The Fire-ing Squad! – Pokémon Season 3, Episode 31

Plot episodeSquirtle leavesAired late in the US

The Fire-ing Squad! is the 31st episode of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 147th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 149, Bulbapedia code EP147). It first aired in Japan on 11 May 2000 and in the United States on 21 April 2001. It falls within the season’s Trades & partings stretch (EP146–EP147).

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

Synopsis

Today our heroes adventure continues as they head for their next Johto League adventure in Goldenrod City, but first they stop at a Pokemon Center along the way. Ash is sending back his Tauros to Professor Oak, but Oak wants to study Heracross for a bit longer. Nurse Joy comes into the room and tells Ash that his Pokemon’s physical examination is complete; his Pokemon are in excellent physical condition and are very well looked after. The group head outside and see a poster for the Pokemon Firefighting Grand Prix, a competition for firefighting water Pokemon. Ash decides he’s borrowing Psyduck and Staryu from Misty and with his Squirtle he will form his own Team to enter, just then their old friend Aidan from the Orange Islands alongside his team; Team Wartortle arrives to compete in the competition; Aidan reveals that Team Wartortle are infact the returning champions.

The group head inside the tournament building where they find teams of Vaporeon, Golduck, Marill, Quagsire and of course Wartortle all waiting to compete. After a good word from Aidan, Ash’s team were approved as a late entry to the competition. Just then Squirtle spots his old friends from the Squirtle Squad with Officer Jenny, but they don’t look confident at all. Squirtle rushes over to greet his old friends. Captain Aidan comes and introduces himself to Officer Jenny and it seems they both already aware of each others squads.

Team Rocket are watching through the windows, plotting to steal the twerps Pokemon as well as all of the other valuable Pokemon. Officer Jenny asks Captain Aidan if her Squirtle Squad can train alongside the Wartortle Squad, but it seems that the Squirtle Squad are really struggling, not getting close to hitting their practice targets. Ash’s Squirtle see’s this and kicks his old friends into gear (literally) and all of a sudden they start to perform. After the practice session the Squirtle Squad gathers around Ash’s Squirtle, its clear it’s still their leader even after all that time.

The first matchup of the tournament is a team of Muk vs. Ash’s Team of Squirtle, Psyduck, Staryu and Pikachu… Ash loses pretty quickly and is knocked out of the tournament. The next round see’s the Squirtle Squad matched against a team of Golduck – but they look really nervous because of the big crowds. The Golduck Team comes out hitting it hard, the Squirtle Squad however are late to start and obvivously very disoriented… The Golduck Team has a very clear lead and Ash’s Squirtle runs in and shouts some serious orders, the Squirtle Squad are instantly more coordinated and catch up with the Golduck Team quickly, managing to claim victory in the last seconds!

As the Squirtle Squad are about to celebrate their Victory Team Rocket emerge from beneath the stadium in their newest mechanical monstrosity; the Torcher-Scorcher, which begins unleashing flames at people in the stadium. The Wartortle Squad steps up to stop the flames with their waterguns but the flames are too strong…. All the other firefighting Pokemon teams start running over to help… just as Team Rocket anticipated; only to be captured by the Torcher Scorcher. Ash tells Squirtle that the Squirtle Squad (the only ones who weren’t captured) are their only chance to defeat Team Rocket but his Squirtle has to lead them; Ash’s Squirtle steps up and coordinates the Squirtle Squad in an attack against Team Rocket, putting their machine on the back foot and saving the other Pokemon before a combined attack from Pikachu and Squirtle sends them blasting off!

Ash tells his Squirtle that the Squirtle Squad need him to lead them. Squirtle is released from Ash’s Team and leads his old gang in the tournament. After several more rounds of victories from the Squirtle Squad and Aidan’s Wartortle Squad they meet each other in the finals and the showdown appears to be an absolute dead lock, it comes down to the final seconds and the Squirtle Squad manage to prevail, winning by just over 1 second and becoming the new champions of the Firefighting Grand Prix.

Outside the Stadium it seems Ash has decided to let his Squirtle stay on as the leader of the Squirtle Squad. After saying his goodbye’s, Squirtle accompanies Officer Jenny and it’ old gang, it also begins to reminisce about the time he and Ash had together. And as our heroes continue their journey to Johto, they look forward to the new friends and new memories that lie ahead.

Major Events

• Squirtle rejoins the Squirtle Squad
• Heracross stays at Oak’s
• Tauros returned
• Captain Aidan, Team Wartortle
• Fire and Rescue Grand Prix
• Dub removes the ぜ kanji from the Squad flag

Trivia

• The English title plays on a firing squad, for the Squirtle Squad’s Fire and Rescue Grand Prix.
• The screenplay is by Shinzō Fujita.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Squirtle in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Houndour in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• The Japanese character on the Squirtle Squad’s flag removed.
• The dub narrator says the heroes are on the road “to Johto”, although they are already there.
• Instrumental OK! as background music; the dub adds the Kanto Pokérap.
• Pokémon Karaokémon: “You & Me & Pokémon” (Élan Rivera & PJ Lequerica).

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