ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
518: Throwing The Track Switch!	523: Eipamu to Buizeru! Sorezore no Michi!	Wife-Swapping Party			Ash and Dawn have to decide whether to trade Aipom and Buizel.	Unfunking their fruit!	If your friend you love can't do what you want them to do, dump them on somebody else!

Today's episode begins on a moonlit night, Team Rocket sitting on a clifftop looking over a small town. But while Meowth and Jesse prepare their meal (fruit in a can!) James seems completely disinterested, even when Meowth points out he LOVES fruit (thought usually in the can as opposed to in a can). James ignores them; sitting beside a depressed looking Carnivine and Mime Jr. while Jesse grunts this is all because he said his goodbyes to Cacnea in the previous episode. Well there's nothing for it then, they're going to have to snap him out of his funk! It won't be easy though, it's not simply a matter of switching from "funk" to "fun"; no one is going to be just....



The twerps are watching television in the local Pokémon Centre, where a rebroadcast of a Pokémon Contest shows that Dawn's childhood (she's only 10!) friend Kenny has won his second ribbon only a few days ago. The presenter says that Kenny is on fire, and then Zoey walks in the door, noting that Kenny is on fire AND burning!

What the hell does that even mean?

Brock and Dawn jump up to greet her, but Zoey looks past them, noting that it's not all hardcore training when it comes to the twerps. In fact, some of them are downright lazy and.... well, a little disturbing.



She asks what the hell is going on and Ash manages to lift his head and admit that he and Pikachu ate a little too much. Buneary and Happiny have been rubbing their bellies for them while Croagunk just STARES, and Brock insists he has just the thing for their indigestion, working away at a mortar and pestle, and actually gets quite surly when Zoey suggest he take them to Nurse Joy, insisting he would never waste her time.

Dawn ignores all this to watch the television where the word from Mr. Contesta is that Kenny has the talent and momentum to make it through to the Grand Festival, and she looks in her own ribbon case at the single paltry ribbon she has won so far. Ash tells her she'll soon catch up and zoom past Kenny, and then they hear on the TV that the next Pokémon Contest is in Solaceon Town. Zoey notes this is right on the road to Veilstone City, which Ash notes is the location of his next Gym Battle. Ash is happy to make the stop, and Dawn asks Zoey if she'll take part as well, but she says she is still working on a new combination so she'll give it a miss. She will help Dawn train the next day though, and as they make their plans, Brock finishes his mixture - one for Ash and one for Pikachu. He dabs some green goo on the end of Pikachu's nose, saying that its natural instinct is to lick it off, but Pikachu doesn't take too kindly to the taste of the medicine... and neither does Ash.

As they charge about making a scene though, Brock points out that it might not taste good, but it gets the job done. Before they couldn't move, now they're running!

The next day, Dawn and Buizel face off against Zoey and Glameow. Dawn explains to Buizel that this is its Contest Debut, but LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING BROTHER THE BUIZELSTER KNOWS HOW TO WORK THE CROWD BROTHER LIKE THE TIME HE BODYSLAMMED A 25000 POUND SNORLAX IN FRONT OF 4 MILLION BUIZELMANIACS AT POKEMANIA 3!

Ash figures now is the best time to get in some training of his own and sends out Aipom and Chimchar, asking Brock to keep an eye on their own personal battle to give him some tips on what needs to be done. So the four Pokémon battle in parallel.... though Aipom seems more interested in watching Glameow's reaction to Buizel's Water Gun, seemingly enthralled. Dawn warns Buizel that Water Gun just made Glameow look good and did nothing for it AND LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING BROTHER! THE BUIZELSTER PUTS OTHER POKEMON OVER BY MAKING HIMSELF LOOK GOOD, DUDE, BECAUSE WHEN THE BUIZELSTER LOOKS GOOD, EVERYONE LOOKS GOOD, BROTHER! so she starts thrusting her pelvis and telling it to emulate that.



Well... of course she does.

Buizelster starts doing some posedowns for all the little Buizelmaniacs, while Aipom and Chimchar start battling which instantly catches Buizel's attention, meaning Dawn has to snap at it to get its attention back to Contest Battling. It kicks off an Aqua-Jet that impresses Zoey, then blasts into the air, followed by Glameow which uses Shadowclaw, knocked it off its tangent but recovering with a twist to land gracefully. Dawn tells Buizel that the attack was fine but its landing wasn't "pretty" enough, and then it gets distracted by watching Chimchar and Aipom's battling... until Aipom suddenly goes nuts and uses Swift to create a really pretty display that has absolutely no offensive qualities whatsoever... but it sure looks pretty!

Dawn reminds Buizel that it has to remember to make all of its moves look really pretty and Ash tells Aipom to remember to get in there fighting, and Zoey interrupts to remind them of what she said about Aipom awhile back.... Aipom obviously wants to be in contests and now it seems to her that Buizel just wants to fight.... so why not just make a Pokémon Trade?

As the twerps react to this, Team Rocket are listening in from the bushes through a satellite and headphones... well at least Jesse is, telling Meowth what is happening while James, Carnivine and Mime Jr. sit depressed in the background. Jesse notes that if the trade was successful, it would complicate matters for them since Buizel with Ash for a trainer would make it far more formidable, while Aipom with Dawn would make it tougher for Jesse to win Contests as Jesselina. So the only solution is to steal Aipom and Buizel for themselves! Jesse will take Aipom for her Contests and James can have Buizel, which will help him get over giving away Cacnea. She leaps up, excited at her own brilliance, and even Meowth admits it is a good idea.... though James seems less than interested.

The next day, Nurse Joy is telling two boys to put their balls into a machine and pull on the lever (GETCHA MINDS OUTTA DA GUTTA) as she supervises a Pokémon Trade. The twerps watch as the trade is made and neither of the new trainers bother to say goodbye to their previous Pokémon before leaving. Nurse Joy asks Ash and Dawn if they want to trade but they're less than eager, and everyone sits down for a long boring talk about feelings, at which point Ash has a great idea!

Yes, Ash.

Before doing the trade of the Pokémon, they'll see if things would actually work by "unofficially" trading. Ash will take Buizel and battle against Brock, while Dawn will take Aipom and have a Contest Battle against Zoey. They'll learn if they can actually work together, since these Pokémon really aren't just interchangeable gears that can be traded out like unfeeling "assets".

So not long after, they're outside again where Brock calls out Sudowoodo and Zoey calls on Glameow, ready for the wife-swapping party to begin.... and then along comes three suspicious business people, one with a great rack; one with fur and ears; and the other a roughly amorphous blue blob with no legs and thick club-like arms!



God I love Team Rocket's utterly retarded schemes so much.

Dawn is slightly suspicious, she thinks she might know these people, but they insist that can't be the case unless they've used their Pokémon Au Pair Service in the past. They'll take their Pokémon and raise them for them!

"Wohhh woh Wobbuh!" adds Wobbuffet in a glorious effort at a deep, businessman-like voice.

They tell Brock - who has never heard of such a service before, despite the Nanny Services in the games - that he's just not with it and anyone who is anyone nowadays using services like theirs.... and then James comes wandering in with Carnivine wrapped around his head and Mime Jr. by his side, asking "Jesse and Meowth" what they're doing, much to their horror. They twist around, Jesse insisting that the "thing on your head" must have done some damage because they're not who he thinks they are, while even dim old Ash has figured out that they're Team Rocket.

James is furious they've started an operation without him and they slam him down and tell him they're pulling this operation for him! He's shocked, they're doing this for him? Everyone bursts into tears as Meowth tells James he misses his happy sack (!), and even Wobbuffet is letting the tears flow down its patiently pleased face.

Then they leap up, realising the gig is up but figuring they'll just blast their way through to victory anyway! They blast the twerps with attacks from Seviper, Dustox and Carnivine. Ash calls out Staravia and blows away the Haze, and Team Rocket realise that now the air has been cleared, it's time for the motto!

"Well now that you've cleared the air...."
"....clear your brains out, I don't care!"
"Riding the wind!"
"Surfing the stars!"
"We'll be dere!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place."
"A rose by any other name's just as sweet."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete."
"It's Jesse!"
"And it's James!"
"YEA! Meowth, dat's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place."
"Team Rocket!"
"We're in your face!" they finish together.

And Jesse and James both have roses!

Sudowoodo and Glameow get grabbed by Seviper and Carnivine and Meowth snaps angrily that this ain't Aipom and Buizel! James doesn't care though, the very fact they grabbed those Pokémon for him has been enough to break him out of his funk, and they can finally (after less than one episode) be a team again! As Team Rocket tearfully enjoy their return to form, Brock and Zoey demand their Pokémon back. Ash and Dawn step up to the plate, insisting that they'll sort things out, and Brock and Zoey see this as the perfect opportunity to test out their relationship with the "new" Pokémon. Aipom's Swift beautifully blocks Dustox's Psybeam, and Buizel blasts through the follow-up Whirlwind with Sonic Boom and then an Aqua-Jet. Seviper tries to blast Buizel with Haze, but it's knocked away by Aipom's Double-Team and Focus Punch, and then Buizel sends Team Rocket blasting off again with Water Gun... with James declaring he's back, and better than ever!

But they're still blasting off again!

Zoey and Brock are reunited with Sudowoodo and Glameow, then congratulate Ash and Dawn on the way they used Buizel and Aipom. They both realise that the trade does need to go ahead, because as much as they might love their Pokémon, the other trainer can help the Pokémon achieve THEIR dreams by being traded. They return to the Pokémon Center, where they pull the switch on the trade together and swap their Pokémon at last.

Everyone seems happy with the trade - especially since they are all going to be spending just as much time together anyway! - and the episode ends with Buizel playfully sparring with Pikachu and Aipom clambering up Dawn's back onto her shoulder. Everything is all well and good, with just one small thing that nobody has considered.... Ash now has the Pokémon equivalent of Hulk Hogan on his team!

So what ya gonna do, Brother? When the dim little kid and the Buizelster run wild.... on youuuu!?!

BEST QUOTES

"Check it out James, it's your favourite fruit!" "You love this stuff!"

Previous Episode Next Episode Episode List