Episode Guide #249 - #256 Beauty is Skin Deep Fangs for Nothin’ Great Bowls of Fire! Better Eight Than Never Why? Wynaut! Just Add Water Lapras of Luxury Hatch Me if You Can Beauty is Skin Deep Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Dratini, Gyarados, Meowth, Weezing, Arbok, Wobbuffet, Dragonair Story: The group close in on Blackthorn City and Ash is eager to reach there, they find a Dratini resting by the water but as soon as they approach it a Gyarados appears and attacks. It’s stopped by a woman called Clair who questions the group but things are soon cleared up, both Clair and Gyarados are protecting the Dratini. It goes off on its own to begin its migration and Clair follows to look out for it, an old man catches up warning Clair of her duties elsewhere. He explains to the group of his duty in taking care of an artefact called the Dragon Fang, soon revealing Clair is the Gym Leader before leading the group behind Clair and explaining Blackthorn’s past, in that a legend states the first Gym Leader defeated a ferocious dragon terrorising people and took the fang as a keepsake, the fang has been handed down for generations and a purification ritual involving the fang and the Blackthorn Gym Leader is due today. Team Rocket try to relax by the lakeside and spot Dratini but are stopped from catching it by Clair. A fight ensues but Team Rocket are quickly and easily defeated and Dratini can continue on. The group catch up and the old man explains that Clair must purify the Dragon Fang in certain lakewater (every three years), but she refuses to leave Dratini in its most vulnerable state. It moves on and the group and old man struggle to keep up, Gyarados is recalled when only Dratini can navigate a tight area. Team Rocket aren’t far behind and the group soon take a rest and are handed some food to keep up their strength, Ash requests a Gym Battle with Clair after her duties are complete and she accepts. The old man inquires about the Red Gyarados incident in Mahogany Town and Clair is surprised that the group met Lance after the group explain the event to them. It’s revealed that Lance did some training at the Blackthorn Gym for some time and Clair and he have helped each other in training and battling together. Team Rocket appear as an old couple wanting a picture with the Dratini, as soon as they are given permission to get closer they net the Dratini and reveal themselves. A smoke bomb masks their escape until their balloon is too high up to stop, Clair manages to take the high road through trees to spot and catch up with Team Rocket. Dratini gets angry and starts to sway the balloon out of control until it crashes, Dratini tries to crawl away but it’s still entwined in its net and is pulled back. The group catches up and another battle occurs but Gyarados is called back again and easily does away with Weezing, Pikachu’s electricity is countered but flies everywhere and shocks most of the majority groups, Clair jumps in the way of a bolt headed for Dratini, who evolves right in front of her eyes. Dragonair heads into the sky and calls for a natural thunderbolt to shock Team Rocket, they attempt to capture it but are easily stopped by Gyarados and Dragonair and blasted off with a Twister attack. Dragonair heads off on its own afterwards towards a place called Riverhead Falls, which will serve well as the place for the ritual. Clair performs the purification process involving a prayer wishing peace and happiness to all dragons, lakewater is dropped on the horn which causes it to glow and produce a bright aura and the image of a dragon to rise and spiral into the sky. With her duties completed, Clair only has one more; to accept the challenge Ash requested. Next day the group reach the Blackthorn Gym where Ash’s final Johto Gym Battle will take place very soon. My favourite Quote: Jessie (referring to Dratini/Dragonair): “This stinks, why is everyone so giddy about its evolving?! It was much cuter, more lovable the other way!” Wobbuffet: “Waaaa...” James: “You can’t stop progress Jess’, and besides it’s now Rarer than before.” Meowth: “The bigger they are the more doe those dragons bring in!” Jessie: “Fine! Lets catch and sell that pencil-neck and I’ll forget I ever wanted a cute pet!” Things I’d like to point out: Ash reckons by getting to the Gym sooner he’ll reach the Johto League sooner, the Gym maybe but the Johto League an annual event and therefore only opens at certain times of the year, in this case, at least three months away. This is the first time many have got to see Dratini and Dragonair in the series since their original episode “The Legend of Dratini” in the first season was banned due to the excess appearance of real guns. Speaking of banned episodes, this episode takes place after one of them simply dubbed “The Ice Cave”. In it, the group choose to go through an ice cave to get to Blackthorn City, inside they fall into another Team Rocket pit but the villains don’t stop there and hose them down with water. Team Rocket are dealt with but Brock has now gotten the flu, luckily there is a Pokémon Centre inside the cave and the Nurse Joy here (younger sister to the tanned Orange Islands Nurse Joy) adores Ice Pokémon and has a Jynx working here instead of the traditional Chansey, the group warm up and Brock rests to recover from his illness. While Ash, Misty and Joy are lured away by a malfunction causing the cave to heat up and a jungle area to freeze, Brock hallucinates a little and nearly kisses Jynx thinking she’s Nurse Joy. The problem turns out to be a Team Rocket decoy who after trapping the group, head to the Pokémon Centre. After escaping Ash fixes the problem and Team Rocket attack the Pokémon Centre using heaters to weaken the Ice Pokémon. Brock attempts to stop them but is still ill and easily defeated, Ash and Misty return and battle Team Rocket (particularly Wobbuffet) and eventually Pikachu destroys the heaters, Jynx incapacitates Wobbuffet and the Ice Pokémon blast Team Rocket out, Brock later recovers and the group continue on their way. It’s disappointing this one got banned considering again like “The Legend of Dratini”, which takes place in the Safari Zone, the story is also based in a well known game landmark. Reasons for this are possibly Brock nearly kissing a Pokémon and the fact complaints have previously been made about Jynx being a Black stereotype, but the biggest reason is because Team Rocket deliberately makes Brock ill, because it’s similar to symptoms of SARS disease. The Dragon Fang is actually an item in the game which gives the Pokémon holding it more power to their Dragon-type attacks but this clearly isn’t the case in the series considering it’s a one of a kind treasure of Blackthorn. Since Dragonite and Kingdra don’t have fangs, if the dragon in the legend had fangs it was either a Pokémon that hasn’t been discovered yet, one that died out or must be from Hoenn (although the only one that possibly qualifies is Salamence). Again Japanese rice balls get dubbed as something else, in this case sandwiches, even though sandwiches and traditionally bread slices with a filling between. There appears to be a slight mistake in the dub, the group react to the old man saying that he didn’t know Lance had become a Pokémon G-Man but the bad phrasing could easily suggest he knew of Lance but not personally, he is a legendary member of the Elite Four after all. