A Farfetch’d Tale – Pokémon Season 3, Episode 29

Plot episodeIlex Forest

A Farfetch’d Tale is the 29th episode of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 145th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 147, Bulbapedia code EP145). It first aired in Japan on 27 April 2000 and in the United States on 17 March 2001. It falls within the season’s Azalea Town: Kurt, the GS Ball & the Hive Badge stretch (EP141–EP145).

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

Synopsis

After winning a Hive Badge from the Azalea Gym leader Ash and friends are in search of their next Johto League challenge when they become lost in a the Ilex forest. Nearby Team Rocket are tired and hungry, but they spot Ash and friends and plan to follow them in order to steal their food.

Ash and co stumble upon a young trainer a little further on in the forest who is begging his Farfetch’d to use its cutting attack, but its ignoring him. Ash and friends greet him and the young trainer is mortified to know that people were watching him, Ash points out that the attack is called Cut attack, not cutting and that might have been part of the problem, the young trainer continues trying to get Farfetch’d to attack using the correct attack names; he then goes on to introduce himself as a Sylvester, he’s a new Farfetch’d trainer. Apparently Sylvester wants to learn how to make purifying Charcoal just like his father.

Brock has apparently heard of this purifying Charcoal and is a big fan of it for use in his cooking. Sylvester then tells the group that’s why he and Farfetch’d are out in the forest today, trying to teach Farfetch’d to cut the trees into perfect Blocks. Later that day Ash and friends head to the Pokemon Center where Ash calls Oak and gives him an update. Brock has been studying the map and points out the location of the nearest Johto League gym when Sylvester rushes into the Pokemon Center in a panic; he’s lost his Farfetch’d, it ran off when he was out training it. Joy suggests that the Farfetch’d may have run back to Sylvesters fathers house like it apparently did the last time; Joy seems very familiar with the situation.

Ash and friends accompany Sylvester to his fathers house to check for Farfetch’d and state that if Farfetch’d isn’t there they will go into the forest with Sylvester and help him find it. Sylvester tells his father that he’s lost Farfetch’d and his rather scary father is pretty angry and begins berating Sylvester. Ash interrupts and tells Sylvester’s father that he’s doing his best, introducing himself as a Pokemon Trainer, Sylvesters father makes the very valid point that Sylvester shouldn’t just be trying to tell Farfetch’d what to do, he should work together with it and act as one.

Team Rocket meanwhile are still in the forest looking for food when Meowth smells something, his nose leading them straight to two delectable butter roles in the forest at a Shrine, there they also spot Sylvester’s Farfetch’d who they chase after to try and capture. Sylvester arrives at the little Shrine with Ash and gang, he explains it’s a shrine to the Spirit of the forest.

Sylvester notes that the chances of finding Farfetch’d in the forest are pretty low. Ash, Misty and Brock send out all their Pokemon to help look for Farfetch’d. Team Rocket are still trying to capture Farfetch’d who is basically ridiculing them and laughing; Jessie doesn’t appreciate this and sends both Arbok and Lickitung to attack, using Lickitungs tongue attack to disarm Farfetch’d of its Leek before Meowth captures it with a rope. Team Rocket start walking away with the captured Farfetch’d, Ash’s Heracross spots them and goes to get Sylvester, Ash and friends.

Sylvester pleads to Team Rocket to give back the Farfetch’d or his fathers going to be furious. Team Rocket however aren’t forthcoming, Sylvester tries running at them but Jessie sends Arbok and Lickitung to block his path and Meowth trips him up. Team Rocket begin running away, Ash has Chikorita and Bulbasaur use razor leaf to cut the net and free Farfetch’d, but it gets recaptured by Lickitung’s tongue. Weezing manages to land a load of sludge on Ash’s Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Pikachu and Heracross and Arbok is about to hit them all with a poison sting until Onix emerges from under the ground and blocks the the attack. Misty and Brock then show up and Misty’s Poliwag frees Ash and his pokemon from the sludge. In the commotion Sylvester manages to grab his Farfetch’d’s Leek back from Jessie, Farfetch’d escapes from Lickitung after listening to Sylvester for the first time. Team Rocket are blasted off by Pikachu’s thunderbolt attack shortly after.

Sylvester and Farfetch’d have reached a new level of understanding and Sylvester asks Farfetch’d to try it’s cut attack on a tree, it cuts the logs perfectly. Sylvester and Farfetch’d go home, accompanied by Ash and his friends; showing Sylvesters father the perfectly cut wood. Sylvesters father is very proud of his son, and very thankful to Ash and friends for helping him; presenting them with some of the finest Ilex Forest Charcoal as a gift.

Major Events

• Ilex Forest
• Sylvester & Yosaku
• Last GS Ball mention
• Last battle against Jessie’s Lickitung

Trivia

• The English title plays on a far-fetched tale.
• The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Farfetch’d in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Wobbuffet in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• Yosaku changes from Sylvester’s master to his father; shrine dumplings become “butter rolls without the butter”; a Japanese sword-drawing pun is lost; Fury Attack is called “Fury”.
• Pokémon Karaokémon: “All We Wanna Do” (Élan Rivera & Jamily Gray).

Part of our Pokémon: The Johto Journeys guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.