Episode Guide #241 - #248 As Clear as Crystal Same Old Song and Dance Enlighten Up! Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up? Wish Upon a Star Shape Outrageous Fortunes One Trick Phony! I Politoed Ya So! As Clear as Crystal Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Magnemite, Raichu, Electabuzz, Chinchou, Jolteon, Ampharos, Voltorb, Zapdos, Arbok, Victreebel, Bayleef Story: Ash recovers from the spell and becomes human again, but the group soon realise they’re lost again. Team Rocket appear in disguise and steal Pikachu as always in their balloon, the mechanical chair it’s tied to drains it of electricity which allows Team Rocket to coerce Ash into handing over all his Pokémon. Despite this, Ash has Pikachu continue shocking until eventually the machine overloads and Pikachu is able to free itself before Team Rocket go flying from the explosion. Pikachu is weakened however and the group are discovered by a young lady who offers to help Pikachu but only if they promise to keep a secret. Electric Pokémon are seen on the way heading towards the same location; a lake which has healing properties for Electric Pokémon. Pikachu immediately starts to feel better and it’s explained and shown that there are ruins at the bottom of the lake where a legendary crystal resides. Team Rocket listen in with special equipment and soon snatch the crystal in a shabby Tentacruel underwater costume, removing it stops its effects for the lake and Electric Pokémon who soon attack but are drained by attachments on the balloon. Something stops this effect from above and the legendary Zapdos appears, Team Rocket figure they can capture it and its energy is soon drained but as Pikachu did before Zapdos gives everything until the attachments overload and sends Team Rocket away (but still in possession of the crystal). Zapdos collapses on the floor weak before fainting; the woman reveals Zapdos is the true secret she wanted to hide from the world. The group vow to get the crystal back while she looks after Zapdos and Pikachu is able to track down the crystal since Electric Pokémon are drawn to it. Arbok and Victreebel battle but are beaten again by Pikachu, Jessie throws out an inflatable Wobbuffet bomb to allow their escape in a Wobbuffet balloon. Bayleef retrieves the crystal but tugs against Victreebel for it, Pikachu counters Arbok’s attack and blows up the balloon and Ash barely catches the crystal with Bayleef having to save both from taking a huge fall. The crystal is returned by Ash but it doesn’t glow, and so the Electric Pokémon recharge it themselves but it doesn’t seem to heal Zapdos until a larger blast is sent to rejuvenate it. Zapdos whips up a storm and charges up the crystal completely to return the lake to its former glow, it then leaves afterwards. The group say their goodbyes with the promise to let this haven remain secret, while Team Rocket get a brief shocking from Zapdos before the day is over. My favourite Quote: James: “We’re good today! This is our third escape!” Meowth: “A couple of those were questionable but This one sure is an escape.” Things I’d like to point out: How is it that Ash only had his cap on as a Pikachu but gets his clothes back when he returns to normal? As soon as he does become human, Pikachu is on Ash’s shoulder immediately, this incident must have forced it to walk further than it usually does and get some exercise. Why does Misty accuse Ash of not asking for directions, considering he’s been a Pikachu lately I doubt anyone would take him seriously or believe he was a human turned Pikachu. While Team Rocket drain Pikachu and offer Ash to trade it for his other Pokémon, how can Misty and Brock just stand there when they have plenty of able Pokémon to bring them down and save Pikachu? For all the plans Team Rocket imagine and visualise, the crystal’s small size greatly hinders that of the many items they imagine having made from it. This episode marks the appearances of all three Legendary Bird Pokémon in the series, so either there are more than one Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres or the three seen in the second movie are completely forgotten. Although Lugia’s appearance was noted in the series (“The Mystery is History”), Zapdos’s isn’t, as was Articuno’s. Team Rocket fade out of sight too early during the second blast off, and it’s not like they were far away before this happened, it’s down to an animation timing error really. How did the balloon end up right next to where Team Rocket crashed when it didn’t actually go flying with them? It looked like it simply exploded in the lake area and usually the balloon’s appearance wouldn’t be important since we don’t usually see where Team Rocket end up after blasting off. Not to be picky but Ash shouldn’t be 100% sure he put the crystal back in exactly the same place as before, since it’s probably a perfect fit no matter which way it’s turned, there are at least four possibilities to how the crystal could have been placed. However the recharge from the Electric Pokémon activates it regardless. Another adventure and Another Character Not Named! Usually this is more common with male characters but surely a girl that qualifies for Brock’s affections should be asked for her name by him at least if not the others. The only good is that she can’t exactly be linked to the secret by name, only her appearance. Who’s That Pokémon?: (Whirlpools are created when this Pokémon yawns!) Kingdra Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Same Old Song and Dance Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Jigglypuff, Igglybuff, Meowth, Victreebel, Phanpy, Poliwhirl, Wobbuffet, Weezing, Noctowl, Totodile, Corsola, Arbok Story: The journey to Blackthorn continues, Ash is famished but picks up speed at the news of a nearby town, while Jigglypuff is in the area and spots them. Togepi wanders into a garden of a girl named Britney and her twin Igglybuff; Britney is a singer and TV host who’s practising for a big concert on her show. While Britney does a brief performance for the group, Team Rocket spy in and plan on stealing the Igglybuff along with Pikachu. Jigglypuff leaps onto the stage but Ash swipes her pen/microphone and hides it in his bag while Brock butters her up with Pokémon food; she’s clearly jealous of the Igglybuff and acts like a bully towards them when the group’s backs are turned. The concert begins later on and Jigglypuff recalls where her pen is and goes on stage to sing but is interrupted by Team Rocket who perform their own song which isn’t appreciated by the audience. Victreebel soon battles Phanpy and loses while Jigglypuff tries to battle Wobbuffet and loses, Poliwhirl’s attack is deflected and so is Phanpy’s, Weezing clouds the area and the Igglybuff are snatched away. Brock fills in with a song and dance while the others track down the Igglybuff and the crowd is surprisingly impressed. Team Rocket make several plans for the Igglybuff before giving them to the Boss but Jessie wants to be the star in all this, upon opening the bag Jigglypuff is discovered to have ended up there as well. While Brock repeats the one song he’s already sung, Noctowl locates Jigglypuff tied to a tree who agrees to lead them to Team Rocket, Noctowl soon pops their balloon while fans at the concert have become aggravated. Totodile and Corsola battle Arbok and Victreebel and the Igglybuff are soon freed, Meowth cuts them off but Corsola tackles him as well. Britney joins the battle and has her Pokémon battle an opponent each with Charm attack and Sweet Kiss, Jigglypuff gets in on the battle with Doubleslap and Pikachu is there to deliver the final shock with Totodile assisting in the blast off. Brock is exhausted and Britney arrives just in time to continue the show, but when it ends Jigglypuff arrives for some time in the spotlight and everyone is put to sleep and subject to its usual method of retaliation. My favourite Quote: Brock: “You’re doing a concert?! What a coincidence. Heh, I’ve been looking for someone to sing a duet with me and You could be that lucky someone.” Misty: “Sorry Britney, we’ll let you get back to your practice.” (Misty pulls him away by the leg) Brock: “Agh! I’ll miss you!” Things I’d like to point out: I’ve only heard an instrumental version and read the translated lyrics but I’m certain the song playing when Britney and the Igglybuff are introduced is the music for the original Japanese Pokémon series opening theme. When Ash agrees with why people didn’t watch Britney’s show until she introduced the Igglybuff twins, it’s a compliment to the Pokémon but an insult to Britney when you think about it. Misty does something I don’t think she’s done before, after pulling Brock away by the backpack she pulls Brock away by the leg when he hits on Britney a second time. Sources say that most of the songs in this episode are translated from that of the original Japanese versions. Since this is a Igglybuff/Jigglypuff themed story, I’ll bring up something that’s been going on for a while, Jigglypuff holding a marker pen as if it were a microphone doesn’t make it a microphone and therefore Ash and the group should call it what it is; a pen. This episode proves the Pokédex entry of Igglybuff not being able to stop bouncing once they start is greatly exaggerated, they bounce lightly twice from Jigglypuff’s kick. Jigglypuff hasn’t much on brains if Ash’s bag was the last to check for her pen, unless she intentionally wanted to find the bread in Brock’s bag. A Pokémon with any intelligence that knows full well that Ash’s group can’t listen to its entire song after all the repeated attempts shouldn’t still be trying with them (or at least not getting surprised or frustrated at the results). After the scene with Jigglypuff getting her pen back, the Igglybuff that were on stage have disappeared in the first shot, unless part of the act was for them to hide behind the podiums. It’s been a while but Team Rocket again sing their musical theme (“Team Rocket Forever”) in full since “The Song Of Jigglypuff” (a short version was sung in “Go West Young Meowth”). James surprisingly isn’t dressed like a girl and yet Meowth is. I’m not surprised the crowd didn’t appreciate it since Team Rocket are not exactly musically talented, their song “Double Trouble (Team Rocket)” on the TV Soundtrack is more comic relief than a well sung track. Two out of three of the attacks that Wobbuffet counters are legal, it’s usually because the group use elemental special attacks against it but now with Phanpy on the team and Jigglypuff assisting in the group, more hits can be countered by Counter without complaints, Poliwhirl’s Water Gun however invalidates any progress made unless Wobbuffet ignored Jessie and used Mirror Coat then. When Misty tells Poliwhirl to attack after Jigglypuff is repelled, she dramatically runs forward and draws another Pokéball but doesn’t use it. There’s a big error in that in the scene when the Igglybuff are stolen, Jigglypuff is later discovered to be in the bag with them, but in the scene when the abduction happens, after Team Rocket disappear the group look around the room and Jigglypuff is behind Britney but disappears from the next shot onwards. The flipbook imagery is clearly moving independently in that the pages don’t fall fast enough compared to the movement of the pencilled Igglybuff to look like it’s ‘animated’ in the cartoon, this is obviously an uncoloured animation with a layer of paper movement over it. The film poster shown during Jessie’s idea of her own movie looks sorts of like an official movie poster for an actual Pokémon film, but Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu (plus Togepi) being at the top of it look kind of like villains and Jessie the heroine. As for the Igglybuff one minute show at the end, it might be a reference to the mini-movies in Pokémon films, although the first three were the opening shows followed by the feature. Hah! Caught the animators out again! Totodile is in its Lure Ball but now Corsola is mistakenly brought out from a normal Pokéball rather than the Lure Ball it was caught in. It’s not even an old clip of Misty considering she’s holding her Togepi and this looks fairly new, it’s just a blatant error. Now that’s just wrong. When Totodile scratches Victreebel, the marks are cut across its eyes, I don’t care if they’ll disappear within a few moments, it’s still uncalled for to attack there so thoroughly. Now this really is a first; Wobbuffet only comes out of its ball this episode when Jessie calls for it, and it doesn’t appear in the following battle, nor in the blast off like it usually does. If Britney’s claims of this concert being for a TV show were true, did they cut the feed after the Igglybuff were snatched or did Brock sing the same song at least four times on national television? Are the crowd yelling “Chu Chu Pika Pika” or “Due to Pika Pika” during the song? It sure sounds like the latter and probably to say that due to Pikachu’s help the Igglybuff are back. However I don’t see how the crowd can badmouth Team Rocket (or Brock for that matter) when they’re hardly singing/shouting to the song in key, why go to a concert and sing/shout what theoretically Britney or perhaps a back-up singer should be singing? Narrator interaction is rarely used in this show, today Jigglypuff puts him to sleep unlike previous episodes, I guess he’ll be one of the few to be subject to its song but not had his face drawn on. Jigglypuff seems to set a new record for the number of faces she’s drawn on in one go, I wonder if people watching at home would fall under the same effect and if Jigglypuff would make house calls to hunt down everyone who nodded off? Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can create shock waves with its wings!) Yanma Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Enlighten Up! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Slowpoke, Persian, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Goldeen, Magikarp, Lanturn, Butterfree, Gyarados, Remoraid, Chinchou, Seaking, Qwilfish, Shellder, Slowbro, Delibird Story: The group reach a large lake named Lake Slowpoke/Lake Enlightenment, Team Rocket come out from hiding to face them; before a battle is waged a Slowpoke appears with a flag and dips its tail in the lake. A woman called Madeline tells the group that this is Slowpoke’s spot and raises some philosophical questions about the Slowpoke, the world and the people in it and eventually invites everyone to her temple to study towards enlightenment. Hundreds of years ago a priest once reached enlightenment while meditating with the Slowpoke here, the Slowpoke Temple was built on the same spot and now many people study here for the same cause. A huge gold Slowpoke statue stands in the centre which gives Team Rocket ideas before they eat with the others. Gary is revealed to have been here before and wanted to take on the most rigorous training which provokes Ash into doing the same. Team Rocket plan to play along until they can steal the statue and manage to convince the group that they will take the training seriously, Madeline doesn’t have a problem with the fact they are evil-doers provided they truly seek enlightenment. Madeline takes the group to a group meditation area where everyone must cast aside idol thoughts, each member of the group and Team Rocket fail to do so (and each get slapped with a stick when this happens). The next step is to effectively clean the entire temple, Ash gets on with it motivated by Gary and provokes Team Rocket into racing him, Madeline is impressed but points out that not much cleaning was actually done and that there’s much more work to do after they get done with this. Team Rocket moan when it’s over and remind themselves of why they’re here, the group invite them to perform the next stage of training which includes fishing but Jessie and James fake that they’re too weak to go. The Slowpoke from before is still sat at the same place fishing for Pokémon with its tail, the others fail to catch anything while Slowpoke does so many times, Misty hurls Meowth into the water to find out why. There are plenty of Water Pokémon but they won’t bite on the others’ lures because they know their intentions are to catch them, Slowpoke isn’t trying to catch them and is only here to gain knowledge. Slowpoke catches a Shellder and Madeline explains it represents the hopes and dreams one doesn’t fulfil by trying too hard and that’s why it was able to eventually get the Shellder after training its mind. Team Rocket have attached and turned the hollow statue into a wheeled vehicle, the others dive out of the way but Madeline and Slowpoke stand still in its path. Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro and uses Confusion to shake Jessie and James out and sends the statue back to its rightful place. Madeline explains she trusted Slowpoke and that since the others trust their Pokémon and friends in the same way, they have the opportunity to reach enlightenment. The group leave soon after while Team Rocket are kept here and forced to do the group meditation again but with a lot more sticks ready to punish them, and they have no choice in the matter since their bill collector Delibird is outside looking for them. My favourite Quote: Jessie: “Oh, so who am I? My name is Jessie, the wise and gorgeous.” James: “And I’m James, the less inflated Team Rocket member.” Meowth: “And I’m... just Meowth.” Things I’d like to point out: Why did the book’s design change between scenes to have more riddle-like shapes on it just because Brock was talking about the subject? There was no need. The only thing that didn’t play out in Team Rocket’s surprise was that Meowth didn’t appear to be with them what with him leaping down from above rather than being with them since they hid underground, unless he leapt up really fast when the dust went flying. Surely the group have fallen into Team Rocket holes a lot more than 5 times, their plan to hide in their own hole however is greatly hindered by the fact they didn’t wait longer and steal Pikachu instead of making it painfully obvious they were there and giving Ash time to prepare for a battle. The title pun comes from the simple phrase “Lighten up”. I don’t believe the four audible footsteps of the Slowpoke once it was offscreen were enough to get it to the mound past the group and Team Rocket given its slow speed. Madeline states that Slowpoke was the name humans gave to that Pokémon, but it’s not the same as how humans gave real animals the names they would forever call them since Slowpoke and many other Pokémon in this world literally say their own name. Brock makes a major error in that he calls his home Flint City; Flint is the name of Brock’s dad. Of all the cities to get wrong it shouldn’t be his home and it shouldn’t be a city with a Gym based on a Pokémon game as I’m certain many people know that it’s Pewter City he comes from. To continue what I commented on before in “Extreme Pokémon!”, Ash Would jump off a cliff if Gary did so first, Ash’s competitive nature towards Gary and his copying whatever he does has become a predictable personality trait for Ash. Though the Boss might be impressed with the giant Slowpoke statue, a theft of that size wouldn’t be able to be displayed in any public area or he’d easily be found out and prosecuted. This doesn’t count in my book as a Dream Moment for Meowth because he doesn’t imitate the Boss. Whatever Legendary Pokémon Misty is imagining doesn’t appear to look like any of the Pokémon ever seen before and definitely made up. Just to credit something right for once, with the Who’s That Pokémon section it’s correct to picture a normal dark coloured Noctowl rather than Ash’s ‘shiny’ one. Slowbro seemingly destroys the roof around the statue square to return it, yet the fences around it are intact even though Jessie and James ‘drove’ the statue out. Jessie’s claim that the statue was hollow appears true as she and Jessie were able to ride inside. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon rotates its head when it needs to think!) Noctowl Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None and the Madeline seen here is not to be confused with the Goth rock chick Gym Leader in the fanfic. Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up? Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Eevee, Farfetch’d, Blastoise, Sandslash, Weezing, Pidgey Story: The group stop in a town for food and overhear DJ Mary and Professor Oak on the radio, Oak has a theory on Starmie and recites a seemingly bad poem of his which Brock figures there’s a deeper meaning to. There will be a live broadcast in Maroon Town which isn’t too far so Brock quickly arranges to get the group there in time. Team Rocket weakly enter into Maroon Town exhausted and starving, they notice posters for the event and that there’s a special lunch for the stars afterwards so they quickly disguise themselves as Oak and Mary, the local Nurse Joy takes them to the stage where they chow down on the after-show food. James must answer several trainers’ questions but Meowth tries his best to research books for the answers, and Jessie must have her pictures taken by Mary fans. The real Oak and Mary arrive and the impostors become apparent to them, the kids get suspicious, but of the genuine articles being fakes. Ash and the others greet Oak, and correctly question Team Rocket for posing as their friends, even though Brock can easily tell who the real Mary is there’s confusion among the two so a contest is set to determine the real professor. Oak accepts and if he loses he’ll be proven not to be an expert and will simply start over on his studies. Nurse Joy is chosen to be the judge of this, it’s done as part of the live broadcast, both ‘Marys’ host it and there will be a maximum of three questions asked, a wrong question will result in a penalty. The first question is on Slowpoke but Oak answers too fast and names its evolution, when the question is about a Psychic-type attack it learns, James answers correctly with Amnesia but by fluke. The next question is in the form of a silhouette which James answers as a Sudowoodo’s hand but Oak answers correctly that it’s an Aipom tail. Meowth convinces everyone that the final round should be a poetry contest, something James is actually skilled at. Wobbuffet’s wrongly speaking from Meowth’s disguise becomes the chosen subject, the real Oak’s poem seems to pale in comparison and doesn’t rhyme but has hidden meaning which is noticed by Joy (who is something of a poetry expert) which makes the real Oak the winner. Wobbuffet exposes Team Rocket for who they are and after the motto they make their escape with the rest of the food during Weezing’s Smokescreen. Oak beats Ash to the punch in using a Pidgey he caught recently to cut down the stolen goods before its Gust attack is underestimated and enough to blow Team Rocket away. The children apologise for their accusations and Oak agrees to answer their questions, the journey will continue for the group shortly, while Team Rocket trapped on a branch recite a quick poem before taking a fall. My favourite Quote: (Team Rocket are disguised as Oak and Mary with Meowth plus Wobbuffet also in a costume) Jessie: “Just who are you supposed to be anyway?” Meowth: “I’m the big mouthed overbearing producer; every show has to have one Baby.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is likely a parody of the lyrics in the Eminem rap song “The Real Slim Shady” (“Will The Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up”). How is it that Professor Oak can run most of the lab’s duties and have a major role in a radio station in the Johto region? In the games, Oak does work on the show, but he does it from his home in Pallet Town. The whole impostor Oak concept is loosely based on the “Imposter Oak” card in the Pokémon Trading Card game. According to the book Meowth reads, Ground-types Are invulnerable against Electric attacks, so how is it that Pikachu harmed part Ground-type Piloswine in the last Gym Battle other than the fact its Ground side wasn’t mentioned at all? The actual children’s voices among the usual cast (adult voice actors playing kids) seems really out of place. Sad to say; most children just aren’t accomplished actors, and I wish the people behind the series could have been more picky when they decided to cast real children as cameo characters. Brock didn’t hit on Mary or fall madly in love with her the last time he saw her in “Air Time!” (even though he didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her), yet upon seeing her again he has a huge interest in her and knows her well enough to tell that Jessie is pretending to be her and not vice versa. Oak mentions being a video game whiz but were video games around back when Oak was young? If this world is based on real life then it’s not likely video games were around back then, however, given that there are public phones with view-screens and the ability to effectively contain and transport animals, the world is a lot more advanced than in real life. Oak shouldn’t have jumped the gun as Slowpoke now has a branched evolution into Slowking. Suddenly the RPG terminology of Levels are mentioned in regards to Pokémon attacks, in the second games, Amnesia is indeed learned at Level 46 for Slowbro (but Level 44 in the games before it). However, levels have been known not to mean much in regards to learning attacks, as out of the blue Ash tends to get highly advanced attacks for his Pokémon, particularly the ones he leaves with Oak and doesn’t even train. Misty and Ash wrongly remember the silhouette quiz in “The Ultimate Test” in that they claim the silhouette looked like a footprint but was a Jigglypuff from underneath, the silhouette was actually meant to be a whole Pokémon, and I remember clearly that it was a Jigglypuff viewed from above. Also, I don’t believe Misty and Brock were actually present for that particular exam (it’s an exam after all so they shouldn’t have been there) so perhaps Ash explained it to her incorrectly. Jessie has no right to accuse Meowth of messing up their scheme when she blatantly calls James by his real name, although James pointed this out he did so too loudly and any normal person should have been able to hear it. James’s fake poem about Wobbuffet despite Joy’s views does seem to vaguely describe Wobbuffet in that some Pokédex entries state that Wobbuffet live in dark places away from the light, at least if by “putting it on the shelf” was meant to signify defeat, sending it away or setting it aside. Also, for the first time Wobbuffet’s type is actually mentioned; Psychic. During Oak’s poem about Wobbuffet, a verse from the second movie’s ocarina score is played. Team Rocket claim they bought the disguises (or at least the wigs) but it seems way too convenient that a wig store would stock Mary and Oak’s hairstyles. If Nurse Joy recognised that James was wearing a wig, why did she believe he was Oak in the first place or let the contest go ahead when she suspected who the real Oak was? Oak has not been known to still be catching Pokémon of his own unless he actually caught Pikachu and the three Starter Pokémon first seen in the series, I would think he didn’t have time to be catching Pokémon for himself when he’s got several hundred others to be taking care of. Who’s That Pokémon?: (Some communities are built on groups of these!) Corsola Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Wish Upon a Star Shape Pokémon seen: Onix, Crobat, Geodude, Bayleef, Corsola, Totodile, Poliwhirl, Pineco, Cyndaquil, Phanpy, Staryu, Goldeen, Psyduck, Togepi, Pikachu, Cleffa, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Clefairy, Snorlax Story: The group have all their Pokémon out and enjoy the night sky