Episode Guide #257 - #264 Entei at Your Own Risk A Crowning Achievement Here’s Lookin’ at You, Elekid You’re a Star, Larvitar! Address Unown! Mother of All Battles Pop Goes the Sneasel A Claim to Flame! Entei at Your Own Risk Pokémon seen: Larvitar, Togepi, Pikachu, Ursaring, Aipom, Houndour, Girafarig, Houndoom, Piloswine, Swinub, Totodile, Cyndaquil, Bayleef, Phanpy, Noctowl, Staryu, Goldeen, Politoed, Psyduck, Corsola, Crobat, Pineco, Onix, Geodude, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Misdreavus, Forretress, Entei Story: The group head towards Mount Silver with the goals of reaching the Johto League and returning Larvitar to its home. Larvitar still gets nervous with other people and Ash is told by his friends that he shouldn’t pamper Larvitar so much and that it has to become comfortable with others as well. An angry Ursaring appears and chases the group away for unknown reasons and the group end up at a group of hot springs where various Pokémon relax. Upon stepping closer an alarm triggers and a boy called Nelson mistakes them for Entei whom he is searching for in order to catch it. The Ursaring appears and dives into a hot spring where it suddenly calms down; Nelson explains the hot springs have relaxing and healing properties. Nelson leaves soon after and Ash has his Pokémon appear to enjoy the hot springs but also to meet Larvitar, although they’re nice in their various approaches Larvitar becomes frightened and starts crying. The Pokémon play but Larvitar stays with Ash who attempts to comfort it, an area the Rock-types can enjoy is discovered and Larvitar is urged to relax until the Pokémon start throwing mud around and accidentally upset it again. Team Rocket spy on the situation and soon appear in disguise offering fruit Smoothies and Ash gullibly walks into their truck with his Pokémon. As it drives away, Ash has his Pokémon barge against the doors and then Pikachu’s electricity and Bayleef’s leaves which both don’t work, but a repeated strategy with Cyndaquil and Totodile heating and cooling the doors weakens them for Bayleef’s assault. Larvitar takes a fall in the escape but is caught by Nelson’s Misdreavus who has a secret strategy for catching Entei which Nelson is pleased to demonstrate in a battle. Team Rocket realise their captives have escape while Ash has Phanpy battle first against Misdreavus, although Phanpy tries hard it ends up confused by Psybeam and is victim to Misdreavus’s Mean Look technique. When Ash attempts to recall Phanpy it fails and Nelson explains that Mean Look is responsible but can also prevent wild Pokémon from escaping. Team Rocket immediately capture Misdreavus to use Mean Look on other Pokémon including Entei, they activate a fan to create a suction whirlwind to capture the Pokémon in the hot springs. Pineco is sucked in as well and Brock bravely leaps inside to rescue it but endangers himself, Pineco’s evolution causes it to break the spinning vortex and free the Pokémon and Brock. Ash’s Pokémon finish up by rescuing Misdreavus and Team Rocket’s next attempt causes too big a tornado which all the surrounding Pokémon attack to stop but fail. Nelson’s sensors go off right before a huge Flamethrower stops the cyclone and brings Team Rocket down, right under a looming Entei who ejects them from the area. Nelson challenges Entei and immediately puts Mean Look into effect before Misdreavus attacks, but it’s not powerful enough to defeat it and Entei’s Roar causes Misdreavus to return to its Pokéball before Entei leaves. Nelson is surprised his strategy failed but remains determined to someday catch Entei, the group soon leaves on their journey. My favourite Quote: James (referring to Team Rocket as a whole): “Lying’s our best trait!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is obviously from the phrase/warning “Enter at your own risk”. Though it was said to be hardening last episode, Ash says Misty and Brock made Larvitar harden, this is not to be confused with the technique Harden and to be honest a term that isn’t also a Pokémon attack should have been used instead. Um, Houndour and Houndoom are understandable, being dogs and all their Fire- type isn’t an issue when simply soaking in water, but given in the missing episode “The Ice Cave” that heaters weakened Ice Pokémon, surely the Ground- types Swinub and Piloswine shouldn’t be soaking in water as well as the fact that as Ice-types they probably shouldn’t be able to withstand the hot water. Blink and you’ll miss this, in the scene when Larvitar breaks down and cries after meeting the Pokémon, straight after Totodile falls in front of Larvitar, Larvitar disappears for a couple of frames. It looks to me like all the Pokémon are animated separately and someone made a mistake when it came to placing them all in this scene. I’d be angry if Psyduck’s fear of water had suddenly been forgotten... again (see “Tanks a Lot!” for what I mean by this), at least it wasn’t the last one in and therefore the Slowpoke as Misty playfully says; Politoed is. Ash neglects protecting or covering Larvitar from the splashes of water even though he acknowledges and comments on the fact that it's a Rock-type and doesn’t like water (it's a Ground-type too so its even worse). If Brock doesn’t want his Pokémon to feel left out he should have let his Onix and Geodude out at the same time as his other Pokémon, even if they couldn’t use the hot springs. In the mud ball fight, Cyndaquil aims for Totodile first, probably to make up for its mistreatment in past mini movies. Team Rocket don’t even try to be subtle anymore, they keep wearing their hair like they normally do while supposedly in disguise and Meowth is hardly ever covered up. But what’s worse is the simple fact that the group keep on falling for their tricks and believe anything they say even though only their clothes are different. Ash walks right into the back of a truck at the mention of free Smoothies, he sure didn’t listen if his mother told him not to accept things from strangers (or get into people’s vehicles even with his Pokémon). Nelson gets credited way too much, all his Pokémon did was catch Larvitar, if it hadn’t it would only have resulted in a little crying from the little Pokémon, Ash thanks Nelson as if he helped Ash escape Team Rocket’s truck. What is Meowth talking about? Ash complained that Team Rocket lied about them having Smoothies in their truck and yet Meowth speaks as if they have a lot of them. One of the basic mistakes in Ghost Pokémon happens in the battle, in the games regardless if Misdreavus were performing a physical attack or not, it should not have been able to be hit by Phanpy’s (Normal-type) Take Down attack. Only the technique Foresight can allow physical hits to contact Ghost-types. Surely being a Ghost-type Misdreavus should be able to phase through a