Episode Guide #225 - #232 Espeon, Not Included For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll! Extreme Pokémon! An EGG-sighting Adventure! Hatching A Plan Dues and Don’ts Just Waiting On a Friend A Tyrogue Full of Trouble Espeon, Not Included Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Espeon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Umbreon, Flareon, Corsola, Arbok, Victreebel, Meowth, Crobat, Wobbuffet Story: The group make a return stop at Ecruteak City and have arranged to meet Sakura there, an Espeon comes running towards them followed by Sakura. The group briefly see her four older sisters at their place who are leaving to see a dance instructor; Sakura later asks if Misty would battle her Espeon. Misty uses her new Corsola and while the battle starts, the sisters are greeted by Team Rocket posing as the dance instructors. Espeon is battling well and dodges a Spike Cannon attack, catching Corsola off guard with Quick Attack, but it recovers its health. The sisters release their Pokémon on Team Rocket’s instruction and begin dancing, but their Pokémon have never danced and so are invited to have some ‘private tutoring’. They are taken into another room where they are dropped into a cage, their call alerts the sisters who witness the Meowth balloon rising with their Pokémon. Espeon takes a final hit and loses the battle; Sakura and Misty discuss the journey in the Whirl Islands including Misty’s catch and battles in the Whirl Cup. Sakura wishes she could travel in this way when her sisters return and report the news of their stolen Pokémon, Sakura vows to get them back. Team Rocket make a stop and gloat on their success but realise they don’t have the complete set and need to steal Sakura’s Espeon to make the set worth more. Sakura realises this and Espeon agrees to serve as bait, Team Rocket soon find it and Espeon though it looks like it’s sleeping can tell they’re here and reports this to Sakura before it’s netted. Crobat follows Team Rocket as they head back to the other Pokémon while Sakura claims Espeon can see into the future and therefore will be able to avoid danger if there is any. Espeon refuses to be lured into a cage by food and turns away as Jessie tries to trick it into wearing a collar; it locates its caged friends hidden in the bushes. James attempts to catch it but it dodges over him and escapes as the group arrive, Team Rocket’s Pokémon act irrationally but soon get into a battle against Corsola and Espeon. Corsola spikes Arbok while Espeon dodges Victreebel’s leaves with Quick Attack and follows up with Swift. Arbok’s Poison Sting is blocked by Corsola’s horns and Psybeam is unleashed onto the two enemies to confuse them, the whole team crashes near the balloon which Pikachu destroys to get rid of them. Espeon frees its friends and so it and Sakura are given recognition for their efforts, Sakura is also given permission to travel the world. Misty invites her to join the group again but surprisingly Sakura declines, wanting to learn how to fend for herself. Everyone says their goodbyes as Sakura leaves on her journey, Misty is reminded of her first time setting out on her own and Misty and Sakura make a promise to see each other again so she can tell her about all the people and places she’s met and visited. My favourite Quote: (Espeon has located its caged fellow Pokémon) Jessie: “Would you look at that, it just wanted to be with its friends...” (Wobbuffet appears from its Pokéball as always) Wobbuffet: “Waaaa-ba-fet!” Jessie (nodding before realising Wobbuffet’s presence and getting annoyed): “Mm-hmmm... Hmmph! That’s the end of our conversation.” Wobbuffet (as Jessie recalls it): “Wob-ba!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun comes from the packaging term “Batteries Not Included”. When Brock hides behind Ash, he speaks but his lips don’t open. Brock seems overeager to be the referee today, I don’t see why since he’s almost always the referee when his friends battle without someone else to referee the match. The four sisters claimed they were going to see their favourite dance instructor, and yet they don’t raise a question when Jessie and James show up, have they even met this dance instructor or have they only heard of him/her by name? They also fail to question why there are two instructors. Team Rocket always make the mistake of using their own Pokémon while trying to disguise themselves, they might be smart enough to conceal their hair for once but surely the combined appearances of Arbok and Victreebel blatantly biting on James’s head like last time should have exposed themselves to the sisters. And why did James speak like he normally does to Victreebel, telling it not to attack him as if he had someone else in mind? Why do the sisters have to ask who Team Rocket are? They should have guessed from the familiar Arbok, disobedient Victreebel, the Meowth balloon and the fact that Team Rocket were Again trying to capture their Pokémon. I don’t think the same people dubbed this episode and “Trouble’s Brewing” since it should be common knowledge that the sisters are familiar with Team Rocket. During the Team Rocket motto, James crosses his arms on the last line and he only has half a glove (the half that’s a sleeve), his fingers are suddenly visible; a hefty colouring error. If Sakura is so impressed with Corsola’s recover, she obviously hasn’t trained her Espeon enough to gain her own healing attack Morning Sun. Why does it take so long for Team Rocket to realise they don’t have the complete evolved Eevee set when they’ve previously mentioned that they did, couldn’t they count the Pokémon as they were led into the trap, and yes they did know Espeon existed at the time of capturing the Pokémon. I think this is the first time interaction with the camera has ever been done in the series, as Meowth is swatted and then hits and slides down the ‘glass’ of the screen. For the first time Ash gets annoyed with Brock’s flirting and drags him away by the ear. Now that’s just stupid, why do Team Rocket catch Espeon in a net only to let it out in order to lure it into a cage with food? Why didn’t they just empty the net into the cage and lock it? Oh come on! Do caged Pokémon lose all their abilities?! Apparently so judging on several of the past episodes and this one. If Espeon’s Swift attack was enough to break the bars of the cage, surely the caged Pokémon could have done something with their own physical or elemental attacks to break out themselves. Misty claims Sakura’s leaving is just like her own in that her sisters were there to say goodbye to her, but in “The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City”, her sisters refer to her as the runt of the family and claim she left because she couldn't compare with their beauty and talent, this doesn't sound remotely like a happy or pleasant departure at all. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon eats its opponent’s dreams!) Drowzee Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Now that Sakura is out and about in the world there’s always a chance she’ll make an appearance in the future. For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll! Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Chansey, Wobbuffet, Meowth, Gengar, Ho-oh, Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Parasect, Spinarak, Caterpie, Weedle, Tangela, Ariados, Alakazam, Gligar, Cyndaquil, Noctowl, Gastly, Arbok Story: The group are still in Ecruteak City planning out the route they’ll take to Mahogany Town when a strange ringing occurs from the Tin Tower, which is said to happen only when the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh is near. Morty is reunited with a man called Eusine who is on the lookout for the legendary Pokémon Suicune. The two check the Tin Tower but on the ninth floor the special crystal bells (which are said to ring only when Ho-Oh arrives) have been stolen. The other bells have apparently rung to alert them of this theft, and nearby Team Rocket are the thieves, they wish to make Ho-Oh appear to them but the bells don’t ring when shaken, Jessie swings them all around in an attempt to make them do so but one of them goes flying and shatters on a rock. The bells in the Tin Tower stop ringing while Team Rocket sense an ill wind as a result of their misdeed, the group meet Eusine and are reunited with Morty who explains that Ash’s appearance here could be evidence that Ho-Oh is coming before he explains to Eusine of Ash’s claims to have seen Ho-Oh on his first day as a trainer. The crystal bells are described to the group and of a legend of the great fire engulfing the tower of Ho-Oh except for 32 metal bells and 4 crystal ones that were placed in the rebuilt Tin Tower in the hopes that Ho-Oh would return, but the bells have never rung until today. Eusine claims Ho-Oh watches over the world and that legend states its rage will only melt away when the hearts of Pokémon and humans finally meet as one. Also three Pokémon have apparently been created and sent to observe the humans because they are the source of Ho-Oh’s anger after humans attempted to steal its power and that of all Pokémon which resulted in the fire of the great tower which took the lives of three Pokémon, Ho-Oh drew from nature and its power and reincarnated them as the spirits of the north wind, the volcano and thunder to create Suicune, Entei and Raikou, they apparently wait for the day Pokémon and humans live together in co-operation and harmony. When Ash claims he met Suicune, Eusine is outraged; claiming Suicune only appears to the most skilled of trainers and so challenges him to a Pokémon Battle. Meanwhile Team Rocket are surrounded by several Bug Pokémon who are enraged that a crystal bell was broken. Ash battles Eusine in Morty’s Gym who puts Suicune’s honour before his duty to finding the bells, his Alakazam is about to battle against Pikachu, but it’s interrupted when Bug Pokémon are reported and then seen to be taking over the Tin Tower. Everyone is prevented by many Tangela and Parasect from entering the tower and must take refuge in the Gym. The surrounding town is covered in webbing and a link to the bells is realised, since the Crystal Bells are said to maintain peace and harmony amongst all the Pokémon they’re acting aggressively towards humans and possibly seeking to create a world without humans because of their loss of the bells. As such Ash is upset since this will surely prevent Ho-Oh from ever returning to the world, as a team the large group escape and make their way through the webbed forest with Cyndaquil’s help until they find Team Rocket tied up, and only three of the bells. Ash fails to reason with the Pokémon and Brock ponders how sad it would be if Ho-Oh was watching this, the Pokémon attack and Alakazam attempts to protect the group with Reflect, but its barrier is infiltrated by Tangela vines and hit hard, moments before Ash is hit in kind a mysterious Pokémon appears which stops the attacks immediately. The webbing is dissolved by a mysterious power, Suicune can be seen nearby and its presence causes the Pokémon to leave, Team Rocket attempt to catch Suicune but it dodges Arbok’s attack and defeats them utterly with one shot. Eusine challenges Suicune to a battle with his Alakazam, it attempts to use Disable on Suicune and then Confusion but Suicune’s roar sends the Alakazam back into its Pokéball, and has disappeared when the group look up again. Suicune is claimed only to have appeared to protect everyone by settling down the Pokémon, a rainbow signifies the power of Ho-Oh which dissolves the remainder of the webbing around town. The group later say their goodbyes and prepare to take their leave, and Ash promises should he meet Ho-Oh or Suicune again he’ll let them know how humans feel about Pokémon, while Eusine has already embarked on a journey to find and catch Suicune. Morty believes Ho-Oh still watches them and that it will return one day when Pokémon and humans live in harmony. My favourite Quote: Misty: “Why do you three always have to make such a giant mess or everything, huh?!” Team Rocket: “Because we’re Team Rocket!” Misty: “Or Team ‘Wreck-it’!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is based on the novel “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemmingway. Eusine is clearly based on the character with the same name and goal from Pokémon Crystal where he makes several appearances and battles should the player locate a Suicune anywhere but the Tin Tower. In the series, this isn’t Eusine’s first appearance in the Pokémon World, as he makes an appearance in the three part Pokémon Chronicles story “LEGEND OF THUNDER”, however, in the dub he’s incorrectly named Eugene, voiced differently and suggests another legendary Pokémon Raikou needs to be free, yet he’s desperate to catch Suicune in this episode, it feels like the writers/translators in the English version were either trying to separate his character from the one here or they just made a huge mistake. Surely a tower housing artefacts so important to the town’s history should have at least one security guard. Even the games have a better system, placing guards who don’t grant trainers access unless they acquire the rare Rainbow Feather. We learn that the three Legendary Dogs were once unnamed Pokémon that died in the Tin Tower fire and were recreated by Ho-oh, who proves to have the same powers as the phoenix it’s based on. This is vague, and could go either way, Ash claims as well as seeing Ho-Oh, he also met Suicune, but is he referring to the brief appearance on the first day in Johto in “Don’t Touch That ‘dile” or fighting alongside it during the forth movie storyline, it’s strange that only Ash recalls this but not his friends. Morty dubs “Sleep Powder” as “Sleeping Powder”... I’m just saying. How much hair gel does Jessie use? When she’s hanging upside-down her hair still curls to one side inside of being affected by gravity like James’s hair. The Ariados guarding the bells has different coloured eyes, instead of purple with black pupils it has black eyes with red pupils, is it meant to be a champion of the Ariados, angered to high heavens or a colouring error? Nice to see more of the game’s theories coming into play in that Reflect can’t defend against Vine Whip because it’s a special attack, although since String Shot isn’t a damaging attack, it wouldn’t be blocked in the games, but at least Reflect is subject to some conditions of the game if not in full. Also, I don’t care how angry the lone Tangela was, Eusine’s Alakazam is clearly not as powerful as he made it out to be if one low level Grass attack can damage it to the point of needing to be recalled. Why did Eusine ignore all requests and attempt to capture Suicune? He saw the group’s disgust at Team Rocket attempting to catch it and he should have realised capturing this Pokémon might affect the way Ho-oh thought of humans since Suicune only appeared to quell the rage of the wild Pokémon. Eusine’s battle with Suicune is similar to most players’ fights with the legendary dog Pokémon, in that unless steps are taken to prevent it Suicune can flee or use Roar to scare the enemy away and make its escape, and then it’s a long arduous task in simply locating Suicune again. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon has short feet with suction cups!) Caterpie Cameos in Pokémon Journey: There’s a good chance of Eusine making an appearance what with the guarantee that all three of the legends will be getting an appearance or mention when the time is right. Extreme Pokémon! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Arcanine, Granbull, Scyther, Tauros, Wooper, Sentret, Aipom, Teddiursa, Natu, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bayleef, Meowth, Machamp, Rhydon, Dodrio, Wobbuffet, Beedrill, Exeggutor, Vileplume, Hitmonchan, Nidoqueen, Raticate, Poliwrath, Lickiung, Arbok Story: The group’s path takes them to a winding road that leads to the town of Eggseter, an Arcanine charges by on a leash with Gary behind it on a skateboard, Gary declines Ash’s challenge for a battle since he’s training for a big race. The group witness other trainers practising in the same sport but Ash is concerned that putting collars and leashes around Pokémon is wrong. A man at the cafe called Shelby explains that it’s no problem for the Pokémon and that riding Pokémon this way in races is a tradition here (the official title is Extreme Pokémon), upon learning that Gary is competing in the championship event, it doesn’t take Ash long to get involved himself. He’s advised to practice and is luckily loaned the equipment by Shelby who works in a Day Care Centre and serves as a Pokémon Nester who protects Pokémon Eggs until they’re ready to hatch. The whole area is perfect for raising Pokémon and there are several houses with people serving as Nesters. Shelby briefly explains the origin of Extreme Pokémon before reaching his place where the group see some of their eggs and then the equipment Ash will be using. Ash has experience in mountain boarding but takes a fall during practice and is saved by Arcanine; Gary is welcoming of Ash wanting in on the challenge but is confident he’ll not win against him. Ash chooses his Pokémon to be Bayleef and practices with it, starting with changing directions. Meowth has the others of Team Rocket view Ash and questions what he’s doing before James provides a pamphlet which explains the Extreme Pokémon competition, instead of attempting to steal all the competing Pokémon, Jessie instead decides they should steal the winner of the race. Ash is getting the hang of Extreme Pokémon when Shelby explains that participants must also carry a dummy egg halfway through the race without dropping it. The course comprises of the winding path that leads to Shelby and his wife’s Day Care Centre, but trainers can take any route they like, after retrieving a dummy egg the group must bring it back to the start of the race to win. A Scyther too fast for its trainer causes a pile up at the start of the race but Ash and Gary among others manage to get around it and get the race started. Ash and Gary are soon in the lead but Arcanine picks up speed, Team Rocket watch the race and decide Arcanine is the clear winner and net it, Ash stops to help his rival by riding his board up a mountain curve and driving it into the balloon so that it crashes. A camera is knocked out at the halfway mark and there Ash and Arcanine safely escape, Wobbuffet and James appear to the rest of the team with stolen Pokémon Eggs and Arbok threatens Ash, luckily Bayleef catches up but is hurt in the battle so Arcanine attacks as soon as Gary arrives. Bayleef retrieves the eggs as Team Rocket flee and Arcanine’s Flame Wheel deals with them. Gary is grateful for Ash’s help but the two must get moving as the opposition is catching up, the two receive their dummy eggs and continue their race. Gary still gets the lead and Bayleef struggles to keep up and on the narrow mountain path they’re on Ash is unable to get past Gary so he and Bayleef take a detour and leap off a very high cliff to get level with Gary, at the last moment of the race Arcanine makes a dive while Bayleef hits itself with Vine Whip to push its jump further to reach the finish line split seconds before Gary and Arcanine. Gary takes his defeat well and says his goodbyes, but Shelby and his wife have something to add to Ash’s prize of a trophy in thanks for helping them save their eggs and give Ash a special Pokémon Egg which will hatch into a Pokémon someday soon, though what kind is a secret for now. My favourite Quote: Shelby: “To win a competition you must become one with your partner so you must choose carefully. Character, trust, physical strength; there is much to consider.” Ash (turning to Pikachu): “Physical strength...” Pikachu: “Pi-Ka-chu! Pika-chu!...” Ash: “Sorry Pikachu...” Pikachu (surprised and disappointed): “Pika?” Things I’d like to point out: Gary’s still in nice guy mode since he’d even consider that Ash battling his Arcanine could in any way result in its getting injured, the old Gary would surely have made up a lame excuse which put down Ash’s skills. Ash is so predictable, one moment he’s concerned because Pokémon have collars and leashes and then he switches not because of the fact this is a tradition in the town or a want to race his Pokémon, as soon as he hears Gary is competing in the race Ash immediately wants to get in on it. If Gary decided to jump of a cliff would Ash immediately do the same just to do it better than him? After two occurrences of Butch and Cassidy running the Day Care Centre I was starting to think the process of breeding and hatching eggs would never be shown in the cartoons (Ash even has to ask what happens at a Day Care Centre seeing as the previous ones were fakes). The breeding side isn’t gone into but that’s understandable, excluding Togepi’s appearance way back, the taking care of and hatching of eggs is explored and begins with this episode. Ash claims Totodile is hard to control sometimes but that doesn’t stop him from using it in the fifth Pokémon movie where a similar event to this one (only in water) takes place. Another misleading clue in the Who’s That Pokémon section, Mr Mime’s specialties aren’t to clone themselves, the closest thing to that is the move Substitute which only creates a fake illusion of the user, Mr Mime get this