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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 18 · English episode 175 · Japanese episode 177 · Bulbapedia code EP175 |
| English title | The Trouble with Snubbull |
| Japanese title | ニャースとブルーとグランブル!? Nyāsu to Burū to Guranburu!? — “Nyarth, Bull and Granbull!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 30 November 2000 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 3 November 2001 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Junki Takegami |
| 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? | Hitmonlee (US) · Snubbull (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Imitation Confrontation (EP174) |
| Next episode | Ariados, Amigos (EP176) |
Plot episodeSnubbull evolves into Granbull
The Trouble with Snubbull is the 18th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 175th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 177, Bulbapedia code EP175). It first aired in Japan on 30 November 2000 and in the United States on 3 November 2001. It falls within the season’s Wobbuffet Village to the gates of Ecruteak stretch (EP173–EP180).
Synopsis
Madame Muchmoney’s runaway Snubbull evolves into Granbull, and the two finally bond while fighting Team Rocket’s giant Meowth robot. Ash glimpses the ribboned Snubbull by a river just as it clamps its jaws on Meowth’s tail once more. The gang then find Jeeves and a surprisingly fit Madame Muchmoney, who have been roughing it in the forest for weeks searching for their pet, and Pikachu tracks Snubbull’s scent using a dropped ribbon.
Sulking over Meowth’s rejection, Snubbull bites a Mankey’s tail by mistake and is knocked cold; after a night at the Pokémon Center she slips out of a window again. Team Rocket plan to hold her for ransom, with a tied-up Meowth as bait, but the furious Snubbull evolves into Granbull in front of them, latches onto Arbok and then onto the wagging tail of the trio’s Meowth mecha.
When Madame Muchmoney arrives, the trio pose as rescuers, but their demand for Pikachu gives them away. Cyndaquil’s Flamethrower overheats the robot and its tail launches like a missile with Granbull still attached; Madame Muchmoney catches them both against a tree. Dropping her pet names, she orders Tackle and Dynamic Punch, Granbull smashes the robot’s monitor, and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt sends Team Rocket flying. The pair jog home to Palm Hills as a proper team.
Major Events
- Madame Muchmoney’s Snubbull evolves into Granbull (TV debut) and goes home
- First aired on Rica Matsumoto’s birthday
Pokémon making their anime debut
Granbull#0210 · EP175
Captures and evolutions
- Snubbull → Granbull#0210 · Madame Muchmoney
Trivia
- The English title plays on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".
- The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Snubbull in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Hitmonlee in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- Meowth’s “the best-laid plans of Meowth and men” is a dub-only nod to Robert Burns.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.