simple net, the same problem reoccurs but with a tree in “Johto Photo Finish” which suggests Misdreavus lack the abilities which come naturally to Kanto Ghost Pokémon. How does Ash forget things so fast? Gym Leader Morty used Mean Look on Ash, he might not know about its effect on wild Pokémon but he should know Pokémon under this effect can’t be recalled until the end of battle. Bad enough Team Rocket seemingly stole their motto from Butch and Cassidy but in this episode they appear to have stolen their instrumental version of the Team Rocket theme in the background. James claims they’ll use Mean Look to capture the wild Pokémon only for Meowth to activate a huge suction device to obtain the wild Pokémon he’s talking about. It’s always great when an episode doesn’t make it blatantly obvious that one of the Pokémon are going to evolve, since usually they get more of an appearance than usual or are the focus of the story but Pineco didn’t do much of anything until the tornado incident where it suddenly evolves. I simply lit up as I did not see this one coming until it happened. What is Brock’s Onix doing to help attack the whirlwind? All the other Pokémon in shot have projectile attacks yet Onix just roars at it, it could at least have thrown some rocks or something. Nice to see the system with Entei is accurate in that it’s Very Hard to catch any of the Legendary Dogs. Personally Mean Look is a technique I gave up for Sleep techniques which offer just a little more time to weaken and catch the Legendary Pokémon. How come the group support Nelson’s trying to catch Entei but were enraged at Eusine for trying to catch Suicune; because Suicune has a purpose? Entei proved it protects Pokémon (or at least the hot springs) and therefore has just as much right to be free as Suicune and Raikou. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon will slug a target without warning!) Tyrogue Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. A Crowning Achievement Pokémon seen: Togepi, Pikachu, Larvitar, Meowth, Slowpoke, Slowbro, Slowking, Arbok, Weezing, Forretress, Shellder, Wobbuffet Story: The group’s journey continue and the others question Larvitar’s only opening up to Ash again and fail to get it to do so with them, they soon head to a waterfall for lunch and Team Rocket aren’t far behind. Ash takes a brief fall and finds a lake full of Slowpoke and a King’s Rock high up on a rock spire; they meet a girl called Alice and her father Professor Telesu who agree to explain the legend behind the key item. Alice owns a Slowpoke of her own named Arthur and the group are told this lake was lowered due to an earthquake and the Slowpoke suffer because of the lack of water. The group are led to a mural which depicts the legend that Slowpoke were in danger due to a lack of water but a Slowking saved them, and it’s explained that a King’s Rock and a Shellder bite to the head can instead evolve Slowpoke into Slowking instead of the usual Slowbro evolution with a Shellder bite to the tail. Team Rocket appear and a fight for the King’s Rock brings about a near-loss for Pikachu but Larvitar’s screeching interrupts the fight until Arthur (seemingly immune to it) calms it down. Team Rocket scramble for the item but Brock’s Forretress stops them so Pikachu can blast them away. Several Slowpoke have tried to collect the King’s Rock in order to save their kind but as demonstrated, it’s difficult because Shellder reside here and instantly bite the tails of all Slowpoke that go for the King’s Rock, evolving them into Slowbro instead. When Alice gets upset at the thought of the Slowpoke dying out Arthur heads towards the King’s Rock, several Shellder leap up but Arthur dodges and knocks them away, it falls into the water briefly but uses its tail to propel it forward. As it makes the final climb it’s in danger of being bitten until Larvitar screams out which Arthur is immune to, while the Shellder are distracted Arthur is able to reach and place the crown on its head in time to be bitten there and evolve into Slowking. Team Rocket appear and instead go for Arthur but it’s very adept in Psychic attacks and sends their net back at them, Meowth clouds the area but it backfires in that Team Rocket can’t see through the smog either, giving Arthur the chance to bring them down with Confusion. After receiving bites from Shellder, Pikachu sends Team Rocket away and now Arthur can lead the Slowpoke and Slowbro to paradise where they’ll be able to live, it uses its powers to split the waterfall and reveal a tunnel behind it which leads to a lake cave where the Pokémon can live, but this means it must say goodbye to Alice. The waterfall closes up but the group comfort her in that surely she’ll be able to visit whenever she wants, Alice and her father vow to protect the paradise before the groups say their goodbyes and depart. My favourite Quote: Brock: “Not many people have a king for a friend.” Togepi: “To-ge-priii!...” Alice: “That’s true. One who loves me...” Things I’d like to point out: This episode proves outright that... Brock Has Eyes! He shows this while pulling faces for Larvitar but it seems a little more scary than a revelation so I don’t blame Larvitar for getting scared over this, nor do I know why Brock and his entire family given they probably all have eyes keep them virtually closed all the time. When Ash dashes through the forest, Larvitar’s black scar-like shape near its eyes disappears and only its closed joyful eyes are visible. It’s surprising the talking Slowking from the second movie isn’t mentioned by either Ash or Misty considering it talked to them and that they mentioned the Lugia from then when they saw another in the Whirl Islands. It’s also strange that the King’s Rock that Ash claimed and eventually used on Poliwhirl isn’t mentioned either. The Slowpoke is obviously named Arthur because it completes a trial, claims an important item that others could not obtain and evolves into a Slowking to lead the other Slowpoke/Slowbro (as in King Arthur). Is it possible that Ash’s Pokémon altered destiny? Maybe Arthur wasn’t meant to become a Slowking; it would surely have been bitten on the tail and become a Slowbro if Larvitar hadn’t stunned the Shellder. Brock shouldn’t be so quick to assume just because they can’t see Team Rocket through the smoke that the vice versa applies to Team Rocket, for all he knew Meowth could have brought special goggles to see through it, like a complete idiot he didn’t but he could have. The Pokéball sound and Wobbuffet is again incorrect, Wobbuffet couldn’t have appeared from its Pokéball already with a Shellder on its head and it definitely couldn’t have happened earlier since Pokéballs have been said only to be able to contain one Pokémon (even though Shellder become an official part of Slowbro), this probably again comes down to the poor choice of sound made in Wobbuffet’s presence. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon uses its strong mind instead of its strong body!) Kadabra Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Here’s Lookin’ at You, Elekid Pokémon seen: Togepi, Larvitar, Pikachu, Elekid, Meowth, Bayleef, Weezing, Meganium, Forretress, Magikarp, Wobbuffet, Victreebel, Weepinbell, Weezing, Arbok, Phanpy Story: The group take another break and Larvitar is still not comfortable around Misty, an Elekid appears and steals Larvitar’s food, Ash is caught in the crossfire of Pikachu and Elekid but the newcomer acts friendly towards Larvitar before the two are suddenly netted by Team Rocket. Bayleef’s attacks have no effect and Weezing masks the escape, Team Rocket later gloat on their victory but Elekid frees itself and Larvitar and happily takes care of it for now. The group worry this could make Larvitar revert to its closed-off state before a Meganium appears to them along with its trainer Casey who is happy to see them but judges Ash’s Bayleef in that it has yet to evolve. Casey is seemingly after the Elekid that the group saw and Team Rocket captured, meanwhile Larvitar gets hungry and Elekid retrieves some apples for them to eat and cares for it in a brotherly way. Meowth devises a scheme where the Boss could use Elekid to power his electric tools and for Larvitar to be the Boss’s servant. They manage to catch Elekid and Larvitar a second time but with an electric- proof net, Larvitar cries out which lures the group to Team Rocket. Meganium’s Razor Leaf cuts through the weak but electric-proofed net and Forretress uses Rapid Spin to send Team Rocket crashing down. Elekid and Larvitar aren’t found though having taken a fall into the area below, and Team Rocket land on the Magikarp salesman that James has encountered several times before. James grabs him and orders a refund but since he lost the Pokémon a long time ago James isn’t entitled to his money back. The salesman instead offers a Weepinbell he claims can attract wild Pokémon but he will only trade for it. Team Rocket discuss which of their Pokémon to give up, Victreebel is the weakest link and so traded. Weepinbell’s Sweet Scent is fanned out and Elekid is attracted as is Meganium, Pikachu and Togepi. Elekid and Larvitar fall into a hole but a second one is planted to trap the others. Meganium frees the group and it and Phanpy battle Arbok and Weepinbell, James’s new Pokémon battles hard and makes a comeback from a near loss to defeat Phanpy, but it evolves afterwards into a Victreebel which attacks Jessie in the same way James’s old one did. Forretress frees the two captives while Team Rocket deals with Victreebel themselves when Jessie has Arbok attack it and send it flying. They are then easily defeated by Razor Leaf and Solarbeam while the salesman has discovered Victreebel’s flaw and kicks it away, it crashes into the other Victreebel and they instantly fall in love and leave together. The group realise Elekid has been looking out for Larvitar and Casey swiftly challenges it, it fends off Meganium’s opening attacks but can’t stand against its raw strength and Solarbeam attack and is caught. Casey comforts Larvitar in that it will be taken care of, and before saying her goodbye she cheers Ash on with her usual Electabuzz chant. My favourite Quote: James (at the notion of having to trade Victreebel): “But Jess’, I’ve got... a certain fondness for that man-eater. And while it Is true that during our morning feedings it Does try to eat me every time, Still... I share some wonderful memories with poor Victreebel...” Things I’d like to point out: There’s a noticeable change in the way everyone looks, this is because digital colouring is now used and the way the series will permanently look, but Jessie’s hair is more of a purple colour now. The title pun is based on a famous line from the movie Casablanca “Here’s Looking at you, Kid”. Wrong! Ash’s Pokédex must be faulty or all of them were programmed by idiots, it claims Elekid is the evolved form of Electabuzz but it’s Electabuzz that’s the evolved form of Elekid and Ash’s Pokédex proves this in “Current Events”. Very few Pokémon get smaller in size when they evolve, in fact I can only think of one that actually does so (Gloom to Bellossom). Why does Bayleef aim at the Pokémon in the net and not the line which holds them? Had the net broken surely the Pokémon inside would have been hit next and surely Bayleef if not Ash should realise Larvitar is weak against Grass attacks (on the double since Larvitar is both Rock and Ground-type). Since Elekid's electricity can easily shock James while in the net, whatever stopped Pikachu from ever doing the same? It could at least try like every other time whenever Team Rocket don't splash out on electric-proof equipment. Why does Casey comment on how Ash’s Bayleef hasn’t evolved when the last time she saw Ash although he now had a Chikorita he didn’t show or mention it to her (“The Bug Stops Here”)? Casey has no right to moan at Ash for not evolving his Bayleef, since at the end of the episode she reveals she’s only gotten four badges. I think collecting badges is a little more important than purely evolving Pokémon and Casey has obviously fallen behind at some point or failed in some Gym Battles to end up with half the amount Ash has throughout the year. Another Dream Moment as Meowth imagines Larvitar as the Boss's servant and Elekid powering up the Boss’s electronic appliances, and that it would save money compared to plugging them into a socket; however isn’t the Boss rich given the lifestyle we’ve seen so far? Electric bills wouldn’t really be an issue. It just had to happen; Ash and Misty have twice made this mistake with their Lure Balls so it was only a matter of time before Brock made the same error. Forretress when it was a Pineco was caught in a Fast Ball but today it’s called from a run of the mill Pokéball. The ball spins a bit fast the first time to know for sure but it’s clear in the second half of the episode that the yellow shapes are not visible on the ball; evolution doesn’t change the Pokéball a Pokémon was caught in. There’s another case of blatant dubbing but I don’t see the point, seeing as James still had the same voice now as he does then, not only is it obvious the sounds of the flashback have been dubbed, but some of the lines too. In “Pokémon Shipwreck”, James called Magikarp a good for nothing fish, but in the flashback he says its a good for nothing carp/‘karp, also he made a grunt as he kicked Magikarp before adding “Good riddance!” but the flashback shows him saying this as he kicks Magikarp. For some reason, the Magikarp is different too, it sounded desperate and hurt but in this flashback it sounds like every other calm Magikarp even though it was distressed and upset and about to evolve. Why does James whine over the loss of Victreebel? Weepinbell evolves into Victreebel. I’m fully aware it does just this within the same episode but it’s way too coincidental that it has exactly the same flaw as James’s first Victreebel in biting people, although there’s the return of a certain error in that this Grass Pokémon needs a Leaf Stone to evolve but there’s none in sight when it does so. Casey’s Chikorita used Sweet Scent in “The Double Trouble Header” and so one would think the evolved Meganium and maybe Ash’s Bayleef should be immune or wise to it as such. Just to note that a number of the flashbacks are counted in the Pokédex Count but some are not for the fact that some are original flashbacks and others are old clips from old episodes which I make a policy not to include. These few scenes involving James’s memories of Weepinbell/Victreebel seem to lay rest a rumour I heard in that the Japanese version of “The Breeding Center Secret” involved James stealing Victreebel from the Day Care Centre and not having left a Weepinbell there. It is possible however that additional scenes were added as has been done in certain Pokémon movies. Why do Team Rocket get excited that Meganium and Pikachu have unexpectedly been lured as well as their targets but don’t attempt to capture Pikachu when it falls into a hole, Meganium would be understandable because of its large size. Weepinbell shouldn’t have been able to evolve on its own, as like many other Pokémon; their final evolution can only be achieved through stones, namely the Leaf Stone. There wasn’t even any lying around like the incident where an Exeggcute evolved into an Exeggutor in the second film’s mini-movie. This is the third time a Team Rocket Pokémon has evolved within the same episode it was obtained (the first two being Magikarp to Gyarados and Shellder to Slowbro) only for Team Rocket to lose it in the same episode, and the second time a Team Rocket Pokémon is traded (Lickitung for Wobbuffet being the first). The new Victreebel leaves some kind of liquid on Jessie’s head as she escapes its jaws, could it be the honey that Pokédex entries mention or the acid? The only other suggestion is that Jessie sweated a bit while inside the Victreebel. This episode clears up the issue of Victreebel’s gender, not only does James call her a man-eater but the voice heard in the majority of its appearances always sounded female (though its first appearance in “The Breeding Center Secret” had it with a more masculine voice plus it used to say its name rather than scream), obviously the new Victreebel is male. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon uses its pendant for hypnotizing!) Hypno Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. You’re a Star, Larvitar! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Larvitar, Eevee, Marill, Hitmontop, Vulpix, Magby, Cyndaquil, Magmar, Quilava, Bayleef, Phanpy, Noctowl, Totodile, Meowth, Primeape, Scizor, Machoke, Quagsire, Voltorb, Furret, Wobbuffet, Arbok, Weezing Story: The group are at the base of Mount Silver and speak with Professor Elm before heading out and he is impressed with Larvitar’s growing confidence. A trainer called Satchel challenges Ash to a battle and as always he cannot resist, Satchel uses a Magby, which he wishes to evolve and Ash chooses Cyndaquil. It gets the first hit in and a second before its Flamethrower is countered by the Magby’s, it even manages to overpower it but Cyndaquil dodges. The Magby uses Double Team and outsmarts Cyndaquil to get a clean Dynamicpunch attack to defeat Cyndaquil. Though Ash doesn’t think Magby needs to evolve Satchel is aware there are powerful trainers in the Silver Conference and a Magmar would fare much better. Ash has his Cyndaquil rest and is worried about its chances in the league when he notices its evolved form Quilava and its trainer practising. Ash decides that work must be done while he can and gathers all of his Pokémon for special training while Team Rocket disregard most of his Pokémon for the ones they spot training for the league. Ash pairs his Pokémon up against each other to hone their skills, while Larvitar wanders off and is almost thought to be wild by the group of trainers. Before Brock and Misty can reclaim it, Larvitar and the other Pokémon are sucked away by fierce winds, Ash and his Pokémon save Larvitar but the others are caught by Team Rocket. Cyndaquil attempts to attack but it and Ash and sucked into the vacuum with Larvitar secretly clinging to the device, Ash is later tied up and locked in a cabin while the Pokémon are stored in a truck. Larvitar bites a hole in one of the tyres and digs under the cabin to free Ash by eating away at the ropes, while Team Rocket discover and fix the broken tyre Ash scolds Larvitar a little for putting itself in danger but is thankful for its help. Larvitar is told to sneak up and instruct the Pokémon to use their abilities to escape, starting with the two Fire Pokémon but Team Rocket fix the tyre quicker than expected so Larvitar bursts the new one. Noctowl discovers the truck as the Pokémon melt the case they’re trapped in and escape, the Pokémon briefly hide and escape when the chance comes, Arbok and Weezing are called to attack but Noctowl knocks them both down while the others catch up. The Poison Pokémon are repelled by Magby, Phanpy and Totodile, Arbok is literally thrown back into the fight and Magby uses Dynamicpunch multiple times on Arbok and evolves as a result. Its Flamethrower toasts the enemies and Cyndaquil finishes off Team Rocket as a whole. Larvitar is given credit for its bravery and cunning and the group head away from the stadium to stop at the Pokémon preserve, Satchel leaves for the league and says his goodbyes while Ash notes that despite not having evolved, his Pokémon have power and skill to beat the opposition. My favourite Quote: Ash: “My Pokémon may not have evolved yet but they’ve got power and heart. Now it’s up to me to make sure that gets used... in all the right ways.” Things I’d like to point out: Um, Elm’s calling Mason a fellow and referring to Mason as a ‘he’ implies that Mason is male but as we see in two episodes time, Mason is female. This isn’t the first time this has happened as a very similar error occurred with Professor Ivy in that Oak implied Ivy was male when she’s female two episodes before the group met her. I’m getting sick of Misty always mentioning or adding Water-types to the conversation, because she pretty much does it whenever she can! Yes Ash would be better off using Totodile Misty but he chose not to, and Magby is one of the baby Pokémon and therefore type advantage shouldn’t really be necessary, that and maybe Ash just wants to challenge himself or give his own Fire-type some training. It’s not like she