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon is known as the “Water Queen”!) Goldeen Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Clair will be of course, and Dragonair/Dragonite may or may not make an appearance in certain Gym Battles. Fangs for Nothin’ Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Kingdra, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Wynaut, Noctowl, Dragonair, Totodile, Staryu, Politoed, Hoppip, Skiploom, Jumpluff, Rattata, Bellossom, Butterfree, Dragonite, Stantler, Nidoran Female, Nidoran Male, Sunflora, Furret, Sentret, Venonat, Bellsprout, Oddish, Charizard Story: The Gym Battle is three-on-three with the usual settings, Clair chooses Kingdra to begin and Ash naturally chooses Pikachu but the opponent recovers from a Thunderbolt and uses a powerful Twister attack. Pikachu tries hard but the tornado is controlled in its direction by Kingdra and Pikachu is caught, Thunder deals a hit but Kingdra recovers again. Clair explains that her Kingdra is also part Dragon-type as well as Water- type, and it’s this Dragon side that helps Kingdra resist Electric attacks. Hydro Pump is next and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt cancels it out, Ash begins to worry. Team Rocket take a break and Jessie is depressed over her losing out on Dratini, they plan their revenge on Clair, as they do the majority of their food is stolen by a hidden blue Pokémon. James has knowledge of the Dragon Fang and Team Rocket plan on stealing it for their personal gain; Wobbuffet gets the blame for the donut theft. Pikachu dodges Water attacks and deals a head-on Quick Attack and yet this still isn’t enough, so Ash calls Pikachu back and uses Noctowl. While Team Rocket find the storage vault for the fang Noctowl dodges attacks, lifts Kingdra into the air with Confusion and sends it crashing down but its Hydro Pump against a wall breaks its collision course and it lands safely, it uses Agility to quickly get around Noctowl whose Hypnosis attack has no effect if it can’t focus on Kingdra. James stops the others as he suspects several security lasers blocking their way to the fang, but he has a sophisticated device to navigate around them, Jessie suspects the box might be empty so persuades James to check the contents before extracting it, Noctowl is defeated by Hydro Pump and Wobbuffet causes the group to trip the alarm upon their discovering the fang is indeed inside the box. The group, Clair and the old man catch Team Rocket escaping and they get away on a boat they find, Clair gets on her Dragonair as does the old man and it follows Team Rocket, the group follow by riding their Water Pokémon through the water. Team Rocket are caught up on so they enter a dark cave called the Dragon’s Den, Clair explains it leads to the Dragon’s Holy Land where she trained with Lance and Team Rocket must not be allowed to enter it. There’s a fork ahead but Dragonair can sense the flow of water to pick the path Team Rocket took, they hit a waterfall, their boat shatters on a rock and they fall into the Holy Land but are saved by a Dragonite that lives there. Dragonite senses the fang in the box Team Rocket have so Meowth conducts a story with them as the good guys protecting the fang and accuses the group and Clair of being villains who want to steal the fang and will ruin the Holy Land and capture its Pokémon. Dragonite agrees to help them as the group reaches the haven, they split up from Clair and Team Rocket points them out. Dragonite attacks the group with Hyper Beam (to which Clair is quickly alerted to) but instead of attacking again, it lifts Team Rocket and flies away to safety. Clair and the old man explain to the group that this particular Dragonite belonged to the first Blackthorn Gym Leader, before the group can investigate further, a blackened flying figure draws close. My favourite Quote: James (to a device he’s navigating through security lasers): “Steady Andy... Stead-eee!...” Jessie: “Um, I just had a thought; what if you and Handy Andy go to all of this trouble and the box is filled with nothing but air?” James: “We both break down and cry.” Things I’d like to point out: The narrator makes an error in his summary, in that Clair didn’t mention she had to perform the ritual before his battle, she was more concerned with the safety of the Dratini and the ritual was a last minute thing in her priorities. The title pun is from the (usually sarcastic) phrase “Thanks for nothin’/nothing”. In the games, it’s true that Kingdra’s Dragon side helps to neutralise its Water-type weaknesses including Electric attacks, glad they got that one right. This begins the first of four episodes which star a Wynaut, a pre-evolved Wobbuffet, and one of the new Pokémon from the next game/Hoenn region. It’s hidden for the most part though until “Why? Wynaut!”. The device James uses seems to waver up and down, surely it should have triggered one of the alarms, it would need a clear straight path to get to the box and out without touching anything if that’s truly how it moves. If James was going to claim the box anyway, he should have waited until the box was past the infra-red lines and in their hands instead of agreeing to Jessie’s suggestion and taking the risk of dropping the lid and raising the alarms. Why does Meowth call out an insult to the group after Team Rocket went through the effort of losing them, even though they’re currently following the flow of water, they should have easily been able to confirm the path they took by listening to Meowth’s loud call. