338: Go Go Ludicolo
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341: Odoru Batoru-da! Runpappa!
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Corphish seems confused and a little pissed off while the other Pokemon head up to say hello, smiling happily as Corphish keeps staring suspiciously at Groyvle, not convinced by this so-called "Evolution" story.
Ash peers over his Pokemon trying to figure out which ones to use while Brock tries to remember what Pokemon Norman uses. Max refuses to tell, saying he isn't going to give Ash any advantage, and then snaps at May when she admits she wants her Dad to win but she doesn't want Ash to lose. While this is going on, Corphish starts shouting angrily and suspiciously at Groyvle to tell it what the hell it did to Treecko and Pikachu has to try desperately to explain to the angry little lobster what is going on. As all this tension escalates, Taillow suddenly drops a fruit (not James) from the air into Ash's hand, and then leads them the twerps to a tree where the fruit grows. It's too tall for them to get too, but Corphish wants to help out and leaps high and grabs the fruit...... and explodes it with its claws! Pikachu tries to run up the tree trunk to get at the fruit but gravity exerts its pressure on its fat little belly and pulls it back down, and then Corphish gets PISSED! It blasts Bubble Beam at the fruit and explodes them into segments and juices, then starts slamming against the side of the trunk.
And then Groyvle saves the day with Leaf blade.
It lands as fruit drops into May and Max's hands and leans back against the tree trunk, all Clint Eastwood cool as Ash says that everyone loves Groyvle and Taillow, Pikachu and Torkoal run up to tell it just that very thing.... and then Corphish charges up waving its pincers in a rage.
And then a net drops on them!
"Prepare for trouble, here's our report!"
"Make it double, we're cutting this short!"
"Tah be continued!" finishes Meowth.
Team Rocket haul up the net full of Pokemon, protected from the electricity of Pikachu and the claws of Corphish. But Groyvle seems unconcerned and so does Ash, who orders a Leaf blade that cuts them free, much to Team Rocket's shock... and then Jesse starts considering whether it might be worth capturing... until it leaps up and sends them blasting off again before leaning back against the tree and relaxing coolly as Torkoal weeps with gratitude and the twerps talk up how wonderful it is.
And Corphish is absolutely fucking horrified.
It charges up to Groyvle again and has to be restrained by Pikachu, yelling angrily as Ash tells it to calm down, and May says it might just be crabby because it is hungry. So Brock prepares them a meal of sandwiches as the Pokemon eat from their trays. We'd ask what the hell happened to the fruit from the tree, but then we're provided with a distraction as..... a gay pineapple duck arrives on the scene!
It's a Ludicolo, the "carefree" Pokemon according to Dextina, which is what they're calling "that" nowadays apparently. A man in a sombrero with a horrible moustache and an even worst accent appears beating a drum, the cause of Ludicolo's dancing, just daring the Society For The Eradication of Horrific Stereotypes to bring down their wrath on Nintendo. They ask if the Ludicolo belongs to him, and he says it is, introducing himself as Pancho, a traveling entertainer.
Oh. My. God.
Pancho explains he evolved Ludicolo from Lombre with a Water Stone, and Brock asks if he can show him his own Lombre. It is called out of its Pokeball and stares blankly into the forest, even after Brock tells it that Ludicolo is what it will one day evolve into.
Well God, why not just give it a razorblade and tell it that its Mother never loved it.
Pancho - perhaps not entirely convinced he has insulted the entire Nation of Mexico just yet - suddenly eyes up Brock's sandwiches and asks him if he is going to eat them, then makes the twerps an offer... they'll have a battle and the winner gets the sandwiches!
Ash agrees eagerly, saying that he could use a warm-up before Norman, and all of the Pokemon seem to think this is a pretty cool idea. All but Corphish which is staring in wide-eyed horror at the monstrosity before him.
And his Ludicolo isn't much better either!
Suddenly Max realises that they have nothing to gain if they win, and Pancho admits this is true, then agrees that if he loses, he will take them into town and buy them cheeseburgers. Well, the word of this bizarre walking stereotype is good enough for Ash and he tries to decide which Pokemon he will use... and then Groyvle slides confidently up in front of him. Ash grins happily, but then Corphish stomps up angrily, either pissed off at Groyvle's overconfidence or (more likely) demanding to know where the hell Treecko is, goddammit!
Ash asks it what the matter is, does it want to battle? Corphish snaps its name angrily and Ash takes that as a yes. Before they can start though, Pancho insists that before a battle he always drums to get Ludicolo in the mood, and begins drumming away as Ludicolo dances and Ash and Brock mutter to each other that there are some things you should keep to yourself.
A short time later they prepare to battle, Ash having apparently put his gloves back on. He sends in Corphish with a Vice Grip, but Ludicolo dodges, proving it is faster than it looks. Corphish tries Bubble Beam but hits a Protect, so Ash orders Crab Hammer, only for a happy Ludicolo to dodge twice and then use Protect against a fresh shot of Bubble Beam. He orders another Crabhammer, but Pancho orders Double-Team and Corphish finds itself surrounded by a living nightmare... seven gay pineapple ducks!
Ash tells it not to worry and just smash them all with Crabhammer, so it does just that, but all this does is tire out Corphish and leave it open for a Focus Punch that knocks it down. It staggers straight back up and zooms in with vice Grip which Ludicolo dodges, and then tries a Bubble Beam that Ludicolo Protects against, then smashes Corphish in the face with Focus Punch as it comes in with Crab Hammer. It gets up again but it looks hurt, and when it moves in, Pancho orders a Hyperbeam that knocks Corphish out... and Pancho wins the sandwiches!
Ludicolo hauls up the sandwiches and Pancho thanks them before moving on, and May tells Ash he and Corphish weren't in Synch, and Max notes he underestimated Ludicolo before Brock finishes the trifecta of "criticism from people who weren't in the fight" by noting that Corphish didn't seem as strong as usual. But May and Max soon forget their dismay when Brock says he will make some more sandwiches, though it takes more than that to cheer up Ash.
And while all this is happening, Corphish stalks off into the bushes pissed off, either to take on Ludicolo again or find out where the fuck Treecko is!
HEY TRAINERS, WHICH OF THESE EVOLVES INTO THE BIRD POKEMON ALTARIA? THE FLOWER POKEMON ROSELIA? OR MAYBE THE BIZARRE SPIDER/FISH/REPTILE THING SURSKIT? OR COULD IT POSSIBLY BY SWABLU, THE BIRD POKEMON THAT HAS THE SAME COLOUR SKIN, SAME RIBBON-LIKE FEATHERS ON ITS HEAD AND SAME FLUFFY WHITE WINGS? THINK CAREFULLY, THIS IS A TOUGH ONE!
Ash sends Taillow up to find Corphish but it finds nothing, and Max wonders what could have happened to cause it run off.... and May finally remembers that they've been talking up how awesome Groyvle is all day and then when Corphish tried to step up to the plate and got smacked down, it probably felt pretty shitty.
Speaking of feeling pretty shitty, Pancho and Ludicolo don't seem to be feeling too awesome at the moment as they sit staring at their won sandwiches and contemplate the bizarre series of events that turned them into god-awful stereotypes.
Pancho says he feels bad for taking the sandwiches, but then agrees with Ludicolo that next time they meet they will buy them cheeseburgers, and then Pancho starts playing his drums again in a pre-meal dance.... and Corphish shows up demanding a fight goddammit. Pancho seems to understand the kind of hot Latin blood that can fire a person up like this, but says maybe they should eat first. But Corphish shakes its head furiously, demanding they fight. As Pancho tells it not to get so upset, they are watched from the bushes by Team Rocket, who have been on the lookout for Groyvle but spotted Ludicolo instead... and James seems to recognise it as a kindred (albeit less fashionable) spirit. Fag-Hag Jesse is all for capturing it as well, and Meowth is... well Meowth is insane.
He spins them a yarn, a patented Crazy Meowth Giovanni Fantasy about capturing Ludicolo and giving it to Giovanni. Once in his possession, why Ludicolo will dance by Giovanni's bed to cheer him in the morning, and then dance by his side as he sits bemoaning how useless his agents are, cheering him up enough to declare that Meowth, Jesse and James are truly valuable Team Rocket members!
But then James once more punctures Meowth's thin aura of insanity by pointing out that Ludicolo's dancing might annoy The Boss, and as Meowth screams in fury at anyone breaking up his fragile fantasy world (Jesse could commiserate), Jesse figures that whatever the case, a gift is a gift.
Meanwhile, Pancho is still trying to convince Corphish to feed rather than fight, but then a Haze Attack blows in and Pancho runs in horror, perhaps thinking it's Border Control or his Welfare Agent.
Oh God, the racism is rubbing off!
As they run, Pancho and Ludicolo fall into a hole prepared by Team Rocket (wow, they work fast!) and hauled up in a net, Jesse laughing that Ludicolo is now theirs (plus another cheap labourer for Giovanni in Pancho!). But Corphish is furious, it wanted to put a beating on Ludicolo! It blasts at the Balloon with Bubble Beam, then scuttles up a tree trunk and bounces off of a tree limb, landing on the net holding Ludicolo and Pancho (who still clutches protectively to his precious sandwiches).
It tugs at the net with its pincers as Jesse laughs that it'll never tear through and Wobbuffet agrees.... and Corphish leaps up onto the balloon and punctures it!
And then the twerps get an eyeful of something they usually see in reverse.
They run in horror as the balloon crashes and Pancho, Ludicolo and Corphish stagger out of the dust, and then Team Rocket appear, and this time they finish their motto!
"Prepare for trouble, we'll show you strange!"
"Make it double, we've got quite a range!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"And James."
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."
"So Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Dat's right!"
"WOBBBB-BUH!"
Pancho explains they tried to steal his Ludicolo but Corphish saved them, and then James sends out Seviper and James has to fend off Cacnea. Ash orders a Bubblebeam from Corphish, and it then dodges their moves to lay in a double-vice grip on Cacnea and Seviper, before hardening against a Poison Needle, Crab hammering Cacnea into Seviper, and then Bubblebeams them blasting off again!
Pancho congratulates them and May asks if Corphish has just been "hanging around", but Pancho explains that it wanted to fight, but now thanks to them they are safe. They all settle in for a stew by Brock, and Pancho tells them that he feels doubly bad now, he took their sandwiches and now he is eating their stew. But Brock says not to worry, and Pancho immediately forgets all about his inner despair, saying that watching Corphish was pretty impressive, he isn't sure if he could have won that time... maybe it was just having an off-battle last time?
Torkoal weeps in joy next to Corphish as everyone praises how tough it was, and it struts over to where Groyvle sits against a tree stump and lifts its head proudly, eyes closed as it basks in the glory and seems to be telling Groyvle,"Yeah, I'm pretty fucking badass too."
Groyvle nods in appreciation, Corphish having seemingly accepted that it is Treecko after all, while Ash challenges Pancho to another battle, but this time against his Torkoal, and the turtle blows smoke out of its nose in delight.
They head into another battle, Ludicolo dodging Flamethrower and trying a Focus Punch that smashes against Torkoal's Iron Defence. It shakes its fist in pain, then forms a Double Team around Torkoal, but it sweeps from the left around the circle with Flamethrower, burning through illusions and hitting Ludicolo full on. As Ash sends Torkoal in to continue the battle and the other twerps talk up how much better Ash is doing this time, the episode ends with the narrator reminding us that Petalburg City is now just a short way away, and so is what will be Ash's toughest battle yet.
Explaining to Norman who the hell Brock is and why he's constantly hanging around Daddy's little girl.
| BEST QUOTES |
 "If you ask me, it's something he should keep to himself" "Everyone's got their own thing... I guess.... "DON'T YA KNOW DAT DANCING BRINGS JOY TAH PEOPLES' LIVES!?!?!"
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