Lights, Camera, Quack-tion! – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 69

Filler / stand-alone episodeFillerNew ending: Type: Wild

Lights, Camera, Quack-tion! is the 69th episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 69th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 71, Bulbapedia code EP069). It first aired in Japan on 5 November 1998 and in the United States on 8 October 1999. It falls within the season’s Christmas, Mewtwo & the road to Indigo stretch (EP64–EP73).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

While hiking to their next adventure our young heroes find a picture perfect spot to set up camp, where Ash intends on finally starting his training for the Pokemon League. It seems that Jigglypuff is still following the group from a distance.

A girl called Catrina then turns up, looking for a Pokemon battle. She sends out a Raichu and just as Raichu and Pikachu are about to battle it out Team Rocket try to catch Pikachu in a net, but end up catching Raichu instead, who is non too pleased and puts a powerful electric attack into them. Just as Raichu is about to send them blasting off, a film director turns up shouting CUT, he’s currently recording a movie and plans on using the footage of the battle and Team Rockets defeat in his film!

It turns out he has been doing a talent search looking for some fresh new faces to serve in his films, of course everyone is then falling over themselves to be in the film (Particularly Jessie and James) but he then breaks the news that it’s only Pokemon who will be starring in it, next revealing that a Wigglytuff is the star. It doesn’t take long for everyone to realise that Wigglytuff has a bit of a short fuse, an Abra was supposed to be co-starring but it teleported away because of Wigglytuff being difficult to work with.

Everyone starts sending out their Pokemon to try to convince the director to put their Pokemon in the film. Everyone completes with their dancing and the choice is narrowed down to 7; including Pikachu, Raichu, Team Rockets Pokemon and Meowth. Unfortunately Jigglypuff shows up, sings and puts everyone to sleep and draws on their faces. Wigglytuff is indeed horrible to work with and all the Pokemon except Psyduck leave the auditions, so Psyduck wins the part in the movie by default and Cleavon Schpielbuck begins to explain the story which is like a Pokemon version of Romeo and Juliet.

Essentially Psyduck and Wigglytuff are dating, but their feuding families want to drive them apart, when the battle ensues an arrow heads straight for Wigglytuff and Psyduck jumps in the way being hit in the head by it. The tragedy brings the families together. Misty points out that the story doesn’t sound overly original, everyone else volunteers to work on the movie for free. Team Rocket are watching from the hillside and plotting as the filming begins beneath, Arbok and Weezing are still pretty depressed about how their dreams were shattered by a Mean Wigglytuff.

Like every great director Cleavon Schpielbuck starts filming with the last part first so he knows how it ends. Using their Pokemon to help create the special effects the filming is looking pretty good, until Team Rocket return and interrupt, until they are jumped on by all the Pokemon from the filmset, a brawl ensues but Meowth uses a big robotic arm to capture all the Pokemon and break it up. Every Pokemon is caught but Psyduck, Wigglytuff calls out for him to help, the combined shouting from Misty and shouts from Wigglytuff quickly give Psyduck a headache, and we all know what that means by now. Psyduck hits Team Rocket and their machine with a confusion attack and sends them blasting off. The camera’s were rolling this whole time and Schpielbuck takes credit for the whole lot, even though he didn’t actually plan any of it.

Ash finally remembers that he’s meant to be training for the Pokemon League, which is only a few weeks away and Team Rocket are left hanging from the edge of a tree over a sheer drop.

Major Events

• New ED タイプ：ワイルド. Debuts: Schpielbunk
• Wigglytuff (main series). JP insert ラッキーラッキー. Lecture: Venonat. All-Stars Vol. 13.

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Wigglytuff#0040 · EP069

Trivia

• The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto story.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Wigglytuff in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Snorlax in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• Siskel & Ebert “two paws down” joke
• Japanese food becomes chili
• Dub ending: Pikachu’s Jukebox — Together Forever
• The Japanese insert Lucky Lucky is replaced by “Pokémon (Dance Mix)” (Vicki Sue Robinson)
• New Japanese ending: Type: Wild

Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.