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon captures food with its tentacles!) Octillery Cameos in Pokémon Journey: The Holy Land may or may not be a location, but I’d like some great event to occur in Blackthorn involving my characters. Great Bowls of Fire! Pokémon seen: Charizard, Pikachu, Togepi, Dragonair, Dragonite, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Sentret, Furret, Rattata, Aipom, Spearow, Pidgey, Murkrow, Nidoran Female, Mankey, Onix, Geodude, Staryu, Politoed, Wynaut Story: The figure turns out to be Ash’s Charizard who is happy to see its old trainer, Liza soon follows with her Charizard Charla, and Clair and Liza are acquaintances. This isn’t all; Clair seems to know Ash’s Charizard since Liza brings some Charizard here once in a while. Charizard now serves as Charla’s bodyguard and both seem to like each other a lot, Ash explains his match was cancelled because of the trouble. Dragonite is still flying Team Rocket and the fang to safety while Liza and the Charizard agree to help out, both Charizard fly the entire the group in balloons, viewing the lands as they do. Brock’s theory that Team Rocket are threatening Dragonite by threatening the fang is disproved in that Dragonite wouldn’t let anyone abuse its strength that way, this Dragonite belonged to the first Blackthorn Gym Leader who dedicated his life to preserving the Holy Land and now Dragonite continues to do so years after its trainer passed on. Dragonite kindly brings Team Rocket some food and claims they’re safe now; they see a vault by the lakeside and scheme to steal whatever is inside. The old man and Clair worry that Team Rocket might find the Dragon Shrine and as he explains the legend (that the prize inside was once considered a symbol of peace between people and Pokémon) Team Rocket break into it and attempt to steal the artefact known as the Prayer Flame. Though James takes precautions with gloves, he’s still burned and the dish is thrown outside which starts a large fire and causes Dragonite to see Team Rocket for who they really are and become extremely angry. It attacks and sends them some distance as the group closes in on the area while Dragonite continues to chase Team Rocket and blast them. Wobbuffet manages to withstand a Hyper Beam and counter it, but the Dragonite isn’t close to defeat and its next Hyper Beam is blocked by Charizard’s flames. Dragonair is called who is turn makes it rain to extinguish the flames, Liza and Charla head off to lead the wild Pokémon to safety and Brock and Misty use their Pokémon to continue putting out flames and save Pokémon. Charizard and Dragonite stare each other down, Team Rocket get on their knees and thank the group but the old man takes the Dragon Fang back while Clair attempts to quell Dragonite’s rage. It attacks her but Charizard saves her life, Dragonite hurts Dragonair which breaks its control of the weather and Dragonite is said to have entered a Dragon Pokémon term called Attack Rage and now confused it can’t stop attacking. Pikachu attempts to attack but it swiftly hurt and Charizard defends Ash while the wild Pokémon shout out to Dragonite to stop it from destroying its home. Team Rocket reveals they stole and dropped the Prayer Flame, the fire in the shrine is put out and Clair leaves the old man, Brock and Misty to take care of things here while she takes care of something. Charizard’s Flamethrower eventually hits its mark but is cancelled out by Dragonite diving into the water, it attacks Ash with Hyper Beam but Dragonair blocks this with Safeguard. It uses Wrap attack to bind Dragonite so Charizard can take a shot at it, Dragonair adds to it with its own Hyper Beam, but Dragonite continues to fight on and counters Charizard’s Seismic Toss. Clair has a plan and needs Pikachu to perform it, Dragonair summons some thunderclouds, Charizard distracts Dragonite and Dragonair’s clouds deal several lightning bolts to Dragonite with Pikachu adding to it. It’s working but Dragonite attempts to unleash a Hyper Beam, a Fire Spin from Charizard serves to contain all the energy inside and around Dragonite to keep it still long enough, once it emerges from the water it falls into, its eyes are calm and the rage is over. However, it is upset at what has happened to the Holy Land, several wild Pokémon gather around it to comfort it, knowing it’s not bad anymore, Team Rocket attempt to escape with the Dragon Fang they swiped again but Pikachu blasts them away and retrieves it. The Prayer Flame is placed back in the shrine, not having gone out and the entire group returns to the Gym where the battle will have to be done over in the morning... My favourite Quote: (Team Rocket lie on the floor feeling dizzy and airsick after a fast journey with Dragonite) Wobbuffet (appears and looks down at Jessie): “Waaaaa-ba-fet!” Jessie: “That does it; give me a barf bag...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is based on the famous song “Great Balls of Fire”. When Charizard licks Ash clean of the blackness from the flames, it fades away out of timing, between Charizard’s licks and not during, and Pikachu’s entire body becomes clean even though Charizard is only licking its face. Liza speaks as if she knows Team Rocket but she didn’t actually meet them, only the lame robot they were in that she didn’t see as a threat when they ‘attacked’ the Charizific Valley. Since Liza and the two Charizard arrive with only one balloon and then use two here in the Holy Land to find Dragonite, she would have had to acquire the extra balloon in the Holy Land rather than in Blackthorn City (that or the second basket folds up and the balloon is blown up). When Clair summons Dragonair and later when Brock throws out his Pokéballs, a strange sound is added to the spinning which either sounds like a Pokémon or the apparent fact it’s/they’re meant to be spinning very fast, they appear to spin no faster than Misty’s Pokéballs which barely make a sound as they spin. This is either an error or laziness in the animation, even when running from a fire; a pair of Aipom retain the grin they usually have. Aipom can express emotions other than joy and happiness and in the next scene there’s a close up view of a different Aipom that has fearful emotions when the previous two didn’t. Surely Attack Rage should be limited to this Dragonite only, it’s claimed because it used one attack after another it entered this state but I’m sure trained Dragonite would be subject to the same condition during tough battles, Dragonite’s enraged state should have been dubbed as happening because it had protected the shrine for its dead master and because it was so angry at Team Rocket’s betrayal which caused destruction to the environment of its home. How come Onix and Geodude are summoned during the rain but don’t complain one bit when the slightest ounce of water has scared them in the past? What happened to Poliwhirl’s brain when it evolved into Politoed? Even when there’s fire threatening Pokémon it stands by and claps when it’s supposed to be helping out with Water Gun. Misty doesn’t have much luck when it comes to her Pokémon personalities and Politoed seems to be becoming the new Psyduck in some respects. Again Safeguard is used as a full on barrier for attacks instead of status changes, so I should stop complaining and resign myself to the fact this is what the series has chosen. For the first time Wobbuffet is present in the blast off but doesn’t utter a sound (instead of sometimes making a sound when it’s not seen). It’s possible the translators just forgot given that Team Rocket are arguing and don’t even say their usual blast off phrase. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon flashes its lights to communicate!) Chinchou Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Better Eight Than Never Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Kingdra, Snorlax, Charizard, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Gyarados, Wynaut, Dragonair Story: The Blackthorn Gym Battle rematch is redone but Ash plays it smart and has recruited Snorlax for this battle, it resists the majority of Kingdra’s attacks though its own attacks are dodged by the speedy opponent, Hydro Pump hits Snorlax in the head and Hyper Beam threatens it. Outside, Liza feeds her Charizard while Snorlax dodged the last attack by diving into the water, it attempts to Body Slam Kingdra but the attack isn’t effective underwater, as soon as it submerges it’ll be attacked. Snorlax takes a gigantic leap and by leaning back Hydro Pump does minimal damage, but a Swift attack is underestimated and Snorlax looks to be taking damage yet it’s got vitality while Kingdra is growing tired. Hyper Beam is dodged again and Kingdra finally tires, giving Snorlax the chance to use Ice Punch to defeat Kingdra. Liza gets to the Gym to watch while Team Rocket dig in the Blackthorn area, water starts to leak in as they are under the lake and quickly get washed away. Clair uses Gyarados next and Snorlax will continue to fight on, Hyper Beam is used but it’s countered by Hydro Pump and beaten, showing Snorlax is getting tired. Next, Dragonbreath overcomes Hyper Beam, and Snorlax is paralysed as a result, and subject to a direct Hyper Beam which topples it. The mysterious Pokémon strikes again and steals Charla’s food while Pikachu jumps into the next battle with double effective advantage in types. Pikachu dodges Hyper Beam and deals a Quick Attack; Gyarados attempts a Bite attack but counters the resulting Thunderbolt with Dragonbreath. Hydro Pump clips Pikachu and it’s bound in Gyarados’s tail but it soon tries to get away from its prey when Pikachu gets a Thunderbolt attack in. Gyarados continues to bite at Pikachu until it reaches the limits of the arena but it escapes Hydro Pump with Agility and by running up the water blast and deals a close up Thunderbolt to win the match. Team Rocket have a Meowth-themed digging robot to do their work and it apparently picks up the Dragon Fang, but it leads them to Charla whose teeth apparently count as that, they’re quickly blasted off and their dropped food is stolen by the mysterious Pokémon again. Dragonair is the final of Clair’s Pokémon and Pikachu’s Electric attacks are dodged and aren’t too effective against Dragon-types anyway, apparently it’s all in aid of luring Dragonair to the ground but Pikachu fails to get in close and is defeated by Hyper Beam. Ash calls on his Charizard for the final match and Clair’s assistant opens the roof of the Gym up in order to add new elements to the battle. Flamethrower is dodged by a dive into the water and Dragon Rage deals a big hit and brings Charizard down to earth, Flamethrower is dodged again and countered with Hyper Beam but Fire Spin blocks this off. Ash continues to use Flamethrower though Dragonair keeps dodging it but adds Fire Spin in order to completely evaporate the water in the arena and therefore destroying Dragonair’s hiding spot. Safeguard blocks Flamethrower and Dragonair uses Iron Tail to hit Charizard but it catches the next use of it and grips Dragonair to pull off its Seismic Toss, but this is countered by Dragon Rage and Dragonair is better off after the crash. Charizard recovers and dodges a Hyper Beam, Dragonair dodges Flamethrower but Charizard catches another Iron Tail attempt and tries Seismic Toss again, when Dragonair attempts Dragon Rage again, Charizard uses Fire Spin to counter this and surround them, leading it and Ash to create a technique Ash names the Flaming Seismic Toss which defeats Dragonair. Ash is awarded the Rising Badge and Ash now has all he needs to enter the Johto League, and everyone says goodbye to Liza and Charizard who are returning home. My favourite Quote: (Snorlax tries to Body Slam Kingdra but upon hitting the water the attack becomes useless) Clair: “Snorlax weighs an awful lot less underwater in fact you’ve forgotten your science Ash.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is from the phrase “Better late than never”. Hyper Beam finally shows a little of its true nature in that it can wear out a Pokémon using it, but the games are far more strict in that every Hyper Beam forces the user to rest after each and every one (regardless of hit or misses). Why has Snorlax suddenly got Ice Punch apart from making this easier for Ash? Clearly Oak must have taught it though it should be Ash making the effort to teach his Pokémon diverse attacks; this isn’t a first time either as Pokémon Ash hadn’t trained suddenly gained moves in the last Pokémon League. Oh dear, toilet humour in this series (the basic smell-related one)? There’s a 4 Kids Entertainment program with a lot of that and I hope this series doesn’t ever follow its trend. It’s true Dragonbreath can paralyse opponents, but in saying Gyarados’s Dragonbreath makes it sound like the attack is exclusive only to Gyarados. The Pokémon clue today seems odd in that Muk don’t appear to have feet; they do tend to leave a poisonous trail behind them though (even though Ash’s doesn’t appear to have that feature). Misty’s comment in response to Brock is pointless and stupid; she states the obvious in something Ash has clearly taken into account. I’m sure Brock implied Pikachu had the advantage over both Gyarados’s Flying and Water sides and yet Misty speaks as if his statement failed to mention Pikachu’s advantage over the Water-type. Plus she speaks with such conviction it’s like she’s suddenly become an Electric Pokémon fan and turned on Water Pokémon. Using Pikachu in this ‘winning’ battle confirms Pikachu has been used in Every Johto Gym Battle. The same can’t be said even in the many battles in Kanto that were interrupted for some reason, it’s refreshing that Ash earned all his badges and even the interruption two episodes ago caused Ash to repeat the match from the start instead of receiving favours, easier battles or free badges. I hope Ash was shouting “Ugh, what?!” rather than “A what?” as to imply he didn’t know what Dragonbreath was after it had been used previously against Snorlax. Pikachu’s running up the Hydro Pump was a good technique but I’m surprised that Ash doesn’t once think to use Electric attacks on such drawn out Water attacks in order for them to conduct the shock, the one time he does so in defence the two cancel each other out when they should both have hit their marks. Team Rocket can’t be serious with a mail order robot, at least not in that they could have ordered it and received it within the same day and within the time it takes between Ash starting and finishing his Gym Battle. It’s a lot smaller but this robot looks very similar to the Meowthinator Impersonator Robot used in “Good ‘Quil Hunting” but that one didn’t have claws and it was gigantic with many other upgrades, if it’s an alternative model robot than that means Team Rocket bought the first one rather than build it from the money they strived for, and surely only Team Rocket or an evil organisation would provide mail order services for big destructive robots. Saying the robot led Team Rocket to a dragon fang inside Charla’s mouth is only correct in that Charizard look like dragons, despite this they are Fire/Flying Pokémon. For what seems to be the first time, Pikachu is handed over to one of the others to be taken care of after a loss in a Gym while Ash battles with another Pokémon. This didn’t happen in four out of five of the other Gyms after Pikachu lost, it just sat by Ash or by his backpack, the only exception is the Olivine Gym Battle in which Brock (although doesn’t in one shot at first) holds Pikachu throughout the match and so may have been asked to look after Pikachu by Ash but there was an advert break so it wasn’t seen if this was Ash’s request. And this confirms that all Johto Gym Leaders have not used the same Pokémon as they do in the games with Claire although using Kingdra, she doesn’t use Gyarados but owns three Dragonair in the games. Again the weird whizzing sound from last episode that sounds more like some sort of Pokémon is heard over the usual spinning sound as Charizard is released from its ball. If Ash released Charizard in the valley, what’s the deal with the Pokéball? Ash can still summon Charizard from a Pokéball yet he wasn’t seen giving the ball to Liza nor should he have been able to keep Charizard’s ball else he’d not have been able to carry 6 Pokémon. That really leaves only the possibility that maybe Charizard allowed itself to be captured by another Pokéball so Ash could surprise Clair with it. Who’s That Pokémon?: (The footprints of this Pokémon are poisonous!) Muk Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Clair and her Gym obviously but the Pikachu versus Gyarados battle is quite similar to one Scott had involving a Pikachu's Agility dodging a Gyarados's Hyper Beam by running under it before it hit the ground which left the opponent completely vulnerable to a final Electric attack). Why? Wynaut! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Wobbuffet, Meowth, Wynaut, Wooper, Bayleef, Noctowl, Dragonair, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Muk, Kingler Story: The group are still in Blackthorn City and sit for a meal with Clair who reveals the official name for the Johto League as the Johto League Silver Conference which takes place in Silver Town in three months; Ash must also register for the League in New Bark Town. Team Rocket spy and discover Ash has all eight badges and conduct a scheme to steal them all, rather than wanting to sell them Jessie wants to enter the League with them. Wobbuffet is blamed again when their food is stolen once more by the hidden blue Pokémon. The group leave Blackthorn where Team Rocket block them off posing as reporters wanting an interview, Jessie removes Ash’s jacket while he poses for photos and Meowth puts the badges in a box and leaves them in Wobbuffet’s care before Ash’s other possessions are returned. Ash’s next sentences provoke Team Rocket to perform the motto and stupidly reveal themselves; Ash soon discovers his badges have been replaced with bottlecaps. Meanwhile Wobbuffet stops at a checkpoint to wait for its trainer and the team, upon discovering berries it decides to pick some and add them to the box as a surprise that will make Jessie and Team Rocket happy. The mysterious Pokémon, a Wynaut, steals the box and is seen by Wobbuffet before Team Rocket return and Wobbuffet has nothing to show. Meowth translates to the team that Wobbuffet lost the box to a Pokémon but they misinterpret its drawing and figure a Wooper took the box. Though Clair assures Ash he can be re-issued badges, he explains the ones he’s lost have sentimental value to him. Team Rocket find a Wooper but it doesn’t have the box nor can it be caught, Ash has his Pokémon help search for the badges while Clair takes to the skies on Dragonair. Ash’s Pokémon find the Wynaut who can’t open the case it stole, Bayleef opens it and the badges are removed from the berries while Noctowl goes to alert Ash. The Wooper is chased to Bayleef and Wynaut hides before Team Rocket appear and spot the badges, Bayleef is quite prepared to defend them though faced against Arbok and Victreebel. Bayleef retreats with the Wooper and badges but drops them in the battle, and Wynaut dives in the way to repel a Poison Sting back at Arbok. Meowth grabs the badges but Ash arrives and chases Team Rocket, they get to their balloon and out of range so Ash has Bayleef hurl him upwards but they raise the balloon so that Ash misses and falls. Noctowl fails to break his fall but Clair and Dragonair catch him and chase the balloon, Pikachu teams up with Noctowl to get to the balloon and blast Team Rocket. Seven of the badges are retrieved but Ash’s Rising Badge is missing, luckily, Wynaut secretly finds and returns it to Ash’s Pokémon but leaves before Ash or the others get to see it, it appears on the back of a passing boat and waves goodbye to the Pokémon. After some lunch, the group report to Oak of Ash's success and are given directions back to New Bark Town by Clair before they say their goodbyes and depart. My favourite Quote: (After Wobbuffet draws a Pokémon, Wynaut, in the ground) James: “Eiiii! It’s my childhood nanny!... What was She doing here?” Things I’d like to point out: I think the narrator is off slightly calling Dragonair Clair’s strongest Pokémon. It only recently evolved and just because it was used last doesn’t mean it’s the strongest one Clair has, personally I thought Kingdra put up a better fight. The title pun is a simple one involving a Pokémon’s name in the phrase “Why? Why Not?” but Ash sounds like he’s saying just that instead of the Pokémon Wynaut. Why do trainers have to register again in the town they registered originally? It seems like a massive waste of time and you should be able to contact the League anywhere to confirm the eight badges and therefore register a place in the League. I see the point in registering before going after Gym Badges since it proves the trainer obtained the necessary badges in the allotted time, but people might not have time to get eight badges, return to the place they registered and still get to Mount Silver in time for the conference. This was just an excuse to go back to New Bark I’d say. This is the second time that Team Rocket resort to stealing badges, and Jessie still wants to participate in the League like last time, but again she wouldn’t get far, even with Weezing, Victreebel and Meowth she’d only have a total of five Pokémon and six Pokémon are needed for the final four rounds. The apparent doughnut holes looks more like a bag of potato chips. And James and Meowth phrase badly the doughnuts Wobbuffet was last accused of stealing as if they were the ring kind on account of Meowth saying that this time he stole the holes out of the doughnuts. Even Jessie made a reference to putting holes in the first lot of doughnuts when she was eating them. It’s nice to know that trainers who are robbed of their badges can have them re-issued instead of having to repeat the Gym Battles. I would think Gym Leaders had a list of all winning trainers in order to rightfully re-issue lost badges to trainers and possibly to confirm with league staff participants' wins to catch out thieves and phoneys. Team Rocket prove the motto is an obsession and any words in it used by anyone else can trigger them to uncontrollably perform it, the last time this happened was in “Fire and Ice” but the words "Prepared", and "Trouble" were used over and over and only said once in this episode. How did Team Rocket secure the bottlecaps to Ash’s coat, did they attach pins like the kind on badges? Poor Wobbuffet; you genuinely see how much it wants to impress Jessie and the others and want it to succeed but Wynaut cheats it out of being useful to its team. Big Big Mistake! And one so obvious it’s starting to look like no one proof- watches these episodes for mistakes. Ash claims he won a Glacier Badge from Falkner when he won a Zephyr Badge, and then clearly reveals this mistake when he correctly notes he got the Glacier Badge from Pryce. Bayleef shouldn’t have taken so long to separate the badges from the berries, what if Wynaut had foolishly eaten one? I’m not sure Ash would want That particular badge back considering the only methods likely to get it out. How come only four of Ash’s Pokémon at Oak’s get to go onscreen to congratulate him? What’s wrong with Heracross and Tauros? Contrary to Misty’s usual interruption, Brock has known Clair for longer than he usually gets to know a female (excluding Misty since she’s too young and Jessie because she’s an enemy). The Blackthorn area has had more episodes than any other town with a Gym yet; a grand total of five which beats Saffron’s two/three episodes (since one was in Lavender Town but made references to it and Sabrina), Cinnabar’s two episodes, Azalea Town’s three episodes, Goldenrod’s three episodes, Ecruteak’s four and finally Olivine’s two/three episodes and Mahogany’s two/three. This particular goodbye seems overdone and a little more sentimental than usual, especially with Clair’s “We’ll meet again, don’t worry!...” making it a little overdramatic. It’s possible this is the same Wynaut that debuted in the fifth mini-movie considering the almost deliberate fact that out of Ash’s Pokémon, only Bayleef and Noctowl see it and are the only Pokémon of his not to appear in the mini- movie. Who’s That Pokémon?: (The body of this Pokémon is harder than a diamond!) Steelix Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Yes to a Wynaut, but in the Hoenn region it hails from and the first Pokémon of one of the central characters. Just Add Water Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Corsola, Staryu, Goldeen, Politoed, Psyduck, Qwilfish, Mantine, Lanturn, Meowth, Totodile, Noctowl, Wobbuffet, Victreebel, Arbok Story: The group on their way back to New Bark Town find their way to the ocean where Misty lets out her Pokémon briefly. The group head along the shoreline and notice a sign advertising a swimming event, they’re guided into a stadium and the group compare it to the Cerulean Gym water shows Misty’s sisters performed. Brock is disappointed when the only human performing is a man (the one who guided them inside), and Team Rocket plan another of their schemes to steal the Water Pokémon for the Boss. The man introduces himself as Dorian and this place as the Coastline Gym, when showing them around; photos of Misty’s sisters are noticed with Dorian in the shots. Dorian is a regular visitor to Cerulean and aspires to make his Gym as good as theirs, Misty is outraged at what her sisters have been saying about her and her competitiveness for the love of Water Pokémon results in a battle between the two. Team Rocket’s Magikarp sub is rocked by Dorian’s Pokémon which causes a leak and for them to sink. Dorian’s Gym consists of an underwater field to provide true Water Pokémon Battles and Team Rocket’s sub is noticed as is passes by before rising. Totodile and Dorian’s Mantine easily send Team Rocket away and Ash pushes his way into being the one to battle Dorian. Totodile’s battle leads to Lanturn confusing it and dealing several physical hits, Misty guides Ash in the factors of an underwater environment, Totodile slashes Lanturn but Spark and Take Down finish the match. Misty is next and challenges Dorian to a three-on-three battle; Psyduck appears before the match out of its depth as always. Goldeen battles Qwilfish and the two are matched well, Qwilfish’s Pin Missile is deflected but Misty’s Horn Drill attack misses and Qwilfish finishes up with Pin Missile and Take Down, Corsola is up next against Mantine while Team Rocket plans revenge. Mantine’s Supersonic fails and it’s tackled but deals a couple of Wing Attacks, an Agility and Tackle technique dodges Spike Cannon and hits Corsola hard but it recovers its health and deals a big hit with Spike Cannon and Tackle to even the score. Before the last match goes underway, a whirlpool hits the group originating from a Krabby robot. Ash has Totodile attack and Dorian his Qwilfish but the two are sucked into the machine followed by Mantine and Lanturn. Corsola is called to use Tackle on the machine and deflects the suction whirlpool, but it aims up and drags Psyduck in and while rescuing it Misty, Corsola and Dorian are dragged inside and the robot retreats. Noctowl soon finds where Team Rocket have emerged, a battle begins but Psyduck jumps into battle while Misty and Dorian are freed. Arbok clamps onto Psyduck’s head and Victreebel attacks it, Misty spurs Arbok on to increase Psyduck’s headache, it uses Confusion and takes it to the next level with Psychic attack to defeat Team Rocket outright. All the Pokémon are returned while Dorian is impressed with Psyduck’s strength, he and Misty decide to call their match a draw and Dorian gives Misty the recognition as a trainer she deserves. The group agree to tell people at the Silver Conference about this Gym so that it might one day become official, and Dorian