SM073

Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?

SM073   EP1012 ロケット団の島めぐり！？Zリングをゲットせよ！！ Rocket-dan's Island-Visiting!? Get the Z-Ring!!

First broadcast Japan May 3, 2018 United States October 2, 2018* October 6, 2018*

English themes Opening Under The Alolan Moon Ending

Japanese themes Opening 未来コネクション Ending ジャリボーイ・ジャリガール

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 宮田由佳 Yuka Miyata Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation directors 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf Dub review thread on BMGf

Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime? (Japanese: ロケット団の島めぐり！？Zリングをゲットせよ！！ Rocket-dan's Island-Visiting!? Get the Z-Ring!!) is the 73rd episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, and the 1,012th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on May 3, 2018, in New Zealand on August 23, 2018, in Canada on September 22, 2018, and in the United States on October 6, 2018.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

When James’s Mareanie learns a Dark-type move, Team Rocket realizes this could be their chance to put their Dark-type Z-Crystal to good use! The Boss sends them to Ula’ula Island to get a Z-Ring from the kahuna, who’s a former associate.

Meanwhile, at the library, Acerola tells the story of the Greedy Rapooh—who turns out to be a real Gengar with thieving tendencies, and who steals Team Rocket’s Z-Crystal and takes off with Acerola on its back! When Kahuna Nanu sees that Team Rocket is battling to rescue his young friend, he lends them a Z-Ring—and after the battle, Acerola gives them a special Z-Crystal for Mimikyu!

Plot

Team Rocket is in their secret base, about to eat. Jessie goes to get a snack but soon realizes there is only one cream puff left in the fridge, which James says is his. Before Jessie can take a bite, Mareanie uses a new move on Jessie. The cream puff lands on the floor next to Mimikyu, and it is quickly eaten to everyone's horror. Meowth points out that Mareanie used a Dark-type move, Knock Off, delighting Jessie and James. Jessie notes that now that Mareanie knows a Dark-type move, they have an attack compatible with their Darkinium Z, but they need a Z-Ring to perform the move.

The trio is suddenly contacted by Giovanni and Matori, the latter of whom points out their slow progress. In the midst of the scolding, Jessie whispers to Meowth that she has an idea to set the record straight, then she announces the trio's plan to use Z-Moves. Matori recounts that in order to use a Z-Move, a person needs a Z-Ring, which is only obtainable from an island kahuna, and she asks Giovanni for a possible lead. Giovanni says the trio should go to Ula'ula Island to meet Nanu, the island kahuna and a past acquaintance of his. With that order, Team Rocket heads for Ula'ula Island.

To avoid Bewear interrupting their plans, Team Rocket sets up hand-sewn puppets of themselves, as well as tape recorders that repeat the same sentences. Upon hearing the tape recorders, Bewear doesn't bother to check on Team Rocket and continues to collect fruit from the surrounding forest. Meanwhile, Acerola reads a fairy tale, "The Greedy Rapooh", to Piko and Nene. The story is about a greedy spirit which steals items from people, but is eventually stopped when sealed away by the island kahuna. A Shiny Mimikyu nicknamed Mimikins floats around as Acerola reads the book.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is walking through the forest. Meowth pulls out a bag containing some Mixed Fruits Malasada, a new product and offering to get the trio their Z-Ring. The trio stumble upon the Po Town Police Station. The trio and Wobbuffet quickly get changed into tourist outfits to avoid suspicion. They go on to open the police station's doors, and inside, they uncover a horde of Alolan Meowth. The group immediately spots Meowth's bag of food and resorts to attacking Team Rocket. After a brief squabble, the Alolan Meowth begin eating the Mixed Fruit Malasadas outside, while the disturbance wakes up Nanu. Upon losing their offering to the island kahuna, the trio decides to retreat to prepare another present. Nanu queries the group's intentions before stating that the island kahuna is on a martial arts training adventure for anywhere between a week to upwards of a year. Shocked, Team Rocket leaves in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Acerola agrees to take Nene and Piko to see the Greedy Rapooh's tomb. Elsewhere, Team Rocket is discussing amongst themselves how to get a Z-Ring. Jessie proclaims the group needs to get a Z-Ring no matter what. In the process, she forcefully puts her foot on an ancient tombstone with a red string around it, causing it to shatter. The Greedy Rapooh emerges from the tomb and it's revealed to be a Gengar, who scares Team Rocket and steals their Darkinium Z.

Acerola, Mimikins, Nene, and Piko stumble upon the scene. Before they can run, the Gengar blocks the fleeing group in their tracks. Acerola blocks Gengar from scaring the two children, and in response, it quickly picks Acerola up and flies into the clouds; Team Rocket and Mimikins follow. Gengar resorts to stealing more items in a frenzy, including a Drampa's Berries, a man's Nugget, and a Blissey's Lucky Egg. It also scares a wild Murkrow and Salandit. Acerola is still clinging on to Gengar, trying to get it to stop causing trouble. Suddenly, Mimikins arrives and engages Gengar in battle. Mimikins's repeated Shadow Claw attacks fail, going through Gengar's body. Gengar throws Mimikins into the air out of frustration, and Acerola jumps off Gengar's back in an attempt to grab it. Gengar's attempt to capture the falling Acerola fails, and she continues to free-fall through tree branches, eventually hitting the ground.

Gengar follows behind and looks over at Acerola as she is holding Mimikins. Gengar suddenly produces all of the stolen goods from its body, surrounding Acerola in gifts to get her attention. Acerola is overwhelmed by the gesture, but is aware that the items are stolen. Team Rocket watches, noticing their Darkinium Z in Gengar's hand. Acerola states that she cannot accept the gifts, as she enjoys her time reading to the children in the library. Gengar goes into a tantrum, bouncing off the forest trees and trying to absorb Acerola into its body, but it is interrupted by Jessie's Mimikyu launching a Shadow Ball. Gengar quickly turns its attention to Jessie and Mimikyu, while James retrieves the Darkinium Z from the pile of stolen goods. The Team Rocket trio teases Gengar for losing in front of Acerola and then runs off, with Gengar following in anger. Nanu finds Acerola, asking his niece if she is fine.

Team Rocket stops running and attempts to face Gengar. Meowth's claws grow in anticipation for a Fury Swipes, though Gengar enters Meowth's body and possesses him. Mimikyu attacks, sending Meowth flying. Gengar emerges from his body and possesses Jessie. In response, James commands Mareanie to use a gentle Knock Off against Jessie. The attack lands, and Gengar emerges from Jessie's body with tears in its eyes. As Meowth and Jessie quickly recover, Acerola, Mimikins, and Nanu stumble upon the trio. Nanu comments on the trio's skill before gifting them a Z-Power Ring. James places it on his wrist and has Mareanie perform Black Hole Eclipse for the first time against Gengar, defeating it.

Acerola reveals that Gengar must have been lonely, hence why it kidnapped her and offered all of the stolen goods to her. This assumption turns out to be correct, for Gengar begins twirling around with her, and the two decide to become friends. Nanu tells Gengar that if it continues to misbehave, he will reseal the Pokémon into a tomb. In the process, he reveals that he is the island kahuna, much to Team Rocket's disbelief. Jessie angrily reveals Team Rocket's true motives for coming to see him. Nanu confirms that he has a personal connection with Giovanni and is aware of Team Rocket. Meowth demands that they want a Z-Ring, and so, Nanu decides to let the Team Rocket trio keep the Z-Power Ring as repayment for looking after Acerola. Jessie and James's attention turns to Acerola and her flying Mimikyu. Acerola states that Mimikins is an actual ghost, upon which Mimikins gives Jessie a Mimikium Z. Jessie, James, and Meowth are left ecstatic over achieving something beyond their intended goal.

Meanwhile, Ash, Rotom, Pikachu, and Poipole are aboard a ship headed for Ula'ula Island and Ash's third grand trial.

Major events

Team Rocket holding the Z-Power Ring and Mimikium Z

• James's Mareanie learns Knock Off.
• Team Rocket receives a Z-Power Ring from Nanu.
• James and Mareanie perform Black Hole Eclipse for the first time.
• Jessie receives a Mimikium Z from Acerola's Shiny Mimikyu, Mimikins.
• Ash heads to Ula'ula Island to participate in his third grand trial.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Humans

• Acerola
• Nanu

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni
• Matori
• Acerola
• Nanu
• Piko
• Nene
• Men

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Gengar

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Rotom (Rotom Pokédex)
• Poipole (Ash's)
• Mimikyu (Jessie's)
• Mareanie (James's)
• Mimikyu (Acerola's; Shiny; Mimikins)
• Meowth (Nanu's; Alolan form; multiple)
• Bewear (anime)
• Gengar (Greedy Rapooh)
• Blissey
• Drampa
• Salandit
• Murkrow

Trivia

The Man of Mystery in the animated series

• Poké Problem: The Pokémon that steals our Darkinium Z in today's episode…?
  • Host: Jessie
  • Choices: Murkrow, Gengar, Wimpod, Alolan Meowth
  • Answer: Gengar
• In Japan, this episode aired 364 days, one day shy of the full year, after the episode where Team Rocket acquired a Darkinium Z.
• Team Rocket's Team Song is used as an insert song when James and Mareanie perform Black Hole Eclipse.
  • The trio can also be heard singing the beginning of the song when landing on Ula'ula Island.
• Jessie, James, and Meowth read out the title card in the Japanese version.
• Nanu and Officer Jenny narrate the preview for the next episode.
• This is the first time that Ash only appears near the end of an episode since Following a Maiden's Voyage!, 545 episodes earlier.
• When mocking Gengar, James pulls a face that resembles the character of Iyami from the comedy manga and anime franchise Osomatsu-kun.
• This is the first episode since its debut where Rotom does not speak.
• The man who had his Nugget stolen by Gengar in this episode bears a strong resemblance to the Man of Mystery from Pokémon: Magikarp Jump.
• This episode marks the first time a notable Dark-type specialist has appeared in the animated series.
• This episode's English dub title is a play on the phrase "Give me a ring sometime".
• Jessie, James, and Meowth read the Who's That Pokémon? segment in the English dub.
• The period from this episode to Guiding an Awakening! marks the longest time Ash has been without his friends or classmates in the animated series, being a span of five episodes.
• The English dub of the episode was released on Prime Video on October 2, 2018, four days before it aired in the United States.

Errors

• When Team Rocket is seen from above before Jessie accidentally sets Gengar free, her hair is drawn as normal instead of as a bun.
• When Gengar scares Team Rocket, James moves through Wobbuffet's arm as he stands up.

Dub edits

• The Japanese text depicting Black Hole Eclipse's name is edited out in the English dub.

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	火箭隊的諸島巡禮？得到Z手環吧
	Mandarin	火箭隊的諸島巡禮！？得到Ｚ手環吧！！
Czech		Co mi tak dát někdy Z-náramek?
Danish		Team Rockets store prøve!
Dutch		Op zoek naar een Z-Ring!
Finnish		Mikset antaisi minulle vaikka Z-rengasta?
European French		S'il vous plaît, juste un tout petit Bracelet Z !
German		Wer wünscht sich nicht einen Z-Ring?!
Hebrew		!להשיג טבעת זי
Italian		Non ci daresti un Cerchio Z?
Korean		로켓단의 섬 순례!? Z링을 접수하라!!
Norwegian		Team Rockets store prøve!
Polish		Kiedy mi dasz moją Bransoletę Z?
Brazilian Portuguese		Por que não me dá uma Pulseira Z?
Russian		Кольцо-Z – непростое украшенье!
Spanish	Latin America	¿No quieres darme un Aro Z?
	Spain	¡Consiguiendo una Pulsera Z!
Swedish		Team Rocket's Prövning
Thai		แก็งร็อคเก็ตตระเวนเกาะ!? เอา Z ริงมาให้ได้!!
Turkish		Bana Bir Z-Yüzüğü, Lütfen!

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.