The Art Of Pokémon (Japanese: ドーブルのきせき!!あさひのなかでかがやいて!The Miracle of Doble!! Shining in the Morning Sun!) is the 197th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 10, 2001 and in the United States on April 6, 2002.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
As our heroes enter the historic city of Whitestone, they notice it appears to be made of marble! Brock's guide book explains this phenomena. Generation after generation in Whitestone has painted all of the buildings white. After so many years, the layers have given the impression the city is made of marble. Just as the gang enters the city, they notice a band of Smeargle running amok, painting every bare wall in site with their tails. Dexter quickly explains these Pokémon express themselves by painting and the color in their tail depends upon the Pokémon's mood. Just then, the townsfolk appear in an angry mob, demanding the Smeargle stop this graffiti. Before the scene gets out of control, a famous artist appears to claim the Smeargle. All are astonished to find out this world famous abstract artist uses Smeargle to create his masterpieces. He begs the townspeople to allow the Smeargle to express themselves. Apparently, the Smeargle have been through a creative dry-spell and he hopes they will find a way to create beautiful artwork once again. Will the artist, Smeargle and townspeople find a way to live in harmony?
Plot
This plot summary is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this plot summary to add missing sections and complete it.
Ash and his friends enter the historic city of Whitestone, they notice it appears to be made of marble! Brock’s guide book explains this phenomena. Generation after generation in Whitestone has painted all of the buildings white. After so many years, the layers have given the impression the city is made of marble.
Just as the gang enters the city, they notice a band of Smeargle running amok, painting every bare wall in site with their tails. Dexter quickly explains these Pokémon express themselves by painting and the color in their tail depends upon the Pokémon’s mood. Just then, the townsfolk appear in an angry mob, demanding the Smeargle stop this graffiti. Before the scene gets out of control, a famous artist appears to claim the Smeargle.
Major events
For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.
Ash seems to know what a Smeargle is even though it's a second generation Pokemon.
This is the 200th episode of the anime to be produced.
Team Rocket doesn't blast off in this episode.
James refers to several renowned real-world artists during the episode: Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Auguste Rodin and Andy Warhol. He refers to Auguste Rodin as "that Japanese monster Rodan", confusing the artist with a monster from the Godzilla franchise.
Jack's Smeargle's tails are red, blue, and yellow. In the games, normal Smeargle only have green tails, while their Shiny variants only have red tails. No other colors have ever been seen.
When Jack commands the Smeargle to stop painting the town, his eyes are missing.
Dub edits
The original airing of this episode on Hungama TV in India started the episode directly from the title card, skipping the part of the episode that comes before it.