ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
748: Unrest at the Nursery!	754: Pokémon Hoikuen wa Osawagi! Washibon to Baruchai!	Flighty Layla's Bird Buddies			The twerps help a ditzy nursery worker bring two grumpy birds together	Crank up the Springsteen, The Boss is back!	Close the fucking gate!

Today finds Ash training Scraggy in use of his Focus Blast. It seems that the twerps are still hanging out at Cynthia's vacation home despite having recently travelled to Humilau City - one wonders just how Cynthia (if she's still there) and Jervis took to them returning to impose on them a bit longer.

All the work seems to be doing wonders for Scraggy though, which has markedly improved in his control over the attack. He blasts with accuracy at everything Ash tells him too, but there does appear to be some collateral damage. A fat, tubby looking fluffy bird is heard and then seen chirping in complaint and shaking his head and wings about, having been hit by a small shard of rock. He turns and complains to another fat (but different species) bird-Pokémon, seemingly blaming him for what has happened. Oh dear, feuding baby birds? It seems like there is...



The two angry birds (like the mobile app! See, Pokémon totally has its finger on the pulse!) growl at each other as the twerps approach and peek at them from the bushes. Cilan identifies them - the feathery one is Rufflet and the bald one is Vullaby - and Ash's Pokédex fails to explain that apparently Vullaby is some kind of freaky baby fetishist! With an egg-shell still attached that looks like a diaper complete with a heart over the crotch (!), Vullaby gives a diva-ish "bitch, please!" look at Rufflet when it complains about being hit by the stone. Rufflet attacks Vullaby, who proves a lie the Pokédex's insistence that Vullaby will attack Pokémon weaker than itself by first attacked Rufflet, then chasing away Ash, Pikachu and Scraggy when they try to intervene.

Cilan and Iris rush to help out the weeping Rufflet who simply bursts into even more tears. A young girl approaching hears the tears and rushes up calling out to both Pokémon who hear her and obviously know who she is. As she runs towards them, she trips on a stone, pinwheels her arms wildly and then appears to throw herself forward as opposed to falling, almost as if she's putting on an overly dramatic show. Rufflet and Vullaby waddle up to her and she hugs them both, joined by a Whimsicott, Petilil and a Karrablast.

Without even showing their introduction, the twerps are next seen with the girl and a portly older man at a small building with a pool where the Pokémon are playing. The building is a Pokémon Nursery, the man is the manager, and the girl's name is Layla. She explains that Whimsicott was blown away on the wind and she got completely distracted trying to get it back, and lost track of Rufflet and Vullaby in the process.

Speaking of which, Rufflet is still trying to regain some dignity in a rather ferociously competitive game of football with Vullaby. It boots the ball with power but Vullaby easily headbutts it right back into Rufflet and knocks him dazed to the ground. He bursts into tears AGAIN and Layla rushes to his aid once again, only to trip on a rock AGAIN, pinwheel her arms wildly AGAIN and then seem to throw herself forward onto the ground AGAIN as opposed to actually falling. Iris asks if it's just her or does Layla fall down a lot, and the Manager happily admits that she is new to the nursery, but while a bit clumsy she works very hard.

Layla tells the concerned Pokémon she is fine and does a bicep pose to prove it, then pets Rufflet on the head and soothes its tears, apparently irritating Vullaby who either LIKES the attention/resents Layla stealing it.... or wants Layla's attention all to itself. She asks the two to make up but Vullaby waddles off indignantly and begins kicking/scratching grumpily at the dirt of the playground, and Rufflet quickly heads off in a different direction. The Manager explains that the two birds are new to the nursery and don't get on well, and Cilan declares it is a compatibility issue - so it's a good thing HE is here. It's explained to the Manager and Layla that Cilan is an A-Class Connoisseur, and they're both more than delighted to get his services for free.

Ash offers to help out as well, and shortly later it seems Cilan gave Ash a ball in the hopes of keeping him easily distracted and out of the way. Ash eagerly bounces the ball around with his knee and back, but loses track of it, though luckily it is kept in play by Axew and Pikachu. All the Nursery Pokémon except for Vullaby are eagerly watching, and Layla starts to move up to comfort it/make it join in, but Cilan prevents her. He calls out Crustle and gives Iris the nod, and she calls to Axew to go and play with Crustle. Axew rushes up onto Crustle's rocky back, soon joined by the nursery Pokémon who all laugh and hang on as Crustle bops about for them.

Vullaby watches from a distance, wearing its stupid egg-shell diaper and glaring. Cilan approaches and tells it that it is fine to go ahead and join in, and suddenly Vullaby goes over all wobbly-eyed with joy and rushes to jump onboard. They're all watched from a tree-branch by a near-invisible Meloetta, who is enjoying how happy all the Pokémon are. Layla thanks Cilan for his help but he says that they're only getting started. He hasn't figured out why Rufflet and Vullaby don't get on yet and they need to keep an eye on them for their next inevitable throw-down.

The Manager needs to head out in the van to pick up some more Pokémon from their trainers who are too lazy/don't care enough to actually hoof it down to the Nursery. He leaves Cilan (somebody he just met half an hour ago) and Layla his clumsy assistant in charge and drives away. Ash approaches and begs Cilan to feed him since he'd be dead and rotting in a forest somewhere if he was ever left to fend for himself, and Cilan declares it is lunch time. He prepares sandwiches for the humans while bowls of Pokémon food are put out for the Pokémon, and everybody settles in to chow down.

Layla is very appreciative of Cilan (hey hey!) and he gives her praise back, but then things go wrong when the Pokémon struggle to chew their food and even start spitting it out. Layla realises to her horror that she forgot to crack the shells on the nuts she fed them - though Rufflet has no problem, easily cracking the shells with its claws and happily eating the nut inside. Layla praises Rufflet for his toughness and he glows with pride, irritating Vullaby who tries to shatter the shells with its beak and ends up smashing headfirst into one. As Vullaby falls over, the nut flies up and hits Rufflet in the head, which kicks off another squabble between the birds, except Rufflet's attempt to attack ends up hitting Karrablast instead. Karrablast lets rip with a scream of Bug Buzz which shocks everybody and causes Petilil to use Stun spore. Layla screams for them all to calm down and Vullaby takes matters into its own hands (wings), using a move literally called "Punishment" which involves spanking the Pokémon and causing them to burst into tears.

Meloetta appears and begins singing to calm everybody since apparently that's all it is good for, and the Pokémon quickly cease crying to turn and stare up at it, big broad smiles crossing their faces. Unfortunately while they all feel better, Ash, Iris, Pikachu and Axew are still a little the worse for wear.

Layla apologises to all the Pokémon who seem to take it all in good stride, apparently used to her being a bit of a ditz. They all head outside to play some more (what a tough life they lead) and Layla thanks Vullaby for helping to calm the Pokémon down, which looks prouder than anybody wearing a diaper should. But.... she does point out that maybe Vullaby went a little overboard, after all the other Pokémon didn't actually do anything wrong. Layla suggests everybody play together, including Rufflet, but Vullaby isn't having any part of that and waddles off right out the open front gate.

WHY IS THE FRONT GATE OPEN!?

Layla tries to follow and trips up again, once again in that same thrown forward way of hers. So it seems this really is the way she trips, and not just something she puts on to distract the Pokémon. Cilan help her up and she asks Ash and Iris to look after the other Pokémon for her while she goes to get Vullaby. Cilan joins her, and then Rufflet follows them out the STILL open gate - bang up job, Ash and Iris!

As Cilan and Layla run side by side, Cilan tries to explain why he thinks Vullaby ran away. It mistook Layla's explanation about the Pokémon doing nothing wrong as a condemnation of its help, and this is all tied up in its feelings of rivalry/competition with/not looking bad in front of Rufflet so it ran away. They pick up the pace to catch up with the waddling Vullaby, with the waddling Rufflet not that far behind them. Meanwhile Ash and Iris have finally figured out that Rufflet is missing, and eventually figure out that maybe it went out THE STILL OPEN GATE and chased after Layla since it likes her so much. Ash decides to rush out and see if he can find it, leaving behind Iris to mind the fort all by herself despite having literally zero qualifications to run a licensed nursery.

Meanwhile Vullaby has reached some small rocks in the path and kicks one aside angrily. It causes a ruffling in the bushes along the roadside and it turns to see a Amoonguss appear. Seemingly thinking it can take one phallic shaped mushroom, Vullaby prepares to thrown down until several more appear, causing it to make good use of that fucking diaper.

Cilan and Layla are at a fork in the road and trying to figure out which way Vullaby went when they hear it calling out. Rushing down the fork, Layla is reunited with Vullaby and hugs the panicked Pokémon, who realises that the Amoonguss are bouncing their way down the path still prepared to fight. That blast explosive Sludge Bombs at them, bouncing closer as Layla shouts to Vullaby to run for it. It stands to fight though, and before Cilan can call out Crustle, Rufflet shows up as well and lets rip with some Air Slashes and gives the Amoonguss pause. Cilan gets out Crustle and has him use Rock Slide to create a barrier of rocks on the road, and they rush into the forest to hide instead of running down the open road back to the nursery instead. Getting to a rocky clearing, they pause to catch their breath and Layla asks Rufflet why it followed them, telling it how dangerous that was. Cilan explains that the Pokémon care for her, and she can't understand why, timidly pressing her fingers together and pointing out how new to the job she is and what a bad job she is doing. Cilan tells her that they respond to her passion and honesty, and that as he wouldn't be surprised if the two Pokémon are fighting because they are vying for her attention. Rufflet constantly loses the fights between the two which causes it to cry, and that gets Layla rushing to comfort it, which pisses off Vullaby since it won the fucking fight after all! Touched by their childlike infatuation, she tells them that she'll always care about both of them very much, causing them to dance in delight - that girl they like said she likes them back!

But where one problem has been solved, another has been created. Ash and Pikachu are wandering aimlessly up the road with no idea what they're doing or where they're going beyond a vague idea they have to find a fat crying bird. Meloetta appears before him to save him from getting himself killed and he asks for her help finding Rufflet, and she heads off to look.

Meanwhile, Cilan, Layla and the two birds are making their way down an astonishingly dangerous winding cliffside path that is barely a foot in width. The birds are scared but Layla assures Vullaby that they'll let them know when it is safe to open again, and they reach a footbridge over the river. Vullaby prepares to cross first but the wooden plank it steps on instantly breaks and it plunges to its death.... only to be saved by Rufflet who also plunges to its death.... only to be saved by Cilan who grabs Rufflet who has Vullaby. They get back up to safety, but now they're stuck on a cliff with a crevasse on one side and some pissed off Amoonguss (somewhere) on the other. As they ponder what to do, Meloetta spots them and rushes back to tell Ash. He quickly returns and shouts out to them, and Cilan explains to Ash that the bridge collapsed and they can't get across, perhaps in case Ash tried to walk straight out into thin air.

Ash has Pignite haul up a convenient fallen tree trunk and place it over the gap, and Cilan leads them all over towards the other side. As they get to roughly halfway, however, a wind picks up out of nowhere. The two birds grab onto the trunk at Cilan's call, but he and Layla are dropped over the side and barely manage to cling on, hanging above certain death. The two birds worriedly look over at the humans and Cilan cheerfully insists he is all right, at which point the wind kicks up again and the BIRDS are blown over the side!

That's a bait and switch!

They plummet towards their doom and Layla... JUMPS AFTER THEM! She falls through the air and grabs them as they fall, tucking them in as they crash into the water below, telling them she'll protect them. Their certain death turns into mild inconvenience thanks to the power of heroics, as they end up on the rocky shore and stumble out onto dry land. She tells them both she's proud of how brave they are, and Rufflet starts sniffling again. Layla beams and says sometimes it is good to cry, and a shocked Vullaby bursts into tears as well. Apparently all the time the Pokémon wearing a diaper didn't want to look like a baby. She hugs them both and they stare in surprise at each other then smile.

At the nursery, Iris has lead the other three Pokémon out of the nursery's open gate (Jesus Christ) worried about where everybody is. They all return at once, Vullaby and Rufflet happily running to join the other three. Cilan notices that the two birds seem to have gotten over their rivalry and Layla thanks him profusely... before tripping over another rock! As she begins to fall/throw herself forward, Cilan grabs her wrist and keeps her from going down, helping her back up. The other Pokémon rush up, perhaps a bit concerned to see how well their beloved schoolteacher is getting on with this human male roughly her own size.

They needn't have worried of course, as the next time we see the twerps the sun is setting and they're back at Cynthia's vacation home. Iris notes that Ash didn't get in much training but he says it doesn't matter, they did good work today by helping Layla out at the nursery.

Meloetta begins singing again and the twerps all bask in the warmth of the sunlight and the music in her voice. Iris notices that this is a new song Meloetta is singing, but she doesn't get to enjoy it as Ash blurts out over her singing that he can't wait to get to the Unova League. But while he is busy blabbing, somebody else is getting the full benefit of the song - Team Rocket! Using a spy camera, they have recorded all of the data they need from Meloetta now according to Dr. Zager. The trio are pleased, it is time to prove that an ancient power believed mythical is very real, because somebody is now coming to get it. Who?



Oh shiiiiiiiiiiit.

BEST QUOTES

"Is it me or does she fall down a lot?"

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