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| Season | Pokémon: Johto League Champions (Season 4) · Wobbuffet Village to the gates of Ecruteak arc (EP173–EP180) |
| Episode | Season 4, episode 16 · English episode 173 · Japanese episode 175 · Bulbapedia code EP173 |
| English title | Wobbu-Palooza |
| Japanese title | ソーナンスのむら!? Sōnansu no Mura!? — “Village of Sonans!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 November 2000 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 October 2001 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | OK! – Rica Matsumoto · Boku no Best Friend e (To My Best Friend) – Hiromi Iwasaki |
| English opening | Born to Be a Winner – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Sneasel (US) · Wobbuffet (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Mountain Time (EP172) |
| Next episode | Imitation Confrontation (EP174) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeTeam Rocket win a battle
Wobbu-Palooza is the 16th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 173rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 175, Bulbapedia code EP173). It first aired in Japan on 16 November 2000 and in the United States on 27 October 2001. It falls within the season’s Wobbuffet Village to the gates of Ecruteak stretch (EP173–EP180).
Synopsis
Team Rocket break a festival’s no-battling rule to defend a village of Wobbuffet from three thugs, and Jessie’s Wobbuffet saves the day. Following a crowd of Wobbuffet to a village where every family owns one, the gang arrive during the annual Wobbuffet Festival. Team Rocket arrive too, and a kindly local named Lulu feeds them and ties a yellow headband on Jessie’s Wobbuffet. Then three crashers with a Hitmonlee, a Machoke and a Primeape start beating up the village’s Wobbuffet, seeking revenge after Lulu’s Wobbuffet humiliated them a year earlier.
Ash is convinced Team Rocket are responsible until Lulu vouches for them. When Ash, Misty and Brock try to battle the thugs, Officer Jenny stops them: in honour of Wobbuffet, who never strike first, fighting is forbidden during the festival. The crashers smash the great Wobbuffet statue while the villagers refuse to retaliate.
Moved by the villagers’ kindness, Team Rocket swoop in and battle anyway. Arbok falls to High Jump Kick and Victreebel to Seismic Toss, but Jessie’s headbanded Wobbuffet counters High Jump Kick, Karate Chop and Fury Swipes in turn and sends all three attackers flying with a combined Counter. Having broken the rules, the trio leave, taking the festival food; outside the village limits Staryu pops their balloon and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt finishes the job.
Major Events
- Team Rocket win a battle defending the Wobbuffet Festival
- The Japanese ending changes to To My Best Friend
- First aired on Shigeru Miyamoto’s birthday
Trivia
- 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 Wobbuffet in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Sneasel in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- Several shots are cut or shortened for time, including establishing shots of the village and the festival.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.