when they wish upon a shooting star, it turns out to be a spaceship; one they’ve seen before. A Cleffa falls out and lands on Phanpy and the flying saucer makes a crash landing, something that a suspicious-looking pair notices. The Cleffa has been saved and is friendly towards Phanpy before it cries over the crashed ship and needs to get back there. The group happily agree to escort it while Team Rocket watch and discover Cleffa but also the two characters who start taking pictures of Cleffa and call themselves the Pokémon Mystery Club, Ken and Mary, who believe Cleffa to be from outer space and want it. They disgust Team Rocket who reveal themselves to defend their group, that and grab the Cleffa. The P.M.C members quickly build a device that shoots a capture net, but Phanpy grabs Cleffa and runs into the woods. Pikachu shocks the pair and the group hurries to catch up as do Team Rocket, but the Mystery Club soon catch up and build another machine to track down Cleffa, and then build a bulldozer vehicle to chase it and Phanpy. When faced with a gap in the path, Phanpy attempts to knock down a tree to get across and finishes up at the last moment to escape, the Mystery members must discard their vehicle and build a harpoon gun to get across but Team Rocket deflect it in their balloon, however this results in their balloon getting hooked and effectively grounded. The group takes this opportunity to get ahead and cross Phanpy’s ‘bridge’, while it and Cleffa locate the spaceship where the many Clefairy are. Phanpy gets the Cleffa home to what is confirmed to be the same band of Clefairy that the group and Team Rocket faced long ago and they are far from any city to salvage parts to fix their ship. The Mystery Club jet down and confirm Clefairy came to Earth on spaceships rather than shooting stars, Team Rocket appear and transform their balloon into a robot. Phanpy is shoved aside so Pikachu comes to Cleffa’s defence but again Team Rocket are prepared for it, the Clefairy band together while the Mystery Club members construct a robot vehicle with arms and wrestle Team Rocket’s. Team Rocket’s cannon fails due to the Clefairy having stripped the parts to fix their spaceship, but the Mystery Club is the next to fall victim to this process. The engines on the spaceship are not quite fixed, and Team Rocket attempt to team up with the Mystery Club and call reinforcements except Ken and Mary are the only members, they all dash for the spaceship but Pikachu shocks them and at the same time charges the spaceship. Team Rocket and the P.M.C are sent flying by Phanpy while the spaceship is rising and Cleffa is not on board yet, she says goodbye to Phanpy but misses her chance to board, the spaceship is unable to stop and as Cleffa chases the ship it evolves into a Clefairy and is able to fly up to join its friends. Phanpy remembers the night and misses it already while the group suggest Phanpy’s kindness helped it evolve and Ash comforts his Pokémon in that they will see the Clefairy again someday. Later the P.M.C are busy investigating crop circles thought to be linked to alien activity, but it turns out to be made from a Snorlax rolling over in its sleep then soon crushes them underneath its body. My favourite Quote: (Team Rocket and the Pokémon Mystery Club team up but the latter are out of gadgets) Meowth: “Then Call the P.M.C headquarters an’ tell ‘em ta send reinforcements!” Ken: “Well there’s just one problem with that; membership to our club is quite exclusive.” Mary: “So exclusive in fact that We’re the only two members right now.” Things I’d like to point out: Unless it’s not visible on a non-widescreen television, Noctowl isn’t appreciated, what with the narrator mentioning the group are relaxing with the Pokémon they love and Noctowl not being present. The title pun comes from the phrase/concept “Wish upon a star”. Phanpy seems to have its strength under control, last time it expressed its adoration of a Pokémon Meowth was smacked hard four times in the head by its trunk. How come one episode after the game’s Mary (the radio DJ) is seen the series dubs another character as Mary? There are plenty of other names in the world to choose from (plus Ken was the name of a Pidgey in “Carrying On!”). I figure what we know as the Pokémon Mystery Club was dubbed a different name originally. I say this because the ‘M’ that they are apparently spelling out with their bodies looks nothing like an ‘M’ (more like an ‘F’), regardless if the ‘P’ and the ‘C’ qualify. How can the P.M.C have a worldwide network if they limit themselves to two members? How is Voltorb a mystery, it looks like a Pokéball and can explode, there are much more mysterious Pokémon like what lies beneath in the cases of Pokémon like Cubone, Marowak and Tangela. The Clefairy in this episode are confirmed to be the same as the ones from “Clefairy Tales”, even the leader with the flower clip is present, so that means Cleffa was either hidden on the ship during that episode or maybe there are male Clefairy despite the way they look or that they can breed without males. The Clefairy must be resourceful to use pieces of fighting robots to fix their spaceship but also the strange fact that they somehow patch up the yellow sphere with differently coloured parts and manage to match its colour (unless they took the time to paint as they worked). Once again a Pokémon’s thoughts of an earlier event are just clips, if someone was imagining events that happened to them; they’d see it from their perspective and therefore wouldn’t see themselves in the imagery. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s true identity is a mystery!) Voltorb Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Outrageous Fortunes Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Hitmontop, Poliwrath, Poliwhirl, Bayleef, Meowth, Chansey, Wobbuffet, Arbok, Ursaring, Phanpy, Corsola, Victreebel, Politoed Story: The group reach a town with a Pokémon Centre where outside a Pokémon Battle is being fought, a Hitmontop and Poliwrath battle with the Poliwrath easily coming out the victor and adding another victory to a chain of straight wins, Ash can’t resist and challenges its trainer but Misty pushes in to challenge the Water-type with Poliwhirl. It’s overpowered and loses to the stronger opponent and Bayleef is next to fight, Poliwrath dodges a Razor leaf and Doubleslaps Bayleef, while Misty comforts her Poliwhirl in that it will evolve into a Poliwrath someday. Team Rocket spy in again and want Poliwrath as their own and Jessie decides they could use Poliwrath to capture Pikachu instead of directly going for Pikachu as always. Both battlers tire and Brock steps in and declares the match a draw and warns the trainers of their Pokémon’s fatigue (especially Poliwrath’s), the trainers shake hands and express their respect each other’s Pokémon and the Poliwrath trainer introduces himself as Delaney and Ash introduces himself and his friends to