DP079 : Strategy With a Smile!
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP081 : Chim - Charred!
The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!
DP080.png
DP080   EP546
ヤンヤンマ!ゲット作戦!!
Yanyanma! Capture Operation!!
First broadcast
Japan May 22, 2008
United States October 18, 2008
English themes
Opening We Will Be Heroes
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening Together2008
Ending 風のメッセージ (PokaPoka Version)
Credits
Animation Team Iguchi
Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Storyboard 小山賢 Masaru Koyama
Assistant director 小山賢 Masaru Koyama
Animation director 田口広一 Kōichi Taguchi
Additional credits

The Thief That Keeps on Thieving! (Japanese: ヤンヤンマ!ゲット作戦!! Yanyanma! Capture Operation!!) is the 80th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 546th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 22, 2008 and in the United States on October 18, 2008.

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

Blurb

On the way to Pastoria City, Ash and his friends meet Tyler and his Piplup, Pippy. The pair is hot on the trail of a Yanma; Tyler's only been a Trainer for a week, but he's already spent three days trying to catch that Yanma! Ash and the gang help Tyler track the Yanma down, and Pippy battles it to wear it down. Now Tyler is ready to throw his Poké Ball and complete the capture—except Team Rocket slips in, nabs Yanma, and makes a quick getaway! Unable to find Team Rocket, our heroes can only cheer Tyler up and encourage him to find another Yanma to catch.

Team Rocket sends the purloined Yanma to Team Rocket headquarters, eagerly anticipating a reward from the Boss. But Team Rocket already has plenty of Yanma, so Giovanni sends it back without comment. Team Rocket thinks the Boss is just being generous, so Jessie takes charge of their new Yanma and sets out to catch another Yanma for Giovanni. It's not long before Team Rocket crosses paths with Tyler, who's just found another wild Yanma.

Jessie sends out her new Yanma, which evolves into a surprisingly tough Yanmega. Team Rocket is delighted by Yanmega's powerful Sonic Boom and Ancient Power moves, except the fight with Tyler and Ash scares off the wild Yanma. Team Rocket might not have won this round, but Tyler is dismayed at losing out on another Yanma and Ash and his friends have to urge him not to give up. So when Tyler finds another Yanma and Team Rocket again shows up to spoil the show, Ash has Buizel and Pikachu put Team Rocket in their place. At last, Tyler catches a Yanma without any further interruption, and our heroes congratulate him before they resume their trip to Pastoria City.

Plot

As Ash and his friends are walking by a lake, Dawn admires her new Ribbon and Ash is excited for his next Gym Battle. A Yanma flies by and momentarily lands on Dawn's head, prompting Dawn to check her Pokédex for information. As Yanma flies away, a keen Trainer named Tyler comes running and asks the group if they'd seen a Yanma. Ash tells him it went across the lake and Tyler starts running. Ash and his friends decide to follow him.

Tyler catches up to the Yanma and sends out Pippy, his female Piplup. Pippy uses Peck but Yanma dodges. Yanma knocks Pippy backwards with Sonic Boom. Pippy tries a Pound attack, though Yanma dodges and knocks her down with Wing Attack before flying off. Tyler falls on his knees after his latest failure at catching the Yanma and Pippy feels the same way.

Tyler sits down with group, revealing that he has only been traveling for a week. He promised himself that he would catch the first Pokémon he saw, hence his determination to catch a Yanma. After Dawn and Ash recall catching their firsts, Buneary and Caterpie respectively, they offer to help Tyler out. They soon locate Yanma thanks to Ash's Staravia. Tyler and Pippy prepare to battle, however her Bubble is evaded. Pippy lands two consecutive hits on Yanma. Yanma dives down with Quick Attack, though Pippy counters this Peck and Yanma is sent backwards seeming unable to battle further. Tyler is ready to throw a Poké Ball, but Team Rocket comes up from the lake and performs their motto, after which Jessie throws a Poké Ball and catches Yanma without any effort. The group is shocked and Team Rocket escapes with their catch, leaving Tyler distraught again.

Piplup comes out of the water, not finding Team Rocket's Magikarp submarine. Tyler remains sad, but Ash encourages him to not give up. Tyler regains his confidence just as another Yanma flies by and everyone agrees that Tyler can catch this one. By evening, the search ends with no sight of a Yanma. They set up camp and enjoy a meal prepared by Brock. Ash impresses Tyler with his Sinnoh League Badges while Dawn shows off her Ribbons.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket have since delivered their caught Yanma to Giovanni via Delibird. That night the trio dreams of their promotions, having finally delivered a Pokémon to the boss. Meanwhile, at Team Rocket's headquarters, Giovanni receives Jessie's Yanma, delivered to his office by two Team Rocket Grunts. He uses his laptop to scan the Poké Ball, revealing the species inside and the moves it knows, one of which is Ancient Power. He asks about their current supply, and one of the grunts reports that Team Rocket has recently caught a large number of Yanma. The next morning, Delibird returns to the Rocket trio and delivers Yanma back to them. Meowth suggests the Poké Ball contains a powerful Pokémon as a reward from HQ. Jessie and James aren't disappointed to see the very same Yanma, instead they believe Giovanni decided to reward them for catching a powerful Pokémon by returning said Pokémon to them. The two agree that Jessie should be Yanma's Trainer and also decide to catch another Yanma for Giovanni in return.

Meanwhile, the group is ready to catch Yanma and Brock has set up Pokémon food for it. Pippy uses Peck on another Yanma and knocks it out. Ash tells Tyler to throw a Poké Ball. Tyler is about to, but Team Rocket steps in front of the Yanma. Jessie sends out her Yanma, and Ash sends out Chimchar. Yanma approaches with Wing Attack, but Chimchar dodges and uses Flamethrower. Meowth defends Giovanni’s gift and Fury Swipes on Chimchar. James sends out Carnivine, who greets its Trainer with a friendly Bite before rushing into battle with a Bullet Seed. Yanma uses Sonic Boom. Chimchar dodges both the attacks and scorches Team Rocket’s Pokémon with a Flame Wheel. Yanma recovers and after unleashing an Ancient Power on Chimchar, Yanma evolves into a Yanmega. Jessie is pleasantly surprised and calls for a Sonic Boom. Power and momentum are on Yanmega's side and Chimchar is sent flying back. Yanmega knocks the twerps around with several more Sonic Booms. Team Rocket is happy that they beat the twerps, but switch targets after the wild Yanma soars away.

Brock sets out the Pokémon food again and another Yanma takes the bait. Pippy ambushes Yanma with a Pound attack. Team Rocket reappears in their sub, so Ash sends out Buizel to deal with them. Jessie has Yanmega use Ancient Power, but Buizel dodges and strikes back with Aqua Jet. Yanmega is struck down by a Sonic Boom from Buizel, and Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to send Team Rocket blasting off.

Meanwhile, Yanma is eating the Pokémon food and Pippy uses Bubble. Yanma dodges and tries a Wing Attack. After Pippy dodges, Yanma goes over the lake. Pippy immediately dives in and swims to gain on Yanma before landing a hit with Peck. Pippy ducks under the water to dodge Yanma’s retaliation, and resurfaces to attack with Bubble and Peck. Yanma crashes onto the shore. Tyler throws a Poké Ball, but Yanma pops out. However, Tyler doesn't give up and Pippy uses Peck once more. Tyler throws his Poké Ball again and successfully catches Yanma. Ash and his friends congratulate Tyler on his first catch. By evening, Tyler and the group prepare to part ways. Tyler plans on heading towards Lake Valor, and Brock gifts him some Pokémon food for his journey. Meanwhile, Ash and his friends continue on to Pastoria City.

Major events

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

  • This episode marks the first time one of the main characters' previous Pokémon got a design change from its original appearance. In this case, Ash's Caterpie's mouth is changed from yellow to green to match Caterpie's official art.
  • This episode features the first use of Ancient Power in the anime, even though it was introduced two generations earlier.
  • The English dub title is loosely based on the phrase "the gift that keeps on giving."
  • This is one of the rare episodes where the TO BE CONTINUED... sign appears on the top-right corner of the screen.
  • Ed Paul (who was credited under his real name of Ted Lewis in season 1) reprises his role as Giovanni, making him the first returning voice actor to regain one of his roles since the dubbing of the show switched from 4Kids to Pokémon USA.
  • This episode was adapted into a book titled Triple Trouble by author Simcha Whitehill.

Errors

  • Ash is angry that Team Rocket would be so cruel as to steal a Trainer's first-caught Pokémon. However, Tyler hadn't caught the Yanma in question, so it technically was never his.
  • Before the second battle with Team Rocket, Tyler's Yanma is knocked out. However, at the end of the battle, Yanma is back at the food stand completely recovered.
  • During the second battle with Team Rocket, Brock's food stand disappears.

Dub edits

In other languages



DP079 : Strategy With a Smile!
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP081 : Chim - Charred!
  This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.