 |
|
| Season | Pokémon: Johto League Champions (Season 4) · Festivals, balloons & the first Gen III Pokémon arc (EP201–EP207) |
| Episode | Season 4, episode 46 · English episode 203 · Japanese episode 205 · Bulbapedia code EP203 |
| English title | The Screen Actor’s Guilt |
| Japanese title | ムチュールにもうむちゅう!! スーパースターはポケモンがおすき? Muchūru ni Mō Muchū!! Sūpāsutā wa Pokemon ga Osuki? — “Muchul is Daydreaming!! Do Superstars Like Pokémon?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 21 June 2001 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 1 June 2002 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Hideki Sonoda |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mezase Pokémon Master (Whiteberry version) – Whiteberry · Maemuki Rocket-dan! (Face Forward Team Rocket!) – Team Rocket |
| English opening | Born to Be a Winner – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Murkrow (US) · Smoochum (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Big Balloon Blow-Up (EP202) |
| Next episode | Right On, Rhydon! (EP204) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeSmoochum TV debut
The Screen Actor’s Guilt is the 46th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 203rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 205, Bulbapedia code EP203). It first aired in Japan on 21 June 2001 and in the United States on 1 June 2002. It falls within the season’s Festivals, balloons & the first Gen III Pokémon stretch (EP201–EP207).
Synopsis
A heart-throb film star’s secret Smoochum lands in Ash’s arms, exposing a manager who wants it gone for image reasons. A caped stranger fleeing screaming fans thrusts a bundle at Ash and leaves his hat behind; inside is a kiss-happy Smoochum. The hat ends up on Brock, who is mobbed, and in the chaos Togepi, Smoochum and Pikachu follow a robotic Skiploom lure straight to Team Rocket’s hideout.
Bayleef’s Razor Leaf frees Pikachu from Jessie’s rubber sack and Totodile’s Water Gun soaks the trio before Thunderbolt blasts them off. A billboard identifies the stranger as action star Brad Van Darn, and Smoochum’s excitement at his limousine leads to a packed arena. Brad refuses to go on without Smoochum, but his manager Vitzo thinks the cutesy Pokémon ruins his tough image and tries to keep the two apart until Brad hears Smoochum through a window.
Team Rocket, disguised as security, net Ash’s group on stage and are accidentally revealed to the crowd when Meowth opens the curtains. Brad backflips through Weezing’s Tackle and Arbok’s Poison Sting to catch Smoochum; Bayleef’s Vine Whip floors Arbok, Noctowl clears the Smokescreen, Smoochum’s Sweet Kiss leaves the trio dazed and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt ends it. The audience adores the softer Brad, Vitzo calls it genius, and the next film poster stars Smoochum too.
Major Events
- Smoochum main-series debut
- No Professor Oak’s Pokémon Lecture in Japan, replaced by a preview of the fourth movie
Pokémon making their anime debut
Smoochum#0238 · EP203
Trivia
- The English title plays on the Screen Actors Guild.
- The screenplay is by Hideki Sonoda.
- 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 Smoochum in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Murkrow 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.