The Underground Round-Up – Pokémon Season 2, Episode 34

Filler / stand-alone episodeLeaving the Orange Islands

The Underground Round-Up is the 34th episode of Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 114th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 116, Bulbapedia code EP114). It first aired in Japan on 23 September 1999 and in the United States on 30 September 2000. It falls within the season’s Goodbye, Lapras stretch (EP113–EP114).

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

Synopsis

After saying goodbye to Lapras our heroes arrive at Hamlin Island, as luck would have it just across a bridge is a ferry line which runs straight to Pallet Town. Ash is excited to get back for some of his moms cooking, Tracey is excited to meet Professor Oak. Just as they reach the bridge however they notice a sign saying “Due to extremely dangerous conditions persons are forbidden to cross this bridge”. Ash and co are considering taking a chance and just crossing it anyway when they notice various explosions on different parts of the bridge.

Ash and friends decide instead to row across to the island they need to get to on a little boat, as they near the shore they notice that there’s literally no one around anywhere. The group explore the little town, but no ones around, except something strange watching them in the background. The group are inside a little office when they spot the ferry they need to find through the window, but the door leading to the pier is locked. Just then Togepi goes missing, he’s found a Voltorb outside and is playing with it. A few moments later Misty, Ash and Tracey find Togepi and are most concerned, as Misty tries to get Togepi back they all realise they’re being watched and around 20 electrode appear from the shadows, the group start to run away from the Electrode who all begin exploding and eventually find themselves surrounded at a crossroads, just as it looks like theres no way out a mysterious character appears from above, tells the group not to move and then sends out a huge group of Diglett who create tunnels beneath the Electrode causing them to fall underground.

The mysterious man leads Ash and gang to relative safety and begins to explain the situation, revealing that his name is Poncho and he is a Diglett rancher who was hired by the towns mayor to get rid of all the Electrode. Togepi is still playing with the Voltorb at this point. Poncho goes on to explain that this little island was once heaving with tourists and had a lot going on, until an inventor began raising and experimenting with Voltorb to use them for electricity and eventually the Voltorb escaped his lab, and they’ve been multiplying ever since. Poncho also goes on to comment that the conditions here must be about perfect for them because they all seem to evolve into Electrode really fast, adding that they multiplied so much that there wasn’t enough space… making the Electrode all become stressed and start blowing up – and that’s when everybody evacuated the island & the ferry to pallet town stopped running. It seems that when Poncho’s Diglett dig holes beneath the electrode they get rolled via an underground tunnel network to a big open field on the main island where they can live happy, with space and less stress & hence not blow up.

The phone in the office they’re hiding out in rings, and its someone from the mayor’s office telling Poncho that if he doesn’t clear the island of Electrode today they’re going to put someone else on the job, but Poncho needed a few more days to deal with the Electrode nicely in his way, apparently the Mayor already has someone lined up to do the job. Just then they hear a loud rumbling outside and find a huge mechanical machine pulling up, Team Rocket emerge from it and announce that its them who the mayor has hired, and they are going to deal with the Electrode far from nicely – it seems they want the pay AND to steal the Electrode for themselves.

Team Rocket get back in their machine and begin forcing the electrode to explode, making them weak and easy to capture – and they seem to be making quick work of it, as more and more Electrode from around the island are attracted by the explosions… eventually surrounding Team Rocket’s machine. The friendly Voltorb who Togepi had been playing with positions itself in front of Team Rockets device to defend its friends and Team Rocket are about to catch it, but its doing a good job of dodging; meanwhile Togepi is getting upset seeing Team Rocket attacking its friend and both he and Pikachu try to protect Voltorb, but Team Rockets machine is impervious to electric attacks.

As Team Rocket begin to advance on the Electrode, Voltorb, Togepi and Pikachu, Poncho gets angry and sends out his Dugtrio to dig beneath their machine, sending them tumbling into the tunnels below. Team Rocket did do one thing to make Poncho’s job easier – they gathered all of the Electrode together, Poncho sends out all of his Diglett and begins rounding them all up, they too go rolling into the same tunnel behind Team Rocket, who are now ouside of their mechanical monstrosity contemplating yet another defeat.

Ash and friends along with Poncho head to the big field on the main island where the Electrode can now live free, as they touch down into the field on Poncho’s balloon the friendly Voltorb rolls out of the balloon toward its old friends, but Togepi starts to cry not wanting it’s new friend to leave. Misty explains that sometimes friends have to say goodbye, but that they’ll always be friends in each others hearts. The next day the island is back to normal and Poncho got a bonus and the key to the city from the Mayor. Ash invites Poncho to visit Pallet Town, but he has to return to his home where the Electrode Roam. With the ferry to Pallet Town finally running again Ash and co wave goodbye to Poncho and sail off toward home.

Major Events

• The group leaves the Orange Islands for Pallet Town
• Poncho and his Diglett and Dugtrio
• A Voltorb and Electrode stampede on Hamlin Island
• Togepi’s Metronome produces Splash

Trivia

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

Changes in the English Dub

• 19 sign paint edits (awnings, a “Books” sign and flashback text), inconsistently applied
• Django becomes Poncho — both names nods to spaghetti westerns

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