soon to visit Cerulean City agrees to tell her sisters how great Misty is doing. The group say their goodbyes and move on with their journey while a new picture of Dorian and Misty is added to the display. My favourite Quote: (A male performs synchronised swimming with Pokémon instead of the girls Brock expected) Brock (breaking down and crying): “It’s just not right! This should be illegal!” Things I’d like to point out: In Brock’s memory of Misty’s sisters they are wearing their bathing outfits, but when did Brock see them? Unless in “The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City” he waited for Ash to leave for the Gym and then snuck in to watch the water show. That episode was before Brock developed his more obsessive way with girls and he didn’t say a thing about them back then, in fact he showed a lot of will power to look only at Ash and didn’t look back as they were leaving. When he saw them again in “The Misty Mermaid”, they were fully clothed so the only logical explanation is that Brock has talked to Misty’s sisters offscreen and maybe caught them close to a performance. In Meowth’s latest Dream Moment, is it wise for the Boss to sunbathe with a Qwilfish on his chest? Aside from the obvious easiness of it hurting him, Qwilfish are Poison Pokémon. Why does everyone willingly wear their normal clothes underwater? They’ve been seen to own swimwear and even though they don’t need air surely it’s not easy at all to stand at the bottom without something heavy to keep them grounded. I do believe this is Totodile’s first Slash attack, I suppose it’s not used much because this is a kid’s show. When was the last time Goldeen won a match, other than against Team Rocket which is still a rarity? Since Misty barely uses it and therefore doesn’t ever train it its losses far outweigh the victories. Misty’s far from being a master in her element if she doesn’t train Pokémon that can only battle effectively in water, but what she should really do is take the time to teach Psyduck how to swim instead of keeping it ‘locked’ in its Pokéball. Shouldn’t the group have been immediately pulled into the machine before the Pokémon considering they’re naturally built to live and swim in water? Misty spurring Arbok to bite harder is completely reckless, was she that confident that her Psyduck could take it? What if it had become poisoned considering Arbok is a snake and what if Arbok’s fangs were harder than Psyduck’s head I shudder to think? Why does Dorian reckon that Misty could have brought out Psyduck in her battle? She didn’t, she clearly chose either Staryu or Politoed, Psyduck was currently on the surface in a rubber ring. Besides, Psyduck can only do anything decent if its head is attacked and it probably wouldn’t have been able to launch an effective Psychic attack underwater. Ash and the group blatantly don’t tell anyone about the Coastline Gym like they promised, not onscreen anyway. Dorian’s Gym is a little unfair though, as only Water Pokémon or ones that can breathe underwater can even battle there. I know there are a great deal of Pokémon that have flaws when fighting on land, but at least the majority of Pokémon can fight there. Personally I think this Gym is better suited to the Orange Islands, where specific challenges are set up to test trainers in other aspects rather than just pure battling. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon lives deep underground in molten lava!) Rhydon Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None but it’s a possibility Dorian’s Gym could make an appearance, though not as one of my ‘official’ 16 since they’ve already been planned. Lapras of Luxury Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Lanturn, Lapras, Meowth, Weezing, Wobbuffet, Arbok, Crobat Story: The group stop at a Pokémon Centre on the way back to New Bark Town, where Elm figured they’d be and pre-emptively called them. He requests if they could pick up a Pokémon Egg at the Marine Pokémon Laboratory. They stop off there but the place is seemingly deserted until a girl pushes past them and heads outside. Her Lanturn helps her track an event due to happen, several Lapras appear and one of them comes to Ash which turns out to be the one he used to travel and train with in the Orange Islands. This information helps Naomi who directs the entire laboratory and its research and was expecting Ash. Naomi studies the patterns of marine Pokémon and the Lapras migrate to these waters at the same time every year, apparently they can sense if the water temperature and season is suitable for them before getting anywhere near there. Naomi also studies the Lapras’s cries, one particular one having been dubbed as the Song of Travel and her Lanturn can use Supersonic to pinpoint the Lapras. Team Rocket watch in their Gyarados sub and plan on stealing the Lapras, while Naomi reveals the Pokémon Egg is said to come from the Pokémon preserve on Mount Silver which was stolen by poachers and then lost, found and brought here. Lapras wishes to play with Ash so he and Pikachu do a little surfing before night comes and Ash compliments Lapras on how much it’s changed. The other Lapras are caught in Team Rocket’s net, Lapras attempts to save them but Team Rocket’s escape is masked by Weezing’s Smokescreen. Lapras manages to catch up while the others board Naomi’s submarine but Team Rocket activate special turbine jets and escape. Lapras goes ahead while Ash joins the others in the submarine which tracks down the other Lapras. Meanwhile, the other Lapras struggle and manage to free themselves, Team Rocket try to rise to resolve the problem before losing all their spoils but run out of gas and are pulled into an area full of whirlpools. Most of the Lapras escape but two are still trapped as the submarine is dragged into the storm. Lapras calls out for the others and the group are led to it but it’s soon discovered that the leading Lapras and Ash’s Lapras’s mother are the ones Team Rocket dragged into the vortex. Ash’s Lapras leads the others and continues to call out for the missing Pokémon, Naomi explains after hearing the two that Lapras can distinguish the cries of their kind no matter how much noise there is. Team Rocket have wound up on an island and the Lapras surface soon as do the group, Brock steps in for the battle and has Crobat use Sonic Boom to do away with Team Rocket’s usual Pokémon (and to a lesser degree Pikachu Quick Attacks Meowth to get to the Lapras). The Lapras are quickly freed but Team Rocket’s Pokémon are up again, the Lapras all use Ice Beam to freeze Arbok and Weezing and Pikachu finishes Team Rocket off. The group later say goodbye to the Lapras school and they soon set out, but not before the leading Lapras gives leadership of the group to Ash’s Lapras. The group report to Professor Elm and Naomi is happy that her thesis can be completed due to this experience with the Lapras, and after their farewells to her the group head to New Bark Town with the Pokémon Egg. My favourite Quote: Brock (grasping her hand): “Uh Naomi? All of this talk is meaningless, let’s talk about you. About your likes and dislikes, favourite band, favourite colour, your blood-type, Everything!” Misty (dragging him away by the ear): “Enough. How about: Most Annoying Pokémon Breeder She Ever Met...