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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Battle (Season 8) · On to Saffron City: May’s first Kanto Ribbon arc (AG137–AG145) |
| Episode | Season 8, episode 47 · English episode 412 · Japanese episode 416 · Bulbapedia code AG140 |
| English title | Sitting Psyduck |
| Japanese title | コダックの憂鬱！ Kodakku no Yūutsu! — “Koduck’s Depression!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 25 August 2005 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 May 2006 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Battle Frontier – Akina Takaya · Pokémon Kazoe Uta (Pokémon Counting Song) – Akiko Kanazawa |
| English opening | Unbeatable – David Rolfe |
| Pokémon Trainer’s Choice | Which is the “Time Travel Pokémon”? (Mewtwo / Celebi / Deoxys) → Celebi |
| Previous episode | On Cloud Arcanine (AG139) |
| Next episode | Hail to the Chef! (AG141) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeEmily’s PsyduckLast 4Kids boss fantasy
Sitting Psyduck is the 47th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, the eighth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 412th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 416, Bulbapedia code AG140). It first aired in Japan on 25 August 2005 and in the United States on 27 May 2006. It falls within the season’s On to Saffron City: May’s first Kanto Ribbon stretch (EP137–EP145).
Synopsis
During a break on the road to Saffron City, a terrified Psyduck crashes through the bushes and lands in the group’s campfire, chased by a Machop, a Machoke and a Machamp. It cools its scorched tail in a stream, but the three Fighting-types corner it there. Ash steps in, and his Phanpy uses Defense Curl followed by Rollout to bowl over Machop and Machamp before Pikachu’s Thunderbolt drives the trio away. Brock feeds the shaken Psyduck, which quickly makes friends with Phanpy and Pikachu, and May notices the red scarf tied around its neck, a sure sign that it belongs to a Trainer and has not simply wandered in from the wild. The group are on their way to Saffron City, where May intends to enter her first Kanto Contest.
Team Rocket, posing as salespeople, talk the group into a round of grass-sledding that turns out to be a giant pinball-style trap, and Meowth nets Psyduck and Phanpy. Their balloon is dragged back to earth by the Machoke and Machamp, whose Cross Chop knocks Jessie and James into the envelope and blows the balloon up. A wealthy girl named Emily then arrives in a carriage drawn by Rapidash and admits that Psyduck has run away three times. At her mansion Psyduck is bathed, perfumed and served gourmet meals by maids and a chef, yet it looks miserable and barely touches its food, plainly unhappy with the pampered life Emily has planned for it; the Fighting-types, it turns out, are Emily’s too, sent to bring it home whenever it runs away.
When Ash and May hold a practice battle, Psyduck joins in eagerly and redirects a Rollout into Ash, then laughs as everyone splashes about. It wants to battle, which Emily has never allowed. Team Rocket return in a Chimecho-shaped balloon and snatch Psyduck; Grovyle cuts the line, Emily catches her Pokémon, and Bullet Seed punctures the balloon. As Psyduck faces Cacnea, Seviper and Meowth, Emily begins giving it orders for the first time, and it answers with Focus Punch, Hydro Pump and Confusion before Pikachu’s Thunderbolt sends the trio flying. Emily promises to spend more time with Psyduck as a partner and even considers a journey of her own, and after a farewell meal the group continue toward Saffron City.
Major Events
- A pampered Psyduck runs away because it wants to battle
- Phanpy uses Defense Curl and Rollout
- Last 4Kids-era boss fantasy
Trivia
- The English title plays on a sitting duck.
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Hoenn story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Text on wall scrolls and Team Rocket banners removed
- Smile as Japanese background music
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Battle guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.