 |
|
| Season | Pokémon: Johto League Champions (Season 4) · The National Park & the road from Goldenrod arc (EP161–EP172) |
| Episode | Season 4, episode 5 · English episode 162 · Japanese episode 164 · Bulbapedia code EP162 |
| English title | Type Casting |
| Japanese title | ウソッキーはどこにいる!? Usokkī wa Doko ni Iru!? — “Where Is Usokkie!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 31 August 2000 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 1 September 2001 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | OK! – Rica Matsumoto · Takeshi no Paradaisu (Takeshi’s Paradise) – Yūji Ueda |
| English opening | Born to Be a Winner – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Gengar (US) · Sudowoodo (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Bug Stops Here (EP161) |
| Next episode | Fossil Fools (EP163) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeSudowoodo debut
Type Casting is the 5th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 162nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 164, Bulbapedia code EP162). It first aired in Japan on 31 August 2000 and in the United States on 1 September 2001. It falls within the season’s The National Park & the road from Goldenrod stretch (EP161–EP172).
Synopsis
A Sudowoodo that mimics other Pokémon’s attacks baffles two researchers arguing over whether it is a Rock or a Grass type. With the bridge to Ecruteak washed away, an old fisherman offers to row Ash’s group across if they bring him a Sudowoodo. The chase leads to Pierre and Marie, two bickering scientists; Pierre trusts the textbooks that call Sudowoodo a Rock type, while Marie suspects its tree-like looks and reported Fire attacks point to Grass.
Field tests only deepen the mystery. The Sudowoodo seems to use Vine Whip on Chikorita, hops away from Totodile’s Water Gun and appears to Dig underground, but it has actually been snagged in Team Rocket’s net. The trio’s attempt to “heal” their captive with a Squirt Bottle sends it panicking free. Brock eventually calms it with a gentle tackle and Pokémon food, and at the lab it bounces Pikachu’s Thunder Shock straight back, which lets Pierre identify Mimic as the explanation.
When Team Rocket return, Sudowoodo Slams Arbok, fakes it out with Faint Attack and Low Kick, and reflects Cyndaquil’s Flamethrower, before Poliwhirl’s Water Gun catches Wobbuffet off guard and blasts the trio away. Sudowoodo’s horror of water settles the Rock-type question, the fisherman turns out to be Marie’s grandfather, and the gang finally get their boat ride.
Major Events
- Sudowoodo debut
- Pierre and Marie debut
- Some prints still use the Pokémon Johto opening
Pokémon making their anime debut
Sudowoodo#0185 · EP162
Trivia
- The English title plays on “typecasting”.
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Johto story.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Sudowoodo in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Gengar in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- Still carries the old Pokémon Johto theme on the Region 4 DVD and the Pokémon TV stream; the US DVDs and Prime Video use Born to Be a Winner.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.