431: Off the Unbeaten Path
Dodgy Synopsis
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435: Yusho wa Dare no te ni!? Pokémon Orienteringu!
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As they sail along, they're followed by Team Rocket in their Magikarp Submarine, Jesse eagerly talking up the prospects of capturing Pikachu while James and Meowth moan at the "princess" to actually help out with the pedalling. She pouts and moans that she didn't get a good night’s sleep, and they sigh in long suffering resignation.
An island appears on the horizon, but the twerps haven't reached the Island of the Old Rockers just yet, Brock identifies it as Potpourri Island.
Who names these places?
They disembark and on their way to the Pokémon Centre discover a fenced in nursery school section, where some young baby Pokémon are dancing about. Nurse Joy approaches them, ignoring Brock's proclamations of love as she explains that the Pokémon Centre doubles as a nursery school. Some kids walk by laughing that they're going to be the winners, and Nurse Joy explains that there is going to be a Pokémon Orienteering Competition. She explains that Trainers and Pokémon work together to get 5 points by finding five different locations as shown on a provided map, and the winner gets a shiny medal and a large supply of delicious fruit.
Wow, it's all happening at Potpourri Island.
The twerps decide to "get in on it" while Brock declares to Nurse Joy that he wants to "get in on it" with her. We miss Brock's arrest on sexual harassment charges though, as we turn to Team Rocket who are watching from some distance away up in a tree, using those neat binoculars of theirs that allow them to hear over great distances as well. They're eager to take part in the contest as well.
That night the twerps discuss their battle strategies, which are.... interesting. Both May and Brock have decided it would be best to use their new babies - Eevee and Bonsly - to help them in the long, arduous orienteering trek, while Max has asked May for the use of her hungry, easily distracted Munchlax. Ash's strategy is less surprising, as he goes with the old standby of Pikachu.
The next day, they leave their Pokémon with the babies in the nursery school and head off for the start of the contest. Nurse Joy explains that there are stamps waiting for the contestants at each of the locations shown on the maps. They have to stamp their maps, and the first to get five and return to the Pokémon Centre will win. Nurse Joy shows the medal and James is immediately attracted to the shiny thing, and then Joy shows off the fruit and Munchlax immediately finds itself motivated. James moans,"The Medal!" and Jesse moans "The Fruit!" and they both repeat over and over until James snaps at Jesse to stop it, and she says she can't.
It's okay Jesse, we all know he's a fruit!
With that done, the orienteering is on! James (dressed up like a German camper) takes Mime Jr. and they decide to head for the Moonrock Location. Ash and Pikachu head for the Rainbow Falls location; Brock heads for the 300 year old giant tree location - and tells Bonsly to calm its eager little legs down so it doesn't tire itself out; May and Eevee head for the Ocean Location; Max charges after Munchlax as it tears off down the track; and Jesse and "Sneasel" discuss their strategy, which involves them walking forward until they get where they need to be getting!
Ash and Pikachu cross a giant ravine by crossing a tree that has fallen over the side (apparently this annual Orienteering Contest serves as a Darwinian Survival Test to keep the Potpourri Population down), almost falling to their deaths as they go. May decides to take her newborn Eevee on a dangerous crossing of rocks on the very edge of a waterfall because she is a terrible mother, slipping and falling into the river followed by Eevee which leaps into the water and gets swept away with her. Meanwhile Brock is following his compass when he spots Nurse Joy (who is also taking part in the contest, apparently) and goes a little hog wild, snorting like a bull and shaking his head about with delight. Bonsly is not too pleased to see love being directed at anyone but it, even if the love isn't paternal, and lets Brock know in no uncertain terms as it smashes into his spine as he charges Nurse Joy, sending the two of them blasting off.... but not again!
James and Mime Jr. are struggling up the sheer side of a cliff, while Ash and Pikachu find the Rainbow Falls location and walk through an honour guard of Remoraid water arches to get their first stamp. Meanwhile, Brock appears to have recovered as he and Bonsly spot the 300 year old giant tree (which really is giant!) and Brock happily declares that breeders have the absolute best relationships with their Pokémon....
(snicker)
Max is still struggling to keep up with Munchlax while May and Eevee have by a stroke a luck been washed up onto the shore, finding themselves by the ocean and their first Stamp Location.
Jesse and Meowth are not doing so well, finding themselves on top of a giant rock outcropping. Jesse throws a tantrum and says doesn't want to play any more, stomping her foot and shouting that she wants to go home. Meowth asks what about the prizes, and she declares with great delight that she's got it! Meowth seems less than excited by her plotting... till he discovers her plan is to let James do all the dirty work! Instantly he is in full agreement with her, and they both snicker cruelly as if they'd just heard somebody say that breeders have the absolute best relationships with their Pokémon.
Max, meanwhile, has finally stopped Munchlax, and suggests they head towards the 300 year old giant tree. They would do so, too, except Munchlax has fallen asleep!
Ash and Pikachu are making good progress, but to their shock fall into a hole, while other young kid contestants rush by without stopping to check on them. A shockingly callous display of indifference, which plays into the plans of Jesse and Meowth who set that trap, as well as a net that captures Brock and Bonsly.
Meanwhile Max has woken up Munchlax, but Munchlax has headed off ahead of him again. He calls out for it but finds Eevee instead. May meanwhile is looking for Eevee and finds Munchlax, and when she finds her brother she admonishes him for losing her Pokémon. But Max points out that SHE lost Eevee, and May insists she just sent Eevee ahead to scout. Max retorts that he'd done the same thing with Munchlax, then rushes off in a panic when he finds out that May already has one stamp.
As Ash arrives at the Ocean Location to get his next stamp, we return to the Pokémon Centre and the Nursery there, which has been left without any human supervision whatsoever. The babies are playing with the twerps' Pokémon, though Corphish doesn't seem to be enjoying itself, while Grovyle is Clint Eastwooding it up by the fruit.
James and Mime Jr. are heading for a suspension bridge when Jesse and Meowth (now out of their disguises) get his attention, whispering out of the bushes for some reason when they could just straight up walk right up to him.
They happily tell him that they've found a shortcut, and point out a giant cliff to him. He stares up at the sheer rockwall as Jesse pats him on the back and tells him to hurry up and get climbing. He roars angrily at them to stop wasting him and Mime Jr's time, then storms off growling that he can't go up there with Mime Jr. coming along with him.
....well, that was rather odd, since there's nothing wrong with shortcuts and they already climbed a sheer rockface earlier.....
May finds the Moonrock Stamp, and then we discover everyone appears to be on the same internal clock as everyone stops for lunch independent of each other. Ash chows down on a sandwich as Pikachu eats Pokechow; while Munchlax scoffs down a bowl of food and demands more, whining until Max finally agrees to give it his sandwich. Meanwhile May comments that Eevee is even cute when it is eating, and tells it that when it gets older it can be in Pokémon contests. Brock bottlefeeds Bonsly and probably wonders if this is his life now; while James grabs out a cookie and breaks it in half to share with Mime Jr. The cookie breaks unevenly though, so James insists that Mime Jr. get the bigger piece, but it insists that he take it, and they politely insist back and forth between them. While that is going on, Jesse also breaks a cookie in half unevenly, but tries to foist the smaller piece onto Meowth. The Scratch-Cat has had about enough of this and roars that Jesse is too greedy, and they fight! Ooooh, but this catfight is hardly even, as Jesse fights dirty!
"Man you're cheap!" cries Meowth as he is slammed into the ground.
"It beats being dead!" hisses Jesse.
Ooooooooooh!
James continues to make good progress, finding the Ocean Stamp while May and Eevee get on a flying fox and travel down towards their next stop. They land on the ground safely but fall into a hole, yet another of the remarkably well set traps by Jesse and Meowth. Max and Munchlax discover a river between them and their next location and vault over, landing safely.... and then falling into another hole!
Having recovered, May finds the Bridge Stamp and then meets Max, who is horrified to discover that his sister now has four stamps to his three. He prepares to run for his fourth stamp when Jesse and Meowth appear and cut the ropes holding up the bridge, and it crashes Temple of Doom-esque into the side of the cliff with May, Max, Munchlax and Eevee holding on.
Jesse comments that James is being a good boy and getting the locations for them, then suddenly realises that this means the Pokémon Centre is empty.... they can grab the fruit! They rush off as the rope holding the bridge up begins to tear, but before it can fall Ash and Brock arrive and haul the others to safety.
At the Centre, all of the Pokémon are now sleeping when a net flies over them and wraps them up. Meowth menaces the baby Pokémon as Swellow - who wasn't caught - flies off to give warning.
Back by the fallen bridge, the twerps are trying to figure out what is going on when Swellow arrives and flaps in place above them shouting its own name over and over. Brock declares it is pointing to the Pokémon Centre (no it isn't!) and they rush back. Either they get there remarkably fast or Jesse and Meowth are taking their sweet ass time, because they catch Team Rocket mid-theft.... or at least most of Team Rocket. Then they get the Team Rocket motto.... or rather, an odd variation on it.
"Prepare for trouble, we're one of a kind!""Yeah, we're quite da find!" says Meowth, wearing a little James wig that he just so happened to have handy, the creepy little maniac!
"An evil as old as the galaxy!"
"Sent here tah fulfil our destiny," notes Meowth, then tears the wig off with joy, shouting,"MEOWTH, DAT'S ME!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"Tah extend our reach to da stars above!"
"Jesse!"
"Meowth's da name!"
"Whenever there’s peace in the universe!"
"Team Rocket!"
"Is dere!"
"To make everything worse!" they finish together.
They laugh happily away after their performance... and then realise that while they were mottoing away, May and Max had busily made their way behind them and hauled the fruit away, while Brock released all of the captured Pokémon. As Jesse and Meowth realise that they've lost it all, Jesse sends out Dustox, which promptly gets pounded by Donphan, which Hyper-Beams them and sends them blasting off again!
James walks along and stops suddenly, noting that he was sure he just heard someone screaming Team Rocket's copyrighted line, then declares who cares and continues on his winning ways.
And winning they are, as we soon discover that "Jameson" and his Mime Jr. have won the Orienteering Contest, and the shiny medal and fruit! James happily kisses Mime Jr. for helping him win, while Jesse (back in disguise, as is "Sneasel") says at least now she can sink her teeth into that fruit....
Ouch, that isn't going to convert him!
...but then James agrees to Nurse Joy's request that he give the fruit to Ash Ketchum and friends since they saved all of the Pokémon. Jesse and Meowth are horrified but James could care less, he got his shiny medal!
As the episode ends, the twerps note it was nice to take some time off and hang out with their Pokémon. Joy overhears May mention Contests and tells May there is a Contest on the island in nearby Wisteria Town. May is eager to take part, and Ash says they'll all be there cheering her on.
But forget about all that, because the important thing to take out of this episode is... James won something! Something shiny!
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Oh Nurse Joy, nothing would make me merrier than to get in on it with you!"
 "That's odd, I could have sworn I heard people screaming we’re blasting off again.... but we've copyrighted that!"
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