him. In the Pokémon Centre, Ash slips on a wet floor and his possessions fall everywhere, before Poliwhirl is recalled it picks up and observes the King’s Rock. As Delaney leaves the Centre he promises to be more considerate and thoughtful towards his Poliwrath when he encounters Jessie posing as a fortune teller and James and Meowth pretend to be highly satisfied customers. She fakes a prediction of the identity of his Pokémon and then accuses it of being possessed with evil and that she can cleanse it. While Delaney counts on her command, Jessie and the others pack up to leave but he opens his eyes at ten and catches them in the act as they prepare to leave, they flee while Delaney chases them. The group is alerted and catches up to him, the chase for Team Rocket’s balloon leads the group to slip down a steep hill towards a road but luckily the group land in a truck full of hay, Ash thinks to use Noctowl to track Team Rocket but realises he left his Pokémon at the Centre. Team Rocket land and release Poliwrath from its ball to claim it but it rejects Jessie as its master, beats up Arbok when it’s sent out to punish it and rejects James and Meowth’s attempts to befriend it. The group find a smaller Pokémon Centre and contact Joy in the previous one to have Ash’s Pokéballs transported to him. Outside, an old man reports a strong Poliwrath battling with an Ursaring, when the group arrive it’s been defeated by Poliwrath who is wearing equipment that allows Team Rocket to control its every move. Ash has Phanpy battle but it’s hit with Water Gun and Delaney stops Ash from attacking at full strength because his Poliwrath is innocent in all this, Misty has Corsola attack but directs them at the machine until it comes apart and snaps around Jessie, so Meowth has some fun controlling her and has her ‘battle’, and James gives it a go too. Poliwrath attacks and the equipment comes off, Victreebel plus Arbok jump into battle, Phanpy is ready to fight but Poliwhirl appears wearing the King’s Rock and evolves into a Politoed as a result. Politoed is friendly towards everyone, including the enemy until Misty makes it use Water Gun and Doubleslap against Victreebel. Delaney informs Ash that Phanpy is in trouble against Arbok so Brock has Misty try out Politoed’s Swagger attack to confuse the enemies and turn them against each other, unfortunately Arbok recovers and hits Politoed with added strength due to the side effects of Swagger. Delaney has his Poliwrath help out as does Politoed again and Phanpy tackles both enemy Pokémon into the Rockets which cause them to drop Delaney’s Pokéball. With that returned Pikachu can finish up with Thunderbolt, the group later say their goodbyes to Delaney and continue to make their way to Blackthorn City. My favourite Quote: Jessie: “That went better than expected.” James: “Yes, it’s great that we have such low expectations.” Things I’d like to point out: I’m sorry but I really don’t like the young voice actors we’re increasingly getting in the series, the last time a young voice played the part of a battling Pokémon Trainer, the accent sounded completely fake and a little overacted, this one just doesn’t sound authentic and it either sounds like he doesn’t have faith in his Hitmontop, or that the actor isn’t getting into the mind of a real Pokémon Trainer. I swear they’ll let any kid attempt to voice act, which makes me think a competition to get on the show or the producers generously letting kids in the family take a shot isn’t too far off a guess. The title is part of a line in “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, which is better known by the words that precede it “To be, or not to be: That is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. Ash needs to step outside the box, by now he should have learned that a Pokémon type doesn’t limit it to only use the same types of moves, and I’m sure he’s seen enough Poliwrath for any normal person to remember the fact they’re part Fighting Pokémon. Misty considers her Poliwhirl might evolve into a Poliwrath which comes as a surprise given the last Poliwrath she fought (“Hook, Line, and Stinker”). However, since the plot has set up the alternate evolution to Politoed (Misty gaining Poliwag before the journey to Johto and then evolving once), it’s strange that Misty isn’t remotely aware of the branched evolution even though the group have had the necessary King’s Rock for some time now. There’s an error in that someone announces Poliwrath’s seventh win, then Delaney announces his eighth win after beating Misty but during the ninth battle against Ash, Brock steps in and states this is Poliwrath’s eighth match. He should have either said it was the ninth match in a row or that Poliwrath had fought eight battles before this one. Chansey should have put up a sign warning of the wet floor considering she let a huge puddle stretch away from her, if Ash had broken something he could have sued the Pokémon Centre (if the insurance advertisements are anything to go by). Meowth’s costume sucks; if he’s wearing a hat and sunglasses to disguise himself, he should have dressed the rest of his body and hidden his tail. Maybe Delaney has never encountered Team Rocket before but surely after battling nine times in a row in the town square he shouldn’t have been so easily amazed when Jessie ‘predicted’ he had a Poliwrath, just about everyone else knew what Pokémon he had. Oh dear, once again Corsola has been seen appearing from a regular Pokéball instead of a Lure Ball. Come on James; Jessie cannot use Flamethrower or Hyper Beam and if Meowth was referring to Pokémon when he said that anyone can use Hyper Beam, he’s wrong too, only fully evolved Pokémon can use Hyper Beam (there are rare exceptions that defy this though). Funny how Brock knew Poliwhirl had a branched evolution but Misty, the owner of one plus lover and so-called expert of Water Pokémon didn’t. It’s especially wrong that Brock apparently knew this but failed to mention the King’s Rock Ash was pointlessly carrying around could evolve Misty’s Pokémon (as well as Slowpoke to Slowking). Come on Ash; no matter how impressed anyone should be with another person’s evolved Pokémon doesn’t mean one should take their eyes off their own Pokémon when it’s battling someone, especially from Team Rocket! This is Swagger’s first known use in the cartoon, and I’m surprised they got it just right, down to the raise in attack power side effect. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon depends on its pincers when battling!) Pinsir Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Sort of, the evolution side of the story is almost identical to one in the Johto series of Pokémon Journey involving a Metal Coat and an Onix. One Trick Phony! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Smoochum, Togepi, Wobbuffet, Meowth, Venusaur, Cyndaquil, Charizard, Totodile, Blastoise, Arbok, Politoed Story: Ash challenges a female trainer and her Smoochum Josephine, Pikachu performs well but the girl forfeits pretty early on which disappoints Ash, she directs the group to the Battle Park where Pokémon Trainers can battle a wide range of Pokémon against professionals. Team Rocket currently have jobs there polishing Pokéballs and are given the task of sweeping up the place while it’s closed for the day. Their supervisor leaves them here to do some shopping so Team Rocket appear to the group in disguise and invite them in. Usually trainers can choose their opponent Pokémon but the Pokémon are unavailable so Team Rocket introduce a mystery team of Pokémon to battle against and Ash accepts The park has several different battlefields where the Team Rocket trio appear in alternative costumes as Ash’s opponent trainers. Brock agrees to be the referee since there isn’t one present and James winds up with a strong Venusaur, so Cyndaquil is the obvious choice to battle it. Cyndaquil dodges Razor Leaves strong enough to slice trees and a confident James has his Pokémon tackle Cyndaquil and Vine Whip brings down another tree when dodged. Cyndaquil can’t dodge it all and takes a fall, but its Smokescreen saves it from Razor Leaf and gives it the necessary advantage to use Swift and then Flamethrower which weakens the Grass-type, James has used the attacks he knows of and finally uses Solarbeam, Cyndaquil’s Flamethrower is narrowly overpowered and it is defeated by the same blast. James and Meowth bicker over who gets to participate in the next battle, so Jessie grabs Charizard and naturally Totodile is picked to face it. Unfortunately Jessie tries to make Charizard use moves her Arbok knows and though incapable of Poison Sting, it coincidentally knows Dig and performs it on her command. Iron Tail is next, Totodile takes a mild hit and the attack is used again, Totodile dodges fully and Head Butts the enemy, Scary Face attack is countered by Charizard’s own Scary Face and the two continue to pull faces at each other until both lose their balance and fall. Totodile gets up first and uses Water Gun but Charizard flies to dodge and Jessie remembers Charizard can use Flamethrower, regardless of Water Gun fighting against it, Totodile is overpowered and burned. Water Gun against the ground serves as a dodge technique and Totodile launches a mid-air Water Gun strike to finish the enemy. Meowth and James again fight over the last Pokéball and Jessie snatches it again while ordering the pair to stock up on other Pokémon while she battles. Blastoise is the last opponent so Ash uses Pikachu, Jessie studies up this time but during the battle so Pikachu gets a free Quick Attack in. Skull Bash is dodged by speed and Bubble attack is also got around, Thunderbolt is defended against by Withdraw and Hydro Pump is used, Pikachu attempts to run around Blastoise but the continuous blast eventually pins Pikachu against a tree and a second blast continues to pummel Pikachu. Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt to send the shock through the water and Thunder decimates the enemy. Jessie reveals herself by using Arbok and distracts Pikachu with Poison Sting while James and Meowth capture it in the balloon where they have snatched the Park Balls as well despite the park worker having returned. Totodile is called to blast Pikachu loose with Water Gun as is Politoed who eventually takes down the balloon with a swift shot after pointlessly bouncing around. Team Rocket attempt to fight with the Park Pokémon but are informed by the official park worker when the Pokémon turn and fire that they’re only obedient inside the park. The group congratulate Ash on the victories despite Team Rocket being behind them and he appreciates the intense training and experience he has gained. My favourite Quote: James (referring to Jessie): “You know, she’s not half bad.” Meowth: “Yeah but it’s the udder half I worry about, I’ve seen the craziness that loi’rks there.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the term “One trick pony”. Again Razor Leaves are stupidly dangerous in that they slice through trees, what if they hit Ash’s Pokémon, or worse, him or one of his friends? Ash claims he didn’t expect Venusaur to use Solarbeam but he should have since it’s an attack his Bulbasaur knows and Venusaur evolves from Bulbasaur! Why does Ash feel the need to scan every Pokémon he sees, even Pokémon he’s owned himself in the past? Venusaur and Blastoise he might need to brush up on but Charizard shouldn’t be an issue. James whines that he wanted a Charizard but didn’t he get to control one in “The Ultimate Test” when a random team were issued to him, or is he complaining because he misses having control of a Charizard? If Dig hadn’t been performed I’d have been disappointed; this is no mistake, Charizard Can learn Dig, although to be honest, why does Jessie use Dig now? She’s not had Arbok/Ekans burrow underground in what seems like years (and even if she did, she didn’t use the official attack). As for Iron Tail, now Jessie’s getting lucky, considering her Arbok never used the attack and therefore Jessie shouldn’t know it at all considering she doesn’t read the battle books unless she has to. As for James and Meowth, they needn’t had worried, most Pokémon with a developed enough tail can learn Iron Tail so good work to the official team at Battle Park for teaching their Pokémon such diverse moves. However, why does the flame glow white to signify solidifying instead of the tail itself? The music during the Charizard fight (the Final Battle of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow) jumps a bit to the point it’s stupidly obvious, the timing at the end of the song might match, but the part where they seemingly sped up the music sounds like they literally used Fast Forward rather than edited it to be subtle. How can Flamethrower be the last move Jessie remembered when using Charizard?! Considering it’s the most used attack by Ash’s old Fire-type on them, it should be the first thing she remembered. Misty wonders if Ash realises the Pokémon he’s battling are the evolved forms of Pokémon he’s owned (Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle). Um, he’d better do else he’s got a worse memory than I gave him credit for. The Grass over Water weakness isn’t shown as much as Electric-types over Water- types, and I reckon most people as well as myself figured after Cyndaquil and Totodile, Bayleef would have been chosen, but Pikachu steals her chance to shine. No wonder she was so jealous of him, seeing as Ash barely even knows other Grass advantages (over Rock and Ground). I think you’ll find Misty is exaggerating Pikachu’s speed, I’ve seen faster and instantly think Scyther would give it a run for its money. Technically using Withdraw as a defence to Thunderbolt shouldn't have worked, but the series tends to think of techniques like Withdraw and Harden as universal blockers. The tail on the balloon last seen in “Wish Upon a Star Shape” is seen today; did Meowth feel that feature should be a permanent addition? Surely the defeated Charizard and Blastoise shouldn’t have had the strength to fight again even when brought out a few minutes after the battle, there’s a reason referees say a Pokémon can no longer battle when it’s knocked out. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon is as stubborn as a bull!) Tauros Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Only the personality of Ash’s lady opponent in that a cameo character from Chapter 144 onwards called Penelope will be doing the same with her baby Pokémon. Also, the Battle Park is a great idea, one that should have made it to the games; as such it’s likely to get an episode of its own when my characters someday visit. I Politoed Ya So! Pokémon seen: Onix, Psyduck, Togepi, Corsola, Politoed, Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil, Pikachu, Geodude, Crobat, Phanpy, Sunflora, Jumpluff, Bellossom, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Arbok Story: The group have a lakeside break with their Pokémon, they then doze off in the afternoon apart from Politoed who drops some food down a hill, chases it and is mistaken for someone else’s Politoed with the nickname Bean. She takes it back to her group of Grass Pokémon for practice but soon realises this isn’t her Politoed, but the other Pokémon seem to like it when it claps in its usual fashion. The group recall their Pokémon but Misty discovers she’s lost Politoed, they hurry to search for it but immediately fall into another Team Rocket pitfall but it’s sealed up this time. Bean is spotted by Team Rocket who reckon it’s Misty’s and have Meowth attack but he’s literally licked by the frog Pokémon. They offer it the chance to join them but the group free themselves before it signs their contract, after they rightly accuse them of lying the Politoed refuses and Pikachu sends them away, but Misty realises soon enough that this isn’t her Politoed. Her Politoed is greatly helping the Grass Pokémon’s cheerleading routine and enjoying it, Bean leads the group to its trainer but it’s jealous of Misty’s Politoed who has officially replaced it. The girl, Tammy, pleads for Politoed to stay a while longer to help the other Pokémon to reach a standard that will win a cheerleading competition; she explains Bean ran away because she got angry at it, the miserable Bean leaves again. Team Rocket watch from above and hatch a ridiculous plan to use the cheerleading Pokémon to give the Boss a cheer he will appreciate. Misty catches up with Bean and tries to convince it to apologise but it walks away and trains by itself, Ash has Pikachu attempt to make it laugh but reveals himself in the process which angers Politoed. Misty is asked by Tammy if she can lend her Politoed for the duration of the competition and is promised to get it back straight after since winning means everything to Tammy. The pyramid routine falls apart and she yells at all the Pokémon but Politoed which still angers Misty, Politoed gets the group’s spirits up and they continue to cheer with Politoed after Misty comforts them. This reminds Tammy of how she used to treat her Pokémon compared to today and is ashamed of herself, she wants to make people happy with her cheers but has made those close to her sad, and yet they forgive her. Team Rocket attack in a Politoed robot and a mechanical tongue captures the people and Pokémon and contains them in its ‘stomach’, Ash returns with Pikachu and Bean but they fall into a trap that acts like flypaper, Pikachu is cut free and tied up by a wire cord. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt is again useless and the robot prepares to leave (with the vague promise that the people will be brought back later). Bean’s Water Gun smashes the containment screen so everyone can escape, Tammy saves her Politoed from being trampled and apologises for shouting at it earlier and wants it to work with her again. Arbok attacks, it and Misty’s Politoed use Head Butt and bash heads together with Politoed proving the stronger one today, Bean’s Doubleslap and Politoed’s Water Gun attacks defeat it. The two Politoed launch a Water Gun to soak the machine so that Pikachu’s electricity becomes effective and destroys it. Bean is able to help the other Pokémon as effectively as Misty’s and the group wishes Tammy luck in the competition before leaving who in turn promises to cheer Ash on in the Johto League. My favourite Quote: Jessie: “Arbok, you do Not know the meaning of the word ‘Lose’! Do you understand me?!” Arbok: “Ch’abok...” Jessie: “Alright, who told Arbok the meaning of ‘Lose’?!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the phrase “I Told Ya/You So”. Again Pokémon are left out of the main group, Noctowl, Staryu, Goldeen and Pineco are all missing from the intro and Phanpy doesn’t even appear until halfway through for some reason. Probably for the first time, Cyndaquil uses Flamethrower on Ash, but unlike Charizard it’s not only accidental, but it clearly apologises for it too. Politoed aren’t generally known for having long tongues, especially without having the move Lick attack, but it’s explanatory in that real frogs can lash out with long tongues. Brock holds back for once in a long time, he simply says “Hi.” to Tammy and leaves it at that without confessing his love for her or expressing plans for the two of them, that or he simply doesn’t find her attractive. Misty clearly lies in that she must know Politoed could only have wandered off while everyone was sleeping, not while they were eating since Politoed dozed off next to her before getting itself lost. In Team Rocket’s joint vision of cheering up the Boss with the cheerleader Pokémon, they call out his real name “Giovanni”, proving that they either found out his name recently or knew it all along but chose/were told to call him by the more discreet ‘Boss’. Pikachu might have been trying to pull a funny face but it could easily have been trying to impersonate Politoed, since it already has the circular cheeks, the tongue gesture might have been an attempt to do this very thing. The whole catching up aspect to return Politoed to Misty seems a little, I don’t know... Insincere, personally I’d want to remain with whoever was borrowing my Pokémon if I’d only just met her. Wobbuffet appearing here and there goes too far, it appears in the giant Politoed robot, then outside close up to the camera and then inside the robot again. Tammy does not literally cheer for Ash in the Johto League since he never sees her again (it wouldn’t have quite compared to Gary’s cheerleaders anyway); at best she might have cheered for him in spirit. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s jaw is capable of crushing anything!) Totodile Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Just two Politoeds. Episodes #233 - #240 Episodes #249 - #256 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone