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| Season | Pokémon: Indigo League (Season 1) · Festivals, photographs & the Breeding Center arc (EP52–EP57) |
| Episode | Season 1, episode 54 · English episode 54 · Japanese episode 56 · Bulbapedia code EP054 |
| English title | The Case of the K-9 Caper! |
| Japanese title | けいさつけんガーディ Keisatsuken Gādi — “Gardie the Police Dog” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 July 1998 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 10 April 1999 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Junki Takegami |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mezase Pokémon Master (Aim to Be a Pokémon Master) – Rica Matsumoto · Pokémon Ondo – Garura Kobayashi, Dogars & Arbo |
| English opening | Pokémon Theme – Jason Paige |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Growlithe (US) · Growlithe (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Purr-fect Hero (EP053) |
| Next episode | Pokémon Paparazzi (EP055) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeFillerNew ending: Pokémon Ondo
The Case of the K-9 Caper! is the 54th episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 54th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 56, Bulbapedia code EP054). It first aired in Japan on 16 July 1998 and in the United States on 10 April 1999. It falls within the season’s Festivals, photographs & the Breeding Center stretch (EP52–EP57).
Synopsis
Today our heroes find themselves travelling through the forest, heading toward Cinnibar Island, the site of Ash’s next Pokemon challenge when all of a sudden they hear someone shout “Stop Thief!” and see an ominous looking guy with a traditional looking bag of swag and a gun, Jigglypuff is also nearby. Ash orders Pikachu to attack, but Pikachu is too scared because he has a gun, a Growlithe comes out of the bushes and takes the thief down, disarming him, Pikachu then shocks the thief, but the Growlithe then surround Ash and friends.
To Ash and friends surprise, Officer Jenny and some other police officers rush over to help the thief and it turns out the whole thing was a police training exercise and the thief was infact not a thief at all. Officer Jenny tells the Growlithe that Ash and co are their new friends and commands them to greet them, meanwhile Team Rocket are watching on thinking how great it would be to get their hands on a load of police trained Pokemon.
Ash and friends head back to the police compound and have something to eat and drink. Officer Jenny advises against using Pokemon who aren’t police trained against armed suspects, Ash asks Officer Jenny to train Pikachu the way she trains the Growlithe. The next morning a gruelling 4am training session begins, for both Ash and Pikachu. Ash and Pikachu race Jenny and Growlithe and are doing quite well until they run into their first obstacle, a mesh which they have to climb under. Next they have to get over a high wall, Ash nearly does it but falls on Pikachu and gets a shock for his trouble. Brock asks if Ash and Pikachu are still going to continue with the training and Ash says yes, just then a Growlithe coloured truck crashes through the wall of the police compound, it’s Team Rocket. The Growlithe surround Team Rocket who then use a special gas called their Oesoph-a-gas and gas all the Growlithe, Officer Jenny and friends, they then spray a different spray which makes everyone sound like Chipmunks. The Growlithe are as a result not responsive to Jenny’s commands, and their sense of smell isn’t working either. They then get into Officer Jenny uniforms (yes, even James) and use a voice synthesiser to sound like Officer Jenny, giving the command for them to place her under arrest. The Growlithe tie her up, Team Rocket then command all the Growlithe into the van. Ash and gang try one more time to stop them, but Jessie commands the Growlithe to surround them, they don’t even have their Pokemon there to battle with, except Pikachu who turns up at the last minute with the Growlithe advancing. Jessie puts on an Ash style cap, changes the voice synthesiser to Ash’s voice and commands Pikachu to get into the van, but Pikachu isn’t fooled. Jessie tells the Growlithe to attack, Pikachu shocks the first wave and the rest attack, Pikachu shocks wave after wave of them but is too tired to continue.
Now surrounded by even angrier Growlithe, things look bad, until Jigglypuff shows up and begins its song briefly before leaving, Jenny gets free and tells the Growlithe to stop, Team Rocket command the Growlithe to attack her, one bites her hand, but when it looks into her eyes it remembers who she is and how she raised and cared for it, it licks her hand and then with it’s Growlithe peers attacks Team Rocket. Meowth doesn’t fancy being attacked by an army of Growlithe and drives off, leaving Jessie and James to get chewed on by the Growlithe as they too flee.
With the Growlithe now back under the command of Officer Jenny, Ash coming to the realisation that Pikachu is strong in it’s own way and doesn’t need to train with the K-9 Squad the heroes bid goodbye and continue on their journey.
Major Events
- New ED ポケモン音頭. Officer Jenny’s Growlithe debut as owned Pokémon. Last JP episode before M01’s release.
Trivia
- The English title plays on “canine”.
- The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Bank window-4 signs erased
- Tracks M09/M75 muted
- Dub ending: the Kanto Pokérap (Thursday segment)
- New Japanese ending: Pokémon Ondo
Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.