Tracey Gets Bugged – Pokémon Season 2, Episode 17

Plot episodeTracey catches Scyther

Tracey Gets Bugged is the 17th episode of Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 97th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 99, Bulbapedia code EP097). It first aired in Japan on 20 May 1999 and in the United States on 1 April 2000. It falls within the season’s Ghost ships, Meowth’s island & Scyther stretch (EP95–EP98).

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

Synopsis

Our heroes next stop is Murcott Island, which on the surface looks pretty peaceful! The group arrive on shore and Tracey sends out Marill and Venonat, he seems really excited to be on this island. Tracey then tells Ash and Misty that the island is famous for having lots of bug Pokémon. Both Ash and Tracey are excited to go catch some, Misty however is less enthusiastic but goes with them anyway. As the group continues deeper into the forest they encounter lots of Caterpie, and are then chased by a Pinsir, as they walk a little further Marill and Venonat sense something is nearby and the group head over to investigate, there they find an injured Scyther lying on the ground.

Tracey approaches the Scyther and tries to treat it with a potion, but the Scyther finds the strength to jump up and confront Ash and co. Ash tries to capture the Scyther in order to get it to a Pokémon Center, Scyther bats away the ball and Ash is about to attack it with Pikachu but Tracey tells them Scyther is too weak to fight, so instead Tracey uses his Venonat to put the Scyther to sleep, he then catches it in a Pokéball and the group rush it to a Pokémon Center.

Meanwhile Team Rocket are overhead in their balloon looking for stuff to steal when a Beedrill bursts their balloon, they crash to the forest floor and find themselves surrounded by bug Pokémon, and moments later by a big group of Scyther, the leader of which begins to attack them.

Back at the Pokémon Center Nurse Joy is treating the injured Scyther, which is staring angrily at Tracey. Nurse Joy explains that the old Scyther must have finally lost a battle for leadership of its swarm and that once the leader is defeated it can no longer stay with its swarm, unless it manages to defeat the new leader it can’t return. The group call Professor Oak who congratulates Tracey on his catch, but notes that Tracey doesn’t look too happy, Tracey tells him that Scyther isn’t happy and Oak then goes on to explain its pride is probably hurt because it first lost a battle and then got captured by him. Oak advises Tracey that he needs to help Scyther regain confidence in itself once more. Back in the forest Jessie, James and Meowth have narrowly escaped the Scyther swarm, but Jessie’s hair wasn’t so lucky, and a good chunk of it has been cut off. Jessie and friends are now out for vengeance on the Scyther Swarm and start to plot.

Tracey tries to explain to Scyther that he only wants to help it, and Ash has the idea that once Scyther has recovered it could go and challenge the new leader to try and take back control of its swarm. Tracey offers to help Scyther train for its battle against the new swarm leader. Team Rocket find the Scyther swarm in a pool in the forest and begin firing glue-missles at them, pinning them all into place before Meowth then captures them all in nets. The swarm let out a cry as they are all captured, the wounded Scyther in the Pokémon Center seems to sense something is wrong and breaks out of the Pokémon Center, flying through the window, it’s still weak though and falls to the ground. Tracey chases it but it knocks him away, Ash and co all give chase into the forest after the old warrior.

Team Rocket are still in the forest examining their net full of captured Scyther and Jessie is about to get her revenge on them all. Just then the Scyther are cut down from the net by their former leader, but they’re still stuck in the glue. Ash and friends alive and begin laughing at whats happened to Jessie’s hair, Team Rocket respond by sending all of their Pokémon out to battle, opening with a smokescreen from Weezing, which the old Scyther quickly dispatches with its Swords Dance move, but its very obvious it’s still very injured and weak. The old Scyther communicates via Meowth “I might not be their leader anymore, but I won’t let you take them”. Everyone realises that Scyther didn’t come back to challenge the leader, but to rescue its new friends. Team Rocket ready all four of their Pokémon and Meowth to attack Scyther, Ash sends Pikachu to help but Scyther wants to fight on it’s own. Tracey helps Scyther during the battle and Scyther seems to be taking the advantage but is still clearly exhausted, after being initially knocked down Arbok returns and begins its attack on a badly weakened Scyther; just as Arbok’s poison sting is about to hit the tired old Scyther, the new leader manages to move in front of it and take the hit, the old Scyther then uses the last of its energy to make short work of Team Rocket, their Pokémon, and their hair!

The Scyther return to the pool they were bathing in and wash off the glue, Tracey’s Scyther shakes hands (err sort of) with the new swarm leader and the swarm return into the undergrowth. Tracey’s Scyther, with its pride restored is happy to stay with Tracey and returns to it’s Pokéball.

Tracey has a new Pokémon and a new friend, Scyther has a new reason to believe in itself.

Major Events

• Tracey catches Scyther — his only on-screen capture
• Tracey’s first on-screen battle
• Venonat’s Sleep Powder

Captures and evolutions

• Scyther#0123 · Tracey · his only on-screen capture

Trivia

• The English title plays on “bugged = annoyed, and a Bug-type capture”.
• The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Orange Islands storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Scyther in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Pinsir in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• Cut becomes “Slash” and Poison Sting “Poison Needle”

Part of our Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.