EP086

Just as Ash, Misty, and Tracey set foot on Mandarin Island, Pikachu and Togepi turn against them and join a group of other angry Pokémon. When the misbehaving Pokémon disappear, Officer Jenny arrives and informs them that dozens of Pokémon have been reported missing, including Meowth! Everyone fears a Psychic attack is behind this mystery. Will Jessie and James actually join forces with our heroes? Could they possibly win a battle for the first time?

After stopping by Mandarin Island, Ash and his friends overhear a commotion and notice a Grimer, Voltorb, and four Magnemite attacking their Trainers. The group runs to help, but as Pikachu approaches, he stops. When Ash asks what is wrong, Pikachu just glares at him. Out of nowhere, Togepi jumps out of Misty's arms and glares at its Trainer as well. Pikachu and Togepi then join the other Pokémon, while Voltorb explodes, distracting Ash from rescuing his Pokémon. When the dust clears, Officer Jenny has arrived, but the Pokémon are gone. At the police headquarters, Jenny explains that for some time, Pokémon have all been disobeying their masters. The only Pokémon that doesn't appear to be affected by it is a Gastly. Jenny explains that she is hoping to figure out what is going on using Gastly. Ash and the others vow to help as well.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has arrived on the island. While Jessie and James want to go exploring, Meowth becomes angry with them, saying they have important business to do. Suddenly, Meowth pauses, and when Jessie and James ask him what is wrong, he takes off without responding. Team Rocket follows Meowth and ends up in a large room. As they get up, they notice Butch and Cassidy looking at them. After both duos say their motto, Butch and Cassidy explain that they are stealing all of the Pokémon on Mandarin Island for the Boss. They present proof by showing all the Pokémon they have stolen so far, which includes Pikachu, Togepi, and Meowth. Impressed, Jessie and James decide to steal the Pokémon Butch and Cassidy have taken.

Jessie sends out Arbok and Lickitung, while James sends out Weezing and Victreebel. Butch snaps his fingers, and a Drowzee hooked up to a machine appears. As Jessie and James question about it, the Psychic-type begins using Hypnosis, causing all four Pokémon to turn against them. Butch and Cassidy explain that they have Drowzee hooked up to an antenna that strengthens and broadcasts its hypnotic power all across Mandarin Island, which has allowed them to take control of all of the resident Pokémon. Having revealed their plan, they decide to get rid of Jessie and James and set their own Pokémon, including Meowth, on them.

Jessie and James are later found unconscious and taken to the Pokémon Center. When they awaken, they find themselves with Officer Jenny, Ash, and the others, who proceed to question them. They attempt to leave, but Ash blocks their way. Ash begs them to reveal what they know, and they end up conceding.

Jessie and James later approach Butch and Cassidy with a large cart filled with Poké Balls, claiming that they would like to make peace and have brought hundreds of Pokémon for them. Butch and Cassidy are skeptical, but let the duo in anyway. As they enter, Ash and his friends jump out and demand that Butch and Cassidy return the Pokémon. They refuse, saying that with the help of Drowzee, the Pokémon on Mandarin Island will do whatever they want them to do. Using Drowzee, they have all of the Pokémon attack the Trainers. All of the Electric, Fire, and Water types combine their attacks into a super-powered blast, but Gastly protects them from it.

Suddenly, Ash gets an idea. After Pikachu shocks him, he gets up, taunting Pikachu into launching another attack. This angers Pikachu, who tries again. Ash keeps dodging the attacks, all the while taunting Pikachu. As Gastly starts to weaken, Ash gets in front of the machine controlling Drowzee and taunts Pikachu yet again. Pikachu launches a massive Thunder Shock, which strikes not only Ash, but the machine as well. As a result, it gets electrocuted and explodes, causing Drowzee to lose control of all of the Pokémon. Afterwards, Pikachu happily leaps into Ash's arms.

As Ash and Misty are reunited with Pikachu and Togepi, the other Pokémon are released back onto the island, and run off to find their Trainers. However, Butch and Cassidy refuse to let Ash and the others leave. They challenge them to a battle, and Ash accepts. Using Drowzee, Butch and Cassidy are able to keep Pikachu at bay as well as Jessie and James's Pokémon. They then decide to use the building's antennae to project Drowzee's Hypnosis and retake control of all the Pokémon on the island. As the Psychic-type begins using Metronome, Tracey comments that they don't know what move it will use. Ash and Pikachu begin running towards them in an attempt to stop it. At the same time, nobody notices Togepi using Metronome as well. When it completes the move, a massive explosion destroys Butch and Cassidy's headquarters.

After the duo is arrested, Officer Jenny awards Ash a certificate for his heroism on behalf of the Trainers of Mandarin Island, declaring him an honorary citizen of the city. She mentions that Jessie and James were to be given an award as well, but they disappeared. As the Team Rocket trio looks on from a rooftop, James mentions how it would have been nice to be congratulated for doing something right for a change, with Jessie and Meowth assuring him that their job is do the wrong thing by capturing Pikachu.

Ash and his friends then depart from Mandarin Island. As they ride away on Lapras, Tracey remarks that the only time Team Rocket won is when they were on the side of Ash and his companions. Ash jokes that "you can't lose them all" as the three Trainers share a good laugh.

• Butch and Cassidy are revealed to have obtained a Drowzee.
• Tracey meets Butch and Cassidy for the first time.
• Jessie's Lickitung uses Tackle for the first time.
• James's Victreebel is revealed to know Tackle.
• Misty's Togepi is revealed to know Metronome.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Tracey
• Jessie
• James
• Officer Jenny
• Professor Oak
• Butch
• Cassidy
• Trainers
• Citizens

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Kangaskhan (US and International), Drowzee (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Lapras (Ash's)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Lickitung (Jessie's)
• Weezing (James's)
• Victreebel (James's)
• Gastly (Officer Jenny's)
• Drowzee (Butch and Cassidy's)
• Wartortle
• Vulpix
• Mankey
• Primeape
• Growlithe
• Poliwag
• Ponyta
• Magnemite (×4)
• Grimer
• Kingler
• Voltorb
• Hitmonchan
• Seaking
• Starmie
• Electabuzz
• Magikarp
• Vaporeon
• Jolteon
• Flareon

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture: Hitmonchan
  • Pokémon senryū summary: Send them flying, with one punch, Hitmonchan.
• This is the first time the running gag of getting Butch's name wrong is used. In this case, James called him "Botch" in the English dub, which fittingly can mean "to mess up", although he originally called him コサンジ Kosanji, which would become standard for the running gag in Japanese.
• Tracey exclaims "Who's that Pokémon?" when he sees Drowzee, thus referencing the question-and-answer segment of the same name.
• This is the first time Jessie's Lickitung was used since the episode in which it was caught 34 episodes earlier.
• Both of Butch, Cassidy's, Jessie, and James's mottos are said at the exact same time in this episode.
  • Although Cassidy claims that Jessie and James's version of the motto is incorrect, in The Breeding Center Secret, Meowth claims that Butch and Cassidy stole the motto from them.
• Ash's Pikachu is referred to as a male in the dub. Shortly after Officer Jenny first arrives, just after the explosion, Ash says, "You just gotta find him, Officer Jenny!"
• This episode marks the first time Pikachu has been controlled by an evil organization.
• Team Rocket does not blast off in this episode. However, Butch and Cassidy said a similar phrase "Looks like we're carted off again!" when they got arrested.

Errors

Jolteon's missing collar

• In the beginning, four Magnemite are hypnotized by Drowzee. However, only three Magnemite are hypnotized later on.
• When Ash calls out to Pikachu after he disappears, his bag is missing.
• It is stated in this episode that Ghost types are strong against Psychic Pokémon. However, in Generation I, Psychic types were only weak to Bug-type attacks.
  • It is also implied that Ghost-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type attacks. However, they actually take normal damage from Psychic-type attacks. Furthermore, Gastly is part Poison-type, making Psychic attacks super effective against it.
• At one point, James commands Weezing, Victreebel, and Lickitung to use Tackle. However, Victreebel cannot legally learn the move in the games. Lickitung was also unable to learn Tackle until Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
• A Ponyta is seen using Flamethrower, despite that it was impossible to teach a Ponyta this move until Pokémon Crystal.
• Jolteon's collar disappears in a scene where all of the controlled Pokémon charge at Ash's group. This scene is also used in Pokémon World.
• In the English dub, the Pokédex classifies Drowzee as the "Hypnotic Pokémon", whereas its actual category in the games is the "Hypnosis Pokémon".

Dub edits

• Pikachu's Jukebox: 2.B.A. Master
• During the "motto battle" in the dub, Cassidy claims that Jessie and James's motto is incorrect, and when James proceeds with the motto, Butch interjects that he has the next line. In the original version, they don't say this and are just reciting the lines from their own motto. This is likely because the Japanese version of their motto is longer than in the dub, with later appearances adding the line "Here's our mission, so you better listen" to make it match.