186: Freeze Frame
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Apparently the mountain is called Snowtop, which reaches so high that it is snowbound all year around. Rather than do any work himself, Ash has sent Noctowl into the freezing weather to look around for him. Noctowl has found nothing, but luckily Golbat was more successful in being exploited and comes back with news of a find. They go looking, but it's not Articuno that Golbat has found, it's Jigglypuff!
Yay Jigglypuff!
Yes the little surly ball of pink is back, but this time it's not singing or even being its usual grumpy self. Pikachu tries to make smalltalk, but Jigglypuff gives it the cold shoulder.... literally, it's been frozen!
Cyndaquil is called out by Ash and uses Flamethrower to melt Jigglypuff (apparently they are less concerned about the dangerous effects of this as they were with Sunkern a couple of episodes ago). Jigglypuff seems to take it okay though, until Todd hauls it up and demands to know if it was frozen by Articuno! DEMANDS TO KNOW DAMMIT!
And Jigglypuff aint taking that shit, it bitchslaps Todd like he deserves and shows him who the boss is.
Yay Jigglypuff!
Meanwhile Team Rocket are trying a new tactic, climbing up Snowtop far ahead of the twerps in an effort to trap them. It is hard going, Meowth, James and Jesse struggling up the sheer, iceslick surface of the forbidding mountain.... but apparently it is not so cold as to kill small birds. Spearow swoop in angrily and pull climbing equipment from a startled Team Rocket, pulling them clear and sending them plummeting to their certain doom..... woah, what a way to go out! Who would have thought the true heroes of Pokemon would meet such a horrible fate.
Unaware of the demise of their nemesis.....
Nemeses? Nemesi?
....we find the twerps walking through the snow, Todd generally just sucking and looking for retail concepts to make a buck out of nature. He coldly takes photos of a mother and child Stantler, his only joy in the picteresque setting that he can make money out of selling them as Christmas cards. As they move along, they spot a Log Cabin that obviously serves as a Pokemon Centre.
"Wouldn't this be the perfect spot to cuddle up with a hot cocoa and a warm Nurse Joy?" asks Brock happily, quickly backtracking when the others give him a weird look for daring to suggest heterosexual spooning. They read a sign by the Pokemon Centre, identifying it as the highest Pokemon Centre in the world, and Todd demands they let him take a photo of them by it so that they don't forget he exists.
As they gather together for the forced camraderie Todd seeks to inflict on all in this world, Officer Jenny pulls up on a snowmobile. She takes them inside the Centre, where they settle down in the warm interior and try to figure out a way to track down Articuno so Todd can get a photo and then fuck off back to Lamesville, population - him.
Ash has a brilliant idea, so good he assumes he must be a genius! Why all they have to do is get Jigglypuff (whom they found frozen on the slopes of a mountain they know Articuno hangs around) to sing to Articuno and put it to sleep, then SNAP! Todd gets his photo.
Except of course, as Misty points out, Todd will be put to sleep by Jigglypuff as well.... hardly conducive to taking good photos.
Anyway, Todd doesn't want a photo of Articuno asleep, he waxes lyrical about his homoerotic Articuno fantasies - so big, powerful and majestic! - while Nurse Joy finally shows up after Jenny has explained to her the twerps are after Articuno.
"YEAH! But I'd settle for a steady girlfriend Nurse Joy!" Brock roars, which gets him precisely where you'd expect, nowhere.
Joy and Jenny take them outside and show them a 1200 year old statue of an Articuno. Apparently it was brought to Snowtop all that time ago by a traveller who had gotten lost and trapped on the mountain and been saved by Articuno. In order to show his appreciation he made a point of bringing the statue back. Articuno has a long history with Snowtop, it is believed that at least one, if not many, roost there and look out for weak, soft, pitiful humans who can't help themselves.
Oh yeah... Team Rocket!
Of course our heroes have not died, Team Rocket are merely trapped in a rather horrible situation. The Spearow that inexplicably attacked them did not kill them, but left them trapped on a tiny ice shelf over a seemingly bottomless crevasse. All their climbing equipment is gone, lost to the mountain and they are trapped, with no hope of getting out. Meowth is freezing and follows his instincts, curling up in a little ball of fluff to go to sleep. Jesse intervenes immediately, shoving her fingers into Meowths mouth and tugging hard to try and keep him awake. He can't go to sleep, if he does he will never wake up.... and the Boss will be sure to blame them!
Meowth struggles to ignore the intruder in his mouth and..... GETCHA MINDS OUTTA DA GUTTA!..... but when a suddenly mini-blizzard whips up and drops the temperature even further. Things are looking poorly for Team Rocket who hug together for warmth as a dim shape appears out of the whipped up wind.... ARTICUNO!
Back by the statue Brock announces (primarily to Nurse Joy) that he shall be the one to lead the expedition up Snowtop. An unimpressed Nurse Joy simply points out that as this will be his first ice climb, it his likely to be his last.
"That's cold!" hisses Brock, freezing up.... but his figurative freeze may become literal as from nowhere a blizzard seems to kick in. Everyone looks around in a panic and Todd spots something! Is it Articuno? Or maybe even a rock!?!?!
Before he can find out though, the blizzard is gone, the shape he saw is gone, and all that is left is a big pile of snow, inside of which are a dizzy, cold and confused trio of Team Rocket!
Back inside the Pokemon Centre, Team Rocket sit shivering in warm blankets while Meowth is curled up happy on a coffee table, just like in his pleasant fantasies from when they were trapped on Snowtop.
Based on their description of what happened to them up the mountain, Todd guesses it must be Articuno (because he hasn't insisted EVERYTHING is Articuno since he forced his attentions back onto an unwanting world) and charges out the door in case it's outside taking a whizz.
Ash - who actually insisted they come up with a plan! - follows him outside and happily agrees that a plan is unnecessary once Todd pooh-poohs the idea. They rush off in their VERY unsuitable clothes as Misty and Brock enter the waiting area with pants, coats and more blankets for Team Rocket. They quickly follow the hotblooded Ash and Todd to make sure they don't freeze to death while Team Rocket discuss amongst themselves their wasted opportunity to capture Articuno.
They rush outside and leap onto Jennys snowmobile to get after the twerps and have anoher shot at capturing Articuno. Jenny and Joy walk back into the waiting area and find everyone gone and Jennys snowmobile missing. Did those kids steal it? Nah it must have been Team Rocket, surely they are the only ones who can ever commit crimes!
The fact is, everyone is out in the snow, and a storm is coming.
Luckily for Ash and Todd (dammit), Misty and Brock brought the heavier winter gear with them and they're now suitably attired. They argue about whether to keep going on or head back. A storm is obviously coming and they can barely see ahead of them, and as they argue about it... Articuno appears!
Todd and Ash approach and the air clears enough for them to see that.... they had been just about to walk over a crevasse to their death!
It might have been worth it if Todd had died as well!
As Ash prevents Jigglypuff from singing Todd prepares to take a photo of Articuno, that appears to be waiting for something.... and then Team Rocket attacks!
"Who could that be!?!" cries Ash, who really just doesn't retain information very well apparently.
"Prepare for trouble, I think that you know!"
"We're here to capture Articuno!"
"To protect the world from devestation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight, fight!"
"WOBBUHHH...." starts Wobbuffet, before Meowth intervenes.
"Meowth dat's right!"
The twerps are aghast that Team Rocket could attack and try to capture Articuno after it saved them. It helps all travellers who get in trouble on Snowtop, and they should respect that.
But as Team Rocket points out, they have to TRAVEL back to the Boss, and if they don't bring Articuno they'll be in TROUBLE, so surely it'll "rescue" them again!
Arbok attempts a Poison Sting attack on Articuno while Pikachu dodges a Sludge attack from Weezing. An unimpressed Articuno flaps it wings and dispels the Poison Sting easily before firing a powerful Ice Beam at Team Rocket. Team Rocket have a plan though, or at least a hiding place of last resort, and they huddle behind Wobbuffet. The patiently pleased Pokemon fires up its rather powerful Mirror Coat and reverses the Ice Beam right back at Articuno! The blast is still powerful enough to send Team Rocket flying, but as Articuno dodges the blast, rocks are dislodged from the mountainface behind it, dropping them down onto the legendary Pokemon. It falls into the crevasse, Ash and Todd dropping down behind it along with Jigglypuff and Pikachu.
Luckily for Pikachu the surly little ball of pink fluff has filled its cheeks with air and is descending slowly, with Pikachu sitting on its head. Ash and Todd are surely dead though, there is no way they could have survived that fall.
Misty and Brock however seemed unconcerned by Ash's untimely demise, perhaps figuring it is a small price to pay for the removal of Todd from the world at last. They head back to the Pokemon Centre to get Officer Jenny to help them recover the corpses.
Down below Ash and Todd ponder how they could have survived as Pikachu and Jigglypuff slowly descend to join them. How did they survive? A fall like that should have been the end of them. They can only assume that Articuno created an updraft of some sort and slowed their descent so that they were only jarred by the fall.
Either that or the writers didn't want to get off of that gravy train.
Team Rocket crashes into the snow across from the twerps and Articuno, complaining that they've missed their golden opportunity... and then they realise they still have a chance. Immediately a battle takes place, Weezing and Arbok trying to overcome Articuno but being countered with a snowstorm from Articuno in the form of another of its moves, Snow Powder. It lets loose a Blizzard on the severely outclassed Team Rocket, not only blasting them off but also Jigglypuff!
What exactly was the point of Jigglypuff in this episode? The victorious Articuno then turns and proudly poses for Todd, giving him just enough time to finally get his oh so precious photo of the legendary Pokemon. It leaves as Brock, Misty and Jenny arrive on her recovered snowmobile, taking them back to the Pokemon Centre.
Once there a series of goodbyes are said, and joy of joys, Todd suddenly decides to just fuck off! Yes he's not coming with them, after several horrible, horrible episodes the cancer that is Todd has been cut out and thrown into the wastebin!
Praise whatever diety you worship, because Todd be gone!
As the twerps finally leave Todd behind them, we find Team Rocket once more trapped in snow and struggling to stay awake. Jesse and James begin to fall asleep and Meowth slashes them to try and keep them from falling into the endless sleep. But their recovery is shortlived as the entire reason for Jigglypuffs appearance is made clear. The surly little Pokemon enters the cave they've taken refuge in and begins to sing, putting them to sleep and probably to the death as well!
Alas Team Rocket, is this the last we shall see of thee!?!
And as you ponder that gentle Dodgers, ponder something else. The last few episodes have seen Todd pushing and pushing his little agenda, his desire to get a photo of Articuno. He did finally get it, a badly composed photo with the tail of the Pokemon in question cut off. And now that he's got it is he off for a shot of a Moltres? Or maybe a Lugia?
No, suddenly he's going to stick around with Jenny and Joy, two lonely women in a Pokemon Centre high up in a constantly snowbound area of the world. What reason could this PHOTOGRAPHER possibly see for staying with these two lonely women? Especially one episode after feelings may have been awakened in him by that promiscious pose Jesse put on for him?
What reason could Todd have for staying? Maybe the answer lies in the last thing he said to Ash before saying goodbye to the twerps.
"I'll be rooting hard for you."
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Don't be so selfish, Meowth. If you fall asleep then you won't wake up and the boss will blame the 2 of us." "Hey guys, wouldn't this be the best time to cuddle up with some hot cocoa and a warm Nurse Joy" "Officer Jenny says you're searching for Articuno" "Yes but I'd settle for steady girlfriend" "Scratch anything but the face" "I must be some kind of genius!" |
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