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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 17 · English episode 174 · Japanese episode 176 · Bulbapedia code EP174 |
| English title | Imitation Confrontation |
| Japanese title | めざせメタモンマスター! イミテふたたび!! Mezase Metamon Masutā! Imite Futatabi!! — “Aim to Be a Metamon Master! Imite Returns!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 23 November 2000 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 October 2001 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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? | Ninetales (US) · Ditto (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Wobbu-Palooza (EP173) |
| Next episode | The Trouble with Snubbull (EP175) |
Plot episodeDuplica returns
Imitation Confrontation is the 17th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 174th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 176, Bulbapedia code EP174). It first aired in Japan on 23 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
Duplica returns with Mini-Dit, a Ditto that can only Transform into miniature versions of larger Pokémon. Posing as Nurse Joy, she fools everyone except Brock, then explains that she is entering an acting contest with her new partner. A friendly battle sees Mini-Dit become a tiny Totodile and use Scary Face, Water Gun and Tackle against Ash’s real Totodile, which simply laughs at the face-pulling. Team Rocket, spotting the oddity, blow a hole in the Pokémon Center roof and make off with Mini-Dit alone.
Meowth’s scheme is to have Mini-Dit pose as a “Mini-Arbok” and auction it for rare Pokémon, but Ash’s group track the sale down and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt returns the Ditto to Duplica. Jessie then challenges her to a Double Battle with Arbok and Wobbuffet.
Duplica’s original Ditto becomes an Arbok and Mini-Dit a pocket-sized Wobbuffet. Jessie’s Wobbuffet counters Ditto’s attack and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt, but Mini-Dit matches it blow for blow, countering Arbok’s Tackle and Meowth’s Fury Swipes and bouncing Weezing’s Sludge back with Mirror Coat. Both Dittos then turn into Pikachu and a triple Thunder sends Team Rocket skywards. Duplica christens her act “Team Ditto”, shows off a miniature Ursaring, and reminds Ash that they still have a battle to finish.
Major Events
- Duplica returns with Mini-Dit
- Totodile’s Scary Face and Wobbuffet’s Mirror Coat revealed
- James disguises himself as Ash for the first time
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Ditto in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Ninetales in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.