technique naturally but a different hint should still have been used considering Substitute hasn’t even been used in the series and the closest thing to cloning is the technique Double Team (that and the first movie). Some of the racers’ choice in Pokémon eludes me, Vileplume and Exeggutor aren’t particularly known for their speed, and since when has Hitmonchan been a good runner, the same applies with Machamp (and quite frankly, putting a leash on human-shaped Pokémon seems a little weird and insulting). Also, why did the Pokémon Team Rocket imagined would be worth capturing coincidently compete in the race? The only possible excuse is that maybe their pictures were in the pamphlet. If these really are the Extreme Pokémon Finals, shouldn’t Ash have had to compete in any kind of race or test beforehand to qualify? Gary could easily have been here for some time before Ash arrived, he is always one step ahead of him after all. Team Rocket’s plan is slightly flawed; didn’t the thought occur to them that maybe without their interference another Pokémon could have won? They judge solely on who gets an early lead, didn’t they think there were any chance Arcanine would expend all its stamina and therefore fall behind? Apparently not. Meowth’s image of baby Pokémon working for them is incorrect in that there’s a Rhydon and Machamp along with the babies (who coincidently are the same four Pokémon that Shelby showed the group earlier). Unless they did some extreme training to evolve them, Team Rocket at best would only end up with a Rhyhorn and Machop. And what’s with the glasses, they’re a similar shape to the ones Ash’s Squirtle owns. Gary’s Arcanine uses virtually the same attack as the Arcanine in “The Stolen Stones!” but it’s correctly dubbed as Flame Wheel, not Fire Spin. The competition has got to be the worse challenge ever, Ash and Gary were technically the last to leave the starting line and yet they got so far ahead they were able to have Gary run on foot some of the way to the halfway mark and join Ash in the Team Rocket battle and still not have the other opponents catch up in that huge amount of time. Funny how Ash wins a trophy (larger than the Orange Island one) but doesn’t wave it around or show it off even after his other reward of a soon-to-be newborn Pokémon. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can make a clone of itself!) Mr Mime Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. An EGG-sighting Adventure! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, Wobbuffet, Kangaskhan, Chansey, Growlithe, Exeggcute, Jumpluff, Arbok, Weezing, Victreebel Story: Ash is curious about what sort of Pokémon his egg will hatch into, Team Rocket spy on the group and plan to snatch the egg with the hopes it might even hatch into a legendary Pokémon. Dark clouds signal a storm which although excites Pikachu forces the group to take shelter, while the lightning bolt that just struck is found to have destroyed Team Rocket’s robot before they had a chance to use it. The group find a Pokémon Centre where Joy happily offers them a room since they are the only guests here tonight, while the group sleep the Rockets break into the Pokémon Centre and quietly break into the group’s room but while they quarrel Togepi wakes and teleports the egg to safety (although it’s left outside). Team Rocket are distracted when Wobbuffet alerts them to some food while outside a baby Kangaskhan alerts its mother to the abandoned egg so it pockets both it and its baby before moving on. After a brief nightmare regarding the egg Ash wakes suddenly to find the egg has really vanished, in the morning Officer Jenny arrives which causes Team Rocket to flee the kitchen. This particular Jenny is also a detective but she has a habit of stating the obvious and pointing the blame at the wrong people. The group check the Chansey first and then locate the egg case outside while Team Rocket head back to the kitchen, a lead to an Exeggcute nest turns up short so the group head back to the room where Jenny blames Brock with an elaborate story of how he grew jealous of Ash and Misty’s egg-related Pokémon and then stole the egg, but the others defend him. Team Rocket are completely full while Brock is eventually cleared of the charges when marks on the locks are found. Jenny releases her Jumpluff whose spores expose footprints on the floor, more thoughtless accusations are thrown around before Jumpluff drops its spores in the hallway which leads to Team Rocket’s faceprints where they tripped, so it’s assumed Victreebel grabbed the egg from a distance. They are found in the kitchen but with a little trickery Team Rocket escape and make a run for it, the group encounter the Kangaskhan with Ash’s egg, which checks Ash to make sure his scent matches the egg. The group comes to the conclusion that the Kangaskhan beat Team Rocket to protect the egg and so they thank it, but Team Rocket snatch the egg in their balloon. Arbok is beaten by Kangaskhan’s Dizzy Punch and Growlithe severs the cord so the egg drops, Ash barely catches it and Pikachu sends the balloon flying. Joy and Jenny are thanked for their help and now the group resume their journey while once again trying to predict the identity of the Pokémon inside the egg. My favourite Quote: Brock: “STOP IT!...” (Team Rocket panic, thinking they’ve been caught) Meowth: “Oh?...” Brock (talking in his sleep): “... I told you I’ve already sworn my love to somebody else!...” James: “The boy appears to be dealing with some issues.” Things I’d like to point out: Most of the legendary birds’ voices are different than the ones used in the second Pokémon movie, Articuno’s seems the most valid to change since it was recently in the series but Zapdos’s voice sounds like a cheap copy of Moltres’s scream. Of course the title is a pun of “An exciting adventure”, with Pokémon Eggs getting used in the story more and more an egg-related pun was sure to happen sooner or later. Team Rocket might be dim enough to bicker and argue in the group’s bedroom while attempting to steal their egg but at least they were smart enough to lock the door behind them before attempting to steal the food. How did Growlithe know which of the two guys was Ash by name alone without being informed or having had knowledge of him? An unimportant observation but the font style in the Who’s That Pokémon hint is different, usually long sentences are written with smaller letters. Why does Jenny claim Ash was cradling his Pokémon when Brock stole it? Or at least, why does no one correct her on the fact it didn’t happen this way since the egg was left on the desk? If there are no footprints near the table, how did the group place the egg on it? Unless Ash placed it on there from the bed and then recklessly pushed it to the right-hand side. More importantly, since Ash clearly stepped all over the area with his bare feet, why don’t they show up when Team Rocket’s faces show up on the hallway floor? If the visualisations of Jenny’s deductions are her own then she shouldn’t know that Team Rocket own an Arbok and Weezing unless she’s done research on them, seeing as the group only mention they have a Victreebel. Is Jessie trying to make up her own attacks now? There’s no such thing as a Fang Attack (Hyper Fang, Super Fang, Bite and Crunch yes and even a Poison Fang becomes a signature attack for a future Pokémon Jessie owns but not Fang alone), she probably meant Bite but wanted it to sound cooler. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon helps Nurse Joy in the Pokémon Center!) Blissey Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Hatching A Plan Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Phanpy, Wobbuffet, Psyduck, Weezing, Arbok Story: The group’s thoughts have been on Ash’s egg, which starts to glow as a sign of it nearly being time to hatch, but Team Rocket have a plan to steal the newborn Pokémon. As morning light shines the egg hatches into a Phanpy, Ash then tries to use the Pokéball to recall it but it dodges the recall shots thinking it is all a game and unable to obey commands. Phanpy is lured back by some food but Team Rocket appear and mock Ash’s inability to recall his Pokémon, as they grasp Phanpy with a long cord and grabbing hand Pikachu shocks them, but the device conducts the electricity and hits Phanpy as well. Team Rocket are blasted off but a startled Phanpy runs away scared, its trust for Ash seemingly broken. The group splits up to find Phanpy and while Psyduck ruins Brock’s plan to lure it with food, Pikachu feels responsible for Phanpy having run away. Phanpy is hungry and therefore lured over to Team Rocket’s breakfast where it steals their food from right under their noses, Team Rocket are surprised by this, research its attacks and find it’s a Ground Pokémon with an advantage over Electric-types. This entices Team Rocket to win it over to their side to fight Pikachu by bribing it with food, but Meowth’s tail is appealing to the little Pokémon. The group reconvene while Ash once again tries to comfort Pikachu, Team Rocket reappear with Phanpy and Meowth waves his tail around (painted to look like a Phanpy’s trunk) and then dodges as Phanpy lovingly charges forward so that Pikachu is hit and prone to capture. Phanpy still thinks it’s playing a game despite the danger, Pikachu’s electricity is useless against Team Rocket’s insulated costumes and Weezing’s smokescreen clouds their escape. Team Rocket stop to celebrate but put Phanpy inside a cage where Pikachu comforts it and soon works with it to ram the side of the cage in order to have it tumble down a hill and break to pieces against a tree. The two Pokémon are quickly followed and come across a rapid river, Pikachu leads the way across some stepping stones and Phanpy follows Pikachu but misses the second stone and even Pikachu is dragged away when trying to save Phanpy. It clings to a final stone before a waterfall that lies ahead, Ash climbs an overlooking tree branch and lowers a rope but Pikachu can’t risk letting go, Phanpy gets washed away when Ash lifts Pikachu to safety so Ash dives in and retrieves Phanpy, throwing a lifeline upwards as he falls for Brock and Misty to pull him back up. Phanpy is saved and its trust in Ash is restored but Team Rocket arrive, Meowth tries to lure Phanpy again but it won’t be fooled, Arbok and Weezing attack and Phanpy chooses to fight them, it uses Rollout to beat the Pokémon back but Smokescreen affects it, Pikachu launches an electrical attack which Jessie and James are immune to regardless if their Pokémon are not but unfortunately for them the balloon explodes and sends them all on their way. Ash is proud of his newest Pokémon and has high hopes for it as a battler. My favourite Quote: James: “Look, the cage is gone!” Pikachu: “Pi-Ka Chu!...” Meowth (alerted to Pikachu and Phanpy’s location): “Agh! An’ that’s not all! They’re making a run for it!” Jessie: “What are you saying?!” James: “Oh, that they’re making a run for it.” Jessie: “Yeah I heard that!” James: “You asked!” Things I’d like to point out: Brock words loosely relate to the message used in the games for when eggs are almost ready to hatch. Though Ash didn’t realise it back in “Roll On, Pokémon!” when he was trying to catch a Donphan, he was destined to own the Phanpy he receives today, and for the first time add a Ground Pokémon to his team though I shudder to think how often the series will neglect the fact that Electric attacks do nothing to Ground-types when there’s one being seen so often. The Pokéball on top of the egg case is revealed to be Phanpy’s Pokéball (to save having to catch the Pokémon after hatching it), but since Togepi didn’t have an egg case nor Pokéball, it technically means that Misty could theoretically carry six Pokéballs with six other Pokémon inside as long as Togepi doesn’t have one, on the other hand this also means Misty has nothing to prove that Togepi belongs to her other than its belief and love of her as its mother-figure. Phanpy shouldn’t have been damaged by Pikachu’s attack in any way considering it’s a Ground-type; however the sparking of electricity could easily just be startling the baby Phanpy. And yet somehow for at least a minute after Phanpy is focussed on again, it’s still sparkling as if under the effects of a Thunder Wave-induced paralysis. A brief reference is made to how Meowth’s tail was always appealing to Snubbull, even though in its last appearance in an episode resulted in it evolving into Granbull. There are serious colour errors in that Meowth paints his tail blue to resemble a Phanpy, the first is the fact that as Meowth approaches the group there is nothing on his tail, yet in the next shot in which he’s still walking forward, his tail is painted, when Team Rocket celebrate Meowth’s paint is gone (but in this scene it may have been removed because the mission was a success), but it’s painted up again as soon as Meowth needs to lure Phanpy again, and finally it disappears when Team Rocket blast off. Because of this, Meowth’s claims that it takes an hour to paint his tail that way and doesn’t wash off would appear to both be false. How did Brock know there were rocks at the bottom of the waterfall, unless the group extensively researched this area it’s doubtful as they appear in line with the Pokémon crossing the rocks and unable to see the surroundings below. Why did Ash climb a tree and drop a rope instead of simply calling Bayleef to help, Pikachu wouldn’t even have had to let go of the rock if Bayleef navigated her vines around it and Phanpy and lifted them out of the river. Unless Phanpy’s male parent was a Pokémon with Rollout, it shouldn’t have learned the attack so soon after hatching, the only exceptions lie in specialised breeding to give baby Pokémon attacks they would not normally learn so fast (if at all), the same goes for Take Down which is used by Phanpy next episode. Arbok doesn’t appear to move its tail very far if at all between the shots in which it extends its tail towards Phanpy while remaining in the balloon, Ash’s words, Pikachu’s activated attack and everyone in the balloon being shocked. