Foresight is thankfully used correctly, primarily to make physical attacks on Ghost Pokémon connect, as well as nullifying other Pokémon’s attempts to become more evasive. I’m not going to go into the fact that Lick is a Ghost attack and shouldn’t have hit Noctowl, as I myself have made exceptions in the latest storylines in that since Lick uses the tongue to hit enemies but the paralysing aspect of the games doesn’t come into play on Normal-types. In the games, Night Shade’s power is equal to the level of the Pokémon using it, meaning it has a maximum of 100 Hit Points damage, Pikachu’s defeat from just one and from a Gastly is very disappointing, and more is expected from the Pokémon that has always been by Ash’s side and fought in virtually every episode. I think there’s been a mix-up, in that the Who’s That Pokémon clue and Pokémon are exactly the same as the one used six episodes ago (“Ariados, Amigos”), it’s been bad enough that mostly old Pokémon have been reused but now even the clues are being reused; it’s hardly a challenge anymore to guess what the silhouettes are. Swift is a Normal attack and though highly accurate, it shouldn’t have made contact with a Ghost Pokémon who wasn’t subject to Foresight first. Sorry to keep going off like this but this mistake contradicts a very old saying in that only registered attacks should be used in a Pokémon Battle. Since Haunter’s picking up of and throwing of Cyndaquil isn’t like any of its available attacks, it apparently shouldn’t have been used (according to Ash anyway in “The School of Hard Knocks” but since when has he been right about anything regarding official battle rules?). Night Shade and Shadow Ball shouldn’t have worked at all in damaging Noctowl as it is part Normal-type, Ghost-types only become vulnerable to Normal attacks because of Foresight, it shouldn’t be the other way around. Pikachu takes the cake, it appears just fine one battle after its defeat and should just keep quiet and out of Ash’s way seeing as he now only has one Pokémon to beat two opponents because of its failure in part. If it’s well enough to walk around and cheer then Pikachu should still be available to Ash as a battler. This is the first time Ash has had an offensive Psychic attack on his side, though technically his Butterfree should have learned Confusion before the various dust attacks. Except for only one Haunter instead of two Morty’s Pokémon are the same in the games, but it’s for the best since two of the same Pokémon in a Gym Battle would be kind of boring to watch. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon has the ability to copy an opponent’s DNA!) Ditto Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Morty and his Ghost Pokémon will indeed make a set of appearances. Trouble’s Brewing Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Eevee, Arbok, Flareon, Umbreon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Poliwhirl, Totodile, Weezing, Victreebel, Chikorita, Staryu Story: The group rest and are about to consider their next destination when they decide instead to check out an old fashioned tea ceremony. An Eevee wanders by which belongs to a girl named Sakura, and whose sisters run the ceremony. There, Brock subsequently falls in love with four different girls (Simomo, Tamao, Komei and Satsuki), all turn out to be Sakura’s sisters. Because of this and Sakura’s general treatment, Misty can relate and the two look to become friends. Meanwhile Team Rocket attend a tea ceremony and cause such a scene that the sisters and the group come running. All the sisters own an evolved Eevee and bring them out; but Sakura’s Eevee falls short in battle and is defeated by Arbok. Ash and Misty jump in and fight Weezing with their Water Pokémon and defeat Team Rocket. Misty and Sakura chat by a stream when Sakura suddenly asks if she can join Misty and travel around with her, Brock and Ash. It’s okay with her and the others but Sakura has yet to ask her sisters after her dance recital. They decide that if they can be beaten in a three-on-three Pokémon Battle by Ash, Misty and Brock, they will allow Sakura to travel with them. Simomo uses Vaporeon and Misty jumps in with Poliwhirl, tackles repel each other and Poliwhirl gets around a Sand Attack to deal a Doubleslap assault but is beaten hard by Quick Attack. The battle is finished with Aurora Beam, and Ash takes over with his Pikachu against Satsuki’s Jolteon, but once again Team Rocket interrupts. They arrive with a box that has different compartments to capture the sisters’ Pokémon in with a resistance to their elements and powers. Sakura battles Victreebel but her Eevee is easily repelled by Victreebel, tied up and tossed in its ‘cell’. Ash brings Chikorita out to deal with Victreebel and Misty’s Staryu against Arbok, and as a result, James ends up in Umbreon’s box, Arbok in the shock- proof box and Jessie and Victreebel both in the fire resistant box, and Meowth willingly jumps into Vaporeon’s box to hide away from the good guys. Umbreon breaks out Eevee and the Water