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun comes from the term “Lap of luxury”. Don’t care if he figured it out in less than a minute, Ash should have realised immediately that the Lapras that came over to him used to be his own, even if it has grown a little. Related to the paragraph above, there’s an error in that Brock claims this is the Lapras they used to know from the Orange Islands, Brock didn’t travel around the Orange Islands nor did he ever meet Lapras. Since when did Team Rocket get the funds or feel they were any better as villains to upgrade back to a Gyarados submarine? Someone’s been dubbing attack names again: Ash orders a ‘Cold Beam’ which is clearly an Ice Beam. Naomi should be careful about saying it’s a deal in regards to seeing Brock again, give him any excuse and he might come back never to leave again. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon’s body is covered by spikes!) Qwilfish Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Hatch Me if You Can Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Larvitar, Cyndaquil, Jumpluff, Wobbuffet, Bellossom, Butterfree, Pidgey Story: The group take a rest on their way to New Bark Town where the egg in their care seems ready to hatch. It seems to be a false alarm and Team Rocket spot the possibly legendary Pokémon Egg and prepare to steal it. After Ash gives it some warmth, a Larvitar hatches but it’s sick and the group must rush it to the nearest Pokémon Centre where Joy has to call Professor Elm for his help. Elm is currently meeting up with Professor Oak and Delia Ketchum and therefore Joy is only able to send an e-mail and await his response. Night comes and Larvitar’s temperature keeps dropping and a storm seems to cause a power failure, Joy checks the back-up generator where she falls into Team Rocket’s trap and discovers it was sabotage. They appear disguised as doctors to take the Larvitar away but Brock is wary to the fact Jessie’s not the real Nurse Joy. Pikachu shocks them and sends them running and Joy is helped out but the generator cannot be fixed so Ash substitutes Cyndaquil to provide some heat for Larvitar. Meanwhile Elm and Oak debate on Pokémon such as the Red Gyarados during dinner and Delia notices the e-mail which alerts Elm to the problem with Larvitar. At night, Ash somehow shares the same nightmare as Larvitar does about the traumatic things that happened while it was in its egg. The professors and Delia arrive and while Oak and Elm see to the problem Delia makes a meal for everyone. The professors get Larvitar in the clear but Larvitar doesn’t respond to anything though it’s physically fine now. At dinner Ash mentions the dream he shared with it and that Larvitar’s trauma could have caused it not to want to live. Ash takes Larvitar outside to show it the world so that it’ll want to be a part of it, but it doesn’t seem to respond to everything. Team Rocket appear and soon attack in another vehicle, Ash is caught in a huge hand which forces him to drop Larvitar. Pikachu defends it but is soon caught, luckily a group of Jumpluff come to the rescue but once beaten Larvitar uses Screech attack and Ash orders it to run to safety. It remembers how Ash cared for it and instead uses Hidden Power to free everyone and send the machine flying, Ash congratulates Larvitar and urges it to open up to the Jumpluff wanting to be its friends. Several other Pokémon also appear as does the rest of the group, Elm thinks Larvitar is responding now but as soon as Misty tries to get close it pulls away, not ready to open up to other people which will take time for it to do so. Ash later registers for the Johto League and Ash is requested to look after Larvitar and return it to its birthplace before the group say their goodbyes and head towards the preserve and Silver Conference. My favourite Quote: Brock: “I knew it; this Nurse Joy is a cheap imitation!” Jessie (in disguise): “That’s ridiculous, what makes you think I’m not the genuine Nurse Joy?” Brock: “The Real Nurse Joy has a voice like an angel, clear and soft like a songbird in a tree. But You: Your voice sounds like a gravel truck on a dirt road!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun comes from the phrase “Catch me if you can”, there’s also a movie of the name same. The false alarm for the egg not hatching can be compared to false labour in real births. Larvitar might not be a Legendary Pokémon, but it comes close. In the current Pokédex numbering in the games, a rare and powerful three-stage Pokémon tends to be at the end of the Pokédex near Legendary Pokémon, Dratini, Dragonair and Dragonite qualified in Kanto, Larvitar and its evolutions in Johto and thankfully the tradition continues in the next region Hoenn. Is this the first time Mrs Ketchum’s name has actually been said in the series? I know it was done in the second movie but many events in that one seem to been completely disregarded in the series. There’s a glaringly obvious error in that when it first starts raining at night at the Pokémon Centre, there’s a shot in which it looks like a clear day, and no it’s not fog nor are the windows painted white because we see various shots afterwards showing it’s a dark night and sometimes proof of the rain. It’s strange that Brock uses rock and ground related terms, references and descriptions when describing the bad qualities in Jessie’s (posing as Nurse Joy) voice and beauty considering they’re related to the Pokémon he used to specialise in. And thank you Brock for actually noticing and pointing out the blatant fact that Jessie is wearing a mask and therefore the lips aren’t moving. This is like the third time Brock has unmasked a Joy impostor, but it doesn’t say too much since twice those times it was Jessie wearing a mask (the other time was Duplica). Larvitar wouldn’t normally learn Hidden Power, it has to be taught, and we know this wasn’t the case since it hatched this episode. None of the Butterfree flying together have any shine in their eyes; they’re just a plain red and seem a little empty and soulless. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon rubs its snout on the ground to find food!) Swinub Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None apart from a pair of Larvitars. Episodes #241 - #248 Episodes #257 - #264 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone