A Tent Situation – Pokémon Season 2, Episode 35

Plot episodeBrock returnsGS Ball delivered

A Tent Situation is the 35th episode of Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 115th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 117, Bulbapedia code EP115). It first aired in Japan on 30 September 1999 and in the United States on 7 October 2000. It falls within the season’s Pallet Town, Gary & the road to Johto stretch (EP115–EP116).

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

Synopsis

With his adventures in the Orange Islands behind him, Ash has returned to the place where his Pokémon Journey began, Pallet Town. Little do our heroes know that Jigglypuff isn’t far behind them. Ash bursts into his house and yells surprise when they hear a familiar voice….. its Brock and he just made a fresh pot of Indigo Oolong Tea. Ash and friends ask Brock why he isn’t at the Pokémon lab on Valencia Island anymore with Professor Ivy? The mere mention of Professor Ivy makes Brock extremely downbeat, but its not fully elaborated on why.

Just then Delia (Ash’s mom) walks in and rushes over to greet Pikachu first, then Ash and friends. She tells the story of when she found Brock a week ago and took him home, and it seems Brock has been a big help around the house since, but he wouldn’t tell her what happened with Professor Ivy either. Everyone else is excited for food, but Tracey is most anxious to go and see Professor Oak, Ash realises he should really take the GS ball to Professor Oak and leaves his mother with the Orange League Winners Trophy, which she promptly proceeds to use as a dumbbell.

So as Ash, along with friends old and new start their walk to Professor Oak’s lab, Team Rocket are watching them from a distance, scheming that Oak’s lab would be an excellent place to steal some Pokémon from. The group arrive at Professor Oak’s lab and head inside to find no one around, that is until Ash is set upon by Muk, and the Professor emerges from underneath it. Tracey is particularly excited to see Oak, Ash hands him the GS ball and he intends to inspect it later, but first he gives everyone a tour of his lab; there they see Ash’s Snorlax, his herd of Tauros and his Kingler who all look very happy.

Professor Oak takes an interest in some of Tracey’s sketches and says he’ll be happy to take a look at lots of his other best sketches. As Oak is reviewing Tracey’s portfolio a loud disturbance can be heard from outside, Team Rocket have used something to surrounded Oak’s whole lab and are in their hot air balloon above it! Jigglypuff approaches the strange structure (that looks like a Circus) from the outside but is unable to get in and storms off angrily. Ash and Co go outside of Oak’s lab and find Team Rocket who confront them and attack, Jessie sends out her Lickitung, Ash is about to send out Bulbasaur but Muk seems to volunteer to fight instead, first smothering Jessie and then causing havoc with James and his Victreebel before Muk is eventually neutralised by sleep powder.

Team Rocket seize the opportunity and use special electric proof ropes to capture Ash and friends as well as Pikachu, rendering them unable to send out anymore Pokémon, Team Rocket then begin to power up their suction device to steal all the Pokémon and Pokéballs. The suction device even begins taking the Pokéball’s from inside Oak’s lab, along with all of Tracey’s sketches. Meowth takes the opportunity to try and find out why Brock left Valencia Island but he still won’t tell.

Just then a mysterious figure rips a hole in the exterior of Team Rocket’s structure, sends their balloon crashing to the ground and sends the Pokéballs in reverse back to their rightful places, Jigglypuff is sent flying. The figure then approaches Ash & Co + Team Rocket with a Nidoqueen at his side, turns out its Gary Oak, he and his Nidoqueen make short work of Team Rocket and send them blasting off. Gary then demonstrates his excellent command of Nidoqueen and orders it to untie everyone. Tracey has got his sketches back, the GS ball is safe and Team Rocket are beaten.

As everyone is admiring what a strong trainer Gary has become and how well trained his Nidoqueen is, Ash naturally gets jealous and upset, quickly pointing out that he won the Orange League and did better than Gary in the Indigo League, then challenges him to a battle which Gary accepts, the episode is left on that cliffhanger.

Major Events

• Brock is back in Pallet Town and refuses to say why he left Ivy
• Brock meets Tracey
• The GS Ball is delivered to Professor Oak
• Tauros returns to the herd
• Gary returns with a Nidoqueen and accepts Ash’s challenge

Trivia

• The English title plays on a tense situation.
• The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Orange Islands storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Mr. Mime in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Omastar in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• The dub leaves 33 seconds unscored for Brock’s sulk

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