Let Bagons Be Bagons – Pokémon Season 7, Episode 3

Filler / stand-alone episodeBagon evolves into Shelgon

Let Bagons Be Bagons is the 3rd episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 316th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 319, Bulbapedia code AG043). It first aired in Japan on 18 September 2003 and in the United States on 18 September 2004. It falls within the season’s Leaving Mauville: Bullet Seed, fireflies & a dream of flight stretch (EP41–EP43).

With AG042 held back, this was the second episode shown in the US, on 18 September 2004 — exactly one year after its Japanese premiere.

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

While walking through the mountains, Ash and the gang encounter a Bagon. Brock remarks about Pokemon attacking people unexpectedly, and the Bagon attacks. The Bagon is not attacking. Instead, it’s leaping off the cliff to try and fly. A strange trainer leaps from the sky and claims to be the Bagon’s trainer. Using her glasses, she perfectly catches Bagon and Max comments on her glasses. Ash challenges the trainer, Michelle, to a battle.

Team Rocket shows up, and they fantasize about Giovanni owning the Bagon. The battle, Pikachu vs. Bagon. Pikachu leads with a Quick Attack, and Michelle, using her glasses, is able to tell Bagon where to go to dodge it. With Pikachu down, Bagon uses Skull Bash and Ash tells Pikachu to dodge. Michelle then tells Bagon to change course, right into Pikachu’s path. Pikachu narrowly dodges the Skull Bash. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, Bagon dodges and uses Skull Bash. Pikachu then uses Thunder, and Michelle attempts to use the glasses to direct Bagon where to dodge. The area of attack is too big, so she tells Bagon to go on the offensive. Pikachu hits the Bagon and sends it flying. Bagon gets back up and hits Pikachu with a Skull Bash. Ash tells Pikachu to fight back and dodges at the last second, then tries for a Thunderbolt. Pikachu misses, Bagon goes for a Skull Bash, and Pikachu blocks it with an Iron Tail.

Team Rocket then comes in for their “spectacular” entrance. Meowth jetpacks in and grabs Bagon and flies away. Ash sends out Treecko and tells Treecko to use Bullet Seed on the helicopter. The Remote Controller falls from the helicopter and Meowth flies off to nowhere. Michelle picks up the controller and her and the gang go after Meowth. Jessie and James fly to Meowth and attempt to capture Meowth in a net. Meowth falls from the sky and crashes into a tree. Treecko hops through the treetops and the gang follows the Treecko.

Jessie and James find Meowth. Bagon tells Meowth that it was happy that it finally flew. Meowth tells a quick story about him learning how to talk and inspires Bagon to keep on trying to fly. Meowth then imagines Giovanni with a Bagon again.

The gang finally catch up to Team Rocket and Ash tells Pikachu to use Quick Attack. Team Rocket grabs Pikachu with their helicopter and Bagon takes the jetpack with Treecko to follow them. Using her glasses, she launches her Bagon into the helicopter’s path. Bagon Skull Bashes the helicopter and drops off Treecko to grab Pikachu. Pikachu and Treecko jump off of the helicopter and Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off again with Thunderbolt. Bagon flies Pikachu and Treecko around. Bagon is so happy about flying, that it evolves into Shelgon.

Major Events

• Michelle’s analysis glasses
• Pikachu battles Bagon (Skull Bash, Iron Tail)
• A jetpack gives Bagon its first taste of flight
• Michelle’s Bagon evolves into Shelgon
• First episode with two boss fantasies
• Bagon and Shelgon debut

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Bagon#0371 · AG043
• Shelgon#0372 · AG043

Captures and evolutions

• Bagon → Shelgon#0372 · Michelle

Trivia

• The English title plays on "let bygones be bygones".
• The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Hoenn story.

Changes in the English Dub

• 8 seconds of repeated battle footage cut — the season’s longest single time trim
• Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon evolves into Grovyle? Answer: Treecko
• Score cues from Mewtwo Strikes Back used in Japan

Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.