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
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