Pokémon decimate the balloon and boxes along with the Rockets. Sakura realises how much better everyone else is compared to her before the battle is resumed. Pikachu dodges a Thundershock and its Thunderbolt is repelled by Thunder Wave, Pikachu gets the first hit with Tackle, and Thunder does the rest. Before the last battle, Sakura steps in and decides that she’s not ready to go with the others, and that she has to become a better trainer before she goes on a journey since she has to have faith in her own abilities before she can make it as a trainer. The group decide to go to Olivine City first in favour of Mahogany Town; they say their goodbyes to Sakura and continue their journey. My favourite Quote: Brock (referring to four of the Kimono Sisters): “Ash this is terrible, I want all of them and they all want me. Am I right?” Ash: “You’re half right.” Things I’d like to point out: Instead of pulling Brock’s ear, Misty drags him by the nose; I guess falling in love with four girls (in less than two minutes) annoyed her more than usual. I know it’s a gag and all but how does Brock turn his body without shuffling or moving his body around? For once Brock gets complimented on his ability to complement girls, but by the youngest sister Sakura whom he didn’t make a move on, the other sisters though seem a little annoyed at how Brock hit on all of them. The five sisters are clearly based on the Kimono Sisters in the Gold and Silver games, who each own a differently evolved Eevee in Ecruteak City. I told you this would happen eventually, if you give a specialised Pokéball to a Pokémon it has to be used EVERY time. Totodile is called but an old Ash throwing a default Pokéball clip is used as he does so, Totodile was caught in a Lure Ball and nothing can change that fact. Did we miss a few frames or is it lazy animation? The double Water Gun blast hits Weezing but immediately in the next shot Team Rocket are also being jetted skyward. Why does Brock openly admit he might not look particularly trustworthy? It’s not the best thing to say when he’s supposed to be convincing the sisters that Sakura will be okay and safe with him and the others. Just an observation in that the sisters’ Pokémon have some of the special Pokéballs that Kurt is known to make; Vaporeon is in a Lure Ball, Umbreon in a Fast Ball and Jolteon has what I assume is a Moon Ball (judging by the design of it compared to the other special Pokéballs seen in “Going Apricorn!”). For the first time since “The Fire-ing Squad!” Wobbuffet makes no visual appearances in the episode. However, its voice is heard during the Team Rocket blast off which has occurred in the past even if Wobbuffet was nowhere to be seen at the time. Komei gets left out a lot this episode, not only does she not get to participate against Team Rocket what-so-ever, but she isn’t called for in the following battle in favour of Umbreon who also got to help save Eevee. Maybe Komei and her Flareon are the group’s weak link. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s leaves are able to check the temperature!) Chikorita Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but a future possibility. All That Glitters! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Murkrow, Noctowl, Golbat, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Bulbasaur, Pineco Story: The group rest in a forest for some food while Ash polishes off his badges, but a group of suspicious Pokémon have their eyes on them. Soon enough they reveal themselves to be a group of Murkrow who seem innocent enough, but at the first opportunity they steal Ash’s badges. Noctowl is sent after them but is overpowered and the Murkrow escape. With Golbat’s help they find the trio and are seen enjoying playing with them because they’re so shiny, but they refuse to give the badges back, and defeat Golbat in the same manner as before. Pikachu shocks the three but before the group can catch up, Pikachu is caught in a surprise attack by Team Rocket. The Murkrow appear on their balloon to grab at their shiny belongings but soon pop the balloon. James is outraged when his bottlecaps turn up missing, during all of this Pikachu is freed and Ash is able to retrieve two out of three of the stolen badges and chases after the Murkrow with James close behind. James attempts to net them at their nest but is outsmarted so that the team goes flying. Ash thinks of his past Gym Battles before telling the group he’ll beat the Murkrow team with the teamwork of him and his Pokémon. The sneaking up and taking the badge plan falls flat on its face so Ash and Misty next attract the Murkrow with shiny objects while Brock has Pineco lower itself down to the nest. Togepi accidentally gets stuck which blows the group’s cover before Pineco is done, the badge is taken back and Pineco explodes to no avail. Noctowl is called back out and relied solely upon to come up with a strategy, it stands completely still between the Murkrow so that they let their guard down, when one Murkrow shines light off the badge into Noctowl, it strikes and prepares to fly away but all the birds are thrown off course by Team Rocket’s latest machine. Team Rocket’s Murkrow robot retrieves all the shiny objects, including Ash’s badge, but regardless Ash saves the Murkrow by catching them in his grasp. Team Rocket soon attack the Murkrow, Noctowl saves them from being hurt but Pikachu is captured; Noctowl then takes the lead with the Murkrow helping out. They dodge around the giant fans and Team Rocket continue to alter direction to stop them, but this causes a leg joint to jam which gives the Murkrow and Noctowl the chance to save Pikachu, who delivers the finishing blow. The objects are scattered and the Fog Badge is returned, while the Murkrow have no quarrel with the group and might someday change their tricky ways, the group departs soon after. My favourite Quote: Ash (to Team Rocket): “Give me Pikachu!” Jessie: “I’m sorry, that selection is unavailable!” Things I’d like to point out: The Murkrow’s love of shiny objects is like that of real crows and ravens. The three Murkrow performing a fast attack in unison is wrongly dubbed as Double Team, it looked more like a Wing Attack or Faint Attack. If it was a real Double Team attack, Noctowl’s Foresight should have been used to neutralise it. How do the Murkrow carry James’s bottlecaps away, they were clearly laughing at James with their beaks open during their escape, it’s possible they dropped the Fog Badge in their nest before this so this is an error in regards to the caps (unless the Murkrow tucked them under their wings or swallowed them to regurgitate them later). The reminiscence scene has so many errors, for one Ash calls Pidgeot Pidgeotto, (a repeated mistake for the series), but worse is that fact that his Pidgeot hasn’t helped him lately. It’s one thing to let a mix-up like that occur but what does Bugsy’s Scyther have to do with anything?! Ash mentions it (and Falkner’s Pidgeot) between Charizard and Cyndaquil as if they’re a part of his team! The writers had a real off-day as they’re blatantly just naming Pokémon they see (except Miltank and Gengar) in the flashbacks regardless of who they belong to. Ash is a complete idiot!... but what else is new? When you’re trying to steal from three Pokémon, yelling out “I got it!” is the last thing you’d do, he could have at least held onto the badge like it meant his life but Ash feebly lets go when he trips over Pikachu and Bulbasaur who should have been fending off the Murkrow. Why does Jessie refer to the Murkrow robot as Mark 5? Were there 4 others, and if so, who made them? It’s doubtful Team Rocket did since they aren’t completely familiar with Murkrow until today. When the vacuum sucks up the metal, it’s badly animated, as the objects look as if they’re flying under the vacuum, not inside it. Why does Meowth complain at James that the retrieval of the bottlecaps aren’t their priority? When the vacuum appears and aims solely for the objects, Meowth clearly laughs as if to either signify his delight at getting the objects, or having activated the vacuum himself. If James had been made out to be the one who activated it (and possibly installed the vacuum extra himself) there would be no problems. Why does the narrator speak as if helping to defeat Team Rocket and retrieve Ash’s Gym Badges (that they stole in the first place) validates the fact that the Murkrow were responsible for Ash losing them? Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s dance is a ritual to summon the sun!) Bellossom Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Light Fantastic Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Magikarp, Remoraid, Butterfree, Raticate, Arbok, Venusaur Story: The group head through a hot landscape and run out of water, Team Rocket have also done the same (but Jessie is short changed having got none recently). The exhausted group see a strange colourful aurora in the sky over Remoraid Mountain, and head towards the Pokémon Centre to inquire about the lights. They come across the ruins of an old ancient village where Nurse Joy appears to explain things, including how Remoraid used to live here alongside an old civilisation but after they exhausted their trees, the rivers and lakes dried up, the lack of shade caused the land to turn to dust and their food supply to deplete as a result so they had to leave. Joy was told that flowers were growing here and came immediately; she escorts the group back for water. Team Rocket dress up as archaeologists in order to get some water from the Centre without being chased out. The water is retrieved from under the Centre due to it mysteriously flowing down the dried up river every 12 years. An artist called Mr Gango introduces himself, he comes by every 12 years to view the rainbow lights and wishes to portray it on canvas, twice he didn’t have enough colours but now he has a huge set to sketch the lights. The group helps to pinpoint the location of the lights; it’s directly over Remoraid Lake. Team Rocket enter in disguise to get the water when the lights return, Gango attempts to sketch them before they disappear but fails this time because he had too many colours to choose from. Joy suggests Gango and the others head to the lake to find the source, and Team Rocket tag along. As the group gets closer, the landscape is greener, when they arrive they find a tower of ice, Team Rocket confirm it is ice and not valuable crystal and immediately resort to stealing Pikachu to make up for it. Gango intervenes in the following battle and uses a Venusaur to battle Arbok, it braces Arbok’s Tackle and Pikachu is knocked free from the Rocket’s hold. Solarbeam is used before they can reinforce their Pokémon number and they are defeated. As daylight appears, jets of water shoot up, originating from the Remoraid, when the water hits the ice tower and others follow with Ice Beam to create the ice pillar. Misty attempts to capture a rare Remoraid but a group cluster together since a Pokéball can’t capture more than one Pokémon, but Team Rocket get around that by using a huge net. The Remoraid outsmart Team Rocket though by propelling themselves upwards with water to slam into the balloon, freeing themselves and doing away with the Rockets in the same move. The lights shine again, and occur due to the water vapour rising from the melting ice refracting the sun’s rays, the mystery of the rushing water in the lake is also revealed, due to the Remoraid having remained here and the after effects of what they do to the ice pillar. Gango isn’t down about not getting his sketch, as the experience he’s had means so much more to him. The group’s journey continues where more wonders and mysteries will surely come to pass. My favourite Quote: Meowth (referring to a piece of ice he’s just licked): “Hey! That thing could’ve been poison!” Jessie: “Well if it were, we wanted you to be the first to know!” Meowth: “That’s considerate.” Things I’d like to point out: Gango’s name is likely based on the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. Misty points out that Gango’s 251 crayons is equal to one for every kind of Pokémon, at least those facts are currently correct for the number of known Pokémon at the time, although since certain legendary Pokémon aren’t well known or even known to exist at all (until a while ago, Mewtwo shouldn’t have even existed), is this consistent with the storyline of the cartoon rather than just the game’s number of Pokémon? It’s not worth thinking for one moment that Remoraid should be the hardest Pokémon to catch just because these particular ones are rare to see and later discovered to work as a group to protect each other. How many people in the Pokémon World have caught Legendary Pokémon (aside from Lawrence in the second movie who used unfair means)? I rest my case. Besides, we later see a whole group of Remoraid who were caught and raised by a family in the Whirl Islands (“Octillery The Outcast”). Gango’s set of colours probably consists of the names of virtually every town in Kanto and Johto what with them being named after colours. Cerulean City is of course Misty’s home, and in Pokémon Journey, Aquamarine Town was created to be based in Kanto to replace the current closure of the Cerulean Gym in the fanfic. It’s as dry as a Dratini? Surely that must be wrong as the rare sights of Dratinis in the cartoon are always in water, and since that means they’re not dry and yet this place is, James’s statement doesn’t really make any sense. The latest modification to the motto has James telling everyone his and Jessie’s name, only for them to say them again as per usual, which is a little pointless for the sake of a rhyme. Team Rocket should have been able to bring out more Pokémon before Venusaur finished charging its Solarbeam, due to the plain fact that it was night and therefore gathering sunlight should have taken longer if not been impossible to do. If Misty truly thought catching Remoraid was a once in a lifetime opportunity, she should have gone full out (considering she didn’t battle any of them first) and used her Lure Ball instead of a weak and basic Pokéball. Team Rocket do an impossible feat, within two minutes of being blasted off, they return to the lake with their balloon and a net to catch the Remoraid, on the off-chance they landed right at their balloon (wherever it was parked) and the wind was blowing the right way then possibly, but in all other cases this event just wasn’t thought through completely. Again Wobbuffet is heard in the blast off but not seen in the course of the episode. The rare appearance of Remoraid is similar to the games, in that swarms of Remoraid, Yanma, Marill, Dunsparce, Snubbull and Qwilfish only become common to catch at rare times, although it’s nothing compared to these Remoraid only making themselves known every 12 years. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon comes to a complete stop when the sun sets!) Sunflora Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Episodes #169 - #176 Episodes #185 - #192 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone