Episode Guide #289 - #296 Stairway to Devon On a Wingull and a Prayer! Sharpedo Attack! Brave the Wave Which Wurmple’s Which? A Hole Lotta Trouble Gone Corphishin’ A Corphish Out of Water Stairway to Devon Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Meowth, Crawdaunt, Wobbuffet Story: Ash takes pride in his latest win, Max locates the next nearest Gym while Brock and May wish to look around the rest of Rustboro even though Ash is eager to go to the next Gym on Dewford Island. Max accidentally spills juice on the Pokénav which breaks it and he hurriedly heads into town in the vain hopes he’ll find someone who can fix it. Luckily he finds an eccentric inventor whose display fails to keep a crowd interested, the man suggests Max check the Devon Corporation to help him before a man called Kennedy appears from a car and the man swiftly flees. Ash boasts on his win to Oak before Brock returns with the shopping and May has tired herself out until she discovers Max hasn’t returned in time for the boat and now has more time to shop for clothes. Max enters Devon while Team Rocket don a disguise to get them past security, Max is disappointed after being told they don’t do repairs here. Officer Jenny shows up with news of a possible spy and warns the inventor and Kennedy as they enter the building, the inventor sneaks away with Max and leads him around, after giving the Pokénav to a scientist for repairs it’s revealed that the inventor is the president of the Devon Corporation. He only runs from Kennedy because he constantly reminds him of his duties and tries to keep him in the office, he explains that kids are his best inspiration when creating new products. He shows off some technology in the works but none of the machines are actually completed, including a machine that uses capsules filled with Creation Fluid that promise to be able to recreate Pokémon by combining fossils with the liquid. Max is given permission to invite his friends to look around the place; Kennedy catches up and reminds the president of his duties but ends up being sent to collect Max’s friends. Team Rocket dress in lab coats and enter while a suspicious character steals some of the capsules from the revival machine and the president and Max soon follow him, the president knows all the staff in the company and has never seen this man. Kennedy leads the group inside, explaining soon enough that Max probably reminds the president of his own son Steven. Team Rocket are caught out by Jenny since they have no ID and the creation capsules are reported missing to Kennedy. The thief is chased to the roof, the president calls Kennedy so he and the others hurry to join them there, Jessie and James are still in a fix and expose themselves first by foolishly revealing their intentions and then blatantly revealing their Team Rocket uniforms in order to no longer match the description of the thief being reported all over Devon, they are quickly chased off by Jenny. The thief is blocked off by Ash and the others on the roof while the president and Max block off the exit, however he reveals a Crawdaunt which soon pummels Pikachu with Crabhammer. Team Rocket arrive on the roof along with Officer Jenny but Crawdaunt’s Bubblebeam beats everyone back, Crawdaunt is returned and the thief activates a rocket glider device,. Team Rocket grab and hold on while Meowth pickpockets but drops the capsules, Max catches them and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blasts Team Rocket away while the thief is forced to make a crash landing in town. Jenny suspects the thief is a member of Team Aqua and explains that there are two villainous groups that operate in Hoenn; Team Aqua and Team Magma. The police are called in to make sure the thief doesn’t escape town but currently they only find his discarded clothes and glider. The group and the president celebrate with a dinner that evening and the president informs them that his son Steven is currently training on Dewford Island, he slips Max the fixed Pokénav just in time to hand over to May. Max thanks the president for his help and the adventure and the group will continue their journey in the morning despite the knowledge of new teams and new dangers... My favourite Quote: Jessie (to Officer Jenny while in disguise): “Hi, we work here; that’s why we have white coats...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is based on the Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven”. Why does Max refer to the Pokénav as May’s Pokénav if their father specifically gave it to him? Ownership of the Pokénav belonging to May may be apparent in the original story before it was translated, if you watch the final scene of “There’s no Place Like Hoenn” without the sound, Max kind of snatches the Pokénav instead of being handed it and both Ash and May look with slightly concerned faces and then again when Max runs away with it in his grasp. The machines the president says are in progress are reminiscent of certain episodes, seeing a Pokémon’s Dreams could be likened to the time Ash shared Larvitar’s dream in “Hatch Me if You Can”. The speaking with Pokémon references would be Meowth, and also Simon, the man who claimed he could speak to and understand Pokémon in “The Poké Spokesman!”. Becoming a Pokémon reminds me instantly of when Ash became a Pikachu in “Hocus Pokémon”, finally the creation formula is based on the games in which the trainer can choose one of two fossils in the desert and have it transformed into Pokémon at the Devon Corporation. I know it’s mostly for a joke but since Jessie complains with James that Meowth doesn’t need a lab coat costume, why did she seemingly bring one in his size along with theirs? How did Ash and the others get to the roof so fast if they were in the same room as the president and Max when they received the call about the thief? Unless the thief foolishly took the long way out and the group used an elevator to get to the roof before him. This has got to be the episode of the series in which Wobbuffet has least been seen, it only appears in the made up visuals of the Team Rocket motto but isn’t with the team in reality immediately after it’s done. It’s the debut of the Team Aqua theme tune and personally I think it’s an improvement upon the game’s version since it keeps a more consistent rhythm. Who’s That Pokémon?: (If this Pokémon stopped moving, its body would cool and harden!) Slugma Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Another landmark in Hoenn the Devon Corporation is gained some sort of appearance. On a Wingull and a Prayer! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Wingull, Meowth, Wurmple, Wobbuffet, Crawdaunt, Lotad Story: The group prepare to leave Rustboro but accidentally wander into an old disused section thanks to May’s miscalculation in going to a pasta restaurant that has long shut down, the port can be seen in the distance but the boat has surely left already. To make up for her mistake May vows she’ll find a boat in the old port somehow, she eventually finds an old man fishing who owns a Wingull called Peeko. May manages to befriend it and the man introduces himself as Mr Briney while Team Rocket intend to keep an eye on May until she leads them to Ash. Briney is the only resident here that has a boat and one of the very few people still living in the old disused port, he points out his house and May goes to fetch the others while Team Rocket plan to steal Pikachu and Peeko, the Aqua member from yesterday makes an appearance. When the group get to Briney’s he yells at them and claims he’s never met May before, however he’s only doing this because the Aqua is threatening to hurt Peeko if Briney doesn’t provide him with the boat. Jenny arrives and warns the group that the Aqua is nearby and looking to meet up with his comrades, after she leaves the group realise the Aqua must need Briney’s boat to escape by sea. Briney gives in and reveals his boat to the Aqua but the group are clearly heard arriving, the Crawdaunt appears with a caged Peeko outside, but before a battle can be fought, Team Rocket interrupt with smoke bombs and vacuum up Pikachu and Peeko. Lotad fails to attack immediately but eventually hits the bad guys with Water Gun; breaking their device and releasing the captives. Briney is unable to reach Peeko before the Crawdaunt grabs it and blasts Team Rocket with Bubblebeam, it and the Aqua escape on Briney’s boat but luckily Briney has a secret weapon in the form of a hidden Wingull-shaped boat. During the chase Briney explains how he and Peeko first met and how he was inspired to create the boat. Crawdaunt warns the Aqua of Briney’s proximity, which causes him to speed up, Ash prepares to have Pikachu attack but Crawdaunt’s Water Pulse attack pushes the boat aside and Bubblebeam slows it down more. The boat is headed to Triangle Rock but going so fast it will crash, Pikachu attempts to decimate it but fails to do so completely, Briney performs a reckless move and brings his boat in front of the Aqua so that it serves as a ramp for the boat to clear the huge rock. Peeko is safe but the Aqua escapes on Team Aqua’s submarine which submerges swiftly. The group return to Briney’s place and are hungry after the long day but luckily Briney knows the owner of the pasta place and can have him whip up a feast for the group, he also offers to take the group to Dewford Island and they’ll head out the next day. My favourite Quote: Mr Briney: “Team Aqua! Give Peeko back to me now! The oceans tie the world together! You will never get away from me!” Aqua Member: “Heh! Oh please! Spare me the dramatics!” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun is based on the phrase “On a wing and a prayer”. There really seems no point in the flashback of Ash shouting at May since it occurred only a minute ago. Peeko and Mr Briney are based on the characters of the same name in the games who after saving his Wingull gives the player a lift to Dewford Island, the event in this story takes after the games. Why doesn’t Jenny figure the Aqua could escape by boat given the area he’s thought to be in is very much surrounded by water and why does she leave when she should be here looking for the thief? Clearly Ash’s group are better at detective work than the actual police. I was half waiting for someone to stop Pikachu from attacking Crawdaunt since Peeko is a Water/Flying Pokémon and would take even more damage than Crawdaunt would. James has his rose again for the second time this season and again it’s only during the motto. How does Crawdaunt grab the cage again after the link it used to hold it before breaks? Briney is on one side of the warehouse when the left bridge raises to let the boat through but he seems to cross over to join Ash and the group on the other side without so much as a sound. Briney’s move was reckless in that it harmed Ash’s life, if the Aqua had gone a little to the left the boat would have crushed Ash’s legs; surely Briney could have called Ash back into the cabin before using the boat as a ramp for the other one. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can stand on its strong tail!) Sentret Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Sharpedo Attack! Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Wingull, Wurmple, Torchic, Taillow, Treecko, Forretress, Lotad, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Sharpedo, Seviper Story: The group continue their voyage towards Dewford Island on Briney’s boat with Team Rocket not far behind in their submarine. All Pokémon are brought out to have some fun and Max and May wish to go swimming so Briney takes them to a place he knows of despite Ash’s concerns about his Gym Battle, he’s roped into taking a break and giving the same to his Pokémon. They head towards a crescent shaped island without a name that’s something of a secret to Briney while a hidden creature not far behind tails them. May and Max are the first to go for a swim but something nasty lurks beneath the surface, before Ash and Brock join them they notice several Sharpedo have surrounded the siblings. Briney quickly has his Wingull lift them out of the water but several Sharpedo leap up at them including one which grazes Max’s leg with a unique ability called Rough Skin despite Taillow’s efforts to stop them. Pikachu gives the school a major shocking while Taillow and Wingull return the pair to the boat, Brock comforts Max on how Pokémon affected by Rough Skin can be heavily damaged while he got off lucky. Ash tries to research the Sharpedo on the Pokédex but they attack the boat, Pikachu distracts them with another Thunderbolt so Briney can have them all escape. The group rest on the island and enjoy more of Brock’s cooking but the experience is spoiled by the proximity of the Sharpedo, a small handful nearby serve as lookouts for the rest of them resting elsewhere. Brock comments on the strangeness of such an independent Pokémon like Sharpedo in such a large group working together and recalls a large Sharpedo that may be the leader and concludes they should battle it in order to influence its followers. Team Rocket emerge out of energy but are quickly attacked by the Sharpedo, Jessie retaliates with Seviper who manages to last long enough to hit the leader with Poison Tail but it calls the whole group to attack with Head Butt which sends Team Rocket over the group’s position so they’ll be sure to return for Pikachu now. Ash is part of a trap to lure any other Sharpedo by having Taillow and Wingull pull him across the water in a large pot, as soon as the majority of the Sharpedo make a move and leave the shore, the others pull a set of wooden gates closed to seal the leader in but May falls into the water during the move. Luckily Lotad distracts it while May is pulled to shore, Ash joins them while Lotad’s sluggishness in the moves department puts it at risk when Sharpedo gets it in its fangs but Water Gun is eventually used to blast the enemy back. Lotad deliberately stops its next attack aware that the Sharpedo is about to faint; the group bring it to shore where it’s discovered that it was poisoned by another Pokémon. Brock nurses it as well as he can and this continues well into the next night but in the morning Pikachu and Sharpedo are caught in nets by Team Rocket. When Brock explains its status Jessie reveals it was her Seviper that caused the poisoning; luckily Lotad has wandered towards Team Rocket silently so its Razor Leaf can cut Pikachu and Sharpedo loose. Ash halts Pikachu’s attack when he realises the other Sharpedo have returned and surrounded Team Rocket, and soon send them on their way. Brock greets the leader and several Sharpedo surround and hug him, their Rough Skin has no effect since they like the group now and it’s a controllable trait of theirs. Briney finally gets the group to Dewford Town with plans of heading towards Slateport for now, the group say their goodbyes and Ash plans on his upcoming battle which will happen tomorrow. My favourite Quote: James (referring to several Sharpedo): “Is it possible they’re all smiling at us?” Meowth: “Well, if they are smilin’ it’s probably because they’re lookin’ at the next meal they’re gonna devour!” Things I’d like to point out: Either some wires were crossed between the animators/background designers of this and the last episode or the Wingull boat has two different ways of being operated. Last episode Briney drove the boat from inside the cabin but now he stands at the wheel outside, it’s very possible the two controls move the boat in different ways since it appears to be a slow smooth journey rather than the speeding velocity of last episode. The Pokémon-based pun obviously comes from the term “Shark attack”. Why does Jessie order Wobbuffet to help pedal the Magikarp sub? There aren’t any additional pedals for it and I doubt its strange legs could pedal effectively anyway. Why is Ash worried about being ‘late’ for his Gym Battle? He hasn’t booked or reserved it and the Gym isn’t about to shut down without notice (although some Gyms in the Kanto region are now shut down). Besides, considering Briney’s boat moved at a fast pace last episode why isn’t Ash complaining to Briney about the sluggishness of it today instead of May and Max for wanting to stop briefly. The Max being impressed by first hand experiences of attacks is getting old, lame and pointless. Shocking, burning and to a lesser extent pecking was so-so as it was but surely getting grazed by a shark-like Pokémon should raise more self-concern than his amazement of the thing that hurt him. Um, when exactly did May’s swimsuit get torn by the Sharpedo? The leg section is understandable but when did the sides get touched? Also, what with her apparently having bought more swimsuits to show off, why does she wear the same one she wore in “The Lotad Lowdown” unless she was afraid one of her new ones might also get torn up by the Sharpedo? The sequence where the leading Sharpedo turns twice while calling instructions to the group before diving is overused, first when it’s done, then the flashback, and then again when it attacks Team Rocket. This is probably the most letters ever crammed into a single Who’s That Pokémon clue, it’s almost like they were trying to mimic the official Pokédex entry for this one. Surely Lotad shouldn’t have been able to direct a successful Water Gun attack at Sharpedo considering it was trapped in its ‘jaws’ (excuse the pun) and facing away from it. Brock’s taking care of Sharpedo throughout the night is very similar to how Ash took care of Charizard back in “Charizard Chills”, however Charizard was Ash’s Pokémon and not a wild shark who I’m pretty sure was trying to eat the group earlier and therefore Brock was staking his life on the fact Sharpedo would be grateful for being healed. The rare attacks in Lotad continue in that it knows Razor Leaf as well as Water Gun, attacks it wouldn’t learn at all unless it was bred from Pokémon who had them. Again I reckon it’s because the attacks Lotad learns naturally are the sort the series doesn’t tend to use in favour of more familiar attacks like Water Gun, Vine Whip, Flamethrower and so forth. Who’s That Pokémon?: (When this balloonlike Pokémon starts to bounce, it may be impossible to stop!) Igglybuff Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Brave the Wave Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Makuhita, Taillow, Machop, Treecko, Hariyama Story: Ash is all ready to challenge the Gym Leader and leave the Pokémon Centre early, but when he reaches the Gym, everyone including the Gym Leader Brawly are headed to the beach to do some surfing and the Gym Leader tells Ash to come back tomorrow. Team Rocket are currently running a restaurant but their motto scares the current customers, they abandon the entire place as soon as they notice their enemies passing by. May shows off another new swimsuit and Brock ogles the surfer girls before Brawly is spotted surfing with his Pokémon; a Makuhita. Ash is angered upon realising this is what he was declined a battle for, he distracts Brawly and endangers them all before Team Rocket strike and snatch Pikachu in a net which reflects electrical attacks. Team Rocket flee in a boat but Makuhita surfs tremendously fast to ram it, Pikachu is freed and the boat is damaged, Pikachu finishes it off and the same goes for Team Rocket. Brawly is impressed with Pikachu’s energy and Brawly now accepts to battle Ash, the two are soon back in the Gym but Ash underestimates Brawly as a serious trainer and his Machop’s strength when he uses Taillow to get the type advantage. Wing Attack is taken head on but Machop recovers and balances itself out after this and the next hit. Ash continues to have Taillow use Wing Attack but the Machop keeps breaking its falls with precise rolling and its endurance to help it out. When Taillow uses Quick Attack, Machop jumps into it head on and uses Cross Chop to take Taillow out. Brock figures out that Machop must have surfing skills which it incorporates into its movement on the battlefield to dodge attacks. Ash ignores Brock’s advice not to attack head on and uses Treecko, Pound is used again and again until Machop finally tires and although Quick Attack is dodged, Treecko launches a follow-up Pound attack to take Machop down. Brawly uses his Makuhita which completely dodges Pound by rolling around, Ash doesn’t learn and orders more pounding but Treecko shows its fatigue and once it charges in with Quick Attack, Makuhita attacks with Vital Throw and then Arm Thrust to deal out a lot of damage. Treecko refuses to admit defeat and stands up but its Pound is cancelled out when its whole body is caught in Makuhita’s arms and damaged by Seismic Toss. Surprisingly it’s still standing but unfortunately the battle causes Makuhita to evolve into a Hariyama, against the warning of Brawly and especially Brock Ash has Treecko attack again but the blow is easily deflected and Knock Off sends Treecko into submission. Treecko is healed at the Pokémon Centre where Nurse Joy is a little disappointed Ash pushed it so hard; he takes out his frustration on the group and leaves. He and Pikachu end up on the beach and Ash is sorry for his mistake when he sees Brawly and Hariyama surfing, it’s having trouble in its new form but quickly learns how to balance itself. He confronts Brawly having realised that surfing is a part of Brawly’s training rather than just for fun, after Brawly explains that nature can be used as a way of training Ash apologises to his friends and decides to train here on the island until his Pokémon are strong enough to face Brawly and win. My favourite Quote: Ash (quoting Brawly): “Totally gnarly with some really wicked wavage?” Max: “Anyone here speak That language?” Things I’d like to point out: What’s with the bad vibes when describing Gym Leader Chuck? And what’s with the strange fearful sounds from Brock (“Ooh! Eesh!”)? Chuck wasn’t that bad and he’s not as muscular as others seen in the series what with his big stomach. Why does everyone but Ash suddenly leave the beach and appear inside a restaurant briefly (perhaps the one Team Rocket just abandoned)? Especially since May just changed into her new swimsuit, Max was excited to see a Makuhita and Brock was checking out the surfing girls. This is the first time that a Fighting Pokémon’s weakness of Flying attacks has been mentioned, Brock failed to mention this in Ash’s previous battle against a Fighting-type Gym Leader seeing as he owned a Noctowl with a Psychic- type attack and didn’t use it (“Machoke, Machoke Man!”). Brawly is another Gym Leader who uses the same Pokémon in the series as his counterpart uses in the games, however the unexpected evolution to Hariyama changes everything and must be made an exception for. Unlike the Machoke’s we saw in “Wobbu-Palooza!” the Seismic Toss Makuhita unleashes is realistic in that it spins while descending (and doesn’t fly in a circle through the air). This is probably the first time a Gym Leader’s Pokémon evolved in a Gym Battle... that wasn’t planned. In the past Sabrina’s Abra evolved into Kadabra and Koga’s Venonat to Venomoth but they were both unfazed and anticipated the rare event somehow. I’m not sure Knock Off was a suitable move for Hariyama, seeing as it’s a Dark- type attack which removes a Pokémon’s Hold Item for the duration of the battle. The only Hold Items seen in the series are the types that cause Pokémon to evolve, so Knock Off’s use is simply modified to yet another physical attack; the name does sound cool regardless. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon nests at the edge of very sharp and high cliffs!) Delibird Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Brawly will appear but may or may not still be the main Gym Leader. Which Wurmple’s Which? Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Treecko, Taillow, Torchic, Wurmple, Meowth, Octillery, Corphish, Wobbuffet, Seviper, Cacnea Story: The group wake up to find Ash isn’t with them, he’s sleeping in the waiting area as close as he can be to Treecko. Nurse Joy reports Treecko is fine and soon returns his Pokéballs and Ash apologises to the Pokémon before breakfast, while Ash plans on where to train on the island Max reports that the Devon president’s son Steven is on the island doing research in Granite Cave. The group head towards there but run into James disguised as an old man who convinces them to do some fishing and are given the tools to do so. May manages to reel in an Octillery but is unaware she has to battle it, by the time Wurmple is brought up, it temporarily latches onto Max’s head, dodges as String Shot is used and slams into him before leaving. Ash later reels in a Corphish and it attacks right away, pinching Max in the behind and wandering around attacking any who get close, Pikachu is hit by Crabhammer and it escapes. Team Rocket are in their submarine where James reveals he picked a random spot and didn’t expect the group to catch anything, the point of this was for the group to snag the submarine and get pulled into the water and lose their Pokéballs to Team Rocket. May’s line is tugged and the entire group helps reel the Magikarp sub in, somehow the group manage to hold on, Team Rocket’s pedals break and the submarine emerges. The motto is performed and Team Rocket quickly net Pikachu and drag it towards them but Treecko uses Quick Attack and frees it, Jessie once again brings out her Wurmple to prove its superiority over May’s and they get into an argument over them. Max measures the two Wurmple and claims they are exactly the same, May dodges Jessie’s Wurmple’s String Shot and hers retaliates, James attempts to net something but Treecko stops him and attacks him and Meowth. Meowth crashes into the two Wurmple and Jessie swiftly retrieves Meowth and Wurmple and leaves with James, Pikachu attacks regardless and sends them flying. May notices something odd and is certain that this isn’t her Wurmple, using the Pokéball proves this and the group realises this must be Jessie’s Pokémon. Team Rocket moan about their loss and Wurmple snatches food at first opportunity before dozing off. Even Team Rocket suspect this isn’t Jessie’s despite her absolute certainty otherwise while the group look for them and May reminisces about her early days with Wurmple. Jessie also reminisces but exaggerates greatly on the truth, Taillow spots the villains and the group soon find them. May and Jessie agree to trade the Wurmple but Jessie pulls a double-cross and takes her Wurmple back while holding onto May’s. Taillow soon brings the balloon crashing down and May’s Wurmple is returned to her but Seviper is called out. Taillow faces it but Haze clouds its vision and Treecko is called to assist, it uses Pound to beat Seviper and Cacnea is brought out and uses Pin Missile along with Seviper’s Poison Tail. Treecko uses Pound on Treecko and Pikachu uses Quick Attack to repel Cacnea, a Thunderbolt sends everyone on the team flying. Wurmple is given its fill of food and it proves outright that it is May’s, Ash is impressed May could tell the difference but it’s because of the bond she shares with it. My favourite Quote: May: “Well my Wurmple is a lot smarter than yours.” Jessie: “My Wurmple’s attending night school to get its PhD!” Things I’d like to point out: The long-term narrator we’ve come to know and love has clearly ended his run and been replaced (the new voice currently sounds like he’s trying to imitate the old one though). I hate it when this happens, the president didn’t get a name back in “Stairway to Devon” but all of a sudden Brock knows his second name is Stone. This probably lays to rest the rumour that Brock and his family’s second name was Stone, I also hear Misty’s second name was Waterflower as in “The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City”, but nothing’s proven either way. Surely Ash should recognise a Crabhammer attack when he sees one considering his Kingler has been instructed by him to use the same attack twice throughout the series (even though the visual look has changed drastically over the years). Jessie suggests that Ash/the group may not know how to swim but surely given the years she’s known them she should know better. Seeing as May blatantly lies in that her Wurmple shares with others (when it always steals everyone’s food), is anything else she says about her Wurmple and what she does for it true? As for Jessie it goes without saying that all her claims are probably lies (the PhD thing is a dead giveaway). Jessie clearly lies about how she got Wurmple with one of her fantasies, it’s not like James’s story about catching Weepinbell since we can’t prove that one isn’t true but with Jessie we saw her catch Wurmple in “All in a Day’s Wurmple”. Jessie proves herself wrong in that she can’t tell that the Wurmple she ends up with isn’t hers despite all her past boasting about her Wurmple being superior to May’s in every way. Also, she goes against all the insults and negative comments she’s made about May’s Wurmple by stealing it to keep for herself, even if the others claim it can be given to the Boss. Meowth’s ideas get worse and worse each episode, there’s a lot of ‘if’ factors to make them work, and the Boss would need to get into just the situation Meowth dreams about for it to work and for them to get praised/paid. I mean, it’s highly unlikely that the Boss would break a button on a shirt after Team Rocket gave him a Wurmple; more likely he’d have the Pokémon sent away (like he did with Togepi). Besides, he appears to be rich; surely he’d just give the shirt to a professional to fix. Ash kind of breaks the rules this time by being the first to use more Pokémon than what Team Rocket has out, Taillow is out and battling but Treecko jumps in to help it before Cacnea is called to match the numbers. Worse though is the fact that all of a sudden Ash uses Pikachu to fight as well against Cacnea before its usual duty of finishing Team Rocket off (Taillow doesn’t appear to be used after its initial fight but wasn’t seen nor heard getting recalled). May is a whole lot better at telling the difference between her Pokémon than Ash ever was, back in “Ditto’s Mysterious Mansion” Ash couldn’t tell the difference between Pikachu and Ditto mimicking it, and he not only had Pikachu for four times the episodes compared to May and Wurmple, but he always has it out of its Pokéball. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can predict its enemy’s next move by reading air currents!) Espeon Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. A Hole Lotta Trouble Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Aron, Loudred, Seviper, Cacnea, Aggron Story: The group arrive at Granite Cave where they plan to seek out Steven Stone to meet him and get some advice, Team Rocket are inside digging another hole to catch them. Brock places markers on the walls in case the group end up going in circles while Steven is digging in the cave and has an Aron with him. The group fall into the trap but it collapses under them which also causes Team Rocket to fall as well; the two groups fall together and get separated in three different tunnels. Max ends up with Pikachu and Meowth and figures the cave is made of several tunnels and levels so they must climb to the top. May has Jessie crash down on her and she attempts to squeeze back up the hole they fell through. Ash and Brock wind up with James who admits the hole thing was Jessie’s idea and that he wanted to battle fairly, Ash accepts to do so but he, James and Brock are currently stuck and can’t even move their arms. Max briefly explains to Meowth about Steven, Pikachu and then Meowth smell fresh air and take the lead while Steven searches nearby. Brock and Ash call for their friends while James claims Jessie and Meowth are a bad influence on him. He goes running off while shouting out his true feelings on his allies and an Aron drops from the cave roof, still in a bad mood James provokes it and several more drop down and chase the group. Steven finds the hole the group fell from and leaps down to find them, the trio manage to climb up to escape the Aron while Max and the Pokémon climb some vines near a waterfall. Jessie manages to get herself stuck, a Loudred crashes down in front of her and storms off over her, not harming her but frightening her and seemingly weakening the ground so that it crumbles and Jessie is freed. Steven discovers the Aron have been awakened during the climb, Max inquires as to how Meowth can talk but he takes too long so Max and Pikachu nearly leave him behind. Ash’s trio find Brock’s marker and they rush forward but end up enlarging and falling down the hole again, Steven arrives to find the hole has gotten bigger now. Max’s trio reaches the area Steven passed earlier and Pikachu can sniff its way to him, Jessie and May reach the top but take a fall and widen the hole even more, they land on Ash and the others still being chased by Aron. Max finds Steven who has them hurry to find the others, he stops at a gap in the path where the group are seen below but they hurry onwards following Steven’s directions in order to meet up. With everyone holding on he leaps across the gap while the group reach the water fall Steven told them about and are trapped, Steven arrives and has his Aron use Roar in order to stop the Aron in their tracks, Steven calms them down and they leave. The groups are reunited and Team Rocket recite the motto, the group informs Steven that they caused the pitfall and before they bring out Pokémon to meet the two that are attacking. Steven is outraged in that Team Rocket are disturbing the peaceful Pokémon here before releasing an Aggron to blast them out of the cave. Aron finds something in the rubble that comes down as a result and finds a Fire Stone he was searching for. Steven shows the group a suitable place for them to stay and train and he leaves on a boat in search of more evolution stones, the group say their goodbyes and Ash prepares to do some training. My favourite Quote: May: “Wow, this cave seems to go on forever...” Max: “Yeah, kinda like you do sometimes...” Things I’d like to point out: Obvious title pun this time from the sentence “A whole lot of trouble”. Max phrases his question a little wrong in asking how Meowth can talk if he’s a Pokémon, he should have asked how Meowth can speak English/human language. And for such an inquisitive and curious kid it’s surprising he simply walked (technically climbed) away mid-way through. I guess he’s like almost every other child; low attention span. Meowth lies or alters the story behind his reason for learning to talk like humans, contrary to what he said he didn’t learn human language so Meowsie would understand him; he did it to stand out from the crowd and impress her but it put her off him further. Meowth was sure wrong in the gap being too large to cross because Steven manages to do so while carrying Max, Pikachu and him in the process and even his iron plated Aron makes it across on its own. Steven claims Team Rocket are stirring up the peaceful Pokémon in the cave, but then he kind of contradicts himself by using Aggron’s Hyper Beam and blasting a huge hole in the roof to get rid of them. I don’t see the point in reciting what Fire Stones evolve Pokémon into considering none of the Pokémon (Growlithe/Arcanine, Vulpix/Ninetales, Eevee/Flareon) mentioned are likely to appear in Hoenn as a main character since they’ve been used before. How did Steven know the group knew his father? I don’t think Max had time to tell him unless he figured out by their knowing his name that they must have got it from Mr Stone. The costume Steven wears as he leaves is the same one he wears in the games, for any who aren’t aware of it; Steven is the Champion of the Pokémon League and the final combatant a player must face in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Aggron is one of his Pokémon who is part Steel-type; Steven’s specialty. Since when did evolution stones become so rare? And what of the fact that if they get any rarer then technically the three aforementioned Pokémon who evolve through Fire Stones (and possibly every other stone-induced evolution Pokémon) will never get to evolve. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon can destroy anything in its path by spinning both arms!) Vigoroth Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Of course Steven will be mentioned since I tend to turn the Elite Four into Champion Gym Leaders. Gone Corphishin’ Pokémon seen: Meowth, Wobbuffet, Pikachu, Lotad, Torchic, Treecko, Taillow, Forretress, Wurmple, Diglett, Krabby, Aron, Loudred, Corphish, Sandslash Story: Team Rocket wake up and James and Meowth try to urge Jessie to help prepare for another trap but they are all attacked by an unknown menace and hurled into the air. On the inland of Dewford Island Ash begins his training session by having his Pokémon and himself sit where waves hit the shore in order to learn how to concentrate for battle. Brock explains to the others that Ash is learning how to be patient rather than new techniques and powerful attacks to beat Brawly. Ash awaits the waves and doesn’t want anyone to dodge until the last possible moment but they leave it too late and are hit. Everyone but Treecko dodges the next wave having waited a little too long; May accidentally provokes Ash into pointing out her lack of training. She hurries to practice her Pokémon’s entrances and uses Steven as inspiration for the choreography, as she explains this something is happening in the group’s tent. Something is dragging it and an unknown tunnelling figure emerges, Wurmple snags it with String Shot but it’s too strong and Treecko must help pull the line, it’s not long before the group join in but even they aren’t powerful enough and are dragged into the water. Most of their clothes must join the others on the line and the tent must be fixed, Ash is the only happy one in this in that he wants to catch whatever Pokémon it was. Team Rocket notice the destructive Pokémon nearby but run into a Loudred who retaliates from its rude awakening by blasting Team Rocket away with its sound waves. The group have a stakeout by leaving out some food to lure the Pokémon but it appears behind them and charges through to reach the food and then goes running around the group. Pikachu strikes it and it’s briefly seen before it escapes, the group don’t sleep very well, especially May who is scared silly of the unknown creature. They have Forretress dig several holes with Rapid Spin to set up pitfall traps, Pokémon food is set up and more will be placed on the other side of the holes to lure the Pokémon. Mounds of seafood chow down on the food and fall into the trap; it’s Team Rocket but they are blasted off by the Pokémon who climbs out of the hole and heads toward the food. Pikachu uses Quick Attack to intercept it which reveals it to be a Corphish, its speed and immense power strengthen Ash’s resolve in wanting to catch it. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt is dodged and Bubblebeam damages Pikachu, Corphish burrows under the ground and surfaces under Pikachu who uses Iron Tail as it falls back down but the tail is caught and Pikachu is hurled into Ash. He instead uses Treecko who still has an advantage but it relaxes, closes its eyes and waits for Corphish to make the first move, it dodges Bubblebeam by deflecting it with its tail, Corphish launches forward with Crabhammer but Quick Attack counters it and leaves it open to a Pound attack. Corphish is defeated and Ash manages to catch it in a Pokéball, Ash thanks Treecko and the group liken Corphish’s defeat to the way Ash lost his last Gym Battle so he’s learning from his mistakes. Ash releases Corphish to befriend it and it seems friendly enough, it just doesn’t know its own strength and sends Ash flying from a handshake. My favourite Quote: (After Team Rocket have fallen into a concealed pit trap) Jessie: “Prepare for trouble from the depths of the earth!” James: “And make it double for all the trouble it’s worth!” Max: “And they still insist on doing their motto?...” May: “Pretty pathetic, isn’t it?” Jessie, James & Meowth (simultaneously in humiliation): “The shame...” Wobbuffet (during which): “Wobba...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun stems from the phrase “Gone Fishin’”. Finally some proof that Ash and the others don’t wear the same clothes all the time, at least not the T-shirts seeing as copies of Ash and Brock’s outfits are on the line while they’re fully dressed. May seemingly doesn’t have a change of clothing seeing as she’s wrapped in a towel and I doubt she’s shy to be seen without all her clothes considering she’s always showing off her swimsuits. Again Forretress is deflating and inflating as it bounces across the ground, yet later when it’s digging holes it bounces without compressing or stretching at all; however this could be due to lazy animation. Why did May release Torchic along with Wurmple? It was already happily out of its ball and helping with chores and duties, we didn’t even see Torchic returned to its Pokéball within the short time it was suddenly re-released for May’s demonstration. May claims she bases her choreography on Steven’s battling but I don’t see how it makes any sense, if we’d seen a true battle then maybe but all Steven did was summon a huge Aggron which took a couple of steps forward and blasted Team Rocket outright with Hyper Beam. Max states the traditional use for String Shot is that it reduces an opponent’s speed but that factor is rarely used in the cartoon though technically completely binding a foe would slow it down a lot. Meowth and Wobbuffet aren’t a problem but why are Jessie and James eating the Pokémon food? Ash proved that it’s not very appealing to most humans all the way back in “Clefairy And The Moon Stone” and only certain people like it at all (Brock and Seymour), I guess Jessie and James might have an acquired taste for the stuff too unless they’re so desperate for food they’ll eat something even if it tastes funny. Does Ash mean this Corphish is the same kind of Pokémon they caught while fishing (in “Which Wurmple’s Which?”), or that this is the exact Pokémon from that incident? Oh and he phrases it wrong; he didn’t catch Corphish, he only fished it out, the fishing and capturing aspects being completely different were mentioned in that episode. Max is slightly off; just because Treecko is a Grass-type doesn’t make it immune to Water attacks, only that the attacks will be weak against it (unless Corphish is a higher level Pokémon but if so then it would still do basic damage to it), the only Pokémon completely immune to attacks are Ground over Electric-types, Flying over Ground-types, Normal and Ghost against each other along with Ghost over Fighting-types, Dark over Psychic and Steel over Poison). Aren’t Corphish’s claws remotely sharp? When Ash has a handshake with it, shouldn’t the pointy edges have hurt his hand especially when it was shaking really fast? Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon inhabits piles of rotten leaves inside of forests!) Shroomish Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. A Corphish Out of Water Pokémon seen: Taillow, Treecko, Pikachu, Corphish, Forretress, Wurmple, Torchic, Lotad, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Cacnea, Seviper, Cascoon, Silcoon, Shroomish, Carvanha Story: Ash polishes off his Pokéballs instead of rushing to breakfast and encourages his Pokémon in their training. Corphish wanders off and starts eating everything connected to a rope it found in the water, it’s soon introduced to the other Pokémon but it hurts them in its careless introduction. At breakfast May is worried since her Wurmple isn’t eating, Corphish is scolded when it helps itself to it and Pikachu is again snagged and caged by Team Rocket. Despite its condition, Wurmple snags the balloon with String Shot and holds it back but the group are helping. Ash foolishly asks for Corphish’s help but its claws cut the wire and Team Rocket suddenly go flying. They catch up and Bubblebeam sends the team hurtling but Pikachu is retrieved by Seviper. Wurmple retrieves it with String Shot and once again Jessie is competitive over it and her own Wurmple. Once it appears, it soon evolves as does May’s which evolves into a Silcoon, Jessie is as happy as May but her team-mates notice a slight difference between the two (in reality Jessie now has a Cascoon). Cacnea resumes its attack but Corphish beats it back with Crabhammer and Pikachu defeats Team Rocket again. The group briefly celebrate but Corphish collapses and is said to have a fever, Ash left his Pokéballs behind so he has to carry his sick Pokémon to the Centre. He has Pikachu join him but the others stay behind with the group, on the way the fever gets worse so Ash retrieves some cold water to cool Corphish down a little. Ash is hungry and finds some Pecha Berries to eat but disturbs a Shroomish and must run from its Stun Spore. The group are concerned while preparing a meal and Ash fails to cross a river by foot due to several Carvanha in the water. Pikachu finds a boat but it is quickly attacked, Pikachu holds off the Carvanha briefly but more attack and start chewing up the boat, Ash retreats and ends up finding a bridge but it’s broken. He wades through the river carrying his Pokémon on a piece of wood and has Pikachu watch his back and keep the Carvanha at bay until he’s in the clear. Ash is rammed by the mean fish and Corphish sees what its new trainer is going through for it, when Pikachu is attacked and the Carvanha close in, Corphish uses Bubblebeam to stop the attackers. At the Pokémon Centre Corphish is healed and the obstruction from what it ate is removed. At night the group are lured by the sound of an Aron, they find a tape recorder and cages rise up to capture them, Team Rocket appear but upon realising Ash and Pikachu aren’t here they accidentally set off the third one meant for him and are captured. This is very dangerous since the tide is coming in, Brock has an idea in that the tape recorder is in reach and Taillow wasn’t captured. Taillow flies to the Pokémon Centre with the tape recorder and a message from the group about their situation. Corphish is the first to arrive before Ash and Joy on the boat and it smashes the cages apart. Team Rocket express their gratitude but feebly backstab the group by attacking and are easily dealt with by Pikachu and Corphish. Corphish is thanked for its part but hurts the group in its show of affection, all is well and training will continue soon enough. My favourite Quote: (Ash, Pikachu and Corphish are asleep on the same bed) Ash: “Yeah... Go Corphish. Crabhammer now...” Corphish (bonking Ash on the head with its claw): “Phish... Cor.” Ash: “Great. Good job Corphish. That was... super effective...” Things I’d like to point out: The title pun comes from the phrase “A fish out of water”, however this is the second time in a row that the similarity of the Pokémon ‘Corphish’ and the word ‘Fish’ have been used to make a pun. Ash is an idiot asking for a crab-like Pokémon’s help in holding a line, though it raises the question over Corphish’s claws; if it’s sharp enough to cut wire, how did it not cut Ash’s hand during the handshake last episode? Other than the fact it’d be gross but Ash shouldn’t have placed his hand between the claws anyway. Corphish is surprisingly slow compared to last episode, it doesn’t tend to do any of its tunnelling either; it’s like in exchange for its loyalty towards Ash it’s cost Corphish all its added strength. There goes one of the game systems in that the two Wurmple evolve into Silcoon and Cascoon at the same time where traditionally Wurmple evolve into Silcoon by day and Cascoon by night. Once again a Pecha Berry tree is altered to Pechan Berry, though I see the logic behind the altered wording if not agree with it. I don’t see why Ash abandoned the boat but retreated to the side of the lake he started from seeing as he got about half way across the lake and therefore would have been better off continuing to go forward. So after his boat was torn to pieces Ash’s next ‘logical’ move is to wade through the water, he’d better have at least started from the broken bridge to reduce the risk, even if this is a kid’s show there should have been more concern from the Carvanha’s sharp teeth and the fact they are based on Piranha Fish. Ash’s dialogue as he sleeps (check the quote) reminds me of sayings in the games, at least since after muttering an attack for Corphish to use, he adds “That was... super effective...” Meaning he’s probably dreaming about a Fire, Rock or Ground-type opponent since Crab Hammer is a Water attack. Oh dear, for once Ash gets some sleep but the poor group end up standing in cages all night fearing for their lives. How long does it take for Taillow to get places? By the time it gets to the Pokémon Centre, it’s daylight when Brock thought of the idea to send it for help at night. Who’s That Pokémon?: (This Pokémon uses its long thin nose to suck nectar out of flowers!) Beautifly Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Silcoon and Cascoon will be seen in the fanfic, however this episode is similar to one of my own in which two Eevee evolve almost simultaneously into an Espeon and Umbreon (at the brink of and start of nightfall respectively). Episodes #281 - #288 Episodes #297 - #304 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone