EP018: Difference between revisions

screen=hd |

'''Beauty and the Beach''' (Japanese: '''アオプルコのきゅうじつ''' ''Holiday at {{tt|Aopulco|Acapulco}}'') is the 18th episode of the [[Pokémon anime]]. It first aired in Japan on July 29, 1997 and in the United States on June 24, 2000.  

{{Ash}} and {{ashfr}} have finally arrived in [[Porta Vista]], a beachside tourist town. Wasting no time, Ash, {{an|Brock}} and {{AP|Pikachu}} change into swimsuits and jump into the ocean. Meanwhile, {{TRT}}, still using their [[Team Rocket's mechas|Gyarados submarine]], spy on beachgoers from their vantage point underwater. They decide to steal the money of the wealthy tourists. Suddenly, [[Jessie]] notices a speeding boat heading in their direction. The boat is piloted by Ash, who thought Brock borrowed it because Pikachu was on the boat. The boat collides with the sub and eventually crashes into a dock. [[Moe]], the owner of the boat, comes out to survey the damage. Ash, Brock and Misty volunteer to work to help pay the cost of repairing the boat and the dock. Moe agrees to this.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket's submarine has washed up onto a private beach and they're greeted by a woman named [[Brutella]]. [[James]] asks if they can work for her restaurant to help pay for repairs to their sub, and she agrees. Later, it's revealed that both Moe and Brutella are restaurateurs and rivals. For a while, Brutella's restaurant has more customers and Team Rocket taunts Ash and his friends over this. Ash decides to have his Pokémon help out as well. {{AP|Squirtle}} and Pikachu are told to hand out fliers advertising Moe's; {{AP|Pidgeotto}} and {{AP|Charmander}} are to help keep the grill going in the kitchen, and {{AP|Bulbasaur}} is assigned to help Misty do her waitress duties. This works well until {{MTR}} sabotages everything - sending fliers flying, spraying oil on the stove, and throwing banana peels on the floor to trip up Misty and Bulbasaur) - causing the crowd to leave Moe's restaurant for Brutella's. Ash apologizes for messing everything up.

Brutella arrives with Team Rocket a few minutes later and tells Moe that he needs to pay her the money he owes her. If he is unable to pay by the next day, she will take his boat as payment. Moe is despondent, as he does not think he will have the money by then. He explains that he had planned to take a world cruise in his boat. Ash then fervently encourages him not to give up on his dream. Then, two familiar faces appear: {{an|Professor Oak}} and Ash's mother, [[Delia Ketchum]]. Ash is surprised to see both of them. Professor Oak explains that the [[Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest]] is set to start shortly, and he suggests handing out fliers to the audience. He also suggests that Misty enter and (hopefully) win some prize money to help out Moe. Ash sends out Pidgeotto, who blankets the beach and town with fliers. Soon, Moe's restaurant is full again, much to Brutella's dismay.

As the contest begins, Moe sits with Delia and Professor Oak. He explains how Ash encouraged him not to give up on his dream. Delia says that she and the professor are in town with the [[Pallet Town]] Volunteer Patrol. The contest begins, with Brock as the announcer. Misty is the first contestant, and she uses her Starmie and Ash's Squirtle to form a UFO. Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing are next, and they're costumed as an Omastar. They are kicked off of the stage by [[Gary Oak]] and his [[Gary's cheerleaders|cheerleaders]], who are apparently the next contestants. Gary grabs the microphone from Brock and insults Ash, who jumps out of his seat and heads for the stage. Meanwhile, Brutella tells Jessie and James that she knows they are Team Rocket members and that she has fixed their submarine. She blackmails them into stopping the contest and destroying Moe's restaurant so that the audience will come to her restaurant instead. Jessie tells Brutella that they can destroy things without even trying.

Back onstage, Ash challenges the always-cocky Gary to a {{pkmn|battle}}, but Gary refuses, stating that he does not want to battle an amateur Trainer. Brock steps between the two rivals before Ash's anger gets the best of him. Just then, the Gyarados submarine explodes from the water, causing panic. People run away, thinking that it is a real {{p|Gyarados}} on a rampage. Ash grabs the microphone and tells the remaining frightened audience members that it is a [[Team Rocket's mechas|mecha]], not a Pokémon. Team Rocket then fires a heat-seeking missile from the sub. Under Gary's skeptical eye, Ash sends out Pidgeotto and Charmander. Charmander's {{m|Flamethrower}} attack hits the missile, which turns and changes course: straight for the submarine! Team Rocket pedal furiously to get away, but they crash into Brutella's restaurant, which is then destroyed by the missile.

** The reason why the episode is "banned" was because there is a scene halfway in when James crossdresses and wears inflatable breasts for a beauty contest. Although intended for comic effect, the nature of the scene caused so much controversy that the whole episode was banned for almost 3 years, until it was aired as a heavily cut version that was only 18 minutes long. This edited version was titled "The Lost Episode" when it aired in 2000. The ending of this episode was shown as a flashback in the dub of ''[[EP027|Hypno's Naptime]]'', indicating that they had access to the raw of this episode while dubbing the first season.

** According to Diana Pérez, the voice actress for [[Jessie]] in {{pmin|Latin America}}, this episode was dubbed into Latin American Spanish. She additionally commented that when dubbing anime, the dub staff usually receives the uncensored versions instead of the already-cut 4Kids-edited version. This could mean that the episode was translated by Western dubbers, since these are all based on the US version, but it was still never aired for those regions.

* During the part where fliers for the contest was shown, {{so|Pokémon World}} was played in the background, but the episode used [[Pokémon Theme]] as intro.

|nl={{tt|De schoonheid van het strand|The beauty of the beach}}

[[de:Aopulco no Kyūjitsu]]