doesn’t barge into battles with Water Pokémon only to use hers in kind. Satchel reckoned all the Pokémon in the Silver Conference would be strong fully evolved Pokémon and that Magby wouldn’t last half a round. Just because a Pokémon is evolved doesn’t always mean it’s strong, if a Level 30 Magmar battled against a Level 50 Magby, the Magby would still have a good chance of winning. The same should apply to Ash’s Pokémon, they haven’t evolved like other people’s Pokémon for some reason (other than keeping them cute and appealing to kids who buy the merchandise), they must be high level considering Ash doesn’t keep them switched out of the team for long if at all. However, Ash's opponents are mostly fully evolved Pokémon except for Machoke, Slugma and Quilava. Ash shouldn’t suddenly feel he needs evolved Pokémon, though he actually trains his Pokémon for the Silver Conference he was clearly thinking about his Cyndaquil evolving while staring at Quilava. It’s quite obvious that someone has set a tradition in which only one of Ash’s Starter Pokémon evolves per region, Charmander evolved but the others didn’t and then Chikorita evolved but the others didn’t, the tradition is only broken in the next region in that Ash doesn’t get all three Starter Pokémon but the one he does obtain still evolves. The Quagsire though apparently heavy and being pulled along slowly by the winds makes no attempt to escape in the first scene this occurs, either it doesn’t care at the time or it’s just plain slow and dense, however in the next scene it tries to cling to the floor and get away. Strange but true; though it doesn’t look like it has fangs or sharp teeth, Larvitar can use Bite so that’s probably what was used to munch through the tyres and ropes. Also, Larvitar suddenly knows the technique Dig, or at least how to burrow underneath earth and wood. When James is seen replacing the two tyres it appears to be rotating anti- clockwise even though James is moving it clockwise. If the glass could be melted by fire it only proves that Pokémon can use their abilities while in captivity but for some reason don’t think to do so, if not the Fire-types then surely Scizor could have punched its way out, unless it’s loyal to the point it only does as its trainer tells it to. Why does Ash think the Pokémon needed to hide? Now that they are outside the cage and Team Rocket don’t seem to be in possession of any other hi-tech traps, the Pokémon could easily overpower them. Why does Ash refer to beating up Team Rocket as training, his Pokémon do it virtually every day that it’s more like a formality to them now, that won’t help him much in the league as half the time Team Rocket take whatever’s thrown at them and their Pokémon don’t dodge as much as they should. Who’s That Pokémon?: (When this massive Pokémon barks, volcanoes erupt!) Entei Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Address Unown! Pokémon seen: Larvitar, Pikachu, Togepi, Unown, Meowth, Wobbuffet Story: The group are headed to the preserve when they witness a strange anomaly in the sky, a strange Pokémon falls out of the otherworldly vortex and lands on Misty. The Pokémon is an Unown and the portal disappears, Misty seems to know what the Unown feels because of the brief connection and caught a glimpse of Unown’s world. The group nurse it back to health and Larvitar befriends the Unown when it briefly wakes, Brock explains that Unown can telepathically link with minds and that they appear to come from a different dimension. The Unown wakes up and Ash promises to get it home before it falls, needing a little more rest. The group realise that Larvitar can relate to the Pokémon away from its family, Team Rocket intrude and plan to steal the rare Unown. In the morning Unown is feeling better, but Larvitar still shows it’s shy around the others, Team Rocket appear having just got up and Larvitar is quick to defend Unown. Larvitar uses Hidden Power attack before Team Rocket can draw out their Pokémon and Wobbuffet counters it, Unown glows right before impact and Team Rocket are blasted away while the group have all vanished from the area. Ash wakes in a strange world with Misty and Brock who believe they are in another dimension but not Unown’s home. Pikachu appears but is super-sized, as is Togepi, the Pokémon give the trainers a lift as they search for Larvitar and see images and transformations related to Elekid, Magby and Slowking, all are Pokémon Larvitar has witnessed on the group’s recent adventures. The group end up at a large egg with a black shard piercing it, Ash sees an image of himself as do Brock and Misty, but theirs are black and white and freezes. Brock figures out that they are in Larvitar’s head and the images of themselves relate to how Larvitar sees them, and that Unown’s mind must have merged with Larvitar’s during the clash. Ash and the others are absorbed when he touches the black shard, inside the Pokémon return to their normal size just before the group witness a crazed machine and are surrounded by black twisted vines. They hear a familiar voice and see the image of the thugs who stole Larvitar’s egg and of its enraged mother Tyranitar who was hit with an assault of weaponry to fend it off and left damaged with a permanent scar on its chest. The group are sad in that this event was the biggest factor in why Larvitar fears humans, they see it but it becomes trapped by and held at the top of a hill of black twisted roots which represent Larvitar’s painful memories. Ash is dead set on helping Larvitar free itself from this mess and charges up the hill with Pikachu despite the dangerous black root growths continuing to shoot up, when they reach the top Larvitar is completely overwhelmed and then encased in a cold jewel. The group fight to free it while telling Larvitar it has to remember the happy thoughts and times and that it must give humans a chance. Ash manages to free Larvitar and the group reappear at the egg where the black shard disappears and the group are returned to their world. Larvitar seems to finally trust Brock and Misty and opens up to them, the group thank Unown before a portal to the Unown’s dimension opens up to return Unown back home. Larvitar is now free of its horrid memories and the next stop will be Larvitar’s home. My favourite Quote: Brock: “Not all humans are bad Larvitar! You’ve got to give us a chance!” Things I’d like to point out: The Unown in the second set of games are all shaped like different letters of the alphabet, this one is a ‘G’ version. The title pun is obviously from the term “Address Unknown”. Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t the Unown the first Pokémon to be animated in CG within the series? They were also the first to be animated in kind in the movies although the event involving them in the third movie is once again part of the Pokémon history that isn’t referred to or remembered. Like the events in “Hatch Me if You Can”, its proven that Pokémon can develop memories of things that happened while they were Eggs but to the point it can remember humans and Pokémon that were around it, obviously trainers need to treat the Eggs as well as they would treat Pokémon since it remembers virtually all that happened to it despite not technically being born. With the exceptions of Meowth, Maiden’s Peak’s Gastly, the Christmas Lapras and special/Legendary Pokémon from the movies, Larvitar is the first basic Pokémon to be heard speaking like a human, however brief it is. Surprisingly not very much is to be said except I really liked this episode, Pokémon doesn’t usually deal with astral planes/representations of the mind and this one was carried out well without making it complicated for younger viewers, that and its got some great and original dramatic and choir musical themes among the series and movie soundtracks. Who’s That Pokémon?: (If spotted, this legendary Pokémon disappears in a flash of fire!) Moltres Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None as planned, but maybe a similar experience. Mother of All Battles Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Larvitar, Togepi, Tyranitar, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Crobat, Croconaw Story: The group reaches Larvitar’s home, the Pokémon finally having learned to trust and open up to them all, but a strange machine spies on the group as they enter the preserve. Larvitar happily leads the way and seemingly knows its way around though it was an egg when it was taken away. A trio of poachers called Brago, Chico and Blurt follow the group in their machine while the group hear the growls of a big Pokémon before Tyranitar appears (a specific Tyranitar with a scar the group recognise), this is Larvitar’s mother but she doesn’t realise that the group have been helping her baby and attacks them. The group fail to prove they’re not the thugs who stole it and must make a run for it with Larvitar following them despite it being the only one who can convince its mother of their innocence. Larvitar falls during the assault and cries once Tyranitar gets close, the mother calms down and sees things clearly but the trio strike and trap the parent in a device called a Pokébag which completely encases the Tyranitar. The group recognise the trio from Larvitar’s memories and Team Rocket are jealous of the Poacher Brothers in their equipment, their posing and the leader’s rhyming talents, they decide to join the brothers but backstab them when they have the chance. Ash saves Larvitar from being bagged and the trio escape when Ranger Mason arrives with her Croconaw. The group explain they brought Larvitar back on behalf of Elm but that the Tyranitar was captured, luckily Brock’s Crobat was sent to follow them. Team Rocket are accepted into the trio and are ordered to capture Pikachu and Larvitar and are even lent their technology. Crobat reports back and the group head out but are soon confronted by Team Rocket in the poachers’ vehicle; a Pokébag is fired but is deflected onto Team Rocket by Pikachu and Croconaw. Chico controls the machine via remote control as the trio ride in Team Rocket’s balloon and Croconaw is captured along with Pikachu. The group are quickly caught in a Pokébag, and only Larvitar is free to save its mother, it screams out and its mother suddenly begins to struggle until it starts using Hyper Beam to break through but a shock mechanism is used, still it frees itself and sends the balloon crashing down while smashing the remote which breaks the Pokébags. The trio jump into their vehicle and charge forward but Tyranitar and Larvitar attack, freeing Pikachu and Croconaw while destroying the vehicle outright. Larvitar is reunited with its happy mother, and the trio is captured, when everyone thanks the group and Larvitar it surprisingly doesn’t withdraw with strangers having gained confidence. The group are guided towards Silver Town and say their goodbyes to Mason, before they leave Tyranitar and Larvitar arrive to say their thanks and goodbyes. Meanwhile Team Rocket are still trapped in the Pokébag and stuck in yet another bleak situation. My favourite Quote: Brago: “I’m Brago. What I’m known for... is speaking in phrase.” Chico: “And I’m Chico, criminal equipment inventor, there’s nothing bad I can’t invent.” Blurt: “My name’s Blurt an’ I’m the strong silent type, ‘cept I talk a lot an’ break stuff by mistake.” Brago: “Together we’re... Ha ha ha!” All three: “The Pokémon Poacher Brothers!” Things I’d like to point out: Glad to see continuity wasn’t ruined within one episode of change to Larvitar, it even lets Brock carry it for a change, making this the one episode in which everyone gets to carry a Pokémon who don’t ever enter Pokéballs. Tyranitar is reckless in attacking the group despite seemingly knowing Larvitar is its child and yet it keeps shooting at them despite the fact Larvitar is running with them and in close proximity. Why is Team Rocket jealous of the poachers’ rhyming? Every so often they invent varied new lines for their motto which are always known to rhyme. How did Brock know Mason was Mason? Elm suggested to the group two episodes ago that Mason was male, yet Mason is female and somehow Brock knows it, this obviously comes down to bad scriptwriting without long term thinking which has led to this continuity error, Mason is a masculine name though so someone must have assumed that instead of checking ahead first. Before anyone complains, electrocuting a Tyranitar is a valid move since upon evolving to its final stage it loses its Ground-type traits and replaces it with Dark attributes. How is it that Ash was freed from the Pokébag when the remote was smashed but Team Rocket are still trapped in theirs? Unless the release device has a limited range. So how are they supposed to escape for the next episode? It took Tyranitar’s supreme strength to tear a slight hole and I assume something sharp to cut Ash out of his, Team Rocket don’t appear to have either. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon stores berries inside its shell!) Shuckle Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Pop Goes the Sneasel Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Poliwhirl, Houndoom, Scyther, Fearow, Ursaring, Rhydon, Ho-oh, Meowth, Machoke, Machop, Sneasel, Arbok, Corsola, Totodile, Phanpy, Wobbuffet, Blaziken Story: No longer in custody of Larvitar, the group reaches the Ho-oh Shrine where a torch is to be taken from here to the Johto League Silver Conference. But there is a delay, Togepi wanders inside followed by the others where two trainers come running down a flight of stairs complaining about something that has hurt their Pokémon. The group is asked to help with a problem and are joined by a trainer called Harrison. It’s apparent that the runners can’t carry the flame to the stadium because a wild Sneasel lives near the place where the Sacred Flame is kept, It’s a remnant from a legend which tells of a war waged by Pokémon and people which laid waste the earth, Ho-oh is said to have appeared and destroyed the human weapons to end the battle and then revived all that was lost resulting in peace and co-existence, the one remaining flame that exists today is the Sacred Flame. Harrison is looking to catch a Sneasel and is eager to solve the problem while gaining a new Pokémon and heads up the stairway with the group. Team Rocket plan on getting the flame themselves to hold it up for ransom but they are stopped by the Sneasel and its accomplices Machoke and Machop. The group reaches the top and battle the Pokémon group with Corsola and Harrison’s Houndoom, Ash gets to the shrine but is attacked by Sneasel, he has Totodile battle it but it’s bested. The others beat their opponents and arrive at the shrine just as Shadow Ball defeats Totodile and sends it with Ash tumbling down the stairway hill. Team Rocket separate from Meowth and consider replacing him with Sneasel but he overhears and pretends to take the news well and co-operate. The group returns to the mean trio and fight with Phanpy and Houndoom to quickly dispose of Machoke and Machop. Before Harrison can battle Team Rocket appear in a Sneasel-shaped balloon and Meowth disguised as a Sneasel is sent to gain its trust with a present concealing a smoke bomb, but he deliberately spills the plan to Sneasel who retaliates by attacking Meowth, the bomb goes off and Jessie and James make a grab and leave... but it turns out they snatched Meowth. The three squabble which results in Meowth accidentally popping and exploding the balloon and sending them away. Harrison challenges Sneasel with an unknown Pokémon called Blaziken, Quick Attack hits the Sneasel and after dodging Shadow Ball, its Flamethrower and Fire Punch weaken the Sneasel so it can be captured. The Sacred Flame is secured and the torch is ready, now Machoke and Machop serve as guards of the shrine. Harrison announces he’s a competitor here to Ash and that they’ll probably be opponents, Ash has high hopes of winning every battle that comes his way in the tournament. My favourite Quote: James (to Jessie): “You’ve got a point there, but think of everything we’ve been through with our little Meowthy!” Meowth (secretly listening in): “That James may not be smart but he sure is sweet!...” Jessie: “James, use your head! If we had fought side by side with Sneasel instead of that sorry excuse for a sidekick... we might have actually Accomplished something by now!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is so obviously based on the nursery rhyme “Pop Goes The Weasel”. Why is Pikachu getting blamed for entering a place it shouldn’t when it only did so to stop Togepi, can’t Ash or Misty see that? Misty only scolds Togepi but she should have stood up for Pikachu. It was her that requested Pikachu help her raise Togepi back in “Who gets to keep Togepi?” so surely she should see it was only looking out for it. According to the visualisation, the flame of Ho-Oh wasn’t rose-coloured; it’s more yellow and orange. In the hospital picture, someone has a bandage over his head, did Sneasel do that and does that mean the trainer has permanent damage to his eye? Usually putting Houndoom against a Fighting Pokémon would be unwise as Fighting attacks are effective against Dark-types, because of this the Sneasel must be stupidly more powerful than Machoke and Machop in order to lead them because it’s double weak against their type attacks being a Dark-type and an Ice-type. Sneasel’s Faint Attack which comprises of it tricking the opponent to let its guard down before attacking is definitely a little odd, the word Feint is a better one to describe the action used, maybe the translators thought the technique was spelt with an ‘e’ instead of an ‘a’. Meowth wonders if with the right training he could become a Sneasel, but he’s not thinking straight and could only become a Persian but Meowth doesn’t think that would be too bad. I really can’t imagine a talking Persian and I’m 99% sure we’re never going to see one. Jessie refers to Sneasel once as ‘the green guy’; Sneasel is slightly green but has lately been known for its more black coloured features. However, the original sprites in Pokémon Gold and Silver did depict a dark green Sneasel before it got a makeover in Pokémon Crystal and all future sprites. Jessie and James’s plan is very much flawed, the first mistake being their expecting Meowth’s help when they clearly meant to replace him with Sneasel, and even if they had grabbed Sneasel instead of Meowth from the smoke bomb explosion, what exactly was keeping it from simply attacking them in their balloon? What direction was Jessie trying to throw Meowth, he’s obviously thrown upwards within range of the balloon so what was Jessie expecting? She not only throws like a girl, but an incredibly stupid girl. How is Brock so sure Blaziken comes from the Hoenn region? Has he been there before? With the sudden appearance of a Hoenn Pokémon I guess the translators figured Brock is the most likely member of the group to have knowledge of such things. Blaziken’s appearance means the Hoenn count in Johto episodes is now three (including Kecleon and Wynaut) to Johto’s in Kanto’s two (Togepi and Marill), this isn’t counting the Pokémon seen in movies however. Sneasel has a very hollow echo to its voice this episode but in future episodes while it belongs to Harrison this echo appears to disappear completely. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon rotates its arms to generate electricity!) Elekid Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. A Claim to Flame! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Girafarig, Piloswine, Meganium, Snorlax, Wigglytuff, Tauros, Electrode, Nidoking, Feraligatr, Ursaring, Furret, Phanpy, Machoke, Exeggutor, Cyndaquil, Mr Mime Story: The group are in Silver Town and Ash is all registered for the tournament, he runs into Gary who is confident about winning the entire league. The group head towards the Athletes’ Village where they’ll be staying and run into Mr Goodshow who has to greet the fans in this tournament. Meanwhile Team Rocket are waiting tables or cooking, Jessie is effectively insulted and eats someone’s food and the rest of the team act in kind and are all fired before long. The group briefly observe their room before Ash has to go for the Athlete’s Screening; a series of one-on-one battles which will lower the competition to just 48 trainers after all the matches are judged. Ash battles Salvador of Cherrygrove City and a random wheel chooses who must release their Pokémon first, he goes with Pikachu while Salvador chooses a Furret. The opponent dodges Thunderbolt with Double Team and attacks with Swift, a Quick Attack is dodged by Dig and Pikachu is hurt by Head Butt, the Furret continues to use Dig to get the jump on Pikachu with Head Butt and Swift attacks to overpower and daze it. At the last moment, Pikachu jumps onto Furret’s back and holds on, when Furret dives underground Pikachu’s Thunderbolt attack devastates Furret’s health when it fills the entire underground maze with its energy; Pikachu is able to finish with Quick Attack to win. Ash’s victories with Phanpy over Machoke and Cyndaquil over Exeggutor guarantee him for a place in the final 48, along with Gary and Harrison. The next round comprises of 3 way tournaments which will cut down the competition by two thirds. Ash can’t sleep that night and takes a walk with Pikachu, there he finds Gary and the two have a talk. Gary reminisces about his and Ash’s first days as trainers, and possibilities in the ways their lives could have gone and the dreams they could have had and those they have yet to discover. In the morning the Silver Conference begins and Oak, Tracey, Ash’s mother and Elm are watching it on TV. The torchbearer enters Silver Town and Jessie and James trick Ash into the leaving the line with a fake process of League registration and lock him up while stealing Pikachu. Gary finds Ash and frees him and the two manage to catch up to Team Rocket, they crash into the torchbearer and Gary catches the flame while Ash gets Pikachu back and beats the bad guys. The torchbearer is hurt from the collision and the torch must reach the stadium so Ash ends up delivering it while Gary escorts the torchbearer to the arena. Goodshow delivers a speech to motivate and inspire the trainers participating, and the Johto League Silver Conference is finally underway... My favourite Quote: Gary: “This conference means a lot to me, it’s Numero Uno or Bust.” Ash: “Then you’d better prepare for a Bust, cos I’m gonna battle you an’ I’m gonna Beat you.” Gary: “Heh heh heh heh... Still got that naive enthusiasm I see.” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is based on the term “A claim to fame”. What is wrong with Ash? Given he’s followed and trained in this region because of Gary and seen him multiple times and been informed about it plenty, why is he asking if Gary’s competing here?! Meowth gives the wrong lunch out, the little girl asked for a hamburger and Meowth and James clearly refer to the Japanese food as the girl's (even though Jessie eats it all). The participants are lucky to have such fine rooms to stay in if Ash’s is anything to go by, I’ve seen smaller hotel rooms and trainers get this and other luxuries for free just for being trainers. The Athlete’s Screening math has got me a little stumped, in that over 200 trainers is lowered down to 48 through this (with all trainers competing in three battles), clearly there’s a maths error there. At least now there’s a reason for one trainer beginning a League Battle before the other, as it’s part of the official rules for the selected trainer to do so. Misty is wrong! She thinks Furret is a Ground-type when it’s a Normal-type, the mistake was immediately clear to me because like Salvador Furret is one of my most trusted Pokémon too, so I should know what type it is. The writers clearly come to this false deduction because this battle has it using Dig a lot and the fact Furret are known in the Pokédex to live in burrows, what’s Misty’s excuse? She shouldn’t have even seen one (with the exception of the forth Pokémon movie and various episodes, but the Furret there were in the background with several other Pokémon). Besides, if it really were a Ground-type it wouldn’t have taken any damage from the Thunderbolt attack. With all the hits Pikachu took, it should have been defeated long before it did the damage to Furret, and if Salvador had used Dig as an attack (Ground- type), Pikachu would easily have been defeated. Also I don’t think Pikachu should have fit in the hole while holding onto Furret since Furret’s are known for their long thin bodies and therefore are able to dig burrows that only they can fit through; the same should have applied to its tunnel digging here. According to everyone 48 trainers progress to the semi finals, but traditionally semi finals should be the battles that determine who the final two trainers are (technically this later applies but that’s not the point). Cutting 48 trainers down to 16 means there are four rounds after the tri- battles, and the quarter finals begin from Round 2. There’s no real need for the ‘final’ part in the Who’s That Pokémon clue, Scizor is Scyther’s only evolution, Pokémon who evolve twice should be the ones with ‘final evolution’ in their clues. Ash makes a tradition of not sleeping before the first day of Pokémon Leagues, it’s a good thing the fighting was already done or the lack of sleep might have affected him. On the other hand maybe the lack of sleep is what makes him so gullible for Team Rocket’s lame disguises and trickery. If the people from “Pop Goes the Sneasel” were waiting for the torch to be taken to the stadium, they can’t have been competing trainers, since the torch process takes place after the Trainers’ Screening which is part of the tournament. When the explosion sends Team Rocket flying, a crowd of trainers stare at the explosion, but only that, not one of them turns around to see the two people and a Meowth flying into the air. They’re either really unobservant, don’t care about Team Rocket as much as the hurt runner or the animators were just being lazy. What’s wrong with this picture... literally? When Ash is running across the stadium, a screen behind visualises him doing the same, except he is fixed in place and the background isn’t moving at all. Try counting the trainers standing at the opening ceremony, it looks like there are only 30 to 40 people there and not the 48 that were said to have made it this far. Also, isn’t it a little unfair that hard working trainers that didn’t happen to get through the Athletes’ Screening don’t get to properly be a part of the opening ceremony? Unlike the Kanto League the ceremony is done after some of the battles take place so the losers should at least get to be in the audience since there’s not much else for them to do until the tournament is over. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon is the final evolution of Scyther!) Scizor Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Goodshow and the Trainers’ Screening process will be in the storyline since Pokémon Journey is based on the world the series takes place in. Episodes #249 - #256 Episodes #265 - #272 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone