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| Season | Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl (Season 10) · Pachirisu, Hunter J & the road to Floaroma arc (DP019–DP024) |
| Episode | Season 10, episode 23 · English episode 487 · Japanese episode 490 · Bulbapedia code DP023 |
| English title | Faced with Steelix Determination! |
| Japanese title | 爆走ハガネール！ビッパの村を守れ！！ Bakusō Haganēru! Bippa no Mura o Mamore!! — “Rampaging Haganeil! Protect the Bippa Village!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 March 2007 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 12 July 2007 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Masashi Sogo |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Together – Fumie Akiyoshi · Kimi no Soba de ~Hikari no Tēma~ (By Your Side ~Hikari’s Theme~) – Grin |
| English opening | Diamond and Pearl – Chris “Breeze” Barczynski |
| Previous episode | Borrowing on Bad Faith! (DP022) |
| Next episode | Cooking Up a Sweet Story! (DP024) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeBidoof villageA rampaging Steelix
Faced with Steelix Determination! is the 23rd episode of Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl, the tenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 487th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 490, Bulbapedia code DP023). It first aired in Japan on 15 March 2007 and in the United States on 12 July 2007. It falls within the season’s Pachirisu, Hunter J & the road to Floaroma stretch (EP19–EP24).
Synopsis
Team Rocket are digging holes in the forest when their shovels strike something hard: the head of a sleeping Steelix. The shovels end up stuck in its head, and the furious Steelix chases the trio straight toward Ash, Dawn and Brock, who have just found an injured Bidoof. Brock treats its wound with a Super Potion and a plaster, and the Bidoof explains that it lives in a hidden village. When Steelix bursts onto the scene charging a Hyper Beam, everyone runs, with the Bidoof leading the way. Jessie and James are caught by a Hyper Beam at a fork in the path, but Meowth tags along with the heroes as they reach a waterfall and squeeze through a gap in the rocks too narrow for Steelix, emerging in Bidoof Village.
The Bidoof welcome their friend home, and the village chief explains that they were too frightened of the rampaging Steelix to search for it, warning that the rocky barrier will not keep Steelix out for ever. Jessie and James wander into the village looking for Meowth and are blasted again, and when the Bidoof hear that Team Rocket caused the rampage, they are furious, so the pair hide in a Bidoof’s house. The friends resolve to calm Steelix and save the village. Piplup’s Bubble Beam holds it off while the others barricade the gap, but Piplup tires and Steelix breaks through the outer rocks. Dawn reasons that removing the shovels will calm it, and that luring it into the village gorge will make that possible, so she pushes Meowth forward as bait.
Meowth leads Steelix into the gorge and leaps clear, Staravia catches him, and the Iron Snake tumbles in just as Dawn planned. Team Rocket’s noisy gloating over the unconscious Steelix wakes it, though, and a Hyper Beam blasts them away. Staravia’s Aerial Ace knocks off one shovel and Pikachu’s Iron Tail a second, but Steelix’s thrashing makes the last one impossible to reach. The Bidoof Brock healed tells the chief that the village must finish the job itself, and the chief rallies the entire clan. As Steelix charges toward the waterfall, the Bidoof leap onto its head and tug at the shovel while Turtwig’s Razor Leaf slows it briefly before a Hyper Beam drives it off. At the very edge of the falls the Bidoof pull with all their might, the last shovel comes free, and Steelix finally calms down and leaves the village in peace at dusk, while the friends continue toward Floaroma Town.
Major Events
- A Steelix rampages with shovels stuck in its body
- Bulbapedia calls it the first filler episode of the series
Trivia
- The English title plays on "steely determination".
- The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Sinnoh story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Team Rocket claim that Steelix stole their shovels
- An alternate cut of Spurt!, the first song from a previous series used in Diamond and Pearl
- Mewtwo Strikes Back music added in the dub
Part of our Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.