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| Season | Pokémon: Master Quest (Season 5) · The road to Blackthorn arc (EP239–EP250) |
| Episode | Season 5, episode 39 · English episode 248 · Japanese episode 250 · Bulbapedia code EP248 |
| English title | One Trick Phony! |
| Japanese title | バトルパーク! VSカメックス・リザードン・フシギバナ! Batoru Pāku! Tai Kamekkusu, Rizādon, Fushigibana! — “Battle Park! Vs. Kamex, Lizardon, Fushigibana!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 May 2002 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 17 May 2003 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Shōji Yonemura |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Ready Go! – Naomi Tamura · Pokettāri Monsutāri – Kana |
| English opening | Believe in Me – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Tauros (US) · Venusaur (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Outrageous Fortunes (EP247) |
| Next episode | I Politoed Ya So! (EP249) |
Filler / stand-alone episode
One Trick Phony! is the 39th episode of Pokémon: Master Quest, the fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 248th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 250, Bulbapedia code EP248). It first aired in Japan on 16 May 2002 and in the United States on 17 May 2003. It falls within the season’s The road to Blackthorn stretch (EP239–EP250).
Synopsis
Ash battles a trainer who has a smoochum. She concedes defeat and recommends that Ash try the Battle Park where trainers go to pit their skills against almost any known pokémon. Ash takes the advice. As it happens, Team Rocket is there working as park assistants. The park is closed today so their boss leaves them to clean the park while he goes shopping for supplies. Then Ash and company show up. Team Rocket see this as a golden opportunity to finally snatch Pikachu.
They let them in and set them up with three trainers who also came to the park. They quickly disguise themselves as trainers (Meowth and the wobbuffet as a human) and challenge Ash with one of three pokéballs at random. Jessie becomes upset at losing, and sends out her arbok, and James and Meowth put the grab on Pikachu. Ash and company rush to the crash site followed by the park ranger. Team Rocket is confident and sends out all three pokémon that they had used for battle. The park ranger then informs them that park pokémon are extremely obedient—in the park. The three pokémon turn on Team Rocket. Firing all at once, they send Team Rocket blasting off again.
All warmed up, Ash is now raring to go to beat the last gym in Blackthorn City.
Major Events
- Totodile’s Scary Face
Trivia
- Jessie states the park is open 24/7/365. This means the Pokéworld has an Earth-like orbit and rotation. (At least for the anime.)
- The English title plays on “one-trick pony”.
- The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
- 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 Venusaur in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Tauros in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Part of our Pokémon: Master Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.