AG142

Revision as of 01:57, 26 April 2013 by IWannaBeTheVeryBest (talk | contribs) (→‎Trivia: song title font)
AG141 : Hail to the Chef!
Advanced Generation series
AG143 : The Saffron Con
Caterpie's Big Dilemma
AG142.png
AG142   EP416
進化!その神秘と奇跡!!
Evolution! That Mystery and Wonder!!
First broadcast
Japan September 8, 2005
United States June 10, 2006
English themes
Opening Unbeatable
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening バトルフロンティア
Ending ポケモンかぞえうた
Credits
Animation Team Ota
Screenplay 藤田伸三 Shinzō Fujita
Storyboard しのゆきひろ Yukihiro Shino
Assistant director 中村圭三 Keizō Nakamura
Animation director たけだゆうさく Yūsaku Takeda
No additional credits are available at this time.

Caterpie's Big Dilemma (Japanese: 進化!その神秘と奇跡!! Evolution! That Mystery and Wonder!!) is the 142nd episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 416th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 8, 2005 and in the United States on June 10, 2006.

201
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
201

Synopsis

It's another beautiful day in the Kanto region, as Ash and his friends head towards their next destination, Saffron City. A Caterpie suddenly pops out from the bushes and appears to be angry. Curious about it, May brings out her Pokédex. A young boy then appears and accuses the group of being thieves. The boy commands Caterpie to use String Shot on Ash and the gang. Ash and friends cry out in protest, but Caterpie continues to encase them in String Shot. A man in a lab coat called Dr. Gordon and with a strange device on his head comes onto the scene, and tries to determine the truth about the trio. Using the device's Alakazam, he determines that... their limousine is waiting for them. Eventually the group convinces Dr. Gordon and the boy, Xander, that they are just travelers. Xander apologizes for accosting them.

Introductions are then exchanged as everyone tells their name and hometown. Ash compliment's Xander's Caterpie for its strong String Shot. Xander mentions that the Caterpie is his first Pokémon and his best friend and that they plan to go on a journey soon. Dr. Gordon then appears and raises a strange contraption from a nearby pool of water. It rises to the top and opens up, revealing an array of inventions based on different Pokémon's abilities, according to the doctor. He grabs one device, a microphone with a Jigglypuff figurine on top of it, and starts singing into it. The Jigglypuff figure starts singing its melody as well. The doctor quickly falls fast asleep.

Outside, Jessie and James are investigating the situation. Jessie brings up the idea of capturing Caterpie, especially after it ruined their plans last night and made them flee while encased in String Shot.

As the doctor wishes them luck towards their Pokémon Contest, Caterpie senses something and heads down the trail. Jessie, James, and Meowth are rummaging through the doctor's belongings as Caterpie appears in the doorway. Everyone else appears soon afterward, and a Pokémon battle is about to take place. Caterpie heads into battle as Jessie calls upon her Seviper. When James picks up an orange case, Dr. Gordon becomes very concerned about what he calls his most important invention. Caterpie snatches the case with its String Shot, but Seviper grabs hold of it with its fangs, severing the strand. Pikachu delivers a swift Quick Attack into Seviper, causing the case to fall to the ground and open, revealing several small, blue balls.

Caterpie then eats one and a reddish light appears around its body. Caterpie's body increases to several times its normal size, reaching all the way to the lab ceiling. Caterpie Tackles Team Rocket and sends them blasting off and leaving the stolen objects behind. Brock figures that the blue balls are "Mystery Candy," but the doctor says that it's his "Mystery Candy Complete." The balls are meant to be a multivitamin to maximize a Pokémon's potential, but the doctor had no idea that this is what would happen. The mysterious light appears again as Caterpie then grows in size even more and breaks through the ceiling. May tells Xander to return it to its Poké Ball, but he reveals that he has never actually caught Caterpie.

Caterpie heads towards the nearby city, stampeding through and breaking right through a bridge. The doctor dons one of his inventions, a Machoke suit that increases one's strength by a factor of ten, and pulls a wagon containing the others. Caterpie then arrives at a huge tower in the city and starts to climb it. About halfway up, the top half of the tower fails due to Caterpie's weight and falls on top of the city below. Suddenly, Caterpie gives off brilliant white light and evolves into Metapod, but remains perched atop the broken tower. Officer Jenny comes onto the scene and Dr. Gordon explains that this mess is his fault.

Jessie and James are upset over having lost the pills earlier, but Wobbuffet reveals that it grabbed three of them before they were blasted out of the lab. The trio recite their motto before seizing Dr. Gordon. Ash orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but James sends out Cacnea to use Pin Missile. Pikachu manages to dodge until one of the pins scores a direct hit. Jessie sends out Dustox and throws the three pills towards it, but one falls short and lands in Cacnea's mouth. They both grow to about the same size as Metapod, to the surprise of everyone else. James tries to tell Cacnea a command, but it just turns around and falls onto James's relatively small body, crushing him into the ground. James returns Cacnea to its Poké Ball and the trio run away with the doctor in their possession and fly away on top of Dustox's back.

From atop the wrecked tower, Metapod's body begins to glow as it appears that it will evolve again soon. The Pokémon evolves into Butterfree, whose data May queries on her Pokédex. Flying through the sky, Dr. Gordon marvels at the experience of riding a Dustox. Ash and Xander appear on top of Butterfree, flying toward Dustox and Team Rocket. Jessie orders Dustox to use Poison Sting, which Butterfree dodges but the rest of the gang have trouble evading on the ground below as they ride along in Officer Jenny's off-road vehicle.

Pikachu launches a Thunderbolt at Dustox but misses. Ash notices steel electrical towers ahead of Dustox and directs Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on them, causing Dustox to narrowly avoid the power lines by diving recklessly. Xander tells Butterfree to use Supersonic, confusing Dustox and everyone aboard. The mysterious light appears around Dustox again as it quickly returns to normal size. This leaves Team Rocket and Dr. Gordon helplessly falling to the ground. Team Rocket falls into a lake below, but Butterfree saves the doctor from the fall.

Team Rocket starts wading to shore just as the rest of the group shows up with Officer Jenny. Jessie tells Dustox to use Psybeam on them, but Butterfree appears and Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunder on Team Rocket, who are still standing in the water. Xander tells Butterfree to use Whirlwind, blasting Team Rocket off with a gust of wind.

Soon afterward, the mysterious light appears around Butterfree as it then returns to normal size. Xander says that he's glad Butterfree is back to normal and is excited to go on a journey with it someday. After experiencing a mysterious evolution and another amazing day in the Kanto region, the gang is off to the Saffron City Contest.

Major events

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Characters

Human

Pokémon

 
Pokémon Trainer's Choice

Pokémon Trainer's Choice: Sableye

Trivia

 
Jigglypuff mike
  • Chinami Nishimura returns as Officer Jenny in the Japanese version.
  • This is the last English dub episode in which Officer Jenny is voiced by Jamie Davyous Owens.
  • Battle Frontier plays during the rescue scene.
  • The Jigglypuff on the karaoke mike has a tiny marker like the one that the anime Jigglypuff carries with it.
  • This episode may have been a tribute to the Mothra franchise of monster films.
  • This is so far the only episode during which a Pokémon evolves twice.
  • This is also one of the few episodes in which Cacnea does not hug James upon leaving its Poké Ball.
    • It does, however, hug him after eating the Mystery Candy.

Errors

Dub edits

  • In the Japanese version, the candy that Dr. Gordon invents is Rare Candy (Fushigina Ame). The dub mistakenly calls it "Mystery Candy," which is a literal translation of its Japanese name.

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

  • Question: Trainers, which of these Pokémon does not evolve?
  • Choices: Skitty, Sableye, Nincada
  • Answer: OK, Trainers! If you chose Sableye, you were right!

In other languages



AG141 : Hail to the Chef!
Advanced Generation series
AG143 : The Saffron Con
  This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.