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s spiky fins can pierce its opponent’s skin!) Seadra Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Dues and Don’ts Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Psyduck, Noctowl, Onix, Cyndaquil, Poliwhirl, Crobat, Bayleef, Corsola, Geodude, Totodile, Goldeen, Phanpy, Pineco, Staryu, Victreebel, Weezing, Arbok, Delibird, Persian Story: The group find a football goal (the American kind) where Team Rocket are dressed as players who throw a football shaped bomb at them, Ash kicks it back towards them and this continues between James and members of the group while the countdown ticks away, Pikachu’s electricity serves as a distraction to make them miss and the bomb explodes and sends them up for a field goal. Team Rocket are prepared for this with parachutes but Wobbuffet’s blundering makes them crash. They hold a ridiculous meeting among themselves to discuss why they keep losing, who to place the blame on, analysing their numbers, their Pokémon and skills of each group but it results in a fight among them. Jessie considers phoning the Team Rocket home office for some new Pokémon but given the team’s outrageous debts it wouldn’t be wise to do so. The group find a caged Delibird and a speaker which invites them to capture it, Arbok and Weezing attack but it retaliates with an Ice attack and then dodges and does the same to Victreebel, Arbok and Weezing are defeated and frozen too but Wobbuffet’s Counter puts a stop to the Delibird. Before Jessie can catch it, Delibird is recalled and an old lady reports this was a test and that she’s a talent scout for Team Rocket who doesn’t believe they’re really members since they designed their own costumes. Team Rocket is seemingly low on members and the old woman claims she’ll give them money if Jessie and James join, but Jessie is concerned that they’d be found out if they joined Team Rocket twice. Their proof of being Rockets (including Meowth) have expired along with several other problems and are said to have been removed from the database completely. The old lady suggests they re-register for the Rockets, when they do, a human resources Rocket called Wendy reports to the Boss Giovanni the apparent new candidates, Wendy recalls an event in which Jessie promised to pay her back for a Fruit Smoothie, she hasn’t done so to this day. Giovanni recognises them and is advised to block their re-instatement but the Boss decides to give them a chance to pay back their loans. There’s one more test to pass in that the group must attack a trainer head on and steal their Pokémon, Ash and the others are passing by and Team Rocket are lent the Delibird in order to pull off a successful theft. Delibird is said to give presents and gives spheres to the group which soon explode on them, Phanpy is used but is soon frozen and Delibird hurls exploding spheres everywhere, hurting Pikachu in one of the blasts before the group takes refuge. Another sphere is dropped on Pikachu but luckily it rejuvenates Pikachu’s health, one of the occasional drawbacks of the Present attack. Pikachu comes out of hiding and surprises Team Rocket with its recovery and a massive Thunderbolt attack. The old lady overlooks the loss but feels the group have to make compromises since they’re a little short staffed, Jessie, James and Meowth pass the test but are ordered by the Boss to be worked hard until the debt is paid. Wendy is outraged but gets even by adding several charges, fees and other factors to leave Jessie with a very large bill for the Smoothie she never paid for. Team Rocket is happy despite crashing but Delibird is confiscated from them, it will serve as Team Rocket’s direct deposit and will visit them monthly to collect the money they owe the team, beginning with Wendy’s little surprise for Jessie. Like the good guys, Team Rocket move on while Jessie doesn’t even remember the incident with the Smoothie, she sees the bright side of the Delibird’s monthly calling in that since they have no money, they can use it as a secret weapon to capture Pikachu. My favourite Quote: James: “Besides that they have that... Togepi.” Jessie: “Big deal, we’ve got our Wobbuffet to be as omni-presently annoying as that puny little pest.” Wobbuffet (in a proud pose): “Waaaa-buffet!” Things I’d like to point out: Despite Jessie’s quick judgement of the attack, Delibird appears to be using Icy Wind rather than Blizzard, if it was really a Blizzard attack, it’d be a heck of a lot stronger, unfortunately Delibird performs the same attack later when instructed to use Blizzard by James. Though in a shocked state, Meowth appears to be posing as a Beckoning Cat again. When the Boss threatens to strike out Jessie, James and Meowth as members, I wonder if he meant to kill them, disown them or let the police have them. I’m surprised that after voting for everyone including its own trainer Jessie, Wobbuffet is Extremely quick at lowering its arm and voicing its complaint when its turn to be voted for the blame for Team Rocket’s failures comes about. This episode confirms the fact that Jessie and James designed their own outfits to the point a real Rocket member thinks they’re merely fans of Team Rocket. Since it’s apparent that the Team Rocket trio have treated their company like a loan service, shouldn’t it frown upon the fact that Jessie and James keep on dressing up for their encounters when half of the time it’s not even necessary seeing as they sometimes dress for show rather than to disguise themselves? I doubt they borrow the costumes for free seeing as most of the time they simply discard them upon revealing themselves without a care for the condition they’d get in. Team Jet and Team Helicopter?... I sure hope Jessie isn’t serious about such teams existing, isn’t it enough that there are two other official teams appearing in the next series without such ridiculous team names coming into it? I mean, Team Helicopter?... It has no ring nor does it sound remotely serious or scary in the slightest. Please tell me that Ash simply forgot to listen to the entire Delibird entry (involving the fact that Present is in fact an attack technique, not a gift), surely a Pokédex wouldn’t leave such a huge space between sentences unless a button had to be pressed. In the Pokémon games most Pokédex entries comes in two pages so a button must be pressed to move to the next page. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon uses paint to mark its territory!) Smeargle Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, although I worry the suggested short staff complicates the fact that I’ve created four groups that serve as regular Rocket bad guys for my characters, and about three others that don’t appear as often. Just Waiting On a Friend Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Ninetales, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Totodile, Arbok, Victreebel, Bayleef Story: Ash and the group cross a foggy path and Ash takes a small fall, Brock follows and is warned by a girl called Lakoko who owns a Ninetales of the dangers walking these mountains in the mist, she invites the group back to her master’s mansion but Team Rocket follow with the intention of stealing Pikachu and Ninetales. The group arrive at a huge building that seemingly appears from the fog, while the group are fed and Ninetales appears fond of Brock Team Rocket have snuck inside and start snacking away on several cookies from a gigantic pile they find. Brock acts his normal self but Lakoko takes his suggestion to stay with her seriously and advises the group to remain here until morning. But Misty notices something strange, in that Lakoko has no reflection in the mirror and the suspicious way she covers for this. Lakoko explains that the owner of the mansion left to go on a journey years ago, that the staff left one by one over the years since he never returned and Lakoko and her Ninetales have been waiting here alone for him to return. She requests that Brock stay here with her permanently and even agrees to marry him when he gets the idea in his head, but when Brock goes to hug her he falls right through her, her lack of substance does not go unnoticed by Ash and Misty who try to get out of here fast with Brock. Brock is taken elsewhere and Lakoko suddenly turns on the two, evicting them from the mansion along with their belongings, while Team Rocket are finding even more food in great volumes. Brock believes all of Lakoko’s lies even when his clothes are suddenly changed; Ash and Misty decide to find and reveal the truth about Lakoko and find a painting of a man resembling Brock with Ninetales. They also find a strange Pokéball and a diary of the owner who left the house but the shocking truth is that this was written 200 years ago, which means Lakoko is a ghost. Ash and Misty attack Lakoko and her Ninetales with Totodile and reveal her for what she is, she disappears and the mansion’s true appearance is revealed, along with all the food Team Rocket have stolen turning into leaves. The group rushes to escape as the Ninetales chases them down, they end up in the room with the picture and items where Ash tries to explain that the old owner has long passed on to the Ninetales and that Brock is not him. Lakoko reappears and commands Brock to stay; Totodile and Pikachu can’t beat the Ninetales because it boasts supernatural powers as well as powerful Fire attacks. Brock seizes the old Pokéball and upon seeing the image of its master within Brock, Ninetales gratefully returns to its ball. Lakoko explains her story once again but it turns out that Ninetales has been speaking through the illusion of Lakoko, and while the staff gave up on waiting throughout the years, it remained for its master to return but after 50 years of waiting Ninetales knew its master had passed on and tried to leave the mansion but found that some power kept it here (likely the Pokéball), and after 150 years of waiting, the Ninetales found it had gained its strange powers, Ninetales saw Brock and his similarity to its master and thought if he lived with it, everything would be as it used to be and apologises for this. Team Rocket catch Ninetales in a net, partly because they’re angry after the illusions made them eat leaves they thought were cookies and because they think a 200 year old Ninetales is of great value. Bayleef frees Ninetales while the Rocket Pokémon attack and Ninetales fights them using its powers but while saving Brock from an attack, he drops the Pokéball which shatters on the floor. Bayleef finishes off the Pokémon and Ninetales and Pikachu send Team Rocket off again. With the Pokéball broken so is the spell, now that Ninetales is free it can go anywhere it wants to now and for that it thanks the group through Lakoko before saying goodbye and disappearing into the fog. My favourite Quote: (After Brock falls through Lakoko while trying to hug her who turns out to be a ghost) Brock: “I think I misjudged the distance of that joyous jump there.” Things I’d like to point out: Oh come on! Why does Ash look so surprised while scanning Ninetales on the Pokédex, he’s previously scanned two others on it (Blaine’s and Zane’s, who were probably both named like that because they kind of rhyme with ‘flame’). Why does the mansion suddenly appear from out of nowhere, we discover Ninetales makes the illusion of the mansion looking new and intact but even if it was an illusion instead of ridiculously thick fog what would be the point in making the mansion become visible like that? It would only raise suspicions quickly. Brock blatantly lies to Lakoko, he’s never owned a Ninetales, only a Vulpix, the statement would have been equally as effective if he’d told the truth since it had the potential to evolve into Ninetales. What’s with guys that have Brock-like eyes and abandonment? Brock’s father abandoned his children and the master of the mansion abandoned his Ninetales, let’s hope Brock doesn’t turn out the same way if he finds someone or continue to attempt to charm girls while in a relationship. The power spoken of by Brock about 1, 000 years of power is similar to the Pokédex entry; only it’s a 1, 000 year curse it speaks of. I feel foolish, I must admit I was a little distracted while watching this the first time and didn’t realise that Lakoko is more than an illusion created by Ninetales, Lakoko serves as a way for Ninetales to communicate with Brock (and possibly as a way to lure him to the mansion since he can’t resist girls). This is why Lakoko repeats her story, but in the second one, you can see Ninetales is the only one that remains and starts to act out the expressions Lakoko does as she explains. I think it was the whole Brock wanting Ninetales to hear the story Lakoko was about to explain that threw me off, that simple line would have best been changed to something like Lakoko needing Ninetales to be present or that now it had realised its actions were wrong, it was okay to have Ninetales out of its ball while it/Lakoko explained herself/itself. Sources say the staff in the mansion either left or died; they didn’t ‘mysteriously disappear’. Here’s a question, if Ninetales couldn’t leave the mansion, how did it travel all the way out to meet with Brock and invite him back? The only possibilities are that Ninetales’s power has grown to the point it can bend the rules or in finding someone similar to its master it was able to temporarily leave so as to be able to fetch him. It’s highly possible that Ninetales isn’t travelling the world but is instead passing on to the next life. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can disguise itself as a tree!) Sudowoodo Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but Pokémon Journey has already had a ghostly incident in the side story “Haunting Past” and more are liable to happen in the future. A Tyrogue Full of Trouble Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Tyrogue, Primeape, Mankey, Bayleef, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Tauros, Butterfree, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Hoppip, Sandshrew, Skiploom, Onix, Arbok, Weezing Story: The group take a short cut through a cave and find a Tyrogue on the path ahead, it looks miserable and Brock offers it some food. When nothing happens, Brock checks for other kinds, that’s when Tyrogue strikes, stealing several containers of Pokémon Food and running away, it calls its friends Mankey and Primeape to serve as a distraction while it escapes. Bayleef attempts to stop it but is outfought; further fighting breaks a pile of rocks which causes a falling boulder to threaten the group. A muscular man called Kiyo and his Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee break the boulder to pieces with their bare hands/feet, when Ash shows him the Gym Badges he’s earned Kiyo is surprised that Ash managed to win the Storm Badge from Chuck and reveals himself to be Chuck’s protégé who is known by the name Blackbelt. He’s training for the P-1 Grand Prix and the group rest at his hut and are fed, Kiyo knows of the troublesome Tyrogue that has caused problems for many travellers and the residents here right before a man reports that Tyrogue has been vandalising a local barn, it and its buddies are spotting hassling some Tauros by riding on them. It leads a stampede towards the group and Togepi blindly gets into danger, it’s surprisingly saved by the Tyrogue. Kiyo charges head on and stops the lead Tauros with his physical strength and sends it charging in another direction while Togepi is given back to him and the group. Team Rocket view these events as a reason to recruit Tyrogue while Kiyo calms several people down who want Tyrogue to be thrown in jail, Kiyo thinks he can change Tyrogue if he’s given a little time. Kiyo explains that it’s not naturally bad, it just has a problem with larger Pokémon and with humans, because it was abandoned by its trainer while under orders to perform rigorous training, Kiyo tried to feed the famished Pokémon but it was now bitter and distrusting of humans so its heart became hardened and cold. Kiyo wants to train Tyrogue with care and make it a winner but he feels he needs to melt Tyrogue’s heart first. Meanwhile Tyrogue and its friends share some food they just obtained with some hungry little Pokémon when Team Rocket invite it to join them, but Jessie makes the mistake of stealing from one of the Pokémon and Tyrogue punches the team far for this. Kiyo brings the group to one of Tyrogue’s favourite spots and challenges it to a friendly battle, Tyrogue dodges Hitmonchan’s punches because it can read them, Tyrogue deals a great hit that defeats the enemy in one go, Hitmonlee is next but it swiftly dodges and with a Double Team to mask its position it defeats the second opponent. Tyrogue is caught shortly afterwards by Team Rocket and is lifted up by rope onto the balloon, Kiyo quickly runs up a mountain and leaps onto the balloon before literally punching a hole into it. Kiyo frees Tyrogue and claims nothing will hurt it again as he does, a boulder is dislodged and comes falling down but Kiyo leaps in front of it and holds it up to Tyrogue’s surprise, Kiyo believes in Tyrogue and needs it to forgive and forget the past but most importantly Kiyo needs Tyrogue to believe in him. The rest of the group arrives and Onix knocks the boulder away, Arbok and Weezing fight but Onix protects everyone from Poison Sting and Pikachu defeats Weezing... and Arbok as a result, Onix finishes by tackling and knocking Team Rocket out of the area. Kiyo challenges Tyrogue to a battle much in the style of his master Chuck, Kiyo blocks a punch and is surrounded by the fakes of Double Team, he sits and concentrates to block the real one’s assault. Tyrogue is dealt a hit but deals one back which is blocked, Kiyo dodges a punch and hurls Tyrogue into the lake using its own power. Tyrogue is defeated and its ragged blue cape falls off, Kiyo carries Tyrogue out explaining it’s his wish that they live and train together and win the P-1 Grand Prix together. Kiyo removes a red cloth from his arm and gives it to Tyrogue, it agrees to train with Kiyo who also invites the Mankey and Primeape to come along as well, with all in order and Tyrogue’s heart opened once again, the group say their goodbyes and move on with their own journey. My favourite Quote: (Team Rocket have a fighting sports theme to their motto) Jessie: “Pow! To protect the world with a mean right hook.” James: “Wham! To unite all peoples with my kickboxer look.” Jessie: “To denounce the evils of honest fights.” James: “To extend our arms and punch out your lights!” Things I’d like to point out: The opening scene looks like Ash and the group are walking on the spot, if the further part of the background was at a great distance it might have worked, but the foreground was scrolling way too slow. The Pokédex is all wrong, firstly, Tyrogue evolves into Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, it doesn’t evolve from them, and the third branched evolution Hitmontop isn’t mentioned at all. Even when the boulder is split in four, there should be more follow-through as only small pebbles shower the group while the bigger pieces of the boulder aren’t seen nor heard crashing down. Blackbelt Kiyo is based on a character of the same name and classification in the games that lives in Mount Mortar and gives the player a Tyrogue if they can beat him, since the group go through a cave in the Ecruteak vicinity; it’s highly likely they just passed through Mount Mortar. Surely based on Chuck’s look, either Kiyo has by far surpassed his master (with his physical appearance rather than his Pokémon) or Chuck only recently let himself go and gained weight. Ash hasn’t shown off his badges as much as he used to in Kanto, which just makes me wonder, since badges obtained in odd numbers (Zephyr Badge first and Plain Badge third) are on the left side, and even ones are on the right (Hive Badge second and Fog Badge forth), why does the Storm Badge get put on the right side and the Mineral Badge on the left instead of the other way around? Ash says he needs the Mahogany Gym Badge to qualify for the Johto League, but either he’s making a mistake or simply phrasing things wrong, he needs two more badges to enter the League. Didn’t Ash not only compete in a P-1 Grand Prix tournament but win the entire thing with his old Primeape, that and beat a Poliwrath who was also champion of the same event? Why doesn’t he remember/mention any of these things to Kiyo? I’m not sure if this is an error or not but when performing Mega Punch, Hitmonchan’s eyes turn completely blue for around 2 seconds. How many times has Ash seen Double Team in action? One would think enough times to remember and not have to ask what the technique is when being performed, one would be wrong in this regard. Let me guess, since Kiyo already has a Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, Tyrogue will probably evolve into a Hitmontop to complete the trio of Hitmon’ Fighters, this is a complete guess however. There’s a minor glitch in the final shot of the episode, the background clearly jumps since one moment the rock structure is tall but suddenly shifts to a low rock structure that slowly rises up again on a curve, it seems someone was meant to properly loop the background but slacked off in their duties. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon evolves into Ariados!) Spinarak Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Episodes #217 - #224 Episodes #233 - #240 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone