656: A Sandile Gusher of Change!
Dodgy Synopsis
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662: Mijumaru! Meguroko! Kikkiippatsu!
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They glare at each other in a fury.... and then both realise that there is something between them. No, not sexual tension, it's a clown-otter! Oshawott stands between them beaming happily and saying its own name, apparently utterly oblivious to the rumble that was about to break out as both kids tried to deal with....
It happily waves and stumbles up towards Ash waving its little arms, and Ash surprises us all by remembering how it helped them fight Team Rocket. He checks it out with his Pokedex, thanks it for helping them... then asks why it is here now? It toddles up to his ankles excitedly and Pikachu tries to explain to poor, dim Ash that it has been following them. Iris can't take it any longer, it's too cute! She bundles the surprised little otter up in her arms and begins poking it in the cheek, giggling about how squishy it is while it stares uncomfortable up at her. She gasps that she knows it can't live without her and she'll keep it as her very own Pokémon..... and Oshawott leaps out of her lap, rushes up Ash's clothes, over his shoulder, around his neck and shoves up underneath Pikachu, knocking it to the ground. It breathlessly gasps its own name at a confused Ash as Iris sadly realises that it likes Ash, not her. It jumps back down and gasps its name, overexcited and unable to bear it as it tries to get through to Ash. A pissed off Pikachu, meanwhile, has had about enough of this indignity and blasts a Thunderbolt at Oshawott, which quickly lifts up the shell from its belly to deflect the attack... right into Ash's face!
He crashes to the ground twitching, Iris and Axew giggling happily at the sight of his agony. He sits up and asks Oshawott what THAT was for (does he think Oshawott attacked him?), and Iris tells him she thinks it wants to be caught by him. It stares up at him with joy in its eyes, and Ash figures hey, what the hell! Pikachu seems less than happy about this, but watches as Ash steps back, brings out a Pokeball, throws it and... it hits Oshawott in the head, bounces off and comes to a stop on the path! Ash can't understand it, and then another memory crawls out of the vine-infested pathways of his brain - is this Oshawott.... is it one of the starter Pokémon from Professor Juniper's lab!?!
It agrees happily that it is, and Ash realises that this means the Pokeball is back at her lab. Down the path at a little Pokemart (man, haven't seen one of those.... ever?) he contacts Juniper on the video-phone and she rather too happily comments that oh, that's where it went! She doesn't seem overly concerned about all this, paying lip-service to being worried that she couldn't find it, and suggests that Ash "look after it for awhile" which kind of oddly suggests that Oshawott would NOT be his Pokémon? In any case, she teleports the Pokeball through to the Pokemart, then warns Ash to be careful since Oshawott has a tendency to disappear. They turn around and sure enough it's gone, so they rush outside where Iris smugly says she'll help him look around and he grumps that he doesn't need help. She tells him not to act like a kid, so he acts like a kid and pretends he didn't hear her, telling Pikachu they're going to go find Oshawott. Iris runs after telling him not to be so stubborn... and they both fall down a hole! Ash says it looks like this was a trap, but who could have done it?
"Sandile," says a little boy peering over the edge of the hole.
Meanwhile Team Rocket are jogging at a rush down a path dressed in dark trench coats, sunglasses and hats. They're rushing to capture Pikachu and report to the Boss ASAP when they fall down a pitfall trap, landing easily on their feet due to long years of experience. But who dug the hole? Why a Sandile of course.... a Sandile wearing sunglasses!
Back by the Pokemart, the boy has helped Ash and Iris out of the hole, and Ash is looking up Sandile in his Pokedex. He learns that they have a dark membrane around their eyes to protect them from the sun (but the one Team Rocket met actually WAS wearing sunglasses!), and they bury themselves in the sand with only its eyes and nose sticking out. Iris thanks the boy and introduces her and Ash, and the boy introduces himself as Dan and adds on that his family runs a resort and spa nearby. Iris is in heaven, gasping that by a remarkable coincidence that she just ADORES resorts and spas! Ash agrees, he is also one of the only 99.9% of all humanity who loves resorts and spas, but Dan is sad to say they're closed - due to Sandile.
Their Hot Sand Spa is their biggest attraction, but it's currently closed off due to the number of holes dug in it by Sandile. He explains it happened only recently, he had just finished burying a couple into a hot sand bath when the sunglasses Sandile appeared between them. Dan's Dad told them not to worry, plenty of Sandile show up to enjoy the hot sand baths too... but then Sunglasses started causing trouble, kicking up sand, agitating the other Sandile and basically ruining the experience for everyone.
Iris doesn't understand why they went from friendly to hostile, and Ash suggests they find out.... by freeloading some free hot sand baths! He and Pikachu quickly burrow into the sand, enjoying the heat and claiming they're just doing some research. Ash's clothes are stacked up behind him, suggesting he actually stripped right down directly in front of Iris, but if she's concerned about scrawny boy-ass she doesn't show it, instead being exasperated at Ash's freeloading ways.... and even more so when Axew burrows in besides them.
Team Rocket are watching from behind some stacked wood where construction has been going on for the spa, preparing for the right moment to go for Pikachu. Behind them, sunglasses Sandile pops up and they try to shoo it, not interested in the persistent Pokémon that angrily burrows back down into the sand and makes directly for the twerps.
Iris reminds an utterly blissed-out Ash that they're SUPPOSED to be looking for Oshawott and he sits up startled, having completely forgotten. Oshawott's voice drifts over to them, and they turn to see it over the other side of the sand-spa, relaxing in the hot sand and looking utterly content. Ash leaps out of the sand, revealing not full-frontal nudity but a pair of swimming trunks he apparently either wears under his pants constantly or that he managed to slip into in record time directly in front of Iris. He asks if it has been there the whole time and it happily agrees, and while they all stare at the contented Pokémon, behind them Sandile approaches... and then launches its attack, bouncing out of the sand directly behind them and then... landing softly on the sand and just staring at them.
Dan points it out as the leader of the Sandile, and then it..... TRIES TO EAT AXEW!
You uhhh... kind of got back the element of surprise there, Sandile!
Ash tells Pikachu to Thunderbolt Sandile, but Iris points out that this will hurt Axew (it's currently being EATEN, Iris!) so she runs up and tries to pull its jaws open. Ash, Pikachu and Oshawott rush in and try to help out, Pikachu's ear poking into Sandile's nostril and irritating it enough to release Axew. But as Axew tumbles out, Sandile grabs Oshawott and Pikachu's arms into its mouth instead, then begins cheesing it out of there... only to be hauled up off of the sand and into the air by a magnetic crane operated by Team Rocket.
"Open yours ears, for the answer indeed!"
"The answer to come, as we feel the need!"
"We bring, white light of evil into your future!"
"Hammering, justice onto the black universe!"
"Carving our names in da rock of eternity!"
"The fiery destroyer, Jesse!"
"With thunderous emotion, I am James."
"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!"
"Now... gather under the name of Team Rocket!" they all finish together.
Ash demands their Pokémon back and Jesse notes there is a huge flaw in his logic since they are THEIR Pokémon now. Meowth drops a smokebomb behind them as they drive away from the resort (where is Dan's Dad?), foolishly stopping up in the rocks to gloat over having finally achieved their goal. James says they should let the Boss know (he will NOT care!) but then the crane shifts beneath them. Looking around, Sandiles appear from all around them, given instructions by Sunglasses Sandile which continues to hold Pikachu and Oshawott in its jaws. They all dig down into the cracks between the rocks, getting to the sand beneath and destabilising the crane further till it drops down deep. Team Rocket manage to leap to safety, and James makes the sensible suggestion that they make their retreat, and off they go, still more dramatic than melodramatic but seeming to be getting a little of their old personalities back.
Sandile leads the others on, finally releasing Pikachu and Oshawott to join a group of other confused and frightened looking Pokémon. The twerps arrive and duck down behind a rock to try and figure out what is going on, including why the birds that have been captured don't just... you know... fly away.
Sunglasses Sandile gets up on a rock and issues instructions, telling the Pokémon where to go. A geyser erupts in the distance, worrying the wild Pokémon, and they all set off, as more and more geysers burst up from the ground, including near where the twerps are. Dan says he has never seen a geyser around here, and they watch as the Sunglasses Sandile leads the Wild Pokémon up to higher ground, boiling water from the geysers moving around them but not ONTO them. Dan starts to ponder if the Sandiles are actually trying to HELP the Wild Pokémon, they knew the geysers were coming and they wanted to get them clear (again, why do the birds not just... fly away...?). Dan gasps that they were trying to help them, putting himself and his Dad in amongst them even though the Sandiles have made no effort to warn or bring any humans along to escape the boiling water.
Ash figures Sandile is all right and rushes up to where Pikachu and Oshawott have been left mostly forgotten. Sunglasses Sandile sees him and turns to look, as a BIG quake starts to shake the ground and geysers erupt up all around, cutting off the Wild Pokémon and leaving them on an island of crumbling rock surrounded by boiling water.
WHY THE FUCK DON'T THE BIRDS FLY AWAY!?!
They feel another big geyser coming and Ash rushes to help, Oshawott restraining Pikachu when it tries to follow. Ash runs INTO THE BOILING WATER and then quickly rushes back, clutching his ankle in pain BECAUSE HE JUST RAN INTO BOILING WATER! He moans that he has to do something to save them, but the Sandile have it in hand, as they start forming a bridge, each biting the other's tail and forming a long standing chain that then drifts over onto the bridge. The twerps call for the Pokémon to get over the bridge, but they are too frightened by the hot boiling water, so frightened in fact that THE FUCKING BIRDS DON'T FLY AWAY!
Ash figures he has to do something, so he runs over the bridge of Sandile to the little crumbling rock island, showing the Pokémon that it is safe. He tells the Pokémon to get over, and with some trepidation they make their way over to safety. The ground beneath the last Sandile begins to give way, and Ash grabs it before it can fall into the boiling water, forming the anchor for the bridge. All of the Pokémon get over, but then another geyser erupts, hot water falling towards Ash! Oshawott leaps into the air and uses Water Gun, blasting the flow of the geyser water away before flexing its little biceps proudly... and then realising it's about to fall to a boiling hot death! Ash holds onto the Sandile bridge with one hand and gets out Oshawott's Pokeball with the other, recalling it to its Pokeball.... but the Sandiles slip from his arm and he's.... saved! By Iris!
She tells him that was pretty crazy and he laughs that it was nothing, then asks Sandile to give them one more push. It lifts up the entire weight of the bridge supported by its jaws, lifting the bridge up into a ladder with Iris and Ash at the top. For a moment they hold in place, then fall to the ground with a thud, aching but alive.
Some time later, we find Ash, Iris, Pikachu, Axew and Oshawott enjoying the brand new hot springs that have replaced the hot sand-baths at the Resort. Dan and his Father are excited by this new attraction, which seems a little TOO convenient for my liking - they had construction gear at the resort, the geysers came from nowhere and the Sandiles weren't interested in helping Dan and his Father to escape.... the father was nowhere to be seen while all this was going on and the geysers started up while he was mysteriously absent..... did THEY cause this? Did the twerps inadvertently help them create a new "Five Star" Attraction? They don't care, they're enjoying the hot water!
But something about the way the episode ends, with a close-up on Sunglasses Sandile watching the twerps from a distance and laughing makes me think we haven't seen the last of that bizarre, awesome little crocodile..... or at least, I hope not!
| BEST QUOTES |
 "You're such a kid!" "Oh yeah? Well.... you're such a kid too!"
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