To Master the Onixpected! – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 71

Plot episodeBruno debuts

To Master the Onixpected! is the 71st episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 71st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 73, Bulbapedia code EP071). It first aired in Japan on 19 November 1998 and in the United States on 11 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

With only three weeks left to the Pokemon League competition Ash is behind in his training. He and Brock are about to watch Bruno of the Elite Four in battle, Misty unplugs the TV and tells them to do some actual training, Brock explains that they were trying to learn from the video and Ash says he wishes he could find Bruno because he’s sure that Bruno would teach him. Just then Ash’s mom comes in and says she heard that Bruno trains on Mt. Hideaway, a distant but accessible mountain around 10 miles away from Ash’s house.

Ash leaves resolute and determined to find Bruno at Mt. Hideaway, not long after however Ash and Brock are really tired, and they suggest stopping for Misty, who is actually fine and dandy. They arrive at a small hut near Mt. Hideaway, there they meet an old lady who gives them something to eat, Ash and co ask if she knows of Bruno, she doesn’t seem to, but she does say some varmints have been stealing from her. The traps she set to stop said varmints are then activated, the thieves are here, the old lady along with Ash and co give chase to the thieves who turn out to be Team Rocket, she beats them with a broom and they scram, leaving their stolen goods behind.

The old Lady then approaches Ash and gang and warns them that they’ll be bumping into the overgrown Onix’ that the mountain is famous for. They carry on walking up the mountain for a few hours but theres no sign of Bruno or any overgrown Onix, Ash however spots what he believes to be a road… but its not, its a track left by something really big, just then said really big thing comes cruising toward them, one of the biggest Onix they’ve ever seen. As the Onix is about to crush Ash and friends someone shouts them to come behind the rock, it’s Bruno of the Elite Four.

Brock and Ash both beg Bruno to help Ash prepare for the Pokemon League. They agree to do anything Bruno asks, this involves carrying pales of water, splitting wood, carrying stones and peeling the bark off twigs to make Master Bruno some chopsticks. Bruno starts digging into his Bruno stew, Ash and Misty start to doubt he actually knows any big secrets about Pokemon training anad Brock is disgusted, picking up a piece of wood and claiming Bruno is so well trained that if Brock attacks him from behind with it, he will block it with his lightning reflexes. Brock approaches and attacks Bruno with the big wooden stick, knocking him out.

Bruno tells Ash there is no secret to Pokemon, and that he only came to Mt. Hideaway to try and capture the biggest, baddest giant Onix on the mountain, because strong Pokemon help create a stronger trainer. Team Rocket are watching from the hillside listening in, they decide that if they can capture this Onix they will be as strong as An Elite Four trainer. They go after the Giant Onix and sure enough they find it, they use a weapon to fire on Onix, but they are only successful in annoying it. Team Rocket flee to a cave with the giant Onix hot on their trail, the angry Onix attacks the very part of the mountain that they are hiding under. Ash and co hear the noise and come running over, hearing Team Rockets voices from within the mountain. Brock sends his Onix but its nowhere near strong enough to take him, Staryu and Squirtle hit the giant Onix with their water guns to weaken it and Team Rocket seize the oppurtunity to run. The Giant Onix however isn’t done, hitting Squirtle, Staryu and Brocks Onix with it’s tail and doing the same to Team Rocket, sending them blasting off. The extremely angry giant Onix heads to the cliffside that Ash , Misty and Brock are using as a vantage point and attacks it, destabilising the ground and knocking Ash to the floor, just as the giant Onix is about to crush Ash and Pikachu, Master Bruno arrives and rescues them. He then takes on the giant Onix, using no Pokemon, only his own martial prowess.

The Giant Onix continues to try and attack Master Bruno, who tries to reason with it and continually avoids the attacks, the Giant Onix hits itself with its own attack while trying to get Bruno off it’s head. Bruno approaches the Onix and tells it there is no reason to fear him, asking Onix to communicate what he is fearing, it seems that Onix communicates with him in some way and Master Bruno investigates, it seems there was a Sandslash stuck in the side of Onix the whole time and thats why it was so angry. Bruno removes the Sandslash and asks the giant Onix to come along with him, the giant Onix agrees and captures him. Brock knew that Bruno could tell that Sandslash was hurting Onix, and begs for the secret, Bruno insists that there are no secrets, they continue to beg him to tell them – swearing to keep the secret. He says if there is a secret , he will only tell them if they promise not to keep it; “If there really is a secret to Pokemon it’s only this; humans and Pokemon must live and work and share this world together, and they must care for each other… just like you and Pikachu”. Bruno says he looks forward to the day when he faces Ash in battle, before departing up the mountainside.

And so Ash and his friends learned a very special secret from a very special trainer as the Pokemon League competition grows one day closer. Team Rocket are surrounded by the remaining Giant Onix.

Major Events

• Bruno debuts — first confirmed Elite Four member
• Giant Onix caught by Bruno. All-Stars Vol. 20. Lecture: Goldeen.

Captures and evolutions

• Onix#0095 · Bruno · the giant Onix

Trivia

• The English title plays on "to master the unexpected".
• The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Onix in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Alakazam in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• Dango/manjū/onigiri erased from the tea-shop signs
• Dango become “muskrat meatballs” and “meat kabobs”
• Dub ending: Pikachu’s Jukebox — Viridian City
• Keeps Mewtwo Strikes Back cues in the dub

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